My Neighborhood

I don't know if you can see in this picture, but the bikes say "Ville d'Angers"  They are bikes for the entire community to use whenever they need! I still don't completely understand the system, I'll keep you posted.  Angers is a city of 150, 000 people.

A few images to give you an idea of the neighborhood I live in.   It has been overcast, and I mean FOGGY so getting good pics has been a bit of a trial.  We live at the end of Rue de l'Abbaye.

Entrance to the monastery and my home.

I hope to get some good pictures over the weekend, so stay tuned.  Love to you all!

Le Premiere Jour en France (1st day in France)

Oh my, transition!! With all the stress of travel and change, I know it will be a good three months because I am still feeling happy and hopeful!

Today we had orientation in Angers (2 hours southwest of Paris by TGV) with the new class - 28 students from 18 different countries.  The nationalities represented are Nigerian, Malagasy (from Madagascar), Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican, Italian, Croatian, English, Canadian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Indian, Spanish, Bangladeshi, I think I covered them all..of course, many of these people are not returning to their home country after their study in France, a large number will be working in Africa.  It's nice to find kindred spirits, even when we can't communicate much verbally yet.

The school is supported by a Catholic Diocese in France, so most of my classmates are priests or nuns.  It's pretty wild:) A very different kind of community than I have ever participated in. We will have two optional masses a day in French that will complement our learning, which is in addition to 9 hours of class time a day.  Classes began today, so pray that I will have patience, courage and a good sense of humor.

Here are some pics of my new home, Le Maison de Bon Pasteur en Angers, France.

The view from my bedroom window.  There is an apple orchard on the monastery grounds.

Ma chambre - small, but all that I need.  We each have our own showers but share a toilet.

The chapel where we have mass every morning and evening, down the corridor from our dining area.

The other chapel! We don't usually use this one because it's too cold.

The reception area with 1,000 year old stone statues surrounding it.  Incroyable.

My new home for the time being! 

There is a park with a running trail just next to the monastery.  This tunnel I ran through reminds me that even though my french language acquisition can leave me feeling in the dark sometimes, I know there is light on the other side!

Bittersweet Good-bye

Post written Jan 6th 2012:

The time has come! I leave tonight for an overnight flight to Paris where I will be spending the next 3 months in language school before I head to Congo!  It is the right time, and I feel ready to make a leap of faith and begin this next chapter of my life.

It was wonderful to say good-bye to so many friends dear friends.  I am so thankful for a community here in Chicago that has loved me and supported me throughout this journey.  I look forward to coffee Skype dates and long emails in the future.  I carry these friends with me wherever I am because they have shaped me and sharpened me along the way.  I'm sorry I didn't have good-bye photos with all the people I love, but know that I love you and am thankful for you!

New Year

This is from one of my favorite websites, www.poetryfoundation.org:

To the New Year

BY W. S. MERWIN

With what stillness at last

you appear in the valley

your first sunlight reaching down

to touch the tips of a few

high leaves that do not stir

as though they had not noticed

and did not know you at all

then the voice of a dove calls

from far away in itself

to the hush of the morning

so this is the sound of you

here and now whether or not

anyone hears it this is

where we have come with our age

our knowledge such as it is

and our hopes such as they are

invisible before us

untouched and still possible

W. S. Merwin, “To the New Year” from Present Company (Port Townsend, Washington: Copper Canyon Press, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by W. S. Merwin. Reprinted with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, www.coppercanyonpress.org.

Christmas in Cincinnati

Merry Christmas Everyone! Just wanted to share a few snapshots of our family's Christmas in Cincinnati.  Christmas in the Hanson (my mom's) side of the family is not complete without our hand stitched stockings.   I need to learn to sew so I can carry on the tradition!

Me and my Aunt Kathleen.  It was so good to spend quality time with my Auntie before my departure on Jan. 6th.

My Dad is clearly not thrilled with my Mom's holiday get-up.   The rest of us loved it, don't worry mom!

Big brother Carl and his girlfriend Steph.  We were so happy she could join us for Christmas! Carl is showing off his sweet gift - Monopoly, the Futurama edition!

Weird...

...Less weird.  Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

Elections, Auctions and France

Lots to catch up on: Congo elections at the beginning of December were pulled off with relatively little violence.  There was fear of uprising in the capital, Kinshasa, but the city was heavily guarded by armed military and most schools and businesses were closed for election week.

This is the winner, Joseph Kabila.  He was re-elected after his first 4 year term.  Kabila is the first democratically elected president in the Congo's history.  He was running against Tshisekedi, a 78 year old military leader that served with Mobutu (former Zairian president) decades ago.  Kabila is now 40, one of the youngest president's in history.  Under his presidency the DRCongo has taken the very last place in the Human Development Index which measures literacy rates, life expectancy and education.

Yet, we have hope for the future of the Congo, and we thank God for peaceful elections and growing peace in DRC after decades of bloodshed.  Please continue to pray for peace, especially when we know that the people of Eastern Congo continue to suffer.

On another note, we had a great time at my concert/auction fundraiser in November!! My dear friend, Miriam Cameron's sister Anastasia (pictured above) is an accomplished soprano soloist and sang for the concert.  She is extremely talented and it was such a treat to have her perform! All in all, I raised nearly $4,500 through this event! I am so thankful for everyone who helped to make this a success and move me closer to my goal to leave for Congo.

At long last, I have reached my 80% fundraising goal, and will be on my way to Angers, France for language school on January 6th!!! I am thankful for the many many people who have partnered with me, supported and prayed for me to get to this point.  Above is a 13th century castle in the town I will be living in.  Did I mention I'm living at a monastery?  These coming months I will be living my monastic dream.  So looking forward to this.

Mont St Michel at night, a cathedral built on an island near Paris.  You know you want to visit me.  Just come.

Moringa at ECHO

Belated post, apologies.

So, here I was at ECHO agricultural development training in Florida, and little did I know that this would be the most profound and inspiring few weeks of my summer! I learned about everything from vermiculture to permaculture to grafting to water purification.  With all of the challenges and setbacks that come with development work, ECHO is beacon of light.  They teach simple and practical technologies that save lives every day and will continue to do so by passing the torch of knowledge about conservation, soil health and improved land production.

Moringa was a tree that I was particularly excited to learn about.  This tree grows well in almost any tropical or semi-arid environment and is delicious raw in salads, or the leaves can be dried and crushed into a powder.

This diagram shows the nutritional content of moringa.  You can see why they call it the miracle tree!  Malnutrition is an enormous problem in the area we'll be working in and Moringa is part of a multifaceted solution by our Covenant Mission team to combat food insecurity in Northwest Congo.