Feed Two Turkeys with One Pie (or something)

Week 10 & 11: 11/17-12/01

Welcome to /miel/, a written account of my life and what my days hold here in Noyon, France. Thank you for coming to read today.

I’ve been slacking off! I completely forgot to write last week, but I will happily blame that on Thanksgiving. So, you’re in for a treat – two weeks in one post. I will try to keep it shorter, and always feel free to scan to the bottom and view the TL:DR section.

Week 10:

Saturday, 11/19, I went to Paris with Linda and Nicole for the day. It was perfect! We walked to the Sacre Coeur basilica, and it was INCREDIBLE. Absolutely stunning. You walk up a whole lot of stairs, and with each step the view of the Basilica and of Paris gets even more breathtaking. There is no entrance fee, and the inside is rich with informational graphics, as well as the amazing stained glass and altar area. There were quite a few signs inside that said no pictures, but it wasn’t quite clear if it was a certain area or not… however I chose not to take any pictures inside. You can view the pictures from the outside on my media here, and if you’re so curious about the inside, I’m sure Google can help you out!

We then had a charcuterie lunch on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower, complete with local honey and fig jam, baguettes, fruits, and a plethora of meats and cheeses. It was a perfect afternoon.

The rest of the week went pretty well. Sunday was a relaxing day for me, since it was a late night coming back from Paris. Tuesday, I finally received my emploi du temps (remember: “schedule”) with Louis Pasteur school, and got to meet and chat with some other teachers. I went to work at Paul Eluard on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and had a great time with the kids! They are always so sweet to me, and it sounds like they enjoy my presence most of the time at least.

Then, Thursday – THANKSGIVING! This was a great day. Nicole and I, as the two Americans in Noyon, wanted to throw a Thanksgiving for all the others since they’ve never had one. So, after so much planning, yes I made a spreadsheet, we hosted a completely successful Thanksgiving dinner. I cooked two turkey thighs (7.5 lbs in total), managed to give no one food poisoning (although I was cooking without a thermometer), and even elevated the thighs via aluminum foil to allow better air flow (thanks for the tip, Dad!). Everyone brought something, and we had all the trimmings except for stuffing, which no one really likes anyway. Nicole and I attempted to find pumpkin so we could make a traditional pumpkin pie, and we thought we finally found frozen pumpkin puree but… it turns out it was indeed frozen pumpkin soup. So, we had an allspice pumpkin soup instead, and it was a hit! I did bake my infamous pecan pie and it couldn’t have been better. I did miss my dark corn syrup and bourbon that I usually add, but nonetheless it was delicious.

Through much hassle and thanks to Miss Amber Banks, I even managed to put on the Macy’s Day Parade, followed by the Dog Show. The French were DELIGHTED by these concepts. They found the Parade very intriguing as cause to the floats, dancing, singing, and everything in between. Then the dog show appeared, and I could not answer their questions of “Why is this dog show on on Thanksgiving? What does it have to do with the holiday? Why dogs and why not another animal?” I still don’t have an answer…

It was a great week and a great Thanksgiving, with imperfections and all.

Week 11:

Friday morning, 11/25, Nicole and I ventured down to Joinville. I encourage you to Google Maps this town so you can see the location in the “Grand Est” region of France in Champagne. Nicole’s bestie, Lydia, is an American assistant who is placed in the high school in Joinville, and her family came over for the holiday, and I somehow managed to receive an invitation.

We walked around Lac du Der on Friday afternoon, which was amazing. We were able to see the sunset and a lot of the birds that are currently migrating. It was a beautiful setting, complete with the only open place being a huge casino. Interesting dichotomy, but it works. We all drove back to the place where Lydia’s family was staying: an “authentic French mansion”. I think that title really just means: old big house with cloth wallpaper and squeaky floors…

I’m just messing around. It was an amazing place to stay for the weekend! While it was extremely cold the entire time, I was so happy to be there and to have felt so welcomed. Saturday night, we welcomed Lydia’s colleagues and other assistants from Reims Academy (like a school district) for Thanksgiving #2! We had chicken, sausage and even a roast beef, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and everything else you could have wished for. It was an evening filled with mulled wine, great conversation, some games, and meeting new friends.

Sunday, we all ventured to Joinville and explored what this small town had to offer. With about 3,000 inhabitants, it has a wonderful petite ville energy and was great for a day trip. Lydia took us to see the old ruins of “Chateau d’En Haut”, which housed Jean de Joinville, a knight, and was used during the many wars. Some of the walls date back to the 9th century!!! It was an incredible view and hike, and to see Joinville from the highest point was so gorgeous. It was the first time I had really been in nature since I left Montana, and I was surrounded by trees with bright orange leaves, the smell of leaves and wet bark, and the aroma of the freshest air I’ve found yet here.

We walked around the town, saw the rivers and crossed many bridges, before entering one of the three restaurants Joinville has to offer. While I had an alright steak for dinner, I did take the opportunity to try… MUSSELS. Those of you who know me know that I HATE seafood, and mussels straight up freak me out. But, I told my mom when I came here that I would expand my palette and try new things as they presented themselves. Hence, why I tried TWO mussels in fact.

The verdict: Taste, not bad. Texture, horrible. Overall, would not eat again.

I feel so blessed by the invitation from Lydia and her family. While I couldn’t be with my family on Thanksgiving, it felt like I was part of this family. There were a lot of parallels between them and my own family, especially since Lydia’s 20 year old brother was present. I felt like I could joke around, be comfortable, and also just be loved and welcomed by these previous strangers. I cannot express enough my gratitude and appreciation.

Nicole and I returned to Noyon on Monday and did absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. Then on Tuesday, I finally had my first FULL WEEK OF WORK!!! I worked all 12 hours this week at Paul Eluard and Louis Pasteur and it was great. I am still getting adjusted to my colleagues and students, but for the most part everyone is very welcoming and curious.

Wednesday was Lilian’s birthday, a teacher at the high school we live at, and a now good friend of ours. We all went out to lunch at “Atlantis Buffet”. Picture Asian buffet, but bigger. Now take that picture and add the most French thing you can to it. Good, now make it even bigger. And maybe that’s Atlantis.

There is your traditional Asian servings (noodles, rice, breaded chicken and beef stir fry), but then, THEN, there is gourmet cheese, charcuterie meats, fresh sushi, a grill option, a pasta option, a pizza option, the biggest dessert table I’ve ever seen (only filled with traditional French desserts), and seafood out of your ears: mussels, oysters, snails, crabs, baby squids and so much more. And no, I did not take any seafood.

Yesterday evening, Nicole and I went to see Olivia Moore, a French comedian at the local theater. It was a good show, but she used a lot of run of the mill “divorced, kids, middle age dating, bad sex, etc.” jokes. Not quite up my alley, but it was a good experience nonetheless.

Today, I am headed to Reims to see the Christmas market there and then go to Strasbourg and see the market there tomorrow. I am meeting up with other assistants we met at Thanksgiving, and Nicole is sitting next to me as I’m writing this on the train. I am so excited to see some of the most extraordinary Christmas markets in France and see what they hold. If you have any gift requests… now is the time.

We will return to Noyon on Sunday and then it’s back to the grind.

I apologize again for the missed week and extra long post as a result. Here’s to the part you’ve scanned for:

TL:DR

High: Thanksgiving #1 and #2, and feeling home-y with other Americans.

High #2: Using my weekends to see Joinville and Reims, and meeting new people because of this!

Low: Not spending Thanksgiving with my favorite people ever – shoutout Ross, Banks, Buggenpotter fams.

Low #2: It is so cold here and it’s wet cold and I miss the sun.

New French Word:

Poser en lapin – expression: to stand up (on a meeting/date/etc)

Lesson(s) Learned:

1. Thanksgiving is less about the food, more about the people.

2. I miss nature and trees and mountains.

3. Rodeos and hunting are fascinating to those who aren’t familiar with them.

4. French Asian buffets are way better than the American ones.

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Until next week, I wish you all well. I miss you all incredibly much. Please send me a message, an email, some snail mail, whatever suits you best.

All the love,

Abigail

Below: a view from our hike in Joinville