04France2

Nicholas' News
Sep/Oct. 2004
France 2

France p. 2

F r a n c e 2

Also on this page:

WWII Memorials

Photos

Mes Amis

My Friends

   On our trip to Europe we made a lot of friends. When we were in Strasbourg we went to a homeschool playgroup where I met six kids from ages 3 - 9. The children spoke only a very little bit of English and I spoke "un peu de fran�ais." They had a lot of toys and games in a huge apartment with super high ceilings. I spent a lot of time pushing a little boy around on a toy ride-on car because he kept saying, "Pousse, pousse." (Which I knew meant "push") We didn't stay long, but I had good time.
     When we went to Brussels we stayed with my mom's friend and her family. She is married and has 4 children: Matthieu (12), Emy (9), Lo�c (7) and Alex (4). My mom hadn't seen Sandrine since 1982 when Sandrine stayed with my mom and her family for two weeks during high school. They welcomed us and made us feel at home. I played Nintendo Game Cube and watched videos in French. I got to go to Matthieu and Lo�c's football games (what Americans call "soccer") and saw a little of Emy's gymnastics practice. We went to see their house where they usually live. It is being completely renovated! I also got to take an Aikedo class with Matthieu. Matthieu spoke much more English than I spoke French. He's been studying for almost 6 years!
    They also took us on a train to downtown Brussels. We walked to the Grande Place where we saw people setting up for a marathon the next day. We all got to eat delicious Belgian waffles. They were not like breakfast waffles. They were like a snack treat that was very sweet! I wish we could have stayed longer with them, but they had to go to school and work and we had to go back to France.
     I have been an e-mail pen pal with a 12 1/2 year old girl from France for almost 10 months. Elisa is homeschooled with her twin sister C�cile and their younger sister Anne. When she found out that we were coming to Paris, her mother invited us to their house for dinner one night. Their dad came and picked us up at our apartment in Paris and took us to their house in the banlieu(suburbs) of Paris.
     We had a great dinner and then all the kids went upstairs and played until near midnight! We played with their guinea pigs and we played "Le Chat" which is like "cat and mouse" or tag. Elisa and C�cile are both very good musicians and they played for us while we were there. Elisa played the violincelle and C�cile played the piano. Gabrielle and I had a wonderful time and we were both very tired when we got back to the apartment.
     We were very lucky to meet so many nice people and make such good friends. It made our trip a lot more enjoyable. I hope that someday all of our friends will come visit us in the United States!

Gabrielle, Alex and Emy watching a French video.

Eating Belgian Waffles in the Grande Place in Brussels.

Matthieu, Lo�c, Gabrielle, Emy and Nicholas

C�cile, Anne, Nicholas, Gabrielle and Elisa

World War II Memorials

    During our trip to France, we visited a few memorials for the men that fought in WWII. At the American Cemetery in the Lorraine Region, I saw the grave of my Great-Great Uncle Raymond Mantai. He was a Staff Sergeant in the 114th Infantry Regiment with the 44th Infantry Division. After D-day, his unit kept going east to push the Germans out of France. He earned the Purple Heart. He was killed on December 8, 1944 probably near a town named Enchenberg, France. The cemetery was much larger than I imagined. All the crosses and grave markers were exactly lined up in every direction I looked. Later we walked up to a huge look-out memorial where we could see over the whole cemetery. It was beautiful, but also a little sad. There was also an indoor memorial that had maps showing the different battles and where they took place.
     While we were visiting the Normandy region, we went to Omaha Beach where the Americans landed on D-Day, June 6, 1944. I learned that it was not easy for the Americans to land. It was really hard. There were cliffs for them to climb, bullets to avoid and lots and lots of enemy soldiers. We saw spots where the Germans had anti-tank guns. I even went into a German bunker. After the beach, we went up the hill to the American Cemetery at Normandy. A lot of people were visiting there just like us. It is the largest American cemetery in France, but most of the visitors were French not American. I think French people are glad that they are friends with Americans.
     Seeing all the crosses made me think how brave those soldiers must have been. Some of them were still teenagers. It made me feel a little sad, but I am really happy that I got to visit these special places.