Host Family Life

At last the enchantment with a foreign place begins. The first night was nothing to report, but waking up well rested and seemingly with no jet lag, I took a “petite tour” of the house. Three stories, a patio balcony, a garden and charming gate and pathway later, I think I might want to live here forever (Mom, you can relax. It’s not quite home. But close). I live in my own room/living room and I have the bathroom to myself. Vianney (the youngest of four sons) lives across the hall in a gigantic room that leads up to a small attic. There is a salon, beautiful kitchen, small TV room, a laundry room (which I am not allowed to touch), and a small office. I was quite surprised to learn the toilet is in a different room than the sink and the shower. The first time I used the bathroom, I was very confused. To be honest, I didn’t really know how to flush the toilet…

The back yard of the house has a small gate that opens up into another, larger garden that connects all the neighboring houses. Although each yard is closed off with large trees or privacy fences, it seems that beyond the blatant need for privacy, there’s an underlying need for connection and intimacy. Walking out the gate and through the grass five houses down, I can walk into the kitchen of another IES student and her family: Alyson.

Nathalie is my gracious host mom. “Ma mère d’accueil.” She understands very clearly my speaking level and thankfully speaks a little bit slower for me. Vianney and her husband Emmanuel don’t pay that much attention to my need for slow speech. That or they just get tired of hearing me struggle. I think I absorb about sixty percent of the conversations at dinner, but I learn a new word each night. For example, the word for zucchini is “courgette.”

Even though Nathalie has had sixteen IES students before, I still seem to fascinate her with my habits. She finds it a bit amusing that I want cereal for breakfast. Apparently only children eat cereal. I’m fine with this considering the cereal is chocolate. She was also VERY amused that I put my bread on my plate while eating. It’s more acceptable to place it right on the table. It doesn’t get in the way there. She is constantly surprised that I rarely want wine with my dinner and laughs when I drink five glasses of water each meal (their glasses are TINY).

But she has been most accommodating and I feel right at home. I’m still trying to get used to her doing my laundry every day, though. That’s new for me! Nathalie doesn’t work, but she does a little bit of volunteer work, golfs a lot, and does some upholstery work for the neighbors. The neighborhood here is like a small village. I’m slowly beginning to meet and know everybody around here while at the same time getting used to kissing people on the cheek that I don’t know! I think I will be very sad to leave when the time comes. Everyone here acts as if we have been friends for years.


I'll try to put some pictures up later...