3 weeks

I have been here now for 3 weeks. How do I feel about my big adventure?????
Well, it is certainly beautiful here. I love that I am in the semi countryside yet a big European city is about 12 miles away and the sea is about 8. I love driving a manual car. I am very fortunate in that I have a great group of friends and family that are supporting me.

But, I am isolating myself a bit too much. I am blocked by having to use cash all the time. The stores don't like my credit cards and I am shy about trying to get them to keep trying to put it through. I am also not speaking french. I have not found a teacher. I did find a few meet up groups for immersing into language, so I will try those. People want to use their English with me.
I would like to join a gym of some sort, go out to dinner sometimes, get a 2nd key to the house made, but all of these things seem daunting. What we take for granted at home is difficult here. I wouldn't know where to go to find a hardware store....and do hardware stores copy keys?  I have yet to find a dry cleaner, I feel a bit uncomfortable about garbage disposal as I don't understand it...when they 
take it, which can for which, what to do with cardboard.
Eating is problematic. My diet cannot be anything like it was in California. I really have to figure that out. Just cause all the french eat cheese, pudding and bread does not mean that I have to. I'm not eating bread at all, sacreligious! , I am trying to limit the cheese to goat cheese only, thank goodness there is no chocolate orange pudding, and I have looked! , and then there's wine, all kinds of wine and beer from Belgium . What to eat for breakfast? I need to get into a healthy pattern, but I have not found one yet.
I don't want to ask anyone for anything.  I have asked the man up the street and have asked C a few things, but my need for independence causes me to not do something rather than ask anyone.
I have to remind myself that I knew before I came here that this was going to be an exercise in being
social for me.
So, my goals continue to be...improve my French greatly, become comfortable in a brand new environment, make a bunch of new friends with which to do things and most of all, get to Italy.
Oh, and work on my creativity...explore new directions in photography and painting.
I have some barriers to break through, stay tuned and watch me do it.
Tomorrow I will go into Nice again to the antique market and take pictures. I am also supposed to meet a man , M, for coffee...someone  that reached out to me from one of the meet up groups.
A new friend. Must push through my nervousness and try to relax.