hey y'all,
So, as it turns out, the library is closed on Mondays along with the rest of France (kidding but not kidding), thus I spent the afternoon in our salon working on my grad school apps. So fun.
After I'd eaten my final chickpea and cauliflower for lunch, I decided it was time for a trip to the supermarché. Emily went with me and I stocked up on so many great things. Veggies, fruits, eggs, chickpeas, milk and so much more - I had TONS of pasta/couscous/rice left over from my last trip to the grocery store approximately 3 weeks ago. I know, that's impressive.
Anyways, I bought a lot of food and was rushed to throw it all in my reusable (go green!) bag because the checkout areas in France are not very big. It would seem only logical to big builder ones, but hey, that ain't how it works over here (in regards to many things - houses, cars, etc.) So I paid with my new chic French check card, and just stuck it in my coat pocket as opposed to back in my wallet, because I was so rushed. The lady at the checkout was already hurriedly placing the next customer in line's food next to mine. Emily and I got outside and were crossing the street when I realized I didn't have my wallet. Uh oh. I thought that maybe I had just thrown it in my grocery bag to save time, so I searched through my bag on the street (definitely NOT blending in), but to no avail. Nbd, I walked back across the street, went in the store and asked the lady at the cash register if she'd seen it. She hadn't, and I looked all around the aisle and couldn't find it. But I didn't cue the freakout just yet. I decided that it had to be in my grocery bag that I could inspect more thoroughly once in my apartment (a 1-minute walk away). So we went back, looked through both our bags and there was no wallet.
I was getting kind of panicked, and figured I had to call my parents and cancel my credit card. I had remained rather calm until I got on the phone with my mom. Lost it. I'm surprised she was even able to figure out what I was saying. I walked back across the street to the grocery store and stared in the window at the cash register, searching for my wallet. It's a small grocery store, so I could see the whole checkout area from there. But there I stood, staring in the window, while on the phone...while crying (AGAIN with the whole not blending in thing. what a sight).
I deemed it a lost cause and I told my mom the latest charges on my card. Exactly as she was saying to me "I'll call dad and get him to cancel the card", I heard someone say "Excuse me". I thought they were either asking me for directions or for money, and let me tell you, I wasn't in the mood. I looked over though and they were holding my wallet and asked if it was mine. I obviously told my mom I'd call her back. I thought for sure that wallet had been a goner! They had been speaking to me in English but I asked them in French where they'd found it. He said that it was right at the door when they walked in. He had picked it up and told me they were going to call Bank of America in the morning. I thanked them profusely, holding myself back from giving them a big hug. I must have been at the cash register asking the lady if she'd seen my wallet when they picked it up. I had missed them the first time because they were in there doing their grocery shopping. Since they had seen my B of A card, they knew I was American and when they came out of the grocery store and heard someone crying on the phone in English, it had to be a match.
I opened up my wallet, and everything was still in there - cash included. So glad to see that there are still nice people in this world.
Crisis averted. What an ordeal.
Luv,
Sarah
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