1st night in Aix

The girls are absolutely adorable! The youngest (Apolonia) is giggly and loves to hug my thigh already, the middle one (Olympia) has shown me every single art project she’s ever done; she is actually quite talented, and the oldest (Esterelle) is whipsmart and thirsty for more knowledge. They are all beautiful, especially Esterelle. Wietse, the father, reminds me of a Herron professor or an interviewee on Helvetica . He’s fit and has clear-frame glasses with gentle wrinkles, graying hair, and toasty skin exactly the color it should be after living here for 10 years. He wore a button-up pink shirt with khakis to pick me up from the train station. That made me smile.

The house is absolutely beautiful. Typical Mediteranean Spanish tile roof, white (plaster?) construction from the 1950’s, 3 floors, marble tile/stairs everywhere, swimming pool outside, cyprus bushes (or are they trees? You know, the long narrow things that Van Gogh used to like to paint), and a gate with a code. I just got here a few hours ago and enjoyed a nice dinner of pizza with fresh veggies, fresh bread (duh), a brie-ish cheese to slather said bread, a carrot salad, and a few baby glasses of red wine.

Before dinner the girls grabbed me by the hand and wanted to play show and tell with quite literally everything they owned. Books in the pharohs of Egypt, a wooden box with a mirror and key from Hungary (which, incidentally, I had at one point too), british magnets, Esterelle’s Latin textbook, ceramic creations, and on and on. I absolutely adore how they say my name. I also like when I can understand their French, which, at this point (until I’m used to their patterns and intonations) is only about 30%. They speak Dutch with their daddy and I like listening to that too - it’s kind of like a delicately percussive, lyrical symphony.

Because their mother passed away about 6 months ago, there’s a table on one of the landings with pictures of her and other momentos. Wietse said that sometimes the girls make art or write letters to her and place them there, which I think is brilliant.

Considering I’ve slept 4 hours in the past 48 hours, I’m ready to pass OUT. loves.

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