Random thoughts about life

I feel like my life is a game of charades. People at church speak to me in French, while acting out what they are saying and I have to figure it out as quickly as I can. It is kind of fun. I think people speak with there hands here more than Americans, but it could just be that I notice it more here since it don't understand what people are saying. The other day this guy was asking me if I was going to the St. Valentines dance. They call dances balls here. A lot of unfamiliar words like St. Valentines and Ball, but I got it because he was imitating ballroom dancing. I am not going, fortunately I will be in France that weekend. It would be interesting to observe how they dance and everything, but at the same time I have never really enjoyed dances. In the words of Garrett Bodily, my cousin "Me and dancing is like mixing bleach and ammonia. It is wrong."

I did actually go to a dance the other weekend, against my will. It was in Geneva and hour and a half away, and there were 15 people there. Sad turn out. I didn't dance, but I did meet a few English speakers.

Geneva is a very diverse city, location of UN and other such government entities. I meet a girl from Canada, who also did not speak French. We exchanges phone numbers and might do something one weekend. It is funny, everyone I have meet that is a foreigner here cannot remember their phone number. Most of us have it taped to the back of our phone. It is only 10 digits, just like in the US so I don't know why it is so difficult. I suppose it is because there is no familiar pattern like we have grown accustomed to.

Back to the dance, it was interesting to hear the music they choose to play. The theme was "The Beetles" so many of those songs were played but the rest of the songs, with a few exceptions, where songs that I would hear at dances in the US. Songs like YMCA, and "Man! I feel like a woman" by Shania Twain.

My family always asks me funny things, Mark asked if they laugh differently here, and David ask if they celebrate New Years. Yes the New Year occurred here as well and no I have not noticed any significant difference in their laughter. The questions are good, it reminds me that it is exciting and different living in a foreign country. It has all began to become very familiar, and I am forgetting what America is like.

I taught my first lesson in nursery, it went well. My lesson was short which was good because 3 year old boys don't really have any attentions span.

Neuchatel, I am very much enjoying living here. People have told me it is the best place to learn French in Switzerland. I don't know why that is, but it is convenient for me. I feel like Neuchatel is a small city (pop. of 30,000 within and 80,000 including surrounding towns) but I think it is mid-sized for Europe. You kind of get the best aspects of small towns and big cities at the same time. It has a university, large public library, amazingly well kept roads and public transportation, and a down town shopping area like you would have in a big city. But at the same time it is small and everything is close by and in walking distance. Also I often bump into people I know from church on the bus, or walking around the city.

And finally I will close with a "Random fact of the day:"

Cheese produced here comes in huge wheels often a meter in diameter and about 6 inches in height. And it is incredibly delicious.

Swiss Sunrises

Here are a few beautiful sunrises I witnessed. The pictures are just taken from the living room. I wish I had a better camera that could actually capture how amazing it was.







So today I went to a new French class. It was for beginners, but I felt retarded. The other girls there were Au pairs, but still in their teenage years. Being an Au pair is very common here, since being fluent in other languages is very important, but most people do it when they are about 18. There were 8 girls in my class, 6 spoke Swiss-German, and 2 spoke Spanish. It seemed they all knew a little English. I was sitting there listening to 3 different languages being spoken, and understanding nothing. I had to continually remind myself that I should not be expected to understand these languages, I have never learned them. Anyway, my teacher was blunt at first, but quickly understood my level and said she would help me find a different beginner class more at my level, and perhaps even my age group.

It was funny in the new French class when I introduced myself as an American the two girls across from me quickly became excited. Immediately once the teacher had finished speaking with me they raised their hands and ask where in America I was from. It was funny. It is interesting to see other countries opinions of America/Americans. I had not realized our influence. Japan was incredibly Americanized, so much so that I was somewhat disappointed in visiting. I wanted it to be more different and shocking than it was. In Ghana it made me laugh listening to the music on their radio. It was all American, but not current songs. Mostly old 90's music, and country singers like Dolly Parton. In a play we attended in the upscale Capital Theater(which was pretty nice, even by American standards) they played songs like "Don't worry, be happy". It seemed unfitting. Near the temple in Ghana there was some graffiti on the freeway overpass saying: I love Texas. I suppose other Texans had traveled their as well. Living here sometimes I wish I stood out as an American, but I don't. It was nice in Japan, because people would speak to me in Japanese, but not expect me to understand at all. Which was good, because I didn't understand a word. The sales women in stores were so nice and friendly, probably the best service I have had, ever. Sometimes, like tonight, I think "What am I doing here?". Who moves to another country without knowing the language? Really, before missionaries move they go through 3 months of intense learning with fellow classmates at similar levels and then they have a senior companion when they do move to their respective countries. And when Au pairs come, or exchange students they usually have studied the language in school for years (here it is usually around 7 years) before they move to that country and try to become fluent. I moved here knowing about 10 words in French.

On the other hand, it is good to do difficult things. Everything feels easier afterward. I just get excited by the thought of having every sign, radio station, food label all in English again! I am excited to understand people speaking as they pass me on the street or sit near me on the bus. French is confusing and I feel so far behind, but upper-level college math was still far worse. Engineering in general was far more uncomfortable for me than a room full of girls speaking foreign languages.

I am going to London for the last weekend in January, I am excited! It should be fun. Then February 10-14th I am going with the Hebert family to visit friends in the south of France. Not the best time of year to visit the beach, but I will go back later in the year as well. I am sure it will still be lovely. The weather already seems to be improving here, sunny and in the upper 30's low 40's. Not bad. I cannot wait for spring and summer! I think the weather will be amazing, and the scenery beautiful! I plan to travel much more then. We shall see.

Christmas Break in Paris

We left on the 23rd for Christmas Break. It was a 6 1/2 hour drive from Neuchatel to Saint Germain, a suburb of Paris where Sophie's parents live. ( By the way, I told them my family makes a 22 hour drive twice a year and they all laughed. That is unheard of, it is like driving from Paris to Moscow.) Sophie grew up in that city, and Sophie and Quentin used to live in Paris until a two years ago when they moved here.

The first full day we were there Sophie and Quentin drove with me into Paris and showed me around. It was cold and very overcast, so the pictures aren't great. We saw the basic monuments, the Arc of Triumph, the courtyard of the Louvre, and such. This was nice to have reference points for getting around and they briefly explained the history of some of these monuments and such. I got a personal tour of Paris by real Parisians.

The way I uploaded the pictures put them in reversed order, and I didn't feel like moving 300 pictures so just bare that in mind.

The next day was Christmas and Sophie's parent took me to see Montmartre, Le Sacre-Coeur when they were dropping of Sophie's grandmother in Paris. This is a huge cathedral that has a wonderful view of Paris. Inside the cathedral they had nuns singing Christmas hymns. It was quite ideal to see it on Christmas day.

After Christmas I finally went into Paris by myself to explore, much to Aunt Debbie's dismay. She reminded me of what happened in "Taken". They dropped me off at the Eiffel Tour and it was a cold, but beautiful, sunny day. I spent 6 hours just walking around. I am planning another trip with friend to Paris in April, so I felt no need to rush about and see everything. I just took my time, and saw random streets. I was kind of lost for a bit, roaming around the non-touristy area of the southern portion of Paris. I just asked someone to point me in the direction of Notre Dame, and I found the rest from there. I ate lunch at this French fast-food place called Pomme du Pain (Apple of Bread?) . It was so good! I just had a ruben bleu sandwich(because that was the only one I could confidently pronounce), ham and cheese on a French baguette. I love French baguettes! They are delicious. Unfortunately we do not have those here in Switzerland, even though we are in the French portion and 30 minutes from the French border.

On Monday we rode the RER(short train) in to Paris and then I was on my own again. This time I used the metro! I mostly just walked around the Christmas market and up Champs-Elysees, the famous shopping street.

So the following are just all my Paris pictures. I tried to label some of them, but many are just random churches and building I saw around Paris, and if they are a significant government building or something, I did not know what it was.




Above is the back of Les Invalides. It was previously a hospital for injured, (or invalid hence the name) soldiers.
Above and the next four pictures below are of the courtyard of the Louvre. I didn't go in this time, but next time I definitely will!












A French firetruck, just in case you were wondering.












I think the building below is a government building or something, I had no idea

The following are pictures of Notre Dame. The picture immediatly following this caption is of the window inside. I wasn't sure if you can take pictures, since you usually cannot inside churches because it is disrespectful. I think I saw a sign saying not to, but everyone was
(in an unshameful manner too!) , so I just took one of the inside.











Below is the statue directly next to it on the property.








The Metro sign.





The next four pictures are of the Pantheon. The picture above is just the building facing the Pantheon.







I think these pictures above and below are of the area or garden around the Palais de Luxembourg. But I had no idea. I know from the map I was in that area, but I didn't really know what it was I was looking for, or at. Next time.



Random downtown Paris.

The following three pictures of the front of Les Invalides.




The Eiffel Tour, obviously. I just took a bunch of pictures, because it was fun, and the light was so different on the different sides.









The church Madeline above.

I just thought the chandelier in the street was cool.
Above is a department store, and below is the one side of the Opera house. The old side I think, they were remodeling.


Below is Montmartre, and views of Paris from Montmarte.















The Louvre.
Joan of arc. Later when we went to Compeigne I saw the jail where she was imprisoned.


A copper monument of Napoleon dressed as a Roman Emperor.
Below is the entrance to the Ritz hotel.

Above is a jewelery company that is owned by Sophie's Aunt, and has been passed down in the family for centuries. I met the Aunt, she had a huge diamond ring, but was very nice. She was elderly and telling me that we were in the same boat, she can't hear anyone and I can't understand anyone (because of French).
Above a store's Christmas display. Below is inside a Starbucks. So nice, and the raspberry cheesecake was divine. I should teach them about cheesecake.
The new side of the Ope







The colorful cookies in the window below are delicious! They are called macarons. They are lite and airy, and flaky almost like they are composed of a mixture including egg whites, but they have more substance than a meringue. The filling depends on the flavor, but often has a sweet almond flavor. So far I have tried chocolate, pistachio, cherry, ginger fig, vanilla, praline and strawberry. My favorites are chocolate and pistachio, and the ginger fig was pretty good too.
Below is La Concorde.

The following are pictures from Place de la Concorde, essentially Concord square.







Below is the Arc de Triumphe. There is a huge roundabout surrounding the arc. It was crazy! I was about 5 cars deep, but there are no lines, people are just coming in and out everywhere. There are 11 roads that intersect at this point. I am glad I was not driving. Switzerland is so much more organized that France.








The last picture of Paris, it was taken from the car and came out really badly, but I just thought it was cool that a store in Paris has the same name as my two sisters


Christmas was great. I feel like we celebrated Christmas 4 times. The first time was in Saint Germain with Sophie's family. Here they have a friend with a small apartment they rent to students, and that was were I stayed. It was great! It has a bathroom/shower, kitchenette, TV, radio and a large double bed. Almost my favorite part of the trip. For Christmas eve we attended Catholic mass. I didn't understand the Christmas readings since they were all in French, but we sang Christmas songs, so that was nice. It was about an hour long, shorter for Christmas. Then we went back to Sophie's parents house and had a nice traditional French Christmas eve dinner with her parents, uncle, 2 siblings, and 2 cousins. Most people in her family speak some English, which is good.

The small apartment I had.

A church near Saint Germain, I think where Thais was baptized.

The church were we attended Catholic mass.

A beautiful castle in the city of Saint Germain. Just across from the church above.

Another picture of the same castle.
City hall.


Every meal has some new food for me to try. The French eat slowly, which is fine, it just meant that our meals were usually 3-5 hours long. First you have a pre-dinner where you have small snacks like crackers, small sandwiches, and you drink some wine, or Champagne depending on the occasion. Then you have the starter, it was usually smoked salmon, other smoked fishes or on special occasions it is goose liver or oysters. For Christmas we had the liver, and for New Years Eve we had the oysters. I did not really like the liver, I think I am having trouble getting over the fact that it is liver. I tried to think of it as a good French cheese and it was slightly better. The smoked salmon kind of makes me sick which is odd because I ate all kinds of smoked seafood in Japan and I was fine. Anyway, so the next course is the main meal. For Christmas Eve it was escargot. I thought it was delicious, not rubbery at all and it was cooked in butter and garlic with herbs. You do have to pull them out of the shell with a little spoon, but they in no way resemble any living thing. Just a little green ball. Green from the herbs of course. We usually have pan fried potatoes and salad with a french vinaigrette dressing. I have yet to see store bought dressing here. For dessert we had the traditional yule log, a thin cake kind of rolled with a rich chocolate frosting. On Christmas day we had a similar meal. I told them that we usually eat ham on Christmas day, so they gave me a piece of sliced deli ham with my starter. For dessert we had this delicious flour-less chocolate cake. Very rich.

The second time we celebrated Christmas was at Quentin's grandmother's house in Amiens. There were many family members there, a few spoke English. We had a delicious 5 hour meal. His grandma gave me a cute little picture frame, as a souvenir. We were only in Amiens for the day, but they showed me a near by Cathedral nearby. It was huge! They told me it has tallest ceiling in all of Europe and it was built in the 13th century. It was at night, and my flash was not working great, so the pictures make it look very ominous like Dracula's castle or something.


The third Christmas was at Quentin's mother's house in Compiegne. We stayed here the remained of the holiday. Quentin grew up here so many of their good friends live there, or where home for the holidays. It was a crowded house with his two brothers, his sister and there respective families and children. I thought it was kind of an interesting house arrangement. There was a room with just a toilet, no sink. Then a room with just a sink and tub, and a room with just a sink and shower. Hmm. I shared a room with the youngest brothers girlfriend. It was good. His mom got me a French cookbook, in French. Exciting! I can read most of the ingredients, but I have no idea what the instructions are saying, or even what the dish title is. I will have to work on that.

For New Years Eve we had oysters as our starter. You open them with your hands, then put a little lemon juice. They are still alive! But you can't really tell. Then you scrape them from the shell and eat them. The essentially taste like the ocean. Salty ocean water. I didn't really care for them, but I didn't mind eating them. Then we had wild boar as the main dish. One of the guest likes to hunt, so he contributed this. It tasted good, pretty much like a good beef roast. We had pan fried potatoes and green beans with it.

This guest is actually currently living in Boston getting his MBA. He was telling me how amazing American beef tastes. I thought that was so funny because I think European meat tastes amazing. We concluded it was just different than what we are accustomed to eating, and it consequently tastes great! He was also telling me how much they enjoyed Halloween and Thanksgiving. He thought Halloween was so weird because it was such a warm, friendly, family oriented atmosphere with such gory, morbid symbols.
The last Christmas was here in Switzerland when we got home January 2nd. They didn't have room in the car for all of the things, so we had a little Christmas together. They got me a really nice Tommy Hilfiger watch and a kit to make mini madelines. The kit includes two silicone baking sheets and a cookbook, in French again. They both work for watch companies, so the watch made since. My first Swiss watch! It was so nice. It has a large face, but it has one dial that is for a different time zone, so I can always know what time it is in Texas, just in case I forget how to subtract 7.



Today, January 3rd, we celebrated some holiday to do with the three kings coming to see Christ on the third of January. We ate galette, which is a pastry with top and bottom filled with an almond filling. It was good, a bit sweet. There is a crown inside on of the pieces and whoever gets it is king/queen for the day. The youngest child sits under the table and calls out who gets what piece. It was fun.

And that concludes my French Christmas experience. Happy New Year, Bonne Annee!