January 13, 2021

Wednesday

Tuesday night I made ambitious plans to hike over to the nearest town to take some photos. Chavanoz is another small town in the area. It’s a tad bigger than Anthon, clocking in at 4,500 residents. I drive though on my way to classes and can catch glimpses of castle-like buildings. I’d love to see them up close! Sadly, when I opened my curtains in the morning, I knew it would be impossible. A thick cloud hung overhead and rain fell steadily from above. Another cozy day inside would be required.

I enjoyed watching the news and writing letters to some of my friends and family members. I have finally gotten the hang of buying stamps and know where I can send off mail. Conveniently, the town’s mailbox is attached to the Tabac. I needed to buy some groceries, so I donned my boots and headed out. I felt like I was walking in the middle of a cloud. The air was heavy with moisture. I know I’ve said this before, but I feel like I’m stuck in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie. There’s something very romantic about this misty, rainy weather.

I decided that I was already damp and that I might as well take a lap around the village. I knew I wouldn’t be motivated enough to devote myself to yoga and wanted to get some exercise in.

I’ve enjoyed the large amount of free time that I’ve had, but it’s becoming difficult not to feel restless. I haven’t been able to locate a consistent yarn source here, so I haven’t been able to indulge in any crochet work. I was chatting on the phone with one of my friends Wednesday night and realized that cooking has become one of my main activities here. If you know me, you know that I HATE cooking. I gain very little enjoyment from the process and don’t enjoy cleaning up. It doesn’t help that I’m really just an awful cook. I can spend forever on a dish and still have revolting results.

France has been a different story. I have nothing but time and am really tired of bland French foods. Don’t get me wrong, French cuisine is incredibly well done and can be a fantastic experience. However, dishes are often cream-based and have very little seasoning. Rosemary, thyme, and pepper play heavily in many French dishes. I have missed the diversity in cuisine that I experienced back home. I love spicy BBQ, flavorful Asian dishes, even the pain that comes with a particularly hot Mexican dish.

While I’ve been here, I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with new flavors and new dishes. I’ve always avoided chicken because East Quad chicken scarred me (how can something be both dry and raw in the center???). Last weekend I made two different types of fried chicken! I did a dry Memphis rub on Friday night and a honey mustard sauce on Saturday. They were amazing! I decided to try my hand at homemade pizza on Wednesday night. I had slowly accumulated ingredients during my last trips to the store. I finally was able to find yeast and pizza sauce this week!

I kneaded the dough, prepared my toppings, and threw it all together in the toaster oven for about 30 minutes while I watched “Angels and Demons”.

I was excited by the results. I have missed pizza so much while I’ve been here! Now I can make it myself and know that it’s really not too much trouble!

I spent the rest of my night on the phone while I prepared my lesson for the next day. Because MLK day is January 15, the teachers at Charvieu wanted me to do a lesson on MLK. I felt like it was wrong to give a lesson just on MLK without situating the students in the historical context (hello history degree). I started my lesson with slavery and the Civil War, moved to segregation and Jim Crow, then onto the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, finally ended on the Black Panthers. I put in links showing police brutality during the movement and put in some clips to show the Black Panther’s lasting influence on activism. I’ll let you know what the kiddos understand. I hope they’ll get something out of this.

I slept a little easier after reading the evening’s news.