Seasons!!!

Because I have lived on a ship in Africa for the past seven years, I have not seen seasons recently. In Africa, there is the wet season and the dry season, but no summer, fall, winter, and spring. Here in France, I am seeing the seasons! It is fall now, and it is really cold. The leaves are colorful and it will probably snow within the next few weeks. To everyone who lives here, this is normal, but to me it is exciting.

I have noticed people look at me weird when I pick up red leaves to look at them more closely or try to step on every crunchy brown leaf I see. I think that the way the sun shines in at an angle instead of straight down is really beautiful and that the sky is a different color blue here now then it was in the summer. I feel like running around outside and jumping in the piles of leaves and singing Christmas carols. I feel like taking off my coat and feeling the bite of the chilly wind, finding a seat under a tree, and writing an ode to autumn. I feel five years younger. Of course, I can't actually act on these thoughts since I have to go to school and study and do homework, but I am still amazed at the beauty of seasons.

Seeing that most people here don't feel the same and simply take the changing of seasons for granted makes me wonder how many beautiful things I participate in on the ship that I take for granted. It encourages me to look more carefully at the everyday things in life and to thank God for them.

One thing that I will be more thankful of once I return to the ship is the sense of community. Living in a house on land with just one family has made me realize how blessed the crewmembers of the Africa Mercy are to live and work together. I miss the feeling that comes of knowing that me and my role is just one small part of something much bigger: serving God, serving the poor, and serving one another in the messy, crazy, unique, wonderful community we call the Africa Mercy.

Fall Break

For the past two weeks I have been on fall break. I went to a lot of dinner parties, went bowling with my host family, went to museums in Paris, carved pumpkins, and made pie. Here are some pictures of my adventures.

River boat

My Birthday

Yesterday was my 16th birthday, and it was a lot of fun. I woke up at 6:00 am to get on a train to Paris, where I spent the day in Disneyland with the other exchange students from my program. I had a lot of fun, and got to ride my favorite roller coaster, Space Mountain. I also discovered that Disneyland in Paris has very similar layouts and attractions to Disneyland in California.

Here are some photos I took at Disneyland.

The picture below the one of space mountain is a pole with a quote on it. It says "Tout ce que est dans la limite du possible doit être et sera accompli," or in English "All that is in the limit of the possible must be and will be accomplished." (I don't agree with this quote, but I thought it was a interesting picture to take.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a little late but...

Hello,

I completely forgot that I had these pictures from orientation week. We went to see a horse race and walked around a small town near the sea for a bit. It's a little late, but here are the pictures.

The one photo I managed to get as the horses ran past us

Hello.

Hello everyone,

I have not been up to much lately. I'm getting into the swing of things, getting to know people, and learning a little bit more French every day. I just wanted to write this quick blog post to let you know that I'm still here; although some days are rougher than others, I am starting to adjust to and feel more comfortable in this new culture and environment.

This Weekend...

...I went to a small fair in Lille. It was not very exciting, and everything was expensive. The only money I spent was 2 Euros for a bunch of churros. A lot of the food stands were advertised as American, and I even saw a statue of a giant hot dog wrapped in an American flag.

...I ate a very French meal. For Louise and Flavie's birthdays we had a small dinner party at our house (only four or five hours, not as long as the one I described before). The appetizers were bread with smoked salmon, garlic sausage, dried sausage, and bread with fish eggs. I ate everything but the fish eggs. The main course was salad with foie gras, chicken liver, and smoked dried duck. I tried everything, but I didn't really like the foie gras or chicken liver. The foie gras was very rich and had an almost nutty taste. The chicken liver tasted like chicken, but was more pungent in both taste and smell. I also tried a teeny sip of white wine. It was not too bad, but I'm sure it would be amazing to people who like wine. At least, I was told that it is a very good wine.

...We went to our town's "Fête du Sport." In the morning there was sports competitions, which I did not attend because I wanted to sleep in and get my homework done. In the afternoon, I went with my host family to a parking lot that had bouncy castles set up. I played a game with my host sisters where you are harnessed to elastic cords and you have to run against the cords and place a Velcro triangle as far away from the starting point as you can. Whoever puts their triangle the farthest wins. There was also an activity where everyone put tags with their names and phone numbers on balloons and released them into the air to see where they would end up. At the end of the afternoon there was a raffle, and we won a small poker set. I'm fairly certain that no one in my host family plays poker.

On a side note, French people having cheese and wine is not just a stereotype. So far every lunch or dinner party I have been to has included a discussion about and consumption of wine and cheese.

French Dinner Parties

This weekend I went with my host family to a birthday party for my host mom's father. It was the third or fourth dinner party I have been to here in France, so I thought I could tell you about these French celebrations.

Around 2:00, you arrive and kiss everyone, once on each cheek (actually, it's more like touching cheeks and kissing the air). Then the children eat a quick meal and go outside to play. The adults sit down and talk while having small snacks like nuts, pieces of cheese, and sausage slices. Each person also drinks two glasses of Champaign. After two hours everyone sits down at the table and eats the appetizers. Adults drink two glasses of white wine. Then you talk some more. The main course comes out and you eat. The adults have a glass of red wine. Then there is a break, where you sit and talk or take a walk outside. Next there is cheese and bread. The adults have another glass of red wine. Then there is chocolates and coffee or tea. Finally, there are desserts like strawberry tarts, crème pies, and rhubarb pies with beer for the adults. When you leave around 9:00 or 10:00, you kiss everyone again. All in all, seven hours, five courses, and seven glasses of alcohol.

Two things that are strange for me here in France are the amount of alcohol consumed and the whole kissing thing. I have kissed a lot of strangers and acquaintances now, both male and female. At school, friends kiss each other on the cheek when they meet. It is hilarious to think how my friends at school on the ship would react if I kissed them, but here in France people are offended if you know them and don't kiss them. It is hard for me to adjust to this, but I have to just do it and remember that it is a different culture here.