Nancy- Je t'aime.

Well what a week it's been. Time flies, etc, etc. A week from now, I will be packing my suitcase ready for England. Although I absolutely love it in France, I can't imagine being anywhere other than home for Christmas (American flatmate Jackie in tow this year- I just can't seem to get rid of her....).

Last Thursday I went to Germany for two nights to see my friend Fiona who is currently working as an assistant in Saarbrücken, Germany. Although a short distance from Nancy, the trip toSaarbrücken involves catching 3 trains- taking over three hours. Bof! After having one minute to (successfully) change trains in Forbach, I arrived safetly in Saarbrücken ready for some festive FUN! Walked round the Christmas market, drinking glühwein from mugs as we went along. Saw Father Christmas 'fly' across the sky in his sleigh at 7pm prompt (basically a sleigh with a man inside travelled along a wire from one council building to another. Made for hilarious viewing, particularly the song that went with it). Went for a lovely Italian- pizza and tirimisu washed down with a Cosmopolitan, what else? Was both shocked and dismayed at Fiona's pizza-eating capabilities- she wasn't on top food eating form that night, ha ha.

Santa Claus, 'flying' across the sky at Saarbrücken's Christmas market.

The following day (after a mandatory trip to H+M of course) we headed to Namborn- a village in the back of beyond of Saarland! Getting there proved to be a little tricky due to the snow but after both a train and taxi ride, we arrived at our destination. Amazing! We were in Namborn for a Christmas meal with the other English assistants in Fiona’s department and the house we went to was amaaaazing! I think the snow helped a lot- the street looked like a ski village- chalet type houses and everything. Picture postcard material, fo’ shizzle. After a great deal of cheesy crisps and wine, we sat down for our Christmas Meal. V. nice, apart from the mashed potatoes that one of the assistants had ‘flavoured’ with a whole head of garlic. Je sais pas pourquoi mais c’était pas bon. After a cosy afternoon/ evening of eating, quizzing and chatting, we headed back through the snow to catch the train back to Saarbrücken. Job done.

I returned on Saturday to Nancy ready for the fête de Saint Nicolas, the biggest event of the year in this neck of the woods. And it was definitely worth coming back for.

In this part of France (and Europe), Saint Nicolas is celebrated on the 6^th December. Children receive presents and good food is everywah (think biscuits, spiced bread and vin chaud- mulled wine). Always something to celebrate, I feel. Saint Nicolas is the patron saint of Lorraine (this region of France), so this was a very BIG deal.

The festivities began on Saturday evening in Place Stanislas, dubbed la plus belle place du monde- the most beautiful square in the world (Je suis d’accord). After ‘double-socking’ it up, we headed to Place Stan for the fireworks. We had been told to arrive early, as it gets mental, crowds-wise so we arrived at 6pm, 90 minutes before the fireworks were to commence. Bof! Cold as. After shivering in the freezing cold for a ridiculous amount of time, the fireworks began!

I have never seen anything like it before. I was quite frankly blown away by the half hour display, which did not only feature amazing fireworks but also the story of Saint Nicolas, which was projected onto the buildings in the square.

In case you were wondering/ vaguely interested, here is a synopsis of the story;

· Three children get lost in the woods (never walk alone in the woods being the moral of the story here).

· Cold and hungry, an evil butcher lures them into his shop before killing them all and chopping them into tiny pieces. (There were some kids crying by this point in Place Stan- I don’t blame them).

· When Saint Nicolas hears of the news, he travels to the butcher’s house and somehow manages to bring all three children back to life (a little imagination is necessary).

· Nowadays, if children have been good, Saint Nicolas delivers presents to them on the 6^th December. However if they have been bad, children are told that Père Fouettard will come and whip them all back into order. Ouch!

Quelle histoire! The following day, we waited around in the cold and rain to see the Saint Nicolas parade. Each area of Nancy made a festive float (which was pulled by a tractor, how agrarian) and paraded round the city. Saint Nicolas and the evil butcher appeared at the end of the parade too, which was a nice touch. Really don’t understand why the French don’t show their appreciation for parades, shows, etc. No one applauded or cheered at the end of the parade, nor after the fireworks the previous evening. How bizarre, how bizarre. Seems a bit rude if you ask me.

Et voilà! Can honestly say the light/sound/ video projections of the story and the fireworks were one of the best things I have ever seen. Amazing night- definitely worth braving the cold. I think the 25000 other people in Place Stanislas will agree with me too...

Words really don't do the fireworks justice. See them for yourself here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_pE1ETSjWo

Festive frolics

The time has come again where I write another blog about my 'Fabulous Year Abroad' (no word short of a lie, honest). But where to start? The days have gone by that fast I don't know whether I'm coming or going. All I can say is the last few weeks have been pretty ''dang'' good.

I do, however, seem to be turning American. I blame my flatmate Jackie (let's just call her the 'Chicago Bull'). Not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing. I have replaced 'What are you having for tea?' with 'What are you having for dinner?', 'Yeah, I know' has become 'I know, right?' and 'Dang, girl, dang!' has become a permanent fixture in my vocabulary, albeit an ironic one.

Thankfully, the annoying American sayings I have adopted are coming into their own during games of ''Beer Pong'', basically a team game that involves throwing ping-pong balls into plastic cups filled with beer (harder than it sounds, I was ''well chuffed'' with my 7 in a row the other night.... Dang girl, dang!).

So my inner American and I had a blast last Thursday evening during Thanksgiving. 18 of us English assistants (and one German) had a fabulous evening, eating as much chicken and sweet potato as is physically possible. Preparation for Thanksgiving began the day before chez nous- potato was mashed, stuffing was made and green beans were laid out in dishes. No rest for the wicked, eh? Our efforts were rewarded with a trip to the cinema (Harry Potter, what else? Was highly amused by the French subtitles where I learned the word for wand is simply 'baguette').

Back to Thanksgiving; after our meal of chicken, potato, beans and gluttony, we settled down for a Thanksgiving quiz one of the assistants had prepared earlier, Blue Peter-style. Was a great evening- and not just because my team won the quiz (plus the bottle of vodka that came with it).

The Thanksgiving festivities were accompanied with snow, which has been settling here in Nancy for five days now. The other day myself and someone I work with at school asked for a lift from a complete stranger to the train station as all the buses back from school had been blocked. Thank god he wasn't a pyscho...

The festivities continued on Saturday when myself, Jackie and Michelle went to Strasbourg for the day to see the world famous Christmas market (or markets- there's loads of them). We wandered round the hundreds of stalls, getting as many free cake samples as possible. It turned into a 'grub-crawl'- we had a bit of everything, from soup to sausage to vin chaud (hot wine, for those who comprennent pas). Mmmmmm. This is what I envisaged when I thought of the Year Abroad last year. Had a walk round the cathedral, went to a cosy bar for hot chocolate when we couldn't stand the cold any longer and even managed to find 'New Look'. Strasbourg was even more beautiful in the dark as all the market stalls were lit up, and the lights were just incredible. Definitely worth a visit, despite the crowds. Also an excellent place for comedy photos...

On Sunday, I went for a meal at a French family's house! It came a bit out of the blue, really. Jackie and I had signed up for 'Faim d'Echanges' a while back, whereupon local French families invite foreign students living in Nancy round for a meal. After getting a phone call from a very bossy sounding French lady at some point last week, I was invited for a meal at her and her husband's house on Sunday afternoon. If there's anything Faim d'Echanges taught me- it's that the French don't rush through their meals. We sat down to eat around half one and didn't finish until six o'clock. Ate a ridonkulous amount of Roquefort. Winner. Spoke lots of French too which is always a plus.

Anyway they were a lovely couple, recently retired, etc with the most gorgeous Golden Retriever (Missy) with whom I fell a little bit in love. The couple (Michelle and Yves) have offered to show me round the region- the Vosges mountains, Luxembourg, etc so on verra. I hope I'll stay in touch with them- they told me to phone them whenever I'm ill and they'll look after me (even in the middle of the night, apparently...). Gotta love the French.

So time stops for no man (or language assistant). Off for a meal at an assistants flat ce soir, should be a laugh. We're armed with chocolate biscuits and sangria. I just hope we don't get snowed in...