One of the German teachers at the school (who also happens to be the father of one of my students) decided to show me around the smaller villages near here and take me to some of the artisanat things this Sunday. Strangely enough, he's one of the friendliest teachers (to me anyway) I've met here, even though we don't work together or even see each other very often. Don't get me wrong, the other teachers are nice to be sure. But our relationships are, for the most part, strictly professional, and our interactions are limited to the times that we run into each other in the staffroom.
So on Sunday, Michael picked me up from the lycee and drove me to Sorneville where he and his family live, showing me some of the other small villages on the way. I met his wife, who kind of intimidated me at first but is a total sweetheart and is extremely skilled at making things from precious metals and stones. We went to another nearby village to check out some of the other exhibitions (embroidery, furniture restoration, ceramics, glass blowing, etc.) then went back to Sorneville so Kathrin could show people her work, picked up Simon and went to go visit a potter friend of Kathrin's.
After talking to her and seeing her workshop and kiln, we went back to Sorneville, where I met their younger son, had a delicious lunch, and played with their dog & cats before getting to know Michael and Kathrin better. They're super cool people - he has three degrees and is a forest scientist but is currently working as a German teacher, she's a goldsmith, they traveled together in Asia for 6 months when they were younger, and their dog is one that they adopted after it had been abandoned. How could you not like them? Then another one of my students and a kid I don't know ended up coming over, so I walked around outside with them after being told by random kid's mother that I speak French with an impeccable accent. Yay. My time here has not gone to waste!
Afterward there was more socializing with people, punctured by my helping my students with their math homework then entertaining them with my origami skills. Michael drove me back pretty soon after but showed me around Amance a little bit first. It's a small village perched on a hill, where houses apparently cost a small fortune because of the view you get.
It's strange how much the the villages, despite their small populations, feel and look quite a bit like suburbs in the US. Whenever the students told me that they lived in villages, I pictured something not at all like what I saw. But I suppose one of the best things about traveling is rethinking previous conceptions and learning new things.
And before I left, Simon and Kathrin had cut some flowers for me from their garden, so I set those up in a nice old pasta jar once I got back.
Being in France has started a rather unexpected love affair with Germans/Germany. Good thing I'm going there in a few weeks!
So on Sunday, Michael picked me up from the lycee and drove me to Sorneville where he and his family live, showing me some of the other small villages on the way. I met his wife, who kind of intimidated me at first but is a total sweetheart and is extremely skilled at making things from precious metals and stones. We went to another nearby village to check out some of the other exhibitions (embroidery, furniture restoration, ceramics, glass blowing, etc.) then went back to Sorneville so Kathrin could show people her work, picked up Simon and went to go visit a potter friend of Kathrin's.
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| One of the villages, where we visited a potter and saw her workshop. |
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| View from her backyard. |
After talking to her and seeing her workshop and kiln, we went back to Sorneville, where I met their younger son, had a delicious lunch, and played with their dog & cats before getting to know Michael and Kathrin better. They're super cool people - he has three degrees and is a forest scientist but is currently working as a German teacher, she's a goldsmith, they traveled together in Asia for 6 months when they were younger, and their dog is one that they adopted after it had been abandoned. How could you not like them? Then another one of my students and a kid I don't know ended up coming over, so I walked around outside with them after being told by random kid's mother that I speak French with an impeccable accent. Yay. My time here has not gone to waste!
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| A dog directing people to the exhibition. |
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| Sorneville, France |
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| Sorneville, Population: 350. |
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| Mairie de Sorneville |
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| stop pub SVP !! |
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| One of my students being silly. |
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| Sorneville |
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| Spring is (finally) here! |
Afterward there was more socializing with people, punctured by my helping my students with their math homework then entertaining them with my origami skills. Michael drove me back pretty soon after but showed me around Amance a little bit first. It's a small village perched on a hill, where houses apparently cost a small fortune because of the view you get.
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| Amance |
It's strange how much the the villages, despite their small populations, feel and look quite a bit like suburbs in the US. Whenever the students told me that they lived in villages, I pictured something not at all like what I saw. But I suppose one of the best things about traveling is rethinking previous conceptions and learning new things.
And before I left, Simon and Kathrin had cut some flowers for me from their garden, so I set those up in a nice old pasta jar once I got back.
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| A jarful of happiness. |
Being in France has started a rather unexpected love affair with Germans/Germany. Good thing I'm going there in a few weeks!
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