Recent Extracurricular Activities

Sorry for the delay in blog posting. I'm still here studying French and am thankful for those tracking with me through these experiences! I wanted to share a few recent pictures of out-of-the-classroom experiences:

 Learning to drive manual in the snow! My teammates tell me this will prepare me for driving in mud in Burundi. Some of you may be unaware of this, but most cars in Africa (and France - and probably in much of the world) are not automatic. I have somehow missed learning this important skill of driving manual until now - one of the reasons I didn't drive at all for 2 years in Kenya - so I'm taking the opportunity to learn in a more controlled road situation in France. Thankfully I have a very patient teacher (who is actually a pilot!) and we both survived the first lesson - as did her car's transmission!

 Slippery roads for my first lesson

 That same snowy Wednesday, Kathryn and I (read her blog post here for a bit of an introduction on her and her perspective of our team) visited the nursing home. I continue to visit there every week and it's always a surprise as to what will transpire - birthday celebrations, chatting with residents, memory games, etc. This particular week, we attended a presentation for nursing home staff and community guests on the topic of palliative care. It was quite fascinating to listen to the perspectives and recommendations on this topic in French. My medical vocabulary still has a ways to go, but I appreciated the opportunity to learn new words and to listen to the different French perspective on this important topic. I appreciated the assistance of a kind nurse after the seminar who helped explain to me in simpler French some of the things I missed - especially when the debate got heated and people were speaking faster!

 View from the nursing home

 Valentine's Day party with the McCropder kids. I love getting to spend time with these 7 unique and adorable individuals. The four of us adults hosted the kids for a few hours so the parents could enjoy a Valentine's lunch date. We decorated sugar cookies and made valentines' cards and even had a scavenger hunt. Even with a 4:7 adult:kid ratio, though, it's a lot of chaos - especially with all the sugar! But fun for all involved and I continue to enjoy watching the kids grow and develop. They're all improving in their French, too! (See blog post here.)

 The winter school field trip to the mountains! What an opportunity to enjoy skiing in the beautiful creation all around us!

La Chandeleur

One thing I love about living overseas is learning about new holidays and cultural traditions. I don't think I realized just how different French culture would be from American culture but I am learning the new cultural differences and expectations in various ways. I was surprised last night when watching a movie that the two characters didn't greet each other in the way I expected - by a kiss on the cheek (French: faire la bise - pronounced "beeze"). I certainly still haven't mastered the "bise" - it's actually quite complicated as to who initiates, which direction to go first, getting the cheeks to touch but just slightly, etc. But I am getting more used to expecting it when being greeted by the French to the point that I actually noticed its absence in the movie (which was not a French movie). But that's just one example of cultural differences. 

I enjoyed learning about a new holiday yesterday (February 2). This holiday has been replaced by Groundhog Day in the U.S. - important holiday that that is. :) The French call Feb 2 La Chandeleur (Candlemas in English). This traditionally is a Christian holiday celebrating the presentation of Jesus at the temple 40 days after His birth. Now it seems to be a celebration of the lengthening days as winter ends and thus it is a day to eat crêpes as crêpes are round like the sun. At least that's what Wikipedia told me. :) I was excited to receive an invitation to enjoy official French crêpes at the home of one of our French teachers - and really, no excuse is needed to enjoy crêpes and friends! 

 Delicious! 

Anne let me try to make one round of crêpes. It wasn't as easy as she made it look! My crêpes were not round like the sun but were more amoeba shaped. Hmm, maybe I can master the art of making crêpes in the next few months here in France. I certainly don't need to wait until February 2 to try again!