Going To The Beach With The Fam

Today I went to the Arcachon beach with a classmate of mine, Amina, and her family. Yesterday I had gone to her house to help her daughter with English homework, and we had started to talk about the area around Bordeaux. When it was discovered that none of us (except Amina's husband) had seen the Dune de Pyle, it was offered that we go today.
It was amazing! My pictures do not do it justice, but the dune is HUGE! There were times when I honestly was afraid I would fall down the side of it and just roll all the way down and hit a tree. Seriously, terrifying. The only thing that made it safe was the fact that it was sand. I mean, there were real cliffs! But, if fell of the side, then you would just roll on the sand, which is pretty forgiving. The danger then, is to fall into the sea, or hit a tree :) See? Safe. Right. But it was really cool. I am so glad that we went.
It is very fun to hang out the them. The daughter, Siham, is learning English, but she is about as good at English as I am at French, so we have a fun time trying to talk. The husband, Jeephed (I don't know how to actually spell his name, but that is how it sounds) can also somewhat speak English, and tries very hard. He would really like to learn English, so though I have been asked to speak to Siham, Jeephed talks to me more. Its really cool, 'cause while I am helping with their English, I am learning more French and gaining confidence! So, its a win wins situation, and I get some fun family time.
It is weird how much Amina reminds me of Mama. I went shopping with her the other night, and she would do just as Mama would do, and seem to just grab things off the shelf, without explaining why she needed it or anything. Jeephed had to keep on asking her WHY. It was so funny. But its also hard to be around her. In a way, because she reminds me of mama, I want to talk to her more, but we speak such different languages that it makes it very difficult. Amina does not speak English at all, so French is our only option, and while I am getting better, I am still far from being able to just HAVE a conversation. Hopefully it will get better though, and I am excited for more times of hanging out with that family.
Now, to explain the pictures a bit: We went to the dune, and we also went to the beach. They are not quite the same place, so we had to drive to each. At the beach we had crepes and tea! So yummy :) Amina has three kids: Siham is the oldest, Elah (or something like that) is the little boy, and then Ziheph (or however you spell it) is the little girl. She is the cutest thing ever and has now warmed up to me to let me hold her and play with her. They are a wonderful and cute family and have been very generous to me.

Well, thats about it. Hope you all are having great days and I will post again when I have something fun!