Despite Halloween actually being a
week ago, I had the opportunity to do a “fete d’Halloween” with the
children. I am currently on vacation
right now with the family on an island on the Atlantic called Ile de Ré. It’s a
charming little fisherman’s village with a bit of tourism. Everyone rents
bicycles because the land is very flat.
It’s a marshy place, and has been mining salt for hundreds of years.
This is my
second night here and Sophie informed me that she and Laurant would be going
out to dinner with some friends. I would be basically be babysitting for the
rest of the night. Just me, the children, and three bags of Halloween goodies…
Hmmmmmm.
When the
children came down for dinner, they found a dark room, lit only by candles, and
me, stroking the family cat. We ate “dinner” by candlelight. Little dogs, (hot
dogs), dragon eggs (peas) and lastly zombie brains (apple crumble) for dessert.
While we ate, I told the history of Halloween, and how it really goes down in
the United States (to the best of my French ability). The kids picked up on the
fun spooky-feeling of Halloween, and soon commenced in taking turns telling
scary stories (I pretty much missed those due to the language barrier).
After
dinner we cleaned up together with me bribing the children often of the
“Halloween Game” that I had planned for them. We went up to our rooms and I
taught them how the whole “trick-or-treat” tradition works by having them act
it out with me. Then I began the “game”. I reversed things a little to work
with our surroundings. I had each child takes a turn transforming a blanket
into a costume. They would knock on the door, we would answer, and they would
pretend to be something using the blanket as their prop. They would have to say
trick or treat correctly in English in order to win their REAL candy bag.
Boy did
they love them! Not just the candy, but the little plastic spiders,
mini-whoopie cushions, and glow-in-the-dark skull rings as well. They acted
like it was Christmas and thanked me profusely. I forgot how simply wonderful
it is to be a child, and how the littlest things can matter so much.
After they
opened their goody bags, Jeanne and Berenice asked me when my birthday was,
haha. I hope that these kids soon realize that I desire truly to be their
friend. It is my goal to be an awesome au pair/babysitter for them—someone they
will never forget. As the language barrier is worn away, little-by-little, I
think they will grow to love me and vice versa. However, I know that some has
already grown despite not being able to communicate; love is after all, it’s
own language.
(Special thanks to MARILYN for the Halloween treats!)
