Quatre (4)

A Banque In Roubaix

10 Novembre

Give me Lord, A chance today,
Someone near or far away,
Someone Seen, or yet unseen?
Someone Rich , or someone poor?
Someone five, or ninty four.
A glimpse is all, I can give.
Nothing big, yet not so small.
A glimpse of truth, your light for all…

Sometimes, I can feel like there may not be much to do here. (A family just arrived from Les Etats-Unis (USA) not speaking much French)..
It appears like the locals attend Catholic Church quite regularly. They have many small things they enjoy in life. In someways, the French diet reminds me of what Daniel faced with his 3 friends. The KINGS DIET…. The French eat more butter per capita than any country in the world. They have Lots of quality wine and cheese to take the edge off… It would appear they fare sumptuously day by day. In fact, a lot of what us Americans have taken as truth, surrounding the benefits of a high fat and wine consumption is based on the FRENCH PARADOX. It is a typical French way of thinking. A bunch of spécialistes published paper of how high fat, high bread intake, and alcohol in take was bad for you. When the French doctors happened to observe the findings they asked why French people consumed all those things and were 50% less obese!!! Here is a link for that:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_paradox#:~:text=The%20French%20paradox%20is%20an,such%20fats%20is%20a%20risk.

I happen to believe there are going to be a lot of French Paradoxes.

Not just food.

So, where do we fit in?

Not sure yet, but one thing came to mind today. I’ve seen many faces already, MANY fashionable coats and shoes. The French romantic way of body language and speech. L’ homme (The man) that I let go in front of me at a crosswalk, he looks over his shoulder with a slight wave and put his hand over his heart! Also, I’ve been given a wink if we let someone go in front of us at a crosswalk. Quite charming!! Or the girl stepping out of an old rundown apartment dressed head to toe in the latest fashion, and walking to the most ugly car you’ve ever seem! (Lots of nice ones also here..) Without the American self loathing… In fact, that doesn’t seem to make a dent in the French attitude. Driving an inferior car… We can’t understand that concept..An American will drive his Ford Super Duty Power Stroke an extra 10 miles to get a better deal on a hamburger. I don’t think French would be able to understand that either? Use all that fuel to drive a truck, just to save a few dollars on a burger? Then, you look at their High Speed Rail system and they have the last laugh at US? (BTW, I’m not very confident California is going to get their High Speed Rail System. No matter how many acres of almonds they rip out)…

However, the simple smile seems to be quite a rarity. Maybe it is that easy? It would stand out amongst all the Glamour and Chic style. Maybe a smile is where to start.

We went up to Roubaix yesterday after school to check out our next month of lodging. There was a hamburger place right beside the apartment that said BURGER, YAP! Makes me wonder what they are made of??? We have been enjoying our stay in Tourcoing so far. For recesses, Sterling and Bella can walk down the street to the park or play soccer. Bella and I played soccer for recess today…Roubaix https://maps.app.goo.gl/1HKiSN8cWX6ymYDc9
We have a French tutor that was able to commit to travel to our house on Monday for our first language lessons. We are hoping this will turn out well. She asked if we had room for a wheelchair because she was paralyzed. Sometimes the handicapped are the best at their line of work?
As you can probably tell, we are focusing the first weeks on settling in and learning the language. As we start getting better at French, we will move into more visits with the many contacts in France. I had a someone from Lyon, France contact me and would like a visit. His name is Josef. I’m excited to meet him.
I don’t intend to discuss personal matters on this public site, so if you have more questions about some of these contacts feel free to message. -T-

p.s There are unfilled blog numbers on our site. We will fill them out as we go!