Thanksgiving: year seven.

I waslucky enough to celebrate Thanksgiving twice this year.

For maybe the first year ever in France, I celebrated Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving thanks to a wonderful American friend who came to visit and cooked a wonderful dinner. I also had my traditional Thanksgiving potluck, using my tried and true recipes.

As has become a personal traditional, here are five things I’m thankful for this year:

1. The Frenchboyfriend
This year was the hardest of my life thus far (and I know this means I’ve had a great life). I was unemployed for almost a year. I felt helpless, as after several interviews I was told that my lack of experience is the reason I wasn’t getting the job. I felt anxious, convinced that I would never find a job and end up homeless.

All this to say, I was in a very dark place. What made it a little less dark? The French boyfriend. He supported me through all of this, comforted me when all I could do was cry, and kept up a never ending mantra of “of course you’re going to get a job” and “no one stays unemployed forever” and “you’re not going to end up homeless.”

I am so thankful for him.

2. Léonard


Introducing, Léonard!
After ten years of wanting a cat of my own, for my 28th birthday I gifted myself an adorable rescue 4-month-old Siamese kitten named Léonard. He is more than I could ever have hoped for. He purrs when we get up in the mornings and when we come home from work, he loves to cuddle, he’s super playful, loves to be with people, and best of all he loves to be carried, which was my childhood wish for my childhood cats who of course hated it.


Sleeping on my lap
He’s only been a part of the family for two months, but I already can’t imagine things without him (even if he did eat the fiberoptic cable and destroy a small house plant).

3. Family
My parents have been so supportive of me this whole year. I am so thankful to have parents that encourage me to follow my passion and pursue my life in France. I am also thankful for my brother, for letting me be silly and weird and for always reminding me how much I’m missed back home.


Parents visiting Paris
4. Friends
I am thankful for old friends and new for commiserating with me about how hard it is to friend a job and for helping me forget my troubles. I am especially thankful for the outpouring of love and concern I received following the recent Paris attacks. Thank you all.


5. The New Job
I am so so so thankful to be once again employed. It was a struggle, but the job I have now was worth the wait. I am very excited and interested in the project I’m working on, my coworkers are super nice, my boss really believes in me and shows appreciation for my work, my contract is until May 2018 (the length of the project), and I get ten weeks of vacation a year. What more could a girl ask for?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Thanksgiving: year six.

Six years of being away from family and other Americans on this very American holiday has made it seem almost the norm. I am once again hosting a Thanksgiving potluck with my French friends (using my tried and true French thanksgiving recipes), and I am once again using this as an opportunity to reflect on all that I am thankful for in my French life.

This year, I am thankful for:

1. The French boyfriend
My constant proofreader, who helps me navigate French bureaucracy, I am so thankful to get to cuddle up next to him on a daily basis. I’m especially thankful this year that he drove my parents to Switzerland and spent an entire day with them sans moi because I had left my passport in Paris… Thank you so much!

2. Amis
As always, I also can’t imagine my French life without all the wonderful people I’ve met out here, from the amazing people I just graduated with to the new friends I’ve made in Paris. From commiserating about the daunting visa process to helping deal with the stress of office life as well as, now, the job-hunting process, I’m so grateful for you all.

3. Graduation
After two years of hard work in the classroom and in the office, I am officially a Master! I am so grateful for the opportunity to have gotten this degree in France with such lovely, wonderful people, and I am also grateful for the fact that my university just happened to be in Champagne as that led to celebrating this milestone with the delicious beverage that shares the region’s name at very reasonable prices.

4. APS
I am so grateful for the visa that allows foreign bearers of a French master’s degree stay in France for one year in order to look for employment in their field of expertise. It’s given me the opportunity to stay here for one more year, hopefully soon find a job, and continue this great adventure.

5. Paris
Living in Paris has led to a plethora of reasons to be grateful. Not only is the city beautiful and full of wonderful museums that I can visit for free on the first Sunday of the month, but it’s also a big tourist destination, which has meant getting to spend time with friends who didn’t think Troyes was worth visiting.


Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Thanksgiving: year five.

I have spent five consecutive Thanksgivings in France. It’s a hard holiday to miss out on, as any American expat can attest to. So, just like last year, I held a Thanksgiving potluck, complete with my recipes for green bean casserole, twice mashed potatoes, and stuffing. Another American friend brought candied yams, and the French participated by bringing bread, pumpkin pie, and cheesecake. My Russian friend even brought a Russian dish.


Thanksgiving dinner.
This year, the Thanksgiving potluck had less of the spirit of being thankful and felt more like a dinner among friends, but I’ll take it.

As seems to have become a tradition on my blog, here are 5 things I’m thankful for about my French life this year:

1. The French boy. He reads all my school papers and corrects all my grammar mistakes. He introduced me to many wonderful things about the Alps, like tartiflette and their vin blanc. He’s an amazing boyfriend and I’m so grateful to have him in my life.

2. Mes amis. I have met so many awesome people since moving to Troyes, and without them I’m sure this little town would be quite dull. I’m especially grateful for all the people in my masters program, who help keep me sane and deal with the ridiculous amount of projects we have.

3. Mon appartement. Despite the worrisome addition of bells in the church next door, which has yet to come to fruition, I love our new apartment. We are in the heart of the city, right next to a beautiful medieval church, with easy access to free parking, and to top it all off: my favorite Christmas time treat (les croustillons hollandais) are sold at the place (square) just out front! I’m definitely going to be gaining some weight this holiday season.

4. Voyager. This past year I’ve been able to visit a glacier, go wine tasting in Italy, and take a road trip in the Netherlands. All of which were made possible by new French boy’s car, so maybe that’s what I should really be thankful for? I love being able to travel and experience so many different cultures.

5. Thanksgiving. Sometimes it’s hard to remember why I chose to move away from my friends and family to a country that is quite disorganized and can be very frustrating. And while Thanksgiving is something super American, I am so grateful to get to celebrate this holiday. It helps me remember all the wonderful reasons why I do live in France.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Thankful.

This year was my fourth ever Thanksgiving spent in France. Four out of twenty-five total might not seem like a lot, but missing out on one of the few truly American holidays always makes me homesick.

This year I organized a Thanksgiving get together with my fellow masters program students, and I think it was my best Thanksgiving abroad yet. Everyone really appreciated the food (recipes here) and the party really had that uniquely Thanksgiving spirit of sharing and appreciating what you have.

While I know I complain a lot about my French life, I thought I’d take this opportunity to list five things about it for which I’d like to say “merci”:

1. My classmates
One of the things I was really worried about when moving back here was being once again faced with the sometimes-difficult task of becoming friends with French people. I am so grateful to have met the other people in my program, and in three short months build some truly great friendships. I can’t imagine my life in Troyes without them.

2. Troyens
I also was lucky enough to meet some local Troyens and I don’t know how I would have gotten by without them. From taking me to the supermarket, to driving me all the way to Lille to collect my things, I have stumbled upon some remarkably generous people here and I couldn’t ask for more.

3. Troyen Architecture
Waking up in the morning, and being greeted by gorgeous 16th century timbered houses is an amazing start to every day. I’m so grateful I get to appreciate it’s beauty on a regular basis.

Beautiful timbered houses and blue skies on Troyes' main shopping street.
4. Traveling
Although I haven’t been able to travel as much so far this year due to my coarse work load, I have loved every trip I’ve taken and feel so grateful for the abundance of travel opportunities here.

5. Champagne !
Living in Champagne has its perks. I have really enjoyed visiting champagne caves, getting not only to learn how champagne is made but also see the process first hand during les vendages(the grape harvest), and drinking all that bubbly at advantageous prices (even if it is still too expensive to drink quotidiennement).

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's to appreciating all the good things in our lives.

Being Thankful

When I celebrated Thanksgiving last year with La Maman and FBF I explained to them a family tradition. Every year before my family digs in to the delicious Thanksgiving feast, we go around the table and say 5 things we are thankful for.

I was not prepared for how difficult it would be to explain to French people what “to be thankful for” means.

Despite using words like bonheur (happiness), apprécier (to appreciate), and aimer (to like/love), the message wasn’t getting across.

Eventually they did come up with 5 things they wanted to say merci for having in their lives, even if they didn't fully grasp the concept.


Thanksgiving classics Frenchified: La Purée Americaine, Le Stuffing, and Les Hauricots Verts. Recipes here.

I’m going to make Thanksgiving dinner again this year (check out my France friendly recipes), and thought I’d share with you 5 things I’m thankful for in my French life.

1. FBF. Without him so much of France’s culture would have stayed a mystery, and I would have felt even more of an outsider. I’m also grateful that he’s able to listen to me complain about France sans arrêt, be my translator, endlessly explain cultural quirks, and still love me. It’s amazing.

2. La Belle Famille (FBF's family). They are my family in France. I’m so thankful that they invite me to all family gatherings (birthdays and holidays) not just for the exclusive access to real French family life it gives me, but especially because they are all so nice, welcoming, and generous.

3. Mes amis. One of my goals when I came out here as an assistant was to make French friends. I feel like I have accomplished that goal with flying colors, and am so thankful for the French friends in my life. But my life out here wouldn’t be complete without my fellow American expat friends who share my love-hate relationship with this beautiful, yet frustrating country.

4. Tigrou. FBF’s cat has filled the pet-less void I was living in before meeting him. I love cuddling le chaton (kitten, but he doesn't really qualify anymore as he's 11. We still call him that, though) and am so thankful that I can have a cat without actually having a cat.


Me with Tigrou. He's named after Winnie the Pooh's companion, Tigger, only en français.

5. Lille. I’m so glad I got placed in this city. It has opened my eyes to just how diverse a country France is and helped me realize that Paris isn’t France, it’s in France. There are many things that differentiate each region from one another, and I love all the things that are particular to les ch’tis: une culture de la bière, les grands places, les baraques à frites, l’accent, les beffrois, et les briques rouges (the beer culture, the big squares, the French fry caravans, the accent, the bell towers, and the red bricks) among other things.


What about you? What are you thankful for this year? Are you going to use my awesome Thanksgiving-in-France recipes?

How To.... Make French Thanksgiving!

I celebrated Thanksgiving with FBF and his mom last Wednesday. I did it a day early because I work all day on Thursdays, and I wanted enough time to cook everything!

I am at an advantage in that I brought American measurement utilities with me (cups and teaspoons/tablespoons). I also counted some things in grams.

Here are the recipes for Le Stuffing, La Purée Americaine, and Les Hauricots Verts:

Thanksgiving à la française

Because I have access to an entire Kitchen this year, complete with such marvelous culinary appliances such as an oven, mixers, and blenders, I decided to make Thanksgiving dinner for FBF and his maman (mom).

I avoided serving turkey as I am a vegetarian, but I did prepare three Thanksgiving dinner dishes that I adore. I made green bean casserole, twice mashed potatoes, and good old fashioned stuffing.


You can find my recipes for these delicious Thanksgiving dishes here!
Not only was it my first time cooking any of these dishes, but being in France and not America, I had to make substitutions for certain ingredients.

I was extremely nervous about the entire endeavor, as it was the first time I cooked for La Maman.

Although they found the dishes and the ingredients to be unusual, both FBF and La Maman liked it. They each grabbed seconds!

The next day, la soeur de FBF (FBF’s sister) came over and they ate the leftovers without me (I was at work).

When she asked how it was, FBF had this to say about the stuffing, “Nous, on ne cuit pas le pain, donc on a trouvé bizarre de le voir faire, mais on a été agréablment surpris par le goût.” (We don’t normally cook bread, so it was weird to watch her cook it, but we were happily surprised by how good it tastes!)