Wine, wine whine!

I think I am addicted to this blogging thing, even if noone cares about what I am writing, I have always enjoyed writing about whatever and whoever, I'm addicted, OR maybe I just have nothing else to do.

I have been snowed in for two days now and all plans to hit the French sales have been abandoned. (But I need some heavy duty gloves). So I'm in with the family for the weekend. I am very 'lucky' to be taken everywhere the family are invited, some of my fellow au pairs don't get the chance to travel with theirs but mine are really welcoming. Sometimes though, I just don't want to go. When J suggested walking in 10inch snow, my enthusiasm fell to the same degree as the temperature outside.

The night with the family at the maternal grandparents home did go rather well, good food, wine, champagne and an open fire. The children were occupied by a film and I had the chance to practise my French, with adults.

As I helped clear up, J's brother followed me in and we started tidying. We had an interesting conversation about racism, he is well travelled and lived in Italy for three years. Once on the train in Italy he was sat amongst five strangers, one black. Four started chanting racist slurs at the black man. He asked me if everything had been OK for me here in France and I said that I had been lucky so far. He gave me his number and told me we should do lunch sometime, at that moment his wife walked in and for some reason I felt guilty, maybe because although I met her first she had not been as inviting as he. I find that with a lot of the French women J introduces me to. She looks at me weird too, but I hope that she knows she has nothing to worry about, I call him my uncle for goodness sakes.

Back at the table I was feeling very comfortable and even more so with every sip of the Brut, that was until they asked me to sing. Turns out that people have been listening at my bedroom door as I belt out Jennifer Hudson and Neyo at the weekend. Note to self, turn the music up so I can't be heard. JP and J had told everyone that I can sing and now as all eyes fell on me, I felt the pressure, another mouthful of Brut down the hatch!

Why could I only think of songs from Oliver Twist, I sang who will buy this wonderful morning, it went down well, I am considering a professional career in dinner table entertainment.

As my stomach resettled I thought about how I would soon, be mixing my family with their's, should be interesting. J has expressed her fears of having the family round for my birthday, she is worried about her standard of English and trying to hold a coversation with my parents may prove difficult for her. She was however very enthusiastic about me taking them to a museum.............cue silence. None of my family will be interested! We are very similar in many ways, but also complete opposites, like I said, this should be interesting.

I have managed to sneak a couple of hours to myself, bliss, pure and unadulterated bliss. The family and guests have gone sledging, I dipped out at the last minute, no I didn't feign injury, no tiredness, I was brutal and said. Je ne pas envie.