La Vie Niçoise

So. This is really hard. Painful. Killing me softly, even. But I should really stick to it this time.

Sometimes I just feel like I should leave, far far away. Then maybe it'd be easier for everyone. 6 months left. I don't know if I can do it.

Or, I find another solution. I'm a computing scientist, I'm a problem solver! Unfortunately problems of this genre are often NP-complete...

Today I had to say goodbye to the first friend I made in Nice. Kati was my roommate, the other new girl who arrived in October from Germany, but spoke perfect English.

Remember? Me spewing english after having been fed up with constant french? She was the one who spent the afternoon with me and relieved the pressure of my about-to-explode frenchy head.

I remember spending a Saturday brunch out on Sabrina's balcony in the sun. We chatted about her relationship with her parents - they were her close friends she told everything to... wait, talking? With parents? About something other than where to get picked up afterschool? Unheard of in Chinese culture! I told her.

She'd always been so thoughtful. When I'd stay out late, she text me in vain, trying to figure out if I was ok. Of course I was, she just didn't realize yet how my phone could blow up in my bag and still probably wouldn't notice.

I have a picture of us teary-eyed yet still eternally smiling for the camera (she and I are smilers) from our 9am good-bye. Instead of exposing our puffy faces to the world, I instead prefer to remember last night (picture above). Swell pizzeria on the Cour Saleya, where we'd eaten yummy crepes outside one January afternoon. We'd sat down in the sunshine, and the waiter told us that if we were going to have more than a coffee, we'd need to move into the covered, un-sunny area. She said no. And that was that. I love that girl!

BTW, last night was freaking cold, but luckily I had with me the fantabulous soft, white scarf that Denise had knitted for me for my birthday. Everyone complimented me on it, thanks Denise!!

Been having a ball this past week, and now to start our weeklong vacation! ... after skipping 5 days of school...

Now to do an oh-so-cliché MC summary, mostly 'cause it'll help me figure out how much money I just dropped. Was it worth it? Let's find out.

Torino Winter Olympics 2006

• 6 Canadian flags and face sticker: $5 CAD
• Aller-retour train tickets: 34 euros
• Public bus transportation: 90 cents
  
• 1 night bed and breakfast: 30 euros
• Canada vs. Germany hockey ticket: 40 euros
• Souvenirs for friends: 85 euros
• Dried italian pasta for me: 4 euros
• 2 mugs of ciocolatta calda: 8 euros
• Other food (kebabs, chinese, pasta): 35 euros

.... whereas,

• Making friends with a Canadian girl with the same MEC backpack as me, and finding out she's from Nice too (flag 1)
• Staying with a nice Filipino family I'd never met before
• Teaching English to Italian-speaking children by playing the what's your favourite colour/number/month game
• Learning that Ciao! means goodbye AND hello
• Shaking the hand of a small round italian man who had spouted incomprehensible italian till I understood he wanted my flag (flag 2)
• Discovering the "squat toilets" at the Porta Susa train station
• Getting a picture with a giant, dancing Coca Cola polar bear
• Getting a picture with Igor and John at Fontana Angelica
  
• Feeling canada pride, noticing that it was the only country consistently touting their flag on the streets (U.S... yeah, not so much)
• Climbing through holes in olympic security fences
• Unexpectedly getting a cool official olympic poster from a turin girl ("Do you know where I can buy one of those flags?" - "No, sorry, I don't..." *hand her a flag*) (flag 5)
  
• Absent-mindedly holding out my flag while waiting for a bus, and getting 3 cars honking in Canada support!
• Playing toy trucks with the insanely cute Julio, the 19 month-old cuban-italian baby at the B&B
• Finding the al bicerin cafe with the help of a local (flag 6)
• Gianduitto chocolate orgasms in my mouth
• Hearing a "Demande les japonais la de prendre un photo" (Ask those japanese people to take a picture), and getting shocked looks as we turned around and offered our services in french
  
• Feeling fresh gusts of wind on my face as I walk down a cobble-stone street, enjoying the view of snow-capped mountains peeking out between rows of buildings
• The best peach iced tea I've ever tasted in my life

Three days of bliss.

I'd left with 6 Canada flags and a Canada pen in hand, and only came back with the one sewn on my backpack, but I'd like to think that somewhere in the world, the flags are being shown off to friends or family, accompanied by a "And then the canadian just gave it to me." Not being all high and mighty about that, but we gotta keep up that good ol' Canadian rep, no?

In actual Olympic news, the Canadian hockey team slaughtered Germany 5-1, scoring 3 goals within the first 10 minutes. And the Canadian girl I met on the train, who was going to cheer on her friend in speed skating with the flag I gave her? They got a sweet silver medal finish.

Was so lost in my train of thought, I forgot to finish the theme of this post.

...PRICELESS.

Il faut qu'on l'aide. Il le FAUT. C'est tout. Cette femme a subi a pas mal de choses dans sa vie. Mais ses les problemes de sante qui ne s'arretent pas d'arriver ne l'empeche pas a vivre au fond, de faire ce qu'elle veut, de continue en depit des enormes obstacles qu'une personne normale appelerait impossible. Mais elle n'est pas normale. On l'appelle folle, elle se tient au bout meme si, logiquement, ses souhaits semble insurmontable.

Mais moi, je sens en moi qu'elle va s'en sortir. Elle est battante. Cependant, il faut qu'on l'aide. Il ne va pas etre seulement son histoire, sa reve, son guerre a gagner. Prenons-le comme le notre aussi.

Unfortunately, I can't do it all alone. I'm going to need help. If we all pitch in, she'll make it.

I am going to make it my personal goal to make sure she gets through this.