a huge french family and delicious crêpes

Yesterday was a pretty hectic day in the apartment of my host family. One of their sons was getting married and as a result all of their other sons, their wives and their children were here. For a little bit in the morning I was afraid to leave the room. It felt weird being somewhere that was clearly the heart of the wedding, particularly when I didn't know anyone. When I finally emerged people said hello to me and were nice, but it still felt strange, as if I was intruding on something very private.

First letters to be sent to the USA.

Upon getting to the kitchen Madame said hello to me in English and then I said "Bonjour" back to her. She seemed pleased that I preferred to greet her in French and then noted that since arriving my French has improved a bit and that she'll have to start using more complicated words with me! It was a nice moment. I'm not sure if my French itself has improved or if I'm less nervous about speaking to actual French people and that because of it I'm able to form sentences much more rapidly and also able to correct myself. Who knows, either way, it was nice to hear.

When I left the apartment the family was taking pictures. A fellow UNH friend noted that I should have taken pictures as the family was dressed to the nines (coat-tails and fancy hats) but I didn't because it would have felt strange. I've only known my host parents for two weeks and I've only seen their children briefly. It was also their moment. Regardless, I took no pictures.

Dijon itself was quite warm out yesterday and it was nice to stroll without having to worry about the wind or the cold. I love walking through the old streets because of how they wind but also because I love the almost medieval architecture. The whole feel of Dijon is so different from the states that just walking in is an experience in itself. In walking around Amy and I discovered a crêperie that we decided we would definitely have to come back to. After browsing in a fnac (sort of like a Best Buy and Barnes and Noble mashed together) later that day with Sean (the only man amongst all of the UNH girls) and looking at cookbooks that made us quite hungry, we decided that we would simply have to eat that crêperie tonight. 

We arrived before it opened and so we waited a bit, but this turned out to be quite good because by the time we got our drinks all of the other tables were reserved. There are two kinds of crêpes: sweet and savory. The sweet are probably best known, but the savory (called galettes which should not be confused with the cake of the same name) are just as delicious. I ordered a fromagere which was filled with potatoes, Camembert, goat cheese and cream. It was delicious, as was expected, and we all decided that we'd be going back to the restaurant multiple times because there were quite a few items on the menu that looked delicious to drink.

As for today, seeing as how it is Sunday, I stayed inside. I bought stuff to make a sandwich but because of the wedding there was plenty of food to eat and I ended up dining with my host family (and their children). I tried to follow along with what they were saying but they all talked so rapidly and with slight abbreviations that it was just about impossible to understand. To make it even more difficult several of them would talk at once (often to each other - though not as if they were fighting). At one point one of the wives asked if I could understand them and I shook my head and said they talked too fast. Others tried to get me to eat more, although there was so much food, I simply couldn't.