Spring Fling, Flirting with Rebirth

Salut tout le monde!
I’ve been inspired to write another update. Sometimes with these things it takes a little motivation! (So thank you friend, you know who you are!) I think it’s the fact that sometimes when I am looking back on the past few weeks (sometimes a little over a month!), recounting what has gone on makes me realize what little time I have left here and what little time I have left to see all of my loved ones. Right now, to tell you the truth, I’m leaning towards the latter ;)

To start, I was perdy sure a few days ago and even last week that Spring was coming quickly and was gonna stay. ALERT, today showed itself to be chilly and nasty in Lyon. So no. Not yet. Still flirting.

So, to clue ya’ll in on my little Frenchie life... I FINALLY had my medical visit to finish the last step to get my VISA. About a month ago, I went to my first French doctor’s clinic, and I was surprised at how fast everything went. I just chalk it up to the early bird catching the worm though. If you are early in France, the Frenchies don’t know what hits them!
Ha, I have a friend named Flore, and I had explained to her that before coming to France I had a teacher tell me that there is such a thing as “French Time”. She verified that, yes, in fact there is, and most people and/or businesses allot 15 minutes for a late arrival.
Anyway, back to the one-and-only experience that was my French VISA Medical Visit.
Let’s Tarantino the story and say that I am unhesitatingly modest.
Now, let’s rewind: I get to the clinic, get on the table, do the breathing deeply thing, the temp thing, the weigh-in thing, and the usual questions/icebreaker questions thing. Then, the nurse leads me into a room where I am to strip. Naked that is-from the waist up. GRRRR. I had to have a chest X-ray to make sure that I wasn’t carrying any nodules, Tuberculosis granules, infarcts, syphilis (that I obviously would have gotten in France, ha-ha!), bug nests, biohazardous bronchioles, drugs, etc.
Yeah, I get that, who wants bugs hatching around in France? But seriously, give me a freakin’ gown! In the US whenever I had to get a chest X-ray, they always gave me a gown, and besides I’ve never done the breast x-ray thing, so, it was my first time! So, I am unhesitatingly modest.
Let’s just say that I am glad that is OVER WITH. I turned in my forms to the Préfecture, and they told me that I would have to wait like a month/month + 1/2 to get my actual VISA, which means that “soon”, I will have my official VISA, the one that apparently lets me live in France for an extended amount of time (not including the seven-eight months I have already lived her mind you!). That’s right! I will have my VISA just in time for the two-three months I’ll have left to live in France. Wow. I mean really.
So in a few weeks *cross my fingers and toes and arms and legs and eyelashes *and you cross your etc. too, I’ll finally have my VISA.

I started my classes in early February. I love my medieval classes more this semester than last; they are truly outstanding “formidables” ;) Originally I had hoped to take a German or Italian class, but sadly the classes that the University offers are in their fourth semester, for both languages. And seeing as how my language abilities in both of those languages put together couldn’t get me into fourth semester, I am not taking any of those classes. What I am doing is learning some basic Japanese. Another Rotary scholar named Miyuki who lives in Lyon invited me and one of her friends named Flore (the same girl above) to a Japanese language clinic. We went and discuted cultural topics and I learned some basic Japanese. And every week Miyuki, Flore, and I have lunch together and we cook Japanese food. The last time we made sushi :)
No, but Japanese is actually coming pretty quickly for me. I think it’s because of my linguistic courses at UCA, how they showed me the structures of different languages. It surprisingly doesn’t seem all that foreign to me. But the beautiful writing…I’m afraid that’s a lost cause only reserved for tattoos and elaborate silk-screens.
What I am planning on doing more of is reading more Spanish (to help me keep brushed up) and Italian, as well as continuing to study their grammar and verb conjugations. I am hoping to go to Italy and/or Spain after I leave Lyon, so it’s more practical for me to study Italian/Spanish than German, linguistically as well. They say that in many of the programs in the states that I may want to get into, you might have to know two languages apart from your maternal language, so Italian and Spanish seems like a more natural fit, seeing as how they are Romance.

In my medieval classes I am to write at least 25 pages memoir/research paper on a topic of choice. Right now it’s shaping up to be either: 1) Religious Truth and Romanesque Fiction in “L’Histoire du Graal” by Robert de Boron (which is about Arthur and his troupe searching out the Grail) or 2) “La Chanson de Roland”: Fiction in History, Truth from History? (“Song of Roland” that is, which I am more familiar with from past studies.)
So those are the two topics I have chosen, and right now I am doing a lot of research and just enjoying each class discussion. On Wednesday, the prof is gonna advice us on our topics. I haven’t felt so excited about going to class since some of my French classes at UCA, and that is giving me motivation :)

Last month my good buddy Chen-Chi Yu AKA Paul had his 23rd birthday, and we had a wonderful time! We had our usual Chinese hot dishes, but this time I went over before the party and helped out, so now I know how to cook authentic Chinese food! We had a great time, he had invited French speakers only over, and so the night brought many new friends. We ate a “Charlotte” cake and I learned how to play Tarot cards as a card game. It was a lot of fun!

Last month my Rotary club invited me to their Rotary Movie Night which helped raise money for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. We watched “La Jeune Fille et le Loup”, which I highly recommend, as it was very well done. Also, I now have a little update on my Rotarienne friend Chantal: her knee was not as bad as the doctors thought, still having the surgery, but recovery looks more hopeful. What they did do was hollow out her knee until all that was left was skin basically. She now has “le genou d’un robot” – a robot’s knee. She showed me all of the radiography, and it’s quite amazing that she is now hobbling around like she is. Ugh, it looked so painful and debilitating. She did have a major Plus through the whole experience…thanks to a surgeon friend of her brother’s, she stayed in a CASTLE for rehabilitation, just east of Geneva (about 1.5 hours away). This is a beautiful French countryside where the Alps tower over the East, where the air is clean, the water pristine. She told me that she had the view that no French artist could replicate…emphasis on the “French” :) I’ve been over to her place, cooked her dinner, let her talk non-stop for hours and hours. She said that for a month she wasn’t able to carry on conversations as she normally would, and that was nearly as bad as the surgery. I can understand that, especially since she talks my ear off ;-)

I had a week-long winter vacation from school a few weeks ago. I kept it on the D-L in and around Lyon mostly, but I did get the chance to go with Michèle (an older Rotarienne), Paul (her husband), and Janine (their friend) to see where Michèle grew up and where her family has lived for many generations. I was COMPLETELY spoiled like a grand-child the ENTIRE day. It was lovely. She showed me the church where she was christened in Crémieu, the same church where her grandparents lived during the war of ’14. Crémieu happens to be a “Cité Médiévale”, a nationally sited medieval city. We ate a four course meal at a quaint little restaurant, and we climbed up to the cliffs to see a spectacular view of the departments Isère et Ain, stretched out along the Rhône river. Along with Crémieu, they took me to several villages…Trept, Évieu, Brangues, Morestel, etc. They took me to their summer home in Trept for a while, where Michèle cut me down branches from her forsythia tree and sprigs from her Rosemary plants. I know have forsythia hanging out of window’s banister and my favorite herb to garnish my dishes :)
Also, during my winter vacation I also went to Annecy, France, a charming little city just south of Geneva. It was raining there, so for most of the day our beautiful view of the Alps and the clear lakes was clouded, but we walked around and saw the beautiful castle and the best shops I’ve yet to see in France. We truly passed a great afternoon. We had a tour guide named Joacim, a Finnish student living in Annecy whom we met at a Swedish party in Lyon. All of his friends are Swedish because he doesn’t actually speak Finnish. He comes from an island with border issues, thus he is a Finn who speaks Swedish. Veird. Anyway, he’s a really sweet guy who showed us a great time. For the rest of my winter vacation I went to the library and tried to figure out just what my classes are all about, and I also started looking for and applying for jobs back home. I just don’t want to get home and have to wait two months to get a decent job. I’m not saying that still might not happen, but I just wanna get a leg up and feel like I’m doing something.

This past week I was writing a short story for my Rotary District. I think that whoever wins gets award at the District meeting in May. It’s an autobiographical story of one of my most embarrassing moments that happened in Québec. Some of you may know what I’m talkin’ ‘bout ;) I didn’t attach my story because not many of you do the French thing, but ask me if you wanna read it :) I’d be happy to send it.

What’s next for me?
1) Well, my dear bestest buddy Thomas Herndon is coming to see me in about oh, 12 DAYS! I am way too exited! I have sat down and plotted out a day by day of what he and I are going to do, that’s how excited I am! Oh, and I partly did that because I know Thomas, and I know that he would appreciate me telling him what the crap we are doing :) I also have a fellow scholar from my sponsor district in Arkansas who is living in Germany and who will be coming over. I think that Ashlee will come and overlap some time with Thomas, so it’ll be three Arkansans in Lyon!! WHOOO-hooo!
2) Another bestest buddy, Anne Milligan, is coming at the end of May as an “I just finished my first year of law school” sort of self-present. I am sure it’ll be Girls Gone Wild when she gets here :) Haha, just kidding mom. No, but really, we are gonna have so much fun, Anne and I, Thomas and I, Ashley and I, Ashley, Thomas, and I. ACK!
3) My Frenchie friend Marion has told me that her parents want me to come to their country home in Provence, smell some lavender and get some fresh air.
4) Flore invited me to go and stay a weekend with her family in the countryside just west of Lyon.
5) Marie-José and Jacques want me to go with them to their summer home in Arcachon near Bordeaux. I’m super excited about going to see the Atlantic, actually putting my feets in it! I still have yet to do that! As you may remember, I saw the Atlantic in August at Le Croisic, but it was way too cold/rainy/windy for me to even put a toe in the water. So this time, I will be surrounded by sun, mimosa trees, and the ocean looking at me right outside the window!
6) Michèle and Paul invited me back out to their summer home. They say it’s not right that I came in winter, and that I must come back to visit when the geraniums are falling out of their baskets, when the rosebushes can poke at me, and when the sun stays in the sky long enough to finish the gardening, so says Michèle:) I imagine I will be able to take some more rosemary ;)

As far as inner thoughts go…I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, mostly about mortality, about how old I am, how far I’ve come, how sometimes I don’t know what the crap I am doing, and it got me to thinking about the many big events that are coming up this year.
1) This year unofficially marks 4 great friendships that I have had for 10 years. I say unofficially because during my first semester of HS, I don’t know how close we all were! Here’s to you Thomas, Katie, Matt, and Jennifer :) I love you all so much, still and unfailingly :)
2) My dad turns 50 on the Ides of March. So this March 15^th, I won’t get to be there and that pains me! Dad, when I get back, we are going to celebrate like it’s 1999, k?!! Oh man, you got it comin’ my old man!
3) I am turning 25 this July. 25 YEARS OLD! (Emphasis on the OLD!)
4) We are all turning 25 this year! Matt, Katie, Thomas, Me, etc. It’s all happening!
4) This year marks my 10 year anniversary of loving the Goo Goo Dolls! It all started with the “Iris” video baby! However, my first concert-and yes it was a Goo Goo Dolls concert-wasn’t until a year later! For those of you who didn’t know (which really most of you do!), I have loved the Goo’s for as long as I can remember, or your for that matter!
5) Ten years ago, during my second semester in HS and second semester in French, I vowed to myself that studying France’s language and culture would be a life-long commitment. And here I am 10 years later - in FRANCE!

Isn’t it all just nuts!? Just looking back on things like long car rides through the back roads with the music blaring, HS senior pictures, movie nights on the big, long dark-green couch, that God-awful prom, my first trip to France, and ha the wide-spread panic of the Y2K bug, it just makes life seem so out of reach and its moments so fleeting.
I’m just glad now that I am a picture junkie and that I write more, so that ten years from now I can reminisce with a wide-array of technology right at my fingertips! At this rate, I’ll be able to make slide-show presentations out of every decade. Okay, out of every year :) Ha, the funny thing about it is: each slide-show would probably last a good afternoon ;)

To end, I will leave you with some funny things I have been hearing lately:
1) Flore and I had a conversation about the word "Doody", as in Poo. Apparently there is a word in French (and I'm still not sure of this word!) that is pronounced the same way and it is a term of endearment. Well, I explained what it was in English and she just cracked up, we both did for a while! Tears streaming down :)
2) "Does Mineral water have the same effect as Mineral oil?" Ummmmm. No.
3) My mom knows this lady, she will go unnamed because of her silly silly question! "Wow, she is always getting vacation over there! So, why is she having vacation this time? Is it President's Day?" Ummmmmmm. No. Our 3rd Monday in February is not the same in France ;)

With the first signs of Spring from France:
with forsythias blooming, cherry blossoms sprouting, and Cinderella birdies chirping,

Jess

PS. To get your photo fix, I have added plenty :) All of the first 5 albums are either new or have had photos added ;)

http://picasaweb.google.com/BulletproofSpirit

Global Warming

I came across this today. I live near the Alps, these glaciers, and it's just disturbing to look at these two pictures!



http://www.swisseduc.ch/glaciers/glossary/little-ice-age-two-en.html

New Year Update

Hello everyone. I hope ya’ll have had a great a great holiday season. I imagine everyone is going back to school or work, rather dragging back! Me too though, I went back to school for two days last week, took my tests, and now I’m on vacation until February 6^th. So if you’ve ever heard that the French like vacation time-you’re dang straight. Me, I’m not used to it, and my current status is happily unmotivated. It’s vacation-right?! Oh gosh, I’m becoming too French! Sounds like a horror movie! : ) Just kidding ; )
No, but seriously, I don’t think one’s citizenship is so easily left behind, not subconsciously at least. I’ve been gone for half of a year now and the other morning without any cyber or any other entertainment aid, I found myself singing simultaneously, belting out: “Does He Love You” by Reba McEntire and Linda Davis, “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Dylan, and “Jack and Diane” by Bruce, three artists American unique in their style, in their American style.

So, anyways, lemme tell you about my holiday season.

I spent Christmas at Marie-José’s house with her husband Jacques, her sons, and her mother’s family in Décines, France, a suburb of Lyon ‘bout 20 minutes out. What a time I had! First we had champagne with nuts and cracker sticks, in a sort of hoity-toity Super bowl party. Then we ate all the seafood that the sea could spit out in one day. Sooo much seafood! …tried raw oysters for the first time, ate whole shrimp, salmon, a julienned celery dish, volaille (which is some sort of fowl), and a “bûche de Noël”, an over-sized delicious Swiss cake roll if you will. Mmmm. Yummy ! We exchanged Christmas gifts, and Marie-José and I had each other choked up ; )

I went to England / Scotland from Dec 28^th – Jan 6^th. Give thanks for Christmas money, grandparents, and that secret stash : ) Thank you!!

I stayed in a town called South Shields, right on the North Sea and not too far away from Hadrian’s Wall/Scotland. I had metro access, and frequently I used it to go to the greater known city of Newcastle where I visited the Plantagenet himself, Henry II’s Castle Keep. All over Newcastle, I’d walk around for hours, talking to friendly Northern Englanders. People were seriously sooo friggin' friendly there, immediately and warmly with nice surgically or mechanically unaltered smiles. Haha, that’s a little joke out there for all you crazy people who always make fun of their teeth ; )
I stayed in a bed and breakfast and every morning the owner would cook me a traditional English breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausage, tomatoes, beans, potatoes, and mushrooms.

There is so much to tell about my vacation time really (which is still going on-remember!?).
One day from Newcastle I took a bus to Gateshead, England to an open-air sculpture/masterpiece called the “Angel of the North”. He rests atop a hill looking out over Northeastern England. It is said that 90,000 people see it daily (it is right near a major highway). His wingspan is about that of a jumbo jet and his whole frame itself is constructed of weatherproof steel. Withstanding nature’s elements, he is very much a sight to see, and me, I really enjoyed all of his different angles…reminded me of a “The Decemberists” song called “Of Angels and Angles”. In truth, it was one of my most favorite moments ever-spiritually and intellectually ; )

From there, a few days later I naïvely took an hour and a half bus ride to go to Durham, England. I could’ve taken a train from Newcastle to Durham that would’ve taken 10 minutes and would’ve cost the same (which I did on the way home!). Let’s just say that it’s a good thing that I like a good countryside and that I like to eavesdrop on some friendly Northern Englanders. I took the bus on the first trip.
So I get to Durham to step off of a bus and into a dream. The accessible, historic, and energetic city itself is worth the trip! While there I asked where the entrance to both the cathedral and castle were and the petit bistro owner sat me down with a yummy lemon pastry and cup of tea. In no time, she was telling me everything I could do within a span of a long afternoon. I was very excited to go to Durham after the B & B owner in South Shields consulted me over breakfast one morning, and so when I got there, I went to the cathedral first. At Europe’s greatest example of a Norman cathedral, I wasn’t able to take pictures because of its amazing preservation. The thing started construction in 1093!! But, I can sure describe it for you! St. Cuthbert is buried there, the vaulted ceilings are immaculately untouched, the columns stand tall with v-shaped engravings, and the stained glasses are diverse, spanning a time period of hundreds of years. Only a few Norman medieval windows withstand, located in the Galilee Chapel, dating from around 1170. From the cathedral I went to a small museum dedicated to St. Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede, a museum that held St. Cuthbert’s original tomb. OH I was so neat! Its engravings had medieval drawings of different events in the lives of Jesus and his disciples, and the curators did an excellent job of piecing it back together, the tomb and the engravings. It was indeed most excellent!
I went to see the castle soon after. I didn’t get to go on the inside because it is enormous and I didn’t have enough time. It was HUGE!! …formed in an almost circle on top of Durham’s hill, it along with the Cathedral are UNESCO world heritage sites. Durham sits on the river Wear and its name justly means “hill on an island”. And furthermore one of my favorite authors, Bill Bryson, says, and I quote: “I unhesitatingly gave Durham my vote for best cathedral on planet Earth.”
I SAW IT!!! : ) Oh yah.

I got back into South Shields to prepare for my next journey to the Scottish Highlands, which I believe to be a Heaven on this earth, even with its inclement weather! We slid down crags and glens; we couldn’t see through blizzards; we drench-soaked our boots; we got back on the bus with little snowballs clinging to our gloves. Amazing! I couldn’t have asked for better weather or for better adventure, or a better tour guide! Throughout central Scotland, he told us stories about every glen, every Loch, every significant ruler/historical figure, and so much more in between. I saw the castle where much of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” was filmed. Remember the famous coconut bra scene? Haha, the tour guide told us that in the castle at the ticket office they sell coconut bras! I saw all 23 MILES of Loch Ness. Looking out over Loch Ness, I saw Aleister Crowley’s house, the Boleskine House, the haunted house where Jimmy Page lived when he wrote the first draft to “Stairway to Heaven”. I saw Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Great Britain. I met Hamish, the celebrity cow, or “coo” as the Scottish say. I ate haggis. Ask me what it is, I’ll be happy to tell you; ) True story-I told my brother about this…He tells me: "Eww Jess, you’re gonna get gout!"
I stayed the night in a hostel in Inverness where I made friends with a girl named Cedar from Vancouver. Inverness is by latitude and longitude the highest place I’ve ever been, I wasn’t really all that impressed by the city itself (probably because it was after dark), but its location is great for touring the Highlands.
I got back into Edinburgh and trained out of Scotland towards Newcastle, sadly without having seen Edinburgh on foot. I’d like to go back. I left too early in my opinion. If you are gonna go to Scotland, just do it for a long period of time and never take it for granted.
Then never go back home ; )

From Newcastle/South Shields on the 5^th of January I left for London to spend 1.5 days there, walking around, seeing “Chicago” on stage, riding the London Eye. Didn’t have much time in London either, as with Edinburgh…I’ll have to go back (and I’d rather go back to Edinburgh to tell you the truth! London is so stinkin' expensive!). It sucks that I didn’t get to visit those cities for very long, but honestly, it doesn’t matter because I really enjoyed the North Sea, the Highlands/Lowlands, and all the countryside in between. It does a girl good ; ) I'm a countryside tourist anyhow.

After I got back from GB, my friend Nathan came down from Strasbourg and on a whim, without a second thought, we decided to just take off for two nights/three days to Genève, Switzerland. It was the same distance from some of the French cities where we considered going and just as cheap (cuz we are cheap!). The weather there in mid-January was jacket and scarf weather! It was nuts! There we were nestled between the Swiss Alps, next to Lake Geneva and weren’t freezing! We took advantage and had a great time sightseeing throughout Genève and her suburbs and Lac Léman AKA Lake Geneva. Back dropped against the Swiss Alps, the lake’s perfect position and beautiful parks entertained our many strolls and picnics. We came back to Lyon and nearly choked on its air after having spent three days in a fairy-tale land with very little air pollution! I actually got sick a day after we got back! Nathan says it was from the city’s pollution. I concur. That my dears is a somber thought.
I also showed Nathan around some of the higher and cleaner (haha!) parts of Lyon, places even I had never seen. Good times. Good times.

Since I’ve been back I’ve been trying to figure out what the crap I’m gonna be doing when I get back stateside. Who knows? Anyone got any ideas/life plans for Jessica? I haven’t taken my GRE, so I imagine for a year I will be working and getting my stuff together, preparing for my next big move.

Since I’ve been back, I’ve been doing more Rotary stuff. Also, soon I will be comforting/taking care of Chantal, a Rotarienne who took me in as a God-daughter. She has had knee problems for decades, and the doctors say that the only thing left to do is to do surgery on her leg. She will have that done in the next few days, and I am bound and determined to do anything I can for her. It’s just so sad to see her like this because she has so much energy and so many miles left to go. I hope the knee won't arthritis. Us loved ones just have to keep her mentally healthy so that she can get on and walk on it, keeping up that amazing energy of hers.

As for what’s up next, tomorrow I am going to Strasbourg for a few days, and then when I get back I’ll have until the 6^th to prepare for my new classes. I hope to sit in on a beginner’s German or Italian class. We’ll see what is offered. I need more challenge in my life ; ) This living in a different country is getting a little routine, and I’m depressing myself watching it go by. I am determined to keep busy and keep on keepin’ on. I hope that before I leave this place, I get to the point where I don’t want to leave, instead of wanting to leave it all behind. I’d rather leave a place already missing it, than wanting to kiss it goodbye ; ) Also, I gotta start studying for the DELF, a test I can take in France before I leave that will give me a piece of paper saying that my French comprehension is legit.
Also, this March my host Rotary district will have its district conference in St. Étienne, a good-sized city just south-west of Lyon. Another event is planned for March in Épernay in the Champagne region. The AABFR, the French Association that organizes events for all of the Rotary scholarship recipients who come to France, has organized for us a free weekend in the champagne vineyards. I am VERY excited about this because I will be able to reunite with my friends I met in Paris when the AABFR put together that weekend in September. It should be a lot of fun : )

Well, as always, let me know how things are going, let me know how you’re doing...for I do love knowing and still being a part of your lives.
Do keep in touch, and take care ; )

With planes, trains, metros, buses, and tramways from a girl who is travel-maxed-out,

Jess

Jan 3-4, 2008, Whatdya think?

http://www.rabbies.com/loch_ness_inverness_2day_tour.asp

http://www.rabbies.com/loch_ness_inverness_highland_2_day_itinerary.asp

I gotta get the heck out of dodge, AKA South Shields, UK...so...I thought I'd go on a little Jessica-esque tour of a freakin' LIFETIME!
After two days on this trip, I'm quite certain I will walk off the bus feeling either motion sick or enriched...or maybe both :)
It's a shame that I won't get to "really" visit Edinburgh (well maybe for an hour)...but regardless! This trip sounds AMAZING!

Whatdya think?
Oh and HAPPY NEW YEAR my loved ones :)

Go der friends: Angel of the North

http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Leisure%20and%20Culture/attractions/Angel/Home.aspx

I don't know if I've ever seen anything so cool on December 31 of any year!!
Gateshead, UK

Happy Holidays!

Hello everyone! I want to begin by wishing all of you a very happy holiday season. Here in Lyon, the holiday season, beginning with Thanksgiving, has gone by very quickly, which in some ways is good: 1)I am not thinking about how much I miss home during this time (which in truth-I still do), and 2) after Christmas I go on vacation! A real vacation!
My friend Cody from Cabot HS is coming to France to study for a semester in Orléans. Before he goes to study, he’s coming to Lyon, and then we are flying to London! We’ll leave London immediately for South Shields on the North Sea, near Newcastle, where we will stay until Jan. 2cd, and then we’ll go to Edinburgh until Jan. 5^th and then for Jan 5^th and 6^th we’ll be in London again. England and Scotland baby!! That’s a “real” vacation! I hope to see a lot of scenery…learn a lot of history…you know all the stuff the Romantics cried over in the 1800’s : )

As for Christmas, I’m going over to Marie-José’s place (my host counselor) for Christmas Eve. I’m thinking the tradition is different. I’ll be sure to jot down a little bit about their French family Christmas though, and after I get back from Great Britain I’ll write a "little" post about my Christmas and about my trip.

I actually just got back from Strasbourg. Yes. Again. This time Nathan insisted that I come up to see what Alsace is very known for---their Christmas markets! It was a great time! Well that is, it was a great time despite the frostbite/slick icy spots (mostly frozen dog pee)/twisted ankle. Yeah, that’s right. Nathan had never had a snowball thrown at him, so when I went to do it, the earth opened up and tried to eat me via a big hole in the concrete. It got a little twist of my ankle, but nothing that really slowed me down. Crazy Cajun though; he shoulda had a snow-ball thrown at him before ; ) We also went to another Alsatian town called Colmar, which is known just as well known for its Christmas markets and also for being “la petite Venise” of France, “the little Venice”. We hobbled around the city with my gimp leg for a great afternoon, a little too icicled, but a beautiful day nonetheless.

A few weeks back Nathan came down to Lyon to see an event special to Lyon: “La Fête des Lumières”=The Festival of Lights. For four nights Lyon was lit up until 1AM! I mean everywhere you looked, all you could see was one light show after another. I won’t write in great detail about every little thing because honestly, you just have to go look at my photos. Just about every square and/or parc in the city had a light show, which were always different in some way. For example, on some exhibits lights would bounce off of walls, on others, pictures were projected on buildings, or another, for example in Place des Terreaux, we saw a giant rainbow-colored sphere that reflected light off of surrounding buildings, and it also had lights pointing up to the sky, crossing in the middle. During this particular show, a sound machine made eerie extra-terrestrial noises. It was pretty amazing! I made Nathan close his eyes and let me guide him though a lot of it because he (and I!) had never seen anything like that! It was worth the surprise…he didn’t seem to mind too much.

Also, for this same event my previous Facebook-only friend Aurélien, a Frenchie who had met my good friend Anna-Kate while she was in France on her Rotary Scholarship, contacted me asking if he could stay at my place on Saturday night during la Fête, and he was going to bring along a friend named Monica (from Maine) who he had just met—through Anna-Kate. So both of them show up on Saturday for the “grand spectacle” on December 8^th. Nathan, Aurélien, Monica, and I all ventured out into the city, a city full of an expected 2 million people just on Saturday alone. It was C-R-A-Z-Y! We literally couldn’t move at all in the crowds unless someone pushed us from behind! Should to shoulder with a whole city, we had a GREAT time! …seeing light shows, drinking vin chaud, watching strikes (yes even during the fête there were strikes!), eating bison burgers and hot roasted nuts, and taking many goofy pics-and all the while we got to know each other better. Monica and I realized that we had already met, and actually at Anna-Kate’s apartment in Little Rock! Both worked for Heifer International down at the Perryville Ranch, and that is how they know each other. Small world. So thanks Anna-Kate, and thanks to Rotary as Aurélien said! Otherwise he would have never met Anna-Kate, Monica, Nathan, or me, the four crazy Americans!

So, about those grèves…school finally started back up again after 4 weeks of not having class. We missed a lot to say the least! I kept busy though while I was away, busy with everything Rotaract. I am very fortunate to have a very welcoming Rotaract club here, and one who does acts of services ; ) A few weeks ago we all got together and made 50 Christmas wreathes, which we sold and bought francophone books with the 500 Euros, and then we donated the books to a library in Argentina (don’t ask me why Argentina, seems kind of bizarre-I know). That was incredibly fun, and I enjoyed very much getting to be crafty : ) Also, we got together for our Christmas dinner. We went to this beautiful restaurant with cave-like walls lit up by these enormous sconces mounted by cables from the ceiling. We played that under 5 Euros Christmas present exchange game; me, I got a Japanese zen garden! It’s a little mock-up zen garden sort of like a miniature sand-box with pebbles and a rake. Gotta keep it well groomed! After dinner, I can say now that I can talk more easily with the Rotaractors. A week later we went to an old folks home where we sang French Christmas songs for the elderly who stay there. We also played “le loto” AKA BINGO. We served them some cake and juice, and we gave them gifts. I sat with a 90 year old man named Salvador. Originally from Italy, he explained to me his sad story of how hard it is for him to get around to see his family for Christmas and that he will stay at the nursing home with his buddies. After I fed him cake and helped him drink his OJ, we opened up his gift (well, I did), and then I put the bow on his sweater! Then after we sang, he yelled me back over to him, he took both my hands, and told me thank you for making his Christmas better. Nearly in tears, I Frenchie-cheek-kissed him and then for about 4 minutes while I was putting my coat on and getting ready to leave, he waived at me from his seat! It was pretty tender ; ) It was a very nice experience for me, and at first before I went, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to understand the older French people talking to me (because sometimes in English I can barely understand them back home!), but truly it doesn’t matter. You don’t even have to say a word. It’s just good enough to sit with them and let them recall memories of old, days long past that are often happy times and sadly often very difficult times. Auld Lang Syne. But I realize that although it can be hard to sit through some of their sad stories, these older people are happy to share them with you. I truly believe that the elderly can teach us so much about ourselves, who we’ve been and who we'll become.

Also while I was away from school, I was writing my first Rotary report which I finally got turned in. It only had to be 2 pages long, but it ended up being 6.5! I have attached the documents for you to read-one in English, one in French. Consider it a Christmas gift! Haha; ) I had to write one in both languages. My friend who I met through Rotaract, Marion, helped me edit my French. I was pretty pleased that my main problem was wordiness and preposition-verb agreement/wrong-use of preposition. I’m pretty okay with that ; )

Speaking of Marion...she’s awesome. So is her family. They invited me over one day last week to eat and to meet the rest of the family. Her dad’s pretty intimidating, and I’m glad I remembered deodorant that day, but all in all, they rock! Very nice people. They even invited me to go with them in the Spring to their vacation home in Provence. They said we have to wait to go though; they want me to see the rows of lavender in full-bloom ; ) I’m pretty okay with that too...the waiting for beauty; )

I invited Marion over the other day to see my apartment, and to see my make-shift Christmas tree! I went to IKEA, and for 3 Euros I bought some green ribbon, 2 strings of lights, and some gold garland, and I made a tree on my window!! Note: picture of me and my Christmas tree attached.
My parents and Lindsay (bro’s girlfriend) sent me a box full of Christmas gifts, so I put them under my “Christmas Tree”. I’ll probably be tacky like other cool people out there who leave their trees up indefinitely. I actually put it up for Thanksgiving to make myself feel a little better and to snap me out of that “woe-is-me” mindset.
My Thanksgiving isn’t all worth talking about, but the week after is! I invited all my friends over, all the Asians, and Guillaume, the French/Japanese major, and I cooked spaghetti and crêpes for us to “feast” on. Can someone say untraditional???! Yeah-yuh. It was great fun though, and I really love the friends I have. They respect me and let me tell them about Thanksgiving and why I am here. They are like me, and together, we share and enjoy learning about each other. I shared the tradition of going around the circle and telling everyone what one is thankful for. Yahan had the best answer: “The Indians! Otherwise we wouldn’t be here celebrating Thanksgiving”! True dat.

Let’s see, what else. It’s FREEZING! So I’m eating clementines to keep immune from the cold. While in Strasbourg, I don’t think I have even been so cold in my life. Even colder than when I lived in Michigan I think. Shiver me timbers.

Also, last week my host club celebrated its 15 anniversary and I helped one of its founding members prepare for the party. I spread butter on approximately 1 billion crackers, then on top of those crackers, I either slapped on some salmon or some smelly Roquefort cheese. To make it seem as though she wasn’t a slave-driver, I stole equally about 1 billion dried apricots and pistachios throughout the 6 hours of preparation, gobbled them up and called them a reward. No but seriously, it was like a hard day at work! Hanging stuff, moving furniture, dressing Christmas trees, preparing food, calming the bird down from a downfall of party-planning stress, etc. I can officially say that a Frenchie has snapped at me! She snapped because she was stressed, I understand, but still, I was like “Ummmm, I know she didn't”! Lol, it was funny! It was all very worth it though : ) For 6 hours I was hers, and then for the rest of the evening I was my Club’s. I always find that whatever table of Rotarians I sit with, it always seems to be pleasant and they are all very nice. I am blessed. I am spoiled ; )
Oh, I have to tell you what I ate: “cervelas Lyonnais”-pig brains, roasted potatoes, pistachios, yummy and smelly French cheese, wine-soaked and cooked pears, and our weight in bread. Then the kicker-Michel (the woman I helped), she surprised everyone with this huge stuffed beignet towering Christmas tree of a cake. Mmmmm. She’s a good woman that Michel, very interesting, and later on that night she Frenchie-kissed me like 15 times because she was so thankful for my help. I almost got dizzy from the back and forth cheek-kissing action.

And now on a side note, I’d like to tell you something that I absolutely hate: the expression “C’est normal”. The French say it all the time, and I just don’t like to have someone say “It’s normal” after I thank them for a good meal or after they do something nice for me. Really, in French it doesn’t mean “it’s normal”, it’s more like “it’s expected” (which sounds worse) or “as I should” or “don’t mention it”. For example, when I was in Strasbourg I bought a few gifts for people and at one place the merchant started to wrap my gift! It was VERY nice of him! I thanked him and he said “C’est normal”, cold without a smile. Now, I am thinking that “C’est normal” might be a lot better with a smile, then that way, just maybe I could walk away with a smile. Throughout the day, I’d rather carry with me a smiling “oh as I should” then a cold “oh it’s normal”.

Anywhoo, you all have a Wonderful Christmas and A Happy New Year : ) Yesterday I went to church and I sat there and thought to myself that although it is the best to have Christmas with friends and loved ones, and although it makes me sad to not be able to do it this year, for me, Christmas here in Lyon is not what it used to be, and I just keep thinking that before everything, before all the things we have done to "what Christmas really means", the message of Peace and Love thanks to the little baby Jesus is what I am trying to think about.

I miss you all, and I can’t wait to hear about how your holidays went ; )

Joyeux Noël!

Jess

PS, I have attached pictures and my photo website again ; ) I add a lot more photos on it than Facebook, so you can see a lot of what we saw during la Fête and during Strasbourg. And even Thanksgiving!

AIDS Awareness Day

Today is as some of you may know, Internatioal AIDS Awareness Day. This day always stands out for me because during my undergrad years I was very involved with AIDS Awareness via the UCA Rotaract Club. So, here in France, I am telling people about my involvement and about how important it is to tell people about the disease, the statistics, and the damage it's done.

Furthermore,
MY BOYS ARE GETTING INVOLVED TOO!!!!

Gotta love some Goo Goo Dolls:)

http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=623527