Ringing in the New Year

So this year, Zach and I celebrated the New Year in Paris, and we had reason to follow the French tradition of breaking out the champagne and plastic champagne flutes...WE GOT ENGAGED!! I don't think the excitement of that phrase can ever be conveyed through typed words, but there you have it. We are excited!

Now for the story: A couple days before New Year's Eve Zach suggested that we go around on a photo scavenger hunt around Paris. This suggestion was quite out of the ordinary considering that he is not the biggest fan of smiling for pictures all the time (you know I love you, but it's true :). So we had a hilarious time running all over Paris trying to take pictures of ourselves

different monuments in the background. Whether the pictures are of any artistic quality is less certain :) (picture to the left).

The afternoon of New Years Eve we went to a park nearby Zach's apartment to walk around and toast to the New Year quietly by ourselves before we went downtown to celebrate en masse with tons of crazy Parisians (and surprisingly a lot of Italians). The park is called Jardin des Impressionistes (Impressionists Garden), and even in the dreary winter weather it was beautiful. It was perfectly adorned with arches, winding pathways, and a Monet-like bridge crossing a duck pond. We sat down on a bench on a little island in the pond to enjoy our New Year's champagne. First, though, Zach pulled out a box of choclates from a chocolaterie that is specifically special to us. Inside the box was a collage of the pictures we had taken previously, only they were cropped in such a way that different parts of the Parisian architecture behind us spelled out "Will you marry me?" He got down on his knee, pulled out a gorgeous Tanzanite and diamond ring and asked me to marry him! He was, as always, so thoughtful, and it was perfect. We are so blessed to have each other and so excited for the months and years that lie ahead!

A French Noel

Somehow Christmas feels like ages ago, but all the stories and experiences from this Advent and Christmas season still need to be told. This Christmas has been different than any other in both big and small ways.

Advent in Provence

While thoughts of the South of France may invoke feelings of sun-

drenched bathers and olive groves, this winter has still been cold. The cold was all the more biting due to early morning walks to catch the bus to school. Thankfully Christmas decorations began to appear all over the city and provided some (humorous) diversion. Rather than following the French taste for all things elegant, Aix leaned towards the more kitschy side of the season: squares of faux grass hung on the sides of buildings, big purple and white feathers graced the tops of windows, and flashing blue lights were plastered everywhere. The center of town was also taken over by fair rides that one would find in a typical American shopping mall. Despite it all, though, the excitement of my students was contagious. Each class had its own Advent calendar, and the teachers got together to decorate the tree pictured above. I also had the chance to attend an English carol service with Zach at the cathedral in town and then a Christmas party in Marseille with friends. The weeks leading up to Christmas were maybe a bit different, but their novelty and complete lack of commercialization was wonderful!

All I Want for Christmas...

I definitely received the best Christmas present ever this year, and no, it wasn't wrapped under the tree. My whole immediate family came all the way from the States to join me for a French Noel. They arrived to snow in Paris and caught the train to Aix where we even had a surprise (and fleeting) dusting of snow. After a quick weekend, we traveled up to Paris to stay the week in a friend's apartment - one block away from the Louvre and Tuilieries Gardens. Quelle chance!

Our days were filled with wandering the wintry Parisian streets and all they had to offer - Christmas markets, museums, cafes, cathedrals - and our evenings were spent in our cozy apartment over good meals, games, and movies. We even had a little Christmas tree that Zach

and I picked out, subsequently braving the metro ride back with it in tow.

On Christmas Eve we went to an evening service at Notre Dame. The church bells and the organ, along with the Christmas lights all around were an unmistakeable reminder of the joy of the season. The next day we shared a typically Bostrom Christmas dinner with some French additions (a yule log, French wine, and croissants) with my friend Brittany from SPU and her friend Callie. It was great to have a crowd around the table.

There are definitely too many stories to be told and too many pictures to be shown, but suffice it to say that it was a Christmas to remember.

Chez Moi Take Two

I've been rather remiss lately in writing, though not from a lack of things to write about. Due to a number of odd situations where I lived, I began looking for a change in housing and have since then happily moved in with a British family in Aix. Long story short, a friend knew some people who had room to spare, and they have generously welcomed me into their home in exchange that I help their girls with French homework. After years of child care experience, I've learned that it can either be really awkward or great depending on the family dynamic. I had a good feeling about this family upon first meeting them, and thankfully I've been proven right.

We live in a beautiful French villa dating from the 1700s complete with spacious gardens and a swimming pool (which I am so looking forward to this spring). It's located just outside downtown Aix, so we have the calm of the countryside with the convenience of the city being a bus or bike ride away. I've got my own suite in a separate wing of the house with my own kitchen, bathroom, and guest rooms. I've really enjoyed having my own space but also feeling like I'm part of a family. The girls are a delight. Ottoline is 10, and Tallula is 9. They're bright and artistic, and we've had all sorts of fun cooking together. The parents, Caroline and Anthony are in the theater business (Anthony designs sets and Caroline used to direct a theater), and Anthony is currently designing a set for Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors which will show in Manchester. Needless to say, they are also artistic, and their creativity definitely extends to the kitchen where the good meals with fresh French ingredients never cease.

I've adjusted to my new rhythm of life here, and am grateful to have such a positive and fun place to live. It's given me a way to fill what was seemingly endless free time while I still have my long weekends to do my own exploring and visiting friends. Perhaps best of all is that it's free - and with college loans mercilessly beginning three days after Christmas that is a blessing.

Speaking of Christmas, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my family this Thursday as they come here to celebrate Christmas with me! I couldn't think of a better gift. I'll dedicate another whole post to my experiences with Christmas so far in Provence as it has been everything from beautiful to quirky.

Thankful for New Adventures

It's still quite warm here during the daytime, so part of me doesn't really feel like it's the Thanksgiving season.  That and the fact that nobody in France has any clue about what Thanksgiving actually is.  Believe me, it's made teaching about the holiday to tiny French children quite difficult. Of course, I made things difficult for myself. I didn't just want to teach them what we do NOW for Thanksgiving but actually WHY we celebrate it. After giving each class a very brief outline of the story of Thanksgiving, I've been explaining what it means to be thankful. It turns out that French does not have a direct translation for the word 'thankful' in the sense that we use it, but I think I got the idea across.  After all this explaining, I had each of the children share what they were thankful for and then write it down in our 'hand turkeys' (picture of my cute students above) that we made (if you don't know what those are, go ask an elementary school teacher). I got all sorts of answers, from family, and friends to playstation and all the children in the world. It was nice to hear some creative answers.

It got me thinking, what am I thankful for this year? There are of course the obvious ones - my wonderful family, friends, boyfriend, living in France etc. To be more specific, though, I'm thankful for new adventures. It's always easy to focus on the hard things that are happening while forgetting to open your eyes to see and appreciate amazing new experiences. 

Case in point, last Friday I woke up dreadfully early to travel with some friends to the Luberon valley to a local mill that makes olive oil. Early in the morning, locals bring their fresh-picked olives that they've grown or picked on their land to be weighed by Mathieu, the owner of the mill. He then gives them receipts of how many olives they brought and they get a proportionate amount of olive oil in return when it's pressed. The process was incredible and yet simple seeing as he produces it in the same way that it's been done for centuries. The olives are washed and then pulverized by two rotating stones the size and shape of large wheels. The puree is spread onto large rounds which are subsequently stacked together and then pressed under an enormous amount of weight. The pressed oil goes through a centrifuge which separates the oil and water and voila...olive oil!

While it all was so simple, everything was also so new for us...the overwhelming smell of olives that engulfed the mill, the old farmers driving up in faded Peugeot trucks with buckets of olives, the debate over who's olive land was better. Every day, even the mundane ones, have been a new adventure simply because everything is out of my 'ordinary' routine. And while I'm missing my family and friends this Thanksgiving I'm thankful for these new adventures and even more so when my eyes and heart are open to see and appreciate them.

City of Books

I got my Aix en Provence library card today. It was one of those administrative things I've been wanting to do but putting off. What was I thinking? 

Aix doesn't just have any ordinary library. Their main library is called the City of Books, and after my first visit today, I can see that I will happily be spending a lot of time there. In one half, reading rooms are filled with old editions of classic French literature and encyclopedias that the city's countless students use for research. I took my time browsing the wealth of books and came out with some children's books in English as well as a book of local Provencale folk tales in French for me. 

To make things better, the entrance of the library is hidden behind three larger-than-life books, two of which (Le Petit Prince and L'etranger) happen to be my favorite books in French, and of course, Moliere's Le Malade Imaginaire which brings back crazy memories from studying abroad. 

In other news, I'm actually starting to get a handle on this teaching thing. However, I had a good laugh when one student wanted to write out 'thank you' on his paper, so he proceeded to write 'sequiou'! To my credit, I've been told to show them no written words, and phonetically to a French speaker this is what 'thank you' sounds like. However, considering this is my third week of work, I hope things can only go uphill from here. 

Between the Arches

After two weeks of slaving away on the job, I've been enjoying my holiday off work for Toussaint (All Saints Day). Basically, instead of celebrating Halloween, French children get two weeks off of school, which I support completely.  After hopping down to Marseille to get my final stamp in my passport (making my residence here official!) I made my way up to Paris to visit Zach. 

It was a well-needed respite away from administrative hassle and lesson plans, and our time was filled with adventures in his neck of the woods called Rueil-Malmaison, new sites to see in Paris, lazy afternoon crosswords, and of course, good homemade food.

After eating so much of this good home

made food - including a rum raisin apple pie that I made for Zach's belated birthday - we decided we needed a good walk, so we set out for La Defense. This modern financial district of Paris was an hour walk away and is nothing like the chic and charming Paris that I know. 

Skyscrapers and bizarre modern architecture sprawled in every direction as we stood in the shadow of La Grande Arche de La Defense (picture above). Turning our backs to the Arch in search of a picnic spot, we glimpsed a view of another arch off in the distance - l'Arc de Triomphe (you can barely see it in the picture above). Zach, "Hmm, we should walk there." Me, "Definitely." So we did. An hour later we arrived on foot at the foot of l'Arc de Triomphe having covered the span between the arches and having made all sorts of discoveries in the nearly six miles of western Paris that we covered.

Resting after our long walk

Part two of my Toussaint adventures was also spanned between two sets of arches, though they were much less architecturally innovative and more yellow - yep, McDonalds. Now before you throw your arms up in surprise let me explain that McDonalds in Europe can be counted on for

free, clean bathrooms and when on a road trip, those are always needed. My friend Kim and I drove down from Aix to Antibes on the Mediterranean Sea and then drove the coastal road from Antibes to Ste Maxime, hitting all sorts of beach towns and cities in between including Cannes and St Raphael. 

Once again, it was the places in between that were most beautiful. The big cities were intriguing, but they were dripping with luxury and tourism. I much preferred the little towns perched up on the Mediterranean cliffs and the red rock calanques that were reminiscent of Colorado's red rocks - only set off against the clear blue water of the Mediterranean. What are road trips for if not beautiful scenery and good conversation?

One Month and Counting

Today marks one month since I left the grand old United States for la belle France. What a month it's been! Hours of travel, apartment searching, paperwork galore, and scrambling for lesson plans. Now that I've survived the initial process of living in France, the lovely French government has decided to reward me (ok, and all the other teachers and students) with two weeks of vacation. I've got three hours of teaching to go and then it's off to Marseille and Paris! 

As I tugged my groceries home yesterday it hit me once again that I'm actually living here. Maybe it was because I had to buy toilet paper for the first time here. A very wise friend (you know who you are) once told me that you know you've moved to a place when you've bought toilet paper. It's not only the mundane things that remind me that I've moved here...I have my bus route to work, a church I attend, a choir I joined, friends that I run into in the street...all in this beautiful city. 

This month has also been marked by the distinct change of seasons from summer to fall here in the South of France. A week and a half ago it was 80 degrees and I worked up a sweat walking downtown. Then the mistral came. For those of you unaware of Provencale legend and tradition, the mistral is an epic wind that makes occasional visits only to the South of France and often reaches 90 kilometers and hour. The name comes from a Provencale word meaning 'master' as it really brings people to their knees...literally. I saw a little boy at a bus stop blown over by the wind. So here I sit on my day off sheltered inside as my shutters shudder in the wind sipping hot cocoa and planning just how to instill the days of the week into my students brains. They'll probably forget during vacation anyways...