Good news from France
Well, YS is really having fun in France. He was to go have a beer with the oldest boy in the host family after dinner tonight, which was at about 9:00 PM there. He was also told by his host family that he can call a US landline for free from their phone anytime he wants, so he called me at work, and his sister at home. I also found a very amazing prepaid calling card from nobelcom.com, that will allow me to call his cell phone for just 12 cents a minute on my end - less than half what I had been paying - and it will cost just 3 cents a minute for him to call us. Super groovy cool. I highly recommend this company if you want a low-price calling card - either domestic or international.
YS did call me this morning, and we talked for about 15 minutes. I was able to conference him in with his dad too, so we both got to talk to him. He was walking around Saverne, apparently lost for the moment. While we were talking, he saw the Chateau des Rohans, which is where they have their classes, so he knew how to get back from there. As he was walking, I heard him say, "bonjour" to several people. He seems to be getting the hang of things. The father is a lawyer. He doesn't remember what the mother does (he was just off the train and very tired when all the info was tossed at him, so barely remembers anything), or her name. I asked about the food. He said they eat a lot of vegetables. Their glasses are about 4 ounces, as opposed to the 12 ounce or bigger ones most of us use. He said the wine is served in a glass that holds about 2 ounces. It made him realize that, when it's in front of you, you will eat or drink what is there, without even stopping to consider how much you are eating or drinking, hence the tendency in the US to drink and eat far too much. He said the amount of food and wine served was perfect. Breakfast consisted of some sort of traditional cake with fried potatoes and some thinly sliced ham. He said it was really good. He has his own room, and broadband internet access. The class is going to a Mercedes plant Friday. It sounds just so perfectly wonderful. I am so happy for him!
