It is the first week of January of 2025. Time to reflect on the last twelve months. Or perhaps even longer, since I have not sent out an update since summer of 2023!
In my usual reverse-chronological order, first I have to admit that we have grown soft here, in Provence. During the Christmas break we drove up to meet with friends in Strasbourg. An eight hour drive directly North for us, Strasbourg is on the border of France’s Alsace and Germany’s Black Forest. We drove towards Grenoble through a mountain pass, and watched the sunrise reflect off the snow covered Alps. Then we headed for Switzerland, still enjoying the sunshine and snow on the hills as we left the French speaking part and started seeing road signs in German. Then at Basel we crossed the border into Germany, and drove into a fog.
Strasbourg
The fog sometimes gave way to show low clouds, but it always came back. It never really left. We did not see sunshine the entire four day visit, and we felt cold and miserable every time we went outside. But in spite of the cold, we still enjoyed the incredibly cute surroundings.
The famous Strasbourg Christmas Market was spread out around the historic part of the city. There we spent a whole day and enjoyed some bratwurst, mulled wine, and spiral fried potato (I never asked if it had a special name). As a Christmas gift we treated the kids (and ourselves) to a day at a nearby amusement park called Europa Park. Both the market and the park are of course outdoor activities, and the soft wimp that I am now, at one point I wore two sweaters, a jacket, and a coat to stay warm. Selfie time on the Can-Can Coaster:
The park is on the German side of the border, and we found it interesting how people would freely and interchangeably speak either French or German to us (at us?). We never knew which one to expect. We can get by with French now, but German is a little less fluid. Only two of us are learning it, both of them are in their first year of middle school. In September Patrick and Ron joined Jacob at the International School. They started middle school there which is taught half in French and half in English. This is a big switch from the 100% French schooling they have had until now. To make things more interesting they had to choose a third language to start learning, which for them is German.
Back to School
Also in September, during the big “La Rentrée” (I wrote about our first one in a 2019 email/post) the boys’ activities started. Jacob is continuing in the rowing club, and the twins are continuing classical dance. On top of that Patrick has started guitar lessons, and Ron has re-joined Jacob in rowing. Here is Ron during an indoor competition, coached by his older brother, and cheered on by mom (in pink, behind a barrier):
And here is Patrick during his first recital, solo (!) at the Conservatory. The musician hair, though not a requirement, seems to help:
But Christmas was of course not the first vacation since the start of school! Oh no. We already did a two week trip to Italy in October. This was the first time the boys and I have been to Naples, Sienna, and Rome. In Rome there is something interesting to see literally in every direction you look:
Italy
This was also the first time we got to meet Nicole’s family living in Foggia and in Mola di Bari. Both of these towns are in Puglia (or Apulia in English), which is on the Adriatic side. You can find it by heading south right into the heel of the boot. We made this trip with Nicole’s parents, who, after visiting with us, and then travelling with us for two weeks went off to Africa to continue their adventure.
They were one of five sets of overseas guests we hosted here between August and November. We truly have been blessed with friends and family crossing the ocean to see us, either specifically, as a part of a larger tour, or even taking advantage of a business trip. Our little “guest suite” has seen a lot of turnover, as it regularly also hosts some local guests. It’s only the first week of 2025, but the visitor list for the year is already shaping up to be just as full as the last!
I left the Boring Stuff for the End
Nicole is continuing to teach English for the third year in a row. And for the third year in a row her teaching contract is in a new school, so she is with new colleagues, and of course, new students. My job has not changed since I last wrote. I am still working at the ITER construction site. In November Jacob joined me there for his week of work experience. His time was divided between multiple people, and he got to see many facets of a construction project, so he only had to spend one day following his dad around the worksite.
There. That was a bit of a summary of the year. I did not talk about our trip to Canada in July, or our trip to Poland in April, or Jacob’s school trip to Barcelona in May, but you don’t need to know about our every step, do you?
Take care, and à la prochaine!
Nicole & Wojtek