Cultural observations

Manarola, Italy

Best cinnamon gelato ever! 

My friend Sarah from Alabama joined me for another adventure last week. We climbed Mt Kenya together a couple years ago and, though maybe not as physically strenuous, driving a manual car (new to both of us) on narrow, hilly European roads was definitely an adventure! We spent 2 nights in Italy and, as I speak only three Italian words, communication was an expected challenge. It truly is amazing how God has enabled us to learn French - certainly we have a long way to go before being able to speak fluently or even fluidly, but in seeing how helpless I am in Italian, I realized how far I've come in French.

And yet, as I observed the Italians, I recognized anew how much of communication is nonverbal and how much one can learn and interpret from just watching. And the blessing of that is that observing culture and interactions between people is actually fascinating to me. Our team moves to Burundi in August and two teammates have visited Burundi in the last month. They confirmed that medical students, university faculty, nurses, government officials, etc. all speak French fluently and daily, so our efforts in learning French are definitely necessary and much appreciated. But, as we noted on previous visits, the less educated Burundians (including almost all of our patients and many community members who we'll worship with and interact with on a daily basis) speak only Kirundi, the tribal language. And even the medical students and others regularly combine French, Kirundi, Swahili, and some English in their everyday language. I currently speak even less Kirundi (1 word) than Italian. It's overwhelming to consider beginning another new language, and one without the words similar to English that are so common in French. And I worry that it will be hard to continue progressing in French when I throw another confusing foreign language into the language center in my brain. I know motivation to continue in language learning will quickly be overwhelmed by the challenges of practicing and teaching medicine and just living in a setting with limited resources.

However, I was encouraged as I sat at a table and watched the Italian hotel owner instruct and joke around with her employees. I look forward to observing the Burundians - how they greet one another and inquire after each other's families, their hand motions and body language, their facial expressions and tone of voice and how they care for their children. Please pray with us that God would guide us how and where to best begin Kirundi study and that He would unite us to care for one another well in our various approaches to language learning as another aspect of community/team life in Burundi.

Photo journal from the last month

Well, I've now joined the ranks of those apologizing for not updating their blogs more regularly. But I expect that pressure is mostly self-imposed, so I'll keep seeking the balance of giving myself grace and still persevering in the work God's given me to do - with those of you near and far! Life is very full here, these days - with a lot more than just French, too! Thankfully language is such a pervasive component of life that opportunities to speak and listen to and ponder French seep into most other experiences here these days. Hope you enjoy these photos from the last month:

 The kids performed a circus for the adults as a celebration after our exams - definitely entertaining! Love their creativity! 

 We planned a Easter egg hunt for the kids in the singles building - fun to continue these American traditions for them and also to welcome them into our space (picture above in my room). We also hid 2 eggs in more obscure locations for the parents to find - Rachel discovering one and contorting her very pregnant self to reach it may or may not have been the beginning of baby Toby's arrival later that day! 

 April 1st, day of the Easter egg hunt, was also Sarah's birthday. Kathryn and I prevailed in making delicious surprise cinnamon rolls for her - in contrast to our last attempt which resulted in cinnamon hockey pucks because the yeast didn't rise. :) Culinary adventures with Kathryn are always hilarious and full of joy! And what a privilege to celebrate Sarah and the gift she is to all of us! 

 Shortly after the birthday party, I was put on stand-by to watch the McLaughlin kids, and Rachel, the OB, continues to amaze me in her predictions, as, indeed, she went to the hospital that evening and delivered Tobias Timothée just about an hour after arrival there. Read more about Toby's birth  here. I was happy in my role as babysitter to Maggie and Ben (above) - much less stressful than being pediatrician for Ben's birth 2 years ago in Kenya!

 We enthusiastically welcome Toby as the newest McCropder teammate! 

 Last week, my friends Heather and Ryan Moore (from Wheaton College days) and their adorable boys Elijah and Jonah visited me here in Albertville. They timed their visit perfectly - coming from cold Scotland to the first days of beautiful spring weather here! 

 As they rented a car, we took a day trip to Torino, Italy (above and below) - just 2 hours away - my first trip to Italy! 

 Unfortunately Jonah tumbled on the cobblestones, but he let the pediatrician (me :)) bandage him up and became quite attached to that zebra band-aid! Both boys were super fun to have around for a few days - for me and for the missionary kids they played with daily outside. 

The highlight of our time in Torino was definitely the gelato! Although the swords and spears and knights in armor at the palace were also really cool. 

 Springtime in Conflans (medieval city a short hike from Albertville)

Overlooking Albertville from Conflans. I'm so blessed to have friends who are enthusiastically interested in my life and even in my team and community here. The Moore's visit was a great encouragement to me! 

 Birthday and farewell celebration #1 for Kathryn - kebabs! 

 Mint chocolate chip ice cream cake!

 So bittersweet to begin celebrating the joy that is Kathryn as she prepares to leave France next week. We will miss her greatly! And we're still working hard to recruit her to join us in Burundi after she finishes college! 

 Birthday/farewell party #2 with the kids - Kathryn loves children whole-heartedly and they enthusiastically greet her daily, knowing she's always happy to play with them! So it was apropos that her party included pin the earring on Kathryn, musical chairs, and a French birthday guessing game. 

 And, of course, chocolate cake! 

What joy the springtime brings! Light is breaking through! 

Third and final trimester begins

We just concluded exam week here and thankfully were all given the green light to begin the next level of French learning. Thus the third and final trimester of French language school begins. I thought I'd share with you a few recent anecdotes and perspectives from my life of language learning:

1) On the oral interview part of my exam, I talked about my first trip to Kenya as a medical student and substituted the word "nightmare" for "warthog" when describing the animals I saw on safari. No, the words aren't that similar, but I had learned both recently and just got mixed up. The teacher looked at me funny but was gracious in her grading. 

2) I'm enjoying reading the Chronicles of Narnia in French. That's actually where I learned the word for "warthog" - when the animals are listed in the Magician's Nephew. I've learned a lot of vocabulary through reading those books thus far - and it's great because I know the stories so well in English that I rarely need to use the dictionary to figure out the word - I just search my brain for the English translation of that part of the story! Plus it's just encouraging to return to such an entertaining, inspiring, gospel-rich, eternity-focused story. 

3) My current reading material also includes a Burundi travel guide in French. I'm only a few pages into it, but I love that they keep emphasizing that the beauty of tourism in Burundi is getting to know the people. Partly that's because there are not a lot of places that would be considered prime tourist attractions, but I also appreciate the encouragement to discover the richness and warmth of Burundian people and culture. That's what I'm looking forward to! 

4) My English spelling and grammar are worsening as I learn more French. It's especially confusing when a word is similar in the two languages, but not quite the same. I'm thankful for spell check!

5) Interactions with French people continue to have their ups and downs. I'm encouraged when I'm able to successfully communicate - especially as I attempt more complicated requests and sentences. But it's discouraging when people laugh at my accent or immediately switch to English. Thankfully, that does seem to happen less and less frequently. 

6) Being three months from the end of French language school is scary! I really want to maximize my time here and learn as much as possible. But I'm thankful to know that language learning is also a long term endeavor and I will thus hopefully continue learning French (as well as Kirundi) once we get to Burundi. 

7) The smallest words in French are the hardest to master - the prepositions! Yesterday I asked my teacher to proofread a sentence I'd written to some doctors in Burundi and she completely missed the meaning of the sentence until I realized I'd forgotten a "de" between 2 verbs. Without those 2 letters, the sentence was evidently unintelligible. 

8) Most common French misspeak: substituting "I am finished" for "I have finished" - the first one means "I'm dead!"

Team & Pfister Voyages

Winter break is here! Language learning doesn't take a break - especially as we have 4 days of exams starting next week - but it does take a more interesting form out of the classroom. I'm enjoying reading Jane Eyre and the Narnia books in French and taking advantage of free days to travel in the area.

First, our team enjoyed three fabulous days together at a missionary retreat center a few hours south of here. This required some logistical gymnastics - renting cars and arranging 17 people's schedules - but it was totally worth it for the chance to just have fun together after some stressful months.

Travel was not stress free after some rental car fiascos, traffic jams, and then a huge snowstorm that made mountain driving without snow tires or chains a bit treacherous, but thankfully we all arrived safely and then just stayed put in the house that slept all 17 of us! 

We enjoyed meals together...

games and kid time...

and we loved playing in the snow! 

Awesome sledding!

Town of Sisteron near our retreat center

Exploring a castle - always a fun thing to do in Europe!

After the enjoyable days with the team, I headed off on my own adventure to explore my roots a bit. My Pfister ancestors came to the U.S. from the Alsace region in Northeastern France and so I was interested in visiting that area while I'm living so close. I discovered (via a cousin of my dad's) that Francois Pfister immigrated to the U.S. from just north of Strasbourg in 1853, so first I explored Strasbourg. 

Amazing Gothic cathedral built between 1176-1429. I assume Francois saw the same cathedral as it had already been finished for 400 years before he immigrated. I wonder what he thought of the Indiana farmlands when he got to the U.S. - certainly they don't look anything like this! 

Famous astronomical clock in the cathedral - functioning since 1843 - tells time but also the date and the solar/lunar eclipses, etc. And at 12:30 every day, the 12 apostles (at the top of the clock - see below pic) rotate around Jesus and a cock crows (top left of clock) in addition to some other moving pieces. It was quite impressive considering it's been functioning with such precision for 170 years!

La Petite France region of Strasbourg - quite distinct architecture compared to the Rhone-Alpes region where I live

Johannes Gutenberg had his printing press in Strasbourg in the 1400s. I also saw the house of Albert Schweitzer (medical missionary, theologian, and musician who won the Nobel Peace prize in 1952). Other notable former residents of Strasbourg include John Calvin and Louis Pasteur. And the European Parliament convenes there. I also really appreciated visiting the Alsatian museum which explored Alsatian culture over the centuries - interesting to consider my ancestors as I learned about various cultural practices. I especially enjoyed Alsatian cuisine throughout my travels - delicious! 

From Strasbourg I headed south to Colmar - near where my great-grandmother's family lived. I especially wanted to visit Maison Pfister! This is a historic home dating back to 1537 but named for the Pfisters who lived there in the mid-1800s. Maybe distant relatives. :) Even if not, it was nice to be in a place where my name was not unusual, where lots of businesses/restaurants began with the letters "Pf", and where my name was pronounced without difficulty! 

La Maison Pfister behind me above and in the 2 pics below

Petite Venise in Colmar - quite picturesque

Famous Isenheim Altarpiece in the Unterlinden Museum painted by Matthias Grunewald - Crucifixion scene followed by Resurrection scene originally painted for patients in a medieval hospital in 1515 with severe skin diseases like ergotism (which we suspected a patient at Tenwek with gangrenous hands and feet had). The artist has actually painted Jesus to appear as if he had a skin disease so the patients would know that Jesus understood their suffering. This is in contrast to the rainbow like, luminous Resurrection scene with Jesus' healed, perfectly smooth skin. John the Baptist also appears in the Crucifixion scene with his quote: He must increase; I must decrease. The whole altarpiece (in three sections) is quite a powerful statement and seeing this masterpiece was definitely one of the highlights of my visit to Alsace. 

After three days on my own, I headed to Basel, just across the Swiss border, to visit my friend Rosalie (from the Gorgas tropical medicine course in Peru). We visited almost exclusively in French for 2 days, so it was excellent to catch up and also to get some good language practice in!

Indoor tropical garden in Basel

Basel Town Hall built in the 1500s (tower added in 1899)

I felt like Rapunzel should be imprisoned in the tower here - it felt and looked just like a fairy tale. It's actually still a functional government building where the Cantonal Parliament meets. 

As Basel lies on the border of three countries and I traveled from France, I couldn't resist crossing the third border and stepping foot into Germany. Rosalie was a good sport. :) 

Crossing the Rhine River on a water taxi

Traveling back to France through western Switzerland by train was quite interesting as certain towns were French-speaking and others were Swiss German-speaking. So it varied town to town as to whether the train announcements where in French or German. I understand no German, so it was always encouraging to me to hear the French announcements and confirm again that I was on the right train headed in the right direction! And arriving back in France was comforting, too, knowing where I was and how to communicate if I needed directions or assistance - that definitely wasn't the case 6 months ago when I didn't understand any more French than I do German. So it's encouraging to see progress! Now, back to studying!