A Fieldtrip to the Suquamish Tribe and Dinner Company

Here is a link to an article in the local newspaper about our French Exchange students, and the fieldtrip that they took to the Suquamish Indian Reservation yesterday.

Yesterday after school, I picked up Zoe and her friend, Chloe, and we went to Dairy Queen so that they could have a sweet treat. They each chose a different Blizzard. They had never seen ice cream cakes like the ones that DQ makes, so it was fun to show them the catalog of photos and ideas. Then, I drove them to a nearby shopping mall. We shopped in Macy's, Zumiez, Bath and Body Works, Aeropostale, Forever 21, World Market and Old Navy, among other stores. The girls said that the cost of clothes here is much lower than in France, and they each bought some nice things.

When they saw the Sweet Factory, both of them stopped and took pictures of it - but they didn't go inside.

After we finished shopping in Old Navy, Chloe went home with her host-father, and Zoe and I went to Costco. She hadn't been inside of a Costco before, so that was fun to show her. I bought a few items, and then asked her what kind of food she would like to eat for dinner. Her answer: Italian - specifically, spaghetti. So we went to a local Italian restaurant - a very casual one, where we used to dine when our kids were small. I told her that it didn't have a lot of "ambience," but the food is good and there were many choices.

And the food was good...but, before we had finished eating our salad, the entrees were delivered to the table, and left to sit.

I don't recall that ever happening, before. I could see how strange and inappropriate it was, especially when trying to look at things from Zoe's perspective. I don't think this would happen in France, where food and the dining experience is very important. It felt as if we were being rushed, and it was not good for our food to sit and get cold. But otherwise, it was fine.

Today, the students "shadowed" a North Kitsap student in their classes. This afternoon, I picked Zoe up from school, and we went to our local grocery store to order handmade pizzas and buy a few items for the weekend (ingredients for pancakes, etc.). It was fun to tour the store that is so familiar to me with a guest. She took photos from the 2nd floor (it's a huge store), and bought some handmade soap. Zoe tried the fresh barbecue pork and beef brisket, and decided on the pork for lunch next week. We also found a nice gift for her parents in the gift department.

Tonight, we had our dear friends (the Dudleys - Paul & I met in 8th-grade French class) over for dinner. We ate pizza, green salad and angel food cake with fresh berries and whipped cream (chantilly, in French - thanks, Heidi!). We chatted, sang along while Paul played the piano, and the boys played video games. We had fun and lots of laughs. Good friends from "way back" are a priceless gift; we love them!