Lionel-isms

As you know, I've been interacting with Lionel a ton. He is always telling me stories about the French Revolution, WWII, airplanes, the Pyrenees, etc. He seems to know at least a little bit about every topic imaginable. He can talk to you for hours about the weather, flowers, plants, herbs, animals and their physical characteristics, and the french language (he is always going off on how two words sound so similar but mean completely different things). He is a very intelligent man and jumps on the opportunity to learn new things. But, fortunately for you and I, I am beginning to see a rather comedic side to him too. I can't remember when each of these happened so I'll just put them all together here.

For your comic relief:

One evening I was sitting on the couch next to Lionel. We were each on our laptops when all of a sudden he asks, "As-tu un boyfriend?" (Do you have a boyfriend?) I thought this was an absolutely hilarious question because I couldn't (and still can't) fathom why he would care about something like that. But it got even better when he responded to my "no" with "I have to introduce you to some French boys!" *How do you feel about that one, dad?*

Last night we were each on the computer again when Lionel turned his to me so I could see the website he was on. It was the homepage for Fragonard Perfumery in Grasse. He said, "when you're on your honeymoon, you make your husband take you to Grasse and you go to every perfumery including this one."

After our hike in the Pyrenees, Lionel and Christine were looking through the pictures I took when Lionel turned to her and said, "I'm so cute for pictures aren't I?"

Last night at dinner, Guilhem was talking about China and Chinese people (I think because his homework had something to do with that region) when Lionel pulled the corners of his eyes back and started talking like a Chinese person. Not funny enough for you? Try to imagine that high-pitched, nasal voice people do when imitating the chinese language but put it on top of a middle-aged man speaking French.

The last one- for now- I was on one of my favorite clothing websites (ModCloth) when Lionel walked by and pointed at a dress, "C'est mignon!" (That's cute!)

Week Three

I think I'm going to start reporting to you whenever I have the time. So far, I've been trying to sit down every evening and talk about the day but quite often (like now, 5:45p) I have more time during the day. So at least for the weekdays, I'll just sum up everything that's happened since the last post. Don't worry, weekends will still get their full air time. :)

Monday: I slept in today, thankfully, to recover from the long weekend. As glorious as it was, I could hardly feel my legs going to bed on Sunday. So I got up today around 10:30a and took my time cleaning up around my room and taking a shower. After breakfast (the typical delicious homemade bread, raspberry jam, nutella, and tea) I did some of my first homework- reading for Business in the EU. Lionel and Guilhem came home for lunch and then we all sat down to a very hearty, traditional french meal of beef and vegetable stew. There was a bowl of boiled potatoes (in big, thick halves) that were so soft they melted in my mouth. The stew itself was very chunky: the onions were only cut into halves, the carrots into thick rounds, and the meat into large cubes. To serve this lovely meal, Christine scooped some potatoes onto each plate then drained the broth out of a couple of spoonfuls of stew and poured it on top. Lionel got out that delicious, chunky mustard again and I ate that with the meat. It was a very tasty, earthy kind of meal but it wasn't my favorite; mostly because the meat had a lot of fat on it and meat is the one thing I can't help being picky about.

After lunch we had cheese, bread, and fruit (I had an apple and felt very self-conscious when I was the only one at the table who ate the peel). After that, what do you think? Coffee and chocolates of course! :)

Christine, Lionel and Guilhem all headed out after that, so I was alone in the house and used that time to finish my reading. After that, I got ready and walked to my one class for the day (Business in the EU at 3:15p). I came right home after class and everyone was still out, so it was almost like I never left. I spent a good couple of hours working on my blog and doing homework for my french classes. Then Lionel and Christine came home and pretty soon it was time for dinner: broccoli soup with the rest of our beef stew puréed with it; and crêpes with ham, melted white cheese, and one easy-over egg inside. Yum! For dessert, some more cheese and bread and then my favorite: fromage blanc and raspberry jam. Christine also got out a Nutella flavored chocolate pudding so I ate that too. :) What a lovely day

Tuesday: Today was my early day for the week- class at 8a. That sounds pretty normal for school, except that I have to get up in time to walk at least a half an hour in the dark and cold. Plus, the french believe in leisure which means they believe in doing things at practical times at a reasonable pace. Therefore, when I told Christine that my class started at 8a she said, "c'est très cruel!" (That's so cruel!). My thoughts exactly...

I haven't commented on my school lunches much lately but they've been pretty good so far. One day I had a baked white fish with tomato sauce and pasta, and I've ordered quite a few baguette sandwiches (always for 3 euro or less). But today's was so good I have to tell you about it, because it was the first time I bought pizza! It was a marguerite pizza but of course it had a french cheese on it and one large tomato slice in the center, topped with one large slice of cheese. It was super melty and delicious. Just thought you'd like to know about that.

My classes went very well today: I answered a lot of the teacher's questions and felt a little show-off-y when I was the only one who completed an exercise we were supposed to do for homework. Everyone else had tried it and couldn't finish it because it was really hard. But somehow I figured it out and Mme. Levieil was impressed. :) I'm beginning to understand my professors well enough that I don't have to strain to pick up each word. And today was the first day I offered up complete sentences without thinking about them for minutes beforehand. Feeling real good about all of this!

I came home right after class again to organize my room, change my sheets, and whatnot. I worked for a couple of hours on my blog and on my biggest homework assignment yet: a presentation I have to give in front of my class IN FRENCH tomorrow afternoon. Not too excited about it...

For dinner tonight, we finished off the broccoli and veggie soup and then we had.... wait for it... another Quiche Lorraine! If you didn't read my post about the first quiche lorraine we had, don't worry, I'd love to talk about it again. It is a completely simple meal to make: Christine starts with a quiche crust, sprinkles a shredded white cheese around the bottom, scatters chunks of delicious bacon on top, pours a whipped egg and water mixture over the whole thing, and then bakes it for about half an hour. This comes out like a little slice of soft, warm, melt-in-your-mouth Heaven! I helped myself to thirds, which might possibly be rude in the french culture but I just couldn't help it. For dessert we had ice cream. There were three choices: strawberry, vanilla, or coffee. I went with the strawberry, which was like a sorbet with chunks of real strawberries inside.

Another fantastically tranquil day!