Today marks exactly two weeks since I left California, and I am pleased to say I have never been happier. It is one of the best choices I have ever made and a large part of me never wants to leave France.
It's a bit strange to feel most like yourself in a place that is nothing like you grew up in, that is completely foreign and different. But yet, there is something about it that just makes me feel alive, and like my strongest self. The things I like about myself are clearer here, and even the bad things don't feel as bad. My head is clear, my depression gone, and my anxiety minimal. I feel like I can do anything. I feel capable and free and I am enjoying every moment.
I feel like I have a future.
This week has been tremendously interesting and enjoyable. I've done a lot of studying, been to the library, cruised around Paris, had a joyful reunion with my host family in Paris, that made me want to cry, and enjoyed some TRULY delicious food.
Let's talk about the food for a minute (I know you would all rather hear about Paris, but I wouldn't!). It's pretty cool that here there are so many good places and all around you, there's French, and you're in places that are genuinely French. They are made for French people, and all around you, the locals are coming in for lunch, their bread, or a pastry.
One of my absolute favorite things in France is the concept of a Boulangerie. It just means bakery, but it doesn't specialize in sweet things. They have sweet things there, but that's not the point. A Patisserie is where you would go for something sweet. Or a Chocolatier. I need to visit those at some point. But the bakery, the Boulangerie is different. They sell bread, sandwiches, tarts (called tartelettes here) pies, croissants, pain au chocolate, and an assortment of other things. They are beyond belief delicious. And cheap too. Sandwiches with fresh, crispy bread, are about 3-5 euro, depending on what you get. The tarts come in different flavors. In the past I'd only tried Strawberry, which remain my favorite, but are sadly out of season right now, but now I've tried Raspberry (delicious), and lemon (my host mother's favorite - which is also good). She recommended I try chocolate next, so that's something to think about.
I'm strong here. I'm walking two plus miles a day, and I'm getting stronger. It used to be I'd sweat buckets each time, but now I don't, and I'm only a little out of breath. Plus my ankle . . . it hasn't been hurting like it used to. My host mom remarked wryly, "maybe you just need to use it more." She seems to have been right, because it hurts less and less. But she also suggested I get it checked by a doctor here, and suggested he could find ways not to repair it, but to sooth the pain so it didn't stop me from living my life.
Good idea actually.
About my host mother. At first, I wasn't sure what to think of her. She was stern, blunt, no nonsense, with a sharp tongue. I was actually more than a little intimidated.
I still maintain that she is not one to cross, BUT she is also SO SO SO nice! And she jokes quite a lot. She has a fantastic sense of humor, and is actually very easy going in her way. She is also HONESTLY one of the best cooks I've ever encountered. And I know you're all going, YES, YES, of COURSE, she's FRENCH. But it's not like that.
She's so dedicated to her cooking, she likes good food, she likes to cook, and her dedication to detail, and her ability for complex tastes, and her love for variety. We've had the same thing ONCE in two weeks. And that was only because there were leftovers. (See last blog for her distaste of waste).
The stuff she makes is GENUINELY mind-blowing in my book.
Last night she made two things -- a really good, really complex mushroom, potato, zucchini + soup. It had so much flavor! She pared it with this corn baguette, which, I'll be honest, I didn't even know that was a thing. After that, there was greens, and this really really really good bunch of cooked vegetables. I can't even begin to describe it. But they were amazing. Potatoes, carrots . . . things I didn't recognize . . . delicious.
The night before? The woman made an F-ing caramel. Like, literally, poured over this yogurt like dessert. It was literal caramel. Just CASUALLY THERE. She made F-ing crepes that night too. LIKE A LITERAL ham and cheese, and egg crepe with this dark flour. Just, there, casually.
The night before that? (I really should start keeping a food journal or something) she made pot stickers. At least I think that's what they were. But the thing was -- they tasted completely different. They tasted like they came from somewhere in Asia. Her sauce was to die for. And the meat inside them was delicious too.
What else. She made me, on a Saturday night, when she was out with her friends, this DELICIOUS pasta salad with eggs. I am ACTUALLY going to upload a photo (GASP) of that, just so you can see this woman's insane ability.
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