May 31

I woke up early and I wrote in my journal, but then I fell asleep again. (This was a Sunday.) When I woke up the next time, I wrote some more then took a shower, and the shower rod didn't fall, thank goodness.
I ate breakfast at 9:30 -- a croissant and apple juice. My family told me to eat more, but I wasn't hungry. They also told me that they don't eat croissants everyday --I think this is a common American misconception -- because they're too caloric.
We watched television and then Cassandre, her mother, and I went to E.LeClerc, the super market. Cassandre chose beef, pork, and sausage for the barbecue (In France, barbecue = grilled food. When they come here, we'll feed them some real barbecue.) at her grandparents' house later that day. We also bought drinks, ice cream, cookies, napkins, and plates.

We then went to the bakery to buy baguettes. The line was a little bit long, so we waited for about five minutes and then bought three baguettes. We went back to the house and then everyone left for the barbecue. I met Cassandre's grandparents, and Cassandre and I went and met Elodie at the park. We played on the swings and talked while waiting for everyone else to arrive. When Sandra got there, we went back to the house where the others were waiting. (But when Sandra arrived she asked me if I understood French and I said, "Well enough." I then heard Cassandre say quietly, "Not really." That bothered me, but I also realize that it is true -- here, everyone speaks French far more quickly than I am used to.)

We talked, we ate chips...I was seated next to Melissa, D-D, and Jeanne. I got a little bit homesick, I think, even if that was just the explanation I used because it was the easiest reason to say why I was crying. (In reality, it was the "Not really.")
I felt really silly about crying later...ick.

Then we all ate, first the meat off the grill with pasta salad, and then the ice cream. We went to an area outside the high school where we talked and the French kids smoked. Then we went back to the house, said goodbye to the adults, and left again. Pierrot and Melissa left, and the rest of us went back to the bar where we had been the day before. Jeanne and I were the only ones who didn't drink anything. After, we all sat outside of the Hotel de Ville. Alison, Jeanne, and Gaeton (Alison's boyfriend) all left, and Cassandre and I followed suit. I called my parents but they didn't answer; they were still at church. Cassandre told me that I could get on the computer, so I checked my email and replied to a couple, including one from my mother. I had to change my passwords to my email because I couldn't figure out how to type the @ sign, and ten minutes later I found it. *sighs* I'm too shy! I should have asked...

I also got on Facebook and found that one of my old friends from ballet now has one, so I friended her. Then I wrote on my French teacher's blog of the trip, as she had requested. (She had ordered Pierrot, whom she had seen at church that morning -- to tell me to blog.) I posted something on everyday that I had something to say about -- I don't remember if I posted about Friday, but I definitely posted about Saturday and Sunday. I described those days briefly, not at all like I do in my journal...

The second time that I got on my email, my mother began a chat with me, so we talked -- about France, about keyboards in Europe, about sports...everything.

For dinner we ate the leftovers from the barbecue. I also ate some bery good cheese. We (all of the family other than Ophelie, who wasn't there) talked about religion and some of the cultural differences between the U.S. and France. For example, Cassandre told me that she doesn't know the Marseillaise (French national anthem), which shocked me, partially because I know it, and I'm not French. Cassandre asked me if I knew the American national anthem, and of course I know Star Spangled Banner. Plus the Oklahoma state song, and the Texas state song...but the point was that the French aren't nearly as patriotic.

We also talked about religion -- how in France there are very few people who are actually practicants (sorry, using the French word cause I can't figure out a good translation.), and about how those who are practicants are either Catholic or Muslim. Cassandre's family does not practice a religion, and later Cassie told me that she doesn't feel comfortable in a church (when we were touring Amiens and went to the cathedral). Hmm...that might be interesting if she comes here...

After dinner we watched an old French film, and at ten o'clock I went up to my room, and Cassandre came with me. I don't know why, but I pulled out the book of Oklahoma pictures that I had brought as a host gift -- I hadn't figured out when I was going to give it to Cassandre -- and we sat down on the bed and looked at it. On Saturday and Sunday I hadn't known whether or not Cassandre liked me, and I thought that she didn't. But that night, loking at the photos, sititing on the bed together...we talked a little bit, in English I admit, but it didn't matter, and she told me that she really wants to live in the U.S. and that she thinks Oklahoma is more beautiful than the Picardie region where she lives. I think that they are both beautiful, but differently -- Oklahoma is more red, Picardie more green. In Picardie, the towns and buildings are old and that is beauty. In Oklahoma the old beauty is in the land. Everything in Oklahoma is red, even the people. In the Choctaw language, Oklahoma means red people.

Through talking and looking at the book, I found that even if I do not understand French as well as I thought, even if I'm not as fun to be around as Melissa, even if Cassandre and I never completely click, we are friends.

Then I wrote in my journal and went to bed. It was so odd, to go back to daily tasks after a moment that I felt was so important....