Thankful hearts and stomachs

Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is not celebrated in France, however we've been blessed to have had two Thanksgivings so far (and we'll probably have a modest one just the two of us today). We celebrated with our colleagues a few weeks ago and yesterday with our fellow classmates who are also learning French. I just wanted to share a few photos from yesterday and also a hymn we sang at our team Thanksgiving I really enjoyed the lyrics to. 

May you have a special day as you reflect on all the ways God has provided and blessed your life and of course enjoy all the good eats. 

Getting set-up 

Lovely ladies making the final preparations 

I had fun explaining what some things were to people from other countries.
This photo captures our friend eying the sweet potato casserole
(which was the weirdest but most delicious thing to them). 

Ryan almost ready for seconds

The grand finale, yes please...

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Come, ye thankful people, come, 

raise the song of harvest home; 

all is safely gathered in, 

ere the winter storms begin. 

God our Maker doth provide 

for our wants to be supplied; 

come to God's own temple, come, 

raise the song of harvest home. 

All the world is God's own field, 

fruit as praise to God we yield; 

wheat and tares together sown 

are to joy or sorrow grown; 

first the blade and then the ear, 

then the full corn shall appear; 

Lord of harvest, grant that we 

wholesome grain and pure may be. 

For the Lord our God shall come,

and shall take the harvest home; 

from the field shall in that day 

all offenses purge away, 

giving angels charge at last 

in the fire the tares to cast; 

but the fruitful ears to store 

in the garner evermore. 

Even so, Lord, quickly come,

bring thy final harvest home; 

gather thou thy people in, 

free from sorrow, free from sin, 

there, forever purified, 

in thy presence to abide; 

come, with all thine angels, come, 

raise the glorious harvest home.

Cultural Differences: Part II

To get started with some cultural differences, I’ve decided to list 10 this time but to elaborate a little with each one. Remember these are just some little things we’ve noticed here in France that are not wrong… but different. 

1. Cars park on the sidewalk. This one can make the narrow sidewalks feel non-existent sometimes. But, I’m sure if they could find a real parking spot, they would park there. 

2. Motorcycles don’t appear to follow any driving laws, they drive on sidewalks, through red lights, and in between lanes. 

3. Trains are a little different than the good old Green line T in Boston. I think they are safe, but you do feel completely cut off from the conductor, so if there was a problem, I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do.

4. Graffiti is everywhere. Some of it is real art and adds something to the environment, but there are ugly tags too on just about every train, building, and bus stop. And almost every train window has scratches all throughout so you can’t entirely see out the window.

5. Dogs and grown men relieve themselves on the street (usually facing a building thank goodness). I will admit that in the city sometimes it can be tricky finding a bathroom if you don’t live or work there. And for dogs, I pity that they have next to no grass, especially in Paris, so I understand that part but don’t really understand why their human owners don’t pick it up.

6. Beaucracy (expect long lines and lots of paperwork). We still have some important things to finish, like getting our VISA’s validated. We had to start the process over and re-mail in the information because I didn’t complete one tiny field on accident. Hoping this will be resolved soon because they are other things we can’t begin until this is taken care of.

7. Most stores & restaurants are closed on Sundays. Not the end of the world, and in some ways it’s kind of cool that they hold onto that tradition even though they don’t go to church, but we do need to make sure we have food for Sunday’s then, which isn’t quite second nature for me yet.

8. Less personal space seems to be needed. This was really apparent standing in the Eiffel Tower line the other week. We had a French family in front of us and a German family behind us. We had a constant stream of people trying to pass through in front of us because we were leaving an American-sized gap between us the people in front of us (which was the only gap in the whole line), but without fail the family behind us was literally touching us or within what felt like a centimeter the entire time. And elevators, can be so tight that I literally don’t think I breathe while I am in them with other people. Normally, I just opt for the stairs.  

9. Strikes and riots are the norm, but normally it is planned and posted the day of or before which is helpful. Our teammates asked us if we were free to hangout Thursday (which we're not, bummer) because their son won’t be having school that day because the teachers are striking. So everyone knows in advance and it’s just one day, I don’t really understand what this accomplishes but it must accomplish something...?

10. Men's fashion options are broader. There are not as many things here that only women wear. For instance, men wear capris in summer, they carry purses, they wear scarves (not just for the cold), some even have fur hoods on their winter coats. I think the only fashionable distinction that is really noticeable are high heels. 

That is all for today, but we will try to be continual observers and share what we notice, hopefully not in a negative fashion but in a fun and interesting way. 

Cultural Differences: Part I

A post or series we’ve been thinking about for a while but keep forgetting to do is just sharing about the little cultural differences we encounter here in France everyday. When you work overseas in pretty much any context, and certainly in the Christian worker community, a phrase you hear people say over and over is “It’s not wrong, it’s just different.” Because when you begin living in a new culture, the tendency is to compare everything new with what you’re familiar with in your home culture. At first it is so exciting and cool that everything is different. It is invigorating. Then, as the weeks go on, something shifts, and those same things that were amusing and cool before, start to rub you the wrong way (if you let them). Like the police or ambulance sirens, at first I loved that they were different, but now each time I hear them (especially at night) it is kind of a subtle reminder that I am not at home. 

There are many stages in the cultural transition process and each one is unique with it’s pros and cons, but we are determined to love this place and these people. So we feel it is important in this stage, when the temptation grows to get discouraged and irritated by all these little differences, to rather embrace the all so popular mantra “it’s not wrong, it’s just different.” There are and will be easier and harder days of course, but God’s grace is sufficient for the small and large challenges we will face. 

Also, a tip we’ve employed is not feeling bad when we need a taste of home, whether it be an American movie, a coffee shop, or what have you and taking a small France time out. So stay tuned, later this week we’ll post a list of some specific cultural differences.

One of my favorites, cars parking on the sidewalk