You know that sweet email I said I received from Andreas and Megasoul and Amanda? I didn’t see that there was a photo attached!

Ok, now that is just TOOO CUTE.

Yesterday was good, until I crashed and burned in the evening. T. and I ate lunch with Antoine on the beach, and then roasted like our beach mats were a rotisserie. It was fantastic.

Then it was up to St. Anne D’evenos, a fort atop a hill with an amazing view. I was starting to slow down and get tired and a bit burnt, and by the time 8pm rolled around and we were suppose to head into Marseille for dinner with some friends of T. and Antoine’s, I was unable to do it. I just collapsed, with many desolets and je suis fatigues. Honey needed some time to sit still and not move.

After 12 hours of sleep, I’m feeling much better. It’s overcast today, so I don’t think we’re going to get much beach time. That’s ok. I realized I’d been wearing my bikini top upside down for the last two days. Ha! I’m not sure if I could show my face on the beach again! The horror!

This afternoon I will be going to a birthday party catered by the same person who did the “slow food” meal last year. Should be good, although I feel myself increasingly exhausted by sitting with large groups of Frenchies, trying desperately to understand even 10% of the conversation. By the time I’ve remembered what the one word I understood (jamais for example) means, the conversation is moved on, and I’m left with one tidbit: “Ah, that person said ‘never’ a few moments ago.”

I am reminded of how my friend Echo (who is deaf) once said to me that she really likes spending time with hearing people one-on-one, because with each additional person added to the conversation, the less she understands. This is exactly how I am feeling here in France: if it’s me and T. and one Frenchie, I can follow along. If it’s me and T. and two Frenchies, I get a little lost. If it’s me and T. and three or more Frenchies, I start spacing out…looking back and forth between each speaker — so as not too look bored — but it’s more like watching tennis than participating in a conversation.

Whenever someone looks at me during one of those group converstaions and asks me something like Comprene-vous?, I usually say Ah: j’ecoute tout, mais je comprend un petit (I listen to everything, but understand little). Realistically, it’s only a half-truth.

(Oh, and look at this awesome rat article from Steve! Go ratties!)