Le Premier Weekend

My first weekend in France has been very busy! For starters, on Friday I went to Troyes with Françoise and two of her friends and her one friend's daughter, Manon, to go shopping.  It was a lot of fun to walk around Troyes and go into a lot of the little shops. The shopping in France is not like what it is in the States.  Unlike in the States where there are shopping malls and lots of big box stores in France there are little boutiques. We had a lot of fun just exploring Troyes and the weather was beautiful so that made it even nicer. One thing I did realize while I was on this little outing was how much I don't understand when they are speaking French. The French speak so quickly and they all talk at the same time and there are a lot of words I don't know which makes it more difficult. I really need to beef up my vocabulary! Hopefully I will get better at French but at the moment I feel as if I am never going to understand what they are saying. I feel very much like a little toddler than can only respond in short sentences and needs them to talk slowly and not use big words. I truly wish I was born in France and grew up here so that I could speak the language fluently. I am hoping that once I am back in classes my French will improve and once I pluck up the courage to speak more despite how horrible my French sounds that my speaking abilities will improve. We had lunch at a café and I had a croque monsieur with a limonade and my oh my was it delicious! For those of you that don't know what a croque monsieur is it is kinda like a grilled cheese with ham in it, it is so good! After lunch and trying to get somewhat of a grasp of what they were talking about we did some more shopping. I did not buy anything because I didn't have a lot of money on me and clothes tend to be expensive here. Around 5pm we left and dropped the friends off before heading home. Once we were home and rested for a little bit some neighbors came over for an apéritif. During which my Mom called to talk to me. It was really nice being able to talk to her for a little while and see how life is across the big blue ocean. We had dinner at 10pm after the neighbors had left and then went to bed.

Saturday I slept in but not too late because we had to leave at noon to go to an anniversary party. It was super hot on Saturday and I was wearing long pants because I thought I should dress up for this party but I could have gotten away with just wearing shorts. We left around noon to drop off Calline at Gilberte's and to meet up with some friends at their house before heading over to the party at 1pm. Françoise, Manu and I went to the party and there were a lot of people there! It was in the backyard and there were several tables put together to make one long table. There were apéritifs of course which were really good.  There was some kind of homemade punch with alcohol in it that I tried and it wasn't too bad but it was so hot that all I really wanted was water. I met a lot of people and couldn't remember most of the names because it was overwhelming but one thing that I always noticed was I was introduced as the American cousin.  People just stood around and talked and it was cool to see what parties are like in France.  There is a lot of talking, eating, and drinking. We then had lunch and there were so many delicious things to eat like some kind of rice salad and a vegetable salad and a ton of different meats.  There was also lots of bread of course.  Then after eating all that we had salad and cheese which was really good too! Then after that we had cake and it had raspberries on it and my goodness was it delicious! We also had champagne and there is some tradition that they have where they say certain things and then you touch the glass of champagne to your forehead, then your nose, then your chin, and your stomach (I think that is all of them) and then you drink some of it.  It was rather funny because I had no idea what I was doing so I pry looked like the rather ridiculous American.  Then they played some music and I danced a bit which was fun but there were motions that one has to do and I had no idea what I was doing! After dancing for a bit we had fresh fruit and that was really good too! We did a lot of eating and talking! I then tried talking to this one guy but when I start talking I get nervous that I am saying things wrong.  They also talk so fast and everyone is talking at once so it is even hard to hear and have to concentrate on what the person next to you is saying because someone across the way is trying to get your attention at the same time and tell you something. It is very overwhelming! I then just hung out a little while longer before Françoise took me home so I could spend the night at Gilberte's. We got back to their house and I packed a bag to stay the night and we headed over to Gilberte's. Calline was very excited to see us and was jumping all over the place.  I brought my laptop hoping that I would be able to skype with my Mom and Dad but for some reason my laptop would not connect up to Gilberte's internet.  I was super bummed about that but there was nothing I could do about it.  Françoise left to go back to the party and I had dinner with Gilberte which was really good and we talked about my family and her travels around the world.  It was somewhat difficult because I am not that good at speaking French and there were things that she would say that I wouldn't understand but over all it was a nice time.  We then went to bed at 10pm.  I am still adjusting to this time zone and way of life and it took me a while to fall asleep.  I hope I adjust quickly and get a good nights' rest soon. I forgot to close my door all the way and I one point I woke up in the middle of the night with the dog, Calline, sitting next my bed whining at me. It was rather funny.

Sunday I woke up and got ready and had some breakfast with Gilberte. I thought it was going to be hot today so I was wearing shorts but it was rather chilly so I changed into some jeans. Françosie then came and picked up me, Calline, and Gilberte and we went to her house.  I then joined Françoise and Manu to the town of Villeneuve l'Archêveque for the inauguration of the mayor.  We stopped at a café where some friends were sitting and talked for a while.  We then went into the cathedral at the end of mass and walked around.  It was a beautiful church.  We then finally went to the inauguration where we had to stand and I couldn't see it happening or really hear what was going on but oh well.  Afterwards there were drinks and things to snack on which were all very good!  Françoise and Manu talked to some friends and then we headed back to the house.  Fred, Françoise and Manu's younger son, came to lunch with his girlfriend, Anne Sophie. It was a very nice lunch and they talked about all different types of things while I tried to concentrate on what they were discussing. After lunch Fred and Anne Sophie left.  Gilberte stayed for a little while longer before Françoise drove her home.  But before Gilberte left I got a gift from her which is a really pretty bracelet.  I also got a 2012 calendar and a notepad from Manu and Françoise. It was very sweet of them to do so. Now we are just hanging out and I am hoping to skype with my parents back home later today! To say the least "C'était un weekend très chargé!"