Host 2: Dinner Party

This weekend was a disappointment. I wanted to write a post about the house I’m staying in, but life had other plans. Denis and Perrine had their theatre group over all weekend, so the house was full of people which made things difficult for us as none of them really spoke English. We also wanted to take a time lapse video of all the rooms, but there are people staying in them. To top it off, the WiFi has been down all weekend. We have felt slightly like prisoners, as we’re both a bit shy and opted to stay in our room, rather than sit amongst conversations we can’t understand. Well, I can’t understand, Tawnie can if she tries hard, but that requires a lot of effort and she was feeling some language fatigue. Even in the US I prefer small groups of people to large groups, and here there were probably 30 or so people. There were also many kids who ran wild and were up late making a ton of noise. The walls were literally shaking and this house is so old that I was worried about the damage they had the potential to cause. Luckily, I think all was okay.

That being said, it wasn’t all bad, as on Friday night Tawnie and I participated in a traditional French dinner party with only 8 people total. It began as dusk was just rolling in. We sat around a table outside and everyone sat back, looking as cool and comfortable as possible. Beside the 4 usual suspects of me, Tawnie, Denis, and Perrine, there was an older couple, an artist looking man, and a lady that didn’t particularly stand out in this crowd of eccentrics. 

I’ll begin by describing the artist. I have no idea if he is an artist, but his look leads you to believe he is. Imagine the stereotypical struggling artist of 25, then add 25 more years and this is your guy. He wore a dark blue blazer that had some tasteful white paint stains on the left shoulder. He wore skinny pants that ended high on his bare ankle that lead down to some minimalist fancy shoes - a sophisticated mans Vans. On top was a hat that I don’t know the name of, but I can picture one on the head of a newsboy running around the streets of London in 1850. To complete the ensemble was an e-pipe that he used to smoke his tobacco. Between puffs off his pipe he and others enjoyed Grants scotch mixed with sparkling water. This man was going for a look, and he nailed it.

Next up is the older lady. She wore a dressy shirt that went with some poofy pants that made her whole outfit look like a dress. She had reddish brown hair, with big long bangs that covered her eyes surrounded by mascara. The bangs also covered what looked to be a terrible scar on her forehead - based on the driving here I suspect a car accident of her youth, but this is speculation. She wore heels and a fair bit of jewelry to complete the look. She smoked from a pack of cigarettes, and her drink of choice was light beer, poured from the bottle into a chalice. She didn’t have a powerful voice, and was often talked over, but that didn’t appear to bother her.

Her husband shared her smoking and drink choices. He had white hair that came down to the tops of his shoulders. He wore a button up shirt that was only buttoned about halfway up, revealing some white chest hair and plenty of confidence. He didn’t speak a ton, but made his presence known with his body language. Sitting upon a bench, he had his legs crossed, leaned back on his left hand, and his right arm sprawled along the back of the bench. When he spoke it was usually something witty to get a laugh - serious conversation was not for him.

Lastly, the lady. She was probably about 45 years old, wore tight jean shorts and a t-shirt. She was the only one that didn’t look straight out of a movie. She spent the time to talk to Tawnie in simple French she could understand. She was very nice and Tawnie enjoyed talking to her. She seemed to be the only one not acting out a specific persona - but you can’t really blame the rest of them, as this is theatre group after all.

After sitting outside drinking and eating peanuts for a couple hours, we finally went in for dinner at what I think was about 9 o’clock. Dinner began with onion soup, followed by salad, and finally onto a rice stir fry. Everything was good, but Tawnie and I had been hungry at 6 o’clock and this just wasn’t enough food! Then everyone took out their smoking bags and lit their cigarettes, rolled their own, or puffed from their e-pipe. This is how they don’t eat! They just smoke a ton! Frustrated and not knowing how to politely excuse ourselves for bed, we sat for another 30 minutes of passionate discourse about hunting and who knows what else, then I let Perrine know I was tired and we got up and said our goodbyes. We got to our room at 10:30 and could smell the cigarette smoke seeping into our room from the dining room below. We fell asleep a little hungry, and the next morning stumbled to town and found a bakery to begin to satisfy our hunger.

Soon these guests will leave and we’ll be back to normal. The dinner party was a great cultural experience, but the language fatigue and simply not enjoying being around a ton of people is taking a toll on Tawnie and I. We both are looking forward to the return of WiFi and reconnection with loved ones back home.