Vivi's Reflections on France

Vivi looking *very* French.

This is Vivi typing.

I can't wait until we are going to the Alps! We're going to a park! We're staying at three different B&Bs. And then we're going back home!!! 11 more weeks until we're going back home!!!

I'm happy we came to France for lots of reasons:

1. I've enjoyed the work and recesses at school,
2. I like my teacher,
3. I love church,
4. I'm happy I have a lot of friends,
5. I've learned a lot of French.

1. I love when we listen to the sounds of a word and find certain sounds in the beginning, middle and end of them. I like the bikes we have at recess. Some are blue, some are yellow and some are red. The big blue one has a platform behind the seat for people to stand on and ride. The yellow one is only for one person, but it goes really fast. The red one is basically broken now, so...

2. My teacher is funny and sweet. If I have problems, she just says, "come to my desk."  some times I stay after with her to learn French.

3. Church has Sunday school where we color, play 2 games and she reads a little bit of the Bible.

4. My French friends are Lucie, Elsa, Charline, Elise, Hugo, Gaeton, and Romain.

Lucie - She's funny and I sit next to her in school. She is fast at running.
Elsa - We play together at recess.
Charline - She makes funny faces.
Elise - She's my partner in my dance class. She's my teacher's daughter and she's in Bohdan's class.
Hugo - He likes to act silly to make us laugh.
Gaeton - He's fast, but I like catching him at tag.
Romain - He is very kind. He's not as bad or crazy as the other boys.

5. I've learned a lot of French and I'm happy I can speak to my friends now. I'm happy I know how to do more stuff now at school. The French people say my accent is fluent and doesn't need any more practice.

We'll be back very soon. I miss you all!
-Vivi (Mom helped with some of the typing)

Vivi's special Birthday-Party Outfit she picked out at the market in Chinon.

Brief Update

I've got so much blogging to do I don't even know where to start! I have a list of over a dozen posts to write and a period of over two months to cover. Suffice it to say, I find myself boxed in by a major writer's block. I could use tons of excuses about how busy we've been, but what a lame excuse.

For now, I will try to at least provide an update with a list of highlights:

Thanksgiving was good and bad - Everything looked beautiful but I forgot to take pictures! It seemed the guests who didn't know each other got along well. I used salted butter in my apple crisp. The Indian pudding looked like playdough. The buttermilk pie sans buttermilk was delish. The addition of fine French wine made everything taste better. And I have enough left overs to make tons of yummy turkey dishes like Turkey A la King, Turkey Noodle Soup and Turkey Pot Pie.

The kids and I are counting down the days until Christmas break. Which is not to say school isn't going well. But it is to say I am significantly more sold on homeschooling than ever before. We miss each other! The kids say everything about school one would expect them to say - school is "fine," school is "boring," their teachers are "nice," and recess is their favorite.

David and I are attending a French luncheon once a week designed to help non-natives practice speaking with native-speakers. It is helping a lot and we both learn more each time we go. The kids' French is coming along beautifully. Bo's French tutoring was observed by Vivi's teacher (I have no idea why), and she said Bo is doing really, really well. He seems to understand way more than he gives himself credit for. Vivi's accent is impeccable and her vocab just keeps growing. I have no doubt they will be speaking as much, if not more than me by the time we get home.

We've toured tons of great spots which I've yet to blog about. Castles mostly, but also a zoo that was filled with baby animals. We even saw a one day old gorilla. Very cool. I really must get those photos edited so I can post about it all.

We're working hard at preparing for a Christmas service at church. I am in the choir and Vivi and I are in a sacred dance (which I am choreographing). We hope to be able to use this event to invite a lot of Bo & Vivi's classmates to come check out our church. Sunday school is going well, but I am really slacking when it comes to Bible study. It simply doesn't work to procrastinate in a foreign language. I don't recommend it.

Eight months to go. We are all homesick right now - probably because of the holiday season, no doubt. But we have all sorts of things to look forward to - a trip to Strasbourg, France right before Christmas, celebrating St. Vincent's Day in January, friends' and family visits in April. It promises to speed by faster than I can blog about - that's for certain!

Hoping to get back into the swing of things and get photos and stories posted in greater detail soon. Thanks for reading!

Back To School Night en Francais

This week the kids' schools held their versions of "Back to School" nights. Like any good parent, I of course enthusiastically attended.

Bohdan's came first at 6:30pm on Tuesday. David and the kids dropped me off so Bo could still make it to his soccer practice, much to the dismay of some of Bo's classmates who were stuck playing in the courtyard while their mom's attended the meeting inside.

I entered the computer room/library in the back of the building and found a seat. The room was buzzing with "bonjours," some of which were directed at me as I got settled. There were approximately 40 or so parents there, which makes sense considering the entire school is comprised of just about 45 students. I naively took out my notebook and pen ready to write down all the valuable information I would acquire during this time.

Then the meeting officially commenced. I discerned this because the loud buzzing of voices reduced to a low hum and la Directrice (the principal) began looking around the whole room while she spoke. It took a total of five minutes for me to conclude I was in WAY over my American head. Here's a copy of the notes I took:

• Ask for clarification regarding absences - policy and procedure
• Call Florence (canteen director) two days in advance if children are absent, or if they are home sick, call her before what time? (need to find out)
• Pack a small snack for Bo each day if he wants it.
• 9 Decembre - Fete Noel at the church in Cravant
• 23 Juin - Fete for the end of the year
• Ask for clarification regarding field trips and how much money they cost, who to pay, etc.
• EPS is on Lundi, Mardi, & Jeudi (find out what EPS is)
• Arts visuels - Vendredi - vieux tee-shirt (need to give Bo one)
• Musique - Vendredi matin
• Anglais - Vendredi
• Interlignes - curriculum for Language Arts
• GAP Maths - curriculum for Math

When the portion of the meeting for the whole school was over, the teachers and parents went to the respective classrooms for specifics on each class. La Directrice, also Bohdan's Maitresse (teacher), pulled me aside and asked if I understood everything from the previous meeting. "Pas de tout" was my reply. Not at all.
"Rein?" she asked, smiling.
"Rein!" I proclaimed "nothing," enthusiastically smiling right back.
"Les jours de Bohdan sont tout comme ca." She said - or something along those lines, basically telling me Bohdan's school days are all just like that was. "C'est difficile, non?" She smiled, eyebrows raised.
"Beh oui, c'est tres difficile. Je ne sais pas comment mes enfants faire ca!" Well, yeah, it is very difficult. I don't know how my children do it!
"Ah oui, mais ils apprennent tres vite." (Ah, yes, but they learn very quickly)
Yes, they sure do, I thought, I suppose they have no choice!

The classroom portion commenced with Maitresse informing everyone that their children have done a very good job welcoming Bo into their class. They have all reached out to him and played with him and attempted to talk to him. They help him when he doesn't understand. They are patient with him. I shook my head rapidly in agreement. It has been remarkable how wonderful Bohdan's peers have been.

At the conclusion, I stayed after because I needed extra help. Madame Pellet answered my questions and even complimented me on how much my own French has improved. After the clue-free experience I had just finished, I questioningly laughed out loud. "Non, c'est vrai, c'est vrai." she encouraged. I guess it is true, when I think about it. But I still headed home for a much needed and well-deserved verre de rouge.

Thank God I had a few days to recover before Vivi's open house.

Perhaps because I had been through it once already or maybe because my French really took off in those few days (probably NOT the case), I really understood a lot more at Vivi's school than I had at Bohdan's. It might have had to do with the fewer interruptions. At Bo's school it seemed everyone kept talking and butting in, which seemed really rude to me but not to anyone else. But people seemed more reserved on Friday night. Perhaps the week had taken its toll on everyone and no one paid attention?

My notes looked pretty similar to the first meeting - in fact the dates of the Christmas party and end of year party were exactly the same, so I sure hope it is some sort of combined effort. There was something said about medications - hopefully not something too important. Something else about notes if your child is going home with someone different and something else about bringing treats for the class on your child's birthday.

At the end of the meeting the parents stood around talking about how out of hand the canteen is in Cravant because there only two women to serve and monitor 45 children. I actually joined in the conversation, announcing that Bo had told me the kids throw food. Other mom's agreed their children had said the same. It was almost like I was one of the gang and actually participating in the conversation.

But the most encouraging moment from these two events was when one parent asked about the difficulty of the homework, explaining that their son had cried over one assignment because he was so frustrated and it was taking him so long. The teacher of course said it should not be that way and that the homework is meant for reviewing with parents only - so that the parents can be reinforcing what is being covered in class. But I was so relieved to hear of another child's struggle because it just proved that school is hard for everyone and an adjustment/transition period takes place for all. My kids are not that different and the challenges they face really are similar to the rest of their peers. Only the language differentiates them and, from what I hear, by Noel, they'll be fluent.
On peut esperer. One can hope.

On Our Walk

WHEN will I figure out I need to take my camera with me ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE I GO??!!!

Yesterday David and I went on a walk after I got back from dropping the kids off for school. (This is a definite plus to our schedule - David and I have a lot more "just us" time.) While on our walk we saw a snail with a shell as pretty as any seashell I've ever seen. And it was a fairly decent size, too - about as big as a good-sized strawberry. Of course it has me wondering if that's the source of Escargot. (Which incidentally, I found in the freezer section of the store, right next to cookie-dough sized TUBES of garlic butter!)

But the best moment was when a car pulled up along side us and asked for directions. Sadly, we didn't know the house they were trying to get to (at least we knew what they wanted). We somehow managed to maintain our composure though, despite the writing on the car. "Jesus de Joly." I have no idea what it means in French, but it sure looked an awful lot like "Jolly Jesus" to me. As the car drove away, David and I busted out laughing. Jolly Jesus, indeed! How fun would it be to drive around in a car that announces that, I wonder? It still makes me chuckle a day later.

On second thought, it is probably a good thing I didn't have my camera. How would I have explained to that man I simply had to take a picture of his car? That would have been a rather awkward moment. Perhaps worse than snapping photos in Leclerc even.

Language Mishaps - Part One

Humorous moments in French, brought to you by Dave & Erin. Please note these are entitled "Part One" because I fully expect this to be an ongoing series throughout the year. Tune in regularly for updates.

I.
David: What's "rien" mean again?
Erin: Nothing.
David: Nothing, as in I've made up another word that doesn't actually exist or nothing, as in,it literally means "nothing?"
Erin: (Unable to answer due to laughing uncontrollably.)

(Rien does actually mean "nothing" in French and I was able to eventually explain that to David.)

II.
David: What's "quelque chose?"
Erin: Something.
David: Could you be more specific?
Erin: (Unable to answer due to more laughter.)

(Again, "quelque chose" does actually mean "something" in French and I was able once again to set David straight on that.)

III.
We were discussing the process of making wine with a french couple. In the course of the conversation we discovered wines are not stored in oak casks here - they put the wine they import to England and the US in oak because I guess we prefer our wines a little oaky. To make sure I was understanding correctly I asked,

"Alors, le vin ici n'a pas la gout de chien, pas de tout?"

The couples eyes shot open wide and then they both busted out laughing, while the husband managed to retort between snorts,

"Non. Bien sur. Il n'y a pas la gout de chien dans le vin, pas de tout!"

That was when I realized I had asked if the wine had the flavor of dogs here in France. What I meant to say was chene (oak) but I said chien (dog). Oops. Luckily I wasn't at a degustation (wine tasting) - which by the way, is something I have YET to attend for pete's sake!

Spelling in French

As soon as I start to think I'm totally getting this French thing down, the phone rings. For anyone who doesn't believe that 80% of communication is non-verbal, try talking on the phone in a language you apparently barely know.

The most hilarious part is when someone asks me for my email address. I've had the same email address now since Bo was born (over 8 years) and I've always had trouble spelling it for people because to anyone else it doesn't make sense and therefore is difficult to comprehend. It is "rinboduffy" (the nicknames of me, my son, and my husband). But now I may finally be convinced to change it soon so as to make this year a whole lot easier.

Imagine you're me:

Person on Phone: "Avez-vous un mel?" Do you have email?

Me: "Ehhhh.... oui." Ummm....yes. (Oh great, here it comes.)

Person on Phone: "Votre address?" Your address?

Me: "Ehhhh...oh la la.... Airgrgrgh.... ehhhh.... Eeeee...Ehnnn, comme N-n-n Non... Bay, comme B-b-b Baguette...Oohh...Day, comme D-d-d-d-d (derierre? no. I can't say that!) comme D-d-d Deja vu... Eeewww... Ehhfff, Ehhfff comme...ehhh... comme.... egh, je ne sais pas."

Ummm...oh boy...R....ummmm....I....N, as in No...B, as in B-b-b Bread...O...D, as in D-d-d-d (butt? no I can't say that!) as in Deja vu...U... F-F, as in...ummm... as in.... ugh, I don't know."

And there you have it. I can't spell in French. My brain gets all worked up trying to come up with the "as in" examples that I get all flustered and start stuttering like machine gun. And sadly, the only thing I can think of when I get to the "F-F" part of my address is "French Fry." And I just don't think anyone in France will find the humor in that.

Dinner Conversation

I know I said I wasn't going to add to today's post - but I just had to tell this crazy story -
David and I went to dinner at a little restaurant in the middle of nowhere in Maine. We were seated in a corner, right next to a table of four. As we were receiving our menus and getting situated I realized the two couples next to us were all speaking.... FRENCH!!!

Quelle coincidence!

I spent the entire evening drumming up the nerve to interrupt them and ask them where they were from. On our way out I addressed them EN FRANCAIS and learned they were on vacation from Montreal. We had a lovely little chat and they were very, very encouraging - telling me my French was very good and that for sure our children will speak excellent French by this time next year.

It was so cool. Another moment gifted to me from above. God is so good to me.

It's All About the Accent

I'm so impressed with David. He has faithfully been studying up on his French far more consistently than anyone else in this house. He's had me stick labels throughout the house; "la table" on our dining room table, "le chaise" on his chair, "le bureau" stuck to our desk, "l'ordinateur" attached to the computer...

And barely a single conversation goes by without his attempt at recalling a french word or asking, "how do you say..." I should be encouraged by this. Not only because it shows how engaged he is with this adventure and how much he has embraced it, but because typically I know the answers to his French questions. Sadly though, I don't think very many French people are going to be asking me, "what's the word for 'window.'" (It's fenetre, by the way.)

But this week, David posed the question of questions. A true "Erin Moment" if I've ever seen one. See, I've been known to ask some pretty dumb questions in my time. (And don't tell me there is no such thing as a dumb question. Oh, yes there is.) David's favorite dumb question of mine is probably from when we went to a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field. We were fully into the game when I looked around and asked where they post the diagram of the baseball diamond so you could see which bases had players on them and which didn't. I was dead serious. David and his brother-in-law looked at me and then looked at each other, eyebrows raised. David, leaned his head toward mine, put his arm around me, pointed to the field and in his most sincere voice said, "see the big baseball diamond on the field? You can just look there to find out who's on base." Then he and Mike promptly injured themselves from their fit of hysterics. They literally cried from laughing so hard.

I don't think anyone will ever top that moment as far as sincerely asking the most ludicrous. But this week, David's question to me was a pretty good attempt. "What's the French word for 'baguette?'" He made this question all the more hilarious because his pronunciation of "baguette" was so decidedly French. I thought he was making one of his eye-roll jokes. So, in a much less sincere way than his Safeco Field moment, I put on the dumbest expression I could muster and went, "uuhhhh, geeeeee, I dunno...maybe 'baguette?'" When he began to laugh with a similar intensity as with my baseball inquiry, I realized he, too, had been dead serious.

And this from the man whom I've told repeatedly, "if you don't know the word in French, just try saying the English word with a French accent. Odds are you will probably be right."

French on Fire

Tom Hank's character in "Cast Away" can eat his heart out. I didn't make Fire. I made French. And that, let me tell you, is WAY HARDER. (Heck, my 7 year old son can make fire with a magnifying glass and some dried leaves in our driveway for pete's sake.)

This week I wrote THREE whole letters in French and sent them off to various people -one of whom (P&S) I know speaks English, but I have no idea if the other two do. Early on in this process (like week one or two), in my over-eager excitement I researched homeschooling and churches in France. Ever since then I've been sitting on two contact names for a homeschooling group and a local church waiting for things to be more certain before I attempted to contact them.

Well, yesterday I couldn't take the wait any longer, so I totally caved and wrote to them. And guess what?! Not only did they both write back - but their emails indicated that my letters actually MADE SENSE TO THEM!!!! WOOOO-HOOOOOO!!!!!

Truth be told, I only understood one of the replies and had to use Google Translator to get the gist of the other one. This cracks me up. Oh well.

Gosh, I sure hope I see MARKED improvement by this time next year!