It is important to grieve the loss of something, I think, even if it was foreseen and expected, and even though the process of letting go allows for greater things to happen.
In addition, I think this list will give you a glimpse into our daily lives, and a look at the small things that made our lives here in France special.
Things I will miss:
- Dropping Sydney off at the "garderie" (nursery) every morning and hearing many of the kids say, "Id-ney!" or "Nid-ney" and run towards her
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| Sydney is in the Spurs shirt, far right and front |
- The Flute, a special bread made daily by the boulangerie closest to us. No other bread or boulangerie compared to it, and that is saying a lot here in France.
- Our tight-knit class. I never sensed a spirit of competition; rather there was a real cheering-others-on attitude. We had some amazing classmates: a couple with 25 yrs of missionary experience in Brazil learning their 3rd language, a country-music singer, 5 medical doctors, a hilarious youth pastor, a radio station dude who knew just about anything technical there is to know, mothers of up to 5 kids, a spunky adventurous single... And we are departing for 8 different countries.
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| Our class at the end of the year, which didn't include many students who already moved on or graduated. |
- My amazing French teacher, Anne. Even though we continued to make beginner mistakes even to the end of the year, she was always encouraging (not a common French teaching trait). She loves almost anything American, and loves speaking English although she is not allowed to at the school. She enjoyed hanging out with us outside of class, and made the most amazing gateaux (cakes).
- The 2.5 hour lunch breaks, allowing time to shop for lunch, make it, eat, and take a nap before going back to class.
- Living in a building with 7 other families. It was like college again, only we had to wait until kids were in bed to hang out. This also allowed for proximity babysitting, where we could just ask a neighbor to listen for crying.
- The open door policy. This allowed, for instance, a situation where I had accidentally fallen asleep on the couch while "watching" Sydney, and I awoke to one of my good friends trying to quietly coax Sydney down from a precarious position on a desk upon which she was perched without waking me up.
- Our church family
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| Church potluck, which in France, is by definition, at least 4 courses. You definitely don't want to be caught with cheese in the first course or with dessert before it is time, even though everything is displayed at once. |
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| A little contemplative (or tired) at the picnic. |
- Being able to hear/watch kids playing in the courtyard easily from our 3rd floor windows. When studying, it helped for me to be able to hear the laughter and fun happening around, and to be able to wave down to Sydney when she asked for me as Daddy watched her.
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| The littlest kids in the family building. Sydney, of course, was running around, likely eating sand or drinking from the mud puddles when I wasn't watching. |
- Talking to people in the very nearby buildings. And finding out that one of the students' apartments had the advantage of being able to watch movies simultaneously with us as their windows had just the correct angle to see the back of the sheet we projected the movies on.
- Our language partners, with whom we took bike rides, hiked and sledded in the mountains, visited a local farm, and saw each other weekly at church.
- A second language partner who taught us, again, the meaning of forgiveness, who took us skiing at his ripe age of 79, and who treated us to a wonderful meal at his country home. Sydney was able to pick wild strawberries with him.
- Cheese! The appreciation and care that the French put into their dairy products is amazing. Each cheese had a distinct flavor depending on the altitude and type of grass or flowers that the cows were eating.
- The ability to decide to go on a mile hike in the mountains after school, or to take the free bus up to go skiing if the weekend wasn't too full, or hopping on a bike and biking one of the many bike paths along the river.
- The natural beauty that we were able to see as it changed each of the four seasons this year. Simply breathtaking!
- The local cafe owners of L'Avant Premiere who greeted us by name weekly. It was a good opportunity to speak French and relax away from school pressures. The French are extremely friendly once you get to know them, and by going weekly to the cafe, this allowed us to enter into their culture.
- Playing soccer and volleyball on a regular basis. For Ryan, this was a year of ups and downs with initial denial of his application to play and then repeated injuries, but he was in full form at the end and even got into a French newspaper!
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| Ryan is the "tall white guy" as he puts it. He is in the back row, 5 from the left |
- Open markets to buy very fresh produce, cheese from the cheese truck, and scarves and household goods. These markets were three times a week in various parks.
- Watching Call the Midwife every Monday night with the ladies. Some nights made us teary-eyed, some nights had us roaring with laughter, but they all brought us closer together.
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| Call the Midwife- a show which highlights midwifery in 1950s London |
- Very cheap medical care. One particular medication costs $600-800 in the US, and I found it here for 112 Euros. Same brand. Perhaps we will be stopping by France again to stock up on malaria meds.
- Festivals for just about anything: music, the farm, castles, Christmas, aviation, and 2 city-wide garage sales with everything from cow bells to ski equipment!
- The unique friendship of these 3 guys
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| Graduation! |
