Back Home

Well, we are back in the States, after a wonderful vacation and a very long car ride home.  The kids have mixed emotions about returning here.  Madeleine couldn't wait to get back to her regular life, where food is how she likes it and people speak English.  Julia was nearly in tears over leaving Montreal, and lamented, at a rest stop in New Hampshire, that it didn't feel right to hear everybody speaking English instead of French.

Speaking of French, Julia proudly announced to me that, because of this trip, she now knows 10 French words.  Here's her list:

1.) Bonjour
2.) Oui
3.) Non
4.) Maman
5.) Papa
6.) Julia (pronounced Dzyuliah)
7.) Madeleine (pronounced Mad-len)
8.) Merci
9.) Filet de poulet
10.) Doigts de poulet


I didn't have the heart to tell her that it doesn't count as a French vocab word if it's just her own, or her sister's, name, pronounced with a French accent.  But since both "filet de poulet" and "doights de poulet" are actually TWO words, they kind of make up for the two names in the mix. 

It's always a let-down to return home from vacation, but I think that we will all look back at this trip fondly, our first foray as a family outside of the U.S.  And for our proudly American Madeleine, we are celebrating our return by having Indian take-out for dinner!