French

We've been in Bordeaux for almost 4 weeks now, but it feels like a decade.  

Compared to English, French is much harder to learn.  And learning at my age is beyond challenging (just my opinion, I'm sure Nick thinks differently😉).  French doesn't seem to have rules at all.  All verbs change depending on the subject and tense.  Almost every word comes with gender including adjectives and nouns.  Can you imagine the French government starts modernizing its official language for gender neutral purposes?  Or have they considered it already and abandoned the idea?  It would cause way too much confusion for beginners like me.  And the French way of counting numbers...you truly have to be a math genius to count.  And the sound of r, not a sound you can make with your tougue.  The best time to practice the r sound would be early morning when you wake up, clearing your throat over the sink.  Levina often corrects me when I say merci.  She says it sounds like I am saying m-e-ssi.  "Add the r sound from your throat", she would recommend.  I'm sorry my throat cannot make a sound. But when I add the r sound, she says it sounds like m-er-ssi.  I can't get it right!!!  I'll just have to practice it 20 times over the sink each morning.  

Almost forgot to mention - French liaison.  I'm struggling with this one the most.  When the French people talk, they're not talking.  They're singing.  Yes they sing without a pause.  They connect two or sometimes even more than two words together in a sentence.  I was having coffee with a mom from Levina's class one day.  She grew up in France, but lived in England for 30 years before moving back to Bordeaux.  So she's a full bilingual, fluent in both languages.  She said to me "French is a very difficult language to learn. " I thought to myself...that's right and coming from her, it means something.  She continued "like we don't say Je ne sais pas".  I was excited for a moment because I actually recognized something she said in French, and that's the first phrase kids had told me to learn to say.  I totally understood her, every single word of it, when she said it.  But wait a second, the French actually don't use it?  I was so puzzled.  "Chais pas" she went on.  WHAT?  "Sh-ui-p-a" She slowed down.  How did "Je ne sais pas" become "Chais pas" and they don't sound alike at all.  "That's right.  When you say 'Je ne sais pas' fast enough, it becomes 'chais pas'.   ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  I went home and proudly told the kids I learnt something new that day.  They went "Oh yeah chais pas...all kids talk like that at school" Grrr....I thought I could for once show them something they didn't know. 😆

All kids are adjusting well.  Levina's French vocabularies have grown 10 folds, and this is just the beginning.  Her pronounciation is superb, according to her teacher.  Her teacher spends about 30 min to 1 hour 1:1 with her every day.  The empty binder from the beginning of the school has grown heavy, full of sheets of vocabs and practices.  So far they've covered all the basic grammar and conjugations.  Levina can now translate simple sentences from English to French and describe pictures in French.  Her teacher says she will be able to talk to her friends in French by the end of the school year.  She was recently asked to memorize a poem about 4x table.  Here it is.

Noah, being a social kid, has no problems with making friends at school.  His teachers say he chats and draws.  Yes the two things he loves doing.  He's also taken an interest in the French hit pop music culture, becoming obsessed with Stromae's music (what a talent!).  He LOVES his music, his voice, and his dance moments, starting to follow the lyrics, looking up words in the dictionary, and mimicking his dance. If we had a piano here, he'd be playing his music now.  I remember Noah's previous grade 6 French teacher Mr. P had always said that the best way to learn French is to talk and listen to some French music.  Here we go.  He's doing both, seemlessly.

Evania, being Evania, is the only one in this family that has little language challenges.  I'm sure she would disagree with this statement.  What I mean is that she has little difficulties with daily basic communications, unlike her mama 😂  Last night, she came home from her soccer practice, saying that a couple of boys got into argument, but she couldn't understand what exactly they were saying.  Apparently, one of them started yelling at her like a Karen, but two other boys stepped up and defended her.  And those boys started arguing with each other.  I guess she's got her own challenges, not academically, but socially in a way.  So far, she's only practicing with the team, hasn't played a game yet.  It'll be interesting to see if they will let her play in games.  She finds it difficult to keep up with these boys even though they are 1 year younger, but they've been trained really well.  They make very quick decisions with or without the ball, which forces her to move faster.  As a result, she sometimes doesn't always make smart moves, naturally.  But I'm sure she'll get there as her training continues.  She'll be the Karen yelling at the other boy in no time.  😆

Last, but not the least, Nick.  He thinks he speaks French already.  Okay.  He does.  He told me the other day that our landlord popped over to check on something and brought us a bottle of vin rouge.  What a nice gesture!  He then continued telling me about the landlord, who works as a correctional officer, his wife is a pharmacist.  This house actually belonged to the landlord's grandmother, and he felt bad that he didn't have time to complete the backyard etc..  I was quite impressed with him to be honest...for a moment.  "Did he speak English?" "No, French" he replied simply.  "Wow...how did you understand him? Impressive!" I was impressed.  "Oh he pulled out Google Translator" he added.  Haha...Nick actually has a gift when it comes to languages.  He has no problems with placing orders at restaurants or at his favorite boulangerie.  When we go to our neighourhood butcher shop, I tell him what I want, he then places the order for me LOL!  French words come out of him much more naturally.  Yes he does speak French!

Cell Phone Plans

I had heard about how cheap the cell plans are in Europe but didn't really appreciate the definition of cheap until we started shopping for one.  

Before our departure, we purchased an 8 GB SIM card for Europe for $35 from Amazon.  It's valid for 2 weeks from the time you insert the card in your phone.  8 GB of data is a lot for two weeks.  We put it in Nick's phone, and used it mostly for navigation when out about.  He would turn on his hot spot for me to tether when needed.  It worked out well.

For a permanent solution, we went to a Free mobile boutique at Bordeaux city centre.  They're one of the big mobile companies in France.  Orange is another one.  After talking to one of the sales people, we were led to this machine.  Pretty cool, eh?!

We got a plan with unlimited talk and text and 110GB data for a grand total of 15 Euro per month.  That's equivalent to $22!!!  The entire process of getting a new SIM and a new plan only took 10 mins.  Why do Canadians pay 3x or even 4x a month on cellphone plans?  

Now, we have a French number, and the coverage is all over Europe.  The plan is valid for one year, but we can cancel anytime.  Just call the number provided in the contract.  

I did read somewhere on FB that Free's coverage can be a bit spotty in certain areas, but we don't live in remote villages so it shouldn't be a problem for us.  I've had this SIM for about 2 weeks now, and haven't had any issues at all.  

After Evania and Noah's unplanned adventure, we decided that it was important for Evania to have a SIM so she could call us in case of an emergency.  We went to the same boutique, and got a plan without data but with unlimited text and 2 hr talk time for 2 Euro ($3) a month.  😆 I'm now wondering how French telecom companies make money at all.

Return of Football

We're right back at it - Football.

When it comes to soccer, our kids will always say yes, well, at least the older two.  Being involved in a team sport is probably the best way to immerse themselves besides being in school all day.  It was not easy to find football clubs here in Bordeaux.  I had sent numerous emails to various soccer clubs prior to coming to Bordeaux inquiring about kids' soccer programs.  Not many of them responded to my emails.  One guy named Stephanie responded and told me to call him and discuss further.  Right on!  We could totally hash out the details without any language barrier over a phone call. 🤣 I didn't have the guts to make the call obviously.  It was a bit discouraging to say the least.  You'd think it would be easy to find kids soccer programs in a country that has won two world cups.  Not so.  

So my only lead here in Bordeaux was Stéphane.  Thanks to Evania, our only French interpreter, her French improved drastically within the first week.  I was sure we were in good hands.  We had a good discussion with him over the phone, with some pauses, eye brow raises, shoulder shrugs or sometimes just blank looks on our faces hoping to squeeze more details from the other end of the line.  At the end of it, we still had a ton of questions unanswered, but the gist of it was our kids would try it and he would decide.  Big win! 😁 

However, Stéphane failed to mention a very crucial piece of information.  Or maybe he did, it was lost in translation.  He has no girls teams.  Not even for little kids.  So Levina ended up palying with 8 or 9 year old boys.  Below Levina is doing a warm-up with the boys.  We're setting her up for HUGE success here, aren't we?  I'm gonna hear from her this time!!!

Noah, on the other hand, eager to get on the field, had very little reservation, and fit right in.  At times he didn't understand the coach, a couple of boys actually translated for him. 

For Evania, Stéphane was afraid that the physical gap between the 14 year old boys and girls might be too big and that might result in injuries.  He put her with the 13 year old boys to see how she fit in. 

Although Evania didn't say much before her tryout, I knew she was probably a bit nervous.  After all, she's only played on the girls team back home.  She dragged her little sis to jog around the turf with her to warm up.  That's what sisters are for right?😆  She looked tense from head to toe.  She didn't loosen up until her foot touched the ball.  She was in her natural habitat.  At the water break, I quietly asked her how she had felt.  She just flashed me a big smile 😀 "This is the best soccer I've played Mama...these boys are so fast and skilled, way better than any team I've played with."

So at the end of the night, Stéphane came up and pointed at Noah "uh...small player...but good sequence".  To Evania "I know football.  She's no problem".  To Levina "Bonne"  He will take all three kids.  

Now to register them with his club, Union Saint Jean.  Oh man I could dedicate another whole blog about it. LOL...French are notorious for their paper work and manual processes.  It took us 1 hour by bus to get to his office (got to see a different part of the city), and 1.5 hours to fill out forms for 3 kids.  Each form was 6+ pages front and back including medical conditions.  The admin was so patient, explained every single section on the form, and then input all the info into the computer.  Why was this not an online process?  It takes 10 min max to register a child for soccer via Lakehill PowerUp online system.  😅  

Cost!  I was very pleased to see the cost wasn't astronomical, compared to the fees we pay in Canada.  Their soccer season runs from Sept to the end of June.  The cost varies a bit depending on the level ranging from 230 Euro to 300 Euro for the entire 10 months period.  With the current exchange rate, that's about 330 CAD to 450 CAD each child.  And the part Noah is most excited about...the kit.  The cost includes a complete kit (jersey, jacket, track pants, shorts and socks).   Back home, we would pay roughly $350 each child for Sept to March (regular season), and for Spring soccer, we would have to pay again.  For all three kids, the admin pro-rated the fees, so we paid for 6 months, instead of 10 months.  He made sure we understood that.  I'm starting to like French people.  Their frankness and doing everything by the book is growing on me. 

Les Bibliotheques de Bordeaux

To speed up the French learning process, we need French books, lots of them, for the kids.  We went to the library at Bordeaux city center, Les Bibliotheques de Bordeaux, one of the biggest public libraries in France.

Anyone who resides in Bordeaux can obtain a library card.  You just have to show your ID and proof of residency, a document with your current address.  The librarian who helped us spoke some English, super helpful.  It took some time for her to process all 5 cards.  Wherever we go, the request is always x5 😂  While waiting, I looked up, realizing how big this library is, 8 stories in total.  According to the librarian, the top 2 floors are not open to the public.  They hold very important old books.  I assume she meant ancient books.  The general public has access to Floor 1 to 4.  We were on floor 0, getting our library cards.  The main entrance was on floor -1.  

Floor 1 has books for the general public like nursery, children's books, fiction and non-fiction etc..  I snapped a couple of photos of the nursery and children's area.  The entire space is really well designed and inviting.

Here Nick is taking a well deserved break from reading a picture book 😆 Trust me reading in French was an exhausting activity.

Floor 2 is teens' heaven.  It has an arcade, a few PS4 stations along with cushy seats and all the games (you can borrow), lots of board games (you can play there), and a huge selection of music.  Which teen wouldn't want to spend time here?

I'm most impressed by the music room.  You can reserve a wide range of music instruments in the music room including piano.  The librarian told us that anyone can reserve to practice there and can do so two weeks in advance.  Noah's very excited about getting his hands on that piano.  

We spent well over an hour there and barely explored the first two floors in the building.  With all the books, music and entertainment there is in the library, I have a feeling it's going to be one of our frequently visited places.  

Evania and Noah's Unplanned Adventure

So what exactly happened last Friday after school?  Here's Evania's own account of their unplanned adventure.  With her permission, I'm sharing it here.

Here's a photo she took on the bus at 15:45 on Jan 6 during the unplanned adventure.  

I would title this a mother's ordeal!

First Week of School

On Tuesday, Jan 3, kids started school in Bordeaux.  We registered them with a local Montessori school.  The school has 2 campuses in a short distance of 2 blocks.  Levina will be at the primary school campus (up to grade 5), and the other two will be at the college campus (grade 6 and up).  When deciding which school system (public vs private), I joined every Bordeaux FB group there was, just to see what other expats' experiences were like.  Some say their kids fit right in the public school system, thriving, others had completely different, unpleasant experience with the teachers at the public school mostly due to lack of communication and large class sizes.  And there's the private school.  Some private schools are run by the Catholic churches, super affordable but usually have long wait-lists.  Private international schools offer bilingual education (English and French) and are very costly.  The Montessori schools land somewhere between the Catholic private schools and the international schools.  They offer a wide range of classes (Music, Geography, Science, History, Theatre and Sports similar to those in Canada) besides the fundamental classes (French, Math and English) along with smaller class sizes.  After chatting with a few expat moms, we felt the Montessori would be the best fit for our kids.  We were looking for support and immersion within a short period of 6 months.  For our kids, small classes will probably offer them more 1:1 support and an easier going social environment.  The last thing we want is to add any stress to them in a brand new country.

All three kids were feeling a bit apprehensive on the first day.  Ok, for Levina, it was a lot.  I could feel her anxiety, which made me double guess our decisions at times.  Nothing was going to make these kids at ease.  We just had to let this one play out.  But the time was going rather slowly that morning.  Our place is about 15-20 min away from school by bus #9.  We got up early, a bit too early.  Breakfast was baguette with butter, prosciutto, jamon, eggs and oranges.  Yes, they always have a good appetite in the morning.  Before dawn, we were on our way.

The plan was divide and conquer.  I take L, and Nick take E and N.  We met Levina's teachers for the first time in person.  They were very welcoming and attentive.  They spoke some English, which was to my benefit.  It was a relief that we understood each other.  We took a tour of the school.  The school is very small, 3 stories.  Kids aged 7, 8 and 9 are in one classroom on the 3rd floor.  The classroom is also small, probably half of an average classroom size in Canada, with tables and chairs in the middle and lots of shelves along the wall.  Teachers in Canada would find these rooms very cluster phobic 😂

Levina's schedule goes from 8:45am to 4:45pm with 2 hour lunch break, and no school on Wednesdays.  The older kids' go from 9am to 5pm, same 2 hour lunch break, and half day on Wednesdays.  At the end of the first day, the most they talked about was their lunch: salmon, mashed potato, veggies and chocolate mousse as dessert.  The food was so good that Evania and Noah even went for seconds.  Chocolate mousse was Levina's favorite, of course.  

It's hard to gauge how well the kids are adjusting, still too early.  However, it's safe to say that they enjoy the school so far.  No more resistance from Levina at least.  She made a couple of friends at school.  A couple of names came up during our daily school recap.  A girl named Anna came up to her, gave her a fist pump at the end of the first day and said "Good job" in English with a very cute French accent.  Really cute.  For the older two, school did an assessment on them (not sure how it was done), and decided that they each could stay in their current level (grade 9 and 7) for most classes.  Noah was placed in grade 6 Math at first, then he got moved back to grade 7 after the 2nd day.  With Evania, the teacher was very pleased with how well she's able to communicate in French, and placed her in grade 9 for all her classes except for Science.  Below is the school schedule for Evania and Noah.  6eme to 3eme correspond to grade 6 to grade 9.  The smaller the number, the higher grade.  So Evania is in 3eme, and Noah in 5eme.  Besides the core classes, they also take Spanish and Korean LOL.  During the time slots for English class, they are given extra French work.  The feedback from E & N so far is that Math here is a lot harder.  They are learning more advanced Math, and they love it.  

Our week ended almost uneventfully until Friday afternoon around 2:30pm when Evania called from school saying that she and Noah were going to take the bus home because school ended early.  She assured me that she knew which bus and which stop and which turn.  I figured she had taken the bus to school on her own this week, she speaks the language, and she sounded very confident...what COULD go wrong?  It normally takes about 20 min from school to home, but by 3:30pm, I still didn't see them.  I kept my eyes peeled at the gate.  Every tiny movement at the gate made me feel hopeful to see them coming through the gate, but NOTHING!  By 3:45pm, I started to panic a little.  Ok, A LOT.  I made Nick contact the teacher at school.  She confirmed that they had left at 2:30pm.  My heart sank.  We had no way of contacting them.  They had a phone, but no SIM card.  Couldn't call anyone or get help in an emergent situation.  It was like "Missing Levina in Madrid" all over again.  Only this time, I ALLOWED it to happen.  By 4PM, still no sign of them.  It was time to pick up Levina from school.  So I jumped on the bus, and Nick stayed behind by the bus stop, scanning both directions.  Nick messaged the teacher again, seeking suggestions.  What is the procedure in France in case of missing children?  Do we have to wait for 24 hours to report a missing person?  Do they have the amber alert here like in Canada?  I was on the bus, my mind racing at light speed.  What is the children's abduction rate here in Bordeaux?  We didn't do any research on that before coming here.  Why didn't we look into that?  By 4:07pm, Nick called...he could see them running towards to him from far away...then added "I'm gonna murder them".  I picked up Levina, hugged her so tight, and went to unite with the others.

That night, we went to a Free mobile boutique and got Evania a SIM card for 2 Euro/month (yes cell plans are dirt cheap here, I'll talk about that next time), with which she has 200 min talk time and unlimited texts.  We won't lose them EVER AGAIN.  At the time of writing this, the rest of the gang is laughing their heads off.  Evania says they were never lost at any given time.  She knew exactly how to get home.  Here's her own account of their unplanned adventure.