A week already...

Well it's been a week already since André left.  Time flies....but not because I am having fun.  Oh I shouldn't say that.  Since he left, I've been to Belgium, karaoke, dinner, movies.  Now that I think of it, I think he was holding me back.  Only kidding André.  I'm flying solo at the sites and some days are rougher than others but I'm holding it together.....for now.

André and Christi.   There is so much I could say about you.  I arrived in France on June 10th and met André for the first time on June 14th.  I can still see him  and Christi waiting for me, in the Canada car in front of the Hotel d'Angleterre.  I went out and Diane was in the window taking my picture.  Christi got out and let me sit in the front seat.  Now is that sweet or what.  She introduced herself then André.  I was hooked.  I fell in love with them.  OK, this is not the best picture of me but it's Christi and André that we are focusing on.

So our friendship began.  I introduced them to Diane and she was hooked too.  They dragged us everywhere with them.  Restaurants, Faites de la musique.  They showed us the ropes.  Then Diane left and here I was alone, in my apartment, walls all white, I felt lost.  A new job, a new country, a new culture.  At work, André became my mentor.  I had so much to learn and he was so patient.  I had so many questions and he always had the answers.  If I had been him, I would have screened my calls because I had to call him for everything.  The poor guy continued to answer and he still answers, even from Ottawa.

I loved being with them.  They kept me on a high.  I knew that as long as I was with them, I felt safe.  They made me feel safe.  They made me feel like I knew what I was doing, and were so encouraging.  They still are.  Christi was an inspiration.  She moved to France not speaking the language and she made it a point to learn it.  She kept so busy.  Between going to Lille for her French lessons and taking ballet lessons, she always had time for me.  We went to the market together, festival de l'andouillette (which I will never eat, it is by far the ugliest thing I ever saw), I met her in Lille and we shopped and had coffee.  She is a true friend.

Even if André could not always be with us (somebody had to work), there was always something that would remind us of him.

André and Christi always included me in their family.  I met André's mother Louise and his father Bob (no, not the cat), his sister and brother-in-law, uncle, aunt, Christi's grand-parents, friends.  I felt like part of the family.  I introduced them to my friends, my cousin Joanne and aunt Pierrette, who made a lovely supper for us.  It just felt right when they were around.

As I said, Christi took ballet and I was always André's date to go to the gala.  Even when it lasted 4 hours.  I had to keep telling André to applaud and stay awake.  Kidding André, you always stayed awake and took lovely pictures of Christi dancing.  Everytime we would go out, they would always walk me home.  They took care of me.  They would try though to bring me to scary places, like the Blue Devil.  I really didn't want to go but they forced me.  Forced me so much that I bought a t-shirt of the place.  OK, they didn't force me.  We were trying to be locals.  We never got to the Gin-Fizz.  It was always closed.

 

 Then in September, Christi left.  Although I knew that eventually Christ and André would go back to Canada, I didn't dwell on it.  They were there and that was that.  After Christi left, André and I were lost.  It was only him and I.  We would make plans to go out for supper at least once a week and we did but there was something missing, and it was Christi.  I missed her smile and the twinkle in her eyes.  She always knew what to say.  Not that André was boring...kidding André.

Then the day arrived when André left.  That was a week ago today.  I drove him to the airport to say good-bye.  André was my go to person, my mentor, my good friend, an awesome collegue and an all around great guy.  I think of Christi and André every day.  They became part of my life in France and will remain part of my life forever.  I will always need them in my life.  André and Christi are not people that grow on you, you are hooked as soon as you meet them.  I feel lost without them but I will survive.  This I know because I have their support and they have confidence in me.  So to you André and Christi, I wish you the best in Ottawa.  I will see you again.  And one last note, André you know the coffee you had in the car when I drove you to the airport, well I picked it up when I got to work to throw it out, and the last drops in the cup, well my dear André, you guessed it, I got it all on my pants.  For once I went to work without my uniform and I had to stay in the back office all afternoon.  

We had breakfast at McDonalds at the airport and it was nice just being there together and talking about going back to Ottawa and seeing Christi.  He was very happy.

So to you André and Christi, thank you for taking me under your wings.  You are and will forever be in my heart.