Gilbert!

So I finally figured out the little man's name today (I was getting worried there for a second). It's Gilbert...which only adds to his adorableness! Apparently Gilbert has a house in the countryside (about 30 minutes from town) that he has been restoring for the past 5 years. He told me how old it is, but unfortunately if the number is above about 30, I have no idea what it is when spoken quickly. Regardless of my inability to comprehend dates, it is easy to tell that this thing has been around for a VERY long time. We left around 10 in the morning after breakfast and met Janine's daughter Crystal and her husband Emanuel and their kids Oscar and Elliot for a picnic in the yard. It was quite lovely. Too bad I can't understand anyone. Everyone is extremely nice and tries to make conversation, but it quickly crashes and burns when they say something with great enthusiasm and I just stare back blankly with absolutely no comprehension. Feeling like a complete idiot for the next month is going to be quite the experience. Even something as eating cheese was difficult. Shouldn't be that hard right? Well apparently there are certain ways to eat certain cheeses and usually I just watch to see what everyone else is doing, but when they hand me the platter first, this strategy seriously fails. I don't even know how to say "I don't know what to do". So again, more blank staring. Awesome. I just hope these lovely people don't get too frustrated with me. I actually start class tomorrow morning, so I'm sure having some kind of direction will be helpful instead of me just pulling three year old words out of my cloudy memory.