An Angel at Home

Hello friends! Time is flying like crazy, for it has been exactly two months since I have arrived in France! Two months! I figure it’s time that I write about my life as of the past month. Long entry here we come!

Let’s start with school. My classes are going well, and I they are a good balance of easy and difficult. We have already had tests in all of my classes, the hardest of which were in Histoire de la France and Traduction (translation). The history test consisted of three open-ended questions to respond to in 12-15 lines each, in French of course. And the translation test was to translate a passage from English into French that we had never seen before…we’ll see how that ended up. I have an exposé (presentation) today for my Langue class, and I decided to talk about the girl scouts, because I know than more than enough information to get me through a speech. It went well, thank goodness. As said before, I was worried my classes would be too easy, and the pace is indeed too slow in some of my classes and I should have been placed in a higher level, but the supplementary work I am receiving helps a lot, and I can tell my French is improving immensely.

Next, I have been getting together with my friend Isabelle every week to talk in French and English, and also to just have a good time. A couple of weeks ago, we did dictées, which is where someone reads a passage in the language you are trying to learn, and you have to write down what you hear. So, she read a page from Little House on the Prairie in French, and I wrote down everything she said. It’s more difficult than it sounds, but it works so well, because you listen and use logic at the same time. She also gave me tongue twisters with the letter “R” in them, because there are a lot of nuances with how the letter “r” is pronounced with different words. I’m continuing to help her with English, and other than that, we have gotten together for chocolat chauds (hot chocolates), and she invited me to a little soirée she is having with her friends and family in December, so I’m very excited.

I met with the Bouget family a couple of weeks ago again, which was great! Laurane, the daughter, had a gymnastics and dance gala, and I went with the family to watch her perform. It was really cool, and there are some talented girls in the group. I was also amused by the songs choices for the dance routines. They were typically American, and a little risqué considering most of the gymnasts/dancers are very young. The Bougets want me to spend a whole weekend at their house, which is such a blessing, so I am spending the weekend before my birthday with them.

Béatrice’s birthday was on Halloween, so Béatrice's friend Michelle, and us three housemates all had a wonderful lunch together. Béatrice made this meal inside a shell…I don’t know how you do that, but it was just about the coolest thing ever, and it was so delicious! Her cake was also amazing, and it would put any American cake to shame. Béatrice asked me if I would sing a song for them, because she said I have “a very lyrical voice,” and even though I hate singing when people ask me to, seeing that it was Béatrice’s birthday, I complied. Since then, I have been trying to break out of my little singing bubble, just in terms of comfort with singing in front of people without feeling insecure.

Next topic: Halloween does not exist in France. Apparently a few years ago they tried to do the American commercialized version, and it failed miserably. Instead, it’s very traditional, and the French celebrate La Toussaint and La Jour des Morts. La Toussaint commemorates all of the saints that are celebrated in France, and La Jour des Morts is a day to honor your loved ones who have passed away. For La Jour des Morts, people clean the tombstones, and flowers and plaques are placed on and around the grave. I went to two cemeteries that weekend, and it was so moving to read the little plaques and look at all the chrysanthemums.

I went to a Greek Orthodox Church with Béatrice for La Toussaint, and that was the most interesting religious service I have ever been to in my whole life. We walked in I was immediately stunned as the strong fragrances enveloped me and the music being sung was all in Latin. The temple was rather small, and the congregation not so large either, for there is not much of a Greek Orthodox following in France. I understood about half of the words when they were in French, but overall it was really different going from an upbeat Protestant church to an ultra-traditional Greek Orthodox Church. Altogether though, it felt wonderful to be in the presence of other Christians, and in talking with them and having lunch with them after the service, I felt welcomed and appreciated. It was great. I am still reading my Bible daily, and I tonight I have Psalm 40 to delve into. I also found a French pocket bible of the Psaumes et le Nouveau Testament. So wonderful.

We had a pont/vacation last week for l’Armistice (the end of the fighting in WWII), and I took a train down to Nimes to visit my friend Angelina. She is also from Grand Haven, but she is being an au pair here in France for the year. When we found out we were both in France, we knew we would have to get together to heal our homesickness. It was so so fantastic. Angelina took me to so many cool places; in Nimes we visited L’Arène , La Maison Carré, a park where Jules César used to hang out, we went to the Méditerranée a of couple times, and also to a city called Aigues-Mortes, which if I translated the name correctly, it means high-pitched or sharp death. Kind of morbid if you ask me. Angel and I talked a lot and it was so good to be able to reflect on Grand Haven and talk about people both of us know from back home. The family she is with is great too, and the kids are the cutest things when they want to be. I had such a pleasant time there.

Okay, so now I am going to talk about the alcohol and wine. Before coming to France, I had never had any wine or alcohol. But being in France, now I have had my fair share of different types of wine, and I prefer rose or white wines, the reds are a little too strong. And I have had alcohol now too. No, I am not a drunk, nor do I plan on becoming one, but I have gone out to the bars twice, and have tried alcohol both times. The first time I got a Sex on the Beach, and the second time I had a Cosmopolitan. Seeing that neither of those drinks is strong, and that someone bought me the drinks both times, I am pretty content.

As always, I have had a few realizations that really make my life amazing here. The first of which, is that being outside and just listening to the breeze does wonders for me. From time to time, I feel claustrophobic in my small apartment room, and I can go outside into the courtyard between the apartment buildings, and it is really soothing. And even better than that, my friend Lutpulla found out how much I miss Lake Michigan, and he brought me to le Lac du Maine, which is here in Angers! It is so calm, so peaceful, and the second I got there I just felt so at ease. It is a lake with a sandy shore that is surrounded by woods. There are some picnic tables and grills too, so we are going to go barbecuing there sometime soon.

Another realization that I have had is that I am indeed, in France. I was reading about the Edict of Nantes, and as I reflected on previous history classes, I thought to myself, ‘The Edict of Nantes, that was in France with Louis XIV and the Huguenots.’ Suddenly, I realized that I am living twenty minutes away from Nantes, and it was the coolest thing to re-realize how I am living in a country with so much history.

Lastly, I realized that I could call France ‘home.’ I returned to Angers from Nimes, and when I stepped out of the train station, all I could do was smile. As I headed of to my apartment in the cold rain, lugging my suitcase across town on the torn up roads for the incoming tramway, I said the word ‘home’ to myself, and I felt so at peace with life. Don’t worry, I am still coming home in June and am not planning on moving to France. But it is a really special thing when I can call this new place my home.

Heading into the holidays! Thanksgiving next week and my birthday and Christmas in December! Even though life is beautiful here, I miss you all like crazy, and I look so forward to being able to hug you all again!

Favorite thing someone said to me: In confusing ‘haven’ with ‘heaven,’ a boy said to me “If you’re from Grand Haven, does that make you an angel?” :)

Psalm 26:2-3 “Test me O Lord and try me, examine my heart and my mind, for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth."

L'amour toujours l'amour

Salut mes amis!! Ca fait longtemps depuis j’ai écrit, it’s been a long time since I’ve written. So many things have happened in the last three weeks so this blog post is kind of long…

Let’s start with school. I am in level 323, which is really close to being in classes for superior level students (levels 324-326 are slightly more advanced, and then after that, it’s superior classes). Many of the other students in my classes took classes at UCO in the spring and in September, so it is pretty cool to know that I did well enough on my placement tests to be decently close to advanced. I however have been a little concerned that the classes are going to be a little easy compared to my standards. I talked with my teacher today, and she said I am good enough to go up to the next level, but because there is a space issue with levels above me, she and I can meet every week and she’ll give me additional work to do if I want. So, I’m excited to have extra work to augment my skills. My classes are pretty great though, and I love my teachers. Traduction (translation) is really particular, Histoire de la France (history of France) is so amazingly interesting, and my other classes are good too. My listening comprehension is insanely better already, and I have no problem keeping up with the teachers in school.

Next, I am learning how to cook more! It’s not that I was a bad cook before, I just never really cooked anything myself. Now that I am preparing my food for myself, I am really enjoying being creative with different sauces and vegetables, and I’m excited to learn some really good French recipes this year. I’m thinking for the holiday I’m going to learn how to make some desserts. Get ready everyone for when I come home, because we are going to have a grand feast!

I found a choir to join!!!! It is called “Les Aquar’elles” and it is a group of about 21 girls that are college-aged, and we sing music of the world. I went to a practice last Thursday, and they were thrilled to have me. I am the only girl who isn’t French who is in the choir, so it was cool to have a new nationality in the group. We are singing a Chinese song right now and also an English song, so the conductor had me read the words in English for the group. Then everyone repeated the words, and it was great with the French accents. The tone of the group is surprisingly really good, and I feel so good to have a place to sing again.

While I was at choir last week, I talked with a girl named Isabelle who wanted to know if I would be interested in linguistic exchanges. Essentially, we are getting together one or two times a week to hang out and to ameliorate our speaking skills in French and English. She’s really nice and I think it’s going to be really fun and beneficial to talk and go out on the town with her this year.

There is an organization affiliated with the school called AFIA that for only four euros (like 6 dollars), you can be partnered with a family in our region of France to experience the culture a bit more. I ended up being partnered with the Bouget family. There are the parents, Stéphanie and Loic, and then two kids, Laurane who is 8 years old, and Timon who is 5 ½ years old. Stéphanie and Loic both know English pretty much fluently, and so if I’m struggling to figure something out, we can typically figure it out. I was invited to their house on Sunday for lunch and a surprise. Before lunch, we had an aperitif, where we talked for like 45 minutes or so, and drank some wine. I had rose wine, which I liked more than red wine. It is still really strong, but it was better. The lunch was really good, and then after lunch, they took me and the kids to L’événement Haras nationaux Mondial du Lion (Essentially it’s a really big international equestrian competition). It was pretty interesting and we had a lot of fun. Laurane is learning about Americans in school this year, and she was really enthusiastic to meet me. She also showed me here workbook for learning English, and it was really cool. And then Timon has so much energy, and he and I played a couple rounds of Mario Kart on the Wii. When Timon found out that I was not staying at their house, he got really sad too, which was sweet. Stéphanie and Loic told me that whenever I want to spend a day or weekend with them to let them know and they would love to have me, so I just feel so blessed to have them as my “other family.” I also met the family of Stéphanie’s best friend (Michael and Laure, and their daughters, Lou, Lynn, and Neomie). They were also really fun to talk to, because their daughters are also learning English.

Saturday, I went with the school to Mont St. Michel and Saint Malo even though I have already been to both places before, and it was such a good choice! In both places, we were free to explore as we desired, and Yiran (my really good friend and classmate) and I spent a lot of time away from the group. In Saint Malo, we meandered through the downtown, but spent a bulk of our time walking around the shoreline to the ocean. I was smiling so much as I picked up the sand, and I felt like I was back at Lake Michigan. It was a great feeling. Yiran and I met some funny boys near the bathrooms that made us laugh a lot. They were probably between the ages of 8 and 12, and they were hilarious. After leaving Saint Malo, we went to Mont St. Michel, and it was also wonderful. The architecture was wonderful as I remembered, and the atmosphere was so quaint. We walked along the “shoreline” and marveled at the water. Mont St. Michel is in the middle of a river where the tide rises and falls very quickly, and the ground is essentially clay. I took a lot of pictures, and I was quite content at the end of the day.

I’ve also spent a lot of time making friends at school and trying to branch out more outside of school. My friends here are from all different countries, but my closest friends right now are from China and the USA. I do want to say though that I can’t imagine being here without talking to my friends and family. It has been such a release to talk to you guys from home. My family, I always love talking to you, especially now that we are so separated. And my friends, Sara, Kristyn, Brent and Nick especially, thank you so much for always talking to me. I love having you guys to talk to.

The last thing to report is that I have embarked on sort of biblical journey while I am here. I decided to read a Psalm a day, and it has actually been really fantastic how much some of these Psalms have hit home. Whether despairing or rejoicing, God is always at the forefront of each Psalm, and I love letting God lead me where I am meant to go. Some verses I’ve really connected with have been Psalm 1:2-3 and Psalm 8:3-4. That being said, I will leave you all with a quote. My history teacher was talking about the roots of Christianity, and she said last year she asked the students why Christianity thrived in France, and an Asian (non-Christian) student replied by saying “le Christianisme est la relgion de l’amour.” Indeed, Christianity is the religion of love. Rock on and Amen.

A painted sky can be seen as I look out the door to the balcony and listen to classical music on my laptop. I am finally feeling like things are coming together here in France. I have come to accept the fact that I am going to miss my family, my friends, and my life in Michigan until I come back. But I have also realized that just like I am not forgetting everyone at home, they are not forgetting me. Donc, (therefore) life goes on.

Well I can honestly say that since arriving three weeks ago, today was the first day I felt content, at ease, and really enthusiastic about the year ahead. Over the past couple of days, I've made many friends from all over the world (primarily the USA and Asia. It is really great to be able to talk to other students who are in the same situation as a study abroad participant. Bèatrice has shown me that while there are a bunch of nit-picky things to get used to and take care of, she is my mother figure here. It is still a little difficult talking with her because we're still getting to know each other and because my speaking skills aren't perfect yet. But whenever I'm worried or stressed, she says "Ne t'inquietes pas" (don't worry). It helps a lot. And Yilan and I get along so well. I know she is quite a few years older than me, but we've both decided that we will say she is twenty-one. We are in almost the same level of French, so it is pretty easy to converse with her too. I feel like the city of Angers has accepted me all around, and I feel like I don't stick out as an étrangère (foreigner). I feel like I am adapting quickly and like each day I have more people to call friend. The city is filled with places and streets to explore! France is a little expensive, but I can't do anything to make that different.

The weather here has been interesting. I think that Mother Nature in France is a little moody and can't decide what she wants to do. Each morning, it's freezing, and by like 11 in the morning, it's seventy degrees out! Today, within a two-hour timeframe, it rained and cleared up and stormed like three times. But it cleared up for a beautiful sunset with a good contrast of colors and clouds too.

I really miss singing, and it is not fun that the only place I sing now is in the shower or the solitude of my room. Béatrice has apparently heard me singing though, and yesterday, she told me "Il faut que tu trouves une chorale pour chanter." I was so astonished, because she used the subjunctive form which implied necessity. She told me that I need to find a chorale to sing in. I was so happy in that moment, and she even mentioned a couple that are pretty good in the area for me to look into.

The school is offering a few excursions this semester to various places in the Loire Valley of France. I've already been to many of the destinations such as the châteaux. However, they are offering a trip to Mont St. Michel and Saint Malo, and I would love to go to those places again! They are also offering a vacation in April for all CIDEF students to the North of France because there is a two-week vacation.

I've decided my classes for the semester. All of my classes are high intermediate, and I'm taking Langue (language), compréhension orale (listening comprehension), exprèssion écrite (written expression), grammaire (grammar), traduction anglais-français (translation of english to french), and histoire de la France (french history). It is so exciting, and I am positively ecstatic to be back in school and have these classes.

The one thing I have not yet managed to understand are the boys here. They are so forward here, and so confident in their charms. They grow up in such a romantic culture here in Europe. The guys here have definitely been more open than American guys in their "affection" toward me if you want to call it that, which also goes to show that I don't look like a tourist...haha! No worries though, my heart still likes my dear American boys.

Though I haven't been to church since arriving here, my faith continues to grow stronger as I am tested and persevere. I pray to God all the time, asking for help, patience, and little things to pick me up if I'm feeling down. Right now, I feel like my life is like that song that goes "I called, you answered, and you came to my rescue and I, I want to be where you are." Je n'ai pas envie de trouver midi à quatorze heures (literally, I don't want to find noon at two in the afternoon; but it really translates as I don't want to complicate things) by saying that I did this all on my own, for I know that it was Dieu (God).

Alors, bon soir mes amis et ma famille. Je vous aime. Good evening my friends and family. I love you.