We're now about 4 months into our year in France, and I'd say the theme of the past month is friendships. Now that we've gotten to know people a little better, we have been having people over at our house and we've been going over to their houses. Many of these new friends are through the girls' school. Eve and Ella have become very friendly with several girls, and as it usually goes, that has led to friendships with their parents too. Most of these families are international in one way or another, such as having one or both parents born in a European country other than France. For example, Martha has enjoyed speaking German with a family where the Mom is from Germany. Martha has an Austrian accent, from her time after college in Austria, which apparently is amusing to German speakers but is lost on my naive ears. As we had somewhat anticipated, sharing the connection of being an international family has facilitated friendships. At the same time, we've enjoyed getting to know some purely French families, and those families have been generous in helping us learn a bit more about the local culture and cuisine. Yesterday my friend from tennis, Jean-Luc, hosted us for a wonderful lunch that lasted about four hours, during which the girls somehow didn't implode (with much credit to their cat and to a movie they put on after the girls got a bit antsy).
All of this makes us think that we will be coming back often to this part of France in future years. Not only is it a beautiful and interesting place, but there are a lot of people here whom we enjoy.
But don't worry (or celebrate, depending on your preference), American friends and family! As much as we're enjoying it here, we do miss our family, friends, and life back home, and will be excited to return.
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