Wendy

At this point, both Wendy and I owe you a bunch of stories. Those are forthcoming (theoretically. If not, remind us to tell you about the Venus Boutique). But today I just wanted to write an homage to Wendy Shue, dream travel-buddy.

Here are some conversations we had.

Looking for painkillers at Carrefour, a Wal-mart type grocery store, because she has her rulers (bahaha sorry so many inside jokes now).
Alice: They might not carry it here--you probably have to go to a pharmacie.
Wendy (utterly disgusted): Right. Because it's France, huh. And I have to have a prescription to get Tylenol. Like I have to send a LETTER to close my bank account.

Discussing how to carry around valuables, and transport them home.
Wendy: I might really just take all of it and stuff it into the bowels of my suitcase.
Alice: I'm so glad you finished that sentence with "of my suitcase".

Watching the City of Lights glimmering from the steps of Sacre Coeur, Wendy's last night in Paris.
Wendy: You could come back to live in Paris one day.
Alice: Why me but not you?
Wendy: Because I've already signed my life away.
Alice: Oh yeah that's right.
And then I proceed to laugh in her face for about a minute. But Wendy Shue you are going to be a wonderful wonderful doctor! The world is going to be a better place.

Also whenever Wendy takes a picture of me she says, "ALICE WANG you are so photogenic! You and Olivia Lau take the cutest pictures." But Wendy Shue, YOU are the cutest of all! Just look how pretty you are in all of your pictures! It's because you are really pretty. You are why I want to have Happa babies.

At my house, we saw Lawrence and Natasha online and Wendy greets them with, "LAWRENCE LAU HOW ARE YOU?' and "NATASHA BAKER!!!!"
I say to Wendy, "That's how you always say hi to me too."
Wendy replies, "Well yeah. How do you say hi? Just, 'hi' like that?"
"Yes..."
"But then how do you let the person know that you're really excited to talk to them?"

In Orléans Wendy bought me some ice cream and as we sat by the store to eat our cones several kids with their parents walked by looking very jealous. That's right! We're adults and we can have dessert whenever we want!

I didn't know Wendy was such an accro of books too! Dunno how it's managed to escape me for this many years. But every time we passed a bookstore she'd be like, "Okay no I can't go in I can't carry any more books home." And yet she still bought something like five books in the time we were together and finished at least two of them. We also learned in a bookstore that the name Wendy comes from JM Barrie, author of Peter Pan. We picked up a baby name book and it said that his youngest daughter (but probably actually the daughter of his neighbor) couldn't pronounce the word "friendly", so it came out as "fwendy".

Plus she's managed to get all of her worldly possessions on and off the Paris métro. That's an accomplishment.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen, Wendy Shue has officially grown a pair. My landlady yelled at her (my guest! but again I have so many stories about this house that I live in...) and Wendy was just like, "But you can't be intimidated by French people Alice. I'm not anymore. They just have a really stern way of expressing themselves." While we were at Sacre Coeur too, some French mec comes up to us and says some of the most inappropriate things I have ever heard. I say, "Au revoir!" But I still am bad at being rude so I say it with a smile, hoping he'll get the message. Wendy just goes, "We don't want to talk to you. Go away." Which still doesn't work, the jerk. So we eventually leave and Wendy says, "I should have been angrier at him. In Martinique I learned to just yell at men who won't leave you alone." Being rude is an important skill!

I think today is your flight home, no? Bon voyage and see you in California!