Final Update!

Hello everyone!

So the kids have left, and I’m done! They left Wednesday afternoon with plenty of tears and hugs. It was very fun and interesting seeing the parents and siblings of kids we’ve gotten to know for the past 2 weeks! That night we (the 7 of us who were left, a very fun, close-knit group) went into Montluçon for dinner. We ate in the old city at this pizza place that was amaaaaaaaazing! I got a pizza with mozzarella and chèvre and mushrooms. It was suuuuper delicious and very fun sitting outside on the terrace in perfect weather.

Then yesterday, 5 of us went to Clermont-Ferrand for the day! It was seriously one of the best days ever. Nancy Drew (a counselor) has a friend there who we went to go visit. Two other people and I took the train since there aren’t enough seats in the car. We had a cat with us too, since our director had found a tiny kitten around town and we were taking it to Nancy Drew’s friend who was gonna keep it. It was really funny dealing with a playful kitten on the train. We had a box for her that she had zero interest in staying in, much preferring to explore the train. But she was surprisingly good overall despite some really cute high-pitched meows! At one point she escaped the boundaries we set up for her so Nancy Drew was on the floor of the train trying to get it out from underneath someone’s seat with a tissue lol. The whole train was looking and laughing at her, including some Japanese people who were taking pictures haha.

But we finally made it and Nancy Drew and I got picked up from the gare by her friend’s dad. We went to the house, had a super delicious, home-cooked lunch of yummy summer tomatoes, great pasta and sunny side up eggs (a real treat in France for some reason—seriously, everyone loves them here). But it was all super good, sitting outside in their garden in the breeze. For dessert we had this homemade crème brûlée that they’d made, but instead of burnt sugar on top, they put blueberries that they’d picked last week. So good! Finally, the dad showed me their garden which includes an abricotier (apricot tree)!! I kinda went nuts, eating 4 of them and taking pictures. The apricots were so unbelievably good! Soooo sweet and juicy!

Next, we headed into town where we wandered around, shopped, saw the city, etc. all afternoon. It’s quite a nice town. Pretty old section with pedestrian only streets, the big Place Jaude with big statues, the huge cathédrale that’s black not due to pollution but because it was built using the area’s volcanic stones, etc. Then we met up with Leo, the friend, and we chilled at a café for a bit. Eventually, after getting lost for a long time, we went back to the house for dinner!

The evening was soooooooo French and I loved it in every single way! We started out with the aperitif outside in their garden, having drinks and little munchies (including more apricots) while hanging out and talking. Two of their neighbors came over in the process too and ended up staying for dinner. They were super funny and fun to talk to. We then had dinner which consisted of barbecue, grilled peppers, tabouleh salad, rice salad, potatoes, tomatoes, eggs, homemade bread…think that’s it haha. It was delicious! A 2005 red wine from the Ardèche was served then. Then afterwards, we had cheese (Carré de l’Est, Brie, St. Nectaire, Cantal) which was quite good. With the cheese we had a 2003 red Cahors that was really, really good. The smell was amazing and it tasted really good too!

Finally, we ended with dessert—homemade abricot ice cream!!! It was like eating pure, pureed abricots basically. Such smooth flavor and taste. The dad liked me a lot because I liked it so much (he said earlier that they had to drag me away by my hair from the abricot tree when I first discovered it that afternoon haha). But it didn’t end there. The aforementioned neighbors are from Lorraine (northeast by Germany), so they went home and brought over some canned mirabelles that his mom (who’s 82) had made. Do yall know mirabelles? I hadn’t seen them before last night. They’re like plums except a bit smaller and yellow—a specialty from the Lorraine region http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabelle_plum . They were very delicious and from the year 2000!! With that, Alain (the neighbor) served a homemade eau-de-vie de mirabelle, basically homemade Mirabelle alcohol. It was from 1995!!! Crazy! It was really good and quite aromatic and tasty. Sooo smooth, I suppose because it was so old? And then we had some calvados as well since the friends whose house we were at are from Caen in Normandie. By that point it was 11 pm so we had to leave since we had an hour and a half of driving ahead of us back to the chateau. So we said our thank yous and goodbyes and left.

But such a nice night and sooooooo French…it all being outside, the different courses and alcohols with copious amounts of each, merry conversation and people (including adults) singing dirty French songs, all being at one big long table, etc. So fun and enjoyable!

Today, I’m just chilling here at Petit Bois. Tomorrow, I leave early to go up to Paris where I’ll meet up with a friend from the first session of camp who lives there and then home on Sunday! So much traveling and so many changes so quickly…too much to process all at once! See yall very sooooon!

Love,
Peanut Butter

Day off !

So today was my first day off here at Petit Bois! It was a really nice day. Slept late and then went to the market with Lemon (the other counselor who was off today). I totally lucked out because today (Tues) happens to be the one market day of the week here in Cosne d’Allier, a tiny town. The market was really big for such a tiny town! Many produce, meat and cheese vendors…plus tons of clothes and other stuff! Lemon loves cheese too so we bought 4 different ones and a baguette and went back to the chateau to eat them. Today the kids all went to the lake so it was super nice and quiet without anyone there! Our cheese platter consisted of a good Beaufort that I’d bought the other day, a fresh local chevre, a cow’s cheese with cumin made nearby (quite good…I’m a fan of cumin-studded cheeses), bleu d’Auvergne and Roquefort. I’m quite a harsh critic of blue cheeses since I love Roquefort so much, but I’ve gotta say, this bleu d’Auvergne was really good! Probably because it was produced locally so of high quality and fresh! So yummy!

Then I just chilled for a bit and went out on a walk to search for this cheese producer just outside of town. I’d seen a sign for “fromage fermier” on the way from Montlucon so followed it, but long story short—there is no such farm. I walked for nearly 2 hours in the hot sun searching! But I bought a patisserie (the guy was really nice and put in a free one too!) and some local wine and came back and ate more cheese and all that. The raspberry tarte was deeeeeeelicious! And the local wine (a white made from Chardonnay and Tressallier, a grape only produced in this region) wasn’t bad either!

Then just hung out with Lemon for a while and napped which was nice and ate dinner and chilled! We have a counselor camp fire tonight after the kids go to bed. Should be fun! I’m looking forward to it! Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day! YAY! Pool day, special dinner where counselors serve the kids, then the boom (dance)! Ttyl!

PB
PS EMAIL ME ETHAN !!!!!

Petit Bois

So I’m here at Petit Bois! This time I’m a daily life counselor (DL), which means I’m responsible for dorm life of the kids—wakeup, bedtime, brushing teeth, showers, etc. And all DLs are French or French-speaking which is fun, so I get to talk to the kids in French if need be (and since I’m with kids this session—8 to 12 yrs old—a substantial amount of French is needed since their English isn’t that good. The kids are ADORABLE. Like for real. We’re all freaking out since almost no counselors have been with kids (as opposed to teens) before. This one boy, named Microraptor, is super tiny and soooo cute. Full head of dark hair, big eyes, long eyelashes, really short and so cute. He came with tons of toys and books and stuff that had to be confiscated at “customs” upon arrival, and they had to bring me over to explain to him in French why we had to take it all and that he could play with it all during free time each day.

Last night a little bit after lights out, he came out of his room crying saying “Ma maman…ma maman” (My mom, my mom). I wanted to cry, laugh and hug him all at the same time due to the cuteness of it. So I took him back into his bed and just talked to him for 15 or so minutes. We talked about the day and the schedule for the following day. He said at one point he was particularly “scared” of Valentine’s Day because he doesn’t know how to dance. I told him that V-Day is actually my favourite day of camp (that might actually be true). He asked why and I told him about going to the pool that day (which he realized was why he needed to bring his bathing suit), about the special dinner we have that night, and then about the dance, yet still assuring him that not everyone dances and that you learn dances during the day so you’re prepared for the dance. Turns out though that he knows a techno and hip-hop dance though? And his sister’s a dancer so sounds like he’ll be just fine! When I was leaving and turned out the bathroom light, he said “I can’t sleep without any light.” SO cute right?? So I turned it back on and closed the bathroom door most of the way and said goodnight, sweet dreams, sleep well. !!!

Another funny thing is that everyone vouvoyer’s me…in that they address me using “vous” (the formal way of speaking that you use with adults or in stores) rather than “tu”(what kids/students use with each other and what adults use when speaking to kids). They also always address me by saying “Monsieur” (mister or sir)…not even using my name Peanut Butter! Hahaha. Gotta say I feel pretty bad ass commanding that respect from them lol.

Otherwise camp is good! Had a nice day off…went into Montluçon with two other people. Walked around for a while, got super good ice cream (really good dark chocolate and really good pear, both with pieces in it), and then we saw Harry Potter!!! En français! It was really good and neat to see in French! Got ready for camp yesterday, kids got here, it all has gone well so far! Bed time isn’t that big of a deal at all. It’s quite nice having the youngest group of kids since bedtime is at 10 pm rather than 11 or later like with older kids. So the night is over for us DLs much earlier! I’ve started writing down funny quotes that kids say like the ones mentioned above (Ma maman, etc) just so I remember them because they’re so adorably funny.

And food. Food here is great, especially compared to Aze!! Last night when everyone had hamburgers, Marie-Paul (owner of the chateau and server at dinner) brought out a platter of hamburgers for family’s table (family = Aladdin) and on it instead of a 10th hamburger was this toasted baguette sandwich with brie, tomatoes and a fried egg. SOOOOOOO good! And then I added the hamburger fixings that were on the table. So yummy! Super good salad before that with an actual dressing rather than the same bottled stuff that you get at Aze day after day after day. And the lettuce was cut up and the dressing had tiny chopped onions and tomatoes too! And good cheese, good dessert (delicious homemade peach cake today)…feels like I’m in France again!

Hope all’s well with yall in Chattanooga, Aze, wherever you may be!

Love,Peanut Butter

AmVil Update...

hello again,
camp's going quite well! ESL teaching is good...had some fun with my class. they got really into musical intruments and music-related vocab today. i taught them the word "y'all" but they weren't at all excited about it. it bummed me out so i need to come up with a cool way to present it so that they'll think it's awesome and wanna use it allll the time, as they should be doing.

i've definitely gotten into a routine, as the veteran counselors said it quickly becomes so taht's nice since days are so packed and full of various activities to have some semblance of order to it all! yesterday was pool day and valentines days. it was super fun. it was really nice hanging out at the pool and swimming all afternoon and walking through endless rows of chardonnay vineyards in order to get there and back. then we had a nice dinner that the counselors served to the kids for V Day. tables had red paper on them...all decorated, etc. quite fun! then we had our first boom (dance) last night. it was pretty fun and the kids got quite into dancing for many songs! even for slow songs they started getting the hang of it which was fun. i was britney spears in an american idol-like skit today during congress. lip synced to you drive me crazy wearing a dress, heels, wig, faux lipstick/makeup, etc. it was really funny and i won out of the three contestants!! woohoo!

i had my day off w/ apples (clare in real life) a few days ago. it was really nice. slept in late, took a nice leisurely shower, had some bfast and then it started to rain. we were super bummed out, but it luckily cleared up quite quickly, so walked into town to get stuff for a picnic lunch which we ate downtown (downtown aze that is...the town of 1 everything...bar, pharmacy, tiny grocery, bank, post office, etc. literally 1 of it all). then apples got her haircut b/c she needed it and it was super cheap not in a big city. and then we went to the caves d'aze (the wine cellar)! the cave is under renovation so we couldn't do a tour but still tasted and looked at their selection of local wines. it was quite good. 2 whites, 2 reds and a dessert wine. the whites, both maconnais aze whites, were quite good adn super value priced compared to their muuuuch pricier neighbors a bit further north in burgundy. the first red, made from gamay (same grape as beaujolais) was a bit too light for my taste. but the next one, a pinot noir, was really good with classic burgundy characteristics and super differetn from teh cotes du rhone that i drank in grenoble. then teh dessert wine, from chardonnay as well, was super sweet...too sweet for my taste. then we went back to camp. chilled for a few minutes, adn headed to the pool where we hung out the rest of the afternoon--super relaxing and nice. then back to camp for a late dinner and just hung out with manu, another counselor (a french one), talking about lots of stuff for a while. quite an enjoyable day off!

it was super hot the first few days but recently it's been cooler which is really nice. prob around 70 degrees right now. lovely! and even when it was hot it wasn't humid (unless you ask the utahns) so it was quite bearable! hope all's well with all y'all!

love,peanut butter

hello again,
camp's going quite well! ESL teaching is good...had some fun with my class. they got really into musical intruments and music-related vocab today. i taught them the word "y'all" but they weren't at all excited about it. it bummed me out so i need to come up with a cool way to present it so that they'll think it's awesome and wanna use it allll the time, as they should be doing.

i've definitely gotten into a routine, as the veteran counselors said it quickly becomes so taht's nice since days are so packed and full of various activities to have some semblance of order to it all! yesterday was pool day and valentines days. it was super fun. it was really nice hanging out at the pool and swimming all afternoon and walking through endless rows of chardonnay vineyards in order to get there and back. then we had a nice dinner that the counselors served to the kids for V Day. tables had red paper on them...all decorated, etc. quite fun! then we had our first boom (dance) last night. it was pretty fun and the kids got quite into dancing for many songs! even for slow songs they started getting the hang of it which was fun. i was britney spears in an american idol-like skit today during congress. lip synced to you drive me crazy wearing a dress, heels, wig, faux lipstick/makeup, etc. it was really funny and i won out of the three contestants!! woohoo!

i had my day off w/ apples (clare in real life) a few days ago. it was really nice. slept in late, took a nice leisurely shower, had some bfast and then it started to rain. we were super bummed out, but it luckily cleared up quite quickly, so walked into town to get stuff for a picnic lunch which we ate downtown (downtown aze that is...the town of 1 everything...bar, pharmacy, tiny grocery, bank, post office, etc. literally 1 of it all). then apples got her haircut b/c she needed it and it was super cheap not in a big city. and then we went to the caves d'aze (the wine cellar)! the cave is under renovation so we couldn't do a tour but still tasted and looked at their selection of local wines. it was quite good. 2 whites, 2 reds and a dessert wine. the whites, both maconnais aze whites, were quite good adn super value priced compared to their muuuuch pricier neighbors a bit further north in burgundy. the first red, made from gamay (same grape as beaujolais) was a bit too light for my taste. but the next one, a pinot noir, was really good with classic burgundy characteristics and super differetn from teh cotes du rhone that i drank in grenoble. then teh dessert wine, from chardonnay as well, was super sweet...too sweet for my taste. then we went back to camp. chilled for a few minutes, adn headed to the pool where we hung out the rest of the afternoon--super relaxing and nice. then back to camp for a late dinner and just hung out with manu, another counselor (a french one), talking about lots of stuff for a while. quite an enjoyable day off!

it was super hot the first few days but recently it's been cooler which is really nice. prob around 70 degrees right now. lovely! and even when it was hot it wasn't humid (unless you ask the utahns) so it was quite bearable! hope all's well with all y'all!

love,peanut butter

Kids' arrival!

So the kids finally got here! Things went great at first until we realized that there weren't enough beds for girls. So after some super hectic (for others) moving of people around and switching bedrooms, we finally got everything worked out. Fine from a parental perspective I think which is the important part. Had opening activities then dinner with our families. I'm on the Braves (our families are 5 different baseball teams) and have 10 kids. They seem decent. One boy is only 12 and speaks like no English at all hardly. And there are 4 girls who talk in French incessantly. Like I'd interrupt them to ask a question or talk to them, they'd answer it, and go back to their French conversation. And it's annoying and quite difficult acting like I don't know waht they're takling about when they're saying something, asking for clarification, talking about me, etc. But it's all cool. There's a girl in the group, though, who is really good at English since she lived in London and NY for 2 yrs (during 9/11 in fact) with her dad's job. But kids seem nice and hopefully it'll all work out if we can just separate those girls.... Had a campfire which was fun w/ various stations and smores which were yummy, and then bedtime which is quite an ordeal having 50 kids brush their teeth and change clothes (in the bathroom since they wouldn't change in their rooms for whatever reason) in 2 bathrooms. Then get calmed and settled. But it all worked out surprisingly quickly so yay! Off to bed for tomorrow! Yay!

Update !

Everything here's great! been doing lots to set up and get ready for all the kids. making tons of signs, planning activities/skits, getting my classroom ready, etc. i'm gonna be an ESL teacher so i'll have 12 or 13 kids each day for 2 hrs. has been lots of working planning out 2 hrs of class a day, but i think it should be fun and i'm excited. and if i ever have to teach it again, it's all already planned out! but enough the anticipation adn getting ready -- i'm pumped for the kids to finally get here! they arrive from 4 this afternoon! yay! 50 in all. i'm excited to talk to parents and stuff before as well. though i'm not allowed to speak in french since i'm an ESL teacher so the kids aren't supposed to know i speak french. i'm kinda worried about that though, b/c kids apparently love to try to figure out who of the counselors speaks french. so it'll be hard to not react to anything they say in french or any french words they may say in class, at meals, wherever. and in class if they don't understand something it'll be super tempting (but hopefully not instinctive) to just say the word or directions in french. haha. i'm sure i'll manage...

hope all's well at home/china/chicago/wherever you are!

Love,Peanut Butter