Finding my Place

I cannot get over how wonderful this city is. Who ever said Paris is the "city of love" never lived in Strasbourg; it's small, but the university and history give it so much diversity, you never get bored.
Yesterday was nice because it was Friday, giving me only three hours of class in the morning and the entire afternoon to enjoy. I went out to lunch at a Mediterranean place with a couple friends and we ended up talking for a couple hours about science and history and their connections through the natural human tendency to organize. This led into a conversation about religion and we lost track of ourselves. Friday night was a fun evening out on the town with fun people.

My attempt to show off the flowers
on the webcam in my dark room.

Today was fantastic! I slept in, as should be done on weekends, and went to my favorite knit shop for my ICRP in the afternoon. When I go on Saturdays, I attend a class that changes its theme every week; this week's theme was crochet. So, I learned how to make crocheted flowers that are going to be connected and filled in with other yarn. It was so much fun! There were four other women learning at the shop with me. We were seated around a table in the back of the shop and the teacher walked around answering any questions we had.
As we were working and chatting (some more than others), I realized from my history of spending time in knit shops, that there are the same types of people required in a group to make it fun. They could be looked at kind of like the "stock characters" found in written literature or in plays. My incomplete list of knitting characters is as follows:

• The Knowledgeable One: This person knows a lot about practically any given topic, especially the one at hand, and offers help to others. She can be the teacher, but not necessarily, and shares her wisdom openly. Her facts are often diluted by interesting stories about how she attained her information.
• The Learner: This person asks the most questions and is often a step or two behind the group. Usually sitting next to the Knowledgeable One, she helps keep the pace balanced by slowing her down by asking for help. She is not necessarily slow though, just in need of as much info as possible on each step before moving on.
• The Quiet Wit: This is the character who sits in the corner, observing the group and silently measuring the dynamics. She keeps to herself, listening to and following instructions easily. But at just the right moment, she can say a perfectly calculated comment that sends the entire group into fits of laughter, lightening the mood for those having technical (or lingual) difficulties.

  

  The Strasbourg Cathedral
  in autumn.

By the end of the class, I was very comfortable with crocheting and listening to the French terms. I also got really good at reading the pattern and diagrams. If you ever want me to teach you how to crochet, you will have to deal with mostly French terminology, that's what I know. After class, I bought the hook I had been working with and two balls of beautiful yarn!! Some of my friends surprised me by showing up at the shop and we went out and got crêpes. Mine had Alsatian white asparagus with ham and cheese inside. Mmmmmm! As we headed home through town, there were many street performers playing music (guitar, violin, drums) and one large group was a band dressed up in festive clothing with dancers and the lot. Europeans sure know how to have fun. À plus!