With the art students leaving for Venice the night/morning after my birthday, it was decided that it would be best to celebrate my birthday a few days early. So two days before my birthday my host mom cooked up an amazing dinner and allowed me to invite over three friends from school.
Figuring that I probably shouldn't be in pajamas for my dinner I got dressed in my new French shirt that I had bought earlier that week (hey my birthday was coming up... I'm allowed to buy myself presents right?) and waited in my bedroom until dinner was ready and everyone had arrived. Rachel F. showed up first to work on a paper with my housemate Niki before dinner.
I hung out with the two of them until I got a text informing me of the arrival of my other two guests: Forrest and Becky. After I showed them inside, my host mom set out the apéritif - which ended up being a delicious mix of champagne and some sort of strawberry mixer. This of course came along with the usual bowls of chips, pistachios and cubed cheese.
My friends and I sat around with my host family and talked for a while until dinner was ready. We started out with a salad topped with smoked salmon (my host mom obviously pays good attention because smoked salmon is one of my favorite foods). After that, we moved onto the second course which was a mouth-watering chicken dish served on a bed of rice. This, as per the usual, was followed by a plate of five or so different cheeses. Finally finishing with the beautiful homemade chocolate cake posted above. Have I mentioned yet how much I adore my host mom? Because I do. She's absolutely perfect!
Throughout the meal we also drank quite a few bottles of wine, so everyone ended up going home in a food and wine coma. Later Becky and Forrest joked about understanding why I'm often too tired after dinner to come out with them.
As amazing as the food and company was, one of the most memorable things from that night was seeing how much my French had improved in comparison to other IAU students. Both Rachel and Niki are in a high level French class and were able to communicate very well in French. But the interesting thing is that I was too! For once, I understood everything that was being said... and when did that happen? I even found myself translating for my friends, Becky and Forrest, who would often miss what was being said.
I noticed, for perhaps the first time, how much quicker my host family had gotten when speaking to us in French. (When Niki and I first arrived they spoke slowly, so that it would be easier for us to understand). And though I still found it difficult to quickly add my own dialogue to the conversations at hand, I was still able to contribute and best of all I was able to understand all of them. It was such an incredible realization. And it ended up being a truly unforgettable birthday.
Figuring that I probably shouldn't be in pajamas for my dinner I got dressed in my new French shirt that I had bought earlier that week (hey my birthday was coming up... I'm allowed to buy myself presents right?) and waited in my bedroom until dinner was ready and everyone had arrived. Rachel F. showed up first to work on a paper with my housemate Niki before dinner.
I hung out with the two of them until I got a text informing me of the arrival of my other two guests: Forrest and Becky. After I showed them inside, my host mom set out the apéritif - which ended up being a delicious mix of champagne and some sort of strawberry mixer. This of course came along with the usual bowls of chips, pistachios and cubed cheese.
My friends and I sat around with my host family and talked for a while until dinner was ready. We started out with a salad topped with smoked salmon (my host mom obviously pays good attention because smoked salmon is one of my favorite foods). After that, we moved onto the second course which was a mouth-watering chicken dish served on a bed of rice. This, as per the usual, was followed by a plate of five or so different cheeses. Finally finishing with the beautiful homemade chocolate cake posted above. Have I mentioned yet how much I adore my host mom? Because I do. She's absolutely perfect!
Throughout the meal we also drank quite a few bottles of wine, so everyone ended up going home in a food and wine coma. Later Becky and Forrest joked about understanding why I'm often too tired after dinner to come out with them.
As amazing as the food and company was, one of the most memorable things from that night was seeing how much my French had improved in comparison to other IAU students. Both Rachel and Niki are in a high level French class and were able to communicate very well in French. But the interesting thing is that I was too! For once, I understood everything that was being said... and when did that happen? I even found myself translating for my friends, Becky and Forrest, who would often miss what was being said.
I noticed, for perhaps the first time, how much quicker my host family had gotten when speaking to us in French. (When Niki and I first arrived they spoke slowly, so that it would be easier for us to understand). And though I still found it difficult to quickly add my own dialogue to the conversations at hand, I was still able to contribute and best of all I was able to understand all of them. It was such an incredible realization. And it ended up being a truly unforgettable birthday.