Le Rotary Francais

Tonight, I went to my first Rotary meeting in France! Sabine drove me to M. Polveche (the man in charge of the exchange students)'s house, and M. Polveche and his wife drove me to the meeting. Almost as soon as I entered, the hostess offered me a glass of wine, which I politely declined. I then went around the room and was introduced to almost everyone present.

The main points that the French want to know:

• What's my name?
• How old am I?
• When did I arrive?
• English or American?
• Where in the US? (not New York, tant pis!)
• And How long have I studied French?

I was the last of the announcements. Some of the other announcements included that the club is going to Amsterdam at the end of April (with me) and that, according to M. Polveche, I must not have a weekend filled with nothing, so the Rotary club members should invite me to spend my weekends with them. It was all very exciting. Dinner was apparently non-conventional. It was self-serve bread with pates or brie cheese. I learned that you never mix the two! Thankfully, the President gave me the Lens-Lievin Rotary pocket directory, so I know that Dominique and Christianne (who was an English teacher before she retired) Vaast kindly drove me home. All in all, I believe that it was an exceedingly productive evening! :)