Those of you that know me fairly well would probably say that I am a pretty picky eater. As a child (and by child I mean 18) I was known for my white plate at Thanksgiving - turkey, potatoes and bread. Over the last couple years I have learned to venture out, and I have been surprised by many foods that I have come to love. As I embarked on this journey I told myself that I would keep an open mind to food and would try anything at least once.
With this being said....
If I was a diabetic I would be in a coma right now, but my digestive system would be the healthiest it's ever been, and I surely would never fear another yeast infection (not that I've ever had one...).
Let me explain: I mentioned earlier that the French love chocolate for breakfast. And this still holds true. But I have taken to forego the chocolate for breakfast and just hold off for the brioche with Nutella for a mid day snack. In turn, my breakfast consists of toast with an assortment of jams, some english breakfast tea, and the occassional bowl of musilx that only has a few choice chocolate chips.
So what I haven't mentioned yet is that the french love SUGAR. Heaps and heaps of sugar. I have watched one by one each of the Sevettes pour mounds of sugar into their yogart. And let me tell you that we have yogart with every meal. Both lunch and dinner is followed by yogart - in as many varities as you could ever imagine.
The lactose intolerant would have no place in this home.
But, to move on from the sweets and to the part about how I said I would eat anything at least once while on this trip, let me tell you that tonight I ate a whole artichoke. When you go to the fresh foods section of the grocer and there are whole artichokes with all the leaves, that is what I ate. When asked if I wanted artichoke I said "sure, i've never had it prepared this way, I'l try it",but I did not expect to have the whole thing placed on my plate for only me to eat. But it was, and I ate it all. Wasnt too bad, but in the future I think I will share with others at the table.
To add to my list of things I have tried for the first time while being here:
Snails,
Beets,
mushrooms on pizza,
So many cheeses that I could never even begin to name them all, but most stink to high heaven,
and although I hate to admit it, I have eaten a variety of fruits.
Yes, fruit. When faced with the grocer at the open market handing me his homegrowon product that he was so proud of and telling me, in french, that he wanted me to taste it, and me not knowing how to politely tell him I dont eat fruit, I crumbled and ate it. I had a piece of orange, half a kiwi, and some mandarin oranges. And yes, I actually liked both the kiwi and the mandarin oranges.
Now, will I continue to eat all these things when I return back to the states, I dont know. I fear that they will not be as good as they are here and I don't want to taint the experience I had of them when I was in Fance.
But, I will continue to try things, and just pray that when I leave here that I will not go into sugar withdraw.
Disclaimer: please note that when I refer to "the french" I am pretty much referring to the Sevette's as they are my only source for this study.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Look out St. Louis....
... France is beating you on the race to become "green"!
Going "green", or becoming ecologically aware, is quite prevalent in France. Recently plastic bags have been banned from all shopping stores. This morning when we went to the Carrefore (the Walmart of France) we had to bring our own canvas bags to carry our groceries in. You will also find that many containers are bio-friendly and organic foods are plenty.
Here at the Sevette home being eco-friendly is a way of life. Lights are not used during the day - only sunlight from the windows. And you better be sure that if you do use a light in a room that you turn it off when you leave that room. I made the mistake of using my light in my room when getting ready the other morning, instead of opening my blinds, and I was reminded that sunlight is better for the environment, and of course the pocketbook.
When buying toothpaste this morning, Martine promptly informed me that my toothpaste selection was not good for the environment because the box that my toothpaste was packaged in was unnecessary, and why would I buy that if I could purchase a tube that came without packaging. So, of course, I promptly put my packaged toothpaste back on the self and bought the eco-friendly one, never mind the horrid taste it might have.... I know I am going to feel better about myself every time I brush my teeth.
As we continued to walk through the store Martine informed me of all the ways to be environmently conscience when shopping, all the way down to the tampax she buys. And I won't go into detail, but did you know that there are reusable ones? I'm not sure I can jump on that train.
Martine also buys only fair trade products when possible as well.
Now this might be available in the US too and I just don't know about it yet (I do live in St. Louis), but in France you can now buy cars that run on natural gas. The Sevette's are shopping for one. They are also looking into solar panelling for their home. I'm telling you, with as trendy as "green" is right now, this family is hip! I mean they even wash their clothes with a nut! Yes, a nut. From Indonisa. The nut apparently has soap inside it. CRAZY!
Now, I believe that the Sevette's are a bit of the extreme here in France, but I find it refreshing to know that American's are not the only ones working to better the environment. I have a long way to go before I am as hip as the Sevette's, but I am now much more aware of my purchases and how they effect the world I live in. This is certainly something that I was not expecting to get from my trip to France.
Going "green", or becoming ecologically aware, is quite prevalent in France. Recently plastic bags have been banned from all shopping stores. This morning when we went to the Carrefore (the Walmart of France) we had to bring our own canvas bags to carry our groceries in. You will also find that many containers are bio-friendly and organic foods are plenty.
Here at the Sevette home being eco-friendly is a way of life. Lights are not used during the day - only sunlight from the windows. And you better be sure that if you do use a light in a room that you turn it off when you leave that room. I made the mistake of using my light in my room when getting ready the other morning, instead of opening my blinds, and I was reminded that sunlight is better for the environment, and of course the pocketbook.
When buying toothpaste this morning, Martine promptly informed me that my toothpaste selection was not good for the environment because the box that my toothpaste was packaged in was unnecessary, and why would I buy that if I could purchase a tube that came without packaging. So, of course, I promptly put my packaged toothpaste back on the self and bought the eco-friendly one, never mind the horrid taste it might have.... I know I am going to feel better about myself every time I brush my teeth.
As we continued to walk through the store Martine informed me of all the ways to be environmently conscience when shopping, all the way down to the tampax she buys. And I won't go into detail, but did you know that there are reusable ones? I'm not sure I can jump on that train.
Martine also buys only fair trade products when possible as well.
Now this might be available in the US too and I just don't know about it yet (I do live in St. Louis), but in France you can now buy cars that run on natural gas. The Sevette's are shopping for one. They are also looking into solar panelling for their home. I'm telling you, with as trendy as "green" is right now, this family is hip! I mean they even wash their clothes with a nut! Yes, a nut. From Indonisa. The nut apparently has soap inside it. CRAZY!
Now, I believe that the Sevette's are a bit of the extreme here in France, but I find it refreshing to know that American's are not the only ones working to better the environment. I have a long way to go before I am as hip as the Sevette's, but I am now much more aware of my purchases and how they effect the world I live in. This is certainly something that I was not expecting to get from my trip to France.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The Universal Language of ... bowling?
Yes, this is France.
Yes, the french bowl, and yes, I went Bowling in France. Bowling is apparently quite new to the french and as you can see from the photo they are quite Americanized (is that a word?). Actually, everything inside is in English - except for language spoken by everyone in it.
William and I also played a round of pool, or a version of it rather. It was nice to do something familiar, and it turns out that i'm no better a pool player in France than I am in America. Oh, well.
And it turns out that global warming is happening everywhere, not just in St. Louis - who would of thought? It's April and it snowed the other night. Big huge snow flakes. It was kind of surreal. This is apparently not the norm for France at this time of year - even for the North of France. The pool that is sitting in the back yard is usually open by now.
Unfortunately, I think I am starting to come down with a cold, as I am sneezing every 5 minutes. Good thing I packed the airborn.
Okay, Robin is patiently waiting for me to go play badmiton (?)with him. Thats all for now. More later.
Yes, the french bowl, and yes, I went Bowling in France. Bowling is apparently quite new to the french and as you can see from the photo they are quite Americanized (is that a word?). Actually, everything inside is in English - except for language spoken by everyone in it.
William and I also played a round of pool, or a version of it rather. It was nice to do something familiar, and it turns out that i'm no better a pool player in France than I am in America. Oh, well.
And it turns out that global warming is happening everywhere, not just in St. Louis - who would of thought? It's April and it snowed the other night. Big huge snow flakes. It was kind of surreal. This is apparently not the norm for France at this time of year - even for the North of France. The pool that is sitting in the back yard is usually open by now.
Unfortunately, I think I am starting to come down with a cold, as I am sneezing every 5 minutes. Good thing I packed the airborn.
Okay, Robin is patiently waiting for me to go play badmiton (?)with him. Thats all for now. More later.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Home Sweet Home
I have been in Beuvry now for 3 days living with the Sevette family - Eric, Martine, David -21, William-19, Robin-17 and Lea-14. Beuvry is a VERY small quiet town with many charms. It is situated about 7 km from Bethune and one hour from Lille. It is located in the Nord pas da Calais region.
My french is prooving way rustier than I ever imagined and communicating with the family has been quit rough, but we are managing. Martine, David and William have a pretty good concept of the english language, but Robin, Eric and Lea have very little so often William and David have to do some translating.
In the three days that I have been here I have already gotten to see a lot. Yesterday William took me into Lille where we walked around and toured some of the great sites - The Museum de Beaux Arts, a couple large churches, and this really cool old building with a courtyard that had really old french books for sale. (I apologize i dont know the names to these places - William didnt know what many were either). Cobblestone streets and streetside cafes were a plenty. I had a gasfrey - a waffle coated in sugar and dipped in chocolate - it was fantastic!
I have ridden the train many times throughout France already and one thing for sure - the french love graffiti. It is everywhere and on everything. And as beautiful as France is, it is also very dirty. For granted I am residing in one of the more poor areas, but there is much trash along the railways and many smells not to be recognized.
I have had many french food experiences already as well. Apparently the french love chocolate for breakfast - which at first i thought was fantastic but i have already had my fill of chocolate to last me a year. And yes, I have already had snails, or escargot, and it was actually quite good. On the other hand, the plate of beets I ate for lunch the other day was not so good. I think I will pass on that one next time. I rode into town with Martine to go to the frozen foods store - yes it is a market of only frozen foods - and what did they have, but of course, Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream!
Today is gross and rainy - pretty normal for the north - so we have spent most of the day indoors. David just left for a week in Paris to visit his girlfriend and William leaves on the 9th for Spain, so my two translators are going to be gone! That makes me a little nervous. :) Martine, Robin and Lea are going to be on Holiday for the next two weeks (similar to spring break) so they will be home during the day. I hope to get out more this next week. I hope to make it up to Brussels one day and possibly spend a day on the coastal beaches. I also hope to meet up with Eva in Paris for a cooking class at some point and we plan on taking a weekend to go to Provence. So much to do!
Tomorrow is Robin's birthday party so I will get to meet some of the extended family. I am looking forward to that.
I guess that is it for now. I miss everyone back home. Oh, and by the way, keyboards in France are not the same as in America. The letters are all in different places and they don't have some puncuations, so typing these blogs is very diffacult!
My french is prooving way rustier than I ever imagined and communicating with the family has been quit rough, but we are managing. Martine, David and William have a pretty good concept of the english language, but Robin, Eric and Lea have very little so often William and David have to do some translating.
In the three days that I have been here I have already gotten to see a lot. Yesterday William took me into Lille where we walked around and toured some of the great sites - The Museum de Beaux Arts, a couple large churches, and this really cool old building with a courtyard that had really old french books for sale. (I apologize i dont know the names to these places - William didnt know what many were either). Cobblestone streets and streetside cafes were a plenty. I had a gasfrey - a waffle coated in sugar and dipped in chocolate - it was fantastic!
I have ridden the train many times throughout France already and one thing for sure - the french love graffiti. It is everywhere and on everything. And as beautiful as France is, it is also very dirty. For granted I am residing in one of the more poor areas, but there is much trash along the railways and many smells not to be recognized.
I have had many french food experiences already as well. Apparently the french love chocolate for breakfast - which at first i thought was fantastic but i have already had my fill of chocolate to last me a year. And yes, I have already had snails, or escargot, and it was actually quite good. On the other hand, the plate of beets I ate for lunch the other day was not so good. I think I will pass on that one next time. I rode into town with Martine to go to the frozen foods store - yes it is a market of only frozen foods - and what did they have, but of course, Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream!
Today is gross and rainy - pretty normal for the north - so we have spent most of the day indoors. David just left for a week in Paris to visit his girlfriend and William leaves on the 9th for Spain, so my two translators are going to be gone! That makes me a little nervous. :) Martine, Robin and Lea are going to be on Holiday for the next two weeks (similar to spring break) so they will be home during the day. I hope to get out more this next week. I hope to make it up to Brussels one day and possibly spend a day on the coastal beaches. I also hope to meet up with Eva in Paris for a cooking class at some point and we plan on taking a weekend to go to Provence. So much to do!
Tomorrow is Robin's birthday party so I will get to meet some of the extended family. I am looking forward to that.
I guess that is it for now. I miss everyone back home. Oh, and by the way, keyboards in France are not the same as in America. The letters are all in different places and they don't have some puncuations, so typing these blogs is very diffacult!
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