Election Morning and Air-Raid Sirens.

More so than usual, last night was an experience; working between three sets of cultural rules usually proves this observation true. As a smaller group than planned, we went to one of the four Irish pubs in town to watch the elections. It was a test in time differences, including between the various time zones within the States. We ended up being kicked out at about 2am, partly I’m sure because we only both the minimum number of drinks to stay in the bar. But it ended up being not too much of an inconvenience, as we had only one of the French stations to watch, and French commentary on the campaigns. It was nice to have their viewpoint, but we only got input from the States on occasion. I have to admit that time might have just been a factor of the time difference, as 2am was only 7pm in the Midwest; hence there was still loads of time left for people to be voting. So while disappointing, I still did my best to reach anything on my radio, unsuccessful as it was, and SMSing a friend in Paris and calling my brother in the South of the US. Both of them managed to keep me relatively informed, until I went to sleep at about 6am. And so that was my election “morning.” The weirdness of the day continued when at noon today, as the bells began to go through their usual extensive tolling, the air raid sirens went off as well. Not only was it extremely unexpected, it was incredibly eerie to hear the mélange of church bells and sirens in a bizarre symphony.

And so it continues, the unexpected insanity that makes my life so crazy… all the little things that make life so much fun.