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So Ella left at 7:45 this morning for school. Chloe left at 9:30 for the university (which, by the way, is 2 tram stops away). Come lunchtime, what were Melinda and I to do? Head out for lunch in the center of town, that’s what.

I donned my Montana cowboy shirt and straw hat while Melinda grabbed her sunglasses and a sweater. Off we went. We just missed a tram heading into town but no worries. Another was due in 6 minutes, giving me time to hold out the camera to snap this picture. That’s the tram behind us, heading the other direction.

It’s so interesting how the tram fills up at lunchtime with young people leaving their schools to go to restaurants, stores or home for lunch. As I’ve mentioned, the lunch break is a long one here. Ella told me she would prefer a shorter lunch and a later start to school. Very American.

Speaking of Ella, just a minute ago she told me that what the French kids REALLY hear when her full name is said is, “She is Hot.” Clearly, that’s a better, more accurate, English phrase when referring to Ella than, “She has cat.” So I suggest adjusting your Google translations in yesterday’s post accordingly.

Class, class. CLASS! Pay attention, please.

Open your Internet browsers to Google Translator and choose From: English To: French. In the box below, type “she has a cat” (without the quotation marks). Next, click on the “translate” button and you’ll see that phrase translated into French. Click on the “Listen” button under the translation and get a fun surprise. Finally, click on the “Listen” button under the large box to hear in English what everyone at Ella’s school thinks is being said in French when anyone says her full name. Me, I think there are permanent nicknames in store.

Today’s photo is the first page of Ella’s new French workbook, the place where the students who possessed this book each of the last four years wrote their names. I thought it was so darn cute that I had to take this picture. I’ll be suggesting to Ella that she write, “She Has a Cat, 2010/11” underneath.

And that concludes today’s French lesson. Judy, you can come out of the corner now.

Meet Elisa, 9 year-old daughter of Annabelle and cousin to Romain & Manon. Annabelle had arranged with Chloe for her to watch Elisa today since Elisa did not have school. But Chloe got accepted yesterday at the University of Nantes and had to go register this morning and even had her first class this afternoon. So poor Elisa got to hang out with me for a good part of the day. Here is what we did.

When she arrived I was responding to the 20+ emails I received overnight about the kindness classes (very exciting) and outlining my article for the Random Acts of Kindness website. So she watched a little of the movie High School Musical 3 that we found here in the house. After that, we made a couple of smoothies in the Magic Bullet I bought on the French eBay site before grabbing the soccer ball and heading for the infield at the Hippodrome. Let me just say that once there Elisa schooled me on the finer points of French footwork. Now nearing lunchtime and Ella’s expected return time home, we walked back to the house.

Upon Ella’s arrival the three of us took on the 30+ minute walk to McDonalds. Elisa was proud, I think, to show off her French prowess when ordering, especially next to mine. Somehow I managed to order, or at least was presented, with some extra food. Let me just say that Elisa didn’t seem to mind having to eat a McFlurry. I took this picture on our return trip, Elisa following Ella’s lead, just before Elisa politely said, “Anglais,” referring to me, to the woman who asked me directions. Back at home she sat with Ella while Ella did some homework and then when Chloe got back they made cookies.

Smoothie + McFlurry + Cookies. That can’t be such a bad day for a 9 year-old, right?

Let me start with the extremely, extremely exciting news. In just the last hour Chloe learned that she has been accepted into the foreign exchange student program at the University of Nantes! This is a huge thing, one that last week seemed doubtful due to her spot on the waiting list. She actually starts taking classes tomorrow and will be in school 18 hours per week. She’ll have a UN ID card and everything!

Continuing with news on the Chloe front, last night she prepared several flyers for distribution around Nantes advertising her services as a babysitter. She had help from Christine with the text and then worked on her own to add photos. Bess & Vehd, I hope you are pleased to learn that your likenesses are being displayed on flyers in France. I think this makes you both internationally famous. The flyers look good, likely due to Bess & Vehd more than anything else, as I hope you can see in the photo.

Today Chloe posted several of flyers, asking for permission to do so at places like bakeries. She was lucky to have wonderful help from a young woman named Carole who has been living next door for the last few weeks of the summer, the niece of our neighbors. I can’t understate the value it has been to us to have someone accompany us on excursions like this, acting both as guide and translator. Carole was so helpful that Chloe, at this very minute, is baking her a thank you gift.

So I mentioned yesterday how generous and thoughtful John & Ann-Marie’s family have been. At dinner on Saturday night John hinted at some kind of surprise coming later. And at the opportune time 15 year-old Benoit retreated to the kitchen and then returned with this cake that he and sister Céline had made for the occasion. It’s the type of kindness that takes a bit of your breath away. The cake was delicious but I have to give extra mention to the frosting, trying to express it in a single word. Marzipan. Mmm…

It’s been a quiet day here in Nantes. All the kids are back in school for a full day today, Ella having left at 7:45 and scheduled to return soon after 5. That’s a long day, tempered a bit by a lengthy lunch and half days on Wednesdays. Melinda is on her way back from shopping at Ikea and Chloe & I are both quietly working/reading at home, having taken a bike ride earlier.

Before I go I have to send out a happy birthday shout-out to Romain who turns 18 today! His parents are throwing a big party for him on Saturday. It sounds like it’s customary for there to be a big bash on a person’s 18th birthday. Chloe turns 18 in February. I wonder what she’ll be expecting…

But it is an amazing thing all the same. More on what Ella has in her hands in a second.

We had a lovely dinner last night at the home of some neighbors. John, the father & husband, is from Scotland (and therefore speaks English) but has lived in France for over 20 years. Ann-Marie, mother and wife, is French and absolutely delightful. Together they are co-parenting three children, two teenage boys, Alexandre and Benoit, from Ann-Marie’s first marriage, and their 11 year-old daughter Céline. Their family is lovely and generous. Among their many acts of generosity for us include having loaned us bikes for some of our trips around town.

So back to this picture. When we arrived John got out a big bag containing a bunch of small bags of chips (what he calls crisps) of all varieties. He went on to explain that there were commemorative flavors made for each of the countries competing in the World Cup, the flavor for the United States being “American Cheeseburger,” of course. My goofy self got the best of me and I insisted on taking a picture of Ella with a bag. Frankly, they were pretty good, too.

For those of you wanting to know, here are some other “country flavors:” Argentina – Flame Grilled Steak; Brazil – Salsa; Spain – Chicken Paella; Japan – Teriyaki Chicken; South Africa – Sweet Chutney; Italy – Spaghetti Bolognese; France – Garlic Baguette; England – Yorkshire Pudding; Australia – BBQ Kangaroo

And here’s a little American history for those of you confused by today’s post’s heading (and an explanation for anyone who has ever heard Melinda or me refer to the other as “Senator”).

Just like the adults in France, it’s time for Steve Sarkisian to go back to work. So it was no surprise when I walked by this house in the outskirts of Nantes, which you can clearly see from the photograph must belong to Steve Sarkisian, that it was being shuttered up for the fall American football season (you have to refer to it as American football over here or people think you’re talking about a different, more elegant sport). You can see Sark’s French car in the lower right. You’ll have to trust me that it was loaded with Husky gear and some good French mojo (wine, perhaps?).

Now I don’t want you all thinking that I’m some big football fan, oops, I mean American football fan, let alone that of the college variety. But walking past this house did get me thinking about the sport, especially since its colors made it stick out so uniquely on the block. Add in that the Huskies play their first game today and it almost seemed I was destined to write this post.

Ranked in the Top 25? That’s something to behold. Mike Quamma, this post is for you.

You know that gentle September breeze you felt this morning in Seattle? It first crossed the Atlantic and then made it’s way westward across the US before coming down through Snoqualmie Pass. That was me exhaling. You see, Ella just got home from her first day of school and had a smile on her face. That’s a good thing. No, that’s a very good thing. When asked to describe her experience she provided a one word reply, “Confusing.” But the classic Ella eye-twinkle wasn’t too far away so we knew her day had other elements, too.

Today’s photo was taken at approximately 10:30. You can see Ella in the center of the picture wearing both her glasses and a smile. Melinda’s last piece of advice to her was to smile and she acted on it here, not even knowing she was being photographed. At this point in the morning Melinda and I had moved to the side, almost as curious to see the school manage this large crowd as we were in wanting Ella to have some positive experiences on her first day (okay, the positive experiences were WAY more important). One such experience had taken place about 15 minutes earlier when a thoughtful girl named Aude, a girl Ella had met on Wednesday, approached and introduced Ella to a group of her friends. That’s when Melinda and I started to make our exit.

After answering that things were “confusing,” Ella went on to say that her teacher is very nice and that a girl named Lucy or Lucille was very helpful all day long. She said that lunch was too long (it lasts like two hours here and a normal school day is roughly 8am-5pm). And she thinks she may have been assigned a paper to write but isn’t sure. For Melinda and me, we just want Ella to make some French friends and begin to absorb the French culture.

As Melinda and I left the school this morning I commented that this day was among the most significant of our year in France, given the importance of Ella having a positive school experience. By early accounts, school started on the right foot.

Football fans worldwide may have thought the World Cup ended in July. Not true, I found out today. Strolling through Nantes this afternoon I came across the actual final match, and it wasn’t country vs country. It was boys vs girls. Reviewing this picture you may realize that the boys were outnumbered and, well, technically you’d be correct. But I graciously stepped in to play and then partnered with my teammate to, as members of the Shaw family back in Seattle know so well, kick some girl backsides.

I really don’t know what the two girls in the center of the photo have to smile about, other than the fact the match was over and within minutes they knew they’d be cooling off in a nearby pool. I think the expressions on the faces of the players on either end, who just happen to be siblings, better reflect the outcome of the game.

It may interest you to know that this match took place on a field in the infield of the Nantes racetrack. Your ace photographer was able to snap the official match photo with the racetrack grandstand in the background. Clearly, the large crowd that had turned out to witness this match had made a quick exit. Given the hurt the boys put on the girls, I have a hunch many spectators had exited early.

I went on this very long walk by myself this afternoon. I started at home and walked to the big grocery store at the end of our local tram line, stopping along the way to do some reading and thought-gathering. I picked up a few things at the store and then decided to walk back a different route, one I hadn’t tried before. I got a little bit lost but never to the point of not knowing which direction I needed to go. The walk provided me one of those moments (and a long one at that) I’ve written about before, how not having several unfinished projects waiting for me has allowed me to slow down and be mindful. A good lesson for when I again have several projects needing my attention.

During the walk back, the part when I wasn’t quite sure where I was, I encountered a dirt trail and decided to take it to see where it came out. Along the trail I found this overgrown apple tree with dozens of rotting apples on the ground around it. Given that, I decided it would be acceptable for me to pluck a couple of ripe ones from the tree itself and did so. I then continued along the path, now accompanied by the pleasant crunch of biting into a fresh apple. Needless to say, it was an ideal moment.

In other news of the day, Ella & Melinda had tea with a classmate of Ella’s named Aude and her mother, the two having been invited to their house. This was a great thing because now Ella is familiar with a girl her age in her school. Melinda and Ella reported that Aude and family are extremely nice and that they have even put in a request at school for Aude and Ella to be in the same class. Chloe had her first paid babysitting job and has one lined up with same girl for each of the next two Wednesdays. And I had a Skype conversation with a representative from the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, the likely result of which will be me doing some partnership work with them.

Oh, this morning I watched the pilot episode of “Get Smart.” The episode began with Max getting a phone call in the middle of a live theatre performance. It made me laugh out loud, given how common it is for people to get personal phone calls in public places these days. But the episode is from 1965 and the call was on his shoe phone…

And, no, I’m not embarrassed. Really.