So, I have been relatively MIA. There isn’t a good reason. I got underswept by the current of the holidays and gave in to the allure of idleness. I intend to make up for it now. I subscribe to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll let them do some of the talking. But context is good too. So let’s see how succinctly we can do this.
Christmas-
Myself and approximately 40 other members of the David family tree all arranged ourselves at a grand table in order of descending age. There were people seated beside me who, on a whim, had voyaged to spend their days in another country with only enough money to arrive there. There were people who spoke 4 languages fluently. There were people who had an arsenal of miscellaneous facts and who you imagined you could sit and talk with about nothing or everything for hours. And all of these people, though not my family, had histories as elaborate as anything back home. For this dinner our paths would briefly intersect and just as quickly afterwards they would diverge, yet still they’d have left an impression in the form of their stories. The following day was presents and gifts and a breakfast of pain au chocolate as well as hot chocolate and only things that were sweet with all the babies of the family. Post Christmas was sure not to disappoint.
Christmas-
Myself and approximately 40 other members of the David family tree all arranged ourselves at a grand table in order of descending age. There were people seated beside me who, on a whim, had voyaged to spend their days in another country with only enough money to arrive there. There were people who spoke 4 languages fluently. There were people who had an arsenal of miscellaneous facts and who you imagined you could sit and talk with about nothing or everything for hours. And all of these people, though not my family, had histories as elaborate as anything back home. For this dinner our paths would briefly intersect and just as quickly afterwards they would diverge, yet still they’d have left an impression in the form of their stories. The following day was presents and gifts and a breakfast of pain au chocolate as well as hot chocolate and only things that were sweet with all the babies of the family. Post Christmas was sure not to disappoint.
New Years-
Fireworks launched from the base of the courthouse, only complementing the racous yet dignified ding of the clock and the excited cheers of the individuals gathered under its gaze. I must not neglect to mention the lights projected on the body of “la Marie”. They with the start of the tightrope walker’s advance had begun to tell a story, one that did not have characters or even a plot but more so a theme. It told a story of time, showing gears grinding slowly to mark its steady march that evades our attentions. For those 15 minutes before midnight, we all for once were precisely aware of time. This moment we would remember as a checkpoint, a starting line for the next leg of the marathon of our lives. No longer would we be passive collaborators with ourselves of before and all of its habits, some of them being poisonous. Watching the tightrope walker so precariously balance on a string almost rendered invisible by the darkness, in a way represented the ambiguousness of what was to come.
Fireworks launched from the base of the courthouse, only complementing the racous yet dignified ding of the clock and the excited cheers of the individuals gathered under its gaze. I must not neglect to mention the lights projected on the body of “la Marie”. They with the start of the tightrope walker’s advance had begun to tell a story, one that did not have characters or even a plot but more so a theme. It told a story of time, showing gears grinding slowly to mark its steady march that evades our attentions. For those 15 minutes before midnight, we all for once were precisely aware of time. This moment we would remember as a checkpoint, a starting line for the next leg of the marathon of our lives. No longer would we be passive collaborators with ourselves of before and all of its habits, some of them being poisonous. Watching the tightrope walker so precariously balance on a string almost rendered invisible by the darkness, in a way represented the ambiguousness of what was to come.
La Gallete de Roi (The King’s Pastry)-
France touts a tradition of in the new years eating a pastry (chocolate, apple, jam) that has a little figurine placed randomly inside. Everyone takes a piece, and if chance is with them, they will find the figurine and be crowned king (or queen). My host family and I shared four pastries among ourselves in the first couple weeks of the new year. I won the figurine each of the four times. Ideally, this tradition would happen on January 6th, named the “Epiphany”. As told by the bible on this day the three wise men arrived at the stable that housed Jesus, the king.
France touts a tradition of in the new years eating a pastry (chocolate, apple, jam) that has a little figurine placed randomly inside. Everyone takes a piece, and if chance is with them, they will find the figurine and be crowned king (or queen). My host family and I shared four pastries among ourselves in the first couple weeks of the new year. I won the figurine each of the four times. Ideally, this tradition would happen on January 6th, named the “Epiphany”. As told by the bible on this day the three wise men arrived at the stable that housed Jesus, the king.
And last but not least…-
This weekend brought the SAT, perhaps one of the most stress inducing hurdles for students in their junior year. The weeks before were spent in diligent preparation, yet still the day of the test I could not help feeling as though I could have done more. I will have to wait only a short three weeks to see if the studying paid off. I will be well distracted as I plow through the 600 page assigned reading on WW1 Avoir la Haute that we were given 20 days to finish and as I plan trips for the vacation to come. This upcoming weekend I will visit Bordeaux, which I am sure will not disappoint.
This weekend brought the SAT, perhaps one of the most stress inducing hurdles for students in their junior year. The weeks before were spent in diligent preparation, yet still the day of the test I could not help feeling as though I could have done more. I will have to wait only a short three weeks to see if the studying paid off. I will be well distracted as I plow through the 600 page assigned reading on WW1 Avoir la Haute that we were given 20 days to finish and as I plan trips for the vacation to come. This upcoming weekend I will visit Bordeaux, which I am sure will not disappoint.