Today, the children told me off for using a knife to spread
my jam instead of a spoon (?), told me off for using “vous” instead of “tu”.
They have taken to grabbing me at every available moment. It’s nice; I’m
practising French that much more, I’m so aware that I wouldn’t be without them,
because it is so easy to talk to Olivier. But it’s tiring, and I’ve never had
that much stamina when it comes to menace children.
I met Estelle’s father and her brother, Raphael. Estelle’s
brother was playing MC Solaar today and I pounced because it is one of the only
French bands I know, so I managed a stilted conversation about it. Success!
On the downside, my English is going down the drain- I keep
trying so hard to think in French and then when I settle down to write this or
do my assignment, English doesn’t come quite as fast as usual. I suppose this
has to be a good thing. But I’m scared about teaching, that I’ll become bad in
two languages and be completely useless.
And I miss home. Was playing cards with the girls- both of
whom were cheating (les tricheurs) and I didn’t have the French to mediate the
fight. That’s what gets me the most- Estelle asked me something and even when
she repeated it, I had no idea. So I apologised and told her how I hated not
knowing words, not understanding. And for the first time, she smiled at me. She
said that she knows what I mean, her English is worse than my French by far (I
don’t think it’s true but she is more embarrassed because Olivier is so good).
Homesick in French is literally missing the country. And it makes so much sense
in this situation.
Olivier showed me around the house a bit more, there is an
outside building that they are in the middle of renovating and they want to do
most of it next summer. They are slowly building all the walls up again by
hand. It’s gorgeous. Next summer will be the carpentry. It’s a beautiful property
and perfect for them, it’s so far away that the children can run around and
Olivier and Estelle don’t have to worry.
Olivier’s sister Marie-Laurence came around, with her two
children, Victoire and Lucie. We had a huge Sunday lunch (have I mentioned how
good the food is? It’s AMAZING). We ate outside, next to the first wall that
Estelle and Olivier fixed in the house. It’s a bit bumpier than the others, but
they love it. I was fairly quiet at lunch, just watching the craziness. M-L’s
children are very calm compared to Olivier’s. Lucie is gorgeous- doesn’t speak
a lot, but is so so polite. Then we all lay in the sun drinking coffee and
sleeping and reading and talking (well, they talked) while the children played
on their bikes. Estelle and M-L talked about turning the outdoor house into a
guesthouse, a pool house (they do not have a pool, M-L wants them to build one)
or an apartment that they will rent out. Raphael and Gabriel slept on pillows
in the yard. It was all fairly picturesque.
Later, we gathered our things and went to the medieval fête
on the other side of St Pierre Racan, their village. There was so much going on.
So many children and friends of the family, I wandered by myself some; there
was this amazing stall with a guy who was making egg cups with an old fashioned
machine- there was one made out of banksia wood and I have honestly never
thought banksia was pretty before. Of course, I didn’t take my camera. We
stayed there for a long time, looking at the stalls and watching the
performances. Tiny children dressed as knights and fighting a straw man was a
definite highlight.
More eating, more sleeping. Early start tomorrow.
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