Le Club de Rotary (The Rotary Club)

Hier soir (last night), I had my first Rotary meeting. At home, our meetings are in the afternoons, but here they are night time gatherings. We went to a restaurant that had the soft sand, bright moon, and calming ocean as its main decoration. The deck where we ate was quickly filled with Rotarians ranging from young to a bit more aged, all rapidly speaking the language I am so eagerly trying to pick up on. I brought my lovely exchange student blazer but only had to wear it when I introduced myself to the club. After receiving my monthly stipend and having an orangina for a cocktail, I was seated at the President's table. I was a bit nervous about that, but it was not bad at all. The club secretary was also at my table; she is a genuinely kind woman who came with us on the ropes course. Paul was also at my table, which was nice. Together our French worked with the Rotarians.

It would be quite an understatement to say that the meal was fabulous. The three course dinner started with salad, cantaloupe, and shrimp and was followed by the main course of shish kabobs (fish for me), baked potato, and vegetables. Finally, for dessert a lovely piece of moist, chocolate cake with a little cup of coffee. The meeting, which basically consisted of eating and talking to one another for three hours, was something I won't mind attending the first Monday of every month.

I was escorted to and from the meeting by a Rotarian and his wife in their tiny European convertible. I felt famous as I was driven down the narrow French streets of this seaside town with the wind whipping my hair in all directions. Ahh the life of an exchange student. I'm sorry my friends have to be in college classes right now while I get to eat and drink with the French. This all seems to good to be true. I guess the trade off is that I have to learn their language; that, however, is one of the main aspects of this whole experience I love the most. As you can tell, my faithful readers, I love what I am doing. I'm so grateful for the love and encouragement everyone has given me, and continually gives me, that has allowed me to step into this surreal life. I am already experiencing wonderful things, and it's only been a week!