Eating St. Nicolas' Elbow

This weekend is the HUGE celebration of St. Nicolas here in Nancy. St. Nicolas is the saint of La Lorraine, of children and something else...I can't remember what. Apparently, a butcher cut some children up (when I asked why, my French story-tellers shrugged and didn't seem to think it was important. I know it's a legend, but seriously, WHY?) and St. Nicolas sewed them back together and they came to life.

I find this children's story gruesome. And weird. But the children love this holiday here in the Lorraine (it isn't celebrated in western France) and it used to be bigger than Christmas! Now they're about the same. Children get chocolate St. Nicolas's the mornng of the 6th and lots of other goodies too. They're selling man-shaped bread right now in the bakeries. Must admit, I don't quite get it, but am happy to eat the chocolate St. Nicolas that Natalie and Pedro left on my doorstep. At the beginning of this blog I was eating his elbow...now he has no head and his torso is falling fast.

Last night went to the most amazing fireworks show I've ever seen! It was soooo amazing. I realize I've never actually seen fireworks outside the context of the 4th of July. This was so different...magical and cute and beautiful. There was classical music played along to the fireworks, and everybody standing together in the huge, old square called Place Stanislas. And they made snow and had glitter in the air that they then put lights on to make it look like fairydust. I was grinning like a 3 year old the whole time. It was sheer happiness.

Must go. Must finish my chocolate St. Nicolas. And then there's a parade this afternoon. I kinda like Chrismas in Nancy. Though can't wait to come home for Christmas. 12 days!

Where are you from?

Realized tonight while talking to a Moroccan man about my feelings on the US election, my country, etc. that the feeling towards Americans has changed. I think I've been feeling it for awhile now, but it didn't hit me until tonight. When I studied in Paris in 2006 I was horribly ashamed to be American because of the stereotypes I constantly met up with. Namely that Americans are selfish, ignorant, arrogant and ego-centric. I humbly submitted to this assessment, even while knowing fellow Americans who are humble, intelligent and open-minded. I didn't want to argue the point, because that would create conflict and there was no way I'd intentially make life harder for myself than it already was in a foreign country.

Now, I don't think Americans themselves have changed that much since 2006. I don't think that I've changed that much. But somehow I now find it far more acceptable to be from the US. Today for example, I decided to bring up the many problems that the US is facing right now. The response from a fellow teacher was: Everybody knows that America is the most powerful country in the world.

Try as I might, I could not explain my broader point of view. Every country has it's problems and it's strengths. And when one country has a crisis, the rest of the world has problems as well. All you hear about in Europe is how the economic crisis in the US is affecting the worldwide economy. And how now leaders from countries around the globe must work together to try and solve this problem. And suddenly I realize that what I'm trying to get across is so simple yet so hard to get across. I don't want to be defined by how powerful my country is. I don't want another person to define themselves by the power of their country. I want people to be defined by their attributes, who they are apart from their nationality.

Now if I can, through my actions, give the US a good name abroad while I'm here, that's great. But I'd also like to be a representative for human kind. Downplaying my identity as an American does not mean I identify myself with another nationality (No, I haven't become a Frenchie). It just means that I feel I have a lot in common with people in France, people in Argentina, people in Senegal...simply because we're people.

That being said, at the end of the day it is nice not to have to deal with negative stereotypes of Americans. Of course there are still the dumb ones...I can't help it if Americans are supposed to eat hamburgers for every meal and watch TV all day long. Call me crazy, but I don't do either. How un-American of me!

French Grapes

The itty, bitty fridge in my teeny tiny kitchen is an iceburg. So last night, Natalie and I took everything out, unplugged it and left it open. This morning there is still an iceburg in the fridge, all the milk has spoiled and there's a puddle on the floor. But it's all okay. Because I discovered last night that about a week ago, I bought grapes and forgot about them in the fridge.

I was worried they would be moldy, because they were very ripe when I bought them. But no! This morning I have discovered my new favorite experience: French grapes. Very over-ripe. With a taste so amazing, so extraordinary, no wonder this country makes them into wine. It's amazing. So sweet and syrup-y, bursting with juice. They don't taste like American grapes. I feel I am being insanely indulgent, eating grapes. Crazy.

Hope everyone is doing well
-from the soon-to-be grape connoisseur

PS. Odd how I find grapes to be more important than reporting on my life here...but they're so great!

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Hello world and welcome to my blog. Today is the second day in October, and I've been in Nancy, France for two weeks and two days. My only explanation for not writing in this blog from the very beginning is that the world was against me and it wasn't time for me to start sharing my experience. Okay, maybe a touch melodramatic, but seriously, I did try once, but something happened right as I finished my first entry and I lost it all. And after that I had no internet connection. Now, thankfully I have the internet and the ability to talk to people back home with the amazing invention called Skype. I can also blog.

So. Since coming to France I've been up and down and everywhere inbetween. The flight was great (thanks to special gifts given to make it go smoothly *thanks*), got to Nancy just fine and slept the first day from 3pm until the next morning. It was shockingly cold in France and I felt like I'd gone from summer directly to winter. I stayed with my friend Fatma for the first week or so, and then moved into a room that the school is providing me (for FREE!!!). The room is pretty much like a dorm room and then there's a little kitchenette between my room and the room of the German assistant Natalie-who, by the way, is super nice and speak flawless English. Hopefully, I'll be able to make the room a bit more inviting as time goes on and possessions acrue.

I met one of the English professors from the school at the train station...her name is Catherine and she is in charge of taking care of me and getting me the things I need. She is very nice, I was warmly welcomed to the school, and she even had me to her house on Sunday. We took a walk in the woods and drove around to see the countryside. It was just what I needed actually.

And as to the catastophe with the internet, I've learned a valuable lesson. When you want something done, go find the person in charge yourself. And then keep going back to them until things are right. Luckily I was able to learn enough to help Natalie with the complexity that is getting hooked up to the internet at Lycee Loritz.

And that's about it. It's been a little lonely here. And living in a school is really, really creepy. At night I mean. But now that the other assistants have come I'm sure we'll get to know other people really fast. I've also gotten in contact with a Baha'i woman who works at the American Library here in Nancy, so I'm meeting her tomorrow. But I still miss friends and family so much...I feel like I'm much more attached to home this time around. Must remember that the world is my home.

Bienvenue!!!