J'ai fait la connaissance de ma famille

J’ai fait la connaissance de ma famille! After spending a less than luxurious night in a youth hostel in a pseudo low-budget part of Nantes, I have finally met the family I will be staying with for the next 4 months. There last name is de Champs. The couple’s names are Veronique and Xavier, and they have four children; two boys and two girls. One of the boys is 16, and the other is 10. Their names are Alexis (Alex) and Paul. Paul is an absolutely adorable little boy, and little brothers seem to be just the same as they are in the U.S., as Paul is constantly following Alex. The two girls are in the middle at ages 15 and 12. Their names are Clotilde and Maylis. Teenage girls seem to be the same in France as well, because when I first met the family, Clautilde had a friend over. They were anxiously discussing pictures on Facebook. The de Champs’ house is beautiful. It has two stories, with four bedrooms and a playroom on the first floor. On the second floor, there is a more formal living room, a dining room, the master-bedroom, the kitchen and a breakfast nook. In a really big house, I am still trying to figure out where all the bathrooms are. Apparently, I have my own bathroom (at least if I understood Madame de Champs correctly). She said the boys will use the bathroom from time to time to brush their teeth and such. The other weird thing about French houses in general is that their bathrooms are separated. What I mean by this is that one room has a shower and bath tub along with a sink, while another room across the hall has the actual toilet. I kind of feel the French could have saved space by putting the toilet with the rest of the bathroom appliances! I have my own room with a bed, a small dresser, a desk, a little bookcase, and two big shelves that run all the way across the room. The bed is the most comfortable thing in the world. The room has yellow wallpaper with blue fish and suns. It oddly reminds me of the North Palm Pool. My room shares a wall with the two boys’ room, which is hilarious because I can hear them bickering every now and then. Only having been here an hour, the family seems incredibly nice, understanding, and patient. They are very busy with so many kids running around, so I feel it was kind of easy for them to just take one more in. The kids are really polite and very nice. They found it weird that I wanted to shake hands with them, and then they taught me to do the double-sided cheek kiss. Still getting used to that one! It is interesting what they know and they don’t know about the United States. When I told them I was from Florida, Alexis was the only one who assuredly new it was “the big state the sticks out from the south.” That I will forever remember. I am off to Vannes the next four days. Vannes is just north of Nantes, and all of the kids from IES will be travleing with me for a orientation. I looked up the hotel we are staying in, and it says it is a three star hotel. This will be luxury compared to the hostel. I will not have the chance to write for the next few days, but I am sure I will have tons to share when I get back.