A typical day in Bazemont

As promised, here comes my "typical day in the life of Regan Becker" post. The day usually starts around 9, since I can sleep in as much as I want and the evenings are generally pretty late. Breakfast consists of a choice between cereal or bread with an assortment of jams/butter/honey, along with the traditional morning coffee French-style (strong! :)) After breakfast, I generally take a glance at what activities are going on that particular day. Wednesdays are the busiest, since Jorge has off school, but other happenings might be tennis, guitar, or swimming, or perhaps a guest for dinner. This just gives me a good chance to plan out my day. Since Bazemont is a small village (around 1,500 inhabitants) there isn't a whole lot going on here. I guess there used to be 3 or 4 cafés and a patisserie (bread/pastry store) here, but those are gone now and now that I think about it there aren't really any interesting businesses in the village. However, it's not really a big deal because Maule and Aubergenville (both 5-8 min driving from here) have plenty to offer in terms of that. I have gone a few times to cafés in Maule, but I don't really ever need to because everything I need is here at the house.

Anyway, I have every day free until 4 pm when I go to pick up Eddy (12 yrs old) from school in Maule. My mornings are generally spent reading whatever French publication I can get my hands on. I buy the Philosophie Magazine, which is fun to read, and for other "light" reading I can always read the newspaper which comes every morning. I also now have a backlog of French books to read that have been given to me by my family as they have gotten to know my interests. Unfortunately, I am not very far in the first one I have started, but I did manage to finish "La Première Gorgée de Bière et Autres Plaisirs Miniscules", (The First Sip of Beer and other miniscule pleasures) which was one of the most incredible books I have ever read. As the title suggests, it is a book about the little things in life which bring pleasure, such as those days of spring where one could "almost" eat outside. Anyway, the morning generally goes by pretty quickly somehow and then it's time for lunch. Lunch consists of leftovers on Mon, Wed, and Thurs, but leftovers are pretty good when it's French cuisine that is left over. Things that are always included in a meal in France are: Bread, Water, Wine, and Cheese. Fortunately, there hasn't been a lot of potage (french soup consisting of who knows what ground up and somehow remaining tasteless)...generally its fish or duck or chicken or some sort of wonderful meal that we eat...and of course to finish off wine and cheese and finally un petit café.

One of my favorite parts about this family is the musical aspect and many of my afternoons are spent playing the piano, whether its playing something I know or just playing freely. Sometimes the dad (professional violinist for those of you who don't know) will accompany me on violin or guitar, which is always a lot of fun. Like many of my friends' parents, the dad has similar taste in music as I do, so its been fun to discuss different musical ideas and to exchange music. Sometimes I take walks around the village or just sit in the backyard and read (although it's beginning to get a little too cold for that).

As I mentioned, I pick up Eddy at 4 o'clock every day (although that will end once I begin classes next week because I don't get done until 3:45), Jorge (9 years old) gets home at 4:30 and they generally do their homework right away. If there are any activities I will take them to their activities for the evening, then we eat and then they basically go to bed.

Post-bedtime is reserved for catching up on e-mails, blogging, and trying to make progress of my graduate school applications (keep your fingers crossed for me!). I generally put on music (right now it's Tom Petty "You Wreck Me" playing on iTunes) and try to get down to things. Late-night for me is also the best time to talk if you are interested in skyping or if you need to get ahold of me, I am always on the computer around 3 pm CDT or 4 EDT. I also try to get my own things organized (right now that consists of reminding myself to open my bank account, charge my phone, and send mail to the French government before they come after me!) which isn't all that exciting, but is one of those things that needs to be done no matter where one is. Well that's about a typical day for me...nothing too exciting, but yet my days are at my own pace, which is really a wonderful luxury. Next post...my first piano concert in France