Cœur Qui Soupire N'a Pas Ce Qu'il Désire

Sorry I have been lazy everyone! I'll do my best to keep posting everyday. This post is for Tuesday and Wednesday.

The title is my new favorite French proverb! If you translated the words literally, it would say "the heart that sighs does not have what it desires". It sounds beautiful in French, and it is used when someone seems unhappy or is longing for something. We would say, "Hey you look sad, what's wrong?" I can't wait for the day I can actually use this saying and understand the response.

Speaking of responding to the French people, there has been a few times where a French person tried to start a conversation with me. The first time was a photographer that was tried to sell photos of the kids sailing. Luckily, I said, "No merci," and he walked away. Then next time was a middle-aged woman. She noticed I was speaking English and asked if I was English. I was very grateful that she was trying to use what little English she knew. I explained to her using basic English and basic French (what I like to call franglais, français + anglais) that I am an au pair and I am an American. Eventually we ran out of words that we knew, so we said our goodbyes. The third incident was when I was sitting on my towel on the sand. An old woman that takes a swim every morning started chattering away about something. I tried to tell her that I don't speak French, but she didn't hear me. She just kept gabbering away until I said, "Je ne parle pas français," louder this time. Then she kinda just sighed and said oh la la and went to basic questions. I once again said that I was an au pair and American. She asked if it was for my studies. I said no, but didn't know how to say it was just for an experience and to learn more of the language and culture. Then she said, "Vous êtes très jolie," which means you are very pretty. At first I didn't know if she was saying I was pretty or something else, so she clarified with the word belle (beautiful).

I have decided to show you how crazy the tides are here, so I took pictures of the ocean before and after the sailing lessons. Insane, right? P.S. the beach was FREEZING! I was in jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a sweatshirt laying face down on a towel with my hood on. I probably looked ridiculous, but my spot was warmer so I didn't want to move...

When we got home from the lessons, Bertrand had his mom and some friends over. I guess we were supposes to eat before they got here, but I didn't know that until we were walking home 40 minutes after the lesson ended. Anyway it worked out and later I went to the beach with the kids again. Living by the sea here makes me want to always live by a beach... It is so relaxing! And I'm getting a slight tan.

So on Wednesday, it was pretty much the same story as Tuesday. Except on Wednesday, we went back to the beach to hunt for crabs! We weren't too successful in our hunt, but we did catch five. But I guess I can only say we caught four because one ran away at night...

I learned that I don't have to do any of my own laundry while I am here in France. I'm beginning to think that this au pair thing isn't even a job! I feel like I'm getting spoiled here! My phone was activated so I can now contact Karine and eventually Brooke. And I'm finally going to get to go to Rennes this weekend! I am so excited! Rennes is bigger than my city, and since it is a college town, there are people my age. So Brooke and I plan to go to a restaurant and finally attend church. I love Saint-Malo, but it is filled with older people. At least they seem nice! I'm sure when I start my French class in September, I will finally see people my age. Hopefully there is someone who speaks English...

Naptime

This week, the kids still have sailing lessons. But unlike last week, all the lessons are in the morning. This morning, the sea was the closest it has been. I had to pick a different spot to camp out on the beach. It was a beautiful day! Not too hot, not to cold, a nice breeze, and lots of sun. I was in the sun for the majority of the day, and it looks like I got some color! But then again, it could just be the lighting from this room... Since it was so nice out, I let the girls go for a swim after their lesson (today it was just the girls, Aymeric was having surgery in his mouth). On the way home, I bought some chocolate and caramel and shared some with the girls, after their lunch of course. For lunch, I had to cook meat similar to burgers. Sure I've cooked chicken and fish before, but I don't think I have ever cooked beef before, especially on the stove. I think it turned out alright. I just wish I didn't cook it as long.

Later today, there was an ambulance and police car outside the house. The girls were very excited about them, but no one knows what happened. My guess is that some elderly person fell and couldn't get back up. But I could be wrong. While the girls played with their toys in the backyard, I tried to take a nap. My first mistake was leaving my window open. The stupid cop cars outside kept opening and closing their doors, I kept hearing neighbors talk, and a dog started barking. After the dog, I got up to close my window. Then Aymeric came back with his mom from Rennes. I think I slept 5 minutes when I had originally scheduled out an hour. Oh well, c'est la vie.

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The Pirate Labyrinth

I think I'm allergic to a type of cheese here. This morning, I woke up sick again. I find it extremely strange that I have woken up two Sundays in a row, sick to my stomach, when I rarely get sick. It reminds me of when I was little and somehow got a sickness, that didn't come with a fever, every Sunday morning before church... Okay, but this time, it is for real. So from now on I get to test cheeses to figure out which one is making me sick. Lucky me.

Today, Karine, Aymeric, Brooke, and I went to a pirate themed corn maze. Bertrand and the girls went swimming at his mom's house, but because Brooke and Aymeric needed to take the train back to Rennes, they went somewhere closer to the station. The Labyrinth was fun! Aymeric ran ahead down different paths to see if they went through or were just a dead end. Within the maze, there were little riddles and illusions that we had to solve. Of course the riddles were completely obvious, but we still managed to get them wrong. The best one was... The father of Maryse had daughters named Chacha, Cheche, Chichi, and Chocho. What was the fifth daughter's name? I won't say the answer, but when we checked our answers, we all got a good laugh at how obvious the answer was. At the end of the maze, there were bounce houses and other blow up courses. On my favorite course, you were attached to elastic bands and had to run as far as you could before it launched you back to the beginning. On my first try, I ran until the velcro belt ripped off. It was hilarious! I think we got some pretty sweet action shots, and laughs, from this event.

My random piece of information on this post has to do with my name. I absolutely love how the French pronounce my name. It makes me believe I am actually a French mademoiselle. Instead of the normal pronunciation of Annalise (anna-lease) they pronounce my name like anna-leeze. Okay so I just said it out loud, and from the typed pronunciation, it sounds lame. So I am just going to tell you all to keep in mind that they have French accents. Maybe I'll record someone saying my name here and post it...

P.S. Once again, if you want to see more pictures, click on this link
---> Facebook and you will be lead to my A Year in France album.

P.P.S. I think I am going to start putting the Facebook link at the bottom of every post. So if you see it, click Facebook for more pictures.

Intramuros

Today Bertrand took me and Brooke to the old city in St-Malo. From the outside it looked beautiful! The walls surrounded a city with tall buildings and cobble stone streets. There are lots of shops inside the old city. Now I know where my first shopping spree will be... Don't get mad at me Dad! My favorite building within the walls, was the cathedral. I really wanted to take pictures from the inside, but I felt like it would be rude to all the people lighting candles or praying. Bertrand lead us to the top of the walls and the view was amazing! The sea was so clear and colorful. I even saw the Bon-Secours beach (before coming here I looked at the beaches and Bon-Secours was my favorite, it was a pool, including a diving board, that gets filled with the ocean). Bertrand tried to explain more about the history of St-Malo, but I was too distracted with the sights. Oh well, just means I have to go back! Unfortunately, it was very cold and very windy, especially on top of the walls. It is summertime and I am already freezing. I will probably have to do my winter clothes shopping soon because my Arizonan wardrobe is definitely not prepared for the weather I will be experiencing...

Later, while Bertrand and Karine were playing a match of tennis, the kids, Brooke, and I walked to a park to play. We brought some sport equipment to play volleyball, bocce ball, and badminton. I tried a couple of times to play volleyball with Aymeric, but it wasn't very successful. I don't know if any of you have tried to play volleyball with a nine year old before, but I can tell you that it is more like playing fetch. Good thing he had a lot of energy to run after the ball. The girls just wanted to play house/restaurant. They made Brooke, Aymeric, and I pretend like we were customers and they were the people who owned the restaurant. I'm not gonna lie, their pretend dishes looked pretty legit. I wish I took a picture of the main dish. They found big leaves for plates, and then picked a whole bunch of wildflowers to act as the food. Aymeric threw his food, and I picked off the petals and tried to put them in Aymeric's hair. Brooke was the only one who didn't play with her food. Then for dessert, they took the birdies from the badminton set and put leaves and flowers inside. After 'eating' our meals, we played cops and robbers in a darker, creepier part of the park. Oh yeah, we are awesome au pairs... It was fun, until I stepped in dog poop.

This is of me freezing.

Speaking of poop, Karine bought pink toilet paper! I know. Very random, but c'mon, you don't see pink toilet paper everyday! The last time I saw pink toilet paper, it was strung through our trees by some anonymous kid(s). Another random thought, the candy I have tried here is pretty good. The kids are obsessed with a candy called Scoubidous. They remind me of Twizzlers but longer and colorful. And they taste better. The other day, Brooke bought some chocolate called Côte D'Or. It was soooo good! I've been making lists about the best candies here, but I do miss a good 'ole Butterfinger. And peanut butter M&M's. Those two are my favorite! I wonder if I will be able to find them somewhere...

Rain, Rain Go Away

Bonjour! First off, I found out why there are shutters we close every night. It's to make the rooms dark! Because the sun stays up past 8, we shut the shutters in the kids' rooms so they can fall asleep easier! I guess you can use shutters to prevent Peeping Toms as well... And I have a few pictures of my room to show you all. There isn't much to see because it is so small. At least in the winter, when it is freezing, my room will be able to heat faster. If the heater is working... And yes, my computer screen is showing blogger in the first picture.

So today started out sunny and beautiful! We ate lunch outside in the sun, and Brooke and I wore our swimsuits the the sailing lesson. We laid out maybe 10 minutes and then the sun was blocked. Eventually I put my jacket and shorts back on because it was getting cold. So much for getting a tan today... People got up and left the beach when the thunder started, but Brooke and I just sat there. I mean, it was just thunder. Maybe three minuted later, it started to a sprinkle. And within a minute, the sprinkle turned into pouring rain! We threw everything back into our cart and started to run away, but we didn't know where to hide! Luckily, the shed where all the life jackets are stored was open. So, both of us hid there hoping the rain would stop soon. Then this big old lady ran into the shed huffing and puffing. I have no idea where she came from, but she was in a swimsuit that she eventually took the top off. She did have a towel to cover herself up, but it didn't do its job very well... I saw way too much and it was really hard not to giggle. Well it poured for about 10 minutes and all of a sudden it stopped. We were soaked, and all the kids came back from the sea (some of the boats even blew over!) and then the sun came out. It is really weird how fast the weather can change.

I have one more random thing to tell you about. I bought a small satchel to use in France. I wanted a smaller one because I feel like it would be much harder for people to pick-pocket out of a tiny bag that I always keep in front of me. Plus there are no outside pockets. Anyway, I am amazed at how many things I can pack into this tiny purse! I can fit... my phone, passport, a pack of gum, my camera, my iPod, my keys, my chapstick, money, and then I still have enough room to stuff in something small like a travel sized bottle of lotion. I call it my Hermione purse because it is seriously magical. I guess I could call it my Mary Poppins bag too...

And I was wondering if anyone knows how to change the main language on Google? My Google is in French and I can't figure out how to change it to English.