Random French and a beloved friend

My friend Tarver has been visiting for the past few days. Absolutely love him. He’s an awesome person. We went biking a little and visited a cold and damp cave. He says he doesn’t eat more than he needs because his sense of smell is not that great. He’s so easy in our family – I wish he really were my older brother.
By the way, am amazed by Tarver’s mind. He seems able to recognize Chinese characteristics after the first glance (though not to the extent of drawing them by memory, at least hasn’t proved to be able to) and continue to be interested in it. Most Americans just ask me what something means and laugh after I inform them without expressing any desire or interest to learn further.
Shall really have to get back to my studies. It’s been like a vacation.
Received SAT scores as follows:
Critical reading – 730/800
Math – 680/800
Writing – 540/800 (broke my pretty little heart)
Total score – 1990/2400
Really must work at it. And what do you mean if I retake it I might get less?
Also got the book ‘Le Petit Prince’ which I am sure the French are tired of hearing about. Will be good practice for the language anyway (beside the fact that it’s the only French novel I could find in the bookstore. Exorbitant amount it cost, though. $15.95 for a tiny book.
This is the foreword by A Leon Werth (by the way, can somebody teach me how to type the French letters? It would be very kind):
Je demande pardon aux enfants d’avoir dedie ce livre a une grande personne. J’ai une excuse serieuse: cette grande personne est lemeilleur ami que j’ai au monde. Jai une autre excuse: cette grande personne peut tout comprendre, meme les livres pour enfants. J’ai une troisieme excuse: cette grand personne habite la France ou elle a faim et froid. Elle a bien besoin d’etre consolee. Si toutes ces excuses ne suffisent pas, je veux bien dedier ce livre a l’enfant qu’a ete autrefois cette grande personne. Toutes les grandes personnes ont d’abord ete des enfants. (Mai peu d’entre elles s’en souviennent.)
I have the general idea that the whole paragraph says something along these lines: This book, though seemingly made for children, is in fact for adults. There are 3 reasons I give. The first one I cannot translate, the second one seems to signify that children cannot understand such a book (comprendre), the third says something along the lines that (I’m going out on a limb here) that the France that grownups live in is hungry and cold (I suppose the soul of it is deprived?) and the (grownups?) need consoling (consolee) by such a book as ‘Le Petit Prince’. If you think these reasons are insufficient, the grownups (?????) children.
If my translation is wrong or ne suffisent pas, pray tell me. Considering the fact that I’m working here without a dictionary and have been a whole year without taking any French classes, you really can’t ask much.
Also rented Bridget Jone’s diary and thought it wonderfully hilarious. She just makes you love her, though she’s horribly – clutzy and rather dim. I especially like the part where she’s just eaten magic mushroom and goes wadding in the sea and goes “Pretty Bridget, pretty Bridget…”
Every adult who happens to be my mom’s friend always say “Oooooh! You look so much like your mother!” and I’m like “Yeah-yeah-yeah, tell me something I don’t know.” Am turning into a fussy adult too, since last time I met a little girl I was like “Wow, you’ve grown much taller than I remembered!” and had a crazy impulse to pinch her cheeks, all the while grinning like a chimp – had restraint on the cheek pinching but no restraint on grinning like a chimp. She regarded me with slightly frightened eyes, like she could read my intentions, or just found my grin scary.