I had a Farm in Africa

I declined two parties last night because today was the "annual" lunch at my Grand Parents, in Versailles (my Dad's parents).

We joke about it with my Mum because in the beginning they were inviting us maybe three times a year, then two, and now one.

I like those dinners.

There is still a lot of love between them (they will celebrate 63 years of marriage next month!!) and look so young to me ! My Grand Mother will be 87 in ten days, and my Grand Father 86 in a month !

Celebrating the 60 Years of Wedding in 2007

I love their story. They met because their fathers worked together (in fact, my Grandma's Dad was a notary public, and my Granddad's Dad was working for him). They were both important families in Mâcon (that's a little bit why I love Burgundy).

I love when my Granddad says to me that he met my Grandmother through his brother and his friends at school, and how he was helping her for her maths home works ! It's nice.

My Granddad was a geographer, but he always said that he didn't want to work with his brother in Mâcon, and choose to leave France. That's how he left for Africa, and made the majority of his career there. He stood in Africa something like 15 years, came back to France and left for Asia (but never lived there).
My Grandma never worked, but I learned that she passed her driving licence in Africa ! Yeah !!

When they moved, my Dad wasn't born yet, just my three aunts. My Dad, first boy of the family, was born in Senegal (and my uncle in France, when they came back). I love that thing too !

But what I love the most is when they tell us
"one day in Senegal ...",
"one day in Mali ... ",
"one day in ...".

Sometimes my Grandma is about to tell us one of their millions africans story and my Granddad stops her saying
" - No Mimi, it was in (one year)" or
" - No Mimi, it wasn't in (one country)", and he takes his little reminder in is jacket pocket ! Yes, he has a piece of paper with all his "foreign" years and the country (and sometimes the city if they lived in different cities in one country)

It's just so great !!!

When we were kids, we always had the slides sessions during the afternoon. He made millions and millions of photographs during all these years, and he loved showing us. And we loved seeing these too ! In particular the one when he left for the hunt of the hippopotamus !! It's like we were seeing a poster for the last Indiana Jones movie !!

Two or three years ago, he choose to buy a laptop and a numeric camera. He projected all his pictures on a white wall to took them in numeric pictures to have them next in his laptop ! (Yes he is strange ! And believe me, no-one is like him !!!)

Now, I'd love (well, I but no, it's the entire family) to hear him saying that he's gonna write his adventures in Africa and Asia to let us a written memory. But he doesn't want it, and I think it's a bad idea ! We heard so many things ! Saw so many pictures !!

Since he retires, he never went back to Africa with my Grandmother. I think that, because all those countries changed a lot since he was there, he doesn't want to go back to keep only good memories. My Dad went back to Africa for his job, but never in the cities where he lived. For the moment, only my cousin went to Senegal, to Kaolack, where my Dad was born, and where they lived 2 years.

Few years ago, my parents made the renovating of our house.
One of the guy was African. I don't know how, but my Mum and him talked about Africa, and Senegal. The guy said that he was Senegalese, my Mum smiled and asked him where in Senegal, and he answered Kaolack. So my Mum laughed and told him that that's where my Dad was born and lived his first years. The guy laughed too, and talked about the city, he knew exactly where my Dad was (because my Mum knows where he lived in Kaolack). It was so funny !!

My Grand Dad with the girls (me, my sister, my cousin)
My Grand Ma with the boys (my cousin Paul, my cousin Ben, and my little bro' - my big bro couldn't be here, he was preparing the wedding of one of his best friends ...)

A lot of my friends say that they will never go to Africa because it's too hot, it's too poor, it's too dangerous ... Maybe it's true, but I don't care, one day I will try to walk in my Grandparents walks in Africa !!!

All together !

PS : today I got my first award here ! I didn't have the time to respond yet, but I'll do it tomorrow !!