Vacance, Etc.

Ok, so long-past-due update time again.

As most of you know, my brother went into the hospital a few weeks ago because of a farm accident, so updating my blog with everything that's been going on over here in the meantime has felt kind of weird until now. It's been really hard to be so far away and to not be able to get Skype figured out with the time difference and the family going to and from the hospital and their having their schedule and my having my/the family here's schedule. But he's been doing as well as can be expected, and is on his way to recovery now (both he and my family have been well taken care of by doctors, nurses, friends, and church family--thank you all), so on we go. 

Since I last blogged, the kids have had two weeks of vacation (Vacance Toussaint), so I and the family went on a trip to the north of France to Saint Valery sur Somme. They have a bayside house there, so we spent a week eating seafood, wandering along the beaches, seeing washed-up bunkers from WWII, seeing the medieval gate Jeanne d'Arc went through on her way to be tried and executed in Rouen, digging for clams, taking a boat ride, playing games, and watching movies.  I got lots of pictures, so watch Facebook. Along with the ones I promised last time (oops!), they will be up soon!

I also noticed more during vacance just how ethnically diverse Fontainebleau is (especially compared to the more rural French towns where you're lucky to find anyone that speaks even a little English). The town is known for having one of the foremost business/management schools in Europe (and the world, I think, besides the likes of Harvard) INSEAD. The school draws people from all over the world, so there is quite a mixed population and a larger number of multilinguals compared to most of the rest of France. For example, while I was at a small park with the youngest girl, I heard spoken French. English, Mandarin, and Arabic in the span of an hour and among a group of maybe 20 people. On the bus one time, I also got talking to an Indian man about our experiences learning French, how it compares to Hindi and English, and how American, French, and Bollywood movies stack up to one another. The English-speaking church I have decided to attend is also made up of mostly English, Irish, Scottish, and even Swedish expatriates, all living in Fontainebleau either for the school or for work. And just last weekend, I was going to Versailles, ended up going to wrong way on the train and having to backtrack. Turns out, two other travelers had done the exact same thing and they spoke English. They had just met that morning and found out they both came from Shanghai, though one was now teaching/studying engineering in Sweden and the other working/studying medicine in Germany. We chatted on the train, managed finally to find our way Versailles, and took this picture to commemorate.

They insisted on the pose. 

On a side note: Versailles as a palace is not as grand as I'd expected (I find the one in Fontainebleau much grander), but that might have something to do with the fact that I felt like a salmon swimming against the stream of tourist groups that filled every room. However, the gardens are one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my whole life. The day I went was an absolutely perfect day to go too--a bright blue sky behind rows of trees with autumn leaves falling on gentle, crisp breezes... 

*dies of happiness*

I'll be going back. 

Also since the last update, the family had a ceremony for their new house. It was a ceremony in which they ask the Virgin Mary to come into (or to be enthroned in, as they explained it to me) the house and bless it and those who live in it. A priest and nun came and guided the family through songs and prayers and scripture readings, then led the family on a procession through the house, sprinkling the house with holy water and praying to/praising Mary throughout. So, for one thing, I got to have dinner with a priest and a nun--admittedly a first for me. For another, I got to understand from them and the family what they were doing, why they thought it was important and what it meant to them as an expression of their faith. For clarity's sake, I personally do not adhere to the same belief, so it sparked some good conversations with the oldest girl about what I believe and why it's not the same as what she believes. I don't think she's yet had many of those kinds of conversations, so it's a good exercise for her in how to be able to discuss differences in belief without becoming accusatory, and for me as well in learning how to do the same, while also trying to make my beliefs understandable to her (that language barrier always adds a fresh challenge). 

I also celebrated Halloween with the girls. They were really looking forward to doing it because it's considered an American holiday and the French don't really get the point of it (if you want another challenge, try explaining the point of Halloween and how and why people celebrate it to someone who has no idea what it is without making it sound completely bizarre and morbid). Some people in France do celebrate though by getting dressed up and trick or treating, so that's what the girls wanted to do. The oldest dressed up as a dog, the middle turned a box into a TV and put it on her head, and the littlest one kept saying she wanted to be a princess, wanted to be a princess, wanted to be a princes--up to the day we bought face paint for the oldest's costume. Then she wanted to be a zombie like the ones in the "Thriller" music video. This was the result: 

As you can see, the youngest was downright terrifying. And she loved it. They all loved it. They had so much fun getting dressed up, walking downtown, and getting candy from the local businesses and seeing how friendly they were about giving out the candy (they made quite the haul).

I also did a bit of baking and attempted a pumpkin pie because the family had never heard of a pie being made with pumpkin before. However, I made a different recipe, had to make it without Libby's (because it took some effort to find a legitimate fresh pumpkin, much less a canned one) and without cinnamon (the dad's not a fan). 

Don't let the smile fool you, it was a disgrace to pumpkin pies everywhere (and an example of just how far some people are willing to go to try not to offend you--the parents were too kind in their evaluation of the dessert until I insisted that it really was terrible, to which they then quickly agreed). 

I'll probably try again with a different recipe for the American Thanksgiving though. The family wants to celebrate for me and for the excuse of having an American Thanksgiving.

Speaking of food, here is the next installment of The Food Diaries (and some evidence that at least my stomach has been secretly French my whole life):

 Veal liver 

Sea asparagus (weirdly crunchy, spicy, and delicious)

Sea snails (my first bite, seen above--I liked them much more than it looks like I did)

Variations of squash soup

Mussels and fries 

Boeuf Bourguignon

Angelina's hot chocolate and raspberry macaron (YUM)

Burgundies, Chadonnays, Bordeaux, and a Bollinger Champagne (James Bond's champagne of choice, apparently)

CHEESES: Comte, a beer-soaked cheese of which I forget the name from Northern France, Roquefort, le Pitchu (a goat cheese), and Etorki (a sheep cheese); also, this little beauty:

The reason it is sitting on the ledge outside a closed window is because it smelled to high heaven. If it had been left in the house for longer than it took to eat, I don't think the smell would have ever left, and it was not a terribly pleasant smell. However, it tasted DE-LICIOUS.

 I've got some fun activities planned for the next week (like a chocolate festival at chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte and a Twenty One Pilots concert (!!!thank you, Katie!!!)) and a lot of thoughts/observations rolling around my head that need organizing, so I'll update you all next week (or the week after--let's be realistic about my consistency in blogging and not make ridiculous promises). I really have to stop trying to make these things comprehensive (or I have to get better at updating more frequently).

A tout a l'heure!

Dani

Nuit Blanche

Instead of a cumulative update on the day-to-day happenings since my last blog post, which would make me sound like a regular Betty Crocker (involving lots of laundry, language lessons, changing weather--no more sunshine :( --cooking, playing dress-up, and knitting), I've decided to write pretty much only about this past weekend. 

I do this mostly because everything else has been overshadowed by this weekend, which was a completely unanticipated jolt of happiness and adventure. I'll post pictures soon, but for now: a verbal update.

The family planned on going into central Paris this last Saturday because the father had a meeting and his parents live there, so the rest of us were going to hang out with the kids' grandpa while the dad had his meeting. So we walked around Le Marais near Bastille until we meet back up with the dad and go to a couple shops. Those of you who know me well know I pretty much hate shopping and only do it if I have something that I need in mind. Going to those shops, though, had a two-fold effect: I both felt completely unstylish and wished that I had enough disposable income to be able to afford going shopping. I don't know what exactly is at work in those Parisian shops, but the force is strong with them. After that, we walked through the square where Victor Hugo's house was, so we went through (it was almost closing time, but we got in a good half hour). 

After that, we went back to the grandparents' house, were just shooting the breeze, having champagne for no reason in particular, when the mom points out something in the newspaper called Nuit Blanche  that's going on in Paris that night. Turns out, it's an all-night city-wide modern art exhibit/festival. The paper had a map and listed some of the exhibits and the mom suggested I just stay the night in town at the grandparents' house and go to this Nuit Blanche. Of course, I was game. So the grandpa outfits me with a proper city map, some metro tickets, relevant addresses and phone numbers, keys to the house (so I could get back in at whatever wee hour I ended up returning), and at 20h00, I embark onto my solo nighttime art-venture with thousands of other people. And before you get freaked out about the fact that I was out alone in Paris in the middle of the night, there were tons of people everywhere. It was an all-night festival. free-for-all. And I didn't get hassled by anyone the entire night (although I was close by when some poor, scantily-clad young ladies unable to get hold of a taxi were getting hassled by every man on the street--they literally stopped in there cars, rolled down their windows, and just sat there waiting for a response from the girls). 

Something about the completely undetermined opportunity to wander around a new city just makes me overjoyed, so I was pretty excited. My first stop was L'Hotel de Ville and apparently that was everyone else's first stop too. I waited in line for two hours to get in to see three exhibits. And it started raining. And I hadn't dressed for this nighttime adventure, so I was in sandals and pretty cold, but still... There was an awesome exhibit at L'Hotel where an artist named Motoi Yamamoto was using a bottle of salt to design a labyrinth on the ground of this huge room. It was fascinating to watch him working on the overwhelmingly huge project one small piece at a time. There was also a video exhibit where an artist had a close up shot of a jar of water projected on a screen and he would inject or drop different substances into it, which resulted in cool designs and patterns. The other exhibit at L'Hotel was a huge colored balloon piece where audience members had to interact with the bundle of balloons to make it into different shapes and colors. 

Next, I walked to the cathedral of Notre Dame to see it lit up at night. It was magnificent (although the downside of seeing it at night is that the stained glass windows don't show up) and I got to walk through the inside as well. From there, I walked to another church called Saint Severin. I went inside because I heard organ music. I'm a sucker for organ music in a Gothic church. The inside of the church was lit by a green light and all the pews were removed and replaced with a path down the middle of the church made up of scented candle wax crucifix nails (some of which apparently smelled like blood, though I couldn't find one). It was a full sensory experience. Apparently, you were supposed to take a wax nail and put it on an incense burner to fill the room with the different smells until the nails were all gone. While I was there I got talking to a group of locals and they invited me to go to some of the exhibits with them since they kind of had a plan of attack. I decided to go along and we went next to the Pantheon where there were a few life-size figures positioned on and around the buildings around the square. There was also a wooden construction being made by an artist named Johann Le Guillerm. He was using 3-metre long 2x4s to create a dome without using any glue, wood, nails, or fasteners of any kind.

From there we went to a light exhibit in a gymnasium and another light exhibit on top of a mall next to the Tour Montparnasse. There we met a Canadian girl who I talked to her quite a lot, and we ended up taking her along with us too. Next we went to a smaller exhibit where you would stand on a pad that would measure your movement and heartbeat and translate that into a digital rendering of a tree. The trees of everyone who participated were kept to make a forest of gnarly digital trees with heartbeats. By now, it was 02h00 and I was starting to get tired and my feet were starting to hurt, but there was still at least one exhibit I wanted to make it to before I called it a night. The rest of the group wanted to go the other way, so we parted and I started walking up to the Gare d'Austerlitz. There was an AWESOME exhibit underneath the train tracks there by a guy named Pablo Valbuena who set up lights and some kind of clicker/sound mechanism at each of the track's columns. He would set the lights to go off at varying intervals to make it seem like they were whooshing past you first slowly, then more quickly, then all at once. You had to walk maybe 200m to get out of the exhibit, so it was a cool experience. 

That was the last exhibit I went to. It was about 03h30 or 04h00 and my feet were KILLING me. I had blisters the size of quarters on both my feet, but all the buses (at least the ones I needed) had shut down long ago, so I still had to walk back home (still 3km away). I was still seriously debating going to one more exhibit--John Baldessari had a light exhibit by the Seine. About halfway there, I gave up though. I had to get off my feet or I just wouldn't make it home at all. I ended up getting back to the house at 05h00 and into bed at 05h30, got up that morning at 09h30, breakfasted with and thanked my hosts, was equipped with MORE metro passes, then went to church (more on that in a bit). After church, I decided to go to the Eiffel Tower, which was close by, to sit for a bit and figure out if there was anywhere else I wanted to try to go to before heading back to Fontainebleau (if my feet would hold up). I decided to go across the way to the Trocadero on my way to the metro stop and got some lovely pictures. I then hopped onto the metro (after helping--IN FRENCH!--a little old Chinese man who needed directions to the Opera stop) to Bastille because I still hadn't actually seen it yet, but once off the metro, I got distracted by a farmers market and walked some more. Then I stopped back at the square outside Victor Hugo's house to eat my little bread-and-cheese lunch in the park there, where it turns out a 12-piece string ensemble is playing music in one of the square's corridors. From there, I walked back to the metro and get onto the train Fontainebleau, then had to walk from the train station back home because there was a flea market going on in the centre of town (which I also got distracted by and got some wonderful free clothes).

What did I tell you? You can't make this stuff up. I'd say I had died and gone to heaven, but my complete inability to find a metro, bus, bike or otherwise (almost purely from being distracted by "just walking a little ways to this or that, then finding a ride") when my poor feet badly needed one, made it feel more like Dante's Inferno at times. The thing that was bringing me such earthly joy was also my source of punishment. Between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, I figured out that I walked about 20km, 16km of which was between 20h00 and 05h30 Saturday night. Today, I'm paying for it. The blisters have subsided, but I might have a case of tendinitis in both Achilles from compensating for the blisters. 

Oh well. I'll take it.

Back to the church front, though: I've not yet found anywhere to go regularly. I visited an Eglise Reformee my second week here, but the service is in French, so I'm not quite ready for that yet. I was excited to find an English-speaking Scottish Presbyterian church in Paris last week, but it ended up not being what I expected at all (although the pastor was utterly and undeniably Scottish, as advertised). And this last Sunday, I went to the American Church in Paris (also English-speaking). It's a fairly large, diverse church in a beeee-yootiful building and has been in Paris for 200 years apparently, but is still not really what I'm looking for as far as the preaching goes. And I'll admit I was a bit thrown by the stained glass windows which displayed images of Martin Luther, Jean Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, and John Knox alongside the likes of St. Christopher, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Genevieve, St. Francis of Assisi, and Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The plan for next week is to visit an English-speaking Anglican church here in Fontainebleau. I'll let you know how it goes. And I'll keep you all posted on the rest of my adventures. 

Also, the food diaries continue. More pastry going on this time and the parents have notified me that my food experiences will be broadened into liquor experiences soon:

My first (and second) legitimate Champagne

A delicious little pistachio and cherry cake provided by my language teacher

Squid

Crepe au sucre et citron

More cheese (I really should take note of all the different kinds)

Gateau Battu (So. Delicious. And apparently there's a "brotherhood" dedicated to it's existence.)

Monsieur Croque (a fancy way of saying grilled ham and cheese)

Whole fish that I had to de-bone (first time ever. Yay life skills!)

There was more food, but it's late now and I've forgotten.

With l'amour de la ville, ice packs, and ibuprofen,

DaniRae

C'est la Vie; C'est ma Vie

So I've been in Fontainebleau for two weeks tomorrow. I think it's time for an update.

The day I flew into France, the family I'm working for took me out to a picnic lunch at the base of the Eiffel Tower and we drove around central Paris a bit. I got to see the Arc de Triomphe, the outside of the Louvre, the Seine, Invalides, Avenue des Champs-Elysees before we drove on to Fontainebleau.

The forest coming into the city is huge and beautiful as well, so it was an impressive introduction to the country. I got the next day to acclimate to the new timezone, unpack, and organize my new space. By the way, I absolutely LOVE my little house. It's perfect for me and it's light, comfortable, and brand-spanking new. Seriously. They just finished all the painting and remodeling yesterday. It even has a kitchenette!

My daily routine Monday through Friday consists of taking the two youngest girls to school at 8h20, straightening their rooms and preparing lunch, picking them up from school at noon to have lunch, taking them back to school at 13h30. After that, I have time to either finish anything I didn't get done in them morning or have some free time to myself to either explore or do whatever until I pick the girls up again at 16h30. They then have snacks and I help with what homework I can or we play a couple games. I try to teach them some English words whenever I can. Dinner is at 19h30, then I read the girls a story and it's bedtime by 21h00. Wednesdays are different because the girls don't have school, but they all have other lessons of some kind--music, ballet, horse riding--so I walk them to each lesson. And two days a week, I have French lessons with an adorable Italian lady. I'm picking up on some basic grammar and vocabulary. Hopefully even more so with the lessons. Those sound like long days (some of them are), but I have a lot of free time during the day, and if I ever want/need the night off, I have it. I just have to ask. I just decided that it was a good idea to make the most of the time the girls have home in the first few weeks so we can bond.

The girls are all sweet--very different personalities, but very sweet. The oldest is very sensitive, but also a very hard worker; the middle one is really capable and likes to help out; and the youngest one loves the spotlight and to make people laugh. Admittedly, I'm having a hard time with the language barrier, which becomes most difficult with the youngest. The dad, mom, and oldest two girls speak English, which is nice. I'm not completely cut off from being able to speak to anyone. The youngest girl doesn't really speak any English though (about as much English as I do French). That's been the hardest part so far and will continue to be the hardest part, I think (aside from remembering to kiss people's cheeks when I greet or leave them--I seriously forget all the time!). I can't always understand what she wants (though we've gotten pretty good at miming to each other), so she gets understandably frustrated sometimes (as do I). I also can't tell what the girls are saying to each other when they decide to speak in French, so insults may fly with reckless abandon and I won't know exactly what's going on until one starts crying. All that makes it kind of hard to establish myself as an authority figure. One day this week, all the girls were being sassy to each other and the youngest two were being sassy to me and I'd had a long day trying to get stuff done around the house, and I broke down and cried a bit (if I could have helped it I would have, but I was tired and frustrated). It actually ended up (unintentionally) guilting them into listening better though! I think it's all just part of figuring out the family dynamics and girls' personalities though. It just takes time.

I've had some pretty great adventures these two weeks too. Last weekend, I walked around the town to get familiar with my directions and what stores and parks and such were nearby and just to get a feel for the place. I ended up going to the Chateau de Fontainebleau and walking around the HUGE gardens, discovered admission into the chateau was free that day and explored where a lot of France's royalty since Francois I had at least been at some point. I saw a chapel consecrated by Thomas Becket, a bed made for Marie Antoinette, a set of rooms built for Pope Pius VII, and the room where Napoleon Bonaparte signed the treaty that sent him into exile on Elba.

I also saw Napoleon's hat. THE hat. Enough said.

I took too many pictures to post here. They will be on Facebook soon though. I'll say one thing though: the ceilings were stunning. Last Sunday, I went to a little town called Barbizon where a bunch of the Impressionist painters lived and went to hang our and get inspired and, you know, create masterpieces or whatever. Jean Francoise Millet, Theodore Rousseau, Narcisse Diaz de la Pena, Charles Daubigny--I saw all their houses like a total creeper tourist. And it's such an adorable town; it's exactly like an Impressionist painting in real life. I about died of happiness. Today, I went back to the chateau with the family because the oldest girl had a dance exhibition there. She and her classmates dressed in 19th century period attire and performed period dances in the garden. Tomorrow, I venture into Paris on my own. I'll be attending a Presbyterian church I found and exploring a bit of the city on my own. It promises to be an adventuresome day.

Also, concerning a question that I'm sure is at the front of your minds: I'm eating very well. I haven't yet gone out to eat (I'll have a chance tomorrow), but the family here eats very well. Since I mentioned that I was willing to try anything once--even escargot--the dad has taken it upon himself to challenge that. As a result, I've decided to keep a list of some of the things I've eaten since I got here. I might have to make a separate food blog. So far, the list is as follows:
A french version of Shepherd's Pie
Shrimp and prawns (that were alive that morning)
Roasted veal
Beef flank
Grilled swordfish
Roasted flounder
Pate (from a local butcher that's apparently won tons of huge national awards)
Tomato salads (I have eaten more tomatoes in the last two weeks than in the entirety of the rest of my life--and I've liked them O_O )
Chicken and gnocchi
Lamb (roasted and in a stew)
Mackerel
Spaetzel
Flammekueche
Brioche au sucre
Freshly baked baguettes every day
So. Many. Cheeses. I can't even keep track.
French wines: a Bordeaux, a Chablis, and a red (don't remember what kind) from a cousin's winery
Black Pudding and stewed apples

That's right. That last one was Black Pudding. If you don't know what it is, look it up. It's not French, but like I said, the dad's taking on the challenge. To be honest, I actually really liked it and would totally have it again. Most of this is what the parents have made for me (and they're fabulous cooks), but I've also cooked some of it too. Before I got here, I was kind of freaked out about having to cook lunch every weekday for a French family because I had no concrete grasp of what French people eat in everyday life (aside from the stereotypes) and lunch is this family's main meal. But, it's actually been really nice because all the ingredients are just fabulously flavorful and basically do all the work for me. In the morning, the parents give me an idea of what they kind of want and I go for it. They've loved what I've made so far (more than I expected), so that's one burden off my mind.

Anywho, that's probably enough for one post. I had to get all the first impressions in, so it was a bit long. I'll keep updating regularly, hopefully. My track record with blogging is unreliable to say the least.

Here's to becoming une Bellifontaine.

A bientot!