In 5 days I will be returning home. I am so ecstatic to see my family, Eric, and my friends, all of whom I have missed tremendously!! This week I have been so excited and anxious to come home that it made it difficult at times to focus on studying for my final exams. On Wednesday, I helped to curve that feeling by getting out my suit cases and starting to pack a few things. (I really hope that all of my things fit in my suitcases!! :)) It was really fun that I was close enough to coming home that I could start packing!!
Last night my host mom made dinner for myself and a few friends here. It was a good night of just hanging out being together before we leave. By about last Friday, I realized that I really need to make sure that I truly take the time to "say goodbye" to France and all of the wonderful people that I have met here. With very large finals this week and my excitement to come, I didn't want to simply leave without taking the time to say goodbye. At the same time, I was so excited to be going home!!! :)
This morning I woke up and it is my last Sunday here in Grenoble. Even though the church here is large and I do not know everyone, I have definitely met some priceless people. Some of my friends are gone today due to a convention in a nearby town but, thankfully, I will see them later this week to say goodbye. I woke up with the realization of how much I really am going to miss living here.
I am going to miss the boulangeries filled with really yummy fresh made bread. I am going to miss the beautiful architecture and the aesthetics of their cities. I am going to miss the train system and being able to ride the train for a few hours through the French countryside to experience another great French town or even a different country! I am very much going to miss hearing the French language and having the opportunity to speak it (no matter how rocky my attempt may be). I am going to miss seeing the mountains! I am going to miss the cafes and having the preference to sit outdoors at a restaurant when the weather is nice. I am going to miss greeting each other with the "bisous" (kiss on each cheek) ... even though it has often been a very awkward cultural thing, I have gotten used to it. And most of all, I am going to miss the wonderful people that I have met here who have shown me what the French culture is.
I will never forget my experience here in France. It has definitely given me perspective not only on the French culture but, my own culture, the vast geographical size of our country, and the world as a whole. God, thank you for giving me this amazing opportunity to have lived here. I have learned so much and am grateful beyond words for the experience!
So, France, I will be missing you! For those of you back home, I'll see you on Saturday!!!!!!!!
From France,
Ashlie
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
My experience with French politics...
Well, Sunday night proved to be exciting!
First some background information: Sunday was the final round of the 2007 Presidential elections in France. The two candidates were Nicholas Sarkozy from the UMP party and Segolene Royal of the Socialist party. I had heard the election summarized as, "There is no good choice because Sarkozy is a fascist and Royal is incompetent!" Sarkozy had said some interesting things and Royal had big dreams of what the state could do for the people but no way to make it happen. A large portion of the French population was undecided until really late in the campaigns.
At school on Friday, one of the students from Canada was talking about the upcoming election and said, "You should get out of France for the weekend! (mind you, it was a long weekend as well) If Sarkozy is elected, there are going to be all kinds of riots! ..." We all kind of laughed at him saying, "even if there are demonstrations, it'll be fine! Don't worry!"
So Sunday night: I was a few blocks away at my friend Madison's house working on a paper and left at about 10:30. It was announced around 9 that Sarkozy had won with 53% of the vote. I was walking back home and was on the phone with Eric. Everything was fine and dandy and I had forgotten to expect any kind of response to the election. Then I turned the corner by the tram stop next to my house... I didn't see any angry rioters but they must not have been far because during the second half of my walk, I saw at least 4 groups of 15 policemen dressed in full garb! They had black helmets, body shields, and BIG guns, and were patrolling the streets like an army! It was scary! Eric was getting worried too because I had kind of stopped talking to him as I tried to figure out what was going on and home to get home safely. I finally get into my building after following one of the groups of policemen down my street. My host sister was home and was kind of freaking out about it too. We watched from our window as a few more groups of policemen and 3-4 fire trucks came down our streets. It was quite the rush! There was not any damage done to our streets but in the Grenoble area that night, around 45 cars were burned and in all of France, there were over 750 cars burned and almost 600 people arrested! All because people were not happy that Sarkozy was voted to be president!
It was quite an experience! Perhaps I'll rethink taking that "Politics in France" course next semester... It could be interesting to see what happens!
First some background information: Sunday was the final round of the 2007 Presidential elections in France. The two candidates were Nicholas Sarkozy from the UMP party and Segolene Royal of the Socialist party. I had heard the election summarized as, "There is no good choice because Sarkozy is a fascist and Royal is incompetent!" Sarkozy had said some interesting things and Royal had big dreams of what the state could do for the people but no way to make it happen. A large portion of the French population was undecided until really late in the campaigns.
At school on Friday, one of the students from Canada was talking about the upcoming election and said, "You should get out of France for the weekend! (mind you, it was a long weekend as well) If Sarkozy is elected, there are going to be all kinds of riots! ..." We all kind of laughed at him saying, "even if there are demonstrations, it'll be fine! Don't worry!"
So Sunday night: I was a few blocks away at my friend Madison's house working on a paper and left at about 10:30. It was announced around 9 that Sarkozy had won with 53% of the vote. I was walking back home and was on the phone with Eric. Everything was fine and dandy and I had forgotten to expect any kind of response to the election. Then I turned the corner by the tram stop next to my house... I didn't see any angry rioters but they must not have been far because during the second half of my walk, I saw at least 4 groups of 15 policemen dressed in full garb! They had black helmets, body shields, and BIG guns, and were patrolling the streets like an army! It was scary! Eric was getting worried too because I had kind of stopped talking to him as I tried to figure out what was going on and home to get home safely. I finally get into my building after following one of the groups of policemen down my street. My host sister was home and was kind of freaking out about it too. We watched from our window as a few more groups of policemen and 3-4 fire trucks came down our streets. It was quite the rush! There was not any damage done to our streets but in the Grenoble area that night, around 45 cars were burned and in all of France, there were over 750 cars burned and almost 600 people arrested! All because people were not happy that Sarkozy was voted to be president!
It was quite an experience! Perhaps I'll rethink taking that "Politics in France" course next semester... It could be interesting to see what happens!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Good days!
Well last Friday was a great day for many reasons. I:
School is going well. It's slowing down a bit which is nice. The above mentioned project was one my last presentations and now I mainly have final exams to prepare for. I still have 5 weeks left of school but there are a couple of long weekends thrown in there for French holidays so it shouldn't be to bad.
Things for the summer are starting to shape up. I have a couple of possible internships that I'm interviewing for. One is with the American Lung Association and the other is with planIt Omaha. They are both event planning internships in Omaha. Hopefully they will pay enough and be flexible enough to work as a job for both the summer and fall. We'll see what happens!
Speaking of summer, the countdown has begun... 37 days and I will be back on American soil. I can see the end! It has been such a great growing experience being here; it's hard to believe that it is almost over! At the same time, I'm really excited to be back at home and see what God has planned next.
Well, I should get back to work. Here are pictures of mon weekend รก la mer!
Love from France,
Ashlie
- saw the Mediterranean!
- ate Mexican food for the first time since December
- received a good grade on a project that I was really unsure about
- received an email asking for an interview for an interesting internship this summer!
School is going well. It's slowing down a bit which is nice. The above mentioned project was one my last presentations and now I mainly have final exams to prepare for. I still have 5 weeks left of school but there are a couple of long weekends thrown in there for French holidays so it shouldn't be to bad.
Things for the summer are starting to shape up. I have a couple of possible internships that I'm interviewing for. One is with the American Lung Association and the other is with planIt Omaha. They are both event planning internships in Omaha. Hopefully they will pay enough and be flexible enough to work as a job for both the summer and fall. We'll see what happens!
Speaking of summer, the countdown has begun... 37 days and I will be back on American soil. I can see the end! It has been such a great growing experience being here; it's hard to believe that it is almost over! At the same time, I'm really excited to be back at home and see what God has planned next.
Well, I should get back to work. Here are pictures of mon weekend รก la mer!
Love from France,
Ashlie
Monday, April 16, 2007
It's Springtime!!
Well, the spring weather has definitely arrived! The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous the past few weeks! Today it reached over 80 degrees and is pretty warm. The warm weather is making me excited about finishing my semester here and heading back home. I'm looking forward to the summer in Omaha with grilling out, going to the lake (okay, so really it's more of a park), and being with my friends from home again.
I am also excited about what the rest of the semester here holds. ...Okay take that back, I am looking forward to some of the things that the semester holds! :) (Final exams aren't really much to look forward to, you know what I mean?) I'm looking forward to spending some more time with people and learning what the French do when the weather gets warmer. I hope that I get to spend some time in the mountains!! I hope that, in these last seven weeks, I continue to push myself to work on my French and to get as much as I can from the French culture and being here.
One cultural thing that I thought was kind of interesting was the magical day when everyone realized it was spring! It wasn't really a single day but something definitely changed in the atmosphere around town last week. It was like everyone suddenly realized that the the weather was beautiful and they should be out in it more! All of the restaurants have pulled out their tables, chairs, umbrellas, and lights for outdoor seating. The squares and parks are getting more and more full of people at lunchtimes and in the afternoon. The stores have their doors wide open. The apartments and houses have their cool windows open to the breeze and fresh air. I have always loved the springtime but I think that I love the springtime in France even more! I will always remember this spring.
Here are some pictures from things I did last week.
I hope that things are going well in all of your lives! I look forward to hearing from you!
Love from France,
Ashlie
I am also excited about what the rest of the semester here holds. ...Okay take that back, I am looking forward to some of the things that the semester holds! :) (Final exams aren't really much to look forward to, you know what I mean?) I'm looking forward to spending some more time with people and learning what the French do when the weather gets warmer. I hope that I get to spend some time in the mountains!! I hope that, in these last seven weeks, I continue to push myself to work on my French and to get as much as I can from the French culture and being here.
One cultural thing that I thought was kind of interesting was the magical day when everyone realized it was spring! It wasn't really a single day but something definitely changed in the atmosphere around town last week. It was like everyone suddenly realized that the the weather was beautiful and they should be out in it more! All of the restaurants have pulled out their tables, chairs, umbrellas, and lights for outdoor seating. The squares and parks are getting more and more full of people at lunchtimes and in the afternoon. The stores have their doors wide open. The apartments and houses have their cool windows open to the breeze and fresh air. I have always loved the springtime but I think that I love the springtime in France even more! I will always remember this spring.
Here are some pictures from things I did last week.
I hope that things are going well in all of your lives! I look forward to hearing from you!
Love from France,
Ashlie
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Trips and life...
Okay, I have pictures for everyone! I'll give a quick run-down on the places I've been and then a current update on how I'm doing!
Milan:
I was able to go to Milan for the weekend with my friend Madison. She invited me to go shopping with her for the weekend in one of the "best cities for shopping in the world." I couldn't turn that down, now could I?? :) We had a great time in Italy. It is an expensive city but we enjoyed eating gelato daily, the amazing pizza and pasta, the sights of Milan and the shopping. It is the first time I had ever stepped foot in some of the stores but we had to check out their luxury shopping streets which are home to stores such as Luis Vitton, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana... the list goes on.
Here are some pictures!!
Beaune and Dijon:
The following weekend was spent in Beaune and Dijon with API, my study abroad program. They took us on a wine tasting and showed us the specialty foods of Dijon. We had a good time.
Here are some pictures!
Eric and the family!!:
The following two weeks were fantastic!! I came home from Dijon just in time to meet Eric and the train station! We had a great week together. I loved getting to show him "my France." The day that he left I took him to the airport in Lyon and then waited there for my family to arrive. We had a great week too but it wasn't without the normal James family vacation hitches! (We always tend to have not so great weather and a few minor hitches throughout our vacations but...we still have a good time and it makes it memorable!) I must also say... it is MUCH more difficult constantly translating menus and conversations for 4 people than it was for one person!! :) We had a great time though! Thank you guys for coming!!! It meant the world to me!
Enjoy some pictures: Album 1 Album 2
After those few weeks, came some CRAZY weeks with school! I thought that I was going to drown in it! I'm still not finished with the crazyness but this week we do not have classes so, I get some room to breath and catch up on stuff. More on that later...
Paris with the host family:
This past weekend my host family invited me to go with them to Paris. My host mom's friend was turning 40 and having a large party to celebrate! I had a great time with them!! The party was so much fun!! It was so elegant, a boat on the Seine with a 4-course meal elegant, and so much fun at the same time. It was great spending dedicated time with my host family too. So often with school work and such we don't spend that much time relaxing together. It was a fun bonding experience!
I added some pictures to the end of my Grenoble album.
Alrighty, I believe that is all of the pictures that have been missing!
Currently, things are going well. I have had some rocky days being so overwhelmed with school projects and tests. I am feeling very stretched but I think in the end it will be a good thing. I have never had courses like these before! There are several in which the only grades are a large project and the final exam! In comparison to the states, there is very little continuous assessment. I have one final that will be 60% of my grade and the rest of them count for at least 40%. Needless to say, as soon as I finish these big projects that are currently on my plate, I will be getting to studying for the exams!! Ugh... :~)
At the same time that I have been overwhelmed academically, I have been looking back on my stay do far. There are days when I wonder if I have built strong enough friendships that will last after this semester and there have been days when I am so encouraged by the people I have met here! There are days when I'm really disappointed in the improvement of my French (it really is not as strong as I had hoped) but then times when I realize that I could totally follow the last 10 minutes of conversation in French! There are days when I miss home so much I can hardly breath and days when I realize the short amount of time that I have left here and realize how much I'm going to miss it.
I have realized a lot about myself as well. I came to the stark realization of how much I de-stress by being around my close friends and how I do not do well when I don't know where to find that!! I have realized how much I love people from all over the world and that I hope that my world never again includes solely Americans. ...the rest of the world has great ideas and perspectives... I have loved joking with my friends about our cultural differences (getting teased for craving Starbucks coffee ... or laughing at them for constantly being late... etc). I have realized that even though I want to see the world and know people from its various sides, it is not about the places but about having people in my life. When or if I do this again, I am bringing someone from home with me but also going to try and dive in as much as possible with new people (I'm not sure that I have done this as well as possible).
Well, I think that is about all for now! I greatly appreciate the contact that people have been making!! I am looking forward to being back home this summer!!! It'll be 7 weeks from Friday then I will be home. ...Its a sad thought, a tiring thought, and an exciting thought all at the same time!!!
Love from France,
Ashlie
Milan:
I was able to go to Milan for the weekend with my friend Madison. She invited me to go shopping with her for the weekend in one of the "best cities for shopping in the world." I couldn't turn that down, now could I?? :) We had a great time in Italy. It is an expensive city but we enjoyed eating gelato daily, the amazing pizza and pasta, the sights of Milan and the shopping. It is the first time I had ever stepped foot in some of the stores but we had to check out their luxury shopping streets which are home to stores such as Luis Vitton, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana... the list goes on.
Here are some pictures!!
Beaune and Dijon:
The following weekend was spent in Beaune and Dijon with API, my study abroad program. They took us on a wine tasting and showed us the specialty foods of Dijon. We had a good time.
Here are some pictures!
Eric and the family!!:
The following two weeks were fantastic!! I came home from Dijon just in time to meet Eric and the train station! We had a great week together. I loved getting to show him "my France." The day that he left I took him to the airport in Lyon and then waited there for my family to arrive. We had a great week too but it wasn't without the normal James family vacation hitches! (We always tend to have not so great weather and a few minor hitches throughout our vacations but...we still have a good time and it makes it memorable!) I must also say... it is MUCH more difficult constantly translating menus and conversations for 4 people than it was for one person!! :) We had a great time though! Thank you guys for coming!!! It meant the world to me!
Enjoy some pictures: Album 1 Album 2
After those few weeks, came some CRAZY weeks with school! I thought that I was going to drown in it! I'm still not finished with the crazyness but this week we do not have classes so, I get some room to breath and catch up on stuff. More on that later...
Paris with the host family:
This past weekend my host family invited me to go with them to Paris. My host mom's friend was turning 40 and having a large party to celebrate! I had a great time with them!! The party was so much fun!! It was so elegant, a boat on the Seine with a 4-course meal elegant, and so much fun at the same time. It was great spending dedicated time with my host family too. So often with school work and such we don't spend that much time relaxing together. It was a fun bonding experience!
I added some pictures to the end of my Grenoble album.
Alrighty, I believe that is all of the pictures that have been missing!
Currently, things are going well. I have had some rocky days being so overwhelmed with school projects and tests. I am feeling very stretched but I think in the end it will be a good thing. I have never had courses like these before! There are several in which the only grades are a large project and the final exam! In comparison to the states, there is very little continuous assessment. I have one final that will be 60% of my grade and the rest of them count for at least 40%. Needless to say, as soon as I finish these big projects that are currently on my plate, I will be getting to studying for the exams!! Ugh... :~)
At the same time that I have been overwhelmed academically, I have been looking back on my stay do far. There are days when I wonder if I have built strong enough friendships that will last after this semester and there have been days when I am so encouraged by the people I have met here! There are days when I'm really disappointed in the improvement of my French (it really is not as strong as I had hoped) but then times when I realize that I could totally follow the last 10 minutes of conversation in French! There are days when I miss home so much I can hardly breath and days when I realize the short amount of time that I have left here and realize how much I'm going to miss it.
I have realized a lot about myself as well. I came to the stark realization of how much I de-stress by being around my close friends and how I do not do well when I don't know where to find that!! I have realized how much I love people from all over the world and that I hope that my world never again includes solely Americans. ...the rest of the world has great ideas and perspectives... I have loved joking with my friends about our cultural differences (getting teased for craving Starbucks coffee ... or laughing at them for constantly being late... etc). I have realized that even though I want to see the world and know people from its various sides, it is not about the places but about having people in my life. When or if I do this again, I am bringing someone from home with me but also going to try and dive in as much as possible with new people (I'm not sure that I have done this as well as possible).
Well, I think that is about all for now! I greatly appreciate the contact that people have been making!! I am looking forward to being back home this summer!!! It'll be 7 weeks from Friday then I will be home. ...Its a sad thought, a tiring thought, and an exciting thought all at the same time!!!
Love from France,
Ashlie
Thursday, March 29, 2007
I am still alive!
Well, this blog experience is again proving that journaling is not one of my strong points! For those of you back home, I again apologize for the gaps in updates.
There are a couple of reasons for my lack of posts. The first is that I have been able to do a lot of traveling during the last month. That also means that I have lots of pictures to post and share! However, in turn has made my schedule more unstable which led to the lack of posts. My trips have included: a day trip to Avignon for my birthday, a weekend trip to Milan, Italy, a weekend excursion with my study abroad program to Beaune and Dijon, followed by a wonderful week with Eric visiting and showing him some of the surrounding sites, and concluded with a week showing my family some of France! They were all great experiences in their own ways and I will expound on them further.
After I finished my traveling, I had to come back to the real life of a student and have become buried in large projects for my classes! I have 5 major projects on my plate that are all due between the dates of April 17th and May 7th!! So between doing research, scheduling and attending group meetings(4 of them are to be done in groups), and keeping on top of my regular coursework, let's just say that I have spent a lot of time at school this week!! Just yesterday I was able to chat with my best friend who, last spring, obtained her handy piece of paper declaring her a college graduate. I told her that at the moment, I was very jealous of the piece of paper! Mine will come in time, I believe that I have three semesters left after this one. So, the end is in sight even if it still feels like a long ways off!
Speaking of which, I need to head back to school for a French exam so those of you reading this now... check back later and I will update this post!
More to come soon!
Ashlie
There are a couple of reasons for my lack of posts. The first is that I have been able to do a lot of traveling during the last month. That also means that I have lots of pictures to post and share! However, in turn has made my schedule more unstable which led to the lack of posts. My trips have included: a day trip to Avignon for my birthday, a weekend trip to Milan, Italy, a weekend excursion with my study abroad program to Beaune and Dijon, followed by a wonderful week with Eric visiting and showing him some of the surrounding sites, and concluded with a week showing my family some of France! They were all great experiences in their own ways and I will expound on them further.
After I finished my traveling, I had to come back to the real life of a student and have become buried in large projects for my classes! I have 5 major projects on my plate that are all due between the dates of April 17th and May 7th!! So between doing research, scheduling and attending group meetings(4 of them are to be done in groups), and keeping on top of my regular coursework, let's just say that I have spent a lot of time at school this week!! Just yesterday I was able to chat with my best friend who, last spring, obtained her handy piece of paper declaring her a college graduate. I told her that at the moment, I was very jealous of the piece of paper! Mine will come in time, I believe that I have three semesters left after this one. So, the end is in sight even if it still feels like a long ways off!
Speaking of which, I need to head back to school for a French exam so those of you reading this now... check back later and I will update this post!
More to come soon!
Ashlie
Monday, February 19, 2007
2 birthdays and a great cultural experience...
The last few weeks have provided a couple of interesting experiences. It always seems like there are so many birthdays in February. I think that I notice them more because that is the month of my own birthday. So, I was naturally excited when, a couple of weeks ago, I learned that my host mom and I both celebrated in the same month! The following week I also learned that my friend Elodie from church had her birthday the following week. I immediately recognized that this would prove to be a great cultural experience as well as a lot of fun. The two celebrations turned out to be quite different from each other and still different from the American celebrations that I have experienced.
Judith, my host mom, turned 41 this year and celebrated with a grand party in our little apartment that lasted for hours, included two waves of guests, and two 3-course meals on china. (She mentioned her age without hesitation to many people in preparing for the event, a stark difference to the way American women often hide their age.) The festivities began with her sister bringing over tons of prepared food and having several dishes delivered from a local restaurant. In order to best accommodate the additional people in our home, our furniture was moved around, and extra plates, wine glasses, and silver were brought out.
As people arrived for the midday meal, they all came to greet Judith personally and all came with a gift of some sort, from a basket of walnuts, to clothing, to beautiful bouquets of flowers. It was a festive experience as everyone sat around the table and enjoyed the full meal of salads and bread, various types of meat, vegetables, and potatoes. One thing that I have learned from the very beginning is that the French enjoy their meals and take the time to enjoy conversation around the table. Nothing was rushed even as we washed dishes in between the main course and dessert, they milled around, chatted, and enjoyed their coffee.
The actual birthday celebration began, they pulled out a gorgeous cake from a local bakery and several bottles of champagne. They toasted Judith and everyone in attendance to a year of good health and happiness. I was asked what we drink with our birthday celebrations in the US and I replied that only cake and sometimes ice cream are required. He said, "No, no, no, what do you have to drink?" he laughed when I told him, "Nothing specific, just whatever the birthday person wants to have." The French traditions are so important too them. It really makes events special.
Just as this party was wrapping up, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed but the language and unknown people. My host mom mentioned to me that it all starts again tonight!! She was right, a second wave of guests arrived for dinner and it whole party repeated itself!! She had to divide the guest list in order to have room for everyone (a total of about 30). The evening guests were mainly from her choir and had a great time when they burst into song at the dinner table!! It was a great night, exhausting, but good fun.
This past weekend was a slightly different experience. Elodie, a sweet, life-loving, French friend, celebrated her 20th birthday. The night was filled with friends and family in the decorated fellowship hall of the church. It was a more casual affair with a buffet of finger foods and less gifts, but still a great time. We still celebrated with tarts for dessert and a champagne toast.
The most memorable part of the evening was the dancing. Their was a stereo there with all types of music and Elodie is a great dancer. A wide variety of salsa, tango, and jazz music played and several people danced. (It definitely refreshed my desire to learn to dance!)
At one point, the country song "Cotton-eyed Joe" began to play. The group of French people were discussing a line dance and started to try the one also used for "The Electric Slide." They only could think of about 1/4 fourth of it and desperately needed some help with this very American dance. :) As I approached the dance floor, I was spotted, "Do you know this???" and I proceeded to teach this group of French people the classic line dance!!! It was so much fun!!! It took everyone quite a while to figure it out but, they loved it!! They played it over and over and over again. "Encore!" (Again!) they would say and the song would start over. By the end of the night, almost everyone had it down and looked as close to a group of country line dancer as the French can get!!
There are two things that are very funny to me about this experience with "Cotton-Eyed Joe." First, I have two other American friends who are a part of this circle of friends. They are from Dallas, Texas and yet they didn't have any idea how to line dance! Second, I was getting compliments on my dancing talent all night. (The Electric Slide is about the only type of dance that I know how to do at the moment!!)
The last couple of weeks have been a mix of missing home, getting to know new people, and adjusting to my much more lazy life here (I prefer to say simply "slower life" but honestly, there were several days that were just pure lazy!). Again, I apologize for the delay in posting! I'd love to hear about how everyone back home is doing. I miss you.
The two birthday celebrations were a lot of fun and a great time to connect with people. It was fun to experience the importance that the French place on their birthdays and parties in general. It slightly makes me wonder how my own birthday will play out in a week... we shall see!
Judith, my host mom, turned 41 this year and celebrated with a grand party in our little apartment that lasted for hours, included two waves of guests, and two 3-course meals on china. (She mentioned her age without hesitation to many people in preparing for the event, a stark difference to the way American women often hide their age.) The festivities began with her sister bringing over tons of prepared food and having several dishes delivered from a local restaurant. In order to best accommodate the additional people in our home, our furniture was moved around, and extra plates, wine glasses, and silver were brought out.
As people arrived for the midday meal, they all came to greet Judith personally and all came with a gift of some sort, from a basket of walnuts, to clothing, to beautiful bouquets of flowers. It was a festive experience as everyone sat around the table and enjoyed the full meal of salads and bread, various types of meat, vegetables, and potatoes. One thing that I have learned from the very beginning is that the French enjoy their meals and take the time to enjoy conversation around the table. Nothing was rushed even as we washed dishes in between the main course and dessert, they milled around, chatted, and enjoyed their coffee.
The actual birthday celebration began, they pulled out a gorgeous cake from a local bakery and several bottles of champagne. They toasted Judith and everyone in attendance to a year of good health and happiness. I was asked what we drink with our birthday celebrations in the US and I replied that only cake and sometimes ice cream are required. He said, "No, no, no, what do you have to drink?" he laughed when I told him, "Nothing specific, just whatever the birthday person wants to have." The French traditions are so important too them. It really makes events special.
Just as this party was wrapping up, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed but the language and unknown people. My host mom mentioned to me that it all starts again tonight!! She was right, a second wave of guests arrived for dinner and it whole party repeated itself!! She had to divide the guest list in order to have room for everyone (a total of about 30). The evening guests were mainly from her choir and had a great time when they burst into song at the dinner table!! It was a great night, exhausting, but good fun.
This past weekend was a slightly different experience. Elodie, a sweet, life-loving, French friend, celebrated her 20th birthday. The night was filled with friends and family in the decorated fellowship hall of the church. It was a more casual affair with a buffet of finger foods and less gifts, but still a great time. We still celebrated with tarts for dessert and a champagne toast.
The most memorable part of the evening was the dancing. Their was a stereo there with all types of music and Elodie is a great dancer. A wide variety of salsa, tango, and jazz music played and several people danced. (It definitely refreshed my desire to learn to dance!)
At one point, the country song "Cotton-eyed Joe" began to play. The group of French people were discussing a line dance and started to try the one also used for "The Electric Slide." They only could think of about 1/4 fourth of it and desperately needed some help with this very American dance. :) As I approached the dance floor, I was spotted, "Do you know this???" and I proceeded to teach this group of French people the classic line dance!!! It was so much fun!!! It took everyone quite a while to figure it out but, they loved it!! They played it over and over and over again. "Encore!" (Again!) they would say and the song would start over. By the end of the night, almost everyone had it down and looked as close to a group of country line dancer as the French can get!!
There are two things that are very funny to me about this experience with "Cotton-Eyed Joe." First, I have two other American friends who are a part of this circle of friends. They are from Dallas, Texas and yet they didn't have any idea how to line dance! Second, I was getting compliments on my dancing talent all night. (The Electric Slide is about the only type of dance that I know how to do at the moment!!)
The last couple of weeks have been a mix of missing home, getting to know new people, and adjusting to my much more lazy life here (I prefer to say simply "slower life" but honestly, there were several days that were just pure lazy!). Again, I apologize for the delay in posting! I'd love to hear about how everyone back home is doing. I miss you.
The two birthday celebrations were a lot of fun and a great time to connect with people. It was fun to experience the importance that the French place on their birthdays and parties in general. It slightly makes me wonder how my own birthday will play out in a week... we shall see!
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