Christmas- Orléans

We started Christmas Vacation in Paris, but Christmas itself was in Orléans. We didn’t do much; most everyone was gone. But some of got together for cookie baking, Christmas breakfast, Christmas dinner and exchanging presents. We made sure to have some bouches de Noël to get in some French tradition and we even had some impromptu dancing in the kitchen!

[No Christmas is complete without my family's recipe]

[My little Christmas area provided by my parents and the 2 euros store]

[Les bouches de Noël on Christmas Eve]

[Dance party on Christmas morning]

[Baking with Trinidad.
Thanks, Sammy!]

[The Christmas gnome guarding our Christmas Dinner]

Christmas- Paris

[Notre Dame decked out for Christmas]

I had no particular plans for how I wanted to spend Christmas in Europe, so when Sammy said she was absolutely determined to visit Paris and Euro Disney I joined the group. Wherever we were I would be with my friends.

Sooooo Cold! – Paris is always a bit colder than Orléans and this winter was unusually cold. And this is a wet cold…not fun. I remember always wearing two pairs of socks and still having freezing toes. I did find an awesome pair of flipper gloves!

Goldilocks- So we were in a hostel, but had booked up a room so that it would be “private.” Still we had to leave the key at the desk (a pretty standard practice in Europe). The hotel staff made a big deal about keeping your receipts so that you they could check when you return to the hotel. Well our first day we checked and then returned at 10 pm to be told that the key was already taken. Impossible, since everyone booked in the room for the night was there in the lobby. The person at the desk seemed unbothered and sent us to go find out. Basically we found a goldilocks sleeping in our hotel room. She had been in the room the night before and the clerk hadn’t really checked her receipt. I won’t go into all the other details, but we felt like the hostel staff handled the situation very badly and very rudely. Considering that and the “refugee” breakfast and I don’t think anyone from our group will be recommending this hostel.

Disney Land- At first I wasn’t too sure about Disneyland for Christmas. I am more into traditions (maybe travelling to Alsace for Christmas) but being with my friends in “the magic kingdom” was such an awesome memory. We rode “It’s a Small World” at least 3 times (they played a Christmas Medley and the characters were dressed up). It was hard to cram everything in. We missed out on Adventure and Frontier land. As we were quickly walking to the Indiana Jones ride we ran into “Captain Jack Sparrow”. Someone (Caitlin, I think) said “hi” to him as we walked passed. He said “hi” back. We kept walking then all stopped and looked at each other, then turned around and chased him down to get a picture. Awesomeness! As we were leaving it began to rain, but it was (I know this sounds cheesy) a magic rain. Looking at the streetlamps you could see a lot of rain was coming down, but the droplets were so small that you couldn’t feel the rain getting you wet. Then it got even more magical as it turned to snow (see the castle picture). So amazing!

Transportation- I think there was some sort of transportation curse attached to our trip. Our train trip from Orléans to Paris was delayed due to snow. The day we went to Disneyland there was a Metro RER strike and we had to leave early to catch a bus to take us closer to the city. This bus was jammed. It was the second to last one and everyone rushed the bus and crammed on. I would’ve taken a picture but I couldn’t have moved my arms enough. While waiting for the bus we had sung Christmas songs to try and forget the cold and we joked about singing on the bus and getting everyone sing together and have holiday cheer. Didn’t happen, but it would’ve been unbelievably cool.

The biggest transportation drama came on our last day. We got to the train station in the evening tired and soooo ready to be in our own beds and be warm again. We already had our tickets and were startled by how dead everything seems until we realized that NO trains are going. An accident closed the station. We frantically talked to a train agent because it was later in the evening and the last thing we wanted to do was to spend another night in Paris when the comforts of home were only an hour away. Then we frantically ran to the train station across the river and try to figure out what we were supposed to do. There were some moments of confusion and stress because there was the main train line and the RER and we weren’t sure which to take and then we got locked out of the RER station until an awesome nice man let us in with his fastpass badge. Basically, they had passengers like us take the RER out to a city where a special train was running to Orléans. The conductor at the station was hilarious. His friendly banter with the passengers helped us relax after a very stressful experience. We did make it home to sleep safely in our warm, comfy beds.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was another event that really brought us together. It started as a way to make up for all the North Americans missing Thanksgiving at home and ended up being also a chance to come together and share traditions.

After Halloween (and because I was willing), I became the de facto organizer. Luckily, I had lots of help. It was a potluck affair, but we still provided the turkey and helped those who wanted to bring “traditional foods”. People made trips to markets and butchers, worked in the kitchen and my adopted mother cooked the turkey for me! And let me tell you, finding a turkey in November in France is not easy. Most butchers don’t stock turkey or geese until Christmas time and if you can get them, they are expensive. Cranberries were nowhere to be found. In the end we found a smallish turkey for the traditional bird and used pre-cut turkey meat as filler. Cranberries and airelles made a delicious sauce and we even found yams/sweet potatoes (I don’t remember which).

So, as organizer I started the party off with a little toast. I even managed to give most of it in French. I wanted to share just a bit about the tradition and meaning behind Thanksgiving (hint- It is not just America’s love of food). I said something about an opportunity to stop and be thankful for everything we have. Someone in the crowd said “But we’re poor” and I answered that in family, friends, and experiences we are all rich. And everyone cheered and the party began. I remember freezing that moment as I spoke French standing in front of a room filled with people from all over (France, England, Trinidad, Russia, Spain, Canada, Germany, Australia, Mexico, America, Reunion Island...). It is a toast and an evening I will never forget.

[Prepping the Cranberry Sauce]

[Stir it up]

[The Beautiful Bird]

Bike Trips

Biking in France is another thing I had planned ahead for. I even brought my helmet and when it seemed there would be no place for it in my very full and very heavy luggage, my Dad and I discussed the possibility of me wearing it for the entire trip to Paris. Despite all that effort, I haven’t done as much biking as I would’ve liked. First it was not having access to a bike, afterwards it was not having or taking the time to use it. But the biking I have done has been great.

Haunted Castle- The week before Halloween I went on my first biking excursion. It was 20 km each way to visit a little castle in Meung-sur-Loire. The pace was perfect- we kept a good speed but also stopped to enjoy the countryside around us. When we got to Meung-sur-Loire we went directly to the castle. The man selling tickets warned that the castle was “haunted” for the season and that there would be scary music, decorations and maybe people jumping out. He asked if that would be ok. Ok!? He had just made my day. I hate scary movies, but I love a good haunted house or forest. And to visit a “haunted castle”… it may not really be haunted, but it is a real castle. My Halloween was perfect.

The decorations were okay, the music and noises well-planned to give it a scary touch. I will admit disappointment at the fact that not once did anyone jump out at me, but the suspense was enough to make it exciting. Most rooms had motion-sensor lights that turned on as you entered. One room was delayed so it remained dark. I saw something moving in the darkness…only to find out it was my own reflection in the mirror when the lights finally came on. Also, the castle had dungeons so, in a word…Sweet.

The day after Halloween, Younousse and I went out biking again. What started as a simple ballad ended as a rain-soaked ride through the forest. At one point on the way back the wind and rain were so strong that I couldn’t keep my eyes open. We can back completely soaked and very happy.

Blois- When I was living in Rouen, I had done 66 km in a long idyllic day. So some of us in Orléans organized a 60 km to Blois. No big deal. Ha.

I thought I was going to die.

When I do bike trips, I like to make them long, well-paced affairs where you stop to take pictures and ride slowly to enjoy the countryside. The group of boys I was with was all about the speed, so I showed my lack of biking endurance rather quickly. In addition, we happened to be riding against very strong winds the whole way. I wanted to stop at Beaugency (maybe halfway) and take the train. I felt a little bit better when getting close to Blois and even the trail blazers were feeling the fatigue. They were a very sweet group of guys, I didn’t hear them complain once about my speed (or lack thereof), they waited for me and stretched toilet paper across the path for a race ribbon, and at one point I was literally pushed up a hill. I hated feeling like a baby and a wuss, but I appreciated their support and patience.

[Tired but content bike warriors]

Halloween Party

This is the fête that got things started. October was spent getting used to the country, the language, the culture and our jobs. A lot of time was spent attempting to navigate the administrative labyrinth. We were slowly getting to know the city and each other. Halloween was one of the first big activities and allowed us to get to know each other a bit more.

I knew before I left for France that I would do something for Halloween. I even packed a peasant skirt and belly dancing coin belt with a Halloween costume in mind. For me, it is an important holiday. It has nothing to do with the origins or current traditions of lots of candy. For me it is connected with Autumn-the falling leaves and the crisp feeling in the air when you can almost smell autumn the moment you walk outside. And basically, I love any excuse to dress up or put on a costume.

In France, Halloween was popular about 5 years ago. But it was seen as too commercial and as it has no cultural roots it quickly went out of fashion. In a class of 25 students, maybe two celebrated Halloween.

Getting together a costume in the USA is easy. There are ready-made options and rows of accessories in the supermarkets; costumes or inspiration in 2^nd-hand shops; fabric and craft stores; and even entire stores dedicated to costumes. Not to mention the benefit of having parents nearby with a house full of random objects just waiting to be put to creative use. In France, it is much harder. Supermarkets dedicate only a tiny place to costumes, all of which are sized to 6 year-olds. Craft stores are hard to find, 2^nd-hand shops almost non-existent. We did manage to find out about the one party store in the area and make the trek there (nearby we also found a fabric store and a craft/art center). This little foray (combined with shopping around town and some creative thinking) provided us with what we needed to decorate and create several costumes (“French man”, doll, Spanish dancer, gypsy, phantom, Zorro, French maid…).

The party was a great chance for the assistants to get together, but just as important, it allowed us to get to know the other residents of the foyer. It was a group of English, American, Spanish, French, German, Trinidadian, Canadian, and Australian. We danced, we laughed and it was great to see those for whom it wasn’t their culture still get into fun of things.

[The elusive Party Store]

[Our resident "Frenchman"]

[Some of the gang]

Okay, so I've failed. I am leaving France in less than 3 weeks and I haven't posted in over 8 months. But I have a entry I wrote back in November and never posted. And I hereby vow to do some recap of the year's highlights before I leave French soil. Then starts the real adventure as I readjust to life back in the US.

So here is the second and final installation in my long-running series of "10 Things about France"...

10 things about France - 2nd Set

1- Style - So there is no single, French style that I can pick out. I'm trying to figure out what makes the French so infamous for their fashion and style. And I don't mean the haute couture, but just the everyday French. There isn't anything obvious. You could take some American women and some French women in a line up and not necessarily see a huge difference. But on the overall, I'd say it's a more put together thing. Whether they're going for a classic look, hip hop, bohemian, etc. They just look put-together. And that’s another thing; there are so many different styles. I’ve seen some rather interesting looks. The secret seems just to wear it with confidence.

2-Flavors - It seems that the French like tropical flavors and fruit flavors like apricot and peach. The gum here is more often flavored with tropical fruit and even though Coca-Cola (Coca) is popular, the majority of soft drinks have a fruity, usually citrusy/tropical flavor. They also put black licorice (or anise) into their gum. Uck!

3- Toilets- I've mentioned this one to several people, but it's worth repeating. There is a vast difference between the many different toilets available in France. Most are similar to American toilets with the only difference being a button (or two) rather than a handle to flush. However you'll also find turkish toilets or public toilets that occupy a single room and wash themselves after you leave.
My best example of this difference was on a trip to Paris. On the way there we stopped at a gas station and used the facilities. Turkish toilets (basically rectangle basins in the ground with marks for where your feet should go). There was running water, but no soap (thank goodness for Purell!). Later I used a bathroom in Paris itself, the entry took you below ground so I expected something of a metro cleanliness. Instead I walked into what looked like a hotel lobby with plants and decorations and a welcoming attendant who took our 'tip.' Each bathroom was in its own little room with toilet, sink, soap and mirror. Best 40 centimes I ever spent.

4- Smoking - Smoking is a common stereotype associated with France. But within the last decade the French government has worked to educate the population about the hazards of smoking as well as ban smoking in public buildings. Your stereotypical Frenchman might smoke, but he's not going to do it in a stereotypical café. I felt that younger generations were probably like the United States, there are smokers, but most realize it's an unhealthy habit with lasting damage. If kids are going to smoke, they have to do so furtively. Imagine my surprise when waiting for the bus at the high school where I teach, the 3 or 4 students waiting with me all had their cigarettes going. I also see parents walking out with their child in a stroller and smoke coming up from their cigarette.

5- Smells- On this subject, France is truly a land of contradictions. You have the smells of marvelous food-- of bakeries and patisseries that just make your mouth water. It's the country of perfume and you'll get pleasant whiffs of perfume or cologne as you pass well-dressed French people walking down the street. On the other hand, you'll also experience very strong odors, some so unpleasant you can't identify them or wouldn't want to even if you could. These are often in places where dogs (or maybe humans) have decided to do some marking.
Not everyone likes perfume (or bathing) as much as I do. The person on the bus next to you may smell like Chanel no. 5 or she or he (usually he) may smell like he's been exercising all day in a shirt that hasn't been washed for weeks. One day I stepped on the tram to be greeted by a very unpleasant very overpowering odor. The doors closed behind me and there was no escape. There have been unpleasant odors on the bus or tram, but this was nauseatingly strong. Thank goodness the trams run every 7 minutes or so, because I got off at the next stop and waited for another tram.

6- Nom / prenom - This is more a language thing than a cultural thing. Basically name = nom. In the states you tend to give your full name (at least first and last) starting with your first name. Or someone will specifically ask for your last name. In France it's the last name followed by your first. I can't tell you the number of times someone has asked me for my "nom" and I responded incorrectly with my first name.

7- Waiting on bureaucracy - To get paid you need a bank account, to get a bank account you need housing, to get housing you'll need proof of salary. And so it goes. Compared with the horror stories I've heard (assistants running around for weeks trying to straighten everything out), I've been very lucky. I'm staying at a Foyer that is used to students, visitors and assistants. I got my bank account open without a problem and I'm just waiting for my card to buy a phone so I have a number to put on my documents to immigration. [Update – I’ve still been relatively lucky, but I’ve had my own share of problems. The bank card was not enough to buy a phone card; I needed a carte de sejour. Never mind that France stopped issuing cartes de sejour so I will never receive one. Luckily, that too is settled. I’ve done the medical visit yet there still seem to be administrative things to settle.]

8- Bureaucracy (continued)—It’s not just the waiting that gets to you. It’s also the lack of consistency. You can go to the same office, sometimes talk with the same person and receive a different answer. At the SEMTAO office (public transportation) some assistants were able to easily get a student card while others were not. Even at the foyer, I’ll receive completely different answers depending on who I ask.

9- Redheads (or lack thereof)- You see a lot of color in France. There's the typical pale color of western Europeans, the tan, leathery look caused by life near in the Mediterranean; immigrants from Europe, Africa, Asia, India, and the Middle East all help to create a very thorough mix. But one thing I don't see is redheads. Looking around I've seen every shade of blond, brown and black but only once have a seen a redhead. Maybe they're all up north in the Celtic/Norman areas. Or maybe they were chased out at one time or another. I can only imagine that Sami, with her tall stature and cropped red hair will have an even more extreme experience in Chile. [Update, I have seen more redheads throughout the year, but they are still a rarity]

10- Accent- For the longest time, my goals was to work on my pronunciation and have such a good French accent that it wouldn’t be obvious that I wasn’t French. Oh, naiveté. If I had really thought about it, I would’ve realized that people I know from other countries who have lived in the States for many years, still have a noticeable accent. It is something that I will never lose. But now, I am grateful for it. Sometimes, it’s frustrating when people changed automatically to English or when shady characters hear my American accent and follow me down the street and try to speak to me with the 10 English words they know. However, in dealing with administration or shop-keepers, I often feel I get a bit of a break. They see I’m making an effort, they understand my vocabulary and they realize I’m not French so I might not now all the rules and procedures. Plus, I’ve heard that French guys find American accents attractive ;)

First week in France - 10 Things of Note

I’m sorry, I lied. I will not be translating my blog entries into French. At the beginning, I had all this free time and became very ambitious. Now, between classes, church activities and hanging out with assistants and friends from the foyer, I barely have time to plan lessons (you know, my actual job). I hope no one is disappointed.

So, I’ve got some posts from past activities. My first two weeks in France I spent a lot of time noticing or remembering differences between France and the States or just things unique to France. I share the first ten…

10 things about France - 1st Set

1- Cafeteria food - So in the U.S., school cafeteria food is usually synonymous with garbage. I ate it as a student, but I think about it and uck! Here, as a teacher, 2,50€ gets me a delicious, full meal. By full meal I mean entrée*, salad, main dish, cheese, dessert and the requisite hunk of baguette. And by delicious I mean good, quality food. The pork I had yesterday was moist, pull-apart good and better than what I've had at most restaurants. Vive la France!

2- Vending machine food - A lot of it's the same, candies and snack and such. But there are always surprises. At a train station in Brussels I saw a vending machine with beer. I'm sure there is one someplace with wine. One day (and this is so unglamorous) I ended up returning to the hostel late (and by late I mean like 8, 8h30) and making dinner out of a loaf of bread from the only place open. Even the supermarché had closed. So I had this hunk of bread and no cheese :( . The vending machine in the hostel had espresso, hot chocolate and soup. And for vending machine soup, it was pretty good; even had adorable little croutons. The French take their food seriously.

3- Greetings & Farewells – In the states we have “hello”, “good morning”, “good afternoon” or “have a good day”, “have a good evening”. French greetings are similar (“bonjour”, “bon soir”), but the farewells go above and beyond. There’s the usual “bonne journée” or “bonne soirée” but you also have:
Bon courage- if they are working
Bon après-midi (bon aprem)– “Have a good afternoon”
Bon retour- If they are heading back someplace
Bonne rentrée- If they are returning home
Bonne continuation- No good translation, kinda like “have a good time continuing to do what you’re doing right now”
There are more that I can’t think of right now. But basically the French will find a way to wish you well in whatever you are specifically doing.

4- Greetings continued- Along with verbal greetings you have the physical ones. If you are good acquaintances (or sometimes just meeting someone) you will “faire la bise.” This is usually between girls or between girls and boys. Usually, guys shake hands (though in some regions or with very close friends some guys will “faire la bise” as well). You can’t get away with a quick wave and shout as you speed walk past (unless you’re legitimately late or very rude). Instead you need to stop your rushing and take a moment to acknowledge the other person.
It’s cool to observe this custom, especially seeing teenage boys do what, in the states, is a rather formal thing. As cool as it is to observe, it can be hard to actually participate. I’m often unsure whether or not to “faire la bise” and risk seeming impolite as I keep my distance. However, as a foreigner I think I get off a bit easier on such things.

5- Bon appétit - Along with greetings, the French have their “bon appétit” which English speakers know well as a stereotypical phrase. And this one is well used. As I eat often in a cafeteria setting (at school as well as the foyer) I see a lot of the greetings. Anytime a new person comes to a table, or an acquaintance walks by with their tray, there is the requisite “bon appétit” given by one person or another. I’m not sure if there is a certain protocol (e.g. the person already eating says it to the person about to eat or visa-versa), basically, I just say it right away to be polite.

6- Traffic lights in the middle of traffic circles - I mean really, that seems overkill.

7- Traffic in general- Not even considering the fact that the cars are all manuals, I am grateful to not have to drive in France. The road signs are all so different and I can't tell where cars are allowed to be and where they're not. A one way street doesn't look that different from a two way street and sometimes I think the direction depends on who's driving down it. Some streets are one way from one side and the other way from the other side until the two one way streets meet and everyone has to turn. That's not even mentioning French drivers. I swear sometimes that as I step into a crosswalk (making sure that any vehicles are far, far away) I can hear the car speeding up to see if maybe, just maybe they can hit me.

8- Paper size - Why? Why? So standard American is 8.5 by 11 inches (this is the North American standard and is interestingly enough also used in the Philippines and Chile). Pretty much everywhere else the "International" standard is 8.27 X 11.69 (which reads better in metric). I guess we've got our own measurement system so why not our own paper size? But really, my pages are too wide and my portfolios for holding papers are too short.

9- Tiny cars - The cars here are tiny! Apart from delivery/professional vehicles, the occasional mini-van or van is such an oddity with all the tiny little cars around. This is done to economize gasoline, so I'm a fan, but it's still so different from America, the land of the SUV's. I guess French guys don't feel a need to compensate.

10- Tiny streets - Even though the cars are tiny, I feel like the streets are too tiny. As my mentor drove me through Orléans for the first time there were many streets that I was sure were one-way until I saw a car coming from the opposite direction. "Oh no" I thought, "maybe we could squeeze by, but there are cars parked on either side!" Then, whoosh, the cars would whiz by and I would wonder how on earth they fit.
The truth is that everything here is tiny : apartments are small and so everything to fit inside is tiny: fridge, oven, stove, washing machine, shower.


*The American "entrée" is actually a faux amis. Ironic, since the word is a direct pull from French. In the states an entrée means the main dish, but in France the "entrée" is just that, a small introduction or "entrance" to the meal.