The Noel Adventure Begins!

I am now in Parce sur Sarthe at the countryhome and I feel like I have just started another whole adventure. As of now, my host family is here with an older host sister and her family (husband, 8 year old, 7 year old, and 5 year old), but the house has plenty of room to take in more guests. By the end of the week, it will be completely full with family. Since I am not at home, I want to share all that is happening here so we can pretend like we are together.

To start, I would like to say that I could not have been placed with a better family. Since the first day in France, they have brought me into their family like another son, have been patient teachers of the french language and culture, and have included me in every aspect of their daily lives. And their warm family feeling has carried right over into the Christmas season. My older host sister and her family were very welcoming and inclusive too. Today I was woken up by three little kids asking, "Are you still sleeping?" and they were happy to talk with me as they watched me get dressed and ready for the day. The stranger-border is completely gone between the kids and I already, so I have become their tree, the monster, the protector, and their secret-keeper (although sometimes I can not understand what they say as they whisper to me during a game of cache-cache, hide-and-seek). I have already learned two new card games that I can add to the collection to play back home. With the whole family, we play cards and Settlers of Catan (en Francais now) in front of the always-lit fire which warms the living room. I was able to read for a while today, joined in on the conversation about christmas gifts, and assured the kids that Santa was in the States too. In general, it is hard to find a moment of silence without one of the kids jumping on me or inviting me to play a game, but it is a pleasant change. As more and more families arrive to the house, there is always something fun going on.

We had a taste-all-the-liquor-in-the-house night tonight, and I learned a little about familial french drinking. We started with Muscat as the before dinner aperatif, and it is by far my choice aperatif in France. After dinner, over cake, we tried homemade fermented cherry liquor (which the older host sister made in 1990 I believe), pear, peach, and something else strong but sweet. We then voyaged into the basement and chose a dusty bottle that my host dad described as "explosive" as in you explode when you drink it. The scent alone tested the strength of my nostrils, and our baby sips warmed our stomachs right away. My host dad threw some into the fire and it "exploded" from the fuel. They assured me that I will have to smuggle some home when I leave.

We decorated the house with metallic Christmas colors, set up le sapin (the Christmas tree), and the family sang songs and prayed by la creche (the nativity scene). I have a sheep (un mouton) along with the other kids, and we move it closer to baby Jesus each night until Christmas day. If I had to be anywhere other than home in Texas for Christmas, it would be here. I am now living completely en francais, but it feels great to be able to say I can actually do that, and I am excited for more french family to arrive! There are 6 days until Noel and 17 days total until I am in Texas!