Thurs Aug 28 Heather's School

We finally made it to Heather's new school, College Eugene Dubois, on Thursday afternoon. I had thought she was already registered, but NON, zeese vas note zee case! Un peu de panique, and then it was ok. Ne paniquez pas, right? They were very, very kind, and immediately put EZER (their pronunciation of Heather) into the 6ieme 5, one of 8 groups of 6th graders, and the one where she will have a very nice French teacher whom we have already met, Nathalie STILLKRAUTH. We filled out papers, paid for school lunches for the month, and promised to bring in the immunization records that we forgot to bring with us (left them in California, whoops). Thank you Dr. Hemant for taking such good care of us!

Thursday evening, we were invited to eat dinner with Sophie MACON and her two daughters, Manon (13) and Charlotte (11). Also invited were Rafael and his kids. Sophie lives only 3 minutes walking from us, but she has a view not to be believed: see group photo .

Friday, I was able to meet with one of the 8 other English teachers at my lycee, Madeleine. We met in Villefranche sur Saone, a city near Trevoux (again, I got there without getting lost!) I am now QUITE relaxed about the start of the new school year, and feel well supported by my colleagues! Monday will be the first day for all teachers, Tuesday is for the students in Seconde (10th) only, Wednesday will be just for teachers, and Thursday will be the first day for students in Premiere and Terminale (11th & 12th). Friday MIGHT be a normal day of classes, but the schedule will change before all is said and done so who knows!

Driving home, it occured to me the extreme efficacy of the traffic circle, known here as rond point. In the US, rural areas have tons of 4-way stop signs, or traffic lights which require electricity. The rond point eliminates the need for electricity, and saves gas because drivers just slow down; they only need to stop to yield if someone else is coming! Wow, Christina, that was deep.

Wed Aug 27 Parc de Bouvent

Beautiful weather, spending way too much time hanging around the house, ready to do something, anything touristy! Brandon really wanted to do pedalo... peddle boating, so I called up Rafael and found out where to go! After lunch, Heather, Brandon & I headed to Bourg, to a park just outside the town with another lake, and a beach for swimming, with lots of other activities for kids: trampoline, giant slide, rope swing pulley, etc. But first, we rented a kayak for Brandon, and a canoe for Heather & I. We didn't paddle very far or fast, but we had a great time. Heather and I enjoyed a quiet chat, and Brandon became an expert kayaker.

Sunday Aug 24 Christina Cooks

I bought mussels at the marche on Saturday, and got a 3-minute crash course on how to cook them from the poissonier (the man selling fish). I also bought creme fraiche and beurre straight from the farm, and lots of fresh tomatoes. So Sunday, I made a balsamic vinaigrette for the tomatoes, and I cooked moules, with a sauce of white wine, onions, and creme fraiche. Mmmm, c'etait bon! That afternoon, I made a Tarte Tatin (pear tarte) with pears from Jacqueline & Philippe's garden. French cuisine is growing on me!

Tuesday morning we took Brandon to his elementary school, met the principal and got to see his classroom and the afterschool care: Maison d'Enfants et de la Jeunesse. First grade is called Cours Preparatoire, second is Cours Elementaire 1, and third is Cours Elementaire 2. He will be the only English speaking student in the school of 200 students, unlike the large ELD population of South Pasadena and Arcadia!

Tuesday afternoon, I made my way to my high school, Lycee du Val de Saone in Trevoux, about 30 km away from Chatillon. The roads in this sparsley populated area are very different from the freeways of the San Gabriel Valley... Even with printed directions from Mappy.fr, the French equivalent of Google maps, one is not sure whether one is headed in the right direction on the right road until one has either gotten terribly lost (and knows it) or until one arrives and is terribly relieved! I am glad that I had my first attempt at getting to school BEFORE the first day of school, although I was still stressed since I had a meeting with the Proviseur (principal) and didn't want to be late! Monsieur CHEVROLAT and his staff made me feel very welcome, and I got to meet all of the administrators and most of the support staff. Teachers of course, were nowhere to be found (as they were savoring their last days of summer). I received a tour of the Lycee, and I am certain that I will feel at home there in a matter of days (or weeks)!

Maryline and I have been spending quite a lot of time still emailing back and forth about all sorts of things, from questions like "where are the staples in your office?" to "how do I change channels on the TV"? It is amazing how many little things there are to adjust to, but things are really starting to fall into place.

Saturday Marche & Dinner

Saturday morning began with the marche again, and Heather ordered our favorite tapenade from the vendor we had met the week before. He's quite patient as the kids practice their French! We also bought unpasteurized fromage de chevre and saucisson sec. After the kids and Derek left to walk home, I stayed a bit longer to finish shopping and met Pascal Loriot, the town's veterinarian, since his store front is right next to the marche. His family is friends with my partner Maryline, and so he helped me with my questions about Tucker, then invited our family to come for dinner on Monday!

Saturday evening we spent with neighbors Florence & Eric Baratra and their kids. For future reference, I will be spending time cooking with Florence, as dinner was delicieux! Rillettes de saumon (gotta get that recipe), lamb cooked in a Le Creuset pot, and chocolate cake AND flan for dessert.

Friday August 22 Bourg en Bresse

Friday started out rainy, but we were undeterred: We all decided to drive to Bourg-en-Bresse ta city of around 40,000 people located 30 kilometers away. Although the rain hampered our visit, we had an amazing meal at a salon de thé / restaurant called L'Entracte (intermission) which was across from the city's Théatre (built in 1898) We arrived way too early for lunch (typically American) so we waited patiently (no, really) upstairs at our table. Heather loved the decor, as none of the water glasses or plates matched each other; it was very cheery and eclectic. The kids started with white hot chocolate and our server personally squirted a generous helping of chantilly (whipped cream) into each cup. Our meals were prepared by the owner herself, as in August, many employees are on vacation for the entire month. We will be back there for tea sometime soon! It had stopped raining so we were able to visit the church in Bourg, and it had the most incredibly carved podium for the priest. The photo does not do it justice!

On our return home, we noticed the smallest town so far: L'Etoile. Driving 40 km per hour, it takes less than one minute to drive through the entire town. There are many villages like this, but L'Etoile (Star) is our favorite. Each town is separated by at least 10 km of campagne, mostly planted with corn.

By Friday afternoon, it was hailing... yes, hailing in August. We aren't in California anymore! :+) Our next door neighbor, Evelyne, had invited me to go jogging with her, so despite the puddles that evening, I jogged about 5 km on a circuit around one of the many little lakes in the region and along the petite riviere Chalaronne. It is so picturesque, and there is NO pollution in the air, ever! I will be attempting to jog regularly to avoid gaining weight from all of the YUMMY FRENCH FOOD that I am savoring.

August 18 Parc de la Tete d'Or

Monday (8/18) we were invited to go to a HUGE park in Lyon called Parc de la Tete d'Or in the heart of the city. We went with Florence Baratra and her kids Julian 13, Benjamin 10, and Bastien 5. For the moment, these are Brandons "potes" (buddies): they have a trampoline in their backyard, a Wii system, and they play soccer. We had a picnic, played a bit of soccer & baseball, and then walked and walked (the kids scootered). A vast lake offered peddleboating & kayaks, but this time we rented a "peddlecar" and all of us took turns driving through the zoo portion of the park. We saw giraffes, elephants, monkeys and a bear! Wow, didn't expect that!

Monday evening, Derek suggested eating out, so we walked to town, only to discover that at 7:30 pm, the entire city was closed with the exception of one bistro which served pizza. Mondays (and often Sundays) are the weekend for the service industry in France, especially in smaller cities. Although I had known this, I hadn't experienced it for a while. We are appreciating French family values!

The rest of the week was a bit rainy. We did enjoy watching the Olympics every day on the French pay satellite channel EuroSports, and Derek & I worked while the kids learned some French. Heather is making amazing progress, and now often corrects Derek on his grammar and pronunciation!

August 11, Our Arrival in France

After an ominous storm in Delaware almost delayed our departure, we arrived on time in Paris on a spectacular Air France flight from Philadelphia. Food was great (not joking), everyone had their own TV with at least 20 movie choices, and the plane was 1/2 empty so it was quiet enough to sleep. We had a long layover in Paris, required so Tucker could deplane & walk around, and then we reboarded a one-hour commuter plane to Lyon, arriving around 2:30pm. We didnt lose a single bag, and we had 16 of them including backpacks & computers! Tucker survived both flights, although he chewed up his bed out of frustration... and yes, he was drugged.

On Monday 8/11, two of Maryline & Daniel's close friends (Jacqueline & Rafael... not a couple) picked us up at the airport, and after one dead battery, we were on our way "home". Chatillon-sur-Chalaronne is located about 50km north of Lyon, as you can see from this googlemap link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Ch%C3%A2tillon-sur-Chalaronne,+France&sll=46.119413,4.956718&sspn=0.377907,0.645447&ie=UTF8&cd=1

We live in a little subdivision called Les Noyers which means walnut tree. Before the houses, there were walnut and oak trees, and lots of farms with horses. Attached are a few photos of the surrounding area and the house & garden. We do not yet have an enclosed area outside for Tucker, so he has already escaped several times, first being caught by neighbors (good thing he already had his collar with our phone # in FRANCE! Most recently, Tucker set off the motion alarm in the yard of neighbors who are on vacation...

The weather has been mostly very pleasant, with a few significant rain showers, and if you think it might rain, it will and you should have brought your umbrella!

Brandon & I went to the only pool in town on Wednesday afternoon, the sunniest, warmest day so far, after first going into town to buy a proper swimsuit... American beach swim trunks were prohibited, and so Brandon has a cool pair of speedo type Eurotrunks. The pool had a cool waterslide, which was definitely worth the admission to the pool, and I swam laps (trying to offset the quantity of cuisine francaise that I am enjoying).

Jacqueline, showed us around the town Wednesday morning: the church (built in ____), the location of the open air market each Saturday morning, the wall which remains from the middle ages (1250), the Chalaronne River, which runs through town and has a nice park along it, the elementary school for Brandon which is less than a 10 minute walk from the house, and her home which was built in town before 1850. (see photo) Her husband Philippe was home from work to eat lunch, so we all ate lunch together there! Philippe is an artisan who makes things by hand from steel, like the stair railings in his home, and the bookshelves and entertainment center in his living room... amazing! Later this week, they brought us a full sheet-cake sized crate of pears from their tree... not ripe yet, but I will be making Tarte Tatin (Pear Pie) very soon!

Brandon & I met some new friends for him on the way home from the pool Wednesday, Axel (8yrs old) & Jonathon. They played soccer (foot) at Axel's house for about 2 hours, and I stayed for urgent translation needs (they basically did fine without understanding each other at all!). I also learned from Axel's dad, Pierre, that there is a Club de Foot and Brandon can join the year-long team on September 3rd. WE are THERE.

Friday was August 15th, Saint Mary's Day (Assumption), which is a national holiday in addition to being religious. Our family attended the 10:30 am mass at the church in town, and I translated when able to. Communion was given, and the priest discovered that we were from the US, and so after Communion, he announced to the congregation (standing room only for this service) a welcome to the Americans in attendance. After lunch, our entire family went over to meet Jonathan's family, who live about 100 yards from our house. Jonathon is 8 and will be in the same grade as Brandon, CE2 (3rd in US), and he has 4 siblings, Anais is 11 and in the same grade as Heather (6ieme = 6th in US). Their parents are Eric and Sandrine, and Eric is a baker (bread, mmmmmmmmmmmmm). We look forward to becoming friends with this family, and we enjoyed visiting with them all afternoon! They have an adorable French Bull Dog, and a protective older dog that scares us. Tucker wont be hanging out over there.

While we were visiting the Schulz family (but Derek had gone home to work), 5 French kids showed up at our door to meet us, so Derek escorted them over and we all bonjoured. We later met their parents, and realized that they were all close friends & neighbors of the Decombas-Deschamps family. Charlie is 13 and the son of Rafael, Manon 13, & Charlotte 11 are the daughters of Sophie (finally some more friends for Heather), and Benjamin 10, & Julien 13 are the sons of Florence & Eric.

Saturday morning, we headed to the Marche by car. MISTAKE. We are 10 minutes walking from town, and I thought carrying the groceries home would be too difficult. I couldn't find a parking spot, and I ended up on the other side of town, up hill, at least 10 minutes walking from the Marche. For a town of 5000, the Marche is incroyable! Pictures will follow soon. Words cannot describe it. After shopping, we had a rendez-vous with Sophie at the LIVE chickens at the Marche, and we all went to a cafe. From there, the decision was made that we would eat with Rafael and his family, so we combined our purchases (salade, tenderloin saucisson sec, poulet roti, fromage, pain, et vin) and enjoyed a delightful, very French, patio lunch at his home with Charlie and his 15 year old sister Esther, and Rafael's girlfriend Sophie (new Sophie).

Saturday dinner was at Philippe & Jacqueline's, and they invited a family to join us who had just returned from a 3-week dream vacation to California and New York. We all had lots to talk about, and got along great. More friends, yeah! Nathalie is a prof de francais for 6ieme at the college (middle school) where Heather will attend, and she offered to put Heather in her class, if possible. Derek enjoyed visiting with Lionel, and younger son Antoine (9 yrs) played with Brandon. Jacq & Phil have 3 grown children, and their middle daughter, Eliane, was there as well. She just got a job is Paris, and offered to let us use her apt if she comes down here for the weekend! Culinary highlights were a fabulous quiche aux courgettes and individual serving chocolate cakes TO DIE FOR. We are thoroughly enjoying our new friends, and appreciate tremendously the hospitality that they have shown us.

Today, Sunday, we recovered from the busy week, and while Brandon again played with the neighbor kids, the rest of us just vegged and continued to watch the Pekin Olympics (go Michael Phelps... 8 more golds = 14 total.) We also drove around and found Heather's middle school, and went around the perimeter of the town. We found the soccer fields and the basketball courts, as well as the remains of the chateau fort from the middle ages.

Aug 8-10, 2008 Newark, Delaware & Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Traveling on the east coast by car means seeing a lot of states in a fairly short period of time! Heather enjoyed spotting license plates from the entire country, and in the last two weeks we have definitely seen: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut (the constitution state), Delaware (the first state), Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire (crazy driver), New Jersey, New York (my rental car), North Carolina (first in flight), Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee (where Heather was born), Texas, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C.

Derek's bachelor pad in Newark, Delaware has provided us with shelter and a great sofa. We watched the opening of the 2008 Bejing Olympics, and a bit of soccer, beach volleyball, and cycling. The highlight of this leg of the trip was attending the Philadelphia Phillies game against the Pittsburg Pirates on Saturday night, but the traffic getting there was a bummer. Derek's computer also crashed, and Dieu merci, he had enough time to completely erase and reinstall everything at his work, Hostmysite.com. We leave tonight for Lyon, and with a 5 hour layover in Paris, we will arrive at 2pm local time on Monday.

L'aventure commence enfin!

Aug 5-8, 2008 Fulbright Orientation, Washington, DC

After many months of anticipation, the Vaughan family finally met the Decombas-Deschamps family and we joined the DC tour bus provided for all Fulbrighters. I particularly enjoyed revisiting the Lincoln Monument, reminding us all about the leadership and commitment which Abe gave our country during perhaps it's most pivotal crisis. I reread the Gettysburg Address, tried to explain it to my kids, and took the required photo of Heather & Brandon standing at the feet of Lincoln (just as my mom had done when I was 9!). We all walked to the gates of the White House (significant since recently, access that close has not been allowed) and I was reminded that the White House is on the back of the $20.00 bill. Andrew Jackson rides his horse in the center of the square, and each corner of the square holds a statue of an important European who assisted us during the Revolutionary War: Lafayette & Rochfoucauld (sp), a German and a Pole from Poland. (proper names to be added later... anyone know their names?)

During our training, the kids participated in their own cultural research, making friends with Brits, French, and kids from many other nations while they took field trips to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the Air and Space Museum. Heather connected with other "teens" on their way abroad, which reassured her about our impending adventure. Derek had meetings with the other spouses of grantees, and made friends with a Jon & _____, a couple from ______ who will be in the Czech Republic for the year.

Maryline and I spent as much time as possible together, attending meetings to help us adjust to culture shock, learning about how to be ready for the First Day of School with Henry Wong and his book, scrambling to finish housing contracts, learning about copy books (huh?) and carnet de classe (huh x2?), listening to returning American teacher Jennifer R. who helped us focus in on crucial discussion topics, bonding with the other exchangees from the US (Kimberly, Vandana, Lenin, & Shamita) and their partners from France (Valerie-Montpellier, Isabelle-Perigeux, Claude-Franche Compte, & Esther-Paris).

Tucker spent this time at a Vet/Kennel a couple blocks away, and in a panic, we finalized USDA paperwork so Tucker could fly with us to France.

The orientation ended with a dinner and sharing of cultures on Thursday. Each country had planned a short presentation highlighting something special, and the US French teachers were invited to participate with the French as we sang (with lyrics in hand and soundtrack booming) La Vie En Rose from Edith Piaf. Afterward, our male partners, spouses, & sons came to escort us from the stage. We were well received, even if not as impressive as all of the Latin American countries (and India!) with their music and dancing!

Heather & Brandon perfected their "bises" (kissing on each cheek once when saying hello or goodbye), Sofiane (15 year old daughter to Maryline & Daniel) bequeathed her cell phone and her sister's to my kids (another big moment!) and we all promised to continue the emails and gmail chatting that has allowed us to become such good friends across continents! Thanks Fulbright!

July 31-Aug 4, 2008, Williamsburg, VA

The kids and I (and Tucker!), and then Derek too, spent a wonderful long weekend vacationing with Nana & Papa in Williamsburg, Virginia. Heather discovered humidity (she's not become friends with it!), Papa took us to an orchard where we picked 2 pecks (18 pounds!) of fresh peaches and I particularly enjoyed trying one from each tree before I picked any from that tree... mmm, yummy!


Aunt Cheryl, Meredith, Annabeth, & Colleen arrived on Friday & Derek on Saturday. The Farmer's Market in Old Town provided us with part of our dinner, and Nana made braised lamb shanks... I need that recipe! We raced in the community pool (everyone beat Papa, I barely beat Colleen, and Annabeth crushed me in a race where I had to swim 75 & she swam 100 yards!)

Heather received her birthday present early from Nana & Papa, and from Mom & Dad. Let's just say that her life goal has been achieved and now I have MacBook envy. I might have to "borrow" her new computer if mine just can't do the job properly!


Tucker enjoyed waking up Nana, getting on furniture without permission, hanging out on the golf course, barking at the geese, and a "special" walk with Annabeth & Heather! He did not enjoy the red eye flight from LAX.

Nana & Papa shared with us their amazing photos from: Australia, New Zealand, and their most recent trip to Scandinavia, the Arctic Circle, and Russia! Wow!

On Tuesday morning, we had to pack up all 11 suitcases & 4 backpacks & 3 computers & Tucker to drive to Washington DC for the Fulbright Orientation.