Marbles and not Shorts

I woke up yet again to the lovely sound of construction. I tried the ear plug thing but my ear was bothering me so I finally just gave up around ten and woke up. I took a shower and did some interneting and then watched Beebow chase a fly. Then I began to realize I was going to spend all day in the apartment if I didn’t so something about it. So I texted Cassandra and asked if she wanted to do some errands with me. She was bored too so we met at the school and started off. I went to the post office to mail moms card and it was surprisingly not very expensive! I was very impressed. There was some confusion on the envelope though because the girl helping me had given me an envelope that was prepaid for in France mail but because I was going international when I took it up to the guy he was like uhhhhh okay she gave you the wrong one but it’s okay I will just meet the difference. And so I got this like piece of paper sized envelope which was a lot bigger than I needed. But whatever we all figured it out in the end!

After the post office we went in search of some clear nail polish. All the top coats here we learned are mat. So I bought a base to use as a base and top coat. I learned the beauty store is waaaaay cheaper than Sephora too, 2-3 euros for nail polish instead of 5 for a tiny bottle. Lesson learned! After that we went to Monoprix for lunch. I got the 3 chicken wrap box thing and a Dr. Pepper. I took one bite of the first chicken wrap and gave it to Cassandra to try. It definitely tasted like fish. I turned over the package and learned that that particular wrap has anchovies in it! Oh jooooy. Luckily I was bad and spit it out. But the other two were fish free so I let Cassandra have that one. The other two were really good as was my Dr.Pepper! I bought a little Starbucks coffee thing for cheaps for tomorrow morning when I have to meet the bus at 8am. After that we went in search of some shorts and went to some interesting places. We tried Gap, H&M, some other clothes places and finally American Apparel. I had never been to an American apparel store but it is definitely an interesting store. We found lots of leotards and bizarre clothing including a poncho which we definitely tried on. Overall shorts were a bust but I found a pair of sunglasses that I figure I should have for the trip to the beach tomorrow. We sat down in a café for a soda before going our separate ways as it was getting closer to 6 and looking like it was going to rain soon. We had a fun day though walking around and I had fun getting to know her better.

When I came home I skyped my parents for the second time since I have been here and talked with them a bit until Thad came on and my parents had to leave to go to work and I started talking to Thad. After that Madam came in with Paul and told me when I was done to come downstairs. When Thad went to lunch I went downstairs and Paul showed me how to play his Skylanders game on his 3DS. It is like a game where you buy these little monster dude figurines and then with this little platform they light up and then sync to your Gameboy. It was pretty cool but definitely geared more towards younger kids. Paul sat on my lap while he played and it was pretty… nice feeling. I feel like he trusts me which is cool and he definitely likes me which is cool. I haven’t had a lot of exposure to younger kids in my life so it is cool to have that now. He shows me his games and asks me to play with him. Madame got a really cute picture but her phone is so basic I don’t think there would be a way for me to get it off even if I asked her if I could have a copy. It was really cute though.

After that he started making Mii’s which are little character dudes. He made an ugly one and a pretty one and he was having a good time. Pretty soon Laurence came home and we talked for a while. Madame told me that if I ever come back to France I should call her up and I can stay with her no problem but that I should come back between April and September because that is when it is nicest. That was very nice of her though J After a while we went back downstairs and were getting ready to start dinner stuff when Paul came down with some marbles and wanted to show them to me. Then Laurence came down so Madame pulled out some appetizer things and opened the bottle of rose that I bought at the winery a few weeks ago. I played marbles with Paul (he cheated a lot) and we played with those until we came back to the living room and Paul got really hyper and started pulling out all of Madames cat figurines and stuffed animals and being a seven year old kid. I talked with Laurence and Madame. We looked through an old photo album of Madames and I learned that she lived in Algeria until she was eleven and her family moved here. Her dad was Greek and her mom Algerian. That explains why she has a bit darker of skin.
 

We talked for about an hour and then Paul and Laurence went downstairs and we stayed and had Chicken nuggets (with a fork) and cubed like hashbrown potatoes. Quick and easy tonight. We are getting into a good routine Madame and I. She starts dinner and I help set the table. While she is finishing up I pour us both water and turn the tv so we can see it while we eat. That is really common her I learned. We talk about the show and usually it is the news or the zoo nursery show depending on if we remember the zoo show is on that night and what time it is. I finish dinner first and wait for her to finish and then she waits for me until I’m done with cheese. We both are just faster at the other even though we have the same amount. After that we eat an ice cream bar either right then (sometimes a fruit) or wait a bit because we are both full from dinner. Usually I go skype after dinner but not always.

Then we watch some sort of tv (tonight is Master chef) and then after about 45 minutes Madame is asleep. I usually just watch tv and finish my journal until she either decides to go to bed or I fake being tired so I can use the internet and then she decides to go to bed.

Tonight I asked when it is too late for me to skype and she looked at me like I was crazy. I told her that other students had been told by their families not to call their parents or people after a certain hour because it was too loud. She said she really doesn’t care as long as I’m not screaming or being loud but just talking in a regular tone it is fine whenever. So that was a good thing to ask.

I’m glad that I went out today because I could have easily enjoyed my day reading my book but that wouldn’t really be taking full advantage of the fact that I am in France… But I had a fun day even if I didn’t really “do” anything. It was fun to hang out with Paul and to talk with Madame and Laurence.

Beebow just attacked Madames hand while she was sleeping. She was not very happy… Also 40 fountains supposedly but I don’t believe it. I’m sure that there are ore and they aren’t counting the little ones. There are two on my street alone. Maybe I will have to go on a fountain hunt.

Also shout out to my mom who's birthday it now is! Love you!