Pas un adieu, mais au revoir

After the very long sleep that was yesterday, I woke up this morning almost raring to go. Today was the day, I had decided, to deal with all administrative things before life gets too busy later on in the week. So headed off on my merry way for Challenge Number One: CAF (Caisse d'Allocations Familiales - housing benefits). Now, for those who haven't been following since the beginning, I've been waiting for my money from CAF since October, and by now they owe me rather a lot. I was also told a week ago that my money would "most definitely" be arriving on the 25th. And it most definitely hadn't. So I toddled on in, expecting to have to produce my tax returns from six years ago or something equally ridiculous to be told that everything was, in fact, in order and there was just a delay with the system. Hmmm. On verra. I then moved on to Challenge Number Two: MGEN (Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale - health insurance). Also waiting on money from them from December. I am now recognised in that office by the cute young guy on reception. Not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing, but it did help me out later on in my meeting here! Now, I am sick of being told that the reason something isn't working is because I am "foreign" or because I'm "foreign" I "don't understand". It seems like everyone thinks this is the get-out-of-jail-free card for them. Well, it might work due to stereotypes and blahblahblah, but it is really very annoying for me. So, turns out that they have lost my feuilles de soin (the papers that the doctors give you to claim back your money)...the only problem being that you have to give in the originals to claim your money. The woman I was dealing with then tried to convince me that I had never given them in, but was then cut off from that excuse when cute young guy from reception came in and backed up my side of the story, saying he remembered the original woman taking them off me. YEY I am not going mad although sometimes I genuinely think I am doing in these types of office. So, she had to backtrack on her words and say that they would do their best to try and find the documents, and they would keep in touch with me via email. I have no doubts that they will neither find the documents, nor keep in touch by email...but one can hope. With this one I don't think I will be seeing my remboursements médicaux anytime soon, or for that matter, anytime in the future. Oh well, at least I tried!

Now, you might notice something about this picture. No? Go back to Saturday 29th September 2012. This was the first time the four of us girls got together, and today is Claire's last day. Now, we tried to recreate the photograph properly (bar the fact I am at a different angle, with a different lens, and the light is different), but Claire and Kendra kept laughing at what the other was saying so I decided I had to go with the variation on a theme. I can't believe Claire is going today. The second one of my close Anglophone friends to go. And me next. So, I hope this photograph shows how times have changed, yet how similar things still are. I am really, genuinely going to miss having these girls around me next year.

So, this is Dolly's. Claire and Kendra were also joined by Becky...and we were all also joined by Pawel for a bit. The final meal of the four didn't feel like a final meal somehow, maybe because Claire was getting the overnight ferry so there wasn't a feeling of urgency or the fact that most journeys are started in the morning. Oh, I don't know. Was strange saying goodbye to a second person knowing that I'm not going to be seeing them again for a long while, especially after spending almost every day together.

Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would be realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.