Le Pire... (The Worst...)

Today, Natalie had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

In all honesty, it was the kind of day I found myself laughing more than crying, because laughing is the better alternative when everything is going wrong… but the day did end in crying (thankfully the healthy, healing kind). 

To start, Elizabeth and I finally broke down and decided to bring our laundry with us to campus; the laundry facility in our residence is closed for but 30 minutes every week (the first problem).  So 7:30am came and there we were, hauling our laundry bags, as well as our backpacks, down the mountain.  Alright, so neither of us tripped over ourselves going down (I’m trying to count my blessings).  Still, it was a huge hassle.  Not to mention the tram we got on was packed to the gills… .we’re talking about a new level of friendliness with nearly every person beside me! 

In class, it was one of those days when you really do want to contribute to the discussion, but for every question you don’t volunteer to answer, you realize you would have said the right answer…..and for every question you actually do muster up the courage to take a stab at, you fail miserably.  Frustrating, indeed. 

After four hours of that (which went by sloowwwwly today), and after talking to a friend who we both noted was in a very bad mood (never fun), Elizabeth and I decided to get our laundry started and head to the grocery store to run errands while our clothes were washing.  Mistake one: not eating lunch.  And as we started the wash we were reminded that absolutely nothing is cheap in Europe, even university washing machines.  At the store, the cereal that we most wanted to buy was completely sold out (Grr).  I wanted to buy some dark chocolate to console my crushed spirit but, alas, most chocolate in Europe is amazingly delectable, and the price tag reflects it. 

When we got back to the laundry room, Elizabeth found that her laundry soap container had cracked and a pool of pink, floral-scented liquid lay all over the bottom of her backpack, and all over my laundry bag.  The best I could do was remind her that at least her backpack would smell good!  She had to run and wash it out in a friend’s sink—a sink that, in turn, clogged—oh my. 

As we folded our clothes after the dryer, Elizabeth kept saying that hers’ were still wet, and I kept saying that I was not convinced some of mine had even gotten clean.  Seriously….?

Finally, at 6pm, we were ready for our trek home. Actually, we were really dreading it.  Combined, we had about 30 pounds of groceries (whose idea was it to buy pasta sauce this time?!), two laundry bags, and two backpacks.  Needless to say, we looked helpless and homeless.  Our pilgrimage home with all our bags made for a cumbersome trip on foot and on tram and on bus.  The bus driver we got this time must have been a newbie, because he had to back up during every turn at every switch-back up the mountain, and many times I really thought the vehicle was going to self-implode. 

When I finally reached the last step to the third floor and I set all my bags down in my room, I really thought the day was done with its drama.  Should have known better…..as I put away my laundry, I picked up something on my bed and discovered a nickle-sized spider underneath.  I hate killing spiders, but sheer anger helped me get the job done.  A spider in my bed.  Just what I wanted.

Thankfully, the story ends with good news: Elizabeth and I made a delicious dinner (cooking will always be a relaxing activity for me) and we had a good laugh about something that was actually funny: how we could put my ‘fromage blanc’ to good use (it’s a recent purchase at the grocery store that I thought was cottage cheese, but turns out to be something like cheesy yogurt…..now I’ve got a lot of it…..and I decided tonight that it tasted good with jam, kind of like a cream cheese, and not ten minutes later, I was saying it would work as a sour cream with tacos…it’s the fromage that wears many hats, I guess. ;)

Also, tonight I received my first letters from home!! (Thank you…. You know who you are!).  I chose to read them in a secluded spot overlooking the city, and the alps, as the sun was setting.  The jagged ridges of the Alps were serenely silhouetted against the rosy sky, and in the distance, the mountains seemed to take on a hazy, dreamlike blue color.  I got a chance to enjoy the mountain breeze, to think, to pray, to be emotional.  The Lord really, truly, encouraged me by those people and the words they had written, but more significantly, each letter included a passage of Scripture that seemed to speak directly to my current situation.  It was an intimate time with the Lord; I wept at the end of nearly every letter.

Whew.  All in one day’s time.  I hardly ever plan to write about a day in such detail, but golly, it was epic!  I’m glad today is DONE. ;-)