Bonding

Firstly, I need to begin with a story that should have gone in my first blog had I not forgotten. The first day that I arrived, my host mother gave me the classic tour of the house....the living room, the dining room, the garage where they keep the bunny.....that's right, my french family has a little white pet rabbit named "carrotte." "Just make sure you close the door tight", my host mother warned, "or he'll escape and we'll never be able to catch him." Easy enough. So later that day I was packing for my orientation trip and looking around the house for some clothes that my host mother had washed for me...Not in the laudry room, not in the garage..ah hah, in the guest bedroom. So I wandered back upstairs to do my packing. About an hour later, I heard some movement on the first floor. Thinking it was my host mom getting home from work, I went down to greet her. As soon as I reached the bottom of the stairs, a white blur zoomed past me...and I followed the noise into the dining room. There, protected by the web of dining room chairs surrounding it, was Carotte, snuggled right below the dining table, with the ability to run in any direction if threatened. Great, My first day here, my host mom will be home any minute and I let the bunny loose!! I got down on my hands and knees and called to it, moved closer and closer and....it sped off to hide under the coffee table...attempt #2....it sped off to hide under another bureau. I got down on my hands and knees muttering to myself and to the rabbit, that this was the most ridiculous situation, and only I would get into this kind of trouble. I could see it hiding in the corner, nibbling on the dust and dirt it found there. "Ahh! No! Carrotte, seriously, if you get sick because of me!! Don't Eat the Dust Bunnies!!....hmm..that's kinda ironic." For about a 20 minutes, I chased this rabbit back and forth, getting ever so close, just for it to slip through my fingers. So long story short...I finally got the brillant idea (about 10 mins before my host mom got home) to put some food in my hands so that it would come to me. I made a little trail leading up to my hands, and Carrotte fell for it. I snatched it up as it flailed about and deposited it back in the garage where it belonged. That's right. Joye-1 Carrotte-0.

However, aside from getting to know the family rabbit and its coniving ways, I have also gotten to know my family a bit better. Dinners are always very relaxing with good conversation, like What you would do if you won "Le Lotto", etc. And I've also had some fun moments with Claire, my host sister, as well. The other night I walked into the her room while she was practicing a song called "Humpty Dumpty" on the guitar. When she said she hadn't hear of it before, I tried to explain to her the classic story. Well, I said, (all in french of course) First there was Humpty Dumpty who is a sort of egg man and he's sitting on wall....then he falls off. Why? I have no clue. Then the King comes with his entire pack of horses and men and tries to put him back together...I don't know why I never thought about it before, but Wow!!! we have completely ridiculous nursury rhymes! So after that we moved into tongue twisters and she taught me a couple that correspond with "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck..." She really is so energetic and I'm so glad that I was placed in a family with siblings:)

Finally, after a long week of orientation classes, I left this weekend to visit Marion, a french student that has visited 3 summers in a row, and her family. They were SO welcoming and it was fun to try out my French on Marion, who had always spoken English during her stays with us. It was also neat to experience another real french family, since sometimes its difficult to tell what is a French tradition or simply a family tradition. I got to taste a lot of homecooked cuisine like quiche, galletes, camanbear cheese, celery soupe...and even fresh Oysters from the sea! A little too salty and slimy for regular consumption, but it was fun to try! On Saturday, Marion's mother took me into Rennes, the capital of Brittany, and showed me around the markets, the old neighborhoods, and the designer shops. A lot of the homes there date back hundreds of years, and the atmosphere was very neat. Marion and I finished out the day with a meal at MacDo and the french version of Atonement (a bit hard to understand all of the words, but I was proud of myself!). Sunday was a day to relax. After cheering on Marion's father in a local race, I spent the early afternoon making a few phone calls, reading, and touring a bit more before heading back to Nantes.

In conclusion, I hope everyone's classes/lives [ :) ] are going well! I am having lots of fun but I do miss you all! Secondly, I would just like to wish a Happy 2 year Anniversary to my boyfriend Jim! I love you so much! Thirdly, Goodnight!