Luckily I did get in some delicious Thanksgiving food, courtesy of a few other assistants and the Coudel family. On Friday Candice, Laurie, and Kati hosted a Thanksgiving soirée at their apartment. I volunteered to bring an apple pie, since I made one for my host family in Dijon and therefore knew all of the ingredients were readily available and, in theory, I could successfully reproduce a dessert typical of America and of Thanksgiving. I toyed with the idea of baking the pie on Thursday, but because of scheduling issues I ended up doing it Friday between my riding lesson and the party. This ended up being a bad call. The pie itself took longer to make than I expected (peeling and slicing the apples usually takes a lot less time because there are more hands to help). The timing was going to be tight, but I thought it would still work. Just as I was laying the top layer of pastry crust over the pie, Steph walked in and frantically indicated that I should stop -- that pie pan (le moule, for those of you eager to learn more French voab) doesn't fit in their oven. Uh oh.
But it was too late, and even if I hadn't laid down the pastry, the pie pan was already full of the bottom layer, plus all of the apples and the sugar mixture. In Steph and Charly's defense, the pie pan was quite large and I should have checked that it fit in the oven before I started the recipe. In my defense, it seemed entirely logical that a pan in their cupboard is there because it is regularly used in those household appliances which are found in that same kitchen. But, that is not the case here. So, what to do? Start knocking on the neighbors' doors. I went down level by level, without any success until I reached the first floor (rez-de-chaussée, here). Mr. Maillot seemed amused by my plight and graciously volunteered to let me use his oven. So, I dropped off the pie, and went back upstairs. Unfortunately, his oven must have been a bit cooler than average, because the pie took 45 minutes to bake instead of the expected 30, plus the time spent waiting for the oven to preheat, and the time for the pie to cool enough to carry. Plus I stayed for a drink (glass of juice) because it seemed rude to take my pie and dash off. So, I was a bit late for the party. But they were just beginning to serve the meal as I arrived, so my tardiness didn't end up being a huge problem.
Candice & co. had prepared quite a spread! Turkey, carrots and onions, mashed potatoes and real gravy, roasted sweet potatoes, rice and raisins (which apparently her family does instead of stuffing), and a pumpkin pie. Kirstie and Nicola brought a yummy fall salad and all of the rest brought wine (and a bottle of Champagne). Despite it's early setbacks, my pie turned out great. We even had whipped cream to put on top! It was a really wonderful evening, a mixture of English and French, and we ended it by singing Christmas carols and taking quite a few silly group photos.
Then this afternoon I went to the Coudel's for a Thanksgiving meal with their family. I got a ride from their family friends: Annick and her daughters Michaëla and Gaël. Their story is in the inverse of the Coudels': she's French and he's American. Her husband was actually on his way back from celebrating Thanksgiving with his family in the U.S., and didn't make it back in time to join us. We had a really lovely afternoon and a delicious repas (meal), but unfortunately without turkey. Susan ordered one from a butcher well in advance, but when she went to pick it up yesterday he told her he wouldn't find one, and had two chickens instead! She was understandably annoyed -- a whole turkey is certainly unusual in France, but not impossible to find. If he had told her earlier, she could have just ordered one from another butcher. But we had tasty stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, spiced apples, and chestnuts to go with our chicken, so I really can't complain. And we had homemade pumpkin pie for dessert, made with the enormous pumpkins that grow in their garden. The Coudels are really wonderful and Annick and her daughters were equally friendly and warm. All in all, a very pleasant day.
As part of this Thanksgiving entry, I would like to mention a couple of the things I am particularly thankful for this year. My supportive family and wonderful friends from home and Wake are always at the top of the list, but I think this year I have some new reasons to be extra thankful.
This experience has been exactly what I had hoped for so far, and I would like to detail exactly how:
1) I have a really pleasant living environment -- Steph and Charly are very friendly and eager to help me with whatever I need. They are clean, respectful and generous. We have shared many meals (and the "Friday evening beer") together and they don't mind that I often wake up early and come back late. I feel really lucky that I found this accomodation that fits in my budget, is in a very central location and that I share with such agreeable people.
2) I like my job -- I'm not even sure 12 hours per weeks qualifies as a job, but since it's what I'm getting paid to do, we'll call it that. There are definitely challenging moments -- like when the kids do not listen, or I get to the end of a lesson and none of the kids remember the vocab they "learned" during that session, but it's really rewarding when I see they're enjoying the song/game/activity I picked and when they retain the information from one class to the next. And sometimes they're just too darn cute. And the other teachers at my schools have been very nice to me, especially those at École Champagne.
3) Les Friz'Bistonins -- Ultimate Frisbee has become the bad penny in my life... it keeps turning up no matter where I go. But luckily for me, it always seems to bring fun people along with it. In this case, about 12 or so people who make up the core of the team and with whom I have spent countless hours with since joined the team a few weeks after I arrived. Playing Ultimate can be really fun, like practice last Monday when the "regional" team really established a rhythm and had some great points together. But I also appreciate how much time we spend together off the field too. I feel really lucky to have found such a vibrant and welcoming group.
4) French bread -- Okay, this one is a bit silly. In fact, I might list it under both the positives and negatives of France. How is it negative? Do you have any idea how easy it is to eat an entire baguette in one day? The day I learned you can request a half-baguette was a very healthful one indeed... But seriously, there's something undeniably pleasant about living in a country where fresh bread is available every 500m or so. And I've had fun exploring all of the different varities. There are at least five boulangeries within a ten-minute walk of my apartment, so that makes for lots of options. I can't say I've found a favorite yet, but I'm eager to keep tasting.
5) I feel at home in Besançon -- Again, this one might seem too vague. Although Besançon can get a bad rep for being quite "provincial," I absolutely adore its "small-town" feel. I love how the centre-ville is surrounded by the Doubs, and is therefore densely packed with shops, apartment, and cute little squares. I love how the city is surrounded by seven huge hills, one of which is topped with the citadelle and many of which still have walls lining them. I love how verdant the city is, and how even in the fall (and now winter) there are still lots of plants and vines. I like how people are generally friendly and eager to help. They just put up Christmas lights all over the centre-ville, an extravagant quantity of lightbulbs I wouldn't normally associate with eco-sensitive France and the streets look really lovely. The Christmas market (marché de Noël) is set up in the Place de La Révolution, along with a giant illuminated ferris wheel. Besançon was my third choice city, behind Aix-en-Provence and Strasbourg, but I am quite content to have been assigned here. I think it's exactly where I am supposed to be.
6) I have a wonderful support network -- to you, faithful blog reader, who have made it this far in my entry, and to all of the others back in the States who continue to stay in touch despite the time difference, their own hectic schedules and mine, I really appreciate you. Thank you for being so great!
And now, bed time, a new week awaits bright and early tomorrow morning! Bisous!
