Christmas Magic

Tonight, in the small town of Verdun France, the air is filled with the magic of Christmas.  The streets glitter and twinkle.  I went for a walk this evening with my camera (even though my roommate insisted it was cold out there) and tried to absorb it all.  Instead, I came back with some pixelated photos.

  Now that I've just been paid, I want to go out and buy presents.  The Christmas Market is almost ready.  Christmas is almost here.
--Mary

L'amour

Ah! the French and love and romance were made for each other.  Lately, my sister and I were watching a french movie wherein two teenagers got married.  When the priest tried to impress upon them that marriage is until death they replied that they still wanted to be married.  He then rolled his eyes to heaven and said "L'amour, Seigneur, l'amour" as if to say, "they're French and in love, Lord. There's nothing I can do about it!"

The French are very sensitive people, not in the way that their feelings are easily hurt, but in the way that flowers, perfume, art, love, fashion, and food interest all of them very much. They live for the finer things in life.  As a culture, they are the sanguines (where the Brits are the melancholics), and tend to be melodramatic about everything.

(Ok, these are big generalizations, not all the French are like that)

I currently have at least two of my little students in love with me at the moment (in a little boy admiration kind of way).  Today, one of them told me "You are a charmer!".  I don't know if he meant "charmer" or "charming" but he seemed extremely pleased with himself that he said something to me in English.  The other one stares at me with puppy dog eyes (especially when he is supposed to be looking in the opposite direction). Oh. So. French.  I think it will wear off soon.

Speaking of staring, they do that a lot more here.  I've learned the language of looking.  There is the common stare, which is more like looking (the stare people use for looking into thin air, shop windows, etc.)  Then, there is the people stare (when you look at the people walking past you on the street and actually make eye contact--yikes--or watch people eating soup through the glass window of a cafe--I saw this in Luxembourg where people actually paused to watch the show, so to speak).  It is very non-confrontational. Then there is the look-you-once-over-with-a-cheeky-grin stare (yeah, make a wild guess at who does that, guys or girls?).  This is the most disconcerting of all the staring and it takes a while to get used to (and not get paranoid at the other types of staring).  If the girl is pretty enough according to the starer's standards, the stare will be accompanied by a low whistle, a song, or a "jolie fille" as they pass.

The French are quick to pick up on flirting and interpret it wherever they can.  My sister told me a story of how she was trying to help a little boy by asking him questions until her understood what she was trying to teach him, but one of the other students then remarked "encore et toujours" meaning *eyelash flutter*  I think my students sometimes see flirting as a way of impressing people (since they can't do that with their English abilities).  Luckily, the stream has boiled off, so to speak, and we are attempting professionalism (ahem, meaning, I don't have to shout at them all day long for their cheekiness).  But, perhaps this is because I haven't had classes with my "beloved" pastry cooks in a while. 

The French are so sweet when it comes to romance.  Everyday, whenever I see couples walking, no matter what the age, they always hold hands (generally).  They love their children and they love their old people.  I would say that they thing the French care about the most is relationships--friends, family, lovers, spouses, and pets.

Kitchen Adventures :)

So, here are some pictures from my latest cooking exploits:


This, my friends, is a red kuri squash, also known as a potimarron.  This is what they eat instead of pumpkin.  It has a slightly nutty flavor, but other than that, it is just like pumpkin (and perhaps less watery).  It made a splendid pie.  Normally, the French just make soup out of it.  My roommates tasted my pie and said they liked it.  They seemed a little confused as to why the French never thought to sweeten it.

 I baked them cut side down to let the juice drain out (although, they weren't watery to begin with).

 Voila! Here is the baking pie (although with my potato supper):

 The finished pie, destined to be consumed with turkey, cranberries, and stuffing:

 Since I now have a pie pan, I decided to start making pies for myself.  I started out with a suggestion from the pie dough box - veggie pie.  I kinda followed the recipe, but added mushrooms and red pepper instead of eggplant, because I forgot to buy one.

 I don't have a finished picture of this one because I ate it.  All I can say is, it was tasty :)

until next time,
mary

I've learned...

...that the French word for tender (as in, soft) is moelleux and not tendre.  You should have seen the face of one of my students when I tried to ask him if he cooked the spinach until it was tendre (as in, romantic/emotional).

..that my students really love the fact that my name is Mary (and that Mary sounds very similar to merry).  They now say "Merry Christmas" every time they see me :)

...that Nicolas is a very popular name around here and that most troublemakers are named Nicolas. It's also popular because back during the crusades, some knights brought a relic of St. Nicolas back with them and built a cathedral to house the relic (just outside Nancy).  Thus, this is why the fete de Saint Nicolas is coming up this weekend! (party on, people...)

...that the French eat a lot. (no, seriously, they do).  Even a French person has told me this.  Why are they so thin, then, you might ask? They know how to enjoy food.  If they eat a lot one day, they scrimp on the next; if they eat pastries one day, they don't on the next. They also don't eat chips or crackers or drink tons of soda, so there you go.  I'm also not saying that I haven't seen fat French people, because I have.  It is just less of an epidemic than in the US of A.  Eating is not a mindless activity.  Oh, and knowing how to cook (well) is important (at least, it's a question my students ALWAYS ask me).

...that I don't like teaching.  But I think I knew that before I came.  It's just too much work. I much prefer just talking to the kids (like I do in the hotellerie). 

...that the tea I just bought smells better than it tastes--which is why I kind of let the teabag sit in my room longer than it should :)

...how to make tuilpe (a type of pastry) and how to flamee  mirabelle (the local kind of plum.  They make mirabelle EVERYTHING!)  It was quite delicious!

--Mary

message sans titre...

This is more of a catching up post.

Let's see, last week I got a new roommate, aced my OFII medical visit (for my visa), met some new assistants (including one from Chicago, YAY!), went to Nancy (twice), went to confession in French (major goal accomplished), made a truly French pumpkin pie (with a potimarron, or as it it known as in English, a red kuri squash), ate a delicious Thanksgiving dinner put on by the Nancy assistants, rocked my six-classes-in-one-day Thursday, learned logistics vocabulary with my students, and watched a French movie without subtitles (and still laughed hysterically).

So, as you can see, I've been terribly busy.  Thanksgiving was a blast, but exhausting nonetheless.  I have to say, I've met some pretty nice people here and I am very thankful for that.  My OFII exam thing was a little scary, but with the other assistants to laugh and joke around with (and enjoy pumpkin soup with!) it wasn't half bad  (thank you so much, guys!!!  I had a lot of fun, even though Paul coffee isn't all it's cracked up to be).  This week (unusually) I had class with some logistics students to help them learned some useful phrases in English to help them with their jobs.  I laughed so much with them.  It was great!  There was a Nicolas in each group and each Nicolas was a troublemaker (the teacher had to chase one of them around the room and finally sent "le monstre" out into the hallway!).  Such fun in English class.

If you want to see pictures of Thanksgiving, check out my sister's blog.

That's all for now!
Mary

Did you see my new header?

I've added stickers to all the places I've been!

Well, ok, when I studied abroad, I went to London, Rome, and Venice, so I decided it was about time I showed that I'm a world traveler.

Until next time (I think if I wait long enough, adventure might find me...as in, it already did today.  I have a new, temporary roommate named Charlotte).

Mary

Catching Up

Wow, so much has happened since I last posted.

Well, I never wrote about our trip to Dijon.  It was very nice and relaxing.  We ate snails and boeuf bourguignon and bought wine for Christmas.  I consider the people of Dijon to be very French--almost more French than the people in Lorraine.  I don't know why, they just look like it.

And yes, we bought lots of mustard :)

Luckily, it was slightly warmer than it was in Luxembourg, so we went walking in some vineyards around Beaune.  We also bought some wine there.  When the proprietor of the wine shop found out we were American, he was very happy to show off his English.  He was ecstatic when we complimented him on his accent.

 When we were passing by vineyards on our way from Dijon to Beaune, I kept thinking to myself "Wow, their corn is brown and they really cut it tall!"  Then I realized I wasn't looking at corn.  Silly Illinois girl!

 I have a collection of organ pictures from around Europe that I am slowly adding to.  Organs like these really shake the church when the organist "pulls out all the stops".

  Typical Dijon

I think it's so cute when French people speak English with me.  At first, I was offended, thinking that my French wasn't good enough for them.  But then I realized that they wanted to show me how well they speak (which is a very cute, French thing to do).  Plus, it gives them the opportunity to practice.  It's not something Americans would do at all.  (Therein lies the charm of the French people--in their pride.  Not a single one of them would speak badly about their country.  To all of them, France is the greatest nation on earth.)

Then, when I got home, Laura and two other assistants, Anna and Suzie, came to visit me in Verdun.  We had a wonderful time cooking and going to see the monuments around Armistice day.

On Armistice day itself, I went to Mass at the Cathedral and was surprised to find a crowd of people carrying flags.  After Mass, we processed out of the church and to the Memorial of Victory in the center of town to get this flame out of the crypt.  I realized that they were taking the flame on foot to the Douaumont (tomb).  I ended up just going home instead.

Then classes began again.  It was nice to see my students again.  Some of them really like me, and others are afraid of me (or, afraid to speak English, rather).  I have to say, I was very proud of them for remembering as much as they did after a vacation (Although, one kid asked me how old I was instead of "how are you?".  I'm sure I did the exact same thing when I was learning French.)

Then on Monday night I went to a French dinner again.  This time we had raclette, which is a special kind of cheese melted over potatoes and charcutrie (meat?).  It's probably my favorite French meal so far because it seesm to be the kind of thing normal French people eat every day.  This time we spoke mostly in English because I was helping one of the Patricks with some vocabulary for an interview.  But, yet again, we left very late and I had to get up early the next morning.  One of the teachers told me that with Philippe, it's always like this.  I don't really mind, but I'm still tired!!

Now, to some teaching, some lesson planning, some trip reserving, and some novel writing!

Ciao,
Mary

The Hitchhiker's Guide to Luxembourg

(Ok, so we didn't actually hitchhike across Luxembourg. It just sounded like a good title.)

There are surprisingly few guides out there on the country of Luxembourg.  Everything we did there we discovered by creeping on the tourism websites of various cities.  Being the poor college graduates that we are, we skipped most of the museums and went more for the culture (I don't even read most of the signs in museums anyway).  This idea would have been splendid except for the fact that the temperature dropped ten degrees just before we left.

It. Was. FREEZING.  Our first day we spent in Luxembourg City (or, Luxembourg Ville), hopping from cafes to churches, back to cafes.  The nice thing about churches (even though they are not heated...this explains why everyone leaves their coats on during Mass...) is that no one will disturb you if you want to spend a holy hour (or two).  In cafes, once you've finished your coffee and don't seem that interested in talking to your companion, they want you to leave.

Our favorite thing about Luxembourg City is the gorge that runs through it.  It makes one feel like a mountain goat when clambering up and down.

In Luxembourg, public transportation is extremely easy (once you know how to use it).  That night, we traveled to Vianden and ended up on a bus (...well, first a train to Ettelbruck, and then a bus) with some other assistants.  We all ended up sharing a room at the hostel.

(A note about buses: You can buy your tickets on the bus.  You MUST push the red button if you want to stop and get off because they won't stop at every stop.  Almost learned this the hard way.  Other than that, they are extremely efficient.  Some even display the next stop on a screen.)

In Vianden, we went to see the castle. That took an hour at most.  Then we walked down the hill that the town is built on and back up again.  This is when we decided to go on a short hike.  That "short" hike had us scrambling to get back to the hostel before dark.  We only went a couple of miles, but it was through mountainous hills where the paths zigzagged so much that we hardly got anywhere.  The view was totally worth the sore muscles:

 The Castle.  The best view is from the hill behind the hostel.

 Vianden

 The mountain path

 We hiked all the way to another village, only stopped about a quarter of a mile away before turning back.

 Luxembourg is a very Catholic country.  The is a chapel we encountered on our mountain hike.
The next day we visited Eechternatch, which isn't really worth a visit.  The basilica and the cathedral were nice, but the abbey is now a school, so the only thing to do is walk around.  I didn't take many pictures.

 The one cool thing is that the border between Germany and Luxembourg is right there.  They had this plaque on the bridge between the two:

 The last day we spent in Luxembourg City (again), checking out the ducal palace and the casemates (definitely worth a visit!!)

That's all for now.  Just remember to always bring a towel when hitchhiking around Luxembourg!
--Mary