I grew up in Six Mile, SC, a very small town about 10 miles from Clemson University. I went to Clemson (where my Dad got his MBA, my sister and Matthew were getting an engineering degree at the time, and where my mom works!). After graduating and getting married, we moved to Greenville, which is only about 45 minutes from Clemson. Not exactly a world traveler! Most of my friends are from the south (with the exception of a few Yankees sprinkled in from college and teaching). To this day, some of my best friends are friends I have had since elementary school. Growing up in a small southern town and going to a university in a small southern town, one does not get to experience a lot of diversity.
One of the things I have appreciated the most since living in France is the exposure to so many different cultures. And not only just being exposed, but creating true friendships with people that have such a different background than me. I love learning about different cultures. For example, did you know that in France, it is tradition to eat a galette des rois in the month of January. Hidden inside the cake is a small figurine, and the person that finds it in their slice becomes king or queen for the day. Or, that it is a tradition in Poland to buy a live trout a few days before Christmas and let it live in the bathtub until Christmas day when he becomes dinner?!?
Don't get me wrong, there are Americans that we have become friends with here that have become some of our closest friends. These friendships give us a sense of home as we recount (longingly) trips to Target, or dinners in downtown Greenville. And they are our link to sanity when we feel so out of place being "les americains".
Many years from now, the friendships we have made will definitely be one of my favorite things about our time spent in France.
This picture is from Mark's birthday in December. Somewhere during the night, the party became a group karaoke party! Here, we are all singing Billy Joel's "Piano Man"
(Left to Right: Mark (Dutch), me, Silke (Dutch), Matthew, Johann (Dutch), Sylvie (Dutch or German??? I can't remember!), Sabina (Polish), Philip (German), Eric (Sylvie's husband, so not sure Dutch or German...)This photo cracks me up...an American, a Dutchman, a Frenchman, and a German singing Garth Brook's "I've Got Friends in Low Places". PS- The hats were Mark's...he is a big country fan! :)
Sabina is from Poland. She and I met in French class, and then we realized we had a lot of the same friends. All of the photos in today's post are courtesy of Sabina. Thanks Sabina!
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