Yesterday was a marvelous day! I did not have school in the morning as it was the integration day for students going into seconde, so I was able to rest most of the morning in the hammock outside in the warm sun. When Sabine came home around two, we went to visit one of her best friends Isabelle, who was terribly nice and funny.
At around 7:45 Sabine drove me to M. Polveche's dentist office because I had been invited, Tuesday night by the Lens-Lievin Rotary president, to a saucissonnade. Having no earthly idea what to expect at a saucissonnade besides sausage, I was pleasantly surprised when M. Polveche drove into the driveway at Chateau de Coupigny! I could not stop thinking the entire night that I, Madison Ayers, was a guest at a Chateau! Not only that, but when the lady with the microphone announced that there was free seating, I discovered that I could not sit anywhere I pleased, for I had a seat at the Table of Honor! Also joining me at this table were the former president and his wife, the current president and his wife, the owners of the fabulous chateau, and a few others.
The purpose of the Saucissonnade-Passation was the Passation part of it. This Rotary club changes its president every year, usually in June. This year, the changing of the president could not take place in June due to a severe illness. After that, it was the holiday break, so it was difficult to gather all of the Rotary members at the same time. So, the changing of presidents from M. Charles-Henri Bultez (who sat to my left) to M. Jean-Michel Degrugillier (who sat diagonal to me) took place last night, in September!
So, more about the party and the Chateau: The chateau, from the eighteenth century, is owned by a gay couple. Even though I did not know right away who owned the chateau, I could tell that it was the man who sat in front of me. He just had that air about him. He wore a leather jacket and a black shirt with the first buttons undone, and had an aura of confidence and posession surrounding him. The lady sitting next to him (a personal friend who commuted between Lille and Germany and who had spent the past month with the men in Germandy) looked to be in her late fifties. She had bleach blonde hair, a perfect tan, dark red lipstick, and wore a fur coat. The other man had a similar look to him as the first. They were all very nice. The first man, who sat in front of me, liked to practice his English on me. I could tell he was proud of his house. I would be too if I were he!
The chateau has a bird cage full of peacocks! Oh my goodness, I could barely contain my excitement when I saw them! There were also black and white swans and donkeys! Since this is me we're talking about, I was in absolute heaven! The party took place behind the house in the gardens, which were lit beautifully with candles. There was a fountain, and flowers bloomed everywhere!
Dinner was a buffet, and I tried almost everything. I felt like a true American with the amount of food on my plate, but when I looked around me, even the French had overflowing platters. Some even went back for seconds! I felt strangely reassured by this.
Some other guests of the club included Germans from the sister club Bottrop-Wittringen. I spoke to them in English since I do not know German, and for some reason, they did not wish to speak French. (It was strange hearing myself speak English in a conversation. Of course, I speak to myself all the time in English, but those were the first discussions I have had in English since I have been here.) Half way through our discourse, they learned that I knew a little Spanish. They, too, had been learning Spanish, taking a class every Tuesday. Suddenly, we started speaking in Spanish to eachother. How funny! For me, an American, to be in France, talking with Germans, and speaking in Spanish! I now have an invitation to visit their club in Germany in May! I also have an invitation from the former president's wife to go to Lyon, and another from another Rotarian couple to travel somewhere with them one weekend. I was given as well a pouch filled with lavender, so now my room smells lovely!
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