Coup De Soleil

Today was a beautiful day! The sun was out and shining, no clouds in sight, and the sea was sparkling. Unfortunately, I decided to wear jeans and a jacket to the sailing lessons... I don't know why I did such a crazy thing on such a marvelous day. I ended up sleeping while the kids were at their lesson, and when I woke up, I was sweating. At that point, I really regretted my outfit for the day. I only wore jeans because I didn't feel like shaving this morning, but I wished I wore shorts anyway. Lucky for me, Karine came to tell me that she was going to bring lunch and, if I wanted, a swimsuit! Of course I wanted my suit. I was jealous of the kids running and playing in the blue water! So when Karine came back, I changed and headed out to the water. I knew the water was going to be freezing, but it was a hot day (80 degrees for the high) and I wanted to go for a swim. Just so you know, I am one of those people that has to jump into the water or else I won't get in. If I try to ease myself into cold water, I chicken out and go some place warm. Today, I had no place to jump in the water so I had to force myself into cold water (60 degrees for the high this time of year). It was freezing. Eventually my legs just went numb so they weren't a problem. Maelle-Marie told me I just have to start swimming, but I wouldn't do that. I didn't want to go further, but I didn't want to chicken out either. So I splashed myself until I thought my skin could handle the shock. The water still chilled me, but I was swimming! And eventually I put my head under.

I forgot to mention earlier that I rarely swim in the ocean. I am deathly afraid of sharks and because of that fear, I don't go in water that I can't see whats going on AKA California beaches. I know the chances are very small to have a shark encounter, but what if I am the 1 in a million. They are fascinating creatures and I love watching things and learning more about them, but don't joke around about sharks if I'm trying to go in the ocean. Anyway, so while Maelle-Marie and I were venturing out into deeper water, I made the mistake of mentioning my fear of sharks. I believe that sharks won't be in cold water and as far North as St-Malo, but Maelle-Marie saying the 's' word gave me massive anxiety. She finally stopped when I turned around to walk back.

We were at the beach from 9:15 AM to 5:00 PM, plus a 15 minute walk home. Since I kept falling asleep while laying out, trying to get a tan, I forgot to put on sunscreen... I'm not lobster red, well not yet, but I am still sun burnt (which is where the inspiration for the title came from, coup de soleil = sunburn). So while I am typing this, I feel like I am radiating heat. Too bad it's not a cold night. But the places that didn't get burnt are getting darker. I am determined to get tan, and slowly but surely, it is happening. Hopefully I won't peel from this sunburn later...

Since Maelle-Marie, Aymeric, and I needed transportation to Rennes this weekend, Brooke and her host family came to St-Malo for dinner (plus we had a lot of crab and bucket of shellfish the kids caught to eat). It was a lot of fun! First of all, I got to meet Guilhem and Marie-Faustine, the younger kids Brooke takes care of. Guilhem, 7, is just as crazy and loud as Aymeric and they could almost be twins. And Marie-Faustine is a chatty and adorable 3 year old. We had dinner at the beach and played some volleyball. After dinner, we started a long-jump competition. Eventually we went back home for dessert and left for Rennes.

Brooke and I are very excited to have some time to ourselves, not that we don't like being with the kids. We plan to go to a restaurant, the farmers market, and church. I am looking forward to seeing the city. Unfortunately it is hot and humid, so I hear. And Rennes doesn't have a constant breeze like St-Malo. But no matter the weather, I'm sure I will have a good time.