Somewhere in the Middle

Birthday boy turns 9

Today Lil' C turned 9. He's growing so fast. It's hard to believe he's 9! lol! My sweet baby is growing into an amazing little man.

Being that today was his special day, I prepared his favorite breakfast (eggs & sausages, strawberries & plums, and a lime/orange juice) and he ate it in bed while S & I sang "Happy Birthday". What better way to begin your birthday. ;)

At C's school, the tradition is for the birthday boy or girl to give out little packs of candy. So this year we skipped the cupcakes and went for the candy per C's request. And since I volunteered at school today it was a really sweet treat for me to see the whole class sing "Happy Birthday" to C.

It was definitely C's lucky day because his French class was cancelled so he had the afternoon free. So what better way to celebrate than with a playdate with his best friend, Lil' J. 

Around our home, we celebrate the actual day of your birthday with a dinner of your choice along with your favorite dessert.

This year C chose home-made grilled pizza & a hot milk birthdaycake with lots of strawberries & fresh whipped cream.

Lil' J's family also had dinner with us so C was super happy!

Friends + Oktoberfest = Good Times

Celebrating Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany is so much fun.

Even if you're not a beer drinker it's a blast. S & I went twice while we lived in Germany and we have some wonderful memories.

The last weekend in September we celebrated Oktoberfest here in Belgian with some of our good German friends. The German community put on an amazing event... the music was fantastic and of course there was plenty of good German food.

At the beginning of the event the Germans continued the tradition of a high official tapping the keg. In Munich, the mayor of the city is the person who taps it but in our case one of the German Generals did it and once he tapped the keg the beer flowed while into the late night.

We went with our friends Herr Adventure and Frau Golfer, who just so happen to be the couple that exchanged homes with my sister & her husband. It was a lot of fun sitting with so many fun Germans.

Herr Adventure loves to dance so immediately when the band began playing he was out on the floor dancing with his wife. Then Herr Adventure & Frau Golfer took S & I out into the aisles and had us dancing a very typical German dance that was so much fun. Imagine yourself dancing hand & hand with another person and skipping side to side at a record speed up and down the aisles. It was crazy! lol! For sure I thought we'd bump into one another.

All throughout the night, people were buying boxes of these little bottles of alcohol. I'm not quite sure what kind of alcohol it was but the Germans had an interesting way to drink them...

First, you vigiously shake the bottle on top of the table, then you take the cap off and put it on your nose, and then put the bottle between your teeth and down it.

S & I danced a lot that night! On the dance floor, in the aisle, & even on top of the benches.

The music was really good and we managed to sing a few German songs while locking arms and swaying to the music.  It was definitely a night to remember!

Beach Day in October

So happy that Friday is here! And that my written & oral exam are over! There's no French school next week so it'll be nice to have some time to catch up on things. Like blogging & preparing for C's birthday.

The next few days are supposed to be gorgeous... classic Autumn days filled with lots of sunshine and cool weather. A combination I love!

About two weekends ago we had a mini heat wave so we took full advantage and hit the beach. That's right, the beach! lol! We had lots of fun with Backgammon Grrrl and her daughter.

The water was freezing but it didn't stop the kids from going swimming. ;)

Lil' C  & Lil' I also had lots of fun playing with the sand.

 

That's definitely not what I meant....

With French, I have good days & I have bad days. I was feeling at the top of my game when Backgammon Grrrl & I went to the flower market. I was chatting away with the vendors asking all sorts of questions and get this.... I was even translating for Backgammon Grrrl! lol!

Listening to another language and actually understanding what's going on around you & being understood is one of the best feelings in the world. It's no longer white noise... the words actually make sense. But learning a new language can also feel like you're riding rollercoaster... you have up's & downs. And last week in French class was definitely a low point. It all started with Madame V explaining various French terms associated with money.

We got on the topic of pocket money and Madame V asked some of us with children how we handle allowance or pocket money in our home. The first four students who spoke answered the question with absolutely no hesitation. Of course, these students are all one level ahead of the beginner students.  They spoke as if French was their first language. Then. She asked me. lol! Looking back I should have completely lied.

"Allowance? What allowance? No, no allowances in our home!"

But of course I wanted to tell her how we reward C. I wanted to go into detail about our happy face point system and how we reward him for the good things he does at home & school. To explain this information in French with no preparation was impossible. But Madame V was waiting for an answer. So I waited a few seconds... trying to think about what I could possibly say and while I was thinking the temperature in class seem to go up to 120 degrees. I broke out in a sweat and my cheeks felt like they were on fire. Oh, it was awful. I started to ramble making no sense really. Looking around I tried to get some help from my neighbors but they were letting me go down all by myself! Although one of the Spanish ladies one level above took pity on me and helped me a bit but it was no use.  I was on my own.

Painstakingly, I managed to tell Madame V that I buy C small gifts but if he wants a large gift he has to work for it. Madame V was shocked... in French she said, "He's 8 years old and he works?!"

"Non, Non... il n'pas travaille" (No, No...  he doesn't work), I said.

I wanted to explain in French how we reward good behavior but what actually came out was that I pay C money to brush his teeth and make his bed. So now all the students are going to walk away thinking, "Wow, Americans pay their children to do normal daily routines." But I guess it's better than confessing to a petite esprit or to hitting your children.

Are you talking about my accent or dessert?

Madame V announced today that one of the students in our class sent her a SMS saying the class was too difficult and that she would no longer be returning. Hmmm... I see I wasn't the only one feeling this way! So Madame V wanted to know how the rest of the class felt about the course. So one by one we told her what we thought of the class. Explaining to Madame V how difficult &  frustrating it is to get assignments for something she hasn't explained was a huge relief.  And I was quite proud that I was able to express my thoughts in French.

After our discussion the mood in class felt lighter. Madame V joked about the assignment that beat everyone up and actually forced a student to drop out of class. We also worked on some role play with some real life situations which we had to present to the class.

While Mediterranean Man. & I walked out of class he told me how much he liked my American accent when I spoke French. Really? Was he serious? "Yes", he told me... "Your accent is absolutely delicious." I love how non-English speakers use adjectives in the most interesting way. Too cute.