First French dinner party

Tonight Alicia and I went to our first French dinner party! Her advising teacher is married to my advising teacher, so we went to their house for dinner tonight. The rest of the guests were also English teachers, friends and coworkers.

When we arrived at about 7:45, we enjoyed some samosas as an appetizer, with wine and beer. There was a lot of conversation among the teachers, with snotty jokes about Nicolas Sarkozy sprinkled in. A few comments on the strike (thank goodness no one asked my opinion…). After about 45 minutes in the living room, we moved to the dining area for dinner. Of course more wine. The meal was really good, possibly Kenyan-inspired (Jo is from Kenya)? We had a beef stew with cabbage, sweet potatoes, cassava, and a sort of flatbread. It was all really flavorful and yummy! The conversation around us was loud, fast, and confusing. There were a lot of jokes and side comments and conversations. I had a really hard time following it, and after a while I just kind of switched off my brain. Easier to just zone out. After the main course and a long pause, Jacques and Jo brought out bread, cheese and salad. And more wine. By the time we finished the cheese and bread, it was after 11; Alicia and I were exhausted. Jacques ran us back to the foyer before the dessert was served.

Some weird things:

The conversation focused on a couple of topics: the school system, politics, healthcare, the strike. The “grown-ups” seemed to greatly enjoy the discussion, and they all got really into it. But no one ever tried to incorporate me or Alicia into the conversation. We just basically sat in silence as they all talked and talked. Not that I would have had a lot to add, but it was just strange since we’re kind of the new kids in town. There wasn’t even any talk of, like, “how has your time in France been so far?”

It was overall a really tiring evening, but I’m glad we went!