Our time here in La Paz is coming to a close and we keep asking ourselves “where did all the time go?”.  It seems as if we just got here and got settled and now we have to leave.  What the heck?  And I am guessing you are asking me, “what the heck is with ‘paresseaux’? I thought you two were in Mexico?”  Well, yes, we are, but this French word now has great meaning for us and will help to explain just where all of that time has gone indeed.  

So, what is ‘paresseaux’?  It is French for Sloth and can mean the actual animal or someone being super lazy.  We learned this from a new friend, Suzanne, who is from Quebec.  We came to know her at a luncheon, held weekly here in La Paz, for Canadians.  Since joining these lunches, we have gotten to know quite a few Canadians from many parts of the country and made some very good friends.  We were surprised at how quickly we became close to our fellow Canadians, but I guess, given the fact that we all shared a distinct lack of Spanish, its not surprising.  Back in my former life as a teacher, it was quite common for our new students from China to hang out together whenever they could.  It is comforting to be able to speak your home tongue when surrounded by another so foreign to you.  I now really get how my students must have felt.

So, we came to know Suzanne and found we had a common interest in snorkeling.  She had a car and was by herself.  We knew of some good beaches and were willing to show them to her in exchange for a ride.  But of course, it went much further than that.  As we travelled to various beaches in search of the perfect spot to snorkel (which we found!) we had time to talk and get to know each other.  Suzanne is bilingual, which is fortunate as neither Jim nor I speak French in any way that would allow for conversation.  Suzanne would ask me to slow down when I got excited and so I had to really think about how I was expressing myself and talk in a way that was understandable.  As we drove, we used Suzanne’s phone, and Siri gave directions in French, giving me an opportunity to practice.  I am now pretty good with “tournez a gouache” and “tournez a droite”, but the one that will stick with me forever came from Suzanne herself.  We were talking about how nice it is to lay on the beach and be so lazy.  “paresseaux” she said to me, going on to explain the meaning.  We spent a LOT of time with me saying what I thought she had said and her showing me how to make the “eaux” sound at the end of the word.  We would both laugh and laugh and it became a thing.  Today was Suzanne’s last day here in La Paz.  She is flying home to Quebec early in the morning, but both she and I will be back here next year because, this place really does just get to you.  If you are in need of a place where you can just be “paresseaux” I think I know where you can go!  

Thank you, Suzanne, for your friendship.  Bon Voyage and see you next year!