Notes on Living with the de Kermadec's

In the days leading up to my departure for France, the thing that terrified me the most was the thought of having to live with another family. I was worried about what my room would be like, how it would work sharing a bathroom with people I didn't know, and mostly how awkward I thought it would be to eat five nights a week with a family I'd never met before. I am easily stressed out by such things, even in America with people I know well, and so I feared I was going to have a relapse in chronic anxiety.

On the contrary, it has been such a wonderful experience thus far. The de Kermadec's are six in total: Arnaud and Clotilde, the parents, Alix and Eleanore, the daughters who are both away at different universities, and Amaury and Erwan, the two sons who both still live at home.

The boys are both extremely sweet. Erwan sings constantly; I told Clotilde that it made me feel more at home because my brother also sings constantly. I saw him naked running from the bathroom to his room within thirty minutes of being here the first day! (Though it has not happened since! What a funny way to begin, though.) Erwan is adorable in just about every way - he is ten years old but very, very polite and adult in many ways. His favorite thing to say to me is, "c'est comme tu veux" - "it's as you wish." He says this to me when his mother is offering me some really delicious food that he doesn't like (he's a picky eater) - "You're not obliged - it's entirely as you wish. You don't have to eat that!" but I always eat it and so far I have loved all the meals here. Tonight, for instance, we had a carrot soup that was served cold. It was very delicious with cumin and coconut milk in it. Yum.

Amaury is also very polite. He listens to loud rap music and occasionally tries to sing along which is terribly bad, funny, and endearing. He is very sweet to Erwan and his parents, and is always polite to me and invites me to hang out with him and his friends when they're here watching soccer games. (The boys both love soccer; when a match is on they scream for almost the entire game.)

Arnaud works a lot of the time and sometimes misses dinner, but when I am around him, he too is very sweet. He talks very quickly, so sometimes I have a real problem understanding him, but he more than anyone else enjoys throwing in English words to test out his abilities in the language. So that makes it a little easier, some of the time.

Clotilde is very sweet and worked hard to make me feel comfortable right from the beginning. She, like Erwan, is constantly tell me, "Comme tu veux." She insists on me eating breakfast in the morning, taking a snack with me if I'm going to be gone a long time, and she taught me how to use the world's coolest espresso machine which I am now slightly addicted to - though I, of course, politely restrain myself.

The apartment is very old and very loud. A door here cannot be shut quietly; ere go doors slam at all ours of the day and night. My bedroom is next to the laundry/bath room, and both the washing machine and the toilette make a lot of noise when used. The boys joke and yell; the parents have tiffs. It is seldom quiet, but I don't mind. It's also a bit strange for me living in an apartment building; outside is the constant noise of other residents coming and going - above is the noise of people walking or mounting the stairs.

Dinner always passes quickly. The French are very fast eaters, and we are normally finished with our entree and desert within a thirty minute period. Normally at dinner, there is quick banter between the family while I sit and try and figure out what they're saying. Sometimes they take the time to go back over everything that's being said; sometimes they get wrapped up in whatever they're discussing and become extremely animated and forget me; sometimes they direct the conversation my way and we all have to talk more slowly. I am constantly making grammatical mistakes, which Clotilde or, sometimes, Erwan(!) politely correct. I've grown more at ease about verifying as I speak, "'Je suis partie' ou 'j'ai parti?'" and they always seem so excited to help me learn.

Regardless, I always look forward to the meal. And I see that as a sign that I'm growing up a bit, and growing a bit more comfortable in my own skin.