La Vie des Feins: La Toque et les Sportifs

Since both Shaun and I speak french, we are often invited to do things outside of basketball. I will not try to kid myself by saying that it is because we are so cool or because we are in such high-demand. I am pretty sure it has 100% to do with the fact that we have the allure of being foreign but you can actually converse with us also. If the others players spoke french they would be in our shoes, but not as many of them do since most players hop from country to country playing. Not us, been here all 11 years and are semi-fluent to show for it. I say 'semi-fluent' for fear that I will one day say I am fluent quickly followed by not understanding a question someone asks me in french, making myself look like an idiot in the process. So semi-fluent it is. Some of those things we are asked to do seem cool from the get-go then as they creep closer, we question why we said 'yes' in the first place. Others seem not as fun at first, but surprisingly turn out to be great nights. Like a dinner at a sponsors house 5 or 6 years ago. They were a conservative older couple who spoke English (thank god) with which we had practically zero in common with. The dinner went great except one thing.... they got my name wrong. They kept calling me Vicky. I let it go the first time, which was a bad move cause how can you correct it later on without making the situation even more uncomfortable?? I just avoided all eye contact with Shaun (he thought it was great) and went with Vicky for the night. The following day, I sent them a thank-you note with my name clearly written as Nikki. After that, we never talked about it, they called me Nikki and we all still keep in touch years later. So when Shaun came home last year and said the coach invited us to a dinner, I didn't know how I felt about it....

Turns out the dinner was a annual charity event ( La Toque et les Sportifs)and I am embarrassed to admit, I still don't know what type of charity. The public could buy tickets for the evening to have 'celebrities' cook and serve them dinner along with a few auctions. The 'celebrities' ranged from soap opera stars, tv personalities, to athletes and prominent figures in the South of France. The food, well it was Michelin rated 3 star type food. Of course the 'celebrities' didn't really cook the food but they did do some final preparations (under a close watchful eye) before it was served. Shaun was whisked away from the moment we arrived to right before we left, leaving me to spend some quality time mingling with the coach and his wife. The food was excellent, there was foie gras stuffed ravioli with truffles, fresh loup (fish) and Shaun's dish to prepare, roasted pigeon with mushrooms and foie gras. I didn't really look at the menu, I just ate what was placed in front of me and drank what was in front of me. After all, when in Rome (in Michael Scott voice talking about Spain). It was the kind of meal where they served a separate wine with every course. The kind of meal where there was every kind of dessert possible. The kind of meal that went on for hours but you didn't want it to end. At the end of the night we said our goodbyes and thanked everyone for allowing us to be a part of something that not only was for charity but was so memorable and delicious. With 4 full bellies, we got in the car for the 1.5 ride home and started talking about the night, soccer, life etc. when the coach turns around and says, "Vicky, who do you think is the best footballer in the world?" Seriously, this again........