Week 28: 03/23 – 03/30
Welcome to /miel/, a written account of my life and what my days hold here in France. Thank you for coming to read today.
I am actually publishing on a Thursday, I did it!
I realized I hadn't put my recent Google Pictures album links on my site, even though I had shared them in previous posts. So, here is the updated page, with links to the previous months of pictures if you'd like to look!
This last weekend was spent in Amsterdam with our old exchange student, Jessika, from Finland. I headed over on Friday morning via train (only about 3.5 hours), and we were reunited in the afternoon. We walked around the town a bit there, then did a classic canal tour through the canals of Amsterdam.
I did a canal tour many moons ago when my mom and I had a long layover, but it was at the end of a long mission trip, and I remember sitting down on the boat and immediately passing out from exhaustion. So, that one doesn’t really count.
The canals were beautiful, and the guide was absolutely amazing. He was so knowledgeable, as he has been a tour guide for five years, and he was kind to us, and funny! That’s the trifecta for a tour guide I think. We were able to see the different architecture, the rich and the poor, and see everyone enjoying the beautiful day on the sides of the canals as well. It was sunny and a little breezy, but not too bad.
Did you know that taxes used to be issued on everything, including steps, width of the establishment, and windows? That’s why a lot of the architecture in Belgium/The Netherlands is so skinny, because the people building their homes were charged for every inch of it on the exterior! Also, if you see a large window with smaller windows inside of it (like a grid), that means that those people were extremely wealthy in the old days, because they were charged for each windowpane that went into the window.
Friday evening, we went to a Dermot Kennedy concert (an Irish artist), and it was really fun! I knew some of his music, but I think a concert is always worth it, even if you’re not super familiar with the music.
Saturday, we went to Anne Frank’s house and it was extremely powerful and moving. I had wanted to visit since I read her Diary in third grade, and it was incredible. There are no photos allowed inside the actual house, and they have different explanations as you walk through the house of what that room was used for, and a passage from her Diary that describes it. I can hardly believe that we were walking on the same floor that her family walked on. It was very moving.
That night we went to a traditional Dutch restaurant called “Moeders” (mothers in Dutch). The catch is that it’s “Mom’s homestyle cooking” and that every inch of the walls inside are covered with pictures of moms. People have been bringing in pictures of their moms for decades, and there’s an array of everything in here. It was so cute and homey!
We ate a platter of different Dutch classics, including different beefs, potatoes, sauerkraut, sausage, apple sauce, and pickled cabbage in a cinnamon sweet sauce. I don’t know any of the actual names… but that’s what it was. It was good! I tried it all and expectedly didn’t like the sauerkraut, and unexpectedly liked the cabbage!
Afterwards, we walked through the Red-Light District, and it was BIZARRE. I will let you explore Google for that one if you’re not familiar.
Sunday, we went to a small town called Haarlem, the “little Amsterdam” and it was perfect. We simply walked around, saw a couple art museums and expositions, ate the best grilled cheese ever, and drank a yummy coffee. I really wanted to see the church here, but it was closed! On a Sunday! What’s up with that? That’s the day it should be open, right?
We returned to Amsterdam and I finally met Jessika’s boyfriend, Arian, who is from Germany. We all hung out for a while, and ended up eating delicious ramen and ended the night with watching a movie.
Monday morning, we slept in a little bit, before grabbing a bite to eat at a café called “Staring at Jacob”, which is a play on words of the corner streets this café is sitting on. I had a eggs benedict and it was absolutely phenomenal. Probably the best one I’ve had, even better than Jam or Nova in Bozeman…
I returned to Noyon Monday night, after a couple train delays and cancellations, but I got there finally!
I only worked two days this week, Tuesday and Wednesday, and they were good! There’s only two weeks until vacation, and you can see it in the kids and in the teachers too, we’re all ready for vacation…again.
Tuesday was a full day for me! I worked six hours, which was just fine. I was also interviewed for the Radio club at one of my schools about my life here, why I’m here, what I like, what I don’t like, etc. It was very cute to be interviewed by the students, and listen to them laugh or smile at my answers. I think I will get a recording of it, so I’ll bring it home! After school, Linda, Nicole and I met up with the German assistant and had a going-away coffee with him. His contract finishes today, since the German assistant program has a different schedule of school than we do. Finally, we ended the night with us three ladies being on live radio in Noyon! It was the second time for Nicole and me, and Linda’s first. The broadcast was about different things to do in the Hauts-de-France, our region in France, and what we had done so far, what we want to do still, and our final assessment of France.
Yesterday, today, and this next week are busy for me. I have to submit my drafts of my grad school essays to my advisor so we can review them next week, and I am nervous! My advisor is great, I am more nervous about actually writing them and applying for grad school. Maybe I will just not go… I’ll just stay in France forever. (Just kidding, Mom and Dad.)
I am finalizing all my plans after my contract ends, buying the tickets, and having long phone calls with friends. I will be travelling for six weeks just out of my backpack and going all over the place before I return home to Bozeman on May 30th. I am so antsy to be done working, to start travelling, and to hopefully find some sun and have some good memories made.
It feels weird to be wrapping up my time here. It is weird to say goodbye to people that I’ve connected with this year, that for some reason my brain thought they would always be there. It feels weird to say goodbye to my apartment, to my bed, to my daily routine here. It will never be like this again. I will never have the same apartment, the same bed, the same town (probably). I am excited, but I’m nervous.
I’ve also been thinking a lot of about the continuation of this blog after I return.
First, I don’t plan to post during my 6 week travel binge. My laptop is too heavy and bulky to bring with me, so I am planning on leaving it. I’ll be journaling in writing, so if you’re really curious, I can upload those after I get back.
But when I get back to my “normal” life, my known and comfortable life… I think I might do a monthly post. I might not send out announcements any more, but just for myself. I predict I will have some feelings when I come home that I think will be noteworthy for myself. The longing for a French pastry, the longing for French dining where we take 4 hours to eat, the ease of getting around via public transport, and the constant stimulation of the language.
We’ll see, I need to reflect more on that specific aspect.
Anyway, I only have two more weeks of work, then I’m done. I’m ready.
Nicole and I are going to Compiegne tonight to hit the town a bit, and then we will be heading to Lille tomorrow morning with another friend, Lydia, to see the city and also attend a candlelight concert and ballet. More to come next week on that!
TL:DR
High: Seeing a new town, and catching up with an old friend.
High #2: Solidifying travel plans and getting excited to start travelling!
Low: Feeling overwhelmed with graduate applications, and planning.
Low #2: Missing home, missing friends, longing for the comfortability of Montana.
New French Word:
être sage – to behave (kind of bizarre)
ex: “sois sage” – command “behave"
Lesson(s) Learned:
1. Travel planning is a LOT, but it’s so fun.
2. People really do grow up and change.
3. I’m going to miss Noyon more than I thought.
4. Everything is temporary – impermanence.
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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, whatever suits you best.
All the love,
Abigail
Below: The building where the Noyon radio station is. And the flowers are finally in bloom here!
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