July. What a whirlwind of a month. Once we got back from our adventures in the Pyrenees, I had to put my business socks on. Igor, a visiting professor from St. Louis, was working with Jason's lab for a couple of months and his family was coming to visit for two weeks. During that time, Igor decided he wanted his 16 year old son, Andrew, to learn some French. "He only knows English, Russian and German so he could stand to learn another language." He asked if I would be interested in giving him French lessons during his vacation. I had never taught French and I had also never given individual lessons but when you're getting paid 20€/hour straight cash, you figure it out.
After five years of teaching in an urban public school classroom, giving one-on-one lessons to a kid who goes to one of the best private schools in the country was certainly an adjustment but I didn't have time to let it faze me. Plus, Andrew was curious and eager to learn, which made my job a lot easier. Sure, I was writing plans for that day on my way back from my own French classes like a total noob, but it worked out. Even though he knew no French at all when we started, after two hours a day for 10 days with me, he was able to ace the A1 DELF exam on our last day. Killed it!
Along with Andrew's lessons, I was still doing my thing with Ema (Alexis's last day was July 2) and we had to jam in a bunch of extra sessions because they were leaving for vacation on the 18th and still wanted to get in their 16 hours for the month. All of this on top of my own classes, which were also drawing to a close at the end of the month. And, you know, doing stuff with that guy who lives with me.
Speaking of that guy, Jason's birthday was in there, too! I openly admit that I am a terrible gift giver. I don't know why I am so bad at it but I really struggle to find meaningful things to give people, especially under the pressure of a birthday or holiday. It's even more maddening because Jason is so good at it. He always comes up with the most thoughtful shit and I'm like, "I got you this tie clip from Sears!" Ugh. Embarrassing. Anyway, I thought I was being slick this year and made a little mental note when he said he was interested in taking a cooking class on traditional French techniques. I probably waited a little too long to start doing my research, though, because by the end of the month, people were already starting their summer vacations and courses were filling up quickly with all the tourists coming to town. On top of that, I really needed to find something that was going to accommodate Jason's limited understanding of the French language. I managed to book a course that was being held right down the street and the woman swore to me that there would be staff on hand to help translate because the chefs themselves didn't speak English.
LIES.
To the chef's credit, he did make everything very simple and gave very good visual demos so it wasn't that bad but I knew it frustrated Jason not being able to ask questions. He's a scientist. That's what he does. We were in a group with four French people and we were all working together to make this four-course meal. Everyone got to do a little of each step of each course: cut up these ingredients, mix these things together, pour this into the pot. The part that I think Jason really wanted was the technical aspect: How hot, what speed, when exactly do you add this, why do you remove that. That's the stuff that makes you a really good chef. To be fair, I guess you don't really have time to focus on those little details in a two-hour course. We had a nice brunch but it wasn't quite what Jason was hoping for. "That was really hard" is only a good critique in the bedroom and we had not gotten to that portion of the birthday yet. FAIL.
Some friends were heading down to Arcachon for the afternoon and I was looking for a way to salvage the day so I suggested we take the train down, meet up with the gang for a swim, and then grab some oysters at the little shack I went to with my school. Can't go wrong with a day at the beach! Despite the fact that Igor seemed a bit stressed out by all the sitting around, we enjoyed ourselves, splashing in the waves and poking the giant dead jellyfish that had washed up on the beach. I had never seen a jellyfish in real life like that. I always thought they be more... jelly-like. They're so tough and dense! I was surprised, that's all.
The rest of the group left early so Jason and I walked over to the Cabane de l'Aiguillon for some oysters. The place was empty except for one other table and I'm pretty sure they were the owners. It was totally the highlight of the day. The sun was setting, the temperature was perfect, there was a nice breeze and they were taking the oysters right out of the bay and serving them to us. Doesn't get any fresher than that. It's a pretty amazing place to begin with: It's so far off the beaten path that you automatically feel special just by knowing it's there. Needless to say, the oysters were delicious and Jason loved it. WIN!
Everyone was too tired from napping on the beach all day to go out, so Jason and I decided we'd just head over to the ol' Cock and Bull for a couple beers and call it a day. When we got there, it was pretty early and no one was around so we amused ourselves by playing one of the dice games we learned in Colonial Williamsburg last summer. A random bar patron came over and told Jason to watch out because I was cheating, and suddenly we're chatting up this guy and his wife like we're old friends. Christophe doesn't speak much English and Jason doesn't speak much French but apparently, there is a universal man language and they really hit it off. Aurélie and I were pretty well matched in our linguistic abilities as well, both being pretty fluent in French and English. By the end of the night, we were buying each other beers, telling stories, just having a great time. We even invited them over to our house for a nightcap and Aurélie told me the most beautiful story about having their son. If more people spoke the way she did about having children, maybe I would catch the baby fever and bang out a couple of my own. When they decided it was time to go at 3am, we exchanged emails and we have been keeping in touch ever since. They even sent us a postcard from their vacation in Spain. Adorable. Totally random and totally not French but totally amazing.
We got a little more ripped up than intended (probably because all we had eaten all day was a fancy ass brunch and some oysters) and we were not well on Sunday morning. Happy birthday! Much to our dismay, Mangez-moi was closed for renovations and we had to go somewhere else for some far less superior kebab. Meat and ginger ale in our bellies followed by a cat nap in the afternoon, we were feeling like real people again by dinner time. We went out for a stroll and met up with Guillaume for paella in the evening. All in all, a pretty solid birthday weekend, if you ask me.
The last week of July, I finished my classes and said some bittersweet goodbyes to the crew at Campus Bissy. It was definitely time for me to go; I was already beyond the highest level they offered. But I really liked the people there, and even for all the shit she put us through in the beginning, Carolyne turned out to be aight, too. Luckily, I will still be in Bordeaux for the next two years so it's not really the end end. Can't get rid of me! I'm here for the long haul!
Next up: Glorious return to the homeland.
