Ma (vraie!) famille arrive!

Well, I don't have much time to write because I've been crazy-busy... Dad and Colleen got here just fine, with only a few minor misadventures concerning the airport, luggage, etc. (I'm glad I'm not the only one to find traveling to be particularly difficult in France... well, not GLAD, but... it's not just me!)

We toured around Angers their first day here. It's a small city north of Nantes (on the way to Paris) with a huge medieval chateau - round towers, arrow slots, really thick walls, etc. That was pretty impressive. They also have the oldest tapestries in the world - well, I'm sure there's a qualifying factor in there, like "the oldest almost complete tapestries in the world" or the oldest biblical-themed or the oldest best-preserved or something - maybe Dad can post it if he remembers, after he gets home. But anyway, it was pretty interesting to see the whole book of Revelations represented in tapestry form. We also lost two umbrellas on the trip - Dad left his in the train and I left mine in a tea shop. Whoops! Oh well, at least it was done raining by then anyway. (The weather here changes by the minute, it's impossible to predict!)

We've been eating some great food at restaurants around town - crêpes and galettes, pork stuffed with blue cheese sauce, quiche, all sorts of things. I tried a crêpe flambé, that was neat! Dad and Colleen took a trip to Normandy today. I couldn't go, of course, since I had class... But I hope they enjoyed it. They met my host mom last night. She speaks great English... I'd never heard it before, so it was pretty weird to have the tables turned and have her asking me how to say things. Yikes. In fact, it was weird to speak English at all. (Don't get me wrong, I do it from time to time here, but never at the house...) She was exactly the gracious hostess I picture French women as being, and she said all sorts of nice things about me, which was a little ego boost. She also liked Dad and Colleen a lot. So I guess that was successful!

I also hung out with Benoît this weekend since he was home. (Told you I've been busy!) It was his first time carving a pumpkin, that was pretty funny!Before we started, he asked me if it was liquid or solid inside... I was like, 'Um, a little of both...' I think he thought it was pretty crazy, both of us being elbow deep in pumpkin goop, but he was proud of the result. ;) He's back in Grenoble now, but I get to go skiing there in November. I'm so excited! I'm sure I've already mentioned that several times, but how often do you get to ski in the Alps?

I'm getting ready for the big IES Halloween Party which I had to plan and organize as Prez... It was a surprisingly lot of work for what may or may not end up being lame. No guarantees... I just hope people go, since we spent a lot of money on food and punch and stuff. We'll see what happens... Well gotta go, but I'll write again when I can.