My life in a List

Making : A bucket list (or adding to it anyway)

Cooking : Nothing, I can't cook to save my life
Drinking : Water with lemon syrup
Reading: A Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Wanting: A familiar hug
Looking: For some black combat boots, as mine are falling apart

Wasting: Time wandering around the city

Listening: Riptide by Vance Joy

Wishing: I had a friend here to share France with

Enjoying: Having my own apartment

Waiting: For my soldier to call me

Liking: The authentic Mexican restaurant I found, it's not Chipolte, but It'll do

Wondering: Why my downstairs neighbor is yelling so loud...There's not a match tonight, is there?
Loving: Living my dream
Marveling: At the fact I live in FRANCE
Needing: to do my laundry/clean my room/do dishes
Wearing: Connor's dog tags
Noticing: The differences between us Americans and the French

Bookmarking: 100 indoor activities to do with kids
Giggling: When I say something wrong in French
Feeling: Grown up, independent and yet still young

(Quick thanks to the Lovely Harmony who let me steal this from her blog. Click HERE to read her list.)

New Years 2013

I had a blast this New Years, not only did I spend it in France, but I spent it with a fellow American which was AWESOME :) It was so nice to have someone around who finally understood what I am going through and experiencing. Most of our conversations started with "Have you noticed how....?"

My Chere amie, Didi, was scheduled to arrive on Monday. I got home from Christmas at the grandparents Sunday night and was not feeling well at all. I think after two kinds of snails and some meat that was probably still breathing as I ate it, my stomach had enough. I started throwing up Sunday night. By 3AM I finally called Didi and advised her to change her ticket date if possible because I was SICK! Just my luck!! I finally got some sleep and wouldn't you know it, by the morning I felt fine! But, Didi had already changed her ticket so she arrived the next day. It was all just as well, gave me some time to recoup.

We had a blast. We spent the first day playing scavenger hunt with my ward and then we went home and got ready for the Masquerade ball. I tell you what, us Mormons know how to throw a party! Some of the music they played here would not have been allowed at a typical LDS dance, but I wasn't going to complain (I'm a sucker for a good bleeped out Thrift Shop song). Man did we get down!! Since the metro stops at 12:15 in the morning and don't start again until 5:00 am, everyone partied until 5AM!!! Including us. There were people there from all over! about 120 people total. It was so fun to meet new people and get to practice my French. Around 3am I started a conversation with two lovely gentleman and one taught me how to correctly cooked potatoes (all in French too!!). We talked about all sorts of stuff, comparing the US to the Congo and France.

The next day I tried to sleep in but no go :P we were up and out by 1pm and touring around Lyon with some other people from down south who haven't been to Lyon before. It was fun to go to all the tourist monuments again and this time I had company.

The day after that Didi and I went on a shopping spree at the mall. I indulged myself with a new sweater, cardigan, tights, black pants, earrings and tights. All necessary, of course ;)  We had a good time and even got hit on some Abainians who I swear their only ambition in life is to hit on people at the mall.

Then we went out on a hunt to find a french thrift shop which was pretty much a bust, we only found one and I made it out with a new sweater too so I guess it worked out.

We also stayed up late one night watching old Mary-Kate and Ashley movies on YouTube. "Getting There" and "Passport to Paris" (Of course). SO CHEESEY!!! I can't believe I once idolized these girls lol their acting was actually pretty terrible. But I was young, so I'll let it go.

We also went out with Mariette and Gilles one night to a Lyonnais resto, I got to try some strictly Lyonnais cuisine...Cow Stomach and blended pork intestines...Yum. It was so nasty I couldn't swallow. Everyone got a kick out of my face. Lets just say, it tasted how a zoo would smell. Imagine my pain.

Didi and I also went to a Cinema Museum that had actual props from old movies. Pretty much all of them were American made films but way to Scy-Fy for me to recognize. I knew a few, however, like props from X-files and even Daniel Radcliffe's Wand from Harry Potter!!! Surprisingly there was only one prop from Star Wars. With all the aliens there, I expected there to be more.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It was a fun New Years, busy though, I haven't had time yet to make my New Years Resolutions. I will for sure though when I get around to it.

Abby

French vs. American Christmas

At my high school teacher's request, I have thought about it and put together a little compare and contrast of what I think some of the biggest similarities and differences are between an American Christmas and a French Christmas in the way of traditions.

I made this list based on the traditions my American family normally observes, and the traditions I took part in with my French family, although I tried to throw in some that "tout le monde" (aka, everyone else besides these families) probably observe as well. Obviously the traditions I am used to are not going to be the traditions that everyone else does, and same on the French side. The ones I took part or didn't take part in this year doesn't mean that it's the same for every family in France. Just throwing that out there.

So, I came up with a list. We will start with the differences first.

America = Green
France = Red

1. Stockings are hung over the chimney with care.

No stockings were hung at all. Granted, the family doesn't have a chimney, but I didn't see any stocking of   any sort. Instead I was told that one would put slippers under the tree and Pere Noel puts little toys inside of there.

2. Traditional Christmas food item: For Americans it's Egg nog, n'est pas? 
This is strictly Lyonnais (like Utahn or Idahoan) but everyone here, and I mean EVERYONE eats Papillots. They are wrapped chocolates of n'importe quoi (assorted chocolates). Nothing particularly special about them (except that they are yummy and addicitng) but since they were created here, everyone eats them. At parties, in homes, at school. Just my family went through six packages. If you think about it, that's a package and a a fifth per person. I count this as a difference because these chocolates don't exist anywhere else, therefore it's not a tradition in the States. 

3. The biggest meal is Christmas Day, and it's HUGE. Typically, turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, greenbean casserole, what have you. Dessert is usually some kind of pie.You eat until you have to loosen your belt, and then you eat some more. The host spends all day in the kitchen making sure everything is perfect and there are a lot of helping hand if they are lucky.
Here, the biggest meal is Christmas Eve. And by biggest, they mean longest. It wasn't big at all. It was very small, but it dragged on and on and on. We started with an aperitif (appetizer of sorts): Wine (or fruit juice for the non-drinkers), peanuts (always there's peanuts), Foie Gras; pretty much geese  puree...HUGE tradition here in France, I was offered it more than once. I tried to eat it as many times as I could but eventually I just had to start say no. And then there were snails. I ate two kinds of snails. Sea snails: They are raw, rubbery and have the taste of all the nasty smells of the ocean. And the I had Escargot. They were cooked in a lot of basil and garlic thank goodness, and I managed to eat three (the kids had 11 each!!) and they were ok, as long as I didn't think about what it actually was in my mouth, I was ok. But, I think I will skip out on the next  round. THEN, we went to the dining room and ate.....a slice of steak and green beans. THEN, we had a  salad THEN, followed by the famous French cheese. THEN, we had dessert which is another tradition, a buche or basically a cake that looks like a Swiss Roll. They come in all kind of flavors, but luckily for me, mine was chocolate. THEN, as if cake wasn't enough we had a cafe afterwards. The whole thing lasted just about four hours. ZZZZZ

4. Santa is a big thing. Christmas Eve the children are buzzing with excitement waiting for Santa to come. Me and my family we check NORAD often to see where he is in the world. Pretty much without a fuss, the children go to bed early, or if they have cool parents, set up  a fort downstairs on the couch with full view of the chimney in hopes that they might catch a glimpse of Old Saint Nick. 
Pere Noel exists. You talk about him, you hear about in in songs, there's a whole history, but when it  comes to the night before it was almost as if he was all but forgotten. He isn't the one that brings huge or expensive toys or fills your stocking with a bunch of candy. I didn't feel the excitement, the pure infantile joy of the magic of Santa. While that is good in some ways, as not to distract from the true meaning of  Christmas, it was kinda sad. 

5. Presents are opened Christmas morning. The children sit on top of the stairs and wait until their sleepy parents get up and grab their cameras. Then they rush downstairs to see what present Santa has brought. Then one by one presents are passed out from under the tree and opened. Generally, we tend to receive a TON of presents. 
Christmas presents are opened Christmas Eve after dinner. They are not under any tree, they are placed on a table (the grandparents didn't even have a tree where I was at). Everyone sits down and one person passes out all the presents to each person. Each person got about two or three presents. Almost as if there was a silent "GO" everyone opens their presents at once. I was too busy opening mine, I didn't get a chance to see what everyone else got. 

6. In my family it is tradition for the first born son to read "T'was the Night Before Christmas." at 19, I probably have it memorized. 
This wasn't read here. Maybe because it doesn't exist here or it's just a tradition not observed in my family or what but there it is. 

7. Decorating the tree is a family matter. Every one is there, everyone participates. Each ornament has a special meaning as it has been collected over the years. Each kid receives a new ornament each year that describes their current interest or like. I know this isn't the same in every family: I've seen picture perfect trees in windows with matching ornaments and lights, and I've seen trees like mine with an Elmo ornament from when I was three, Champagne glasses with the year my parents were married written on it, and my dad's model train ornaments. But, I grew up with that being a huge tradition.
The mom decorated their three foot tree by herself. The ornaments were cute and probably homemade but didn't look very personal. I was actually pretty dissapointed that I missed out on that tradition because it's probably the one I look forward to the most. There isn't anything like pulling out my gingerbread choo-choo train and picking a place where I can always see it. 

8. Christmas Eve is reserved for Jesus. As a religious family, we spend Christmas Eve reading the birth of Christ out of the bible and just being a family. It's reverent and full of the spirit. 
Jesus wasn't mentioned once. And I know it's because my French family isn't religious at all so that would make sense, but I missed it. 

9. Christmas PJ's. Every Christmas Eve we get to open our Christmas PJ's (As I type this, I am wearing my Nightmare Before Christmas PJ's from last year). My family likes to play Boolah Boolah with them and hide the PJ's somewhere in the living room and chant quietly and then loudly until the person finds them. 
No PJ's. 

Ok, I think that is long enough. I could go on but I'm afraid you guys will stop reading. This has already begun to be a long post. Sorry about that.

Alors, similarities:

• Christmas is about family. I spent it in a small village with the ones who are closest to the family. It was quiet and small and calm and not commercialized at all. Very down to Earth I think
• There was plenty of "Joyeusx Noel" and "Joyeuse Fetes" to go around
• All the children has a Christmas recital of some sort. I went to a choir recital of Lucile's in which they sang Christmas songs and it was adorable
• The malls are crowed as heck during the holiday season
• Starbucks has their holiday drinks
• Santa/Pere Noel
• Work parties
• Christmas decorations. I saw a lot of lights on apartments and houses
• Travelling to family members houses or more commonly to the grandparents house
• Nativity scenes 
• Catholic Mass

That's all I can think of...Again this is just what I have observed. Mais en effet, these are just thing's that I have observed. It's not going to be the same if you were to talk to the other person to write a blog about this.

Kind of cool to read about though, non? 

Et toi? What are some of your traditions?