Little Ones
- Alexa Nickandros
- Dec 6, 2018
- 3 min read
Greetings all, Winslow here!
My first course of action on this fine December day is to introduce you to a couple new acquaintances.
The young one calls them Maelynn and Heloise but they're all just small ones to me at that age (which is 5)! I think I'm really starting to warm up to kids; they all seem to already love me a whole lot, that's for sure. It was rather amusing observing the young one try to keep their attention, repeating the same word over and over again, pointing urgently to things only to state their name, and making animal sounds. She is working in ways she has never had to work before! I can tell that teaching kids is a process that involves learning on both sides. There is a lot of trial and error, problem solving, and a large quantity of frustration. As we see the little ones at their home twice a week, it should be no time before everyone settles in and starts speaking the same language, right?
There is another little one who I have not met yet, but the young one has told me all about him. She has gone to see him twice, and I will not forget to share our experience with him once we meet! Personally, I'm quite surprised that she hasn't had enough of little ones despite having to interact with them for two long days of the week. Here's some more of them, with, yes that's correct, hand turkeys.
And for those of you just aching to see the finished products:
The young one really just can't get enough of these things. Seriously, enough already.
This last one was a gift she received just today, in fact. And she swears it's the last hand turkey she will ever post. Moving on.
The city of Orléans, France is nothing at all like New Orleans, USA (or so I'm told, as I've never been to New Orleans myself). In fact the whole place has the color scheme of sandstone; rather monotone. The sandstone color scheme tends to have the effect of making dreary days seem drearier, and bright days seem brighter. In our case, this past weekend was a dreary one in Orléans. Multiply dreary by 2 and you get a Sunday anywhere in France on a rainy day. Anyhow, the excitement during the day amounted to seeing the Cathédrale Sainte-Croix (left), La Musée des Beaux-Arts, and Hôtel Groslot (a mansion, right). And Starbucks; apparently half-off pumpkin spice lattes are very exciting.
Luckily, the Marché de Noël (Christmas Market) brightened things up a bit, especially at night, and even in the rain. Christmas markets are a grand tradition in Europe, as almost every city will have one in December. They sell food, and cheese, and potatoes, and cheesy potatoes, and sweets, and food, as well as crafts like jewelry and wooden games. And most importantly, according to the young one and her comrades, vin chaud/mulled wine/hot wine. There was also a huge ferris wheel and a kiddie-coaster, a nearby teenie-tiny ice rink, and a festive light show on the face of the cathedral.
Now this marché was just a warm-up for this upcoming weekend, when the young one and I will travel to a different corner of France to see one of the most beautiful, charming, and magical marchés in the country!
Wish us a bon voyage,
Winslow
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