Wednesday
Madame Bodet took my to the transport office to help me get my bus card sorted out. We communicated that the bus routes available to Anthon forced me to go out of zone to Meyzieu before turning back. Thankfully, there was a plan available that allowed me to add Lyon and the Meyzieu zone to my card for roughly the same price! Now I can use my card to get to Lyon and on the metro there! What a relief. Now I’ll be able to go into the big city to shop or walk around as much as I want.
We went to the store to grab some groceries. I always feel rushed because she’s waiting on me, even though I know she doesn’t care how long I take at the store. So, even though I was able to find a lot of helpful items, I still forgot a few things. I hope that with the bus card it will be easier for me to be independent. Maybe I can go into the city to shop at Monoprix and grab Starbucks!
I spent much of the day reading, watching crime shows, and finishing up some paperwork. In the evening I decided that I should get out of the house and go for my hour long walk. Thank goodness for audiobooks! I got to learn more about the Russian imperial family as I walked.
I took a new route through the village to spice things up and orient myself. I passed a beautiful cross at one intersection.
At the next intersection, I found a cute little Christmas display. This is a bad picture, but there’s a tree decorated with light and small presents.
I passed the Mairie (town hall) and discovered an adorable little letter box for Santa. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the French ideas surrounding secularism. The French state is supposed to laïque which roughly translates to “secular.” This is supposedly in an effort to create a state that ignores religious differences to promote equality. Something that surprises Americans is the fact that students aren’t allowed to wear hijabs or any signs of religious affiliation in schools because they are state-run institutions. However, as I have observed throughout the week, Christmas songs are played over the loudspeaker to release students from classes. One teacher pointed out that over half the students we teach are Muslim. Yet, we hear only Christian tunes played overhead and see only symbols associated with Christianity decorating the schools. She argued that this did not violate laïtcité because Christmas was a pagan holiday and thus entirely unrelated to religion. Never mind, I suppose, that paganism is still faith system and is not secular. When I asked students about the issue, they claimed it was fine because Christmas has been commercialized. I wondered what American Christians would have to say about those evaluations.
I ended my day with my weekly phone call with some friends and a bit of Duolingo. The Duolingo Year in Review just came out and I was pretty pleased with my results!
Mary-Est-En-France 