Wednesday 9/29: My first visit to the plage!

Since there’s no school on Wednesdays, I was able to sleep in this morning! It’s been difficult for me to fall asleep at night, so I haven’t slept many hours in the last few days. That’s why it was lovely to wake up at 10am and have a leisurely morning.

As soon as I was up, Margot came in to hang out. She brought some German candy (pretty much the same as a KitKat bar) to share and she wanted to play more speed. Noticing the few pictures I had put up in my room (of my family&friends…and my drawings of giraffes), she asked me a bunch of questions about who was who. And, of course, if I liked giraffes (um, how did she guess??).

After breakfast (at which I ate some peanut butter!…thanks to Ralf), Margot and I walked down to the post office so I could buy some stamps for the post office. A lady tried to help me avoid standing in the line by showing me a machine where you can weigh the item you want to mail and say where you want to send it, and it will sell you a stamp for the correct amount. Unfortunately, it was essential to have coins, not paper money. So, I had to put a 20€ bill (that was the smallest I had) into a change machine and receive a huge pile of coins. And, since the lady was still helping me, she only told themachine to give me two stamps (for the letters I had there), so I didn’t end up getting any for future letters. Oh well! On the bright side, if anyone attacks me I can knock them out with my purse full of coins!

Upon returning home, Margot and I had a little picture taking competition…she had her iPod and I had my camera. We were both trying to take each other’s picture without having our own taken. Rather amusing pictures came from that session… Then we spent some time in my room working on putting together the puzzle (with a secret message written on the back, thanks to Maria) and playing speed.

After a small lunch, Catherine’s sister, Chantal, picked us up so we could all go to the plage (beach). Her daughter, Claire, is sevenand will (I think) be another one of my students. She’s adorable. It was only a short drive away (8 miles) to the coast, where we happily parked on an empty bit of sidewalk (ah, parking is much more fun in France!) and walked 2 minutes to the beach.

Unlike the Oregon coast, the beach here is sunny and hot, covered in people (most with their tops on), and the water is a lovely temperature. One doesn’t have to be numb to stay in for more than a few minutes.

As soon as we’d chosen a spot to lay out our towels, we all headed for the water. So wonderful!! The waves weren’t too big, but they were big enough to ride on the boogie boards we’d brought. Margot and I rode waves for a good hour and a half before I headed back to my towel to relax for a while. Of course—also unlike the Oregon coast—I didn’t sit there shivering for the rest of the time, but got too warm and headed back into the water.

When we got home (around 4:30pm), we had tea and a Madeline (a delicious mini cake) out in the side yard. We’ve done this every day and I think it’s lovely to sit in the shade and talk about what we’ve done during the day, or just relax and sip tea. Margot headed off to her first handball lesson (or practice…I’m not sure exactly) and I went to work with Catherine so I could use the computer. The internet hasn’t been working at the house, so I wanted to check my email. After she had finished what she needed to do at work, we headed to the store to pick up some vegetables for dinner.

Before preparing dinner, Catherine, Ralf, and I sat down for an apératif (a drink and some snacks: roasted peanuts and some chips). It’s wonderful how much time here we spend sitting together talking. I don’t know if it’s normal, or just because I’m here…but I hope it lasts! Then I helped Catherine make an omelet with onions, sweet peppers, and goat cheese, a salad with tomatoes, and we also ate fresh bread. Another delicious dinner chez les Bergfelds! We ate dinner inside tonight so we could listen to the news on TV. I didn’t catch too much, but some of it I understood!

This evening I watched some TV with Catherine (a show that follows interns in hospitals and documents what they have to do and how they learn what they need to learn to become doctors), but I’m tired from the sun and all the swimming, so I’m going to head to bed early.

Word of the day: “Boire un verre” (literally: Drink a glass) = to swallow a bunch of salt water