Eyjafjallajökull and Me

The last few days rank easily among the most bizarre and unexpected of my life. Other contenders are the Christmas in Yuma when we all had a terrible stomach flu (I stopped vomiting long enough to open presents), and the Christmas that my baby sister Phoebe was born and we rushed through Lucia festivities, to the hospital, then I ended up in bed for three weeks with the flu. Such fun. Here's a rundown of how this weekend went:

Thursday: Finally done with every bit of homework! I spent the day at Musée d'Orsay and the Pompidou Center. That evening we all went to a performance of Pierre Boulez's Répons which blew my mind. I went home and packed my suitcases.

Friday: My last day! How sad. By now we knew that airports in the UK were closed because of a cloud of ash from a volcano in Iceland. Seriously? A volcano? In Iceland? Whatever. We went to the Palais Garnier of Phantom of the Opera fame (it was incredible by the way), found the bus Courtney and I would take to the airport, then went home to check on things. The Charles De Gaulle website said they would be open by that afternoon. No problem. So off to say my farewells to Notre Dame and Saint Severin; I caught the tail end of Vespers at Notre Dame, prayed that the ash would clear up at Saint Severin, and shed a few sorrowful tears that I would be leaving this city I love. Then off to the Eiffel Tower to meet up with friends and check out the view from the top. My roommate Angela delivered the news: "Your flight is canceled!" Oh well, the Tower was still pretty sweet and surely this cloud wouldn't last forever. Seriously. This is the 21st century, right?

Saturday: After reading the news and enlisting Dad to help me figure out the rebooking process I finally realized that I might be hanging out here for a while. Hayley, Richard and I spent all day trying to track down phone numbers and non-existent ticket offices. We ended up in a thrift store instead and ate kebabs by a fountain. It was a perfect sunny day. Volcano my eye. We finally got the sweetest, most helpful United ticket agent on the phone who rebooked our flights. New plan: land in Colorado Springs one hour before my cousin's wedding reception starts. I hope I make it in time! On the metro back to my place, I was in a very good mood. I get an extra week in Paris! How great is that?

Sunday: The English sunday school was full of Americans here for business and pleasure who are now stuck for the foreseeable future. Halfway through the lesson the fire alarm went off for a drill. *sigh* What next? We finished off the day with pizza and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Ricks' house. Then I made a terrible mistake: I started thinking about where I would be without good ol' Eyjafjallajökull. I would have been in my home ward, with my family, making crepes and telling stories and playing with our new dog... and then Carolina In My Mind came up on my iPod. I skipped it quickly only to hear Take Me Home Country Roads. Thanks James Taylor and John Denver for the nose dive into homesickness.

But hey! The sun is out again, and I have Paris at my fingertips. Time for a picnic I think. Then art museums, walks, old churches, maybe a free concert or two. I get to live la vie en rose for six extra days. With or without the emotional roller coaster, I guess I owe Eyjafjallajökull one.