Something Old, Something New, Something Bovine {Saying "Moo"}

{Tuesday, September 2}

I can’t believe it’s already September. The past month has flown by. I guess the summer tends to accelerate like that, but I’ve never experienced it from anywhere other than the U.S. Not being in the states has also been weird when it comes to the news. Between Gustav and the elections, watching everything happen from another continent has been all too surreal.

We had a little storm of our own on Sunday night {little, anyway, compared to a hurricane}. At first, we could only see the lightning, because the storm was far enough away that the thunder was imperceptible. After midnight, though, it got really close, bright, and loud. One of the bolts of lightning hit right outside my window with a massive CRACK, and some of the flashes were so brilliant that they actually woke me from sleep, even as the storm moved further away. The torrential downpour was no less impressive, the sky absolutely still one second and pelting the roof with rain the next. It was certainly a force to be reckoned with, and yet the next morning, there were no signs of what had happened, save a couple of wet chairs on the deck and some incredible clouds clinging to the mountains. It reminded me of a breezy New England morning, and I sat outside with my mug of green tea, writing and feeling completely at peace.

The house returned to its normal state of pleasant chaos when everyone came home for lunch {ham, salad, and delicious oven-baked potato bites that looked like coconut macaroons}. Afterward, it was time for Gabriel to go to his classes in Fribourg – I’m still not quite clear on what sort of school he goes to, but it seems to be some sort of vocational school, at which he can take courses on running his new business. As it was, Isabella had to drive him there, and invited me along for the ride. After leaving Gabriel at his school, we made our way to the vielle ville {old city} of Fribourg.

My older brother Nick describes it perfectly as “one of the most European cities in Europe”. As we drove and walked through the vielle ville, that was the foremost thought in my mind – look at that church! How European! It was quaint, and the weather was sunny and mild as always as Isabella and I strolled along the bumpy streets and shared some great conversations {which left no room for cheating, as Isabella doesn’t speak a lick of English}.

Back in the car after our promenade, Isabella announced that it was time to go eat chocolate, a sentiment with which I obviously could not disagree. We drove to Villars, apparently the official source of Fribourgeois chocolate.

Since Isabella is lactose intolerant but likes to live vicariously through others’ consumption of chocolate, we spent a lot of time searching for the perfect dark chocolate for her and every other type imaginable for her family and I. We made our purchases, which included some goodies for my host family, and a tin of chocolate and something called “Larmes d’Edelweiss” for my “real” family {“larmes”, in this case, basically means that there’s some sort of liqueur inside of it and, for the record, Lindsay, once I saw the box I couldn’t get Mme Almeida-Louro’s voice out of my head}. For all of you who are interested, I can still buy Swiss chocolate in France, as well as all manner of other things, so if you have a particular request, don’t hesitate.

It was just about time for school to be over, so we drove back to Le Pâquier and picked up Nathalie and Carole at the train stop while the other children walked home {at their own request}. Shortly thereafter, Isabella, Marie, and I went to Gruyères to commence the practical part of my epic search for a Swiss watch {I figure it’ll be good to have a timepiece besides my cell phone while I’m in Paris, and what better country in which to buy a watch than Switzerland?} We found some nice ones, but agreed to shop around before making a final decision, as I still have a couple of days left to look.

We had some lovely crêpes with ham for dinner, during which I attempted to teach Nathalie, Marie, and Isabella how to make some sounds in English. The “th” was surprisingly easy; I told them that their tongues should be quite literally between the teeth, and they all got it down within a couple of minutes. Our “t” and “l” are simply darker than in French, so those were easy to explain, even if they weren’t fully able to produce the sounds. But ah, the dreaded American “r”. Nathalie studied some minimal English last year, and Marie started to get the idea, but Isabella was a disaster. I decided to have her make the French “euh” sound {the closest sound to it in English is the “u” in “put”} and then curl up her tongue to turn it into an “r”. Somehow, she took every sound I made and moved the point of resonance up to her nose, turning it into a nasalized moan, which sent all four of us into a fit of giggles. “On dirait une vache,” I teased her {“You sound like a cow”}. The girls agreed and, after a minute or two more of this nonsense, we actually heard an indignant moo from up the hill. “Elles répondent!” {“They’re answering us!”} laughed Isabella. Another great moment took place when Olivier returned from work to find us mooing on the patio. Who says linguistics can’t be fun?