My host family threw me a huge farewell party tonight. I had forgotten that I knew so many of their friends. There were about 40 guests. We had a spring roll construction station in the middle of the terrace. Didier grilled skewers of meat in the stone BBQ by the garden, and Céline had all of the vegetables on the plancha. Each guest brought a side dish. Didier had intricately planned this part of the agenda weeks ago--making sure all of the foods would work well together and that each person would bring his requested dish. He didn't want people to just bring whatever. He wanted the meal to have a cohesive theme.
Didier called everyone out to the terrace before we started eating. I figured he would give a speech but did not think I would be the focal point. I thought he would just thank everyone for coming out. I was standing in the crowd when Didier called me to the front. He pretended he was reading a speech but all he had was a blank sheet of white paper...He was speaking from the heart. The story was pretty hilarious. He covered all of the comedic mishappenings and our accidental meeting. Everyone was rolling with laughter! But then he started talking about how much I meant to them and how much the kids have grown, the tone changed a bit. I started rubbing my eyes because they felt irritated, but then I realized I was crying. I looked over at maman with Léa and Camille. The three of them had tears pouring down their faces. I lost it at that point. I was bawling! Didier grabbed me for a side hug and I just buried my face into his chest. I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I couldn't contain it. I just love this family so much!
At the end of the speech, my family presented me with a scrapbook they had made for me. They had compiled pictures of our year together and written captions for them. They had even left pages at the end for our friends and family to leave messages too. It was so sweet! I love gifts that have meaning. They really nailed it on this one. I can't believe I'm saying goodbye to these people in 6 days...
But what a great party!!!
Didier called everyone out to the terrace before we started eating. I figured he would give a speech but did not think I would be the focal point. I thought he would just thank everyone for coming out. I was standing in the crowd when Didier called me to the front. He pretended he was reading a speech but all he had was a blank sheet of white paper...He was speaking from the heart. The story was pretty hilarious. He covered all of the comedic mishappenings and our accidental meeting. Everyone was rolling with laughter! But then he started talking about how much I meant to them and how much the kids have grown, the tone changed a bit. I started rubbing my eyes because they felt irritated, but then I realized I was crying. I looked over at maman with Léa and Camille. The three of them had tears pouring down their faces. I lost it at that point. I was bawling! Didier grabbed me for a side hug and I just buried my face into his chest. I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I couldn't contain it. I just love this family so much!
At the end of the speech, my family presented me with a scrapbook they had made for me. They had compiled pictures of our year together and written captions for them. They had even left pages at the end for our friends and family to leave messages too. It was so sweet! I love gifts that have meaning. They really nailed it on this one. I can't believe I'm saying goodbye to these people in 6 days...
But what a great party!!!
I dropped my camera right after this so the following pictures are taken by my crappy phone...Désolée!!!
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