Chapter 18: Filling my Prescription

nerd blog post #19

As you can well imagine, the hours and minutes leading up to Doctor's arrival were painfully long. I feel sorry for Cynthia, who had to listen to countless stories and squeals of excitement. I also had to go to the bathroom every few seconds like a five year old girl.

For those of you who don't know, the Doctor is my roommate from last year and did the MA program with me at UofT. He is also my partner in every crime, my lifelong dear friend, and an incredibly loyal, stoic and intelligent man. I could rave about him forever. Doc is doing another MA (this one in International Performance Research) at the University of Warwick and the University of Amsterdam - the schools welcomed 32 students internationally into its Erasmus program. He landed in London on Wednesday, and after a night there, headed straight to Rennes!

After teaching my final course of the day, I headed to that party for English students. A bunch of mine went and we ate snackies and chatted. I somehow got roped into leading an hour a week of Drama with the New English Student Society (NESS), which is an on-campus club that promotes speaking English and ... other English things I guess. One of those super dorky clubs. So one evening a week I'll be doing that, with the final product being some kind of play. I assumed that, being NESS, this commitment would be in English, but found out that actually I am to lead it all in French! Crazypants. They better be into games, tricks and pranks. That's what I'm into.

Anyways, Cynthia and I got some wine and snackies for latron, after Doc's arrival. And then, finally, I left to go meet him at the train station. Seeing him come up the escalator was incredible. It makes me wonder how it will be seeing people after months and months... My heart was racing and I couldn't control my laughing.. It was amazing to see him. We really lived side by side this year. We knew every detail of the other's schedule, we spent countless evenings on the balcony playing games, sipping Cola... So it was a reunion of great magnitude, for me anyways..

I was going to save this for the end, but I want to let you all know that if you're interested in Doc's adventure, you should check out his new blog at doctorwithoutborders.blogspot.com. He is an excellent writer and will be up to many exciting things, no doubt. If you read his instead of mine, you will immediately lose 200 points. If you read them both, your points will double. He is currently sitting at the other end of my bed, blogging away as well.. It will be interesting (for all of us?) to read how different our accounts will be. He is definitely a little more ... serious than me, and perhaps more level-headed. My way of telling stories is not exaggerated, but just as I see the world, which is perhaps slightly bigger and more adventuresome than others.. Or maybe I exaggerate. You choose. But I'm Curious George to see how he describes this visit..

Okay, so as soon as we exit the train station, I pop a bottle of Breton cider to welcome him to the land. No parents. No po. No one to stop us from taking over the town. Really what we did, though, was sip the 5% bottle of apple juice and walk back to the apartment.. We then had more wine with Cynthia and Merrill (another lecteur) and ate the feast of baguette, three types of delicious cheese, olive oil and spice dip, sausages, and chippies.

Around midnight we headed out to Thirsty Street. It was wonderful to observe Doc taking it all in for the first time, as I had done two and a half weeks ago. Thirsty Street was more than bustling. The best analogy I can give is, again, Aberdeen St on Homecoming Saturday. Absolutely bonkers. He met Hossoen, saw the chaos, and we enjoyed a beer that they gave to us in a roadie cup. The bars start to close down around 1am, so we headed to a night bar where we danced up a storm. Most of the bars and clubs in the downtown date back hundreds of years (the building, not the bar itself..) and the night bar has old beams across the ceiling, a cavernous basement and stone walls. Very cool. It was super packed. I don't think they have "capacity" here...

While there, I saw one of my students. Now, at school I dress professionally. Button-up shirts, long skirts, fancy shoes. Or whatever. At the night bar I had gotten so warm that I had taken off my pants and so was just wearing a short dress, make-up, high heels.. I looked different. The student (who just turned 18, making him a definite Freen) recognized me anyways and was excited to introduce me to his friends.... "Zis my teacher! HEMILIE HINCKS!" I've noticed that when French peeps say my full name, if they don't say Emilie Ank, which is the norm, they make an overwhelmingly large effort and say Hemilie Hincks. It's funny. Anyways, that was a highlight for sure.. He was great entertainment and wanted to talk to Doctor about basketball a lot. He practiced his English for sure. A+, you cute little Freen.

This morning I slept in, but Doc slept later. I was far too happy he was here, and tried every trick to wake him up.. (Flushing the toilet with door open, putting about in the bedroom for no reason, opening things...) It was like a kid trying to wake up the parentals on Christmas morning so presies could start. Anyways, eventually he got up and we had cafe au lait and breakie, and eventually headed out to see the city.

We walked around a lot, up and down streets, visited Hossoen and Pascal, saw the river, and then went to the slum motel. There, we sat around, and then got into the refrigerator. And took pictures of it. All in a day's adventure.

We ventured back into town to go to a cafe and sit outside. It was a beautiful day, and quite warm. We then bumped into Pierre-Antoine and he joined us for a coffee. Now, P-A speaks no English. He can say, "It's a beautiful girl" and "I 'ave big dog," but that's really it. I taught him a couple of words, and it was hilarious to see him meet Doctor, shake his hand, and say, "'Andsome man!" Doctor seemed slightly taken aback by this immediate compliment. But returned it.. Later, Cynthia came, and then P-A's friend, Sheshi, who I've met before. Talk about world's colliding! I couldn't believe that I was sitting around with Doctor, who has known me for five years and who I've lived with.. Then Cynthia, a very good friend, a current roommate, and so new. And then P-A, a Frenchman, and his Indian buddy. It was too strange. I found that speaking both French and English, and translating between the two, was a lot of fun, but more tiring than either one or the other. I like that stuff though. It makes my brain work quickly and, loving languages, it was like a puzzle. And Sudoku is not for me. I had a great time there, out in the sun for a couple of hours, sipping coffee and taking it all in. And playing Lost in Translation. A great game.

On the way home, we stopped at the grocery store and got stuff for dins. We made gourmet grilled sammys. Shrimp, tuna, avocado, tomato and cheese on baguette. Grilled. It was good. Now, full and happy, we're blogging on the bed.

I can't really explain my happiness having a visitor here. I can finally talk more like myself, using made up words, or no words at all, and being understood. He also brings news from Canada, and restores confidence to many friendships. It makes this year seem much more doable. And as I told Doc today, I could blog about anything. I could make things up, stretch the truth, and invent characters to make things sound interesting or funny. But today, walking around, I could tell him that there was where those three youths fell to their death. And this is the kebab stand. And that's where I walk forever. And this is why I hated the slum.. And it validates my blog a little bit, I think, to have someone see that it's all real, and that I am happy, and that Rennes is a beautiful city..... Plus, 'e's 'andsome.

Tonight we will take it a little easier, I think. We'll have some wine here and chat about home, and then venture out to a little bar and sit outside and people watch. There's an Irish pub that we might go to where the bartenders are bilingual and it's a bit of an older crowd. There's another one that's a bookstore and bar in one, and very cute. Neither are on Thirsty Street, which is kind of busy every night. Tomorrow is Marche Day! Satur-hooray.

I know this is crazy, but I worry that we won't have enough time to talk about everything! I have so many more things I want to tell him and he's only here until Tuesday!! Toooooo short! I would also like for him to taste every delicious food, walk down every beautiful street, and meet all the nice peeps in this land. And that feeling I got while in Kingston this past year, or when the Westview boys were in TO, has already set in. The feeling that I don't want any more time to pass, because the more time passes, the closer the end comes. And then it does, and I'm so blue... Man. Leaving Kingston after visits this past year was always very hard. I can't think about that now, though. He's just sitting there typing away with a furrowed brow. I think someone should make a statue of him. Such a hero!

I'll stop now. More tomorrow. Much love to Canada, from both of us.

A purring Hincks.