Family Matters

I have had an interesting couple of weeks. After my ridiculous battle with 'la grippe' (the flu) I went almost directly to Metz to visit some 1st years and my French lecturer from UCLan. While it was wonderful to show my lecturer what I had learned in 6 short months here, the special thing about this trip was that I got to stay with a host family.

My 'host sister' was called Léonie, and she studies in Metz. I got to stay with her mother, father, brother and two cats. They could not have been more welcoming...and they did everything they could to help me experience 'French family life'. One evening we sat down and Léonie's father taught me about French wines and cheeses, and another afternoon we had a raclette lunch. I also watched French films, and walked around the city with my host mother. It was a lot of fun. Léonie and I are keeping in touch, so I hope we can see eachother soon!

Another awesome thing that happened this week...my father came to visit. It has been wonderful showing him the city that I call 'home' right now. The difficult thing has been translating! My father does not speak French, so of course I have been back and forth between French and English. An interesting moment was when I was speaking to two of my friends in the hall of my residence (in French), and I introduced my dad to them. I was speaking French, and turned to my father to translate what one of my friends had said, and just continued speaking in French! Oops!

We walked through the cathedral, ate delicious meals, and I even enlisted him to help me clean up my room (he is a master...it looks 1,000 times better!). He has been here for a week, and he heads home tomorrow. I am a bit sad, but this trip has been really fun, and really helpful for my homesickness. I am really thankful he was here, and I got the opportunity to show him Amiens. I feel like my support network here in Amiens is finally is growing a little bit!