Lille & Les Chauves-souris

Short update right now.

The family took me into Lille today.  I accompanied them into the city so while they went to a dental appointment I could rome around and explore.  I went to the multiple Palaces, le Palais des Justice and le Palais des Beaux Arts, looked around the opera (l'opera), just basically took in the views and the essence of the city. I quite liked Lille and almost prefer it over Paris now, though really i was only there for about four hours. It had a a much quieter and much less pretentious air about it. I didn't feel so much like an outsider save my obvious inability to speak to single soul.  Everything was pretty much beautiful too.  I've mostly seen gloomy skies like in Scotland (Ecosse) but today was beautiful. Blue skies as far as the eye could see. The fresh and warm feel to the city was definitely influenced by the sun showing itself today.  

La Grande Place de Lille. It is a gigantic plaza in the heart of Lille rimmed with large buildings donning beautiful and immaculate facades.  Tres belle. 

La vielle Lille (old Lille ). The city and specifically the older part of the city have a Flemmish/Belgian (Belgique) essence mostly because Lille was at one time part of Belgium. 

Palace of Beautiful Art. - there's one in every major town. ha. but a beautiful name nonetheless. 

As far as language goes, I've been having a very rough time. HOWEVER it's coming along.  It's an isolating feeling to know what you'd like to say but not know how to express it. And it happens far to often it seems.  For example, dinner is the time when the family eats and talks together, problematic situations for me usually look something like this:

1A.  I have no idea how to say the ice breaker I've been concocting for the last minute so i don't say anything at all.  or...
1B.  I do figure out how to say whatever it is i'm going to say and the family is baffled by it.

or it can go the other way around

2A.  The Dad says something quickly to me and waits for a response.  I don't know what he said so i ask him to repeat it multiple times. or...
2B.  I understand what he's just said but, again, have no clue how to respond.

Anyways. it's getting better. i'm hearing things much much better and getting bolder in talking to the parents.  I struggle with conversations where there are lots of people apart of it but one on one is usually pretty good at this point.  Also, it's only my third day.


Tonight (ce soir = this evening), the oldest daughter, coline, invited her boyfriend over and he brought along some friends.  He is a biologist/ecologist by trade and he brought some bats (les chauves-souris) he's been working with over to the house.  He weighed, measured, and tagged them and let them go into night (la nuit).  I took some video embedded below.




enjoy. merci.