silver linings

Well, you saw it coming.
I was the victim of a pick-pocket experience at the Geneva airport.
On the bright side though, I had no problem telling everything in French at the police station and the officer asked if I lived in Switzerland.
I'll take that as a compliment!

More silver linings:
It was the least valuable thing in my bag.
Well, I guess an empty water bottle is rather rubbish like?
But thank god it wasn't anything else.
Even if it was my mittens I'd be in tears, on a freezing day like this!
I lost my sim card though, that's kinda annoying.

At the bus stop, someone came to me by asking "parlez vous francais?"
That's a first!
I must be more French-speaking-looking than English-speaking-looking then!

Without realising that Antwerp is Flemmish-speaking I hopped on the train.
Then it started to pull in and all the announcements sounded like "rah rah rah rah".
I then automatically switched the English-speaking part of my brain back on.
On the metro though, the lady sat next to me excused herself out by asking me in French not in English! (Weird?)

Then I was greeted in Flemmish a couple of more times.
Thank god that I asked the lady at tourism info desk how to say some basic words in Flemmish.
And while in Brussels no one ever hesitated by initiating a conversation in French.
I mean this is an international city, it's not in France where people don't actually give a toss about the fact that you don't speak a word of their language and they insist on only speaking French with you while doing a lot of hand-gestures.
They usually would be willing and are able to communicate in English (unlike their gaulois neighbours).

So yeah, 4 days on the trip only, 1 lost phone and so much more silver linings.
Plus, am having a stunning white xmas.
Really can't complain.