Chaussures d'été

On Fridays I have the pleasure of being driven to school instead of having to take the train. It’s faster, which means I get to sleep in, and it’s also cheaper, saving me money. All in all I try to covoitureage (carpool) as often as I can.

Before getting ready for the day, I made FBF check the weather report, and as it said it wasn’t going to rain, I decided to give my boots a rest. I went for my new dark red converse that I bought especially for France. Knowing that it was going to be cold, I layered up on the socks.

Despite the extra sock layer, my feet were still cold. And since Vincent, the teacher who picks me up, was dressed very warmly, the heat wasn’t on very high in the car.

Although it wasn’t supposed to rain in Lille, it was definitely raining in Lievin, were my lycée is. There was also snow on the ground. After commenting about how pretty the snow made the countryside along the drive to school, Vincent noticed my shoes.

“Tu n’a pas froid aux pieds avec ces chaussures?” (Your feet aren’t cold with those shoes?)

“Euh… oui, un peu,” (Uuh.. yeah, a little) I confessed.

After turning up the heat and focusing it on our feet, Vincent said, “Tu n’as pas des chaussures plus chaudes que ça? Les chaussures comme ça sont pour l’éte.” (You don’t have warmer shoes than those? Shoes like that are for the summer).

In order to stop myself from laughing, I began explaining about my boots. I couldn’t help but thinking that in California the only summer shoes are sandals and flip flops, and anything you have to tie is just all together too much trouble.


My "summer time" shoes.