Rosetta: Cup of Tea?

I first met Helen at orientation a little less than a month ago. She stood in front of a room full of over a hundred English assistants and explained to us in English what some had failed to grasp a moment earlier when the director had said it in French. She was very specific and forceful and I wasn't sure whether I liked her or not. After that my next encounter with her was in the classroom later that day after they'd separated us into more manageable groups. She made me take off my hat (they had mentioned that we would not be allowed to wear hats in our schools so I had asked one of the people in charge if I should take my hat off and she had said not to worry about it for the day. I had left my hat on because once I've put a hat on I end up having hat-hair if I take it off). At this point my opinion of her wavered toward unfavorable however class with her was fine and afterwards when I approached her with how difficult it would be for me to get to Lille by 9AM the next orientation day almost three weeks later, she offered to let me stay at her house and ride with her. In the end, I accepted and she picked me up at the train station when I arrived earlier today.

After a 30 minute drive to her house (she drove all that way just to get me, and even arrived right as I was getting off the train, very impressive) she walked me up to my room and pulled several tubs of stuff off a twin bed which she then made up for me. After that our next move was of course tea since she is English, so we walked down the hall past a bookcase packed full of mystery-thriller books and down a staircase piled to one side with other books and various boxes and other items. We squeezed through the kitchen and into an office strewn with more books, papers, knickknacks, and a cat. She invited me to sit in the only available chair as she went and got our tea (with milk and two lumps of sugar). We also had a lovely pastry know as a 'Réligieux', a puffy pastry filled with cream that is said to look like a plump nun, thus the name. After tea and a conversation about books in which she invited me to borrow any of her books I liked, she sat down to do some work and I sat down in her 'reading chair' in the living room with another cup of tea.

Dinner came at 9PM and consisted of lamb with mint sauce, beans, broccoli and cauliflower, and fries (chips). It was very good and also entertaining as Helen's husband is French so we held dinner conversation mostly in French. Dessert was Pomme Tatin (much like apple pie) and vanilla ice cream. 

After dinner I had my shower, not because I needed a shower but because it seemed expected of me ('Are you going to take your shower tonight or tomorrow morning?') When in truth I had been prepared to go without a shower until I reached Muriel's house on Friday. Clean and dry and in my pajamas, Helen brought me a cup of herbal tea and her husband set me up with the internet password. I think I am going to like it here.

Oh, and I've decided to accept every time Helen offers me tea, I mean how can you say no when a real live English person offers you 'a cup of tea?'