Farewell cold Calgary, bonjour beau Paris!

Ok, so just got the blog up and running, I'll fast forward through the last few months with just a few notable points.

First, my financial needs were more than met through many incredibly generous donations, I had to raise a significant amount of money in order to leave by December, but God provided it all through various sources in just 6 short weeks; truly amazing and a great affirmation.

Second, all the details of closing out my life in Calgary came together quite nicely, thanks to the fantastic support of friends and relatives in and around Calgary (you know who you all are -THANK YOU!!), so that was a huge blessing.

Third, my passport was lost by Canada Post just a few short weeks prior to my departure date, but thankfully I was able to report it lost and procure a new passport and visa in just 5 business days, wow! Thanks for your prayers on that one, what a relief!

Finally, the last cloud hanging over me as I was madly rushing from one day to the next, each day filled with appointments and visiting friends, still commuting to work - I still hadn't sold my car!! My car, Sparky, did not have a new owner, and with just 24 hours before I was to leave Calgary, I still did not really had a plan B in place, tough market to sell a newer "slightly" used car.

Friday, Dec 19th, was my last day of work, so I had driven and parked in the company parkade like usual, and by 10am I had two callers inquiring about my car. The first couple came downtown, test drove my car in the underground parkade, said they wanted it, and returned an hour later with certified cheque and I handed them the keys!! Crazy! I hadn't had a single call on my car listing (in several classifieds) in two weeks, and then my car sells for a decent price in just 2 hours! So Sparky is now adjusting to his new owners, and given the city road conditions, I hope they invest in winter tires...!

December was very, very cold and icy in Calgary, and sad too as I had to say goodbye to so many of my friends and family across western Canada. Not only will I be missing my friends and family, but I'll miss playing ice hockey late on week nights; indoor soccer games in the stuffy soccer dome; rugby in the rain, sleet, and scorching sun on the Irish pitch; wandering aimlessly on bike trails in Kananaskis; snowboard tree-runs at Lake Louise; and Starbucks "runs" at lunch hour. Sniff...

I've been up for about 48 hours now, so lots of time to reminisce. Well, I slept a bit on the flight to Frankfurt, but not properly, and since it's only 7pm local time here in Paris, I'm trying to keep up with the time change. Ok, now we're up to real-time, Sunday, December 21st, and I'm in a low budget hotel room at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris. Low budget, think university dorm room, it has a strange permeating smell that I can't quite identify... The hair blower plays music though, so I'll it an extra 1/4 of a star for that.

Paris shopping at Christmas time - I think it should qualify as an extreme sport. I only did it because I had an afternoon to kill and I felt obligated to the walk the shops, but yikes, there were moments in the Louis Vutton store that I feared I would be the victim of the stampeding women rushing the sale table (I caught a glimpse - the items on "sale" were NOT cheap). My luggage is already full to the limit, so I stuck with buying consumables, such as Starbucks coffee and some sort of deepfried donut sticks covered in sugar (taste like mini donuts, but look like French Fries on steroids).

Tomorrow I fly on Afriquay Airlines (don't ask) to Tripoli, Libya (3 hrs) and then to Cotonou, Benin (7 hrs), arriving at midnight Monday night. Tues morning I was planning to take the bus in country to Parakou, but good news via email today indicates that I might be able to hitch a ride with a church leader returning to Parakou. I'll find out more details when I arrive in Cotonou, but as long as my luggage arrives, I should make it to Parakou by Tues evening, Dec 23rd. Phew!

Alright, this is a very long blog, and I'm exhausted... Donc a tous, bonne nuit et a la prochaine! (too difficult to figure out the French accents on my laptop keyboard, sorry).

Peace,

Rebecca

Is this a rally of "British-Bulldog"? No, just Parisians crossing the street during downtown Christmas shopping chaos...