Dear Kiana,
If there's anything more wonderful than the French language, it's French being spoken by a horde of curious two year olds.
I did a homestay in France, and it was absolutely amazing! American families, step aside: you have sadly been demoted (in the all-important rankings list I've got in my head) to spot #3. France: good work.
Because I know everyone aspires to create the perfect family as viewed by Nicole Williamson (because really, why wouldn't you), I will grace you with a very helpful guide based on my experiences.
How to Create The Perfect (French) Family:
1. Parents
I stayed with a couple that had two kids in St. Malo, France. We docked in Le Havre, France, and our Semester at Sea group left early the first morning towards St. Malo about 3 hours away. St. Malo is a historical beach town that is now particularly popular with tourists. After exploring the old city, we were introduced to our host families and spent the rest of the time with them.
I can't think of a better word to describe Nono, the mom, than jolly. Truth be told, there are very few instances where the word jolly really works. If your last name isn't Claus and you don't live in the North Pole, you probably don't qualify. But Nono is really and truly jolly.
The dad, Jerome, is a laid back painter/carpenter with a good sense of humor and robust laugh. They have a house a few minutes out of town overlooking a lush green field. They both made me feel so incredibly welcome during my two days there.
Takeaways: if you're going to be super cool parent, being jolly is the way to go.
2. Kids
Okay, in terms of cuteness, the kids are a pretty big deal. If you know me you know that kids aren't exactly my favorite thing in the world. So for a kid to win the Nicole Stamp of Approval © is a pretty big deal. Lena, perfect child #1, is 12 and totally sweet. Things that make Lena awesome: she makes amazing crepes (+1000 cool points), she got out cups and we did a super sweet rendition of the cup song (+2000 cool points), and she loves Beyonce (infinity points, I would adopt this child). Her brother Matteo is 8 and is a total trickster. He has this toothy mischievous smile, and scared me from behind doors and alcoves numerous times that night much to the amusement of the whole family. Because he is adorable about it, he is still perfect child #2 in my book.
Takeaways: I offer my eternal love to any child that likes Beyonce.
3. French
No one really spoke English, which was so fun! I was in the home with another SAS student who spoke limited French, but she was really nice about it so everything flowed smoothly. I sometimes left her hanging to talk about things like unemployment (flashback to French III/Controverses) and culture but I think she understood a fair amount.
One of my favorite topics of conversation was the word squirrel. For those who don't know, the word squirrel in English and the word écureuil in French is the hardest word for us to say in each other's language. When I first tried to say écureuil, the dad straight out laughed at me because he thought I was just kidding around and not actually trying to say the word. It was okay though, when he tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to pronounce squirrel. He went from sqee-rel to skurl and everything in between.
Takeaways: speak a cool foreign language, preferably French.
4. Food
The last step to becoming the perfect family is serving up some delicious local food. For dinner, we had galettes, which are similar to crepes, with egg, ham, cheese, stewed tomatoes and onions, and creme fraiche. Then we had actually crepes with nutella and cream. Then Jerome (who once studied as a pastry chef) taught us how to make meringues, which we ate with a berry compote and whipped cream. It was all so French and delicious! Finally the next morning we had more crepes thanks to Lena, and delicious fresh bread and jam. To answer the question I'm sure you're thinking: no, they didn't have to wheel me out in a wheelbarrow. I walked (waddled) out just fine on my own.
What about the French two year olds, observant readers might ask. Well okay. The mom Nono runs a small at home day care/nursery during the day, and while we had breakfast all the parents came to drop their kids off. It was a houseful of confused two year olds who'd never seen an American before. Those were probably some of the most entertaining conversations I've ever had.
Kiana, thank you for indulging my strange requests as I cope without internet, and for always responding to my emails, and also for being awesome in general. Looking forward to seeing you in December! PS bought more "quality" literature in french!
Je t'aime et tu me manques,
Nicole
If there's anything more wonderful than the French language, it's French being spoken by a horde of curious two year olds.
I did a homestay in France, and it was absolutely amazing! American families, step aside: you have sadly been demoted (in the all-important rankings list I've got in my head) to spot #3. France: good work.
Because I know everyone aspires to create the perfect family as viewed by Nicole Williamson (because really, why wouldn't you), I will grace you with a very helpful guide based on my experiences.
How to Create The Perfect (French) Family:
1. Parents
I stayed with a couple that had two kids in St. Malo, France. We docked in Le Havre, France, and our Semester at Sea group left early the first morning towards St. Malo about 3 hours away. St. Malo is a historical beach town that is now particularly popular with tourists. After exploring the old city, we were introduced to our host families and spent the rest of the time with them.
I can't think of a better word to describe Nono, the mom, than jolly. Truth be told, there are very few instances where the word jolly really works. If your last name isn't Claus and you don't live in the North Pole, you probably don't qualify. But Nono is really and truly jolly.
The dad, Jerome, is a laid back painter/carpenter with a good sense of humor and robust laugh. They have a house a few minutes out of town overlooking a lush green field. They both made me feel so incredibly welcome during my two days there.
Takeaways: if you're going to be super cool parent, being jolly is the way to go.
2. Kids
Okay, in terms of cuteness, the kids are a pretty big deal. If you know me you know that kids aren't exactly my favorite thing in the world. So for a kid to win the Nicole Stamp of Approval © is a pretty big deal. Lena, perfect child #1, is 12 and totally sweet. Things that make Lena awesome: she makes amazing crepes (+1000 cool points), she got out cups and we did a super sweet rendition of the cup song (+2000 cool points), and she loves Beyonce (infinity points, I would adopt this child). Her brother Matteo is 8 and is a total trickster. He has this toothy mischievous smile, and scared me from behind doors and alcoves numerous times that night much to the amusement of the whole family. Because he is adorable about it, he is still perfect child #2 in my book.
Takeaways: I offer my eternal love to any child that likes Beyonce.
3. French
No one really spoke English, which was so fun! I was in the home with another SAS student who spoke limited French, but she was really nice about it so everything flowed smoothly. I sometimes left her hanging to talk about things like unemployment (flashback to French III/Controverses) and culture but I think she understood a fair amount.
One of my favorite topics of conversation was the word squirrel. For those who don't know, the word squirrel in English and the word écureuil in French is the hardest word for us to say in each other's language. When I first tried to say écureuil, the dad straight out laughed at me because he thought I was just kidding around and not actually trying to say the word. It was okay though, when he tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to pronounce squirrel. He went from sqee-rel to skurl and everything in between.
Takeaways: speak a cool foreign language, preferably French.
4. Food
The last step to becoming the perfect family is serving up some delicious local food. For dinner, we had galettes, which are similar to crepes, with egg, ham, cheese, stewed tomatoes and onions, and creme fraiche. Then we had actually crepes with nutella and cream. Then Jerome (who once studied as a pastry chef) taught us how to make meringues, which we ate with a berry compote and whipped cream. It was all so French and delicious! Finally the next morning we had more crepes thanks to Lena, and delicious fresh bread and jam. To answer the question I'm sure you're thinking: no, they didn't have to wheel me out in a wheelbarrow. I walked (waddled) out just fine on my own.
What about the French two year olds, observant readers might ask. Well okay. The mom Nono runs a small at home day care/nursery during the day, and while we had breakfast all the parents came to drop their kids off. It was a houseful of confused two year olds who'd never seen an American before. Those were probably some of the most entertaining conversations I've ever had.
Kiana, thank you for indulging my strange requests as I cope without internet, and for always responding to my emails, and also for being awesome in general. Looking forward to seeing you in December! PS bought more "quality" literature in french!
Je t'aime et tu me manques,
Nicole
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