The first day of February marked an important moment in the life of mon ami Paul; his 19th birthday! Paul, Cara, my first host mom (Laurence), and my new host grandparents all came over to eat chez moi with my host parents and me. It was my host mom's-Paul's previous host mother- idea to have a big American lunch with hamburgers and french fries. Everyone got to the house around 1:30. We started this meal, just like all the others in France, with un apéritif- a drink before the meal. After Paul began to cook the burgers, and one piece of tofu, and soon after we found ourselves, hamburger buns and all, at the table. It was my host grandparents' first time to ever eat a hamburger. A weird concept for those of us who hail from the U.S. of A. I can't speak for the carnivores, but my tofu burger was quite yummy as were the fries. We finished off the meal by singing Joyeux Anniversaire and eating a tarte tropezienne after Paul blew out his 19 candles.
Paul and Cara spent the night at mine that night. Paul gave Cara her Christmas present, a little overdue. Cara was a bit surprised when she unwrapped Paul's old advent calendar. He made a little scavenger hunt leading her to eventually find a USB jump drive with all the music she's wanted from him since the beginning of the year. Cute idea Paul! Cara and I gave him the best present!! Paul writes music and lyrics (he's going to major in guitar at college). So, Cara and I came up with the idea of giving him a notebook that he could keep all his music in. We cut out pictures and placed them randomly throughout with little thoughts and quotes from things that have happened so far throughout this year. We figured it would be a good way to inspire his musical thoughts. We waited until that night and gave it to him. It was absolutely perfect... I'm proud of our work. After several hours of talking and laughing, we all went to sleep in the wee hours of the morning.
Sunday was spent lazily. It was a bit chilly, but the three of us had breakfast on the balcony anyway. I ate lunch at my host granddad's house. He lives right next door, and we eat over there every Sunday for lunch. We had coq au vin. I didn't eat the rooster, but I did have the sauce with pasta and it was quite delicious. I definitely cannot complain about French food. I literally like everything here (except oysters...)
Speaking of food (why is it that I can't go one post without talking about food?) yesterday was La Chandeleur or jour des crêpes. This is the day in France where everyone eats crepes... like we need an excuse to eat crepes. My host mom and I made some which we ate with my host dad before they went down to work. Nothing can beat a crepe with nutella. Perfection.
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