The life of a gypsy

This weekend was the second time I stayed at my friend Leslie’s house. She is an amazing girl who started out as my tutor but has evolved into my best French friend. I’ve never met someone with a heart like hers, and coming to stay with her in the French countryside has opened my eyes to what her family life is like. In fact, she is a true gypsy. She lives in a caravan with her parents and sister, and with her aunts and uncles and cousins close by. They think differently than normal French people – for example they are much more relaxed. You can snack, you can show affection, you can shout, you can relax. In traditional gypsy families, the women are not allowed to go to school or work. They are supposed to stay at home and clean and cook for the men. However, Leslie is one of the few that is standing up for herself and truly making strides to change that. She is going to be an English professor, she goes to college, and she even spent the year in the states (against her father’s wishes!). Gypsies are extremely family oriented, and there are always people over. Sometimes it gets overwhelming for me, because there are so many people, all talking loudly, speaking in gypsy tongue (they have their own dialect!) and thus it took me a little bit to get used to! Going from Josette’s house to here is a world of difference. I am so lucky to be able to be here, sharing time with a family that has taken me in like one of their own. Yet at the same time, it does make me miss my family 100 times more!