Joyeux Noel!

Hello to everyone! I hope you all are doing well and that the craziness that is this time of year has been pleasant enough to handle. This week has been quite a frenzy for me, trying to finish my classes and pack for my month long adventure coming up.

Last week was really a lot of fun. I had the chance to go to "Mardi Cafe" on Tuesday. Mardi Cafe is sponsored by a student organization at UCO that was created to help French and foreign exchange students mingle. Each Tuesday, they host a social event at a different bar in Angers with themes. This past one had a theme of Latin America, and it was a great time. I invited my neighbors, and we all went as a group. I got to spend some time with my students outside of the classroom, as well as meet other foreigners. I had a mojito and a margarita - they were both delicious!

Friday night, I was invited to dinner at Gaelle's (one of my students) house, and she made a delicious pork, rice, and vegetable dinner. For dessert, I made a pumpkin pie that was nothing like what I have eaten in the U.S.; it had more of a flan consistency. We sat talking for several hours about learning languages and exchanging some cultural information - things like songs, comedians, etc. It was really nice to have a Friday evening out!

On Saturday, I went to the Saturday market and the Christmas market with my neighbor, Anziz, and his sister, Amanda, who was visiting during the weekend. I loved the Christmas market! There were chocolates to taste, products of craftsmanship to admire, and hot spiced wine to drink. There was Christmas music - surprisingly in English - playing in the streets, and all around was the enchantment of the Christmas season.

Places all around are getting ready for Christmas. There is a manger scene in the main hallway of the building where I teach at the university. We have a decorated Christmas tree in the lobby of the student residence. You hear Christmas music when walking around downtown. It's strange to think that the time has gone by so fast!

Anyway, to continue with my Saturday agenda, I went to a foie gras tasting with Catherine before having lunch at her apartment. For those of you who are unfamiliar with foie gras, it is a kind of pate that is made from the liver of a goose or a duck. It is a very expensive French delicacy that is traditionally eaten at Christmas. It was positively divine!

Afterward, I went back to Catherine's house for lunch, helped Elena buy her tickets from the airport in Paris back to Angers, chatted with Peter online, went to Mass, and had dinner. I went to bed at a reasonable hour because I had to be up early to help Catherine prepare for our Thanksgiving celebration!

Despite the fact that Peter was nice enough to send ingredients to make an "American" Thanksgiving, Catherine didn't use any of them. She told me she would save them to make a meal for Peter when he comes to visit Angers in a few weeks. This frustrated me a little bit because I was really looking forward to some stuffing and pumpkin pie, plus I was hoping that Peter would get to taste some good French cuisine while he was here. That aside, the meal was superb. My favorite dish was a cauliflower and chestnut casserole; my mouth is watering now just thinking of it!

After the amusement of Sunday came the busy hustle of Monday. This week is especially busy as I have to turn in grades and finish the minute details of my trip around Europe with Peter. I am definitely a type A person, and I want to have everything organized before I leave.

I keep alluding to a trip around Europe, but I haven't yet outlined what the trip will entail! I am leaving this Thursday, December 10th, to go to Paris. I will stay the night there and catch an early flight to Rome. There, I am meeting up with Peter and his family who have come to see Josh, Peter's brother, ordained a priest. The ordination is taking place on the 12th, and then afterward we are staying in Italy for the week! Our week-long excursion includes tours of the Vatican, a trip to Naples, and hopefully the Wednesday audience with the Pope. I am sooo excited to see the West family and to get to share this important event with them!

On the 20th, Peter and I are leaving Rome and heading to Strasbourg, France. Strasbourg, which is located in the Alsace-Lorraine region (right next to Germany!), is famous for its beautiful Christmas market. We'll be there until the 22nd, when we head down to Geneva, Switzerland for a flight that leaves early on the 23rd to go to Copenhagen.

In Copenhagen, we will meet up with my friend Siri whom I met during my studies in France in the fall of 2006. We've kept in touch over the years, and I went to visit her in Washington D.C. when she came to visit a year and a half ago. She invited Peter and me to spend Christmas with her and her family, so we get to have a Swedish Christmas this year! I'm so excited to see her again and finally meet her family. It was so kind of them to invite us.

After Sweden, we are heading to Avignon France and staying there for a few days. Right now, the plan is to leave on the 30th, but we're not sure where we are going to go next. Maybe Grenoble, France to spend the New Year with a French student who stayed at my family's house this summer. Maybe Rennes to spend the New Year with another student who stayed with my family. Or maybe we'll head back to Angers to recoup from three weeks worth of traveling!

As you can tell, I am going to be doing a lot of traveling over the next few weeks. I'm not sure when I'll get another chance to update my blog, so I will take this opportunity now to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year. Thank you all for your prayers as Peter and I travel. Please know that you'll be in ours!

...it's that time of year!

This week will be a rush of getting ready for the holidays and getting grades in. People, especially teachers, understand very well the chaos that comes with the end of the semester and the approach of a very welcomed Christmas break. Luckily, though, I stayed organized this semester, and it shouldn't be too complicated getting all of turning in everything before the end of next week.

My Thanksgivings were amazing, and the change of pace was certainly needed. On Wednesday night, I went to have dinner at the home of one of my students. Her name is Benoite, and she is interested in being the French assistant at Meredith College next year. I think she would be a great teacher! Below is a picture of her and her mother and brothers. They were all there for the dinner.



We had a fairly nontraditional Thanksgiving at her house. Her mom made two delicious quiches and a fruit salad for dessert. Below is a picture of one of the quiches. Benoite's family was so welcoming, and they've already invited me back again!



The Thanksgiving I celebrated on Thanksgiving day was absolutely splendid. Debra, a professor at the Catho who is a Meredith alumna and was a lectrice (like me!) 7 years ago, is living here in France with her family. She met and married a British man named Charles, and they have two small kids: Kaylee is 2 years old, and Jaden is 6 months. They are here initially to do mission work, but they teach English to pay the bills. They are a young and energetic family.



Debra made an EXCELLENT Thanksgiving meal. She had ingredients shipped from the U.S., courtesy of her mother, so we were able to have real stuffing! As a whole turkey is difficult to find in France, Debra bought turkey breasts, stuffed them with stuffing, and baked them. It was so delicious! She also made a white gravy for the turkey, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and pumpkin and pecan pies. Below is the pumpkin pie! It was just what I needed to get me through missing my family over the holiday.



I helped her set the table for the party of 20 she invited (all of which were first year students at the university - I have many of them in my classes too!), cut and empty the pumpkin, and watch the kids while she ran a few last minute errands. The atmosphere around the meal was also enjoyable. The students brought her flowers to thank her for hosting the event. In France, the relationship between professor and student is more distant than in the U.S., and I believe it was the first time they had ever been invited to a professor's house. They seemed to really enjoy it.

I still have one Thanksgiving to celebrate! That is coming up on Sunday. Catherine is hosting a Thanksgiving party for me and Trevor, the American that is staying with her. It should be great fun, and the food should be scrumptious (and authentic, thanks to Peter!). I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that the Christmas season brings you joy! Until next time!