Ma Famille d'Acceuil (My Host Family)

It’s getting harder to write things. What can I say? Life is normal and we do just about the same thing every day. I thought you might be curious about what my family is like and how everyday life works. So here it is:

Eliott is 10 and Zoé is 8 with parents Alain and Caroline. Eliott is very smart; he loves school and he does well. He also has an aesthetic eye. His room is always clean and arranged just so with his legos posed in various scenes. It cracks me up when he stands in front of the mirror, checking out how he looks before he goes off to school. One time we had guest over, including a young girl about his age. On his way to meet her to play outside, he stopped in front of the mirror and asked “Does this vest look better zipped or unzipped?” Then he decided for himself it would be the unzipped option and ran off with confidence. He is known as the comedian in his group of friends and as much as he says he hates it (only because he doesn’t want to practice) he loves to play guitar and he is pretty good at it, too. Zoe is not like Eliott. Her room is a disaster and luckily for her, her parents do not require that it be kept clean. She is a star. If she I not the center of attention, she is not happy. She will talk to you about anything and everything. Bless her, she is terrible at joke telling but when she really laughs, it is the sound of pure innocence and you can’t help but laugh yourself. I believe that she is as smart as her brother but she just has no interest in those things and so school is a bit of a struggle. I spend much more time with her doing homework and re-explaining English than I do with Eliott. At times she has this air of maturity far beyond her 8 years. And usually this is pretty funny. Yesterday evening, she contemplated out loud her choice of dessert with this particular air: “I’d very much enjoy a Dannette Crusti (chocolate pudding with crispy balls)… but then again…*as she carefully changes her gaze in the direct of the refrigerator then the freezer*… perhaps I’d prefer an ice cream. Hmm, yes, it will be the ice cream I believe.”

Caroline is reserved and quiet. She works the solid 9-6 and doesn’t always get home in time for dinner. Often we talk over tea after dinner. She loves to exercise and does a lot of sports. She is a good teacher for both me and the kids. Alain is very intelligent and runs his own company among other jobs. This allows him to have a flexible schedule and is home much more than Caroline. He loves being outside in his garden and will be out there in the dead of winter. He is a good teacher like Caroline and has taught me how to cook the French way (or at least his way).

Our week is like this: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday I wake up to get the kids up and ready for school. Breakfast is an options for the kids as the philosophy in the house is to only eat when you are hungry. But teeth are brushed by 8:15 and we go to school. I take the train to Paris for my school (to learn French) 3 days a week and I have a free day on Friday. I use my free day to do laundry!! I get back from school a couple of hours before I get the kids, so I use my time to organize dinner or emails or whatever. Each day after school there are different activities: dance, tennis, guitar, piano, music theory, etc… I make dinner and after homework, activities, and showers we eat together. Wednesday is the day the kids don’t have school. They have no idea how good they have it. Every two days you get a break from school. SHEESH! For me, Wednesdays can be awesome or awful. Normally, they sleep in till 10 or so and then watch some TV and invite friends over or go to a friend’s house. Playing with friends takes the pressure off of me and I can do whatever. But if they both have friends or both have nothing to do—that’s when I have to get to work! By Friday we are all happy that it’s the weekend. Usually, I spend most of the weekend in Paris with my girls or Chalifert, a little city not far from my little city, with my boyfrench. Then I come back by Sunday in time for dinner to catch up on the weekend happenings and prepare for the coming week.

All-in-all life is good and I feel lucky to be in such a great situation. Have a good day!