Day 750 (Friday) 28th
June 2019
It was seriously hot at 9 this morning – our thermometer read 44 degrees
and poor Badger hates it, he was even panting a few times and he spent most of
the day hiding in my wardrobe. We went down the front to have a coffee with Sue
and Kay before they left and we were surprised that they had chosen the café
attached to the Welcome hotel, which is THE most expensive café in town. They
had a coffee, Huw had an orange juice and I had a small bottle of Orangina and
it came to 17€. Sue wanted to give us a treat and paid for it all, bless her.
They called an uber and we waved
them off; Kay was going home but the jetsetter Sue was flying to Lisbon to meet
her children to celebrate Nick’s (her son) 30th birthday. Nick was
in my class in London for a year and I remember him celebrating his 21st birthday
– where does the time go?
We went for a short walk along
the front and it was good to see all the French and American bunting flags all
over the place – I am so looking forward to next Thursday and this year we can
watch a lot of the parade from our balcony.
We watched the waiters and
waitresses setting the tables for breakfast and they looked very inviting.
When we got home we both had to
do our paperwork as it’s the end of the month. I had to prepare some more
lessons for next week and my pay claims and Huw had to do his tax and my French
tax and the lovely Badger had some fun ‘helping’ us do the filing – not!
When the tedious chores
were done we took Kisbee to the big Carrefour in Nice and Huw got his new
swimming trunks (why on earth are they called trunks?) a pair of espadrilles and
a replacement small backpack, which I paid for in case I can’t find him a suitable birthday present – he is so
difficult to buy for. I got a new pencil case (I can’t remember the last time I
had a pencil case!) for my coloured pens and pencils for next week and I bought
two skirts in the sale and they are size 8 – hooray! It’s been a long time
since I was a size 8 – chuffed!
As
usual we went to Le Phare (I can’t believe how many evenings we’ve been out
this week and most of the usual suspects were there. Big Kev and Louise went to
a wedding in Wales recently and there were blow up daffodils everywhere so they
brought one for us ready for the six nations. We already have a blow-up leek
given to me by my cousin so we will be fully armed for the tournament.
A
local man came into the bar handing out posters to advertise events happening
on July 4th and Seb very kindly gave me one, so we are going to
frame it and put it in the sunroom along with the rest of our French posters.
Badger had obviously missed us because
when we got home he was very playful.
Here are the next two types of
Americans in France
2. The
Gone-Native
This breed of
American expats in France has completely integrated into French society. They
refuse to hang out with anyone who isn’t French. If they must socialise
with a fellow American, they insist on speaking French. If they didn’t smoke
before, they’ve certainly started.
A meal without cheese
is simply pas possible. Choosing to forget that they were once
Yankees themselves, they freely criticise American values and habits and blush
with embarrassment at any mention of Donald Trump or Sarah Palin. They
will never understand the obsession with guns or going to the
gym. And they’d rather be guillotined than be seen at McDonald's or Starbucks.
3. The
Accidental Expat
This expat never
planned to live in France long-term. They probably came here to study abroad,
fell in love with a dashing Frenchie, and never left. They probably do teaching
or translation work. Since they’re shacked up with a native, they most likely
speak French pretty well.
This expat is willing
to mix with other tribes a bit, hanging out with French friends they know
through their significant other but also befriending other Americans, as
they're not quite in denial of their American-ness like the Gone-Native (see
point 2).
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