A new beginning

spotted on my commute one morning

Bonjour à tous!

This is probably my last post here, since, as you probably already guessed from the title, the end is coming. The end of my life in France, the end of my internship. The beginning of my sophomore year in Chicago. The reunion with my boyfriend. 

So much to look forward to, yet so much I will miss as well.

I will miss the myriad art shows, poetry readings in Paris. I will miss the ornate desserts and their just as sophisticated names. I will miss the low drinking age (yes I am not going to lie), and weird themed bars such as this little jungle bar I went to where you drink in a bunch of tree hangings. I miss being in the same time zone with the friends I made here, as well as the most lovely host family ever. 

I look forward to being able to dress down whenever I feel like, and having 24-hour restaurant deliver (oh how America spoiled me). I look forward to being back on campus and being with all my old friends; I look forward to being only a few minutes' walk away from my boyfriend. I look forward to bottomless fries, too, even though I really shouldn't.

There is so much more, and I could write for hours. But I just want to say that my past six months in France have been quite a roller coaster: the highs were really high, and the lows were pretty low. It's been fun, it's been totally worth it.

A la prochain my friends!

xx

Vanessa :]

Noël is in the air!

at the Printemps department store

Bonjour à tous!

I am so in love with Paris at this time of the year. The city is so charming with all her streets decked out in Christmas lights, fake snow, and stunning storefront windows. 

The decorations have been accumulating in random corners of the streets for a while, but the entirety of their beauty didn't hit me until last Saturday, when a friend of mine and I decided on a whim to take a stroll through the marché de Noël on Champs Elysées. 

ferris wheel of the Tuileries

When we emerged from the subway station Concorde onto the massive square, suddenly all around me the city was just overflowing with light. The moving traffic on the stone-paved streets, the ferris wheel of Tuileries behind me all glittery, the miles of lights that connect the square of Concorde all the way to the Arc of Triumph... Add to that jazzy music from a group of street musicians, an old man who somehow manages to make bubbles as big as three-year-olds, and the lighthearted bounce and splash of the grand fountains on the square. Trust me, I didn't know where to rest my eyes.

champs elysees 

Because of the insane crowds at the marché de Noël, I didn't get to take any good pictures. That, and also because every detail is so magical and picture-worthy that I simply didn't know where to start. Apart from the typical chocolaty foods and hot wine, my favorite part of the marché is the arts and crafts section. We saw the most incredible creations there: an entire store of miniature figures made out of all kinds of leaves, a jewelry store that sold necklaces and earrings made out of lacquered real orchid flowers, another store that made their own paper and prints... And all for pretty decent prices! Even if you don't end up buying anything, I assure you that you will have more than enough to feast your eyes.

huge bubbles

beautiful tree at Galeries Lafayette

With all that said, as the year of 2014 approaches its end, I hope you all are safe out there, and enjoying the lasts of this good year. Happy holidays and happy end of year.

xx

Vanessa :]

Internship 101: tips for newbies

me at an art exhibition opening at Guimet Museum

Bonjour à tous!

Even though I've only been an intern for six weeks myself, today I've come to pretend that I can offer advice to newbie interns. Okay just kidding, even though six weeks is not long, I've actually learned a thing or two that might prove helpful to you if you've never interned before.

So here we go:

1. Never, ever assume.

When your boss gives you a task with instructions that are a bit vague or bewildering, never, ever assume. You think you know what your boss is talking about, so you stay quiet and accept the task and go spend hours on it. And when you turn it in, all you get is, "That's not exactly what I had in mind, can you redo this and this and this?"

Too bad. But that's actually what can happen - and what did happen to me once or twice - when you don't ask questions when you don't completely understand something. Sure, sometimes vague instructions mean that your boss wants to see your creativity (or simply just because he/she hasn't thought of the task enough and just wanted you to do it instead), but it never hurts to ask a few constructive questions. If you have questions about the instructions themselves, ask on the spot. If you think they are too vague, think about how you would approach the task, and the rephrase your idea and ask if that's what your boss wants. Of course, no one wants to sound dumb and confused, so try saying things like "Is (insert your understanding of the instructions) what you had in mind?" or "Does something like (insert your own idea) seem good/doable to you?" That way, you will save a lot of time just by asking a few simple questions.

2. Double check, triple check, you get the idea.

Whether it's an email to a colleague in another department, to an important client, or it's something you wrote that needs to be put to print in mass, never hit send or print as soon as you finish. Take a sip of water, or a short break, and come back to this thing you created. Read it again. Read it aloud to yourself if it applies/if you have your own office. More often than not, you will catch several mistakes, even if you were being uber careful on the first go. 

Also, if you need to print something in mass, first printing a sample of it and showing it to your boss could be a smart idea. I once printed fifty copies of a booklet I designed, only to realize that there is a formatting error after I picked up the stack of paper from the printer. Oops. So don't do that. I've learned to always print one copy first, and either check it myself or show it to my boss, if it's something very important. My boss was actually impressed that I took the extra step of double and triple checking, so I'm sure yours will appreciate it, too.

3. Get to know your boss's work habits.

Actually, this is a bit hard to put to words. What I want to say is that you should know when your boss is busy, and have at least a vague idea of one thing he/she needs. The reason I say this is because when your boss is busy, he/she will more likely be a little absentminded when you ask for his/her permission for something. In this case, even after your boss has approved of your work, still check and double check. You may catch things your boss didn't, because he/she is simply too busy. Secondly, always have at least a vague idea of one thing your boss needs. And if this thing is something you can help with, do it and surprise your boss. Back to the booklet I designed. I knew my boss was taking me to a conference with some Korean businesses where these booklets will be distributed. So why not make a Korean version? I asked a trustworthy Korean friend of mine to do the translation, and printed out a dozen the following day. I can never forget the happy look on my boss's face when I handed them to her. Trust me, you will make your boss feel like you are indispensable. 

Okay, that's all I got for you all today. I know it's only three small tips, but all of them come from my personal experience (mistakes, fails, blah blah blah), and I've learned a lot and improved a lot by keeping to these three rules. 

Good luck with your internship, I hope you find these tips helpful.

xx

Vanessa :]

3 American foods I took for granted , and 3 French foods I will miss

source

Bonjour à tous!

The other day I was just having a nutella banana crêpe and suddenly I realized, holy cow, it's going to be quasi-impossible to find this in America after I leave this beautiful country in less than two months! And that thought, my friends, inspired me to write this post.

3 American foods I took for granted:

1. Peanut butter

I can't tell you how stunned I was to be unable to find this little delicious jar of brownish thing called peanut butter. I personally feel that my astonishment is justified because even back in China, I could find peanut butter in supermarkets, so I didn't even think that it was a possibility that it doesn't exist in France. (Okay, it does, if you go to stores that sell foreign imported foods, but it's rare.) In fact, when I lamented this absence to a few of my French friends and colleagues, they were like, ew (yes, they said that), peanut butter? Which is interesting; because it is true that French people deteste foods that are artificial and overly processed. Tant pis that there's no more pb & j's, but I've got enough Nutella to get me occupied...

2. breakfast foods

Cinnamon rolls, muffins, donuts, omelettes, pankcakes, French toast (this one is quite ironic), waffles... you name it. After coming to France, my breakfast  became more or less 'nonexistent' in comparison with American standards. Here, for breakfast, French people usually just eat a small croissant with a small cup of espresso (think very small). I'm not saying it's unhealthy, I just miss the chocolate chip pancakes from Le Peep's diner in Evanston.

3. burritos

Okay, this is technically not American, but with Chipotle and the like being so popular and ubiquitous in America, parting with burritos in France turned out to be kind of hard. Mexican food in general is not very big here, therefore it is also pretty hard to make it at home- words like sour cream and jalapeno will earn you strange looks from the supermarket staff.

Okay; now that I kind of vented my food cravings, let's get on with the literally endless list of French foods that I will miss. For the sake of being succinct, I'll just share 3 from the list.

3 French foods I will miss:

source

1. salade de chèvre (Goat cheese salad)

I could literally eat this thing all day. Warm fresh goat cheese on baguette slices on a bed of greens and thinly sliced tomatoes - what's not to love about this dish. It is super filling, super healthy, and ridiculously tasty. I'd love to recreate this after I return to the states, so wish me luck on finding the right kind of goat cheese. The goat cheese in France - oh la la, it brought my life onto a whole new level.

source

2. confit de canard 

This duck dish that I don't have words for will for sure make me have drooling dreams after I leave France. My best experience with it was once at this obscure little bistro down the street I live: it was late into the evening, the duck meat was perfectlly soft and soaked through with flavor, add to that a bed of tenderly mashed and buttered potatoes. I think that first bite counts as one of my happiest moments in life.

source

3. Religieuse au chocolat

I believe that everyone who has ever tasted this heavenly creation understands why it's called 'chocolate religious' (okay, the name makes more sense in French). A bite of this beautifully shaped dessert will send you straight to the high heavens with your mouth full of thick, creamy chocolate and puff pastry.

About time to wrap up this post, otherwise I fear I'll drool all over my keyboard. A la prochain!

xx

Vanessa :]

100 liters of champagne in my office? That intern life

check it out - 100 liters of champagne that's right

Bonjour à tous!

I know when you saw the title, you're probably like, what? What kind of internship is that? But you didn't read wrong - indeed, I was quite stunned myself when I opened the office door and saw all these boxes of champagne in my office. And that was only day two.

Bizarre things aside, I am glad to announce that I have started my internship at Musée Guimet in Paris! Musée Guimet is a French national museum dedicated to asian arts, and it has Europe's largest collection of asian artworks! 

I intern in the Marketing department of the museum (yes, there is such a thing in a museum, unexpected, right?). With my two awesome bosses, I mainly work on the upcoming exhibition on the Han arts, an exhibition in the context of China and France's 50th year anniversary of diplomacy. So far I've mostly been doing a lot of translations of texts for the exhibition, French to English, English to Chinese, so on and so forth. It's quite exciting! 

To be honest, I never knew working full time is this tiring! Every day on the metro back, all I want is a long nap. Compared to this, schoolwork and classes is a skip in the park... The main reason might be because at school, I usually switch between subjects and activities, so my brain is never too "tired" or "bored" of one thing. At work, sometimes a task requires a long time of concentration, which is very different from classes.

However, if you asked me, I would still say I prefer working. Even though it's not even been a week yet, I already love my job. Different from studying, which is more like brain exercises, working makes me feel like I'm creating value, that I'm in some way contributing to the good of the society. And that is a very empowering feeling. 

Anyways, stay tuned for more rants from this excited intern!

xx

Vanessa :]

A day away from the city

flower market at Chartres

Bonjour à tous! 

This past Saturday I took a delightful day trip to the small town of Chartres southwest of Paris, reachable by train in one hour. For those who are tired of the city's hustle, trust me, Chartres is the perfect place for a day of relaxation.

The picturesque town is known for its fresh flower market,  Notre Dame Cathedral (one of the four best ones in France! The other three in Reims, Amiens, and Rouen, respectively), simple yet refreshing parks, and chic cafes. 

My first stop when I arrived was of course, the cathedral. Yes, I'm that art history nerd, but really, look at it!

facade of the cathedral

interior of the cathedral, view of the rose window and ceiling

If you thought Notre Dame de Paris was tall, then you'll find yourself in the wrongest of wrong. In fact, the one in Paris is only 96 meters high, while the one in Chartres stands at a shocking 113 meters! With its asymmetrical pointy towers, it looks even taller than that.

Immediately upon entry, I felt like I understood why Gothic churches especially made people feel the ferventness to worship God - it was just so incredibly tall! Looking up was some serious neck exercise, and the awe that it inspired from me was just endless. And I live in a modern society where there are sky scrapers - just imagine how the people of the twelfth century who dwelled in humble two-floor huts must have felt when they set foot in this cathedral!

me on top of the cathedral!

In fact, another perk of the cathedral is that at certain times of the day, the towers are open to public for a climb (which felt like an endless workout on the StairMaster at my gym), which offer a perfect spot for a panoramic view of Chartres. Note that the photo above is deceptive - behind my smile I am screaming TIRED. This morning I woke up with sore, protesting calves. 

candles inside the cathedral that made me nostalgic of Peddie...

After the cathedral, I took a stroll in the flowers market and saw the most flawless roses in my life for astonishingly cheap. I have never seen roses this full-blown, this symmetrical, before. And there wasn't even one spot of wilting!

By then, I was succumbing to my craving for ice cream (don't tell me you don't crave ice scream, because somehow I always do), so I bought a cone of white chocolate ice cream and just sat and people-watched. Everyone on that golden Saturday afternoon was so well-dressed - I was impressed.

Last but not least, a picture of the historic streets of Chartres...

a street in Chartres

After a week of running about Paris, I found the rest and quiet that I needed in Chartres. Beautiful town with friendly people and a goooooorgeous cathedral.

xx

Vanessa :]

Being Parisian: 5 not-touristy things to do in the City of Lights

wanna see the Eiffel Tower like this?

Bonjour à tous!

Finally, after almost a month, I feel like I am settled in enough to call myself a Parisian in the making. I'm all moved in, have been cooking on my own, working out regularly, got internet in my room (FINALLY), and most of all been exploring Paris day and night!

So today I came prepared with a list of 5 things that almost no tourist knows to do - read attentively if you want to know the secret to being truly Parisian...

1. Do not shop at Galeries Lafayette or on the Boulevard des Champs-Elysees. Go to Rue de la Paix instead! Obviously the Galeries and Champs-Elysees are still charming for their architecture and view, but the stores there are ridiculously crowded, full of tourists (thus bad service), and never fully stocked. Instead, take an afternoon promenade on Rue de la Paix not too far away. There, you will find a variety of stores from luxury brands to chic boutiques to satisfy your shopping appetite!

2. Go to the Louvre on a Wednesday after 6PM. During the day, the Louvre is notorious for its insane amount of visitors, mostly thanks to foreign tourist groups who hustle through the museum just to see Mona Lisa. Do not, and I repeat here, do NOT be that tourist! Of course, if you're a first time comer in Paris, you gotta see the Mona Lisa, but keep in mind that the Louvre offers so, so, so much more than that. Every Wednesday, the museum has late opening until 9PM, which is a great time to visit because then you can literally lie down on the bench in front of Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People (1830) and marvel at it without disruption!

3. Go to a local market. So far I've only been to the Bastille Market, it's open every Sunday morning till noon. The vegetables and fruits are so fresh there, sometimes the lettuce even comes with its roots still in the dirt! Also, there you will see many typically French things such as arrays of cheeses, wines, olive oils, etc. Definitely a gem.

4. Drink a glass of Kir before dinner. This thing doesn't seem to exist outside of France (okay, maybe outside of Europe). So what is it exactly? It's white wine with cassis syrup, and it tastes simply heavenly - a little sour, a little sweet, with an aroma that makes you seriously want to marry it.

5. See the Notre Dame at night. Yes, during the day it is lovely and grand, but at night it has a special charm. Hear the Seine water lap quietly, take a little stroll along its banks, and watch Notre Dame in all its mystic glory. Sometimes there are amazing spectacles by street artists if you are lucky enough! I can guarantee you it is an experience of a lifetime.

xx

Vanessa :]

Just to let you know I'm still here...

So guys, unlike you might have suspected, I have not dropped off the face of the Earth. I've just been traveling, more or less without Internet. I was first in Istanbul, and then in Paris, Giethoorn, Amsterdam, Ghent, and then back in Paris. I have now settled down in my foyer - youth apartment - and will start my fall program in Paris tomorrow. Right now I'm sitting in a nearby McDonald's typing away because I have yet to access Internet connection in my foyer. Once I do, I promise to update you on my life in Paris!

Donc à très bientôt!

xx

Vanessa :]

Grandmas, durians, and soy sauce everywhere: on cultural curiosity

Emilie made me sushi

Bonjour à tous!

For the past two evenings, I've had dinner at two different Arlesien families, and I gathered some highly intriguing observations and impressions. 

Let me start with what we had for dinner first: Sunday evening I had sushi made by the family's fifteen-year-old daughter Emilie, with quiche lorraine, something that cannot be more typically French, and ice cream, a worldwide favorite; yesterday evening I had omelette "done the French way," which really tasted astonishingly like the eggs cooked by my Chinese grandmother, along with fried spring rolls dipped in fish sauce and Japanese lettuce salad. 

I was amazed to find that these French people were bothered by mixing cuisines, which they totally did (and did it well!). And what was more surprising to me was how everyone just seemed to pull out these typically Asian ingredients or condiments such as seaweed, and soy sauce, from their kitchen pantries! I couldn't believe my eyes that these things were common items in the kitchen in French families! 

spring roll, Vietnamese fish sauce, Japanese salad

In contrast, from my four years of living in America, I find that it's extremely rare for non-Asian families to have Asian ingredients or condiments in their kitchens. The American families that I have had the chance to know more or less tend to stick to, for the lack of a less generalized term, the Occidental way of cooking. The only times they would venture out into the foreign, or what a lot of people consider as "exotic," cuisines, is when they eat out at restaurants.

French omelette that tasted Chinese

Throughout both dinners for the past two evenings, everyone asked so many questions about China, and none of those were questions that I was commonly asked about in the US, which are "Do you guys really eat dogs" and "What's your opinion on Taiwan/Tibet." (To which the answers are, "Yes, we do eat dogs in certain regions, but it's not the domestic pet dog kind of dog;" and "I think they are part of People's Republic of China.") At those dinners, the French families asked me about how Chinese people ate their food, "if there were many dishes and everyone shared," or if we ate desserts ("Not often; we tend to end meals with hot soup."). The grandma that cooked me the French omelette said that when she lived in Paris, she went to the Chinatown there very often, and loved buying Durian and silk pants there. What random yet so deeply culturally immersed actions! It amazed me how casually she talked about these things, how familiar and at ease she was with them, as if they are nothing to be surprised about. It made me realize that these people are truly curious about my culture, about where I come from, and about my life, not just about politics or stigmatized topics in Asia that are blown out of proportion over the news in America. 

I'm not saying either interest is wrong, I just personally appreciate more the genuine interest that the French exhibit toward my culture, their constant awe and wonder when I tell them some little thing that is so familiar to me in my life in China, and overall their generally open minds, their reservation of remarks or critiques. One perfect example to end this post: when I told one of the French families I dined at that in China people put tomatoes in one of the very common soups (西红柿鸡蛋汤, for those who speak Chinese or are familiar with this delicious dish), the hostess said "Oh that's bizarre!" But then quickly corrected herself and apologized to me, saying how she shouldn't have said that, and that it is only bizarre to her but not to people who are savvy about Chinese culture. It was a touching moment for me because I didn't take offense at all, but her apology just goes to show how much she, as one French person, keeps her mind open. 

Let's hope that more people worldwide can be like that.

xx

Vanessa :]

Goodbyes are hard

my host family and I on Polaroid

Bonjour à tous!

Today I said goodbye to my host family, which was so much harder than I imagined. As I embraced my host parents and little brother, I couldn't help but cried. And so did they, which made my tears even harder to hold in. 

Before my stay in Arles, the idea of "host family" was just a way for me to observe the so-called authentic French life. Six weeks later, upon the farewell, I realize that I was wrong. For the past six weeks, in almost no way was I merely a bystander that watched and learned - instead I was a member of the family; I participated. 

Louis and me in Polaroid

It is almost funny thinking back to my first days in this small, historic town, when I was surprised by before-dinner sausages and wines and got lost constantly on my way to classes. Now I'm so used to many French customs that I don't even think twice before I do them: I give everyone three kisses as greetings in the morning, and three more as goodbye; I expect to find wines and baguettes on the terrace at my host home at 7pm every evening, followed by a late but light dinner; I got into the habit of taking a small coffee after every meal... The examples are endless. It's just fascinating how much one adapts to an environment without even noticing. Looking back, I became a lot more assimilated into French life than six weeks ago.

my friends from the program and me at Pont du Gard

And I can shamelessly say that I feel proud of myself, for participating. For learning and having curiosity, for trying everything and accepting most things. This is why I love traveling so much, after all, I guess. That I can truly be a part of the local life, but a however short or long period of time. That I can participate in this wonderful thing that is human culture, that differs so much across the globe but is always awe-inspiring. I really hope that by traveling, I can be  more and more open-minded, welcoming, and understanding. I hope I can be a world citizen by learning others' ways and teaching them mine.

Feeling nostalgia and peace of mind at the same time.

xx
Vanessa :]

Made in China, made in Nature

Emilie and me in front of a vineyard

Bonjour à tous!

The past weekend I was away from basically all modern technology - no WiFi, very poor phone reception, no TV, no laptop, and sometimes even no electricity! You ask why? Oh yes, because I went to the countryside to a vacation house with my host family and another French family. There, I had the most relaxing weekend I have ever had in a looooong time. Being away from technology was in fact liberating! I focused more on my surroundings and on the conversations that were going on around me instead of checking my Instagram feed three times a minute or something. (Yes, I do that from time to time, don't judge!)

Ardeche

vacation house

As you can see from the pictures, there is not much in the countryside. Our vacation house was two hours' car ride away from Arles. As we drove away from Arles, more sky came into view, and gigantic mountains and miles and miles of grapevines... It was quite a sight. Just... so refreshing. Such a change of view from the urban sphere I am used to.

Our vacation house is a traditional masonry style house that was passed down from the great-grandparent generation! It might have even existed even earlier than that, unfortunately I forgot to ask my host parents. Adorning the houses were bushes of naturally grown flowers, in full bloom at this time, making the old stone house come to life in this ripe summertime.

flowers by the house

candlelight lunch when the electricity went out

Because there was no TV or other things to busy oneself, we all just played sports, walked around, tasted wine, made fires, watched stars, swam in the river under a waterfall, and picked berries! It was quite the rustic life, as Emilie (the daughter of the other family who was also at the vacation house) put it, but I absolutely LOVED every bit of it! 

a very bad picture to give you an idea of the amount of stars

Every day in the countryside, something fascinated me: the dormice that live between our roof and ceiling who party hard every night and make lots of funny noise, the complete darkness in my bedroom even with no curtains (seriously, I couldn't even see my own hands), the wild berries that turned out to be not only safe to eat but perfectly delicious, the star-sprinkled night sky, and how bright the night really is even with no artificial light at all... It is in fact impossible to sum up my weekend experience in such few words, but I hope these little examples can give you a sense of the abundance of things to marvel at!

To finish, some beautiful pictures of handmade sausages and hand-picked peaches directly from the field (pourquoi pas).

sausages 

peaches

I hope you all feasted your eyes well!

xx

Vanessa :]

Allez! Allez!

Coupe du Monde!

Bonjour à tous! (And happy late Fourth of July to those in America!)

On Friday evening my friends and I met up at the pub to watch the much anticipated World Cup game France vs. Germany. Even though we got to the pub twenty minutes earlier than the actual game, already the place was crawling with people. If two of our friends didn't come an hour earlier to secure a table, we would all have had to watch the game standing. 

Upon entering the bar, I could feel the thick anticipation and patriotism in the air. All around me, people were discussing loudly, throwing out their hands wildly, and constantly tapping the table, as if saying, "Can't we start already?"

On the walls, many French flags ruffled in the breeze that came through the bar's open doors. At the beginning of the game, when the Marseillaise was sung, everyone at the bar started singing (or hollering, really) along with the live broadcast. Being in that atmosphere, it was impossible to not be affected and root for France during the game.

As the game carried on, the crowd in the bar became exponentially a mixture of excitement, anxiety, and tipsy patriotism. Every time the ball even came within sight of the goal, the entire bar erupted into an uproar of "Allez! Allez!" Which is the French version of "Go! Go!" And every time the scoring attempted failed, the invested spectators pounded against the tables, walls, and exploded into booing, cursing, and moaning. During halftime, a band of drummers even came to play outside the bar to hype up the atmosphere, and everyone broke into a wild dance together.

Even though in the end France still lost, I left the bar with good memories. It does not happen every day that one can watch a game in which a country's team is playing in the exact country. All things said, no regrets, and thank you to all the spectators who were there yesterday for the unmatched enthusiasm. 

Keeping my eyes peeled on the last battle for the championship.

xx

Vanessa :]

Marching in style: Festival of Costumes

La Pégoulade

Bonjours à tous!

Even though France lost to Germany in World Cup yesterday (in a heated game which I urgently need to write a separate blogpost about), the Arlesiens marched in total style later last evening. Because - drumroll - it was the annual Pegoulade in Arles! A Pegoulade is where people parade down the main street in town sporting their most proud local costume. In fact, the Pegoulade in Arles has been around for more than 100 years! Last evening, dozens of families - from great-grandma to little babies - participated, not to mention the various bands and at least fifty horses!

The parade lasted about half an hour, and the costumes displayed a wide range of styles representing different social classes, historical periods, age groups, and professions. The professions most pertinent to the Arles area were fishermen, and washwomen, all of whom worked on the the Rhone river in the olden times.

This photo was especially amusing because the word "l'Avenir" on the banner below the little girl means "The future," which I thought was pretty fitting. And on top of that, isn't this little bundle of cuteness just a pure joy to look at?

What touched me the most is how many people participated and how seriously everyone took this event. The older generation marched with dignified and proud looks on their faces, while the teens and younger children worn serious faces as they tried to do every dance, every step meticulously. In honesty, this parade was nothing short of perfection. I was moved to see the people in Arles fiercely proud of their culture, tradition, and identity. With the quick pace of urban life and modernization, something like this is not that easy to find anymore.

xx
Vanessa :]

France, China, America: culinary observations

Is my hat French yet

Bonjour à tous!

I've been in Arles, Provence, for exactly a week now. Even though I've only spent a few days with my host family so far, already I've learned an abundance of things about the Provençal culture, and the French lifestyle! I would love to record and comment on all of them, but if I do that, it'll seriously take days! So I'm just going to talk about one  observation here today - the cuisine.

Before coming to France, I knew that European cultures are different from those in America, but still I generally thought they are both Western cultures, so they should be pretty similar. However, after having really lived here with a host family and participating in cultural events in Arles made me realize that this is not the case at all. In many ways, especially in the food cultures, I find the French culture more similar to the Chinese ways than to those of the US! Surprising, right?

In France, people take their meals seriously. Like, two-hour-per-meal seriously.  But as I was strolling through town, I hardly saw anyone overweight! Almost all the younger people around my age, including the teenagers, are slim, and the people my parents' age are sill mostly fit! As far as I know, working out/sports is not a big thing in France, so why on Earth does everyone look so good?

The secret lies in the French cuisine. The word "breakfast" in French literally means "little lunch," and a typical French "little lunch" usually consists of a piece of bread, a cup of coffee, and maybe a glass of juice. Really little compared to the American full breakfast affairs, non? For lunch, people usually have a salad with some kind of meat or fish with bread, or some pasta. Dinner here is super late, at around 8pm or even 9pm! At my host family we eat dinner at 9pm. But we eat very light, usually just a salad like this:

And this is what a typical lunch looks like:

Or this:

I don't have a picture of breakfast, because the lighting isn't very good in the morning when I typically eat so... but if I do get a good picture, I will add it to this post.

Overall, I find that the way people eat (little breakfasts, heavier lunches, light dinners) here in France are more similar to the Chinese than to the Americans. This is not a critique of American fast food, but here in France, it is very hard to find fast food chains! In Arles, for example, there are no chain restaurants at all! Also, another thing that I remarked on is how light French dinners are, and how small the portions are in general. When I mentioned this to my host Maman and host Papa, they were surprised that portions in American restaurants are so "enormous." 

I also think that in America, I often hear a lot (sometimes too much) about how/what/when to eat. In France, one just eats! That simple. It's more or less like that in China as well, because come to think of it, the problem with the American way of eating, in my opinion, is what and how much people eat, not how. If people ate more vegetables and smaller portions, I think then it'll be a better cuisine in general.

Of course, all of the above are just my personal views. All comments are welcome!

xx

Vanessa :]