À Caen!

I’ll go ahead and put the first few days of Caen in one post. All I have to say is, AHHHHHHH! These people are speaking another language! Obviously, but I never anticipated how hard it would be! I find myself becoming jealous of them because I want to be able to speak as well as they do. They all say that I speak very well, but I think their full of it! Yesterday I looked all over campus for the lady that is in charge of giving us our stipend for the month and nobody even knew her! Finally someone knew who I was talking about and she walked me to the office where I needed to be. On the way over she asked me if I wanted a cigarette. I of course said no, but couldn’t believe how many people here smoke! There are cigarette butts everywhere!

The night that Eve-Marie (M. Groussier) picked me up from the train station, he told me that there was another American staying with them and that she was in my room until Thursday. When I got to the house, sure enough, there she was. Her name is Margareta and she is from Delaware. She greeted me with that nasty French kiss thing they do on both cheeks. She was cooking dinner for the family and me to eat that night while Eve-Marie and I sat in the living room talking. After dinner Margarita turned to me and said, “I’m SO glad you came!” Apparently it was easier for her to talk and listen to the family when I spoke with them. From then on she and I have been talking in English and enjoying each other’s company. She even showed me where to go and what to do in the cafeteria at school. When we went to the cafeteria we sat with some of her friends from Delaware and got stared at by some of the French students. It was a bit awkward, but I’ll go with it.

When I went home, that day I fell asleep on the couch from exhaustion. Listening to these people speak makes me tired! Today I walked through town and got an adaptor for my computer and found myself wanting to lie down on the sidewalk for a bit of a siesta. I want to be able to talk with them so badly, but they can always tell that I’m American and they start to speak what little bit of English they know. It is SO annoying! In the US I thought in French because I always wanted to practice and had no better way to do it. Now all I do in think in English and say things out loud to make myself feel better. I think my French has gotten worse since I got here! Either that or it just seems worse because everyone here speaks it so much better than me! Even little kids running through the street are smarter than me! One of these days I’ll have it down! (I HOPE!) I HOP! OH HOW THAT REMINDS ME OF HOME!

Tonight the family went out with Margarita to some thing her school is putting on as a farewell to the families. The son (Yves) has late rugby practice so he can’t go. When he gets home, he and I are going to have dinner together. I’m sure that will be a bit weird because I don’t know that he likes me all that much. All he does when he’s here is sit in his room and play guitar or listed to music! He’s kind of like my brother back in the US.