Un grand remercier à tous pour mes "joyeux anniversaires." A big thank you to all for my "Happy Birthdays." I had a wonderful birthday weekend, dividing my time between the McDaniel's and Mimi's. Friday, I arrived at the McDaniel's a bit earlier than usual and got to settle in before the Shield's (another family from the school) came for dinner. We had a delightful evening of conversation and food, the children playing together with ease. The next day, Anna came over for lunch and we had fajitas and cake. I received some cards and Ferrero Rocher chocolates from the McDaniel's (all unexpected). Later that afternoon, Mimi m'a cherché et on a mangé et après on a fait du shopping. Mimi picked me up and we had a late lunch, while sitting and catching up. We then drove over to Belle Epine for some shopping :) It's the winter sales in France, so all of last season's collection (at least, what was left) was on sale. I bought a few things, Mimi bought a few things, I picked a few things out that became my birthday presents... There's something rather pleasant about walking up to a checkout line and having someone take them from you, saying "For your birthday." This happened a couple of times throughout the afternoon. I ended up with two pairs of pants, a sweater shirt, two rings, a set of earrings, a necklace, and GLOVES!!!! Mimi spotted a perfect pair of gloves in one of the stores, and as I've been having some trouble finding what I wanted, this made the evening especially delightful. Yes, they are a cobalt-y blue leather set, AND they have a knitted section attached to the base that can be used as an arm-warmer, or turned up over the hands for an extra layer of warmth (It stops at the base of the fingers and has a slit for the thumb). The stores began closing at 8, so we headed over to the restaurant section of the mall for dinner. Below is a picture of one pair of pants that I bought (sorry, no other pictures of my purchases/gifts).
Sunday I went to church with Mimi and after we ate lunch out in this pleasant little hole-in-the-wall, that ended up having a much nicer ambiance than expected and very delicious food. After returning to Mimi's we went for a walk, relaxed a bit, and then I went back to the McDaniel's for the evening/night.
The beginning of the week went as usual - arrived back at the office Monday afternoon, worked Tuesday and Wednesday and organized/packed my things for a week and a half (possibly more, not sure yet) at Tim's. His wife is away this week with her students (skiing!) so I'm helping with the kids. They have three children, the youngest is 2, but I'm not sure how old the oldest is - 8 or 9 perhaps? None of the children really speak English, so between my broken (and badly pronounced French) and the 2 youngest's children's occasional nearly nonsensical mumbling, we have had some discouraging lack in ability to communicate, as well as some ridiculous moments ;) It's not too distressing, but I will have them to myself for a day next week and that might get a bit interesting - getting them up and ready for school, collecting them from school, preparing dinner, and putting them to bed. The two oldest won't be too difficult (I hope), but the youngest is still in the stage where she wants her mom and/or dad all the time, so that one might get a bit interesting. For instance, today I collected the kids from school/daycare, starting with the youngest. She was fine while getting her sister, but once we got to the oldest's school, she decided she wanted papa and I would NOT do. I don't ever want to experience a child running away from me toward cars coming down a road ever again, even if it does mean restraining (as loosely as possible) a kicking, screaming child. Poor little girl. I don't remember being that age, but as I was a very shy child, I can imagine the duress she felt - and really, she's only had two afternoons/evenings to get to know me. So, here's hoping that next Thursday goes well :) One thing that may help is that the oldest (well the two oldest really) are pretty protective of the youngest, even with their friends, so hopefully they will be able to help me comfort her a bit, as they did today.
I overcame a fear today (it's not gone, but at least I didn't let it get worse) - I drove a stick-shift car for the first time in close to 6 months, having only been practicing on and off for about a month and a half before that. I keep thinking most people my age would be ecstatic to find out they would have a car to use, but I must admit my reaction was a bit more like dread. So, the fact that I went out in the car at all is a pretty grand feat for me today. I stalled several times, often with people around me :p but each time I restarted the car quickly. And, thankfully I had the presence of mind to practice on the near empty streets around the house before going on an actual road - didn't stall out there at all - Yay!!! It's far from a smooth ride, but it's getting there. And, I'm actually not that terrible when shifting gears. It's more the shift from being completely stopped to first gear (and starting on hills - shudder- I hate hills with a stick-shift).
I'll have a new experience to add to my CV/resume soon: Teaching english in an actual french classroom (not sure what age exactly, but fairly young children). The school that Clemence, Tim's wife, works at received permission for me to teach some classes, so lesson planning here-I-come! (Gahw - what am I getting myself into???) I just pray that I can help the kids with their English, even just a little bit, and not look too ridiculous, though looking ridiculous may help them remember the lessons better... Anywho, if anyone has any suggestions or tips, let me know. All I know at this point is that they have to learn to introduce themselves, colors and numbers. Probably other things, too, but not sure, presently.
And, just a random little anecdote before I close for the night. Last Monday, I was filling my hot water bottle with water when I my hand slipped and I poured boiling water all over my left hand (which is the hand I burned at graduation a couple of years back - hadn't gotten all the lime juice residue off my skin and we where out in the scorching sun). I'm grateful that I brought calendula gel with me - I spent the next hour or so covering the burn every 5 or 10 minutes, but eventually it wouldn't stop throbbing and I decided to sleep with my hand in a pot of cold water - best idea ever. You couldn't even tell I had a burn, unless you knew it was there, the next morning.
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| One of my new pairs of pants - Mimi has the same ones, so now we can match! |
The beginning of the week went as usual - arrived back at the office Monday afternoon, worked Tuesday and Wednesday and organized/packed my things for a week and a half (possibly more, not sure yet) at Tim's. His wife is away this week with her students (skiing!) so I'm helping with the kids. They have three children, the youngest is 2, but I'm not sure how old the oldest is - 8 or 9 perhaps? None of the children really speak English, so between my broken (and badly pronounced French) and the 2 youngest's children's occasional nearly nonsensical mumbling, we have had some discouraging lack in ability to communicate, as well as some ridiculous moments ;) It's not too distressing, but I will have them to myself for a day next week and that might get a bit interesting - getting them up and ready for school, collecting them from school, preparing dinner, and putting them to bed. The two oldest won't be too difficult (I hope), but the youngest is still in the stage where she wants her mom and/or dad all the time, so that one might get a bit interesting. For instance, today I collected the kids from school/daycare, starting with the youngest. She was fine while getting her sister, but once we got to the oldest's school, she decided she wanted papa and I would NOT do. I don't ever want to experience a child running away from me toward cars coming down a road ever again, even if it does mean restraining (as loosely as possible) a kicking, screaming child. Poor little girl. I don't remember being that age, but as I was a very shy child, I can imagine the duress she felt - and really, she's only had two afternoons/evenings to get to know me. So, here's hoping that next Thursday goes well :) One thing that may help is that the oldest (well the two oldest really) are pretty protective of the youngest, even with their friends, so hopefully they will be able to help me comfort her a bit, as they did today.
I overcame a fear today (it's not gone, but at least I didn't let it get worse) - I drove a stick-shift car for the first time in close to 6 months, having only been practicing on and off for about a month and a half before that. I keep thinking most people my age would be ecstatic to find out they would have a car to use, but I must admit my reaction was a bit more like dread. So, the fact that I went out in the car at all is a pretty grand feat for me today. I stalled several times, often with people around me :p but each time I restarted the car quickly. And, thankfully I had the presence of mind to practice on the near empty streets around the house before going on an actual road - didn't stall out there at all - Yay!!! It's far from a smooth ride, but it's getting there. And, I'm actually not that terrible when shifting gears. It's more the shift from being completely stopped to first gear (and starting on hills - shudder- I hate hills with a stick-shift).
I'll have a new experience to add to my CV/resume soon: Teaching english in an actual french classroom (not sure what age exactly, but fairly young children). The school that Clemence, Tim's wife, works at received permission for me to teach some classes, so lesson planning here-I-come! (Gahw - what am I getting myself into???) I just pray that I can help the kids with their English, even just a little bit, and not look too ridiculous, though looking ridiculous may help them remember the lessons better... Anywho, if anyone has any suggestions or tips, let me know. All I know at this point is that they have to learn to introduce themselves, colors and numbers. Probably other things, too, but not sure, presently.
And, just a random little anecdote before I close for the night. Last Monday, I was filling my hot water bottle with water when I my hand slipped and I poured boiling water all over my left hand (which is the hand I burned at graduation a couple of years back - hadn't gotten all the lime juice residue off my skin and we where out in the scorching sun). I'm grateful that I brought calendula gel with me - I spent the next hour or so covering the burn every 5 or 10 minutes, but eventually it wouldn't stop throbbing and I decided to sleep with my hand in a pot of cold water - best idea ever. You couldn't even tell I had a burn, unless you knew it was there, the next morning.
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