Dinner

A bit of complaining first...

Although I am invited to dinner with Laurence's (my host mother) friends, I really need to start being rude and not go. They spend hours talking and I can only understand 30% of the conversation, 50% at best. I am flattered that they thought enough to invite me, but once I'm there it's as if I stop existing. Dinners tend to take several hours and after dessert, more time is spent gossiping and discussing silly things. At some point during the evening, I have to fight the urge to say "screw politeness" and storm out of the house. By the end of last night, I had fallen asleep on my purse. It was well past midnight when everyone decided to say their farewells. La bise was at hand. After several sets of kissing (3 couples, 6 kids - you do the math) I had forgotten which people I had properly said goodbye to. I figured that if a person didn't lunge at my face, it was safe to say I had either given them la bise already or they just didn't care all that much, either of which was fine with me.

Many are entertained by the American accent and French people trying to speak like Americans. I can't count how many times during last night's dinner my host mother tried to correctly say an english word so that I could understand it through her heavy french accent. A big deal is made when a French person says something in English. If one didn't know a lick of French and was listening in on a conversation where someone spoke a word or two of English, you'd think someone just invented teleportation. When saying goodbye, multiple adults said "goodbye" or "see you later", to much applause from the other French people.

Another thing I've noticed in France, is that people comment on the way I eat. It's not really how I eat, but as in what and how much. At almost every meal, someone has noticed that I take small portions and at least twice I have been asked "Are you trying to lose weight?" - I find it ironic that they're commenting on how little an American eats.

I figure I probably should keep track of new foods I've tried while in France....
1. paté (at least 5 kinds)
2. caviar
3. goose
4. mussels
5. daurade
6. crab
7. gazpacho
8. countless wines
9. countless cheeses

There are others... I'll be adding more, I'm sure.

Although overall this hasn't been a pleasant experience yet, France has had it's moments. I'm hoping things get better and if they don't, I can always leave at the semester right?


On the photo: I was walking down a winding street in the centre ville one afternoon and saw this accordion player. I couldn't resist taking the photo, it was so French and the color contrast in the door and his bag really stood out to me.