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I HAD AN AMAZING WEEKEND.
Jean and I went to stay with the friend (of who's name I still dont know...) and her family and they were amazing! I could pretty much walk to their house from here, but thats not the point. It was so different from this place, you have no idea (or maybe you do. ::shrug::).
I kept a chronology of what occured, but heres the highlights.
I had an impromptu dancefest to Jimmy Buffet, mostly because I could, before our ride arrived (the trains are on strike. Hee.), so I was feeling pretty good. The family consists of four kids, the eldset girl Soeylen (sp?), 19, and then Thybalt (every time I heard that name I wanted to asked, 'What happened to Mercucio?'), 17, Matthew, 16, and Caroline, 9. They were all great. I had decided that I was gonna stop letting Mme get me down with her voice in my head, scolding me for messing up words, and practice my French on complete strangers. Because what are the chances of me seeing them again? Anyway, I was a regular chatterbox (for me) this weekedn, asking questions, talking to pretty much everyone (save Jean, who avoided me like the plauge), getting underfoot, being socialble, and making so many mistakes by lunch on Sunday, no one felt the least bit akward. Except, as I said, Jean.
Thier house was huge, with a lot of warm, colored wood and stairs, and they put me in a great room that let me see the sunrise out one window and the moonrise out the other. The whole house was warm and friendly, and there were people running around, making noise, making messes, being, you know, human. There was also a central living room where I could sit and read, be out of the way, and yet still visable to anyone who ventured through. I lingered mostly in the kitchen, though, talking to the mother (who spoke some English, but we conversized a lot in French), asking her what went in this, how long you baked this, can I help? Come mealtimes I was in heaven. It was crowed, noisy, my legs fell asleep in the chair, you had to fight for the space to put your food, reach over one another, dump crumbs on one another... And the food was amazing! At one point we each got a little skillet and you put a slice of cheese in it and stuck it into a little plugin hothouse. Once it melted you poured it over potatoes, ham, whatever. (The coolest thing about this is when I was journalling it after the meal, I was thinking in French. COOL!) And she made apple pie for dessert the first night! I was like, 'kay, I'm moving in here, thanks.
I talked to Thybalt about school (he's in Terminale, so I winced and offered apologies when applicable), to Soeylen about exchanges (she's going to Australia, and wants to go to Chicago, because she saw Save the Last Dance) and about politics. Caroline and I went for a walk today after lunch, and yesterday evening I tagged along with the man of the house to watch him feed his cows. (The family raises cows, and we were a bit delayed in the trip back to Autun because the boys were chasing cows down to the corall for seperation.) I helped the father out too, pouring the grain, and then basically got underfoot while he finished his chores, explaining the basics of the ID tags in the ears (these are eatin' cows), how they were fed, corralled, seperated, and a bunch of other cool stuff. The mother and I went out yesterday afternoon to pick flowers and collect walnuts, and that night I experianced walnuts with lavander honey, and I am now hooked. Hee. I didn't get a chance to talk much to Matthew, since he and Jean we always off doing stuff (Jean was none the worse for having male companionship, although I think he was way uncormfortable with the lax attitude of the house, and I know I was more active than him. ::shrug:: Its just what you're used to, I guess.), but we all got together to play a few board games before we left today. I whipped their butts in a logic game, but failed miserably in Gin-Rummy. That seemed to perk Jean up to no end, who is so not above gloating. He and Caroline (who had the power to cloud up and rain at the slightest provocation) were more alike in temperment than he was with Matthew.
The whole weekend I felt better than I had in weeks. I relaxed, I had fun, and I ran around, being an annoying American. It also didn't hurt that when I went out to help with the cows, the sun was setting over the autumn-shaded hills, and the sky was purple, and all I could think was, 'This is God's country.' I didn't even mind going to church with them!
I may be back here, but I have my equilibrium back, I am recovered in health, and I am ready to kick butt. Mme isn't here for the week, so I have that break as well. The only dark point of my weekend was the knowlege of what I could have had. I finally felt like an exchange student, doing something cool, fun, and exciting, and doing it well. And I hate Mme for making me feel like anything else.
Anyway, since the e-mail gods are pissy at the moment, I may have to call ASSE myself for the moving thing. When the Toussaint holidays arrive, the family will go down to their home in the Dordogne area, and I don't like to think about two weeks of pretty much no escape, and possibly no communication. I don't expect miracles in a week, but I gotta get this ball rolling. Thanks so much for all your support, guys!
Yeah. But I feel good. I'm gonna finish up here and pursue more Jimmy Buffet, and maybe some tea.
Today's Theme Song:
Gypsies in the Palace by Jimmy Buffet
We aint got no money, we aint got no rights. But we're gypsies in the palace, and we got it all tonight!
Love from the kid who keeps it rockin' across the water,
Dami
Jean and I went to stay with the friend (of who's name I still dont know...) and her family and they were amazing! I could pretty much walk to their house from here, but thats not the point. It was so different from this place, you have no idea (or maybe you do. ::shrug::).
I kept a chronology of what occured, but heres the highlights.
I had an impromptu dancefest to Jimmy Buffet, mostly because I could, before our ride arrived (the trains are on strike. Hee.), so I was feeling pretty good. The family consists of four kids, the eldset girl Soeylen (sp?), 19, and then Thybalt (every time I heard that name I wanted to asked, 'What happened to Mercucio?'), 17, Matthew, 16, and Caroline, 9. They were all great. I had decided that I was gonna stop letting Mme get me down with her voice in my head, scolding me for messing up words, and practice my French on complete strangers. Because what are the chances of me seeing them again? Anyway, I was a regular chatterbox (for me) this weekedn, asking questions, talking to pretty much everyone (save Jean, who avoided me like the plauge), getting underfoot, being socialble, and making so many mistakes by lunch on Sunday, no one felt the least bit akward. Except, as I said, Jean.
Thier house was huge, with a lot of warm, colored wood and stairs, and they put me in a great room that let me see the sunrise out one window and the moonrise out the other. The whole house was warm and friendly, and there were people running around, making noise, making messes, being, you know, human. There was also a central living room where I could sit and read, be out of the way, and yet still visable to anyone who ventured through. I lingered mostly in the kitchen, though, talking to the mother (who spoke some English, but we conversized a lot in French), asking her what went in this, how long you baked this, can I help? Come mealtimes I was in heaven. It was crowed, noisy, my legs fell asleep in the chair, you had to fight for the space to put your food, reach over one another, dump crumbs on one another... And the food was amazing! At one point we each got a little skillet and you put a slice of cheese in it and stuck it into a little plugin hothouse. Once it melted you poured it over potatoes, ham, whatever. (The coolest thing about this is when I was journalling it after the meal, I was thinking in French. COOL!) And she made apple pie for dessert the first night! I was like, 'kay, I'm moving in here, thanks.
I talked to Thybalt about school (he's in Terminale, so I winced and offered apologies when applicable), to Soeylen about exchanges (she's going to Australia, and wants to go to Chicago, because she saw Save the Last Dance) and about politics. Caroline and I went for a walk today after lunch, and yesterday evening I tagged along with the man of the house to watch him feed his cows. (The family raises cows, and we were a bit delayed in the trip back to Autun because the boys were chasing cows down to the corall for seperation.) I helped the father out too, pouring the grain, and then basically got underfoot while he finished his chores, explaining the basics of the ID tags in the ears (these are eatin' cows), how they were fed, corralled, seperated, and a bunch of other cool stuff. The mother and I went out yesterday afternoon to pick flowers and collect walnuts, and that night I experianced walnuts with lavander honey, and I am now hooked. Hee. I didn't get a chance to talk much to Matthew, since he and Jean we always off doing stuff (Jean was none the worse for having male companionship, although I think he was way uncormfortable with the lax attitude of the house, and I know I was more active than him. ::shrug:: Its just what you're used to, I guess.), but we all got together to play a few board games before we left today. I whipped their butts in a logic game, but failed miserably in Gin-Rummy. That seemed to perk Jean up to no end, who is so not above gloating. He and Caroline (who had the power to cloud up and rain at the slightest provocation) were more alike in temperment than he was with Matthew.
The whole weekend I felt better than I had in weeks. I relaxed, I had fun, and I ran around, being an annoying American. It also didn't hurt that when I went out to help with the cows, the sun was setting over the autumn-shaded hills, and the sky was purple, and all I could think was, 'This is God's country.' I didn't even mind going to church with them!
I may be back here, but I have my equilibrium back, I am recovered in health, and I am ready to kick butt. Mme isn't here for the week, so I have that break as well. The only dark point of my weekend was the knowlege of what I could have had. I finally felt like an exchange student, doing something cool, fun, and exciting, and doing it well. And I hate Mme for making me feel like anything else.
Anyway, since the e-mail gods are pissy at the moment, I may have to call ASSE myself for the moving thing. When the Toussaint holidays arrive, the family will go down to their home in the Dordogne area, and I don't like to think about two weeks of pretty much no escape, and possibly no communication. I don't expect miracles in a week, but I gotta get this ball rolling. Thanks so much for all your support, guys!
Yeah. But I feel good. I'm gonna finish up here and pursue more Jimmy Buffet, and maybe some tea.
Today's Theme Song:
Gypsies in the Palace by Jimmy Buffet
We aint got no money, we aint got no rights. But we're gypsies in the palace, and we got it all tonight!
Love from the kid who keeps it rockin' across the water,
Dami
