Nancy, Francy

Two weekends ago I visited Lorraine, France for the first time, where I tried gray wine, attended a 15-hour wedding, and stayed in a village smaller than my high school graduating class (or my middle school one, for that matter). My good friend Anne is from there, and I was excited to finally visit where she's from (we all kinda wondered what kind of place produced her... ;) ) It was an experience! Anne and I met when we were both volunteering in Belgium in 2009/2010 and she is one of my favorite people. She is always positive, smiling, and just herself, regardless of what anyone might think. I need that in my life, so I am thrilled when I have the chance to spend time with her. We always have fun together and each time I hope that her spirit will rub off on me.

Belgium 2010. EVS: become an angel in just 6 months...or just become nuts!

The first place Anne showed me was Nancy, France. Nancy is the head of its department, Meurthe-et-Moselle and one of the two most important cities of the Lorraine region. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which coincidentally used to include parts of Luxembourg, making it easy and quick to get there from where I live. In 1766, France annexed Lorraine and they've been enjoying baguettes ever since. Having belonged to a variety of empires and rulers, Nancy has a distinct and sophisticated flavor. I enjoyed seeing this city very much!

 National Opera of Lorraine

 

Poseidon. And Anne.

 

It's France. Arc de Triomphs are a 10 Euro cent a dozen.

Anne and I enjoyed dinner, drinks, and carnival! Coincidentally the spring fair was going on, so I got to witness Nancy from the top of a Grande Roue (Ferris wheel). I genuinely had a fantastic time hanging out in this city; that girl always makes me laugh!

 


The next day we drove to where Anne's actually from: a cluster of tiny villages which make up the 'Toulois' community. Her village, Manoncourt-en-Woëvre, has a population of 211. Since Anne, her two brothers, and I were in town for the wedding, the population soared to 215. The area is so beautiful! Anne knows the different villages very well because she went to schools in many of them, as there aren't enough children in each village to make up an entire school, and she was happy to give me a tour of the area. 

Seeing the region and tasting their unique 'gray wine' wasn't the main focus of my weekend in Lorraine. That was the wedding! I had only ever been to a Jewish (and American) wedding, so I was really looking forward to this event. It was SUCH a lovely affair. It was laid back, celebratory, and full of life.

Before...

after!!

It started at 3:30pm at the town hall, where as many people as possible crammed into the tiny upstairs and witnessed the couple saying their "oui's." Then we all drove to the venue where we munched on hors d'oevres, drank wine, and chatted (en français) for a few hours. The caterer was late, so dinner wasn't until around 9 or 9:30. And by dinner, I mean for all the meat eaters (everyone but me). I waited until the cheese platter afterward and paired that up with the dinner rolls. At least it was good cheese!!

Where I'm from, people usually start leaving weddings any time after dinner is over. Most stay for dancing, but it's socially acceptable to bow out at any point after dessert (who would leave before dessert? Nobody at a Jewish wedding).  1am rolled around and everyone was still there, even the grandparents. I was falling asleep at the table (I was having a great time, but my back meds make me sleepy), but kept saying to myself 'ok, if the 80-year-olds can do this I can do this...' Some older people started leaving after 1:30 and I myself made it to 3 before one of Anne's brothers offered to drive me home. The party was still hopping at that point, nearly 12 hours later!

There is a special wedding tradition in this area, and while I was not able to stay up to witness it, I enjoyed Anne's recounting and photos (which I have stolen for my blog. Merci, ma cherie). Around 4am, the bride and groom leave the wedding to hide in the village. Then about an hour later, the wedding guests all go around the village to essentially play hide-and-seek. They knock on people's doors to wake them up and ask if the couple is there. Then, once the couple is found, they all eat. First they eat out of a chamber pot containing melted chocolate and bananas (yes, it's meant to look gross!) and then everyone has breakfast or a snack together. On this occasion, someone had eaten all the bananas, so carrots had to suffice, and then the party ate (French) onion soup. Even though I missed being there, I felt honored to learn about this unique tradition.   
 

I always enjoy seeing where my friends are from- meeting their family, seeing their routes to school(s), and chatting with their old friends. I learn more about each of them in 2 days in their hometown than I feel like I do in 2 years of knowing them. I not only had a fantastic time in Lorraine, but I got to know Anne better, and that is priceless to me. As I'm getting ready to go home in a couple weeks, I'm quite reflective of my home and hometown. In the past year, I've been from Long Island to Germany to tour my friends' backgrounds. I would love the chance to show my friends where I'm from, but it's a bit of a trek for most of them. Maybe I'll end up blogging about the place I never thought was terribly exciting just to share that part of me. Now that would be a tricky post to write! Either way, I had a wonderful time with my dear Anne and I can't thank her enough for being a great friend, hostess, and crazy woman. 

Until next time,

VB

p.s. On a totally unrelated note, I wrote my first press release at work this week! Click here :)

Count Your Blessings

As always, I feel I have too much going on and too little time to write about it. This week has been particularly notable, so I'm glad I have the chance to sit down, reflect, and share. I'm still figuring out the balance of work, productive time, me time, and social life, but hopefully that shall improve as my time here progresses.


Work is going well. A couple weeks ago I was able to meet with the Red Cross' International Department and I find the work they do really interesting. The Benelux Red Crosses (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg...aka all the random countries in which I have chosen to live) have a Shelter Research Unit that researches the way shelters are/should be built in the most disadvantaged and vulnerable countries in order to compile information that assists NGOs, governments, and other organizations who want to construct shelters after disasters. They do awesome work that should be helpful all over the world to many people, however they have no native English speakers to look over their all-English work. They are very happy to have my help! It's an awesome feeling that I can, in some small way, help those who need it most. Additionally, in reading over these reports and translating presentations into English, I'm learning a lot about what they do and what is required in humanitarian aid. Not bad for volunteering.


Working for the Red Cross reminds me of people in need all around me (yes, even in Luxembourg), and it's a wonderful feeling/blessing to know that my work assists them, even if my part is ever so slight. In helping the International Department, I've found that my appreciation for my blessings has increased, or at least been on the forefront of my mind more. I spend all week reading about the very basic structures that people are happy to call home in poor, disaster-prone parts of the world, and see pictures of what people use as houses before they are given a proper shelter. It not only breaks my heart, but it makes me so much more appreciative for what I have. My landlord might be a few weeks behind in fixing the drain in my shower, but I have plumbing (and electricity) so I really can't complain. I may have gotten a roommate this week (to my chagrin, but he's quiet and clean so far), but we aren't living in a one- or two-room home. 


Furthermore, I was reminded this week how precious life is. I learned that my best friend from 8-11 grade (13-17 years old) passed away over the weekend from oral cancer. I didn't even know she was sick. One year ago life was fine and normal by her, and then last June she learned she had stage 4 cancer. How cruel. I hadn't really talked with her for about ten years, but she was a big part of my life; we became teenagers together. We went to the mall to try on dresses, did each others makeup for homecoming, wrote letters all summer long while we were at different camps, and argued over who got to be which Backstreet Boy when we sang their latest hit. We gushed about our first boyfriends, shared Seventeen magazines, and obsessed over Dawson's Creek. She was the first best friend I ever had. She didn't make it to 27.


It's easy to forget how much different people shape your life and to take them and their role for granted. I don't think she knew what she meant to me because our friendship disappeared, and we probably hadn't thought about each other much over the past decade. It's not like we as humans sit down and think of who was a part of our lives and what that has meant to us. But now I'm in a very reflective place where I'm thinking to all the good friends I had, all the people who I grew up with and had some sort of influence in my life. I count them as blessings because for better or worse they're a part of who I am today. I'm going to visit the States in a few weeks, and I think instead of trying to actively avoid most people I know there (which is my mission when in Detroit), I might take the time to see and talk to some people. Even if we're not friends now, we've made a difference in each others lives.


People are blessings, life is precious, and I just pray for her family. May she always be in peace.

xoxo
VB

Pardon My French

Coming back to work after 2.5 years made me a bit anxious. Would I be good at it, would I enjoy it, would it make me too tired (more on that later), etc. On one hand, I was genuinely excited for this opportunity, and wanted to envision going back to work like this:



However, based on my previous work experience, I was honestly just hoping my job wasn't:



Last month I said that this is not really my ideal job, but that I appreciate the opportunity and experience. Since then, things at work have picked up a bit. I'm now feeling more excited about my position, and my job is starting to slide more toward the ‘ideal’ than ‘idle.’

I sat down with my boss nearly two weeks ago to discuss with him my goals and motivations for doing EVS. He was genuinely interested in knowing why I’m here, what I hope to get out of my time with the Red Cross, and what I needed from him in order to achieve my aims. It was a great conversation! He took down lots of notes as I explained that my primary goal for the year is to learn as much about the Red Cross as possible: how they work, how they work with other Red Crosses, if there was a potential career in the Red Cross for me, etc. He was absolutely on board, wanting me to meet with lots of people in different departments and even different national Red Crosses (e.g. the French Red Cross). Additionally, he had the idea for me to meet with people in other, related NGOs and potentially the Ministry of Health. It makes me very excited to think of all the learning I can do over this period; I want to fully (soy) milk this opportunity and make the most out of my time at the Croix-Rouge luxembourgeoise. So now, work is feeling a little more:




There is one part of my work that still intimidates me: French. I did study French for six years...about six years ago. I can get by when traveling in a French-speaking place and can decode fancy menus everywhere else (pas d'escarcot, merci). However, I am not confident in my abilities to send work emails in French, or worse, attend meetings in the language. Whenever my boss asks if I can try something en français, my internal reaction is



while my external reaction is



I do have the very patient and generous help of my colleagues, who take the time to read over my emails and attempt to answer my anglophone questions ("Why don't you use the subjunctive here?" "Does that preposition always follow that word?" "Why is 'masculinity' feminine?") I will hopefully start taking French courses soon so I can really focus on studying the language and have professionals to whom I can ask my technical grammar questions. In the meantime, my coworkers at least pretend my French isn't that bad.



Attending meetings in French is certainly more difficult- no processing time, and I'm expected to not zone-out, which is incredibly easy to do when listening to another language you don't fully understand (okay, I'm quite adept at zoning out even when things are in English...) During the last meeting we had in French, though, I understood enough of the context to contribute a few ideas. It was a great feeling! I hope that in each meeting I find myself understanding a little more, and being able to contribute a littler more. Although even with an upward trend, I feel that whenever I say something in French that actually adds to a brainstorming session, I will forever sit there like




Now, if you'll pardonez-moi, I'm going to go prepare for my morning with the Red Cross' International Department :)

xoxo
VB

Belgium de Lux

Things have been looking up lately in Luxembourg. I'm liking work more and feeling optimistic about my opportunities there, I've gotten to know some nice people I hope to become closer with, and Luxembourg as a place is starting to grow on me.

There has been a lot going on in the past week and a half, so I hope to share my recent experiences succinctly and without being (too) all over the place. Let's start with a quick trip to Belgium before we come back to Luxembourg.


In March, when I was still adjusting to my Lux lifestyle, I decided it would do me good to go someplace familiar and see friends for the long Easter weekend. I booked a relatively last minute trip for just €41 ($54), and for 3 hours on the train each way, I was Belgium-bound. I am SO glad I went! Many of my friends there were out of town, but I got to spend quality time with Tine, who I used to work with when I volunteered in Belgium, and Anne, who is a former EVS-er and always a blast (read: a lil crazy). Additionally, I had the chance go to my old synagogue for Passover (read this for my previous Passover experience there) and see old friends :) This year we did the four questions in ten languages!

Beating people with scallions during Dayeinu. I recommend reading the post linked above to understand :)

Be as crazy as you like in Belgium!

At one point, Anne and I got waylaid by a couple hundred zombies in the center of Brussels.

I can't stress how good it felt to be with people I love. I got to relax, hang out, eat well, and be myself. Tine even prepared an Easter egg hunt for me!! The weekend was also meaningful in that it reminded me of how relationships grow. I first met these two when starting out in Belgium, we became friends, and a few years later we're still close. I can only assume similar things will happen with the people I'm meeting now in Lux.

Back in Luxembourg, things have been busy. However, I have had the chance to get together with some of the wonderful people I have met. Last night I had a dinner party and there were nine of us here! In such instances, I am very blessed to have a dishwasher ;) It felt good to have my place/kitchen filled with people, and what lovely people they were. We'll have to do it again soon...and maybe with even more of us!

I am currently helping pilot an online course in Global Environmental Challenges, so my 'spare' time in April is being eaten up even more. I will post soon about Luxembourg, which I have yet to do since this is an odd place to wrap one's head around, and about my progress at the Red Cross. I am very keen to share these parts of my experience, but alas I must hit the books.

Until next time,
xoxo
VB

Keep on the Sunny Side

Disclaimer: If you have a very slow computer/internet (Mom and Dad), please give this a minute or so to load before reading

A friend recently told me that things must be going well in Luxembourg since my blog sounds happy and optimistic. I told him that my blog was participating in a ‘lies of omission’ campaign. It’s not that I’m not happy and optimistic, but I haven’t been as open about my struggles or the hard times I’ve had. There isn’t anything too drastic or tough going on in my life, but settling into a new place is difficult. However I’ve felt the need to hide some of this on my blog for a few reasons. For one, nobody wants to read anything that’s all



and nobody wants to be friends with that, either. I know this is a temporary phase that happens when you uproot and replant your life, so I don’t want to give the new people I’m meeting the impression that I’m a Debbie Downer or Negative Nancy. I’m Very-nearly-settled Valerie.

You’d think that for someone who moves to new countries as much as I do that I would have this down to a science, nay, an art form. And there is truth to the fact that I’m a skilled mover who knows how to navigate a foreign country. However, no matter how much you plan or know, nothing can make settling in easy. It takes time to get to know a place and feel comfortable there. Nothing can change that. It takes time for ‘people you know’ to become ‘friends.’ Nothing can change that, either. And it certainly takes time for the last place you left (Scotland in this case) to stop feeling like home and the place you currently live to stop feeling like an extended holiday destination. So, despite coming into this with much previous experience, I still find myself (more than usual) thinking



Additionally, there are a few things that may have made this experience a bit more difficult. For one, I possibly felt too prepared. I figured, ‘hey, I’ve done this a million times! You find a grocery store, find a doctor, find the local café with wifi, and you’re set!’ Besides, I’m great at meeting people and making friends, so it would be no time at all before I did that in a new place! Totally forgot the above-mentioned issues, and went from feeling



to feeling

.

The second thing that has made this experience more challenging is that I keep comparing it to the previous times I’ve moved to a new country. But you can’t do that!



It is so easy to compare my settling-in period with that of Scotland, or my volunteer project to that of Belgium, or the funny language with that of the Netherlands (okay, that one is legit, though). But that really is a trap! Those experiences were so different in so many ways, with possibly the biggest alteration being me. I’m such a different person now than I was while commencing my other overseas adventures that the comparison simply does not work. I must keep reminding myself of this because comparing is a natural thing to do. However, what I can take from these previous experiences is the knowledge that adjusting is a process, how I emotionally handle such processes, and that each phase, good or bad, will move into another one.

Right now I’m starting to feel more optimistic about things and am wrapping my brain around staying in Luxembourg for the next 11 months. It’s good to feel like I’m moving from the ‘lies-of-omission’ phase to an openly content one. It’ll be a process, but I’m Very-nearly-settled.

xoxo
VB

p.s. Jacob Bloomfield

Clothing Optional

Wee Update:

I live alone. My roommate finished her EVS project and moved back home last Sunday, leaving me a little worried about who would be moving in next. Turns out...no one! I have wanted to live alone for YEARS, but now that it's here, it feels a bit odd. My first order of business was to move into the larger bedroom. After that, I wiped down the entire flat with disinfectant wipes (I don't know how many people have lived here before). Now that the place is officially mine, my life has become:

like this

and this

and, of course, this

Additionally, I now have a spare bedroom for guests, in addition to the three spare mattresses and two couches. So come play!!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go crank up my music and sing and dance while cooking



xoxo
VB

Paris is to Echternach as Scotland is to Luxembourg

This past week was spent in Paris, France, and Echtnernach, Luxembourg. The dichotomy was fairly stark but I had pleasant times in both. Let’s start with the more fun:

Paris

It was my birthday! Thus I took the mere 2 hr train ride to/from Paris for a birthday weekend. I stayed with my friend, Lauren, whom I know from Edinburgh, and we had a lovely time seeing the city and celebrating. I got the chance to visit museums I had never been to, eat some delicious veggie food, and just hang out with a good friend, something I haven’t been able to do since I moved to Lux since everyone here is pretty new. We even indulged in some fantastic birthday cake, as my mom insisted on me getting, “the most decadent chocolate cake you can find.” I think we did a decent job meeting that criterion.

All in all, a very successful trip and a glorious way to kick of 27!

Echternach

My first task as a 27-year-old was to go to volunteer training, or “On-Arrival” as we call it. I will preface this section by saying that I have had a lot of volunteer training in my day. I’ve attended two pre-departure trainings (Boston and Leeds), and one On-Arrival in Belgium. I know all about the Intercultural Iceberg, the Emotional Dip Chart, and Learning to Learn. I’ve also volunteered in a foreign country/language and been expatriated six times. For me, I wasn’t expecting this to be a mind-expanding journey of new information and life-changing activities. Which is good because it wasn’t. I was, however, looking forward to meeting some of the other new volunteers.

Ten of us gathered in the north of Luxembourg at this small tourist city on the border of Germany. The location was scenic and the hostel nice, however I soon realized I was stuck in 4 days of what I like to call “this-piece-of-string-is-a-metaphor-for-real-life” activities and often pondered how I could get this piece of string to escape from training. These are activities where, despite appearances, you really weren’t just rock climbing, eating lunch, or trying to spell your name with a piece of string while blindfolded, no. These were in fact microcosms for my time as a volunteer or for life. It’s a good thing the scenery was so beautiful so I could roll my eyes while pretending to admire it :)

I don’t mean to sound like I went into this with a closed mind, because I did not. But I didn’t learn as much as I would have liked, which is a shame. I was, however, reminded of a few things when it comes to volunteering (e.g. setting goals for the year and thinking about how to achieve them), and, most importantly, met some very nice people. They come from Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Albania, and Hungary. I genuinely liked most of the people I met and I look forward to getting to know them better and sharing some time and experiences in Luxembourg. Most don’t live in Lux city, but the country is so small that it doesn’t make a difference and I’ve already seen some of them again!

My time in Luxembourg is progressing, but I’m still feeling quite homesick for Scotland. I don’t like it yet and it’s not yet home, but I have only been here for three weeks so I’m trying to stay positive and optimistic. So in reality, going from Paris to Echternach was really a microcosm for going from Scotland to Luxembourg, just minus the string.

xoxo

VB