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Rachel and the kids
On French mother's day (yes, it is different) we went out and walked near the Seine. Though they weren't fans of walking, it was a great time! Hey everyone! Been a couple weeks since I last posted something so I thought I’d drop a quick word. Life has been pretty easy going here. We’ve kind of been finding out where we stand in the family and getting to know everyone better. At first we had a harder time talking to Laure, the mom, because she’s not quite as charismatic as Guillaume is, but seeing as how we only see Guillaume on the weekends and we’re always with Laure, that has quickly changed. So much so that we actually meet her for her lunch break once a week and grab a bite to eat! As for the rest of the family, we’re getting along great with everyone, though we’ve had some discipline issues with Zoé. She just doesn’t quite understand what no means and is very stubborn. However, over the weekend we observed that we’re not the only ones having this issue with her, so that makes things a bit better. In a desperate attempt at fixing the situation I actually took her to the beach yesterday after school, gave her some one on one time, made up a ‘Three strikes you’re not getting ice cream on Friday’ policy,
Dieppe from afar
This is a photo of Dieppe taken from a church down the coast. My favorite part of this city is without a doubt the cliffs. and worked with her on riding her bike without training wheels. That combined with her parents having spoken to her on Saturday actually seems to have helped a ton. This morning was the best she’s been since we’ve been here!
As far as what we’ve been up to, we’ve been in Dieppe pretty much non-stop, with some occasional weekend day trips to neighboring areas. However that’s soon to change. This weekend we’re going to be staying in the family apartment in Paris, where I’ll finally get the opportunity to explore the beautiful city. I’ve been before, but it was always on the way to or from the airport, including the one time I went to the Eiffel Tower with Grace while on our way to Rome. I definitely plan on having lunch one day under the Eiffel Tower as well as meeting up with our friend, Guillaume (not the dad, a different one who actually studied at Truman for a semester.) The weekend after that we’re going with the whole family to their grandparents house though I’m not sure about the name of the city, I believe he told me on the day we arrived that it’s northeast of Paris? The weekend after that we are going to go to England by the local ferry. The ferry arrives in New Haven, but we’ve been told there are plenty of buses available to take us wherever we might want to go.
So that’s what our next three weeks look like! We’re actually already starting to notice how short our stay is. Rachel recently pointed out to me just how great of a gig we have here, pointing out that we’re traveling the next three weeks, then the kids have 1 week left of school (until July 5
th.) After that we have July and the beginning of August, during which we will be spending a week in the Jura at the family vacation home and a week in Avignon at Laure’s sister’s house without the kids (a vacation for us completely planned by the family. So nice!)
Putting all of that into perspective, we’re making sure we cherish every day here. My personal remedy being to walk along the beach on the way back from accompanying Zoé to school, where I have the beautiful sea to my right, the cliffs straight ahead (falaise is quickly becoming my new favorite French word), a castle slightly to my left, and a beautiful row of buildings that line that coast to my left. If ever there was a time for a panoramic camera… In conclusion, this trip is not only enriching my love for the country and language, but also for traveling. It’s kind of odd to think that I’m starting senior year and in about October will be applying for jobs teaching abroad. I’ve talked to one of my childhood idols a little bit about the programs he did and I’m thinking it’ll be China or France next year. I’m leaning towards the former rather than the latter as I’m finding myself longing for something a little more exotic. But it’s too soon to tell! Thanks for reading.
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mimi
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love your blog posts
Just read your latest post, Tyler. Thanks for giving us all such vivid pictures of your experiences in France. I'm so proud of you for all you are accomplishing at such a young age! Love you -- Mimi