I absolutely adore my host siblings. Faris and Sourour are so precious sometimes I just can’t stand it. I really hope this doesn’t come off as condescending in any way. I know that at 10 and almost 12 they are a little too old for most people to consider cute, but that’s exactly what they are. Photos do not do them justice. I wish it were possible to share the sound of their laughter like I could with a photo. That is so cheesy, but it’s true. Just being around them and hearing their wonderful laughter makes me happy. I know I’m going to spoil my kids if I ever have children, because I just want to buy them presents and candy all the time. Luckily as a foreigner I’m not sure where to get them candy on my own, and asking them might give away the surprise element. (Since writing that I have found where to get candy and purchased lollipops for them.)
They are just so fantastic. They’re at a wonderful age when they’re grown up enough to be pretty independent, but young enough that they still exude energy in a way they might not once they reach adolescence. The first time I went to the Villa des Arts, an art gallery and arts center around the corner from where we live, it was just with the two of them. It was so fun to see them run around and comment on the art, and it was kind of hilarious how Sourour, the older one, kept touching the paintings and her brother kept telling her to stop. I love that they get along so well, even when they argue it’s not that bad…just now as I was typing, they had a little tiff that turned into the two of them giggling as Sourour playfully tried to get Faris in a headlock. Sourour and I talk more, and she helped me a lot today with some tongue twisters my tutor Yamina gave me to help improve my pronunciation (Le loup lippu lut l’Oulipo). She’s been pretty helpful in lot of ways, actually. She’s actually creating a blog herself, for Stardoll, this online game she and her brother play, and wanted to help me make mine more advanced…but I’m not sure she understands my low technology capabilities. Although, we are friends on facebook, and she just told me that I needed to friend Faris too. Oy vey, my oldest and youngest facebook friends now have 80 years between them! (Hi Zeyda!)
It started out a bit slow with the two of them. I’m actually sleeping in their room, and I felt really bad, because I didn’t know they would be sleeping in the living room so I could sleep there. They seemed totally cool with it though, and now sometimes Sourour sleeps in the extra bed in the room with me. This makes me feel less awkward, oddly enough. After a couple days Faris and I discovered a mutual love for Wii and just like in the movie Casablanca, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. With this knowledge I felt more comfortable starting to talk to Sourour, who as it happens loves theatre! In fact she’s in a play at her French school towards the end of the month, and I’m excited to see it. She tells me that the words are easy to understand…I hope she’s right! One of my first in depth conversations with Sourour was about French grammar. I really struggle with how all nouns are either feminine or masculine, and you can’t always tell. It was nice that she agreed it was “dur” or “hard.”
As for the WWE…I must admit, I watched it with them the other night. And to be honest, it was a great way for me to improve my French…whenever they talked, the French dubbing came a little after the English, so I could understand what they were trying to say!
The things I find myself doing in a foreign country. I definitely did not think that watching WWE would be part of my cultural experience, but there you have it.
Sourour playing Wii
Faris looking all cool for the camera.
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