We took a three-hour train ride from Paris to Chambery where we were greeted by Axelle and her parents (Habiba and Oliver aka Tye).  I shook Oliver’s hand and then went to give Habiba a hug when I realized that in France an introduction starts with a kiss on both cheeks.  I awkwardly went the same direction, but we finally figured it out.  By the end of the trip I would be a cheek kissing fool.

Her parents could not have been any nicer and Axelle instantly began the task of translating all of our conversations.  I was amazed at how easily she bounced back and forth between the two languages.

Shortly after we arrived at her house, several members of her family came over (again I was awkward with the kiss greeting).  Axelle’s aunt also spoke English and her husband spoke a little bit of English and you could tell he was very excited to try it out.  As we sat down with Axelle’s family, it was neat that we were now seeing this side of someone who was such a big part of our lives for a year.  Dinner lasted until about 11, and then exhausted from a day and a half of traveling we went to bed. Continue reading »