I cannot believe that I got up on time this morning. Seriously, life without an alarm clock is an erratic, nail-biting, anything-can-happen kind of existence: an existence in which I would much prefer not to dwell. Tomorrow, I seek an end in Val D’europe, a large shopping mall in which there will certainly be an alarm clock of some sort.
Last night, for the first time in my life, I cooked a roast chicken. I’ve seen it done many times, so this was rather simple. However, the parents were not home at 7 (kids’ dinner time), and I realized that I had to carve it. After sizing up my opponent for a few moments, I spotted something I hadn’t seen before on a roast chicken: a long neck, and a head. The eyes were burnt shut, and the hair on its chin was crispy from oil. I almost lost my lunch, yuck.
I promptly recovered, and began to cut. I got the legs off by snapping them off (who knew there was such a tough joint there!) and then cut the meat off the top. The bones underneath revealed a full body’s worth of organs. The liver (I think) fell out as I
cut some more meat off, and later I found something that looked like poop in the pan. When I had done as much as I could without feeding the kids parts that have never been eaten, I set down the knife. It was a rather messy ordeal, and the meat was not nearly as clean cut as the meat I’ve had before. However, in the end, chicken is chicken, and the kids gobbled it up. I was so proud of myself, my first chicken! I smiled down at the toasted beak, and ate some ham for dinner.
Later, I went for another practice drive with Arnaud (Dad). Things were much easier this time. I still have difficulty with the oddly placed stoplights, however. When we exited the car, I distinctly smelled chocolate cake in the air. No one was cooking in the house. I thought I was going crazy… why else would I smell chocolate cake so strongly in the middle of this woodsy, sparsely inhabited neighborhood! I mentioned this to Geraldine (Mom), and she nearly fell over laughing. She told me there was a small bakery across the street that made cookies. She imitated me, frantically sniffing, trying to figure out why I smelled chocolate cookies in the middle of the woods. Hysterical! I really do enjoy her company.
I also received an email from the au pair agency containing the names of others in my area. There are four girls: an American, two Finnish, and one Swiss girl. I think I’ll email them and see if we can get together in Paris.
Your daily dose of cultural enhancement:
Yaogur- Yogurt, eaten as a dessert after every meal. Plain yogurt is often mixed with jelly or cane sugar, but flavored yogurt is eaten alone.
Flush- the flush on a toilet is a small button on the top of the toilet. Also, during the night, no one flushes the toilet, resulting in a rather nasty odor/ sight. I, however, do not adhere to this custom.
Be Cool- a phrase the French use all the time, along with ‘Alors’, ‘D’accord’, and ‘Okay’.
Boxed- Milk is stored in a 1L box in the cabinet at room temperature for as long as 2 months. When it is opened, it is then put in the réfrigérateur.
Pictures are up! View them here.
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