Anyone who read of our time in Japan might remember two of the things I missed most -- bread, and most of all, cheese. Ah, cheese. In Sapporo, I would have to take two different subways to go to the import store where I would pay an insane amount of money for small packets of familiar cheese. As soon as we got back to Canada (I'm talking Christmas Eve here), we went to Costco and I bought about eight different kinds (in Costco sized amounts), just so I would never, EVER, have to do without.
Well, going without cheese is not going to be a problem here. In just three days, we have been to a supermarche twice and I have stocked up on the most wonderful (and NOT expensive) cheeses in the world. The first time, I asked the woman at the counter to pick cheeses that are from the region, came home with four different kinds and have been in heaven ever since. Cheese heaven. A kind of heaven that tastes so very good on the bread from the local boulangerie. And goes so well with the wine that comes from the vines we walked by on our way to a park with the kids today. I kind of feel like it's my duty almost to make up for all the cheese I *didn't* eat while in Japan. Tough job, eh?
We are settling in so well. We all have a bit of jetlag, but it's the kind that is keeping everyone up later than we'd like and sleeping late these last two mornings (which somehow feels less difficult that the kind where you are wide awake at 3 in the morning and can't go back to sleep). We stayed home for most of the day today and just enjoyed the house and the delicious food purchased at E. Leclerc, a large grocery store in Beaune (just 10 minutes away). This afternoon, we took a walk up to Les Chaumes, a nearby park/grazing area/tennis court/playground to take advantange of the warm sun and blue skies. The village is surrounded by vineyards and on the way there, Jack (taking in the scenery) said to his sisters "The French must be mad for wine". Pretty good observation for a seven year old!
Just before we got there, I reminded the kids how we met Hiromi and Ayumu, two of our closest friends in Japan, on the first day at the first park we went to, and asked them if they thought we'd make any friends today (they weren't sure). Well, when we arrived, another family was there with three small children and a dog. At first, our kids were quite shy and kept their distance... but the lure of a cute little dog drew everyone together, and (with a few errors, of course), we ended up having a wonderful conversation with Olivier and Valerie (and their children Julianne, almost 7, Quentin, almost 5, and Luigi, almost 3). They live in a nearby village (but I don't remember which one) and agreed that *three* was the best number of children to have. They warned us that the fuzzy looking caterpiller Jack and Katie were playing with was actually something that shouldn't be touched (and then handed me their bottle of water to wash off Jack and Kate's hands). They were glad we liked wine (how could you not in a place like this?). They were warm and friendly and patient with our French... and we agreed to meet again in the same place Wednesday afternoon.
I know it's not all going to be this wonderful -- that there will certainly be hard times and sad times and lonely times and frustrating times... but right now, we are just soaking up all the good stuff, and feel lucky to be able to do so.
Speaking of the less than wonderful -- I spent the night completing the paperwork necessary to enroll the kids in schools, and then emailed (in French, with accents and everything) the directrice of the schools. I hope she emails back tomorrow and doesn't call (I wonder how long you would have to speak a foreign language before you felt comfortable on the phone... whatever it is, I am far from there). Franck and Laura have been so helpful getting all of the paperwork to us (and there is a lot) -- there is even a form the mayor of our village has to sign allowing the children to enroll in schools. Fingers crossed that it all goes well (now is that just too naive -- hoping something involving French and bureacracy and paperwork goes well? We'll see this week!)
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