Je suis arrivée!

Day 1:
September 19th I arrived at O'Hare 3 hours early to be on time for my 8 hour flight at 6:10pm. The flight arrive in Paris around 9:15am the next day, but I had to wait until about 1pm for my second flight to Lyon which got in around 2:30pm. I was greeted at the airport by Gui, the father, and V, the 4 year old son. The drive home provided me with a 45 minute view of the Loire valley-- which is incredibly hilly, so driving a stickshift here should prove to be interesting. When we arrived at the house, which is a little removed but only a 15 minute walk to the train, I was greeted with bisous (kisses on the cheek) by So, the mother, and G, their 2 year old son. They had been in the midst of picking raspberries from their backyard for their goûter (afternoon snack). All in all, I ended up traveling for almost 17 hours!

My day wasn't over yet, though, because it was only just after 4 in the afternoon when I got to their home. I was determined to stay up until at least 8pm to try and ward off most jet-lag and kept busy until about then so that I was truly exhausted by the time I did sleep-- so we all hopped in the car to go to a nearby park. I see now why Gui and So told me I COULD walk to pick up the boys from daycare, but it'd be easier to drive... the Loire hills would be pretty intense to deal with 2 and 4 year olds. We all played on the jungle gym of the park for what seemed like a long time, but it was probably just my jet-lag kicking in. I picked up a few reminders of phrases that might be helpful for me when handling les garçons (the boys) on my own!


Afterwards, we went back to the house to kill some time before dinner, which yes, tends to be quite a bit later in France, though it's not as late if you have very young children. I brought out the gifts I had for les garçons and I was pleased with how interested in them they were! For G, I brought Goodnight Gorilla! and a miniature set of the Brown Bear, Brown Bear Eric Carle series. V received Goodnight Moon and a smaller set of Dr. Seuss Bright and Early board books. I also brought two additional books for the boys to share including, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and a very interactive version of The Wheels on the Bus, which ended up being the absolute favorite and we sang it all night!

 Of course, I brought something for les parents-- Fanny May mint meltaways. Gui tried them immediately and said something to the effect of, "Wow, we don't have anything like this here!" I was happy they enjoyed the American chocolate since they have so much amazing chocolate in France and surrounding countries, like Switzerland.

Not my photo, but pretty close to the one we went to!

When they were done with their gifts, we headed to Del Arte, which is apparently a very popular Italian restaurant chain throughout France. They had a very kid friendly menu as well as extensive options for the adults. Almost as soon as we got home, I crashed. Luckily, I hit my goal of staying up past 8pm I think I have kicked any remaining jet lag by sleeping in a bit too.


Day 2:
Sunday we went to La Fête du Roi de l'oiseau... a Renaissance Fair! Only, it was more than just a fair... the whole town of Puy-en-Velay was transformed for the festivities, which I believe have gone on all week.

 

Between the markets and swordfighting, it was pretty crowded, so we ventured to see an ancient cathedral that just so happened to require climbing a cobblestone hill and a lot, a lot, a lot, of stairs. While it was exhausting to climb, I was reminded of another reason I love living in Europe-- it forces you to be really active every second of day to day life.

View from the top!

Afterwards, we watched le défiler (the parade) for La Fête which included hundreds of people dressed as different medieval professions and classes, and some even brought animals (see below). Unfortunately, during the middle of the parade it began to rain. Hard. Then it stopped for a bit and picked up again, followed by hail. By this point, we had been walking back to the car and got trapped by the storm like hundreds of others and stood under 3 inches worth of awning to avoid getting completely drenched and pelted with ice. It didn't work really, so I could only stand there and laugh at how ridiculous it all was.

Obviously, after climbing the stairs and hills and getting pelted with ice, we were all exhausted and headed home for a quick dinner followed by an early bedtime for all.

Day 3:
Monday proved to be just as exciting and exhausting as the previous two. I was able to meet up with another girl in the my program, Christian, who is living in nearby Saint Etienne. She explained that she wanted to tour the old part of the city and  invited me to join. Little did either of us know the adventure we were going to have. Initially, we were both laughing at how small this part of the city was, and were able to find things quickly and easily... until La Grande Eglise (the big church).

Christian had been given a travel book to Saint Etienne which contained a somewhat confusing map. We ended up finding three different churches (one more afterwards) during our attempts to find La Grande Eglise and hiked to the top of Saint Etienne thinking we had found it, only to find we were wrong. It ended up that La Grande Eglise was pretty close to the centre ville (downtown) and we had searched everywhere but this one area for it. Exhausted, we sat down for a leisurely lunch and grabbed a crêpe afterward.

La "Grande" Eglise

We parted ways and I headed to the train to head back to Saint Chamond. I decided I didn't want to climb another (truly) massive hill after the hours of walking we had done, so I opted for the bus. I waited for the bus and it finally came... it wasn't until the end of the line that I realized I had gotten on the wrong direction. So there I was with this bus driver, kind as could be, asking me where I was trying to go. I was completely flustered and apologetic, and he explained the direction I should have taken, but told me I could stay on the bus until he made his way back around. I was able to relax a little bit after that and at various points he would turn around and point out something and help me become familiar with Saint Chamond.

As I write this, I am completely relieved to be "home" for the moment. It hasn't truly become home yet-- I still feel like I am somewhat in between a guest, a child, and a caretaker. The family has been absolutely wonderful and completely accommodating. They are currently finishing renovations over the next 15 days on my room, though I use the term room loosely because it's actually two floors, with a private bath. I feel a little guilty because I'll have more private space than anyone else in the family, but I am excited because it's going to be a beautiful retreat for me when it's all done!

Almost finished bathroom-- waiting to replace the window...

And the installation of a toilet...

...and a private entrance and window!

...and maybe some stairs to my second room!

I am glad I chose to be with a family instead of on my own in a studio, which realistically, I could do anywhere in the world. This way, I am constantly immersed in French, which is draining but also thrilling.  So far, it's been nothing short of amazing to be back in a country and culture I love!

Bisous a tous!

Things I have learned:

• KFC, Subway, and of course McDonalds, have all found their way to France. La famille likes McDonalds, but hasn't tried the others.

• Pizza servings are different in France. Here, they only offer personal pizza sizes-- none of that large or extra large here. I explained that in the states, we all order one pizza and share sliced pieces from it.

• Gui told me that he loved the chocolate I brought because it was unique in France. He said they have mint, and they have chocolate, but you never find it together.

• La grêle means hail-- I know this because we got caught in a downpour followed by hail while at the renaissance fair.

• I like duck. Never tried it before, but Sophie made it for lunch. Living with la famille is going to cure any picky eating I have very quickly.