Various

I leave for Rome on Friday. Luckily, I booked a good day to leave. There is an airline strike on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If I had booked any of those days I would be scrambling to find another way to get there.

My French is nowhere near where it needs to be. People speak to me not realizing that I am not understanding. I try to hard to hear words, to pick them out, but I am having a hard time with it. If I am involved in a conversation that I initiate I can pick my way through. I am frustrated with this as I would like to be further along.