The First French-American Thanksgiving c. 2010

To all of you in the USA, it's should be about time to cut up the turkey!! And while you munch away on the string beans, slather your mashed potatoes with butter and gravy, and pass the stuffing, I wish you "Bon Appetit!"

Here's how it went down in France yesterday:

 (Before)

(Beautiful Flowers from Melanie and her husband, Hussam)

 (Nathalie M. and her boyfriend, Jonathon singing along)

 (Christelle and Delphine)

 (The infamous Marc and his "Brazilian son," Ewerton)

 (Most of the 14 teachers who came for dinner :) )

 

(Hussam cutting the chicken/ make-believe turkey)

 (And the festivities begin!)

 

 (My masterpiece)

 (Trying to live up to my family name with the decorations...leaves on the pumpkin pie, an apple tree on the apple pie)

  Dinner consisted of two (as large as I could find) chickens, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, cranberry bread, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. Of course, this wouldn't all have been possible if Nathalie didn't lend me her kitchen all day yesterday.  In between dinner and dessert, we were serenaded by Marc and his "L'amerique" song. He tried to get me to sing CCR for everyone (since we all know I'm a professional and he thinks just because I know the refrain I know the whole song) but no sir! Not me. We were able to Skype for a little with my brothers and the teachers found it hysterical when Declan told them "Shut the Door" instead of "Je t'adore." All in all a great time and I am quite proud to say I didn't burn a thing!

I told them they were my new French family...and they really are. Everyone has been supportive since I arrived. They constantly check to see if all is well in my apartment, if I have enough to eat, if I need help with my lesson plans, if I want a ride home, do I want to come with them to this or that this weekend. And while I'm homesick after seeing everyone on Skype tonight, I have more than enough to be grateful for today. I've got an American family and now a French one. I have so many people that support me and I have a wonderful life. And while I may complain about things from time to time, I know that I am very blessed and fortunate to have so many wonderful people in my life. So thank you all for reading, for supporting, and helping me learn one day at a time in this thing called life. Here's to you all and to the next year!

Miss you tons and love you lots!

GOBBLE GOBBLE

Living the Life I Love

Coucou à tous!

It's been a while and after this post I've got to gather all my recipes for my Thanksgiving dinner, so let's make it short and sweet.

I'm loving life. I may detest certain things here (like my bank, ahem!) but overall I am very happy. You know you're happy when the kids chant, "Kahtee Perry," and you smile. You know you're happy when  you spend all of your money on food and occasional train tickets. You know you're happy when you can smile on a rainy day and finally understand all of the jokes during lunchtime.

In short, I had a great past weekend and to start it all off, I started the celebration early with the Beaujolais Nouveau. The funny thing I've been told is that we are celebrating the worst wine in France. I still drank it anyways. In essence, Beaujolais is the first wine to be harvested and hence is released the earliest...the third Thursday of November. A more drunk (well depending on the family) and less fattening Thanksgiving celebration if you dare to compare. Anyways, Nawel, Elodie, and I went early to watch our co-worker, Gaétan, play in his band. Conveniently enough, they are called "les mauvaises graines" (the bad seeds). Dressed in leaves and shining with energy, the twenty-plus group performed for over two hours, with and without the rain.

 (Like Times Square before Midnight!)

 (Les Mauvaise Graines)

( Me, Nawel, and Elodie huddling in the rain)

( Gaétan getting interviewed on live TV.)

Then, Friday I headed down to Marseille to visit Julie. The most amazing thing, we both agreed, was the fact that we were able to stay in contact for over six years (and haven't seen each other since we were 16 and 17). We caught up on life, joked about my sister's incomprehensible English, and celebrated her boyfriend's, Nicolas, birthday.  It was a very quick visit but I am proud to say that I was able to understand her ridiculously fast French. I ate delicious croque-monsieurs, learned how to prepare a French birthday party, and found out mayo is a lot more delicious when hand-made.

 (One of Julie's cats, Liko.)

 (Out on the islands while the boys went fishing)

 (Marseille from a distance.)

 (Forts from WWII.)

 (Jesus rays.)

 (The vacation home Louis XIV had built and then never visited.)

 (Notre Dame)

(And another rainbow on the train ride home).

One of the most interesting facts Julie told me was how scared the French Kings were of the Marseille people. Louis XIV had the canons in the fortresses built so that they pointed in towards the city, rather than out towards the sea, in case the people revolted and got out of hand. Furthermore, during the French Revolution, the Marseille soldiers chanted their home town song when marching towards Paris...this song is now the national anthem.

I saw the sea, heard the seagulls cry every morning, and watched the mountains and countryside fly by on my train ride home. All in all, I'm a very happy, grateful girl right now.

One Big Holiday

That is how it still feels here in France. I've been here for almost two months and I still can't believe I am living here for the year. Despite the past two weeks of lesson plans and nonstop chatting in French, I still feel like I'm in limbo, waiting for something else to happen. As Radiohead sings so beautifully, "You're living in a fantasy world."

I guess I feel so out of control because despite my best efforts to stick to a set schedule, it never ends up that way. I've gone out searching for a gym, a language course, and art supplies to get into a strict routine like at home, yet I have had no luck. Instead, what seems to happen in France so perfectly, so effortlessly, so beautifully, is spontaneity. At first, this royally pissed me off, not knowing what I was supposed to do for school, where I should go to buy this, when I should do that, etc. Yet, it is quite liberating after all and I have begun to enjoy the random chaotic order of life. Habits may arise out of this spontaneity, like my trips to the hidden fresh fruit and vegetable stand down the street, but that's not always the case.  I have learned to love every moment here in Lyon. For example, yesterday I waited thirty minutes in the pouring rain for the bus. After twenty, I started laughing to myself. Why? I guess maybe I'm starting to shed my American "Right Now, I Have To Be On Time, Me First" attitude. Or maybe I've just come to realize that I can only control so many things in my life and the bus is not one of them, nor will it ever be since my bus never seems to come at the time listed.

Anywho, I digress and should return to my point. I like to explore and my appetite for it won't stop growing.  This past weekend I went to the movies, the circus, and the football (soccer) match. I met Melanie's best friends from elementary school (at another dinner party featuring the raclette) and I cooked a ton of food.

As for the cinema here, let's just say despite the high conversion rate I'd pay 7.40 euros ($10) any day to sit in the big red sofa-like chairs. After watching Les Petits Mouchoirs, I've made another goal: Go to a movie every two weeks. There are so many great films coming out over the next month and despite the option to watch certain movies in English, I will not give into it! The best thing about watching movies in France? I am able to laugh at the same time as everyone else because I'm learning so many familiar terms it is starting to become effortless to understand. Second best thing? Oonagh and I can laugh obnoxiously when the French actors sing songs in English and they make absolutely no sense.

The circus is another story. While it was a beautiful day to walk across the river, it wasn't so nice watching the lions get poked in the behind because they wouldn't do the tricks.

As for the Olympique Lyonnais game, that gets all five stars. I paid nada, nitch, zero to get in (thank you Groupon coupons!) and attended my first European sports match. It was a lovely (windy) night and they won against Nice, 1-0. All in all, a win for me and my new town.

Finally, my cooking. I'll admit, I've never been a cook, but everything happens for a reason and my run into the lovely market has spurred an inner cooking demon who can't stop researching recipes and then does not bother to look at them while in front of the burners.

 Zucchini Bread

 Eggplant and Zucchini Mille-feuilles

 Apple Crisp and Ice Cream

Speaking of food, it's time to make dinner :) A plus mes amis!

For All Those Who Fought For Their Country

As everyone should already know, today is Armistice Day (Veteran's Day back home, Remembrance Day in Great Britain). Here in France, today signifies the end of World War I on the Western Front. Over time and after the deuxième guerre mondiale (WWII), the symbolism of today has shifted from celebrating the end of a war to celebrating all those who have fought in the Armed Forces. Considering this, I decided to spend yesterday afternoon at the Centre D'Histoire de la Resistance et de la Deportation (Resistance Museum at the Historical Center here in Lyon). I wasn't expecting too much considering the cheap fee (2 euros for students), but I ended up spending three hours soaking up historical information I never learned about in my AP History classes. Below are a few facts I decided were worth sharing:

• 75,000 were deported from France and 11,000 of them were children.
• 3 out of 4 French Jews escaped deportation to concentration camps.
• 27,000 resistant fighters were killed.
• Vénnssieux had a "camp de rassemlement avant déportation." In other words, the Jews would be gathered and kept there until there was more room in the large concentration camps. This was quite shocking to read considering I work right next to this town.
• Catholics supported Pètain because they believed he would give them more jobs.
• The soldiers in Afrika Korps did not have French citizenship despite their help in the war. (These are the soldiers fighting in Libya versus the Germans and Italians).
• The Air Force bombed Lyon on May 26th, 1944.
• The Germans burnt and destroyed all of the bridges in Lyon on their way out. What a pain in the neck with the two rivers!
• The museum was the Gestapo headquarters during WWII. What a wave of chills I got when I read that (and saw the burnt wall pictured below).
• The Resistance in France was made up of numerous groups. A large majority of the groups were stationed in Lyon. Most did not know that they were all working against the Nazis in the same city.
• 1/3 of the Resistance consisted of men and women under 30 years old
• 1/3 were 30-45 years old.
• The Lorraine Cross signified one of the main groups (Forces Francaises Libres or Free French Forces). Resistance fighters would mark this around town to express their loyalty to Free France. 
• September 8th, 1943 Italy surrendered ultimately and then less than a month later declared war on Germany (on October 13th). Pretty hilarious in my opinion.
• On September 3rd, 1944, Lyon was liberated after having been occupied by German forces since November 1942. 
• The first concentration camps opened in March 1933 at Oranienburg and Dachau. They were first used as a training camp for future Nazis.
• On December 11th 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the USA. I don't remember learning this in school, just when we declared war on Japan. I found it very interesting to read from a different historical perspective and this really caught my eye for some reason.
• Four young French men crossed the English Channel by canoe to join the Resistance and meet De Gaulle for further information.
• There were a lot of bad ass women who were in charge of transporting weapons between Resistance figures and bases, hiding Jewish children, and writing political articles for the newspapers.
 


 (A printing machine- main reason why the Resistance was successful...underground newspapers)

 (Original door with the Lorraine Cross)

 (Lyonnais Propaganda)


(Huge Hitler cartoon)
Well I'm off to take my apple crisp out of the oven! 
Bisous XXXX

Bah, ouai...

The phrase to use in response to anything and everything here in Lyon. Along with, "Hap," and "Tak."

Even better is the "En fait" phrase I hear so often during recess at school. "En fait, maîtresse, il m'a poussé et puis j'ai dit..." I probably shouldn't smile since they're trying to explain why they are beating each other up on the blacktop, but hey, it sounds so cute!

Anyways, today is random thought day for me so here goes a sputtering of a million things going on in my head right now.

• It's freezing again. I wish I brought my JMU sweatshirts and fuzzy socks from Aunt Patti.
• I do not like the cloudy weather, except for the excuse it gives me to drink more coffee.
• Despite all of the above hatred, the cloudy days tend to have the coolest sunsets.
• I miss peanut butter, but now I like Nutella, milk in my cereal (well a little!), and eggplant.
• I stayed up until 6 am Friday and didn't look at my phone once all night....well not until I was told that we were taking the first metro home. Amazing feeling :)
• I have been cooking new recipes every week; I always am thinking about what I'm going to eat next!
• Speaking of, I was invited to another raclette party on Saturday...cannot wait! Yummy cheese!
• Big goal of the year: learn and remember every student's name (that's over 450!).
• Every time I go to school, the kids run over to say my name, say hello, and ask if they can give me kisses. It drives me nuts (definitely couldn't be a celebrity), but makes me smile at the same time because they tell me every day how they love me :)
•  Back to food, I'm hosting Thanksgiving and I cannot wait...just need to find some cranberries in this country!
• I hate having no set schedule, deadlines, gym classes, or tests. I love taking my time, refiguring out my priorities/interests, biking home from parties, and meeting random people.
• The French radio stations play really old US songs, but really good dance mixes (still all in English, but hey I know what they're saying, the French don't).
• The lack of consumer goods/XL sizes of everything is driving me nuts, but at the same time it really does make you walk everywhere to find anything and teaches you patience! For example, I had wait until today to buy my pre-paid cell phone card since everything is closed after noon on Saturday. Furthermore, I walked to three different stores, because the one supermarket was out of my company, SFR, and the other store was already closed for lunch.  Despite my typical annoyed attitude, this aspect of France also makes you appreciate what you already have and learn to consume everything before you go out searching for more. One of the many American brain-washed ideas I am slowly trying to abandon while here....mass-consumerism. One of my many baby steps...I never throw out left-overs anymore and definitely wear my jeans more than once before washing them.
• The dog poo on the roads smell so bad. You really need to watch your step at all times. But, at least when it rains here, it doesn't smell like dog food (ahem, JMU).
• I will never get sick of being asked to boire un coup. When you want to hang out with someone, you drink. The choice of drink is up to you, but you most typically sit outside. Fresh air does the body good (as does people watching!)
• To remind myself/pinch myself once in a while that one of my dreams come true is actually happening right now, I blast Norah Jones' song, "It's Gonna Be" or Royksopp's "Vision One."

Okay, back to lesson plans....this week is focused on classroom orders/rules, school supplies, and a brief ABC singing to show the major difference between "eeee" and "uh" for the letter E, "gee" and "jai" for G, and so forth.

Ciao my lovelies!

The Debut of Month Two

Another cloudy, cold day in Lyon and what's a girl to do? Update her blog and then go back out into the jungle to explore one last day before school starts up again.


As promised, I have some pictures of the wonderful independent wine festival.  I forgot to mention in the last post that every time you go to the festival you get a nice wine glass....yay for free stuff and free wine!

 "Thanks for visiting, see you soon!"

 Guess how many bottles are in the bag.....

15!! Now guess how many are mine?

......10. Woops :) And how many are presents you ask? As many as I can fit into my suitcase.

Another difference between France and the States...presents. I was stressing so much after I found an apartment. I needed to say thank you to Marc and his family for giving me a place to stay as well as all of the teachers for their help with the paperwork I went through to stay here for the next 9 months. Trying to find presents in a foreign country for people you are just starting to get to know is not fun in the slightest. Flowers? Bon-bons? A book? But what do they like? What moves them? 

Coincidentally, the people I was hoping to thank gave me a hint...host a dinner party. So that's exactly what I did. I've been told it's an easier way to get everyone together, it's less stress, and it's more French to eat and talk than just trade material things. 

So, what better than some of my Momma's lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and....CARAMEL APPLES! I figured I had to celebrate Halloween/Fall somehow in this country, and if they don't have enough costumes to go around then we have to stick to food.  So it was "Chacun pour sa pomme" aka battle for the sugary dipping sauces. Regardez nos pommes!

 (Counterclockwise from empty spot: Elodie, Nathalie and her boyfriend, Melanie and her husband, Gaeten and his wife, and baby in the other room).

The funniest part of the evening was waiting to eat the apples. I told them how typically you let them cool in the refridgerator before you bite into the delicious goo. Since my fridge was too small to store the lovely creations ( because of the fondue sticks we used), I put them out on the balcony to cool. Five minutes later, everyone is eerily quiet and I ask if they are that anxious to eat the caramel apples. "Bah, mais oui!" So I returned the apples to their rightful owners and all you could hear was CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH. I think they were a hit since the teachers were already joking about doing it again at school. I can't wait to host Thanksgiving in three weeks.

Until next time, enjoy my new favorite Frenchie, Zaz.
My theme song of the week.

 XOXOX