Hello!!

I feel like I have so much to tell you. To start, the sky has been blue for FOUR days and I've been on FOUR runs and it has been just wonderful. Talk about a pick me up.

On top of that, this Thursday was Beaujolais Nouveau, which happens every year the third Thursday of November. It's when this type of wine, the Beaujolais Nouveau, is released from the Lyon region. It's the first batch you can drink that was made in 2009. It was really fun, and I went to a teachers house and there were many people drinking wine, eating cheese, and just being merry. Among the ten or eleven people who were there, we drank thirteen bottles of wine. I still can't hang with the French.

The next morning when I biked to the farm (at 9am instead of 7am because of the festivities), I was thinking to myself I that I should have just stayed in bed. When I got there, I saw that Jacky was thinking the same thing. They had seven people over the night before for the holiday, and drank ten bottles of wine. Isabelle was okay, but Jacky was totally hungover. It was really funny. Needless to say it was a pretty low key day there. I made the cheese while Isabelle worked with the cows (we had one die this week) and Jacky and Remi worked with the hay and the sheep.

BUT! The great news is that I am finally helping! When I first got there, I was sort of a hinderance, with the fact that I didn't know the farm vocabulary in French, and that I had never made cheese before, etc. But now, when I'm there, I actually help them do things more quickly, and this week, Isabelle left me in the cheese room ALONE and TRUSTED me to MAKE it MYSELF. It was really cool, and I felt a lot of pressure-- I made sure that I did everything perfectly and cleaned up and did well. She inspected later and sent me a text message telling me that I did a good job. I felt like I had passed some sort of test.

So yesterday, we were all in a Beaujolais stupor, and their niece Eva stopped by the farm. She invited me to a brewery/party that night. I was supposed to hang out with my friend Fleur, so I invited her too. It turned out to be really fun, except that all the people were looking cool and chain smoking-- in a closed space. Ick, it was rough. But besides that, it was super fun and familial almost. I felt lucky to be there; it wasn't a place you would be unless you knew someone. There was live Turkish music, and the owner agreed to let me come for a day in the spring and learn to make beer. Toward the end Fleur and I became kind of like the English speaking spectacles and everyone wanted to show us how well they could speak. Which was not very well. But it was cool, and we got home pretty late. It was nice to sleep in this morning. Here's a picture of the boisterous table at the brewery, and one of me and Fleur (she's from Wales).

And now for the big news: after some chaotic trip-planning with Anna and Heidi, I decided that instead of spending an inordinate amount of money to go to Morocco for the holidays, I would put it all toward a flight home. Thus, I will, in fact, be back in Ohio for sixteen whole days. And I can't express how happy that makes me. Like I told my mom, doing all the researching of things to see and places to go, I realized the only place that I really wanted to be was with my family. So I am very fortunate, and my flight leaves December 21.

Copenhagen Dec 14 - 20, Paris Dec 20, and home Dec 21 until Jan 5. How exciting! Now, of course, I'm itching to get to Denmark, and see Paris at Christmas time, and see my family! But all in good time.

Happy Thanksgiving soon! I gave a lesson about it, and I went around the class and made each student say something he or she was thankful for. It made me happy. I said I was thankful for my friends and family.

Love,

Sam

This is one of the last days of fall. It was unreal how pretty it was that day. This is taken in a small village outside Besançon.
Aaaaaand Mathilde's grandpa. A gem. He doesn't have just one accordion. He doesn't have just two, but THREE accordions. And I had the privilege of hearing him play a very French in a café kind of song. It was just wonderful.
This is Mathilde and her mom and her grandpa. Her mom sent me home with a contraption to purée things like applesauce and mashed potatoes, and some homemade jelly, and a laundry basket full of apples and a box full of walnuts.
And this was the prettiest view of the day. I couldn't get over how beautiful it was.

Now that I've posted these exceedingly pleasant photos, I need you to do me a favor: picture the exact opposite. The weather has rudely changed from a vibrant fall to a purgatory of seasons-- what I like to call the grayny season (gray and rainy wordsmith). I don't know why it changed its mind, but now it is almost constantly raining, drizzling or spitting. And the gray is this pressing, heavy, thick kind of gray. It makes me constantly ask myself, in a whiny voice, "Do I HAVE to go outside today?" My hair is asking the same question.

So I'm working on embracing the grayny season in which I have found myself. And I am also working on smiling double my usual amount to counteract the weather issue. Things here are moving steadily along. I'm becoming more confident in lesson planning and lesson giving. I am also so happy to see the students everyday, because honestly, I never know what to expect. Their spontaneity is refreshing. And invigorating. Isn't Thanksgiving soon? I'm going to make a lesson about it. I want to dress up, but I'm not sure that I could find things to wear. Maybe I could dress as a Native American?

I am still working on the internet/phone debacle. What's a stronger word than debacle? Catastrophe? Hash? Botch? Washout? Ruin? Alas..

But to end on a positive note, I would like to pay tribute to the newest albums of Maria Taylor, Regina Spektor, and the Avett Brothers for being spot on and making me so happy. Also, Becky found out about a PLACE in LURE where you can LISTEN to LIVE MUSIC. Hopefully we'll GO there SOON because THAT would be AWESOME.

Always sopping wet, but with love,

Sam

The Jewish Memorial. It was enormous, and really moving. All different size stones, and from ground level you can't see how tall they are. We also stood on the bunker where Hitler committed suicide, saw Checkpoint Charlie, and the German parliament.
One of the parts left of the Berlin Wall. There's also another area, the longest maintained section, where artists from around the world have painted murals. Really inspiring.
The famous TV tower in eastern Berlin.
Claire, another American assistant in Lure, and I with Natalie from England. We met her our touristy pub crawl which turned out to be a very memorable night filled with people from all over Europe. We're drinking a beer that was brewed in Berlin. We tried a few different quintessentially German beers. Perhaps one too many?
Claire and I with Sofia who was from Spain. We met on the four hour walking tour of the city. It was so fun and super informative (and freezing).

So there are some pictures of Berlin. It was just an unreal experience. It is my most favorite city that I have ever visited -- apart from the fact that all the words I heard were impossible combinations of consonants. I was inspired to learn German after being there though, it's such an impenetrable seeming language. I thought it sounded like a record being played backwards. The city in its current form is just so young, and bursting with young people and ideas. Simultaneously, it's so rich in history and in culture. Such a stimulating and ever-changing place to be.

So besides becoming fluent in German, I went on a long walking tour of the city, visited the Berlin Wall in several different locations, went to a TECHNO club that didn't close until 11AM, visited a former concentration camp 35km north of Berlin, went to the Jewish Museum, and mulled around various farmers' and flea markets. I loved every minute I spent there.

Now I'm back in Lure, and happy to be here. It felt like I was going back to my cozy little small town home. I like that I'll be here for about a month, then have another two weeks to travel, then another month, then travel. It's seems to be a perfectly punctuated academic year.

I also got confirmation that I will in fact be a National Wildlife Federation delegate at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. I can't believe that I have this opportunity to be there to witness history happening, and hopefully changing for the better. I'll be in Denmark December 15-20, then Paris for a few days near Christmas time, and I don't know after that. I may go to Spain/Morocco with Anna and Heidi.

That's all for now, I apologize for the length. All my love.

Sam

So the pictures uploaded backwards, so the surprise is spoiled. But this is Isabelle, me, Jacky and Orian mid-chicken harvesting. As you can see, Jacky is ecstatic about my choice to photograph our activity.
Limousine is a type of cattle, the kind that Isabelle raises. According to her, it's the best tasting steak in the world. (Phonetically, LEE MOOZ AN).
This is a shot of the farm. To the right are the sheep, to the left are the cows, and the goats and cheese room are behind me.
This is a picture of Vouhenans, the little village where the farm is. I bike there, so I get to see lots of pretty views like this.

I'm off to Besançon for two days with Mathilde, then Berlin on Tuesday. I have no idea what is going to happen !!!!

Sam

Hi hi hi!

I feel like I tell time more by the seasons and the moon than anything else. So when I say that I wore my winter coat today, that means that I've been here a while. Only a month really, but it seems like a lot has happened to me.

This is just an update to tell you that everything is exceptional. People always smile at me and say hello, as if I am not this new, weird person in the halls anymore, but rather a permanent fixture within them. I still stand out because of my clothes, as I don't wear chic black everyday, but for the most part all the teachers treat me as if I've been here for a long time.

The only thing is I still stick out because I don't eat in the cafeteria. I mean first and foremost because it's cafeteria food, but more than that it's usually pretty meat-centric, so when I get the meal without meat I end up with some plain rice and a side salad. Because I live right next to the school, it's easier just to go home and cook myself something scrumptious. I think I miss out on some bonding, but overall it's okay.

I asked if I could sit on the freshmen Spanish class, and today was my first lesson; I can't really express how excited I am to finally be taking deliberate action to learn a third language. Valerie, a super nice teacher, told me she'd be sure to put me with her worst class (even so, they've been studying Spanish for two years already) so that I would get lots of practice and repetition. In front of the class, she asked me my name, and I didn't even know how to say 'my name is Sam' because I was so nervous. It's nice, however, to interact with the students in a different capacity than language teacher; I get to be a student, too! I got a book from the library called L'espagnol pour Les Nuls (get it?) so I'm going to try to supplement the classes with rudimentary learning as well. Nonetheless, I am very excited. It'll also help solidify my French grammar too, as the class is a Spanish class taught in French. You should see my notes-- a jumble of three languages that no one but probably I could understand.

The farm is going really well. Isabelle and Jacky have sort of adopted me. Saturday I left with cheese, apples, and a full tummy. I also got stuck in the rain on my bike. It was what I like to call a character builder. I go back tomorrow to work with Elise, a farm hand whose family has also taken me in. I usually help her with the goats from 630 to noon then we go eat at her house. It's really fun.

Volleyball is also fun. My shoulder has begun to let me know that I'm over using it, however. I'm trying to do some strengthening exercises to make it less mad at me for playing so much. Hopefully it gets better with time.

And Berlin in a week!

Et voilà, all is well. Spanish, farming, volleyball, fall. As you can see, my life is happily uninteresting. I feel content and comfortable. I'm off to the open air market to buy some fresh veggies and cheese.

Love,
Sam

FALL!!!

Hi, everyone!

I owe you an update, I know. But I was waiting until my life got more exciting, then it got too exciting (joke) and I didn't have time to update. So, here it is:

I have officially been here for three whole weeks, whoa! And now, it's absolutely fall. It was 2° C today. Just cold enough to warrant a snuggly fleece but not cold enough for gloves and a hat. This morning I showed my class pictures on my computer. Each time I go into a class, I introduce myself (it's easier with the lower classes to also use pictures) and then they ask me any questions. After the pictures, I always get: 'Does you brother have a girlfriend?' And after I introduce myself I always get: 'Do you have a boyfriend' and 'How old are you?'. While it's flattering, I'm not sure that they're retaining any of the things I'm saying that don't have to do with the dating scene. You win some, you lose some. It's terribly entertaining to hear them speak English. I also really enjoy speaking to them and trying to communicate. I always have to be sure that they know I can speak French so that they don't talk about me in French.

This weekend was great, too. I went to a goat farm -- the sister in law of one of the teachers at the school. Hamid has been so wonderful to me. He's sort of adopted me as his own child. He took me to Isabelle's farm and sat with me and helped explain why I was there (I accidentally told them I wanted money for working on the farm). And then he left, and they took me home. But he's just a very sweet, genuine man. I then fed the cows, helped tag a new baby, and moved the hay all around. Then I got to help vaccinate the sheep against some sort of hoof disease. They have chickens too, and they want me to help harvest them. Thanks to Megan I have experience with that now, so I'll be helping this coming weekend. Tomorrow I'm going back to milk the goats and make cheese. This weekend I sold cheese at a market for twelve hours!! Some people find it difficult to understand my accent -- it's such a small town that it's rare to find someone who's maternal language is not French. They don't expect me to talk funny.

We have a vacation coming up in two weeks, and I am going to BERLIN! My friend Claire has a friend there, and I do too, so we're going to be there for about six days. Then I'm going to spend one day in Switzerland, then back to work. I am also still planning to be a delegate at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in December, so that will be my next trip. Then, for Christmas, it's down to Morocco, Italy and/or Greece. I'll keep you posted as to what I decide! One girl is going to an ice hotel in Sweden, doesn't that sound cool? Literally?

Tonight I'm going to cook dinner with Claire and Rebecca, American and English respecitvely, so that should be fun. It'll be nice to speak in English again. Doesn't happen very often (which is better for my French, I know...). This Friday I'm going back to Besançon to have the last portion of my orientation. They're going to teach us how to teach I think. That will be nice. I really like some of the assistants who live futher away from me, so it'll be nice to see them again. And we're planning on coordinating visits at the orientation and such.

So there is a very long update! It's not as interesting as I had hoped, but it's the truth. Maybe I'll start making things up, maybe then I'll have lots of visitors!

Oh, and I'm thinking about doing the Paris half marathon in April, weeee! Anna's trying to talk me into the full marathon, but I'm so scared....

Okay. I miss and love you all. And I think of you everyday.

Adoringly,
Sam

And, PS: I get internet in my room in less than a week! So I'll be able to upload pictures at will. You know, the ones I took on Photobooth of my first day of school. And I'll have an UNLIMITED phone that dials UNLIMITED to ANYWHERE in the WORLD. So expect some calls. I'll try to respect the time zone differences, but I can't make any promises -- I might get too excited. My mobile number is 06 37 22 94 08 if you're interested in calling or texting me in the mean time. And my other number will be up soon.

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