As we prepare for our upcoming trip I am reminded of our Southern Tour. This trip will be even more challenging.
We will be gone almost three months - through 2 seasons - and we are taking the cats! I keep trying to imagine us arriving in Paris with 4-5 large bags and 2 cats. As we get ready to go Chris is forever making lists and checking to see if she has everything and if it goes together - and fits in her bag. We are rapidly coming to realize this means we will only have 2-3 pairs of pants/skirts and shoes to wear for the next three months. Difficult for me, impossible for Chris. My main contribution has been to say "what's the big deal, if we forget something we'll just buy another".
To put this in perspective, we spent 6 units (out of 24) learning how to shop for clothes! I now know the words for all the standard men's and women's clothes and how to shop for them. I can ask for a shirt in my size (as if they will have it) and then 'essayer' it in the 'cabine d'essayage'. I even know how to ask if it is 'de la mode' and convenable (appropriate). Most importantly, I have learned how to say 'Il vous va a merveille!' (you figure it out).
The following were some observations on the differences between men and women from our Southern Tour. I thought it would be appropriate to repeat them now -
Things I've learned
As a man, I was born without both the “asking for directions” gene and the “folding” gene. Over the years, my travels had achieved a certain routine. I would only take newly cleaned, and folded, clothing with me. And every 2-3 days I send everything to the cleaners to be cleaned, and more importantly – folded. I am totally incapable of folding anything neatly. This same deficiency extends to making a bed. Otherwise, all my clothes would slowly sink into a twisted mass through some undiscovered form of entropy.
Christina has the genetic disposition to fold things so they look neat and remain un-creased when packed. It’s a miracle. She just picks up the garment, twists her hands, and it fall into neat folds. I’ve seen this same skill in women in department stores. Traveling has taken on a whole new dimension. With all the moving we’ve done, we often have not been able to get clothes cleaned. Without Chris, I would have had to replace all of my clothes by now. Every time we pack (which has been often) she fold all my clothes and piles them in a neatly folded stack that fits right into my suitcase. If anything does get wrinkled from wearing, she irons it! I didn’t know you could do that!
3:59:28 PM 
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