Chapter 22 — Learning Lyon
The first weeks in Lyon unfolded in a series of small, humbling lessons. Grocery shopping became a small daily adventure in gesture and guesswork.
"I asked for eggs and somehow ended up with three different cheeses and a loaf of bread I didn't order," she reported to Étienne one evening, exasperated and laughing at herself.
"Your pronunciation is close, but you are stressing the wrong syllable. Do not worry. Everyone struggles at first."
The language barrier proved the most persistent challenge — the mental fatigue of translating even simple thoughts, the isolating feeling of being unable to fully participate at dinners with Étienne's extended family.
His father, recovering steadily, proved an unexpectedly patient teacher during weekly dinners. "You are tryi
