The children attend school 4 days a week from around 9am to 4.45pm. Quite a long day, but they assure me there is far more recreation than school! The french have got it sorted...no school Wednesdays, 2 hour lunch, a morning recess..and afternoon recess. Add to that a schedule of 6 weeks on, 2 weeks off. Our Melbourne schools could learn a thing or two, as from where I'm sitting right now, we do exhaust our young children, and that's without taking into consideration all their after school activities!
We are loving our time here, as much for the french language and being part of a different culture, as for the simpler and slower way of life. It really does make you stop and smell the roses..or perhaps in our case here in Montpellier, the coffee and cigarette smoke! While Will, Sasha and Sam have never stopped being excited about returning home to our beautiful family and friends, they have embraced our life here with open arms and the most incredible enthusiasm.
I wander if the french children here LOVE:
- running to school every morning with excitement and anticipation (combined I'm sure with alot of trepidation), or
- going to the boulangerie before school and asking, "Est-ce-que je peux avoir un cookie, pain au chocolat et brioche au nutella", or
- coming home for lunch for a ham and cheese baguette, or
- their small apartment with no backyard and verandah, just because it's different and allows imaginary games to be played, or
- watching movies on their mum's computer, or
- watching and catching different coloured trams and trains, or
- climbing trees in the park and doing running races, or
- all the new places they visit, just because they haven't been there before, or
- playing table tennis with a school friend, on a table in a park using backbpacks and drink bottles to make the net, or
- watching adults of different ages juggling and playing patonk, or
- spotting the church near their apartment from a distance, or
- dancing on the street, to the music coming from neighbouring apartments, or
- playing soccer in a small square near a church and using it's walls as goals, or
- forever dodging dog poo on the sidewalks, or
- spotting different shapes and pictures in the clouds, or
- playing marbles and "attraper les filles/garcons" with their school friends, or
- watching buskers on the street, or
- playing soccer with strangers in a park, or
- choosing different flavours of granitas and ice creams, or
- dancing barefoot, or
- learning the rules of baseball - "strike", "foul ball" and of course "allez, allez", or
- reading Asterix en francais, or
- wandering which church the bell chimes are coming from, or
- asking to give a few euros to the homeless person on the street....
as much as our 3 little Australians. And I'm sure this list will be longer in another 8 weeks!
As for me, I am leading a much quieter life, providing me the opportunity to observe and enjoy the french culture, people and surrounds (between the gym and french lessons!). I can't remember ever giving myself time almost daily, to sit and just watch and listen to other people, read a french newspaper or magazine, and enjoy a deca allonge (decaf coffee) or chocolat chaud surrounded by trees in a beautiful square. Then leisurely go to the local markets to choose (with some difficulty) the type of cuisine for dinner. And I can't remember ever being so excited to pick my children up from school each day.
I hope, but can't promise, that these experiences and feelings will continue upon our return, but am determined to keep a bit of Montpellier going in Melbourne...at least the hot chocolate and magazine!
I have probably been a little romantic in this blog, but picture that it was written while sitting in our local park, surrounded by magnolia trees, overlooking a statue of Louis XIV, as the children climbed trees and did running races!
Enjoy the photos. Lots of love to all!
