A plethera of invites by the Van Peteghems

Last weekend was a so joyful because…my family came! My Grandma Koller, Aunt Kathie, and sister Hillary came to visit for two days on their way home from Spain! I had awaited this weekend the whole trip and it was wonderful to be with them! Unfortunately there were train mixups so they didn’t arrive until late Friday night but we still had time to go to my favorite little student restaurant. The next day I took them to the university to meet Dean Van Peteghem and show them around. Then I took them through Old Lille to Notre Dame de la Treille and the little monastic artisan shop that’s in the basement. We made a quick stop at one of the modern Russian exhibits for Lille XXL. Next we took a bus tour that gave us a good dose of history. Then, to hold up tradition of always getting our hair done while on vacation, we went to a startling modern salon called “Nouvel Hair.” The décor there was eclectic – things hanging from the ceilings and walls, crushed mirrors pieced together, etc… We came out looking lovely! We then strolled back through Saint Maurice’s Cathedral and admired the stained glass and paintings. That night I took them to one of my favorite restaurants called Tramonata and to my delight everyone thought it was delicious. The next day we went to church and I translated for Grandma while a missionary translated for Hilly and Kathie. Then, we took a boat tour down the Deûle river. Suffice it to say that the boat was not simple to navigate, but once we got the hang of it we enjoyed looking at the ducks, homes on the bank, and even a stork! Following that, we spent three hours in the Palais des Beaux Arts (Museum of Fine Arts) which is the second biggest in France next to the Louvre. A kind man offered us tickets for free and we had a nice chat with him afterward. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Rodin sculptures, Rubens paintings, and other lesser known Flemish artwork. That evening, we all went to Les Compagnons de la Grappe, a restaurant on a hidden terrace tucked back away from cars and noise. We thoroughly enjoyed eating “la langue du chat” literally “Cat’s tongue” but is really a great cut of beef. The next morning when they left to fly home I was sad to see them part without me. I’m so glad we could spend the weekend together! I’ll have to get Hilly’s pictures to upload on here since we mostly used her camera.
Continuing on, this week has been a fabulous one full of invitations and interesting outings! Tuesday night I went to the end-of-year cocktail for all the professors and employees and the president of the university, Therèse Lebrun, spoke. I had the chance to shake her hand afterward; the dean introduced me to her, and it was slightly ironic because I said, “Je suis ravie d’être ici parmi vous à la catho,” and she replied, “We are thrilled to have you interning here and hope you feel welcome.” Haha…we were both trying to accommodate for the other. It was neat to see all the colleges unite together since all the departments aren’t situated on a campus like ours are. After the speech there were the most beautiful hors d’oeuvres and champagne (or apricot juice for the pregnant women and oh yeah, for me :)) Later that night I walked with Didier to a museum where we met his wife and kids and toured through what is called the “Gare Saint Sauveur” – They have taken an old train station and created a time traveling hotel where each room is from a different decade. It was fun to see the 60’s-70’s rooms all decked out in orange, lime green, waterbeds, fake wood, shag carpet, old radios, etc… They had typical shows of the eras playing on the room’s TV’s and pictures of celebrities of the time period hanging on the walls. Unfortunately I couldn’t take any pictures so the picture is just one off the internet. Then we went for a drink and a snack in the lobby of the classiest hotel in Lille called the Hospice Gantois.
The next day Marie Van Peteghem and I had agreed to exchange an English lesson from me for a little sightseeing. So, I had three eleven year old pupils: Agathe Van Peteghem, Camille Lepoutre, and Alix Dilly. They were as cute as can be; for two hours we spoke half English half French and played guessing games, learned “Row Row Row Your Boat” etc…Then, I went with their mothers to visit the Bouvines Cathedral. This church is where the Battle of Bouvines took place which I learned is the battle which ended the twelve year war between France and England. It then led to King John of England being forced to sign the Magna Carta. Inside I learned that this is the only church in France where the stained glass windows are of war scenes, not religious depictions. The inscription picture is Latin for "Catholic University" and the statue is the matron saint of the University I believe, & I thought both were pretty as I was walking to work one day. I’ll call it quits for now and finish updating later xo à bientôt

A continual warm welcome...

Still catching up: last week Stephanie Lecocq said she figured that with Kami being gone I might be lonely so she invited me to spend the night with her kids. Their names are Jeanne (Like Joan of Arc: Jeanne d’Arc) and Romeo. They are as sweet as can be – Stephanie was so embarrassed that when we got home her house was in a whirlwind and she didn’t have any food except fish sticks but I assured her I was just thrilled to be with a family and none of that mattered. So we made the best of dinner and then Jeanne asked if I would color with her. She then made me a giraffe bracelet with her new birthday bead kit, a very sweet gesture seeing as there is only one giraffe bead. She tied it so tight hoping I would never take it off :), and honestly, it took an entire day of tugging periodically to get it loose.

Guernica

These have been a busy couple of weeks but that’s how I like it. Last Monday I had the opportunity to sit in on one of Dr. Aliocha Lasowski’s lectures and I must say that it was an absolutely enthralling two hours. He hardly used his notes, and he began by mentioning all the reasons and justifications for war. He moved into several specific wars and battles and dissected what led to their successes and failures. Finally, he brought in Picasso’s Guernica paintings. They are a series of depictions that Picasso claims were not symbolism, but realism; he felt this portrayed the horror of the effects of war. The painting I posted is the most well known. I remember reading about the Guernica series in Chaim Potok’s book My Name is Asher Lev, but didn’t realize that they were such influential works. Dr. Lasowski went over the efficacy of various communist regimes, the war on terrorism, and France’s “Battle of Bouvines.” I was slightly embarrassed when he asked for my input in the middle of the lecture. As soon as the students heard my accent they turned around and stared and the girls behind me started to whisper. Later they asked where I was from and they had heard about the Utah “desert”. I believe this lecture was comparable to something one would hear in a history class at Cambridge or Yale.

LDS-Fest 2009

I have so much to catch up on and not enough time so I’ll just type like a madwoman and hope to hit the main points. A few weeks ago our ward hosted an activity called LDS-Fest for all the young adults in the North. I sang a few songs with one of the bands called “Talking to Annalisa” and had a great time! The band is partly members partly nonmembers but on the whole, everyone really enjoyed the activity! While there, I had volunteered to man one of the food stands and the craziest thing happened! I was handing out fruit salads as fast as I could and when I looked up at one of the people and our eyes met we both gasped and started talking at the same time! It turned out that Dennis, a friend I met at BYU a couple years ago has since moved to Belgium, had a day off work and randomly decided to come down to Lille for the music night. (See picture) When he was doing his exchange semester in Provo we hiked the Y and he had dinner with my family and I learned a lot about him. His dad is a diplomat in the Congo and it was too dangerous for him to live there so after joining the church he and his sisters moved to France. He is having a lot of success in his job and occasionally gets to speak English. Next is the picture with me and the three young brothers: They joined the church in January and have made a lot of life changes since. The two on either side of me are handicapped and all three are very sweet. Before the festivities started we took a big group picture of everyone who helped pull this night off: a lot of work went into the decorations. This weekend was also the same time that Kami finished her internship and left to travel around Europe with her mom. She thought I needed a souvenir picture of me working in my office, haha (I think I looked really tired that day). It sure seems weird without her here; the only time I speak English is if I get to talk to my family or Gavin. Work is getting busier but still going very well! I’ll close this post for now xo

Working alongside Aliocha Wald Lasowski!

Un grand bonjour. It has been an eventful week this week-Wednesday I went to Paris since I had been given tickets to Euro Disney. I had a blast but I wouldn’t really consider that worthy of my blog so I’ll move on. Earlier this week, a professor here in Lille that I’ve gotten to know, approached me. His name is Aliocha Wald Lasowski and is a very well respected author and philosopher, among other things. (See photo, however he looks older in reality) He had recently had an interview with Julie Butler, a professor from Berkeley, and to be kind had told her to answer his questions in the language she felt most comfortable in; thus, she chose to respond to the majority in English. Aliocha has read her books and wishes to include her thoughts in his own upcoming publication however he had a hard time understanding her so we set to work dissecting the interview. I must admit, this woman is obviously an intellectual and speaks with a vocabulary to be praised. To make matters worse there was a lot of background noise in the recording. Aliocha and I must have spent at least eight hours this week listening, rewinding, listening, notating, and listening again to what Ms Butler said, and today we finally came up with a final product that he will now attempt to reduce and incorporate into his work. Aliocha is such a well respected intellectual and philosophical professor in France that I consider it an honor to assist him in his work. I learned a lot by simply listening to him. As a gesture of thanks today, he brought me a copy of his most recently published book Commente l’enfance d’un chef de Jean-Paul Sartre with a kind note written inside.

Not a typical Monday...

Today was so much better than the typical Monday! There was a lot to do at work; primarily, the vice-dean, Céline Blondeau, is speaking at a conference tomorrow in Berlin and since she doesn’t speak German, she will be giving her PowerPoint in English. She is one of the few people in the department who speaks well yet she doesn’t feel confident. I went through her PowerPoint and corrected her grammar and helped her clarify things and I think she will present herself quite well. She is an incredibly accomplished woman with so much to offer, it’s a shame she’s never had the chance to get married. Later today, Stephanie Lecocq, a colleague offered Kami and me two tickets to Disneyland-Paris saying she wouldn’t be able to use them! They expire on Wednesday so we got online, got train tickets, and we leave in 48 hours! Haha… This evening I met Marie Van Peteghem at her office and we picked up her kids and went to Cédric and Véronique Lepoutre’s home. They had asked me if I would give a small English lesson to their two oldest children, Mannon and Charles, both 14 (see photo-no one was quite ready when it was taken). We spoke for two hours or so and I enjoyed it but I am absolutely exhausted! It’s unbelievable the amount of brain power it takes to translate every sentence you say twice. I would say, “First I would like you to present yourselves.” “D’abord, je veux que vous vous presentiez.” (Repeat the sentence in both languages) … “Describe your dream vacation to me: where, when, with whom?” “Décrivez les vacances de vos rêves: où, quand, et avec qui?” (Repeat again) I frantically copied down the words that were unfamiliar to them and their translations. It became easier to tell when they didn’t understand me: they would look at each other and start whispering in French and I would have them try and ask at least the part of the question they could. Charles spoke quickly but without enunciation and intonation so he will need to work on reading aloud to become more understandable, however, he did quite well for only a third year student. Manon understood well but needs to learn to put aside her perfectionist personality, dare make mistakes and learn more vocabulary, but she too did quite well for her level. They were very polite though I could tell when they were tired of trying. Luckily, we soon after sat down for dinner and it was delicious! Véronique had prepared a salad with apples and a type of bean that I didn’t recognize but tasted similar to a kidney bean. For the main course she made a ratatouille tart and a quiche tart. I am still in awe at how approachable the dean, Didier, is. He has a great presence and is so knowledgeable yet so genuine. Now that I know him I no longer feel intimidated by him and the same goes for Cédric. These two influential men and their wives kindly take as much interest in me as if I was an old family friend. It is flattering and I thoroughly enjoy their company! I’m absolutely exhausted…Bonne nuit xo

Mines of the North

Today was an excellent Sunday! This morning it rained the whole way to church, but luckily it let up by the time we finished. The meetings were so inspired today; a man with Parkinson’s disease spoke for a few minutes and though he was hard to understand, his testimony was strong. Following that, I had a humbling experience. I was jotting down some notes during a talk and the boy next to me, who is slightly mentally handicapped and was just baptized a couple of months ago, asked what I was doing. I told him I understand better if I write down the points that are being given. A few minutes later I noticed him whack his brother to get him to pay attention and my mind started wandering. He looked at me and said, “Hey, why aren’t you writing anymore? He’s saying something important!” I hurriedly got my mind back in gear: what a reminder by someone who is fascinated by every word of the gospel that’s spoken--the way it should be. After church, Bénédicte and Hubert, a colleague from work and her husband, picked Kami and I up and took us to their home for lunch. From the outside, the home looked ancient and ordinary; but when we went inside it was stunning! They bought the house from someone who restored it in 1930, but they have restored it themselves little by little and with a mix of “Art Deco” style and some modern touches. Their windows are done in stained glass and the back wall opens up entirely to the backyard. Her favorite color is blue and it seems to be the theme throughout her home. Her dishes are an azure blue print that reminds me of an old colonial print my mom loves. The French take pride in the fact that each piece of furniture or decoration has a story behind it. For example, in an obscure corner there was a little nightstand and the funny thing was that the books on the shelf are actually an illusion. It’s really just a painted board that opens up to a compartment where the bedpan was stored back in olden times before there were toilets in homes. After gawking at her home and sitting down for the aperitif, we began lunch. The first course was a green salad with grapefruit and little pieces of crab. The second course was rice and spinach cooked together. The third course was some sort of fish I had never had but was absolutely delicious! Bénédicte was so excited to have us taste cheeses we had never tried so she had gone out that morning and bought some of the lesser known types. They included a black pepper creamy cheese, one type with so many chunks of green mold I had to close my eyes to eat it--oddly enough, it tasted great--, a hard cheese with a bite, and then camembert to give us something familiar. Desert was crushed up meringue and raspberries with ice-cream. Everything was delicious! It was fun to once again see both husband and wife do the meal together, from start to finish. It’s a good thing that the French eat small portions or we wouldn’t have been able to try everything. After lunch we hit the road and after about 60 kilometers arrived at one of the oldest mines in the North. For many years the majority of the wealth was based on the carbon mines of northern France. The last one closed down in 2004, however there is still one that is open to visit on Sundays. It is located in a town called Lewarde and the tours are given by an old man who mined his entire life. He was a true “Chti” – which is what they call the northerners that have the strongest accents. They’re usually among the older generation and from the small country towns. Their pronunciation is incredibly difficult to understand and almost comical to listen to. Touring the mine through his stories was absolutely fascinating. We began where the miners came to check in each day and change their clothes. To conserve space, they hung their clothes from pulleys on the ceiling and showered underneath them. The next room was where lamps were distributed-we saw how the lamps evolved from a simple candle to oil lamps to the modern head lamps. Each morning when a miner took his lamp he would also take a token with a number. At the end of the day, if the women collecting them noticed that there were numbers missing it meant that there were still men stuck underground. Next we went to the room where the carbon was deposited and sorted through. This task was always done by the children, beginning at age 13. They sorted the pure carbon by hand from what they called “sterile” rocks. I found this interesting because next to the freeway, I have often seen enormous mounds of earth that I learned are deposits of unusable carbon from the mines. These heaps are called “terriles”, so I asked the guide if that was because they were filled with the “sterile” carbon and he said yes! and no one had ever made that observation before. The next part was the neatest as we descended underground to the mine in one of the cages. Once we got down there I learned that before electricity, horses were kept underground to pull the wagons. The shocking part though, is that they would leave the horses down there for 10-12 years or until they died; inhumane in my mind. They discovered that when they brought the horses back above ground they immediately lost their eyesight so, in the 1900’s, they began to wrap bands around the horses’ eyes and once above ground, they would take off one layer at a time to let them adjust. The old Chti miner explained a lot of the processes and how they evolved. He showed us some of the machinery and turned it on for a minute to show how loud it was. One woman asked if the miners eventually lost their hearing. He laughed and said, “Yes, when we went home and our wives asked us to clear up the dinner dishes.” Haha. Many of the warning signs were written in Arabic and when asked why, the miner replied that after the first generation of workers died of suffocation from “black lung,” they decided that they would hire more immigrant workers and several Arabs came to enlist. In 1906 there was a disastrous explosion that caused over 1000 deaths, most of which were unidentifiable. In the beginning, entire families were forced to work in the mines yet it was only the father who was paid. 62 percent of their income went to food for survival. However, there was beautiful art touching poetry that evolved from this time period as well. I learned so much from this fascinating visit and am thrilled I had the chance to visit somewhere so typically northern. Bonne nuit…