"It's opener, out there, in the wide, open air."

Title credit: Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!


I spent a little bit of time this evening being "inspired" by Dr. Seuss and because of this, you can probably expect him to pop up a few times in this blog post. March, as a month, is finished. However, I have not recounted much of it to you, so I will procede with that now, finishing up with today, April 9.


On the 17th of March, I woke up early in the  morning in order to join a couple of the other Redeemer girls as well as a few other young adults from the church for the "lever du soleil." It was beautiful, as you can see in the picture below. We: drank hot chocolate and tea; ate croissants, viennoises, yogurt and fruit; had a couple of random running or skipping races across the bridge; said good morning to runners, bikers and garbage collectors; played the ukelele; shivered; and we laughed. We walked through the "inner courtyard" of the Louvre and took a couple pictures in front of it and the pyramids. It was (surprisingly) void of tourists at 8:00 on a cloudy morning. We had a good time even though the weather wasn't what we had hoped it would be.

This past month I officially registered online as a Canadian living abroad. Now the government finally "knows" that I am living in France and if there is a catastrophe here in the next month & a half, they will know that they should look for me. Oh good.


On March 25, Jessica (my younger sister, for those of you who don't know) turned 20. This ends the teenager chapter of the life of my family. This also begins the year+ when all of the (original) van de Hoef siblings (of my family, at least) will be in their twenties. We are now a family of "adults."


In school news, I am enjoying my social geography of France course more and more. We've been talking about more interesting subjects as of late, such as the creation of national and regional parks in France, their purpose, the reasons behind their creation, etc. Pretty interesting stuff. One of my favourite films from my film course has been "Entre les murs." We don't get to watch the whole film in class, so I don't have a complete idea of the story, but it's about a teacher and his class in the French system. From what we saw, it seems to be one of the most realistic films that I have ever seen on teaching and what it's like. It was pretty interesting. So for those of my friends who know French, if you can find it, it's probably worth checking out.


March was a month of longing for home, for time when I could actually sit in the same room with my friends and/or family and spend real time with them, sharing in their lives face-to-face. The weather is becoming increasingly beautiful and it makes a return to home seem so fantastic. The catch is that the beautiful weather here seems to come about a month or so sooner than back at home, so in reality, I'd like to spend the the next month or so here and return home when it's actually nice there, too. It has indeed been beautiful weather here. 

"This is not good. This is not right. My feet stick out of bed all night. And when I pull them in, oh dear! My head sticks out of bed out here!" ~ Dr. Seuss

I found this quote today and it made me smile. Sometimes I feel this way. My bed here has a headboard and a footboard and I am not used to that. If my toes need to hang over the end of the bed (as they sometimes do), it is not quite as possible because of the footboard.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, 

Nothing is going to get better. It's not." ~ Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

To start off my thoughts on this quote is a shout-out to Angela, whose favourite book (at least favourite Dr. Seuss book) happens to be The Lorax. From there, I move on to more serious thoughts. Election thoughts, specifically, because those are what popped into my head as I read this today. I won't say much about it. I'm disappointed that the election is taking place while I'm away. I'm going to try to vote from afar, so we'll see how that goes; I know it's possible. I think the best way for me to explain what I'm thinking is to refer to a brief blog post that my brother Steve wrote. Steve and I have been talking quite a bit recently about all of this as he knows much more about politics than I do. I've been working on being a more informed voter for this election so that I will not be voting blindly. It's what I encourage you to do, as well (if you're Canadian, that is).  


April 2, 2011. Vimy Ridge. Rachel, April and Lynette. It was a good day. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, the sky was blue, and we headed out of Paris to visit this National Historic Site of Canada out in "the boonies" of northern France. I've included some photos below; it was indeed "opener, out there, in the wide, open air." We took the train to Arras, the city nearest to the site with a railway station. From there we took a bus to the small town nearby the site and we walked the rest of the way. It felt a little long (it was only 3 km) but that was mainly because we had no real idea of where we were going or how far 3 km actually was. It was so beautiful out, though, that the walk was just amazing. For the majority of it, we were walking along a forested area and so it was pleasant. I loved the day, so much. We were welcomed by smiling staff members who happen to be Canadian university students employed through Veterans Affairs Canada. We took a tour with one of the guides through the trenches and the "subway." We walked to the enormous memorial with the names of the lost soldiers of the First World War. We wandered through the Canadian cemetery, trying to wrap our minds around the sacrifices made, the lives lost, the horrors lived, and all that juxtaposed against a beautiful spring day. For someone who has never lived through a war and felt its immediate consequences, it's impossible for me to comprehend all that I saw. I remain thankful to those who have fought for the freedoms that I have, who are and were willing to sacrifice their lives in order that others may live, and convicted that I take so much in my life for granted.

 Self-explanatory?

Vimy Ridge, A National Historic Site of Canada (near Arras, France).

The monument is big. 

For more info about the actual monument, check out Veterans Affairs Canada.

"To the valour of their country-men in the Great War and in memory of their sixty thousand dead this monument is raised by the people of Canada."

"À la vaillance de ses fils pendant la Grande Guerre et en mémoire de ses soixante mille morts le peuple canadien a élevé ce monument."

"This sorrowing figure of a woman represents Canada -- a young nation 

mourning her dead." (quote taken from the Vimy Ridge pamphlet)

I found this ironic: daffodils blooming where war once defaced the ground.

"A soldier of the Great War...Known Unto God."

And it's only one of the cemeteries...

After Vimy I was able to go to Rachel's house (she's an au pair with a family, living in a banlieue) for a sleepover. It was good to spend a little time together as we don't see each other as often now that we are no longer roommates. On the Sunday, we found ourselves a little lost as to what to do with ourselves. The solution: card games. We played Crazy Eights (for the first time in how long?) and War (which brought to mind memories of playing it with Jessica). I haven't played card games like that in quite some time; we had fun. 


I am currently reading Love in the time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. It is an excellently written book and continues to surprise me, especially since it is a translation, with the original text being written in Spanish. The vocabulary, the storyline and the formation of sentences has me intrigued and thoroughly enjoying myself.


And the final quote of the day from Seuss is one that has me thinking of the vacation time ahead of me. 

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..." ~ Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

We now have our spring break/Easter holidays/reading break which extends over the next two weeks, during which I will be spending time in both Scotland and Holland. Scotland will be a dream fulfilled and Holland will be a further adventure into the country of my origins and a furthering of my relationships with the family that I met over the Christmas holidays. 


I got a card in the mail this week from my parents with a nice note inside and (equally exciting?) was the piece of a Tim Horton's Roll Up The Rim To Win cup! Exciting stuff, I tell you. And that's that. We're down to a mere 51 days until my flight home and that thought runs through my head often; I find it both incredibly exciting and somewhat terrifying. I can't believe that we're here already yet I feel like it's taken so long to get this far. I feel like my life is so different and yet so much the same as when I left. It's a bizarre feeling. 


To my friends and family writing exams over the next few weeks, a couple words:
1) Please don't hate me. I know I'll be having a great time traveling while you're agonizing over your studies. Remember: I will have a month of school and exams still once you're finished, if that is any consolation.
2) Bon courage!


To everyone, blessings in this month of April, in the finishing of university or simply another semester, in the coming of spring, in the continued time of Lent, and in the remembrance and joyous celebration of Good Friday and Easter Sunday!


~Lynette