Strasbourg for Easter Mass and Free Hugs

On the 11th of April, Ames and I took a cab to the airport. We were running just a few minutes behind, but I thought our taxi driver would make up the difference. I don't remember if he did or not, because all I remember is that when we got there, Mom and Dad were waiting for us, all of their luggage gathered, patiently waiting for us. They had been their for an hour because their flight got in really early.

Sheesh. (Although, hooray for Delta. And, frankly, it makes me that much more likely to buy tickets on the direct flight next time I fly to Paris.)

We got our rental car, plugged in the navigation system after figuring out how to power it with no working cigarette lighter, and headed towards Strasbourg. When we arrived we just bummed around the hotel, because it was late enough that we didn't want to bother going into the downtown area to see sights.

In the morning, we went into town. Here's what we were able to enjoy:





Correct me if I'm wrong (please), but I think the style of the architecture is Art Nouveau. Please note that I'm 28 and this year is the first time my brain registered that Art Deco and Art Nouveau are different. Yep, I'm lame.


However, I must admit that I'm a big fan of Art Nouveau design. Not necessarily all of the prints of random women that you see all over the place (at least in Paris), but stained glass, woodwork, architecture, and iron work. I came across several lovely examples (assuming I've correctly recognized Art Nouveau) over Easter vacation. Some in Strasbourg as you can see, as well as an awesome building in Prague, and then a surprising Art Nouveau room in a museum in Paris I went to with Mom and Dad when we arrived back to Paris.

(The jury is still out on Art Deco, mostly because I can't seem to wrap my mind around what it is exactly. It seems like it covers a really broad spectrum.)





I digress. This lovely library isn't all we saw. (Though, before moving on, I want to point out that the script above is a series of names of French authors. I thought that was a nice touch on the exterior of the library. Here we have J[ean] de la Fontaine and [Jean] Mabillon.)
[Edit: I was having a hard time putting these together logistically, because in my head we walked farther past the library to get to the cathedral, but in Strasbourg, we parked right next to it. Turns out I have serious memory issues. Library = Reims. Cathedral = Strasbourg. Thanks, dad!]

Okay. Moving on.
The cathedral is really beautiful.







And even though it's completely irritating to visit these beautiful places and see scaffolding all over them half of the time, the results of the cleaning and restoration work are amazing.


Just look at the difference between the portion that has been cleaned and the portion that hasn't.


The interior of the cathedral was beautiful, as well. I didn't take very many pictures because they were in the middle of a gorgeous Easter Mass.



I'm not exaggerating when I say that I was barely able to contain my emotions after hearing the organ play and then listening to the Hallelujiah Chorus in that beautiful setting. And when I picked up a copy of the program, across the front of the program was this beautiful scripture from Matthew 28 (5-6):

"Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here for he is risen as he said."

I think the cumulative effect of the beautiful atmosphere, the gorgeous music that celebrates the Resurrection, and Matthew's testimony was almost too much for me to take in.


Here's a little taste. (And remember, they are singing in French--so the Hallelujiah's will be nice and clear, but the rest will probably be a little more difficult to decipher.) The acoustics aren't a dream, but obviously the best acoustics were in the part of the cathedral reserved for those actually participating in the mass.

(The video absolutely doesn't do justice to the sound OR the beauty of the light that was shining through all of the stained glass. Hm. I guess you just had to be there. *Smirk*)

The town itself was very charming--especially the area just around the cathedral.

And the locals were very warm and friendly. :)

All in all, I thought it was a very worthwhile stop.

Free Health Care

So, the last thing I expected when I went to the hospital today was to walk out without having even shown my insurance card or paid a single cent.

And don't bother saying it's because the French are on a social health care system. I'm not a tax-paying citizen, and I didn't enroll in the social security system as a student either. I opted to get my own health coverage.

I'm especialy surprised that this visit was free because I signed a form when I got to the orthopedic surgery department saying that I acknowledged that my doctor charges 100 Euro for the consultation alone, which I had to pay in cash.

However, after about 30 seconds of examining my condition and asking about the accident, the doctor told me there was nothing wrong with my bones and he saw no reason to go through with additional x-rays. Then he walked me to the secretary's office, and said, "Don't charge her for this visit."

Wow. Frankly, I think that's just cool. Bless you, Dr. Olivier.

Got in a Fight With a Bus Today. The Bus Won.

But I, hopped up on adrenaline and completely in shock from being smacked by public transit:

1) told everyone I was fine

2) refused to let them call the paramedics, and

3) went to my phonetics course, where I attempted NOT to burst into tears for an hour while replaying the scene in my mind over and over and over. (Luckily, I was successful. It was my first day, and what a horrible impression to make...)

I battled hysteria in both its comic and tear-filled forms for another hour or so while I tried to think of the signs of shock and concussions so I could keep a watchful eye on myself on my way to Institute.

I wanted to ask the other people who were in the Metro if they were freezing to death, too, but I didn't want them to think I was psycho. (Look at me being all prideful in my distress. I'm lame, I know.) I ate most of a sandwich from the corner bakery, thinking that maybe it would help alleviate the nausea. Not so much.

Then I went to Institute and burst into tears as soon as I got to the bathroom.

And don't worry that it was totally my fault. I was in an area of the city that I'm not very familiar with, and after looking for oncoming traffic, I started into the street. Unfortunately, there was a street behind me that I didn't check, and SMACK went the bus into my left shoulder and leg. CRASH went I, onto the sidewalk on my right shoulder.

The site of the accident. The ladies crossing the street are standing right where I was...

I am grateful:

-that neither the bus nor the sidewalk made contact with my head or spine
-that the bus was coming to a stop anyway, so it wasn't going fast enough to do serious damage to my bones
-for the church--I have no idea how else I would have made it through today. I don't know anyone here, so being able to go to Institute and get a blessing, comfort from friends, and a referral to a doctor all in one place helped alleviate a lot of my trauma. :)
-that the only injuries I have (assuming I'm not bleeding internally anywhere, which is HIGHLY unlikely) are a sore back and a scraped ankle
-that my wonderful friend Agenor had very kind things to say to me that helped me put this little incident into perspective
-that I could learn this lesson while retaining the use of all of my body parts


Feeling blessed tonight. Also feeling a little stupid. But not stupid enough that I refuse to write about it here. Because what's sharing it with people who already love me, when about 50 random people in Paris saw it happen?


Yeah, I think I'm going to take another route to class from now on. Also, is it weird that the buses (busses?? shoot. I used to be able to spell. Oh... now I feel better.) now scare me? I think I'm going to have to start taking the bus to get over that as quickly as possible.


(P.S. Welcome to my stream of consciousness. I know it's chaotic.)

Say "Aaaaaahhhhh Yeah!"

No cancer.

No surgery.

HOORAY!!

My only remaining anxiety is that something horrible is going to happen to my plane. What about today's craziness with the plane crashing into the Husdon? Thank heaven for a great pilot, a great crew, and a "safe" place to land. Wow.

SOLD!

Well, it's really official now. My house is sold!! It funded today, and I feel rich.


Don't worry, the feeling won't last. I am moving to one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Photo by TracyO via Flickr.

Great News

So, considering the current economy and with unemployment creeping up, I've been getting nervous about leaving a stable job with a great boss in a company I love (even in exchange for a wonderful lifelong dream). It wouldn't have changed my plans, but I was thinking to myself:

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Will I come back to an economy that is worse off than it is now?

Will I be able to find a job that offers benefits?

Will I have to sell my soul to the devil to afford individual health insurance?

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Well, yesterday my boss told me that the VP our department reports to agreed to let me telecommute from Paris and just work fewer hours.

It might end up that I do this as a contracted employee, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can just get bumped down to a 20-hour-a-week cap and stay on as a "real" employee. Which would be great, because I would stay 100% vested in my 401k and be able to get right back onto my health insurance.

Either way, I'm rejoicing.

Oh, and today I also got my confirmation from Campus France. With their approval in place, I can now apply for my in-person visa appointment at the consulate in San Francisco.

Hooray!