2007: le Débat

So anyway, since I somehow started the month with posts for each day, I'm going to set myself a challenge: write one post for every day in the month of May! I have a tendency to lose track of blogging time (as in, I thought I wrote one yesterday but really that was 2 weeks ago), especially when I have lots of schoolwork. But in May I won't have any classes, just work. I figure it's as good a time as any to try this out.

First subject: the debate between Sarkozy and Royal that took place yesterday. I had it on in the background while I was writing my paper yesterday and I only really paid attention to the beginning, the parts about immigration, and the parts about education. One specifically stood out to me because I thought it was a bit sexist. (For those of you who aren't aware of it, Sarkozy is a man and Royal is a woman; Sarkozy is more conservative, with the UMP party, and Royal is a socialist.) I've thought about it some more, and now I don't think it was intended to be sexist, but it upset me at the time.

What happened was that Sarkozy mentioned a reform he wanted to create that would allow handicapped students to attend "normal" schools. Royal became upset at this point because she, as Minister of Education (awhile ago), had actually passed measures that let teacher's aides help handicapped children in the regular classroom, thus allowing them to attend regular classes--and the UMP had removed funding from this project, thus putting the issue on the table again. She interrupted Sarkozy and "raised the tone" (as the French say) of the conversation, even calling his proposal "immoral" because his party had already struck hers down.

(Here's where it gets questionable.) Sarkozy told her to "calm down" (Calmez-vous, Madame!), and I knew it was going to get worse. I absolutely hate it when people tell me to calm down when I'm making an argument, and I could kind of tell it was the same with her. She did not calm down and told him that one shouldn't calm down if one thinks that something is immoral. Then he went for the throat: "Madame, il faut etre calme pour etre president" (Madame, to be president, one must be calm).

Wooooooo! Now that bugged me a little bit! Let's imply that she's hysterical and incapable of managing her emotions! (Yeah, that's what I thought was sexist.)

She really got into it, defending herself, saying that she wasn't upset but rather angry, and we have the right to get angry. I personally thought she did a pretty good job of keeping her cool, although other commentaries I've seen have not agreed.

Why did I change my mind and think it wasn't meant as sexist? Well, people have been saying that Sarkozy would lose his cool, so I think he was just trying to be ironic--"one must be calm to be president" might have been a charge leveled at him, and so he was trying to turn it around. Unfortunately it came off as sexist to me. As I've said though, no one else I've read has seen it that way (voir: this blogger I like).

Now, before you go thinking that I looove Royal because she is a woman and, well, women with feminist leanings just love all women no matter what they do... Let me tell you. I have no preference for either candidate. In fact, up until a few weeks ago, I was favoring Sarkozy. But he really rubbed me the wrong way during this debate. And of course, I don't live in France anymore, so more taxes or less immigrant rights doesn't mean the same thing it would have last year.

Yeah, that's a pretty crummy thing to say, but it's true, sadly. But I'll still watch arret sur images today to see what I missed.

Maybe He Was Right...

I guess it has to happen sometimes. I finished my last two paragraphs but I haven't started my last (lastlastlast!!!!) paper yet. Due at noon tomorrow. Will probably be written tonight in front of the TV.

In other (non-school-related) news, it was my birthday yesterday! My dad woke me up in the morning to wish me a great day, and Lorene called me at work after scaring Jube with her German birthday wishes. My boss gave me a really nice card and invited us out to dinner with her and her husband next week. Then last night Jube took me out to the restaurant where we stuffed ourselves.

I dressed up in a Promod dress I'd bought a couple of years ago and wore the Fragonard perfume he bought me during our first trip to Eze. He wore shorts and his "Crabby Dick's" t-shirt, which I thought was a great choice since we were going to a rival restaurant, Joe's Crab Shack. (Yeah, I was probably way overdressed, but I don't get to dress up too much and it was fun!) We had shrimp, crab dip, dessert, all on the pier in downtown Norfolk. Funnily enough there were two tables of French men nearby.

Then we came home where I fell asleep almost immediately and I woke up this morning with a sore throat, having caught a little bug. That must be why I haven't started my paper yet, right?

Something to think about...

Background: I have a 15-page paper due tomorrow. It is finished except for about two paragraphs.

Gem: Why, why, WHY can't I finish this paper? It's only two paragraphs! Just the conclusion! What's so hard about it?

Jube: Easy. It's because you don't want to start the next paper.

Gem: Yeah, right. Merci pour la psychologie.

Jube: No, seriously. Trust me. I do it all the time.

I knew he was a procrastinator, but I didn't realize it came with perks!

Fin Avril

Last year at this time Jube and I were nervously waiting to receive word about his fiance visa. We were unaware of how long it would take to get everything set. His parents called every day for a week asking for the date of the wedding because they were sure that plane ticket prices would soar for every delayed minute... My mother kept cool (at least on the phone with me!) and drove to Norfolk to find us an apartment... We were not yet worried about his immigration, but focused more on our jobs. I remember quite clearly my mixed feelings on the bank holidays on May 1st and May 8th: I was happy I didn't have to work, but Mondays were my "big days" and I would be losing a lot of revenue.

This year I am not worried about money or immigration. I have a concrete plan for my summer and Jube just received his "green" card (it's actually white...). Instead, I am temporarily stressed out about my finals. I'm sure that after next Friday I will be relaxed, ready for my part-time job. [I recently realized how wonderful working 20 hours a week is. I think it's the perfect amount. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to get as much money as I might working full-time, but it's always nice to dream!]

We also attended a French speaking get-together yesterday. There were three French citizens, one Franco-American, one Englishman, and some 'mericans. I was happy that I hadn't lost much French, and it was great for my ego that two people asked if my parents were French. (100% American, if you're wondering.) As always, I don't know how amazing my grammar is, but my southern French accent manages to fool them. In fact, when I was first learning French, I couldn't exactly have a conversation. Jube's friends found phrases like tant pis hilarious when I said them, because I had such a heavy Meridional accent. This used to bother me--I mean, I was trying really hard to speak French, and all that happened was that people laughed at me! But then I realized that it would be pretty freakin' hilarious if a Frenchie would say things like "Hi y'all! Ah'm Pierre!"

It was interesting to meet French expats in the US. Some of them were going through the same culture shock I experienced and that I still read about on other blogs. I'm really glad that Jube isn't having trouble acclimating to the US. I can hardly remember how out of place I used to feel during my first few months in France.

Anyway, I guess I'll get back to grinding out papers. Only 14 more pages to go...

Consume Consume Consume!

This weekend was a busy one, and now it's exam week... so I'll try to update as quickly and as thoroughly as possible!

Last Saturday Jube, Kilmer & I drove out to Chesapeake to look at a used car we found on Craig's List. It was just as good a deal as we'd thought, so we decided to buy it! Yes, we have been living in the US without a car for six months, and it is SUBHUMAN. (Actually it's not subhuman, we've been doing fine and saving lots of money on gas, but now Jube has to get a job and a car is required...)

We drove out to find a notary, but unfortunately it was after noon and all of the banks were closed. I pulled out my checkbook to give the first owner a deposit only to find that I had no checks left--just some duplicates and deposit slips that had fooled me into thinking there was something underneath. I guess it's a good thing that we hadn't found a notary after all. We made arrangements to meet on Monday for the car instead.

Then we drove back to Norfolk where Jube took advantage of our having transportation to cast his vote for President of the Republic. I can't tell you who he voted for because it is a SECRET BALLOT!, but I will tell you that the-person-who-shall-not-be-named didn't make it into the runoff election. And it wasn't Le Pen.

On Sunday I went to Taste of India, a celebration of Indian culture, with some Indian neighbors. They even lent me some clothes so I could go in "Indian dress." I ate great food, saw a Bhangra competition, and even made some new friends. Here I am in character:


The next day we got our car! Yay! Here is a picture of it for everyone to drool over:

Monday was awesome!!! Not only did we get our car, Jube received word that his temporary green card had been printed--and on his way to 7-11 to buy celebratory ice cream, he noticed this really cool entertainment center by the dumpster. And it had a rug on it. We dragged them up to our apartment, where they make a great addition to our decor. Yes, Robin, I've been converted to Dumpster Diving!

And now I feel really guilty that I haven't started any of my final papers yet, so I've got to go. 1st year of grad school is almost over!!!!

Did you know ...

...that the Nintendo DS has a little microphone on it? And some games require you to blow into the microphone to get the characters to jump around? It's true! Jube was playing one of those games the other day while I read the platforms of the French presidential candidates to him.

The platforms are interesting to read... the leftist candidates talk about raising minimum wage, reducing the number of weekly hours worked, and legalizing all immigrants (literally those "without papers," les sans-papiers). The more conservative candidates advocate raising the weekly work hours, keeping Turkey out of the EU, and kicking out all illegal immigrants (immigration zero--I'm sure you can understand that one!). Those in the middle prefer a melange, focusing on solidifying the current 35-hour work week and new immigration restrictions (in Sarkozy's words, immigration choisie--the government chooses who to let in, similar to the US).

I was reading Jube the platforms because he had just received an invitation to vote in Norfolk. He is still debating on whether to vote or not, for a couple of reasons: 1) the voting location is relatively far from our house, and we still don't have a car; 2) he can't really decide who to vote for.

As I read some of the platforms, we would laugh trying to imagine how they could implement their ideas. One that I loved was Le Pen's plank that would give women a minimum wage for the rest of their lives if they have children. "Wonderful!" I said, "As soon as I have French citizenship we'll move back and have three kids."

"No, wait," Jube said.

Sure enough, under "immigration," there it was: "Will cancel all rights to French citizenship based on marriage." We started laughing.

"Damn!" said Jube, "Le Pen made me lose my last life!" He had inadvertently laughed into the microphone and jumped right into a little pit. Now he's definitely not voting Le Pen.

Memories...

I just realized that it's been about a week since I last posted. Unfortunately there is nothing going on around here that might possibly be interesting! I figured I might post one of my memories from before the beginning of time (i.e. before I began my blog).

In May, 2005, I had just finished my 7 months of French assistantship and was ready for some vacation! Jube was nearing the end of his stage (as a student teacher), and we knew we would be moving to the Nice academy in a few months. I really wanted to go to Roland Garros, which was being held the last week of May and the first week of June. Le Parisien's girlfriend at the time was a posh commerciale at Todd's, and she could have gotten us tickets. However, my brother and his girlfriend had already bought their tickets to visit us on exactly the same dates! I decided to put my dream on hold for another year. [They broke up a week later.]

My brother, JW, and his girlfriend arrived late on the day they were supposed to get there, causing us some logistical problems. See, we only had one car, and Jube had to work in Clapiers (a town near Montpellier). He raced to the airport during his lunch break, gave JW a twenty-Euro bill, and wrote our address on a piece of paper. The two jetlagged first-time out-of-the-country travelers managed to find a taxi. Unfortunately the taxi had some problems finding our apartment. Granted, it was on a very small street, but seriously! He left JW at the end of the street (a street of about 10 meters) because he couldn't find our number (number 2!!). Sweet little brother tried to give him a tip, but their taxi driver must have felt bad and didn't take the naive American's money. They finally made it to our apartment, safe and sound.

I think they had a good time--we even took a trip to Barcelona!--but one incident will always stick out to me about their visit. Jube and I used bikes to get around Montpellier, and we decided to rent a couple of bikes for the Lovebirds. We decided to bike to the Zoo one day. Jube told us it wasn't far, but we shouldn't have trusted him: as a child he was in the mountain biking club of Mende, and his parents still take Sunday bike rides from La Grande Motte to Palavas. It wasn't impossible to get to the Zoo, but we were out of breath when we arrived--and the poor little Miss (JW's girlfriend) had fallen twice, once in front of a bus when she tried to dismount!

By the time we reached the Zoo, la Miss was ready to relax--but first she had to find a bathroom. Luckily there was a public toilet right next to the Zoo entrance. To our surprise, she reappeared nearly as soon as she had entered. "There are no toilets there," she told us, seriously. Upon further investigation, we discovered that there actually were toilets--des toilettes turques*. La pauvre! I think she must have used them, but I'm not sure... she might have held it during the whole visit.

We made it home safely, with no traffic accidents, but I think she was happy to see our bathroom!




*Basically a hole in the ground with some hand supports (if you're lucky). I know I shouldn't be mean--once, a couple of years earlier in Saint Jean du Gard, I had refused to use some of those very same toilets... but it was because I had a UTI!

Colonial Times

Last week two of Jube's friends came to visit from Ohio. It's always lots of fun to have friends visit, for a couple of reasons:

First, you get to spend time with your buds! When BB visited us in Nice last year, I got a chance to show off my favorite parts of the city and share everything with one of my bestest friends. This past week we had a great time with some Ohio friends--we'd seen them when we went to Columbus during winter break, but it was fun to have them at our house. We took them to my favorite smoothie place and our favorite seafood place and our favorite Irish pub.

Second, you get to visit parts of your region you'd never seen before. In our case, we went to Colonial Williamsburg. It is a bit pricy to get in ($36 for a day pass) but it was really really fun. We got to hear speeches by George Washington and Benedict Arnold. Our friend Nikos, who is in law school, enjoyed the colonial courthouse, where the guide explained the difference between lots of different crimes and punishments. We also got to see a blacksmith making nails and a military exposition.

The weather was really wonderful, and we were able to fool the Ohio boys into thinking that the weather in Norfolk is balmy year-round. The day after they left the temperatures plunged 30 degrees (from 80 to 50), but they figured that it was just because they had gone back to Ohio.

Spring Break: The Good, the Bad, and... well you know the rest...!

That is a night shot from our hotel window in Brussels. Lorene and I had a great view!

So. The Good: I visited Brussels, where I was happy to see that my French was still up to snuff. I went to my favorite stores (like Zara, Camaieu, H&M, and Promod) but managed not to spend too much. I made everyone at home happy by sending nice postcards--even to work! Am I too much of a suck-up?


Here you can see a really old passageway connecting two houses in Bruges. I liked it!

The Bad: I got sick and almost "baptized" the Tube while switching trains. I managed to keep control of myself because the only thing I had to puke in was a little ziplock baggie that was already kind of gross (it had peanut-butter leftovers in it). As I was desperately searching for a trash can, I remembered that there aren't any for fear of terrorists putting bombs in them! Not only that, there are no corners in the Tube--everything is... well... tube shaped! I didn't relish crouching in full sight of everyone while retching into my disgusting baggie. I managed to hold it until the hotel...

Plus I didn't get to try mussels in Brussels. Now that is really too bad!


Here is a picture I took of a wall in the cathedral in Bruges. I like how the thanks are in French and Flemish.

The Ugly: I missed Jube's birthday while I was abroad! Of course I called and sent a postcard and bought him lots of beer and chocolate, but it couldn't really make up for my absence. And finally, I have a picture of the Ugly in Brussels:


Yum! Doesn't that make you want some Coke? Well, it's funny anyway!

Visitors

We have a couple of Ohio visitors in town this week, and we've been doing some fun stuff. The other day we all toured the U.S.S. Wisconsin, a battleship commissioned during World War II that is now part of the Nauticus museum in downtown Norfolk. The ship is free to tour, and there are veterans stationed at different parts of the ship who are happy to explain the lingo, the gear, and the firepower of the ship. The museum, which includes an aquarium, isn't free, but there is a little area after exiting the ship that shows Navy history throughout American history. We walked around, checking everything out, reading about battles and looking at propaganda posters.

As we were leaving, three little kids ran in, two boys and a girl. The boys started looking at all of the models, but the girl called to them, "Don't go in!"

"Why not?" asked one of the other boys.

"If we go in, the adults will come after us, and they take so long! They have to read everything!"

I realized then that I have crossed into the land of adulthood.

Nawf'ck

I don't think I'm ready to tackle talking about my trip yet. It was pretty fun, but I am still jetlagged! I've never had such a hard time getting back on US time... usually it is easier for me, but I haven't slept in once since last Sunday. Robin asked me to talk about Norfolk, so I figured I could write a post about my new home. I'll write about my trip to Europe later, although I think that my pictures speak better than I can.

So, Norfolk! First of all, Norfolk isn't quite the American South, but it is close enough to fool the unsuspecting Northerner. On the local news, the anchors speak with the usual "Received American Accent," but when they come to the work "Norfolk," they say Nawf'ck. That is apparently the correct way to pronounce it, and pronouncing the "l" (as one would when saying "folks") will label you as a Northerner. However, Norf'k is also an accepted pronunciation.

Norfolk is part of Hampton Roads, a conglomeration of 7 or 8 cities around where the Chesapeake Bay separates Maryland from Virginia. There are innumerable rivers and inlets and estuaries that separate cities and neighborhoods from each other and make the weather humid and changeable. The seafood is great, but the air sometimes smells marshy, no matter how far away you think you are from the nearest body of water.

Norfolk is also home to the largest naval base in America. That means that the military has a very strong presence in the city. During the recent midterm elections, all of the political commercials focused on what the other side was doing for military families. Shops advertise "free credit for military families!", and you can't go into a bar without overhearing a conversation with (or falling into a conversation with) a member of the military. Old Dominion University provides many services for actively serving military and veterans; several of my colleagues fell into working in higher education after 20 years in the Navy.

What's more, Norfolk is a very diverse city, with no race being in the majority (although Whites come close, with 49.2% of the population). This is partly because of the military presence and partly because Norfolk is close to the South. ODU is a diverse campus as well, in part because it draws most of its students from the region.

Downtown Norfolk isn't a bad place to be. When I visited a year ago, it seemed very industrial and boring, but I have discovered that there is a little harbour with a dock that is charmingly situated near a one-stop-shop kind of restaurant/bar/nightclub building. After Ohio, Norfolk is a new slice of Americana. After France, Norfolk is a typically ugly American town with some nice features.

I will say one thing: arriving back from Europe, looking out the plane window at Norfolk rushing closer, I thought, "How glad I am to be here!" I never thought I would feel so happy to be coming back to Nawf'ck.

My Trip

Howdy folks! It's been a rough ten days in Europe, but I think I'm finally back on US time. I did a lot of things that I hadn't done before, like visit Cambridge, Oxford, Brussels, and Bruges, and a lot of things that I had done before, like take tea in Kensington Palace and drink a demi in a brasserie. I had more good moments than bad, so let me tell you about some of them.

First, Cambridge is a beautiful college. Here I saw undergraduates punting along the river Cam and lots of Gothic architecture:





I enjoyed a rainy day at Camden Lock in London...



And a sunny day in Brussels...



But the nicest town we visited was Bruges.







I had some great food while abroad too. The highlights include:

Fish and Chips from a pub in England
Indian Food near Leicester Square
French fries in a cornet with mayonnaise in Brussels
A tasty savory crepe from La Maison des Crepes
A wonderful 3 course meal in Bruges, including fresh tomato soup and pineapple chicken
Lots of beer (including one called "Forbidden Fruit" with naked people on the bottle)
One very tasty Belgian waffle

Signing In to Sign Off

Hi guys. It's been awhile, hasn't it? It's because I've been swamped with work. Papers, classes, volunteering, and job... it all adds up. And today I'm off to Europe for class!

I should be excited, I know, but I think that Jube's and my years of long-distance relationship have ruined traveling for me. Although I know that I will only be gone for 10 days, I'm still leaving... I must be psychologically scarred, because I've been tense and on the verge of tears all day long. Jube thinks I'm crazy, because

1. It is spring break and I'm headed to Europe!!

2. We will only be apart for 10 days.

3. He's already sick of being married and is ready for me to leave (all right, I made that last one up, he would never say that).

I did file my taxes, though, and I'll be expecting my refund on my return.

Ma Deesse

Valentine's Day was pretty laid back for us this year. I gave Jube a card that said "OOH LA LA!" on it, and he didn't give me anything. I spent the evening writing a paper.

A funny thing happened though... the day before Valentine's, we were teasing each other about the amazing surprises we'd bought. Of course I knew he was only getting a card, but I was hoping for some chocolates or something. When I got back from work that afternoon, there was a phone book lying open on the bed. The page Jube had been consulting was in the "V" section, open to "veterinarians." I thought he might have been thinking about buying me a dog, but that didn't seem plausible.

When I asked him about it, he admitted that he had wanted to buy me something special ever since Christmas vacation. Valentine's had seemed the best day to give it to me, but he hadn't been able to pick it up. He'd spent all morning calling stores to find availability, but there just weren't any!

"What was it?" I demanded.

"Well... I was looking under 'video games,'" he told me. "I saw how much you enjoyed your brother's Nintendo DS, so I wanted to get you one."

The next day I arrived back from work to find that he had biked over 2 hours to Target to get me my little DS. What a nice guy!

Livret

Today Jube and I received our livret de famille in the mail. It looks like a bigger version of my US passport: navy blue with a gold crest on the front. The only downside is that they misspelled my name inside. It seems to be a common mistake for speakers of Latin languages, since they made the same mistake on my Spanish student visa.

Now in only 3 years and 9 months I have the "right to French nationality." However, there were a couple of parts of the contract I was unaware of until we received the livret. First of all, there are les obligations alimentaires. I have to feed Belle-mere and Beau-pere, and Jube has to feed my parents, and they have to feed us too. Fun, eh? But it's okay, I like to cook. Mom, Dad, Belle-maman, Beau-papa: you'll never go hungry again! There are also rules about the surnames we can legally give our children, how soon we have to report their births, and other interesting financial obligations.

I have to say, the livret de famille is much more informative than an American marriage certificate. Now I know exactly what I signed up for...

SPCA Sunday

After our trip to the mall on Saturday, we decided to go out again on Sunday, but just down the street this time. We went to Pet Palooza, where we saw lots of dogs and their owners, as well as some interesting animal displays. We saw "the smartest dog in the world," Chalcy, who yawned at her handler when she asked her to jump through a hoop:



We saw the Chickenman, a Christian performer who converts using the power of his trained chickens (I am NOT kidding--check out his website at www.chickenmanusa.com):



We even saw a tortoise collecting money for Reptile Rescue:



What we DIDN'T see (and I was glad for it) were dogs to adopt. I think I could have convinced Jube to break our lease and bring home a little puppy--but thankfully I wasn't given the opportunity.

What I wish we hadn't seen:



The chicken on the left is named Priscilla, and she is alive. The chicken on the right is named Aquilla, and he is dead. But he's still performing his tricks! The Chickenman explained to us that he would soon be in a Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum... and not too soon for me!

And Now, a Norfolk Tidbit

You know how lots of cities have painted sculptures around that are kind of a tourist attraction? I remember I liked it when I visited New York in 2000 when it was full of cows; even Delaware, Ohio got in on the action with carousel horses a few years later. Well, Norfolk has mermaids. They are everywhere, and I'm sorry to say that most of them are ugly. A couple are really neat, including one made of metal near the water, and this one in the mall:



I think it is very creative and it definitely makes me hungry for some chocolate. I had to settle for a green tea smoothie on our last trip to the mall.

La Chandeleur et ses affinites

This weekend was really crazy and fun for us. It all started on Thursday, when one of my profs cancelled class for "inclement weather" (a few snow flurries that quickly turned to rain). Since I don't work on Fridays it was the weekend already!

We woke up late on Friday and cleaned the apartment a little bit, because we were celebrating our first Chandeleur ever. La Chandeleur takes place on February 2, and the French tradition is to make crepes and eat them. While making the crepes, you should flip them left-handed with a coin in your right hand behind your back. If you succeed in this difficult task, you will be prosperous for the rest of the year.

We invited 7 of our friends--8 showed up. That was fine, since we had made tons of crepes, and we even had enough batter left to let our guests flip some themselves. Everyone should be making lots of money, judging from their successes in crepe-flipping. After our meal, we decided to go do some Karaoke at the Darkside, which was really fun. Lorene fell over during the second solo in "Nothing Else Matters," I sang "Creep" with the wrong lyrics, and everyone had a great time.

On Saturday Jube and I went to the MacArthur Center, the mall in downtown Norfolk. Belle-maman has these really cool plates that she uses for the cheese course in France. They are dessert-size plates with little drawings of different kinds of cheeses and their animal of origin (sheep, goat, and cow are the main donors). Le Pacha has been known to pout until he gets his favorite, Reblochon. ANYWAY, the plates we found are not exactly the same. They have prints of vintage cheese packages on them. The coolest part is that they came in a box that looks like a big camembert:



Pretty cool, huh? The only down side is that when I see it, I get hungry for some tasty ripe camembert...

Ahh!

Only yesterday I was thinking that I hadn't done anything interesting lately. I wrote one of the most boring blog entries ever, because I couldn't think of anything you might like to hear about, but I wanted you to know that I am still alive.

I almost wasn't, today.

As I was crossing the road on my bike to get back home,


a car hit me.


I was hit by a car!!! A pickup truck, actually, hauling a trailer. I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw the truck coming closer and closer to me... I remembered to look at the driver's face, in his eyes, as my dad taught me--but he wasn't looking at me! I didn't have time to scream, and he hit my back wheel as he hit his brakes. The bike kind of jumped 2 feet away from the truck and I fell on my right leg. I didn't really understand what had happened to me, even though I heard two pedestrians shouting. After yelling at the driver a little bit, I actually got up and hopped on my bicycle again, ready to bike back home, but the chain had been jolted off of the gears and it wouldn't go. I was forced to walk it to my apartment. The driver of the truck apologized--"I'm really so so sorry, ma'am!"--and a good Samaritan double checked before the truck drove away.

When I got back to my apartment, I still hadn't figured out what had happened. I had to tell Jube that my bike was broken and that I was hit by a car for it to REALLY hit me. I kind of cried a little bit and had time to be glad I'd bought health insurance. I was also glad that my only injury was a little scrape on the ankle and some splinters in my hand.

To feel better, I went to get my hair trimmed at a nearby salon (I had a coupon). I am a little disappointed with the result, since she gave me kind of poofy hair. Jube told me, "I'm sure it will look better when you wash it," which means it's probably pretty bad. But since I had to leave my regular coiffeuse, Belle-maman, I guess I shouldn't have expected anything amazing.

To sum it up:

hit by a car + bad haircut = not an amazing day


But at work we had chocolate ice cream cake, so it wasn't a total bust.

Mail Call!

Today Jube and I received some good mail. I got my W2 forms. That might not sound very exciting, but I haven't received any income tax refunds ever in my life--and for the last 2 years, Jube and I have had to PAY income tax*! So I'm going to file my taxes and hope for a tidy little check.

Jube got a notice from USCIS telling him that his green card application has been forwarded to a different place. That doesn't sound really awesome, I know, but it does mean that we have all of the correct forms and fees turned in and ready to go. According to his "connections" (i.e. an internet forum), the green card process will be accelerated this way. I'm glad to hear it! Let's hope for REALLY soon!

This weekend we didn't really do anything except clean the apartment. That's a pretty good accomplishment, though, considering that I hadn't completely unpacked my bag from Christmas vacation. On Friday night we went to the American-International Graduate Student Connection Dinner, which was really pretty awesome. We ate good food, met some new people, and enjoyed some ethnic dancing. Afterward we went to a nearby Mexican restaurant for drinks and dancing. Even Jube got in on the act!

And today it was back to work and school--and time to file my taxes!

Something Psychological...

Once, while enjoying an apéritif with Belle-maman, Beau-papa opened up a cabinet to get some more beer glasses. He chose two or three and took them into the kitchen. Belle-maman called after him, “Close the cabinet door!” Grumbling, he came back in to close it. Belle-maman turned to me and said, “He never closes doors. Never! He would leave all of the drawers open and the cabinets, too, if I weren’t there to remind him. It must be something psychological chez lui.”

Beau-papa gave me his patented “long-suffering” look, but agreed. “C’est vrai, I always leave the doors open. Who knows why?”

I had never noticed it before that day, but Jube is very similar in the kitchen. If he puts away the dishes, he leaves the cabinets open, and I have to close them behind him. Maybe it is psychological.

But I do notice that I leave my dresser drawers open, and Jube never nags me to close them—so if it is psychological, I guess there are things we can learn to live with.

Back In Norfolk

After the first week of classes, I was ready for a vacation--and luckily this weekend was 3-days thanks to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Not only that, the weather has been gorgeous, sunny, 70s... it invited us outside! On Saturday we went to the mall in downtown Norfolk to take advantage of the post Holiday sales. Right next to the mall is a beautiful old house that is being renovated for a museum, the Moses Myer House. Since only about half of the rooms are totally finished, guided tours are free. Jube and I were the only people for our tour, so we got very personal attention to our questions. Here is a picture of the dining room in the Moses Myer House:



All of the furniture in this room is original to the Moses Myer family, so it's pretty old (from the American Federalist Period). I really enjoyed the tour, but it took a lot longer than we had expected. Afterwards we scoured the mall for good deals, and I had a green tea smoothie that was really tasty.

On Sunday, the weather was even nicer than on Saturday. After getting a late start to the day, Jube and I biked to the Virginia Zoo. I bought us a membership since it is only about 15 minutes by bike from our apartment. We really had a great time.



The African section of the Zoo is really well designed, with interesting vistas. For example, from the lion enclosure, you can see giraffes, elephants, and rhinos in the distance. You feel very close to the animals.

I'm glad that we were able to take advantage of such nice January weather, since it looks like it will be much colder this week.

First Week Back

We got back to Norfolk last Wednesday, because I volunteered to help with International Student Orientation. If I had known that I would have to be back before classes started, I might not have signed up (yes, I am a bad person). But I came and I had a really good time. My group of six students included five from India and one from Turkey--no chance to practice my French or Spanish! They were really nice and happy to have another graduate student show them around campus. We picked up free bus passes and had pizza all together. A Russian student complimented my English before he realized I was American. On Saturday we went downtown and had a scavenger hunt, walking all around town and getting to know Norfolk. I really liked it because I got to discover places I had never seen either. We finished by eating Indian food, my favorite!

Hanging out with international students really made me think about my years in France and my study abroad in Spain. I had a tough time meeting Spanish people when I lived in Valencia. In fact, my closest Spanish friend was met in France! In the past I blamed this on "French girls" or "Spanish people," not really thinking about how few international friends I had in the US. All of the international students I've met here at ODU are excited about meeting American students, and it made me realize how hard it will be for them to do. It's not that Americans are closed to foreigners--but it's a lot easier to make friends with people who have the same conception of the college environment. Most of the international students I met hadn't chosen to live in student housing, which is where I met most of my closest friends from college (yes, including Jube).

It made me think about myself abroad. While I wanted to meet Spanish people and French people, I didn't change my behavior to do so and stayed with what was comfortable--speaking English, going home early, and other cultural issues that were normal for me and my fellow American students but did not facilitate meeting the "natives." I'm going to try really hard this semester to keep in touch with the students I've met the past week, and if I ever live in France again I will put more emphasis on myself to meet French people. Instead of blaming other things (schoolwork, language), I will hold myself responsible. I'm kind of excited about it!

Dog Crazy

My family loves dogs. I love dogs too! Unfortunately Jube doesn't feel the same way about them that we do. Not only that, but he has had to sleep in the same house as 7 different dogs and 8 different cats throughout our vacation, from my mother's house (3 dogs) to my father's house (4 dogs) to Brooke's house (8 cats). If I'm very very lucky, maybe one day when we live in a place where we can have dogs, he will buy one for me.

I made this video of my mother's little bichon and she begged me to publish it. So I did! Poor Jube has been forced to watch this video about a thousand times, and he can't believe that it is now available for the entire world to enjoy. (I do hate my voice, though, especially in doggie-mode.)

Trippin'

[I actually started writing this on January 1, but everyone knows how time flies...]

Phew! We had quite a busy New Year's Weekend! Jube and I flew into Columbus last Friday afternoon, and immediately went out to dinner with old Friends. Brooke very kindly hosted us at her house, where we were able to meet her fiance and play a very strange card game. BB drove up from Springfield and Jube's old buddy came over to eat dinner with us. We went out to a couple of bars on Columbus's High Street and went to bed late.

The next morning we woke up around 9 to get dressed in our wedding finery. Catherine and her husband Chuck picked us up and we drove down to Batesville, Indiana for our friend's wedding. We had an interesting time finding the church... Catherine's MapQuest itinerary told us to turn left on a small country road. The road was only paved for the first 100 feet or so, when it turned into a gravel path that dead-ended in a cornfield. We turned around and stopped at the only house on the road to ask for directions.

"We're actually looking for a wedding," we explained.

"Oh, you're looking for the church! Everyone makes that mistake."

We found the small church at the end of a winding rural road. Now, the bride's father and her father-in-law are both Lutheran pastors, and they both officiated at the wedding, so we enjoyed two sermons. The bride was quite moved by her vows; she repeated them quite low and very emotionally. She wiped her eyes and made it through the rest of the ceremony without fainting, as Jube thought she might.

The hotel was in Cincinnati, so we drove back after the hors d'oeuvres reception to check in. It was quite luxurious (and expensive!), but we shared with Catherine and Chuck so it wasn't too bad. The reception was held in Newport, Kentucky, making it the first tri-state wedding any of us had ever attended. We ate in an Irish pub in a private room. The food was very good--and copious!--so we were very full by the time we were finished.

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed the last two open hours of the swimming pool. Catherine and Chuck had remembered their bathing suits, but Jube and I hadn't, so I bought some cheap pajama sets for us to wear. Jube was unhappy with his shorts, which were black with pink stars on the left corner. I know it sounds pretty girly, but they were the most masculine I could find! (Mine had pink hearts across the derriere.)

Of course no outing can be complete without a tiny hitch, and ours came when Jube forgot our (my!) digital camera on the shuttle between the hotel and the reception. I freaked out and yelled at him, but we were able to get it back in about 10 minutes, since the shuttle was on a loop. No Frenchmen were harmed during the reception.

Sunday: We woke up late and left the hotel late. Jube and I had a flight that left Columbus at 7:30pm, so we made a quick lunch stop in Yellow Springs, visiting BB and some other friends at Ha Ha Pizza. Then we drove to the airport and checked in quickly. Everything looked to be going well--the flight was on time, all the passengers were waiting at the gate... when five minutes before boarding a flight attendant announced that they "had just been informed that we were missing a pilot." What?? How can you suddenly discover that the pilot isn't there? He explained that a pilot had called in sick, and we were waiting for another pilot who was flying a charter plane in from Atlanta, etc etc... We finally boarded the plane at 9:15pm and took off at 9:40. We didn't get back to my dad's house until 11:00, where we ate dinner really quickly and then rang in the new year by banging pots and pans as usual.

Holidays

The Christmas frenzy has come and gone at my parents' house. We all exchanged gifts yesterday and for the most part everyone was happy (I think). My mother received an electric fireplace, which we opened first. My stepfather had tried to raise the fire frenzy by putting the "yule log" on television. She was disappointed to begin with, because she had wanted a gas fireplace, but she's warming up to it now.

Jube and I received joint gifts: tons and tons of tools. We now have every kind of screwdriver, Allen key, monkey wrench, or pliers you could want. Now we just have to figure out how to use them... My little brothers received more fun stuff, like iPods, winter jackets, and Lego sets. I did receive some less-useful gifts, but I don't really mind the tools as much as I thought I would. I figured out that we were getting them about two days before Christmas when I saw a saw-shaped gift. Both of my brothers had already received tools. I guess my stepfather was just waiting until I got married to be able to give me such a masculine gift.

After a Christmas dinner of Cornish game hens, we drove out to my father's house. Unfortunately the gift we ordered for him still hasn't arrived, so he hasn't received a gift yet. Someday, someday! Today we ate lunch at Red Lobster with my grandmother, who ate an entire lobster tail. We were all pretty impressed.

Now I'm making plans for my friend's wedding in Indiana. We will be flying to Ohio on Friday and spending the night in Columbus at my friend Brooke's house. Then on Saturday we'll drive out to Indiana for the wedding--and by Sunday we'll be back in Maryland at Dad's house for New Year's Eve! I'll try to post more about the wedding as it comes up. It should be fun!

Christmas Vacation

After my last message, I decided to push myself a little bit and actually do something besides relaxing. A few days ago I bought cream cheese and peppermint extract, and yesterday I made peppermint cheesecake brownies. They are very tasty indeed and I have to keep myself from eating too many of them!

Yesterday I also got the chance to practice my Spanish. My mother works with deaf and hard-of-hearing children, and yesterday she went on a home visit to one of their houses. Little Fani's parents don't speak much English, which makes for an interesting problem for her and my mother. At school and with my mother, her speech therapist, Fani speaks English, but at home she is surrounded by Spanish. Since she couldn't hear until age four, when she had an operation and received hearing aids, she is already behind other children in language development. My mother thinks that, added to this delay, she is also experiencing language confusion by learning three languages at once (English, Spanish, and American Sign Language). But when I met her yesterday, she didn't seem to be doing so poorly! She could say "Where is..." and "Donde esta...", and play little listening-comprehension games. It really made me think about how lucky I was. Even if I can't always pronounce French correctly, I can hear the difference between the words. Little Fani has problems hearing the difference between "kite" and "nine."

I was embarrassed to hear how my Spanish has declined since learning French. I couldn't remember simple words if they weren't similar to French--I even forgot how to say "Christmas" which everyone knows if they listen to Feliz Navidad! But I think that Fani's mother was happy that someone could explain even a very little bit to her.

Today we are headed into town to go to a store called "Chocolatier." They are giving out free homemade chocolates and giving a discount on prices! We might also play a little bit of Scrabble, since today is my mother's last day at work and can stay up a little bit later. Now I think I might go get a brownie...

Home for the Holidays

Having finished all of my papers and finals by last Thursday, Jube and I caught a ride with Willie and were at my parents' house by 6pm the same day. I know I said I would write more often once I finished all of my schoolwork, but accessing the computer is a little bit more difficult here.

Since Thursday, Jube and I have gone Christmas shopping, made Indian food, and been to the town Christmas party where I stuffed myself on homemade chocolate covered toffee. Nothing much has happened. We bought Christmas cards and mailed them to Jube's family in France. I played with the dogs.

Maybe the reason I don't update much during the holidays (I've checked my past posts as well) is that I don't do very much. Sorry.

Anything But That!

For the moment, Jube can't work. Sometimes that is annoying (like when I get another bill from my student loans), but I think he's enjoying his life of leisure. When I leave in the morning, he is usually still in bed, either sleeping or on the laptop. When I come home in the afternoon, he might be making lunch--or he might be playing either the guitar or the Dreamcast. He enjoys watching the morning talk shows, too.

He's a pretty laid-back kind of guy. A few years ago I asked him what was annoying about me, and he was quiet for awhile. Finally he said, "There's only one thing I can think of that really annoys me. It's that when you make lunch, sometimes you don't think about making lunch for me, too*."

I think this is a big cultural difference between America and France. His family always ate together, at a set time, and they all ate the same thing. I appreciated it when I was in France. My family, on the other hand, didn't always eat together. On Sundays we always ate the same thing, but during the week we all did different things, and so would eat at different times. For lunch on Saturday, I usually made myself a sandwich or some pasta, and everyone else made themselves something. When we go back to my family's house for holidays, the same patterns hold, except now I know to make Jube something at the same time as myself.

This morning we woke up late and I poured myself a bowl of cereal. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked me. "Now we won't be able to eat until four o'clock because you won't be hungry!"

"Come on, Jube," I said, "we never eat until late anyway."

He gave me a dirty look and said, "I'm going to have to call Dr. Phil so we can have a talk about this."

*This is either really laid back, or really diplomatic, because I have lots of other annoying habits.

I Heart ODU

ODU students are very proud of their alma mater. They name their most precious possessions after it:



Awww! I'm sure ODU was a really cute puppy!



Get outta here man or ODU's gonna blow you away!

TENNIS!!

So what have I been up to lately? Mainly finishing the semester, working, and getting all the documents together for Jube's green card. I'm afraid I haven't done anything interesting or fun, although if you want advice about fiance visas and/or adjustment of status, feel free to email me and I'll help as much as I can.

If I haven't done anything interesting lately, then why am I writing here? Good question! Well, tonight I took a break from paper-writing (that's scheduled for tomorrow--1pm-11:59pm) and went to see Anthem Live! James Blake v. Andre Agassi!


(There's Andre's serve!)

Boy do I love tennis! The affair started when I was a freshman in college. I had free access to the university gym (the HPER Center, which we pronounced "hyper center") where I began to play racquetball pretty frequently. I've never been a very athletic person. I played softball during the summers in elementary school for fun; I've always known how to swim well (thanks, Water Babies!), but I've never been able to do it fast or competitively. My extra-curricular activities in high school were marching band, pep band, theater, and In the Know. I still don't know why I started playing racquetball, but I ended up loving it. It also turned into a way to flirt with Jube, since he also likes racquet sports and would sometimes play with me.

Since I liked racquetball, I figured I'd like tennis too. As one of my required PE classes in college, I took Tennis 1, which was pretty enjoyable.

And Then....

Then, in France, I discovered the joy that is watching the French Open. I love the commentators--their unabashed impartiality and enjoyment of the game--I love the atmosphere on the courts. (No, I've never been, but I can feel it.) I made Beau-Papa laugh by imitating the French fans: "Alleeeeeeeez!" In 2004 I had to watch Roland Garros in the US. I recently discovered a never-sent letter to ESPN complaining about their tennis commentators. They didn't seem to be watching the game!

Enough about me and tennis! I went to Anthem Live!, which is a charity match which raised money for cancer research. It was really fun, with a relaxed atmosphere and lots of fans. It was my first live tennis match, and it was great. Agassi and Blake took their match to two sets and a tiebreak. Blake finally won, but the crowd favorite was (of course!) Andre. Here is a shot of Blake dealing with his tough serve:



And now I'm off to bed to prepare myself for intense paper-writing tomorrow.

PS: I almost forgot to mention! Jube and I really really wanted to be French and shout "Alleeeeeeeez!" like we heard on France 3... but we were pretty embarrassed. After I heard an old lady shout "Come home with me tonight, Andre!", I realized I had nothing to worry about. So I shouted "alleeeeeeeeeeez!" Jube couldn't be seen as less courageous as his wife, so later on he shouted it too. I think we're ready for Roland Garros now!

Thanksgiving!! Oh wait, that was last Thursday...

Yeah, so I've been bad again. After promising myself I would post while on vacation, I didn't. (I didn't write my paper either, which is part of the reason I haven't posted until now.) What I did do was eat a wonderful Thanksgiving meal made by my parents, Jube, and my brother, and then went shopping the next day. What an American week! When we got back to Norfolk, I stayed up all night writing my paper. I'm really back in the saddle again!

On Monday we watched the finale of the Bachelor. I was annoyed because it was two hours (from 9-11), and seriously, if there's an episode that should last two hours, it's not the last one. That's too long to focus on two women. Not only that, I was under the impression it would only last the normal hour. Around 9:45 Jube told me he wanted some ice cream. Since I am a wonderful, nice wife, I told him he could feel free to get some ice cream at the 7-11 around the corner.

"But then I won't be able to see the end of the Bachelor!" he said.

"What? I thought you hated this show," I said.

"Imagine if I forced you to sit through a really bad movie for like 10 hours. Would you leave 15 minutes before the end?"

I guess he has a point.

Homecoming '06

I don't post as much as I wish I did. Maybe soon I'll set myself a challenge--a post a day or something like that. But I think I'll wait until after finals...

Anyway, this week here at Old Dominion University is Homecoming! There have been lots of fun activities that I haven't attended because of work, class, and downright laziness (I'm real lazy, y'know?). But yesterday I decided to take part in the festivities. I called Willie and Monique, rounded up Jube, and headed to the official pre-game Tailgate Party beside the Constant Center. They fed us like Americans should be fed.



ODU is wayyy bigger than my undergrad, Wittenberg University, but I got used to most of the differences pretty quickly. Sure, there are lots of buildings on campus, but I only have class in two of them. I can ignore all the others. Yeah, yeah, ODU's International Center is a whole building, with at least 20 employees, and Witt only had one full-timer... And of course the student center here is really big, with its own travel agency, Starbucks, and Quizznos... but really, that's surface stuff. What I can't get used to is the Constant Center. It is really huge. Jube is going to see Godsmack there; I bought tickets to see Agassi play a charity match. And the coolest part is that, as a student, I can get in to see the basketball teams play for free! Here's a picture of half of the basketball court in the Constant Center:



The funniest part of going to basketball games here are the ODU Cheerleaders and Dance Team. It wouldn't be funny except that Jube and Monique were disappointed that the cheerleaders didn't dance like in the movies (I guess they're thinking about American Pie, et al.). Luckily for them, towards the end of the game both the dance team and the cheerleading squad swept out onto the court to do their very popular dance to "Ice Cream and Cake," leading the student section in their trademarked gestures.



Here the students aren't dancing, but rather heckling the opposing team like a student section should.

Hm hm...

Due to an inundation of requests (two!), I am going to post some pictures here. Now, you may have noticed that I don't post pictures of myself or other people I know, so these pictures might be a little bit bland. But it's the best I can do without compromising my principles!

Here are the first pics:

While it might not seem to have much to do with the wedding, it does. I took the belle-famille to Washington, DC to visit all of the monuments. We stayed there all day long, and boy oh boy were we ever tired by the end of it! As you can see, it was a beautiful day, although it was also very cold. We enjoyed the beautiful fall foliage.





We also saw the sculpture garden by the National Archives, where there is a reproduction of a Paris metro stop. Le Parisien had me take a picture of him descending the metro stairs with the Archives behind--a surreal picture for his friends.



This next one is a picture of our two wedding cakes as seen from above. One of them is a pretty traditional American cake. It had no icing, just a layer of white chocolate. Inside there was white chocolate mousse. The other cake is the traditional French piece montee (pretend like you can see the accents there). We got it from the baker at the restaurant where we had our reception, and the choux were very tasty indeed! You can also see my bouquet here. La Parisienne caught it... it makes all of us hope that they will be married soon for an excuse to go to Martinique!



These final two pictures are from the reception. The food was amazing! The first one is the main course--Angus beef with juniper berry sauce and a "cheddar brioche bread pudding." Then you can see our trio of desserts.





Behind the desserts are some "Halloween crackers." They were lots of fun to open and everyone wore their paper crowns.

I don't mean to throw myself flowers, but Belle-maman told us it was the classiest wedding she'd ever attended. (It's probably because there were only 20 of us there, meaning we could have really good food. Beau-papa, le Parisien, and the other two older male guests even enjoyed Louis XIII Cognac! The bartender was French and they could order whatever they wanted!)

All in all, a great wedding--if I do say so myself.

Phew

What

A

Week.

Last Friday, I took Jube's family to Washington, DC where I walked all of our legs off. We visited the Mall and all of its monuments as well as three museums. Then we got married on Sunday. It was lots of fun (really, it was!) and on Monday we zipped back to Norfolk so I could go to class. Tuesday and Wednesday I worked, and then I jetted (well, hitched a ride) back to DC to attend a conference. So I'm just writing this really crappy little blog to let everyone know I am totally fine and--now--married. I've received lots of emails from friends I haven't seen for a long time and I haven't been able to answer a single one! Also, since I was in DC at this conference, I haven't been able to talk to any of those who called on the phone! Soon, soon, soon I will write you all emails and call you all. And soon I will write a new, interesting, fun-filled blog.

I promise.

Oh My!

This weekend...

Friday: Jube and I rent a silver minivan and eat an early lunch. He then drives to The Plains, VA, and then to Dulles Airport, where le Parisien and his girlfriend arrive late in the evening.

Saturday: Jube, le Parisien, and la Parisienne go shopping at the Outlet Mall near The Plains. Afterwards they check out a vineyard close by and visit the quaint downtown area of Middleburg, Virginia.

Sunday: The three Frenchies go to the new Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport in the morning. Le Pacha, Belle-maman and Beau-papa arrive in the afternoon. Afterwards they tour a country inn and meet some friends of my parents. That evening they go to bed early after watching part of a movie.

Monday: The new arrivals wake up at 1:30am, and les Parisiens awake at 4:00am. By the time Jube gets up, they are ready to go! They head out to the Outlet Mall again and then visit some nearby fall festivals.

Meanwhile........

Friday: I have my last outing as a free woman. I go to Thea's house where I drink some beer and watch The Office (American version). I also eat most of Thea's homemade cheeseball.

Saturday: I write three papers. I eat some leftovers and only leave the apartment to go to 7-11 because I run out of milk.

Sunday: I grind out one more paper and manage to do the research for one more. I also paint my finger- and toenails, use an algae mask, and take a long shower.

Monday: I go to work. Afterwards I eat lunch at the Student Center, where I meet Monique. She is a student at ODU's English Language Center and is from Cameroon. We speak for about an hour in English and then an hour in French, when I realize that I'm running late for class. I hop on my bike and speed over where I sit through two presentations.

That's it so far...

Ache

Jube left yesterday in a rented minivan to pick up le Parisien and his girlfriend at the airport. Today they are going outlet shopping and eating lots of good American food.

I, on the other hand, am still in Norfolk, trying to finish my homework for the next two weeks. I'm going to be getting married, going to a conference in DC, and (supposedly) reading for the next week's worth of classes. I don't know how it will all happen, but I'm trying. Right now I'm lying in bed with my books scattered around me. I have started a paper and am doing research for another. However, in the course of my research, I stumbled upon this blog. My chest aches because I miss Montpellier so much! It reminds me of when Jube would leave and go back to France while I continued studying at Wittenberg. Maybe it's because he left yesterday and brought those memories back, but I don't think so.

I really fell in love when I moved to France. Of course being with Jube had a lot to do with it, but it wasn't everything. I had never known what it was like to be attached to a place until I lived in Montpellier. I loved waking up and riding my bike through town to the train station to go to work. I loved exploring the city, alone and with my friends. I really loved it when my family came to visit and I could share my favorite places with them. I hope that someday I can recapture those feelings. I loved living. Sometimes, walking home from the nearby grocer's, after a long day at work and annoyed because I had to go shopping before I could cook dinner, I would just stop and look around and realize how lucky I was. Simply smelling the Mediterranean heat or hearing the lives of the other inhabitants of the city could make me feel calmer.

Maybe someday I'll feel the same way about another place, but right now I can't. I'm jealous when I read about someone else discovering my city, my Montpellier. And even though I know I have 5 papers to write, and la belle-famille's visit to plan, and menus to translate... I can't stop thinking about the one glorious year I spent in Montpel'.

As Though I Didn't Know What Would Happen...

Yesterday Jube and I went to the DMV. It was a pretty involved process for us, since we don't have a car right now and the DMV is really far away from downtown Norfolk (I guess they figure you have a car if you're going there... whatever!). We biked into Ghent where we could catch the bus that went out to Military Circle. It was a 30 minute bus ride, but we made it.

When we arrived, I warned Jube that it was something like the Prefecture. "The building doesn't look too big, though," he mentioned, happily. As soon as we walked inside and he caught a gimpse of the dozens of chairs and tellers, he smiled ruefully. "Bureaucracy is the same everywhere, I guess."

We waited in line at the information desk, where the woman approved Jube's documents and declined mine--I didn't have two acceptable proofs of identity. I'll go back next time with my passport, I guess. It took 15 more minutes for us to be called up to the desk, where the teller spent a lot of time trying to decide whether Jube's license could be exchanged or not. It turns out that it CAN be exchanged, but Jube (like me) needed another form of identity. Of course they wouldn't accept his carte nationale d'identite or his driver's licence.

We took it in good form, however. We're used to dealing with stuff like that--and it wasn't nearly as bad as the immigration section of the Prefecture!

Unchained

So, I've gotten a complaint that I don't update my blog. Well, goodness me! Can't you figure that Jube and I are enjoying our time together and don't want to be interrupted? Luckily I have him slaving away over the hot stove right now, so I can sneak off for five minutes to write in my carnet.

As you may remember, I left you with Jube's arrival imminent. I finished work at 1pm on Friday, and I thought about getting my rental car a little bit early so I could spend the night with my parents, but I decided the time was better spent doing homework and cleaning the house in anticipation of Jube's homecoming. As I cleaned, I heard the wind outside pick up. I had heard some rumors that we were expecting a noreaster, but since I'd already experienced Tropical Storm Ernesto, I wasn't really worried. It turned out, though, that when I called the rental car company to come pick me up, that portions of different streets around Norfolk were flooded. What's more, my street was flooded for about 100 feet right in front of my apartment building, as I discovered when I went outside to wait for my car. When they arrived, they told me we had to go pick up ANOTHER car... it took us about an hour to get there, since we kept having to backtrack and take alternate routes because of the patchy flooding. I was finally on my way at 11:30am (I had wanted to get going by 9:30). I followed the storm until Richmond, when I turned off of the highway and managed to escape the rain for a bit.

By the time I reached my parents' house, it was already time to drive to the airport! We zipped out there, only to wait for about an hour while Jube braved the long Immigration lines. After he emerged (with his guitar and all his bags, thank goodness!), we went to the mall to get him acclimated to America. We also bought Indian food as a welcome gift.

On Monday we drove out to the French Embassy, where we easily publier-ed les bans and got information about registering our marriage afterwards. Then on Tuesday we went to the courthouse and got our marriage license. We filled out the information (Jube hardly remembered his parents' middle names), and the secretary gave us some Hershey's kisses "as a keepsake." Jube immediately popped his into his mouth when the County Clerk appeared.

"Raise your right hands," she said.

We raised our right hands, and she launched into her speech: "Do you swear that you the information you have given us is correct, that you intend to marry each other and that you are legally free to marry?"

With his mouth full of chocolate, Jube said "I do."

Later, he told me, "I had no idea she was going to make us talk!! I wouldn't have eaten it otherwise!"

Ahh well. Now we have under 2 weeks till la belle-famille arrives, and under 3 till we are married (and I've got only 2 weeks to do allllll sorts of homework, too! Augh!).

Insomniac

I haven't been able to sleep very well for the past few days. You ask why? Well, it's all for one reason: Jube is arriving on Saturday! Hooray! We have a long weekend in front of us. Luckily it's my fall break, so I have Monday and Tuesday to do all sorts of fun bureaucratic things with him. We are going to go to the French Embassy in Washington, DC, to publier les bans--publish the banns--on Monday. We want this wedding to be legal in France, too!

Then on Tuesday we'll go to the public registrar in Virginia to get the marriage license. Fortunately (for us) Virginia is one of the most lenient states when it comes to marriage certificates. We don't have to have blood tests or anything, just some IDs.

Afterwards, we'll drive back to Norfolk so Jube can get to know his new home a little better!

So, those are our plans. Now that I'm actually getting married, I've been noticing lots of things about weddings that are really annoying. First of all, how did the wedding get to be the most important chapter in someone's life? I saw a wedding planner on TV advising couples that "the wedding dress should represent about 10% of the wedding budget. So, if you're going to spend $10,000 on your wedding, your dress should be about $1,000." When did people decide to spend $10,000 on their wedding? That's more than I'm paying for my graduate degree!

Once she found out that I'm getting married, one of the girls I work with told me that she has a little wedding scrapbook where she pastes pictures of dresses and flowers and bridesmaids' gowns that she thinks are pretty. Then she qualified her statement: "Not that I'm getting married anytime soon! I'm nowhere near engaged!" And yet, she already has her "wedding colors" picked out...

One of my college roommates would periodically tell me things about her wedding. "I chose the song that I'll dance with my dad." "I think that it would be cool if I could wear red and carry a white rose." Hmm... I don't think she had a boyfriend...

People seem very surprised to find that I'm not very stressed about the wedding--probably because they don't realize that we're only having family at an inn in The Plains, VA (check the sidebar for which one...)