Friday, October 26, 2012

Well, it’s time to recap the last week…..things have been busy for me lately with less time to write….I think that’s a good thing though because it means I’m more settled with friends in town and things to do.

Saturday Ross and I went downtown Tours to walk around and have lunch.  Ross picked a new restaurant La Famille and we went to celebrate my birthday.  As we entered the restaurant, the owner’s bulldog, George greeted us at the door.  He decided to lay next to us and several times during the meal he would grunt and moan bulldog style; everyone in the restaurant just would burst into laughter.  I asked the owner if it was a problem having him there and she said he is allowed to be anywhere in the restaurant except the kitchen (thank goodness).  Our meal was very tasty and we enjoyed the three courses. 

After lunch we walked around “Les Halles” which is an indoor market with fresh cheeses, produce, breads and meats.  I’m not sure of exactly what each item is, but it’s fun to look around and see the different offerings.   The butcher had some interesting offerings, the funniest being the rabbits with the fur still on and the blood which was obviously fresh.  All the birds still had heads and feet….now I understand the theory behind it and the obvious freshness of them all, but I still prefer buying my meats already skinned and de-headed!

Sunday Ross went to church while I went downtown Luynes to help with the bike event.  I had various jobs like folding brochures and making sandwiches for the riders after the event.  We had over 120 riders so it was a busy morning getting them all checked in, numbered and off.  Each of the workers except for Jean-Pierre speak French only so it was a good day to work on my French conversational skills.  I spent a lot of time talking with the people doing sandwiches with me.  We did ham and also rillettes on fresh baked baguette rolls.   I copied this quote about rillettes  “ For those that aren’t too familiar, rillettes are a meat that has been cooked down in fat until it becomes meltingly tender and spreadable. Spiked with herbs and spices, it’s like a meaty paste”.  Basically we had pork rillettes as well as wild boar ones.  At first I was pretty skeptical, but after tasting it, I realized it was pretty good.  BUT……when unwrapped from the butcher, it kind of resembles a big plop of cow manure!!!! J

The event went well and I felt like I did okay with my French.  It was good to meet some more people in the town and introduce myself.  At one point I met two couples who live here and the husbands work together. Both wives are of Columbian descent and have been learning French since moving to France.  One has been here several years but the other just about the same amount of time I have so we had common feelings.  Both spoke English too, so that was nice.

This week while grocery shopping, I watched a guy looking at the Clementines which have just come into season.  He was squeezing them and then proceeded to peel one and eat it before deciding to make a purchase.  He filled a bag full so I trusted that they were good.  So, I got myself a few but did not sample them first!

This week was my first time running into someone I knew at the grocery store, so we did the kiss-kiss thing and chatted. I told Ross I felt very French as I see people do this a lot here!  At church now we do a lot of the kiss-kiss thing…it’s become habitual now and doesn’t seem like such an invasion of personal space.   At first it was hard to get used to, but now we don’t even think about it.

Wednesday I went again to the school in Saint Paterne; this time to meet with the teachers and go over the schedule for Thursday and what I’d be doing with the classes.  Thursday I arrived during recess and immediately was surrounded by children asking if I was the lady who speaks English.  Hamish is the one who introduced me to the school and his kids were excited to meet me and we conversed in English together.  They’re fluent in both French and English, so the English classes are funny for them hearing English words in a French accent.   

I spent 45 minutes in each class during their English lessons.  I had to introduce myself and explain why I was there; some classes were able to ask me questions and it was good for my French as we interacted.  I am looking forward to doing more with the kids as the year progresses.    They seemed to enjoy me being there and I’m looking forward to getting to know them better.  The French names are a new thing for me, so I am hoping to be able to learn their names.  Not every child has a French name, but most do and they’re different, so I’m learning to hear them properly and pronounce them.  In France there is a different saint for each day of the year and at one point, you had to choose your child’s name form the list.  Now, that is no longer the law, but many still use the very traditional names.

There was one boy named Liam(obviously not a French name), but he was quite pleased when I told him it was my grandson’s name. One boy named Enzo which I know is Italian and the first name of the Ferrari guy, so that boy liked that I knew about Ferraris!  I told him I just bought a Ferrari carseat for Liam when he comes at Christmas ( I’ll be able to bring it back to the US to use with all my grandkids at some point). I’ve been looking at that carseat for a while and it went on sale this week 30% off, so it was my time to buy.

Anyway, it felt good to be in a school again and around the kids. I told Ross  the kids don’t make me nervous at all, but having to perform or be new in front of the other teachers is a bit nerve wracking.  They were nice and welcomed me, and I appreciate them getting to know me before just letting me do much and I think in time I’ll do more and more.  The classroom style is different here and everything is pretty much lecture style, even for younger students.  They do very simple English so it will be interesting to see how far they can go.  The teachers are kind to the kids and smile, but also are very tough when disciplining.  There is less worry about the kids “feelings” but rather more emphasis on them obeying and behaving. In a way, I think it’s better as in America people tend to soft coat things and treat kids as fragile and worry so much about their feelings.  But after observing the kids in the school setting, I’ve decided that kids are the same all over the world and each class seems to have the same issues……the kid who isn’t on the same page and the teacher tells them to do something, every kid does it but that one who kind of looks around thinking “oh did you mean now?” Or the boy who cannot sit still and fidgits or wiggles; it was fun to observe.

The schools here are on holiday for the next two weeks so that worked perfectly with the time I’m away.  When I return I’m going to teach them about American thanksgiving since that is something they hear about but don’t understand.   

This weekend is for packing and getting ready for the trip home.  I feel like the time will fly by as there are so many things I have planned.  So, it will be a quick trip ; I’m excited to go but also will be ready to come home again afterwards and get back into my routine here.  The time between now and Christmas when the kids arrive will go quickly. So, I’m off again!