Bon Voyage

Today is my last official broadcast from France. I got to do my bike tour today. And I almost can navigate the Paris subway system--though having 2 suitcases and a backpack while traversing it is none too fun! I'm actually about to pack it in for the night--my flight is early tomorrow morning--so I will leave you some images of magical Paris.

French people sell wine boxes instead of juice boxes.

Today is my last broadcast from Strasbourg. I'm leaving on a train early tomorrow morning to spend a day in Paris, then I fly out of Paris Saturday morning. I'm hoping that I will be able to do a bike tour of the city before I leave. Today, I went on one last tour through a botanical garden here, I walked the streets of downtown one last time and the family I'm staying with had a cook out--the three teachers that will come to Wilmington were all there. When I was in town today, I went into a grocery store and was quite amused to see that the wine comes in boxes just like the juice in America. I guess here for lunch you pack a wine box rather than a juice box. Also note the size of the car--this golf-cart-size car is relatively common here in Europe. The car is similar to the car I used for my Barbies as a young lass. But they get pretty good gas mileage and parking is never a problem because it can fit in a phone booth if necessary. Strasbourg has been amazing and the people have been welcoming and very generous. I have loved my time here and I am very excited for the group to come in October!

Yesterday's pictures.

Here are the pics of Germany. You'll notice the construction looks brand new compared to the French pictures. That's because this particular town was pretty much entirely destroyed during World War II, so it's "only" just been built. Germany is much cheaper than France, I noticed. Also, Germany just won a semi-final game in the European cup last night--so everyone's waving their German flags.

wow!

I went to Germany today and did a little shopping and eating of German desserts. I also went to another Rotary dinner. But the most exciting place I have to go right now is my bed. A bientot!

Margot l'escargot.

So today I tried escargot for the first time ever. The texture was slightly troubling--initially I thought it would be more on the slimy side, but it turns out that it's more chewy and rubber band-like. I went to Jardin de L'orangerie--the famed gardens of Empress Josephine and home to about one million storks. It was beautiful and full of flowers. Also they have a zoo. I received several lessons in biology watching the animals. We also saw the building where the Council of Europe meets (not the same as the European Union) and the European Parliament. After this, I went with Michele to her aerobics class (she is the instructor). The whole time she kept asking me if I wanted to go to her gymnastics class. She said I could participate with her students if I wanted and afterward they were having a cookout because it was their last class for the summer. I was thinking the whole time: I can't possibly do gymnastics. Once 30 set in, my body stopped working the way it is supposed to. I envisioned myself dying from falling off the balance beam or hitting my head as I tried to vault or decapitating myself on the uneven bars. It wasn't until we were leaving that I finally realized she meant an aerobics class. That I could handle--except it was taught in French. This made things interesting. But, nonetheless, I worked up a sweat to the Beach Boy music that she played whilst I did my lunges and squats. Probably the sweat was due more to the lack of air conditioning than to the amount of effort I was exerting. Well, it's about time for me to enter the deep slumber that comes after a weary day--au revoir.

Je suis fatigue!

Today I bought cheesy tourist items to make a display at Murray representing Strasbourg. Then I went on a school field trip to a bowling alley. It's pretty evident when you watch 11 and 12 year olds in France bowl that the sport is an import. Being that it was standardized in New York near the 1900s, it's probably one of the only things France imports from America aside from soda and McDonalds--bowling balls. Also, the language of "strike" and "spare" and "pin" are all English (not having a French translation). You could hear the clump of balls being dropped at about shoulder height as opposed to the distinct sound of a ball rolling as it is set down properly. The average score amongst the group was about 40. But these students had a blast and so did I. I especially enjoyed the Velcro of the French bowling shoes instead of the laces I'm accustomed to, and though my score was not what it should have been, I was able to beat another teacher. Then Michele had me teach her "English" P.E. class (that is, a P.E. class that is taught in all English to more advanced 7th graders). I played a typical French game--Hares and Hunter with them, and then taught them a game from my American camp counselor days--Pin Dodge. Several students received fat lips under my care as they played this version of dodge ball. Luckily I didn't get kicked out of the country. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I was transported to school via Michele's scooter. That was a pretty fun ride to drive through the streets of Strasbourg on a scooter. Lastly, one of the student's mothers owns a Brazilian restaurant--so tonight for dinner I ate Brazilian food in France. It was pretty much delicious. I'm worried that my clothes are soon to become too small for me if I stay in France much longer.

Whatever happens the flame of French resistance must and shall not die. (Charles de Gaulle)

Last night I went to two French social gatherings. The last of which was with the rotary club that initiated the schools exchanging students. You will notice in the picture that I was drinking Baileys with only a little bit of coffee for dessert along with a grilled banana and chocolate. After this, we attended a "fete de musique" (music festival). All over France, different towns had these. I took a picture of this "band" that played the bagpipes and drums as they marched through the streets. This morning, I went to a concentration camp (Struthof); I felt nauseous the entire time. The pictures and displays they set up in the museum and former concentration camp were unsettling to say the least. The propensity that a human being has to enact this violence and barbarism on a fellow human being was revealed in all its gore as I walked through this place that housed 52,000 "criminals" (people who didn't support the Nazi party), resistance fighters, Jews and others, 22,000 of whom were hanged, shot or cremated at this exact cite. Or they died from starvation, disease or medical experimentation. That's a disturbing thought and it was chilling to walk through this place and imagine the suffering and agony that occurred from 1941-1944 when the Nazis abandoned the area. They showed the rooms where people were imprisoned and tortured--I have a photograph in the cell for solitary confinement. Also, I saw the crematorium, a room with a drain used to kill people, and many other gruesome things. The barracks for sleeping no longer exist, instead, there are gravel lots to show where the dorms would have been for sleeping. I am still processing all that I saw and read about. Actually being on such a cite, though, enable me to see the atrocity of the Holocaust in a whole new way. One of the prisoners explained her life as a Jew in a concentration camp as this: "What am I? A bag of bones, a human wreck?" This place definitely had a profound and haunting impact on me.

Fanny packs are cool in France and the milk and eggs aren't refrigerated in the store.

I went to a huge grocery store today with Michele. It was every man for himself in this store, almost total anarchy. It's their equivalent to our Wal-mart. Only, if you can imagine, more crowded and chaotic. They had a fish section in which you could buy entire fish that had just been caught. They had a butcher section for meat (much like here) but the milk and eggs are sold on a regular isle just like the one American's use for juice or cereal. They don't refrigerate their milk until it's opened. Also, the containers in which the milk comes are much smaller than the gallon or 1/2 gallon we purchase. It's more like a liter. And speaking of liter, their soda comes in 1 liter bottles rather than 2 liter bottles. The wine is also cheaper than the soda--the wine is about 1,50 E and the soda is about 3,00 E. All produce sold in stores must have a sign stating from which country the fruits and vegetables were imported. When they purchase produce, they weigh it themselves and put the price on the bag (please note my angst-like expression as I tried to find avocados on the scale); the cashier does not do this at the register. You pay for the bags at the store or you bring your own from home. Also, there is no one to bag your groceries for you--you must do that yourself. Furthermore, you must put a Euro in the cart to use it. You notice in the picture, there is a slot for the money and an escalator that takes you down to the store. Once you return the cart to the correct place, you get your Euro back. So, this means the store does not pay people to collect carts in the parking lot--who wants to pay the equivalent of $1.53 for a cart every time they shop? No one probably, so they put the carts back when they finish.

Pictures that wouldn't fit.

I miss my top sheet and half and half for my coffee.

Today I went with Michele to pick up her daughter, who is 13, at a camp. Students are still in classes here and won't be done until next week. The school sent about 55 students this age to a week long outdoor camp that involved orienteering less the cross-country running. So this means that the teachers release groups of 5-6 thirteen-year-olds with a compass and a topographical map and they must navigate their way through 6 different check points. Some of the students remained lost for several hours before they find their way back to the camp. In past years, I've been told, some students resort to hitchhiking when they get too frustrated to find their way via compass and map. They have several activities like this, along with classes, for the entire week. They sleep outside and build their own fires. Today I ate lunch with the PE teachers who run this camp. The mountains where the camp is located are about an hour from Strasbourg. Once we started driving up the mountain the roads got very narrow and windy--please note the pictures. The food we ate was actually Indian, but I had also some famous French cheese, wine and a beer/orange liquor concoction indigenous to this region. Oh yes, and the dessert they severed after lunch was one of the best things I've tasted since I've been here. The closest thing we have to it in America is yogurt, but this had more of a cream cheese flavor and also fresh blueberries. I can't explain it accurately. But it was tres bon! We drove through several small towns that I photographed. It's like watching a Knight's Tale or something when I see these towns. I also saw a Medieval castle in the background but I couldn't get a good photograph. Also please note the purple flower. I was warned several times not to touch them unless I wanted to die.

French Postcards

Don't try on the corsets in French museums!

Today I went back to St. Etienne's school to observe a P.E. class taught by my next hostess here, Michele. I was amazed today to realize how little supervision there is for these students and how well behaved they are in spite of that. They have sometimes up to an hour of unsupervised play on their "playground" which is an asphalt lot enclosed by the school building. I did not see one problem among the students with my acute eagle eyes. During P.E., the teacher was called away several times to handle issues and the students continued on as instructed in their game. Quite amazing, and very unlikely to occur in the United States without a lawsuit. Speaking of P.E. teachers, in this school of 1500, they have 10 P.E. teachers. After this, I ate lunch of tarte flambee at an outdoor cafe. This was a delicious thin crusted, fire cooked, cream cheese, onion and ham concoction. (In the picture, the beautiful sky and architecture are far more noteworthy than my cheesy grin!) After this, I went to a museum with Michele (teachers can leave school whenever they do not have a class to teach, so often they will leave several hours in the middle of the day) that explained the history of Strasbourg. Aside from the fact that I got yelled at in French by a curator, I thoroughly enjoyed walking through the museum with a headset that explained all of the exhibits to me. See, throughout the museum, there were several "hands-on" activities--like, as pictured, trying on medieval armor. Well one exhibit had French women's fashion--the ruffled collar, the hat and, of course, a corset. Apparently, the collar and hat were allowed to be handled, but the corset on a hanger right underneath was not to be touched. I learned this the hard way! "Non! Non! Vous n'avez pas le droit!" Ooooppppssssss. It was a little embarrassing especially since several people were standing near me and slightly snickered at my misfortune. The picture of me in this getup will come later. However, I have included helmet pictures for your viewing pleasure. I ended the day by meeting many of the parents of the French students that will travel to the U.S. They graciously bestowed upon me a beautiful book, written in French, of the Alsace region (which contains Strasbourg) and a stork (a common bird in these parts). I also ate kugelhopf, a French cake with yeast so it rises into this dome shape. Delicious!

Bonbons and more!

Caroline, the English teacher with whom I am staying, and I went to watch the soccer game at a bar called "Toons." It had pictures of Loony toons all over the wall. But let me assure you, the French flags and soccer jerseys every where reminded me exactly where I was. A group of German students also were watching the game. Did you know the drinking age is not enforced in France and they have no official smoking age? France had a disappointing loss that involved the team scoring a goal against themselves on a penalty kick and a player being ejected with a red card. This morning, I saw a clock in the Strasbourg Cathedral (the one I climbed to the top of yesterday). It was the tallest structure from 1647 until 1874. In this cathedral, there is an astronomical clock. The clock in the cathedral is not the original clock, rather this clock was rebuilt around 1840. However, this elaborate and Armageddon-esque structure can indicate leap year, equinoxes and Easter, and much more astronomical data that is quite advanced considering the time in which it was built. I say Armageddon-esque because of the messages of death and judgment (think skeleton with scythe and angel with an hour glass). At noon, after the skeleton rings a bell and the angle turns over the hour glass, the 12 apostles circle around Jesus at the top of the clock. This clock is massive as you may imagine. Also, I meet with two classes of French students today to talk to them about America and Wilmington, NC. I took a picture of the 8th graders on a wall build by the Romans in the 1st century. The 10th graders are some of the students that will be traveling to Wilmington in October. I also stopped by a French candy store (magasine de bonbon)--I can feel the cavities coming. But it's good!

The bathroom and the toilet are two separate rooms in France.

I did know that the bathroom and toilet room are two different things long before I came to France. What I didn't realize, however, was that it can be very convenient to have the rooms combined. Say for instance that you enjoy washing your hands after using the bathroom, here in France, you must leave the toilet room and go to the bathroom to do so. Also, there are no top sheets used here--just the fitted sheet and the bed spread. Freezers do not have ice makers, so you buy ice in cube shapes in sandwich size bags. I tried a local favorite here--potato cakes. This is onion, potatoes and some other spices mixed together and then fried. Pretty tasty. The people in Strasbourg are very friendly and the town is amazingly beautiful. I walked up about 350 stairs to the top of a cathedral whose construction began in the 1200s. I could see much of the city. I also took a boat tour. Today there is a big soccer game between France and Italy. This is a huge rivalry because an Italian player insulted a French player who head-butted him in the stomach and consequently was expelled from the game. This resulted in a French loss, so the French are out to redeem their honor today. The whole town is showing evidence of their excitement and their hope for a huge French victory.