Home for the holidays.... week 1

Getting home took a lot longer than I anticipated due to a storm in Toronto. After about 28 hrs. in either the air or airports, I finally arrived in Edmonton to a smiling husband carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers. It is another half hour by car to our home and I was surprised and delighted when we got there to see a decorated Christmas tree in our bay window. Apparently a group of friends and family got together one evening and in no time had the house looking festive. Keith prepared the food and kept people's wine glasses filled. Thanks so much to Robin, Joanne, Greg, Brian and of course, Keith. You are the best and the house looks wonderful!

Our Christmas Tree

Since being home, my days and evenings have been filled with appointments and get togethers with friends near and dear. Recently, we visited a new wine bar that was most impressive. It was built to resemble the inside of a wine barrel with curved wooden slats for the ceiling. The night we were there, Santa greeted us as we walked in. Wine and food is ordered from an extensive selection on an iPad and the service was excellent. The charcuterie was also most impressive. The presentation was lovely and the meats and cheeses were superb (it really rivalled some of the dishes I've had in France).

Keith and I at the wine bar with the charcuterie platter.

On Friday, we hosted a dinner party for eight with our wine club group. It was a lovely evening of great food, wine and delightful company. Keith made coq au vin, roasted vegetables, sweet potato buns, homemade coconut ice cream and biscotti. We began the night with a Christmas cocktail and then continued with Prosecco and an assortment of wines. The last course was a platter of cheeses and fresh walnuts I brought with me from France accompanied by a glass of port. 

Our wine club group (L to R) Brian, Jen, Keith, Greg, Cathy, Eleise and Chris

It feels so good to be home and surrounded by people I love and care for. However, as the song goes "the weather outside is frightful". There is lots of snow and it is very cold, but the upside is that the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Winter in Canada is not for "sissies". Keith tells me I have softened since I have lived in a Mediterranean, moderate and humid climate for the last few months. I look forward to going back and avoiding the cold winter months here.

I realize it is very important to try and maintain some of the French I have learned these past few months. To that end, I have contacted a former colleague and I will be meeting her for lunch at a local French bistro today to chat en français and explore volunteer opportunities to continue my French language learning in the future. The radio in my car is on the French station and I hope to watch a little French TV. Regardless, most of my communication here is in English, so I will have to work hard to catch up when I get back.

Next post will cover my last week of holidays in Edmonton including Christmas, New Year's and my flights back to France. Travelling by plane in Canada during the winter is always a challenge because of the weather. I hope that the ice storms in Ontario and other such untoward weather phenomena are over by the time I leave. Merry Christmas everyone!

Last day of school before the holidays

Today was our last day of classes before the Christmas holidays. It was filled with mixed emotions. My prof, Caroline, has been my favourite so far. All the profs I have had have been very good, but I particularly like her and her teaching style. My fellow classmates have also been delightful. One student stands out among the others. Alvero is from Columbia and strikes me as a very bright young man. What I find most endearing about him is his passion for life. He literally wears his heart on his sleeve especially when he talks about his family, friends, football or country. He has certainly convinced me that Colombia is a place well worth visiting.

My Class - Caroline, the prof, is at the back in the middle and Alvero is on her right. Several of my classmates were not here today because they have already left on their vacation.

After the class, the school held a reception with champagne, wine and snacks for all the students and the profs to celebrate the beginning of the holidays. It was fun to chat with some of the other students who have been in my classes previously. Many of them are now heading back to university or their jobs. No doubt, there will be new faces in January.

The adage "you are what you think" has been haunting me recently. I wonder if some of my progress learning French has been inhibited because I don't think I can understand what others are saying and therefore I can't. It's like I put up some kind of a block. To overcome this, I am trying to be more positive and open to learning opportunities to improve my comprehension. This week, I invested in a private 1 1/2 hr. lesson with a very gentle prof who helped me with my pronunciation, comprehension and vocabulary. I think I understood about 70% of what she said, so needless to say, I still have work to do, but then again, I understood 70%. There are all kinds of language learning programs on the Internet and I am a consumer of many. I also purchased several additional manuals to work through to improve my vocabulary and communication skills. Once or twice a week, I meet with people to converse in French over a cup of coffee. Emily, my aquaintance from Canada, received wonderful news this week (not so good for me) that she has been offered a great job in Vancouver that starts in February. We'll likely meet again in the new year, but her time will be limited. Another aquaintance I met at the Bookshop is Sarah. Although she's French, she is quite anxious to learn English. When we meet, our conversation often resorts to English. I have leads on a few more people that might be interested in an informal French conversation and I will follow-up with them when I get back. 

For the last couple of weeks I have also been wrestling with the decision of whether or not to move up a level or stay put when I return to school in January. Today, I finally decided to take the plunge and move up to B2. At this point I have nothing to lose and if I find that it is too difficult for me, I can always ask to move back. I hear that they speak much more quickly in B2 but, then again, so do most French people. It is just something I am going to have to get used to and it is part of the steep learning curve. I must rise to the challenge and go forward.

My wise sister-in-law, who also happens to be an ESL prof at the University of Alberta, sent me an email recently talking about the "culture shock roller coaster" experienced by most students living in a foreign country and studying a new language. The 'highs and lows' I have felt are perfectly normal. Although I continue to work hard and try my best, I am also putting less pressure on myself. The arbritrary time line of six months to master this language is likely unattainable. Now that I've realized that, I am in a much more comfortable place. If need be, I can always go back to school to continue my language learning at a later date. Right now, I am excited to return to Edmonton for the holidays to spend time with loved ones. 

A couple of days ago, Patricia and her cousin Carol bought a new little artificial Christmas tree to put in the small granary window in the living room. Together they decorated the "Charlie Brown tree" laughing and singing the traditional French Christmas song "Papa Noel". It was so much fun watching them, so I will end this blog with a few pictures of their escapades.

Christmas Season in Montpellier

It's a little odd for me to be enjoying almost balmy weather in December. Although we've had the occasional Christmas without snow in Edmonton, it is certainly rare. This last week has been beautiful. Street decorations are up and I sent you a couple of pictures of the old city in my last blog. I believe there are even tours of the city lights through the tourist office. Shop windows are decorated and artificial trees adorn most of les petites rues. The stores have increased their hours to accommodate the Christmas shoppers and yesterday, when I was in the old city, the streets were filled with people and so was the tram. 

I had noticed a poster on one of the shop doors a few days ago for a Concert Chœur Régional at the Chapelle St. Charles-La Providence on Saturday at 5:30. To get into the Christmas spirit, I thought I might try it thinking it may be a Christmas concert with music like Ave Maria or the Allelujah Chorus. Although the choir was good and the soloist had a beautiful voice, it turned out to be a fairly somber programme with music I wasn't familiar with nor would necessarily want to be. The seats in the chapel were particularly uncomfortable too (hard, wooden chairs). The upside was that I sat beside a lovely woman and she and I had a chat before the concert began. It turns out that she works in a building next door to ILA, my school, and she would like to meet me for coffee sometime in the New Year so that I can practice my French. We exchanged information and I'll give her a call when I return. 

Back to Christmas... I talked to Patricia about her family traditions. She does put up a tree, but not until a week before Christmas. She spends Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at her daughter's home in Aniane. She believes Christmas is all about the kids. There are only small gifts like tea or chocolate for the adults. After a late "repas" Christmas afternoon, she comes back to her home in Montpellier for a quiet evening after two days of excitement with the children. I asked her if the children write a letter to Père Noël. She said that Martin, her youngest grandchild, telephones Père Noël (alias Guy) who is a friend of hers. Martin shares his wish list with Père Noël and Guy plays along. I gather it is a lot of fun to listen to their conversation. Martin is an energetic little guy and I'm sure he gets pretty excited.

I'll be leaving for Canada in a week's time to share the holidays with my husband, family and friends and I can hardly wait.  In the meantime, I have one more week of school, so I had best get studying. Talk to you soon. 

Les Hivernales de Montpellier

Last Friday after class, a group of us spent the afternoon together. Intitially, we enjoyed lunch at a small restaurant with Belgian roots that our prof had recommended. After that, we wandered through parts of the old city of Montpellier. It is a bit like a maze and you can spend hours walking up and down narrow alleys lined with shops, restaurants, bars and cafés.  Every time I explore, I come across a place I have never been or I spy something different the second or third time I visit. It really is quite lovely. Here is our motley crew outside the Préfecture (police headquarters) including yours truly, Ludwig (Germany) and Magda (Poland, now living in England). Jonathan (Scotland) took the picture.

Our exploration led us to the Esplanade Charles de Gaulle to the first day of Les Hivernales de Montpellier. 

From what I can gather, this is an annual event of le marché de Noël du sud (the Christmas market that runs until late December). All along the Esplanade, there were dozens of small kiosks selling regional products, merchandise, food and drink for locals and visitors alike to enjoy. You can see all the kiosks on the sides with people walking down the middle.

Some of the kiosks were decorated "to the nines".

This vendor was selling wonderful duck products - duck confit, duck mousse, foie gras etc.

Champagne anyone?

Look at the size of this gingerbread - incroyable!

Of course there were vendors selling wine and we had to try some. Both Magda and Jonathan bought some wine and I went back today to buy Patricia a bottle of Muscat de Noël. Several places along the way were also selling individual cups of hot mulled wine. Although I didn't have any, many people were drinking it as they walked and shopped. Life is much more civilized here in so many ways. Wouldn't it be grand if we could have a mug of mulled wine in hand as we shopped at the market in Edmonton? 

By evening, all the lights were on in the Place de la Comédie. Très jolie, n'est-ce pas?

Before ending this blog, I have one quick story to tell you. There is a kiosk right at the beginning of the market filled with Santa hats and the like. Santa's elves (young girls dressed in the appropriate garb, hats and all) run the booth. However, when I passed by on the way out, Santa's elves were out smoking beside the booth. It just struck me as ironic and somewhat funny. Santa was nowhere to be seen either.  Perhaps, he was off having a smoke as well.