It's beginning to look a lot like Noël

"You know, it seems to me that there is so much more to the world than the average eye is allowed to see. I believe if you look hard, there are more wonders than you could have dreamed of" 

- Doctor Who

If there is one thing you can count on here in France, its the love of Christmas. Being a Catholic country not only means that Christmas is quite a big deal, but it also means that what ever town you visit, no matter the size, is celebrating the Christmas season.

Now, unlike the United States were Christmas decorations have been out since Halloween and come the day after Thanksgiving, all that plays on KOOL108 is Christmas tunes, France has had their Christmas markets and decorations all planned out and set up by the time us Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. This means that the streets are filled with twinkling lights, Christmas trees covered in ornaments are found at every corner and in every roundabout, and Christmas music has been blaring out of city speakers all day long.

With all this, it also means that the Christmas markets are in full swing: the hand-crafted ornaments, the regional products such as various cheeses and sausages, the crèpe stands serving warm freshly made crèpes filled with warm gooey Nutella, and the best feature of them all: le vin chaud, le glüwein, the mulled wine. The nectar of the gods that promises to warm you from the insides out, that cinnamon-y, orange-y red wine, the only time when it is appropriate and not frowned upon to drink mug after mug in the early mornings.

Yet the massive difference that exists amongst les marchés de Noël is the fact that the small towns in the country side clearly have small marchés, as is to be expected, but what isn't expected is that when you ask for a recommendation on what marchés to visit, you are told time and time again to go to Strasbourg, not Paris not Caen not Rouen, Strasbourg, always Strasbourg.

I've done the Strasbourg marché du Noël and I can totally understand why and how it is considered la capitale du Noël here in France. But, clearly there are other ones that are possibly just as cool as Strasbourg or might be smaller but worth the visit to see the city.

So, even though I am not going to make it to Strasbourg this year for their Christmas market (hopefully next year), that doesn't mean that I won't make it to as many Christmas markets as I can. So far Lisieux's was cute in a very quaint way, Rouen's was neat in that it was at the foot of the fancy cathedral and much bigger than Lisieux's. Still yet to come is the various ones down in Paris, where I need to do a ton of shopping. And then, once I am back in Minnesota, that doesn't mean that the Christmas market fun has to stop because this year, Minnesota is having its very first marché de Noël in place of the Holidazzle Parade. Yes, it isn't that big, has an entrance fee and expensive food BUT it is a start to what will hopefully be a tradition that can slowly turn into resembling the marchés found in Europe.

So though there exists differences in the timing of the start of Christmas celebrations, it seems that Christmas is still quite important no matter where one is. As always, it is who you celebrate Christmas with than where.

Lisieux

Rouen

Paris - Champs-Élysées

Paris

Galleries Lafayette

The Hidden Beauty

"For my part, I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." 

- Vincent Van Gogh

More often than not, it is the hidden beauty that is waiting to be found that is what needs to found in hard times. Sure, call it a silver lining, but sometimes it's more than that, sometimes it's different than that, sometimes it's simply a hidden beauty. 

The hidden beauty can be so many different things. So let's make a list: 

1. Those church remains that have crumbled to ruins over the years, yet still hold that inner strength, that inner beauty, that time has attempted to erase.

2. Those feelings of wonder and speechlessness when you see the real life work of an artist that has played a big role in your life. In this case, George Stubbs, who helped influence and inspire my undergrad thesis.

3. The amazingness that is modern technology. There is just something about talking face-to-face with a family member, a pet, a friend, that just reminds you how important they are to you and vice-versa, as well as making that big, huge puddle in between France and the US disappear for just enough time to make you feel right at home. 

So, the hidden beauty can be found in just about anything and in any situation. All one has to do is look - it may be hard and it may take a while, but it is there, so go ahead and look, take risks, look hard where others refuse to, and always be fantastic. 

Gelato & Wine, or how the Eternal City gives the City of Light a run for her money...

"This is one corner... of one country, in one continent, on one planet that's a corner of a galaxy that's a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying and never remaining the same for a single millisecond. And there is so much, so much to see." 

- The Doctor, Season 7, Episode 4

If there is something I've learned, it's that no matter where I travel, good wine will be found. 

If there is something I've learned, it's that Rome is home to the best gelato (especially coffee and hazelnut) and exceptionally good wine. 

If there is something I've learned, it's that in France, cheap wine is always good, no matter where you are and nothing beats a good red from Bordeaux. 

If there is something I've learned, it's that even though the City of Lights and the Eternal City are so very different, they are also quite similar. Thus, making it impossible to pick a top favorite. But for now, the City of Lights wins for wine and the Eternal City wins for gelato. 

The Eternal City, Rome, leaves its visitors speechless, dumbfounded and striving to return sooner rather than later. It pushes them to become family, not just visitors or strangers. The concept that below the current city is another older city, and below that one, even an older one, and below that one, yet again older remains etc etc etc, renders me speechless and unable to wrap my mind around that fact; both my speechlessness and the age of Rome. The Vatican City on the other hand, though leaving me speechless, also reminds me that in fact, God does have a plan and that it all does work out in the end, so no need to fret. The Sistine Chapel and being blessed by a priest (in latin? in italian?) there -- definitely something that I will cherish for a long time. To see the works of the masters like Michelangelo, Bernini and Raphael only further deepens my interest in art and its history and makes me oh so grateful for having lived and getting live again in the future in a city where some of the best art in the world is only a stone's throw away at the Louvre and the Orsay, amongst the gazillion museums in Paris. 

Pretty sure this post really has no end goal, except for updating the slideshow (so check it out!) and letting y'all know that though I seem to always be traveling, I am not traveling just for travel's sake, but am seeing and experiencing many new (and old) things that more often than not, leave me speechless and wondering 'what's next?!'

Quick side note to add that Bordeaux was fantastic and nothing beats a warm, sunny day during the French fall weather in Bordeaux with a wonderfully large and yummy glass of red wine. And to also point out, that I also work ad work hard, it just so happens that the French education system wins over here -- for every 6 weeks of work/school, you get 2 weeks of break!!

Learning a foreign language: Immersion vs. Single-classes

"Those who know nothing of foreign languages, know nothing of their own" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

If there is one thing that my three weeks in France have taught me so far is that I have taken my language education for granted. By going through Normandale's French Immersion program, I never truly grasped how to learn a language, only the ability to become fluent in one. And it isn't like I've lived in denial about how to learn a language - I have tried to learn a second foreign language with only very mild success. Still, I have come to the conclusion that it is very, very, very hard to learn a foreign language.

This is only further supported by my observations of the French education system. In collège (middle school), the kids are exposed to english as well as a second foreign language (i.e, spanish, german, italian) so that by the time they are leaving collège for lycée (high school), they can supposedly speak 3 different languages. And this is very evident with the different classes I have worked with. The youngest kids, in the 6ème, speak and understand a beginner's level of english and by the time they are in 3ème, their understanding and ability to speak english is very good.

But then they get into lycée and in France, their lycée system differs a bit from the US system. Students have the ability to take two different tracks for lycée: 1) the lycée générale - where there is an emphasis on language and literature and most students then go on to university and 2) the lycée professionnel - where there is an emphasis on learning a trade (so a vocational school) and upon completion, students go directly into the work force. This means that those in the lycée générale generally have better english skills upon completion than those in the lycée pro. So really, those in the lycée pro, more often than not have the same level of english as those students in the collège.

So for me, even though I might be using the same prep work for both schools because the students' english levels are similar, the ability to get the students to talk differs greatly between the two, which often makes one more challenging and tiring than the other.

I guess the bottom line to me is that even though I understand that learning a new language is hard, I have never truly understood just how hard until now - when I am standing in front of a class of 15 students, all with very very blank looks on their faces, trying to think of yet a new way to convey . Overall, it just makes me appreciate more and more my french education from Normandale - so thank you Mom and Dad!

Transportation

"I read; I travel; I become" - Derek Walcott 

If anyone knows me, they know my inability to travel without a bad case of motion sickness. This motion sickness has been known to strike unexpectedly - more often than not in a moving vehicle in the middle of the interstate (i.e. early morning taxi ride to Charles-De-Gaulle during rush hour traffic, friends and family roadtrip from Lille to Bruges, on the way down to the barn drinking coffee on an empty stomach). 

So it goes without saying that here in France I don't have a car, but must rely on public transportation - walking, biking, buses, trains. 

Trains - I've mastered: 1 generic-name Dramamine, a stick of gum and my playlist on shuffle. 

Buses - I have yet to try: the bus system is confusing and thoroughly lacking for when and where I need to go. 

Biking - I've survived: rented a bike for 12€ today with the intent of biking to the local/close-by/its-only-less-than-3km-away-now-that-we-are-in-town cidery Le Père Jules. What wasn't taken into account were several things: 1) I haven't ridden a bike for more than 15 mins in like forever and 2) sure 3km is nothing, except its all uphill and on crazy French country roads where people drive a gazillion km/h with no bike lane. 

Walking - Not only have I mastered this art, but it is now my go-to mode of transportation for in Lisieux. Yes, it might mean I get wet when it rains, or that it takes me twice as long to get there, but it also means I won't be a moving target on a bike nor throwing up on fellow Lexoviens and students. 

To relate back to the quote at the beginning of this post, finally got around to getting more books to read since I finished Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl my first few days here. So now it's time for some reading in french - a travel novel about wine country and The Great Gatsby (I figured since it is my favorite novel hands down, I should probably read it in french). 

Welcome to Lisieux

"I have wandered all my life, and I have traveled; the difference between the two is this --- we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment." -- Hilaire Belloc 

Travel. It seems that that word in itself carries such a heavy weight. It invoke feelings of a well-remembered family vacation, or a road trip where the ultimate goal was to arrive in one single piece, or it can refer to times in foreign countries, be it for pleasure, business, education. In my case, I have strived to make 'travel' much more than its singular definition. A road trip always beats out traveling by plane, a trip to Europe beats out a weekend at a Florida beach, and the ability to survive by oneself beats relying on groups for every single little detail. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the Hilaire Belloc quote above defines 'travel' for me and that definition is what has brought me to Lisieux. A remote place in a foreign country where I must rely on the locals. Geez, I make it sound like I'm in the outback somewhere, even though I am really in a small country town in Northern France. 

Lisieux. A very catholic town, where everything takes place in the town center, where the two schools where I am working are located a 20 minute walk in opposite directions from the town center, and where if you don't live in the town center, you need to shop at the big super-u supermarkets that are still not quite close to town. Another highlight of travel: walking. My days consist mainly of walking - to the boulangerie 17 mins away, to the town center 25 mins away, to Michelet 35 mins away. Clearly, I will either be in really good shape or forced to figured out the bus system. 

So, I guess I'm basically all settled in here in Lisieux. Between the welcoming people and the awesome food, I'm looking forward to a year here. Now if only a bus run more than once every other hour, I'd be all set, but for now, I'll walk in order to continue to travel. 

À bientôt, 

Caitlin

PS I promise that next time, maybe I'll include some pictures. 

Oh the Places You'll Go

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." - Augustine of Hippo 

Never have those words rang more true than today. Looking back on my collegiate career, I see how travel has and continues to affect me. Born and raised in Minnesota, I packed up and went to Findlay, Ohio for two and a half years after graduating form high school and got my Associates of Arts in English Equestrian Studies, while there I was given the chance to go and work as a working student for a semester for a big name trainer, but felt that this form of travel would hamper my ability to graduate on time. Little did I know that a bigger change was in stock for me. So when I decided that a change was needed, I promised myself that if travel presented itself to me again, I wouldn't turn it down this time. So I packed up and went to Denver, Colorado for 3 years, where I have gotten not only the opportunity to take advantage of traveling and got to live in Paris for a quarter, but also will have gotten my Bachelors of Arts in French Language & Literature, with a double minor in English and Psychology.

I have now decided to move back to Edina for the summer before packing up and moving to France for possibly three years: 1 year in Caen as an English Teaching Assistant and then (hopefully) 2 years in Paris at the American University of Paris where I will be getting my Masters in Cultural Translation.

Who knows where I will be after those 3 years, but all I know is that my love for travel will never die, it will always be a part of my life, much like my passion for horses and horseback riding. During the summer, I will also have the opportunity to volunteer for the World Equestrian Games being held in Normandy, as an information desk assistant for the Horse Village.