October 13, 2023
Salut mes amis! Happy Friday the 13th.
The past couple weeks have been all about appreciating Lyon and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. My beaver friends might recognize this photo from my previous dorm room. At the start of freshman year, I went to the club fair and took some study-abroad postcards from the Global Opportunities table. Naturally, one of those cards was for the program in Lyon. Since then, a photo of this exact view has hung on my wall. Two-Years-Ago Me would’ve been delighted to know she’d see it in person (and Present-Day Me is pretty delighted, too).
During the last week of September, I had somewhat of an epiphany. In one of my classes, we read a short excerpt from Julien Green’s book, Le Langage et son double.
In the text, Green describes his lifelong struggles with bilingualism because he grew up in France with American parents. To summarize, he always struggled with English because he was so afraid to make mistakes that he tried not to speak it at all. Green basically says that true bilingualism is almost impossible to achieve. But if you want even the slightest chance of mastering a language, you can’t be afraid to talk freely and make mistakes. It turns out that extroverts are best at learning a second language.
Unfortunately, I’m an even bigger introvert in France than in America. Initially, reading that excerpt in class filled me with a sense of dread: If I’m always going to feel incompetent in French, why try at all? This hopeless sentiment scared me so much that I sprinted in the opposite direction. I expected my confidence to creep up gradually, but it hit me like a train. That afternoon, I simply decided to not be afraid anymore. I needed a reminder that making mistakes in French is normal, inevitable – not embarrassing.
Gone are my days of cowardice and self-criticism. I stopped hibernating in my room to avoid “embarrassing” myself in front of my host family. I’m tired of perfecting sentences in my head that never reach my lips. I don’t want my corner of the dinner table to be silent and awkward anymore. Awkward is fine, but I’m at least giving her a voice.
Ever since my spontaneous revelation, things have been going pretty well. Obviously I’m still challenged every day, but I try to approach my conversations with curiosity rather than apprehension. It’s incredible how your brain can be the most formidable enemy. For all my second-language learners out there: have the courage to be uncomfortable!
With all that said, there are certainly good days and bad days. For example, my friends and I went to a stand-up comedy show that Friday night. I might’ve understood 3% of the entire thing, and that’s being generous. Talk about discouraging! On the bright side, my friend Ellie taught me how to order my new favorite drink: a demi-pêche. It’s quite simply just a beer with peach syrup, but it’s refreshing and mild and way cheaper than a cocktail. Adding syrup to beer might be blasphemous in America, so I’ll enjoy my demi-pêche here while I can.
Soup du Jour: une pêche (a peach)
Anissah and I went to a spectacle on Saturday evening at the Théâtre des Célestins. The theater was beautiful and the show was magnificent. It was called La Chute des anges or “the fall of angels”. The show describes itself as a “crossroads of circus, dance, theater and cinema”. I’d also like to highlight the incredible music and acrobatics. It was attention-grabbing, artistic, bizarre, funny, and beautiful all at once.
Afterward, we found a patio bar next to the river and enjoyed beer and fries amongst rowdy rugby fans.
For the first time in a month, I had absolutely nothing to do on Saturday. I relished in the glory of my empty day. I slept in, wandered around Vieux Lyon, leisurely strolled through a vintage book market, and had a very French picnic along the Saône with Anissah and Jules. C’est la belle vie!
On Sunday, my friend Emma invited me to go hiking on Mont d’Or with her family friends! They’re from the unique Alsace region, so they speak French and an Alsatian dialect similar to German.
Nothing makes me happier than a hike and picnic in nature. We occasionally entertained ourselves by comparing words in French, German, and English. At lunch, there was a familiar can of chips and the kids asked me to say “Pringles” for them. They got a good giggle out of my American accent.
This time around, I learned a bit more about the trademark cabornes on Mont d’Or. Apparently, a caborne is distinct from a normal stone cabane because it has a rounded ceiling inside (like this one here). They were originally built as temporary shelters for laborers and winegrowers.
The trail we took had several spots that demonstrate the structure and building methods of cabornes. Who doesn’t love a bit of Lyon lore?
The following Saturday was our long-awaited afternoon trip to the Beaujolais region. Before making our way to the Domaine Les Roches Bleues winery, we had a picnic at the top of Mont Brouilly. This entire region is a countryside paradise. I felt like I was in my own little Tuscany. To quote Schmidt from New Girl, it was “sun-soaked and beige-y” in the most gorgeous way.
There was a quaint chapel at the top of the hill, but it felt more like a wine shrine than an actual church. Zoom in and see how many grapes you can spot.
In front of the family-run winery, our guide told us the Tour de France came through this road not long ago. The Domaine Les Roches Bleues is nestled near the base of Mont Brouilly and surrounded by its vineyards.
First, we walked up to the hillside vineyard and learned about how the grapes are planted and harvested. Here’s my abridged version: There’s a lot of technicalities about positioning the vines that affect the success of a harvest and the taste of the wine. Recently, vineyards have started using sheep to eat all the excess grass in the off-season. Many regions in Beaujolais are trying to adapt to climate change as hotter seasons pose a threat to the grape harvest.
Next, we saw the vats where grapes are collected and turned into juice. There are open windows just above these large chambers where grapes can slide down from the vineyard. When its ready, they attach tubes to the vats and drain the juice through holes in the floor leading down to the cellar.
The cellar was cool – both in temperature and intrigue. The wine is stored in these massive barrels while it ferments. The winery uses larger barrels to avoid giving their wine a strong oaky flavor (if they used small barrels, there would be more wood for a smaller volume and more of the oak flavor would diffuse into the wine). Beaujolais wine is known for its fruity taste instead. The purple stone (far right photo) is tartar buildup from within the wine barrels. I still can’t believe this, but the father and son at the winery actually squeeze into that tiny opening to scrape out the tartar.
After talking about wine for so long, we finally tasted some for ourselves. I’m usually not a huge fan of wine, but I had fun swirling, sniffing, and sipping the samples. Let me know if you’re interested in the types of wine I tried! I won’t go into too much detail here, but I kept a list for myself. I ended up buying a bottle of my favorite to share with my host family.
Today’s word of the day is inspired by Sam’s awesome earrings.
Soup du Jour: champignon (mushroom)
We went “hiking” in a nearby town to conclude our tranquil afternoon. Anissah and I can confirm that grapes taste best when picked straight off the vine. All my worries melted away into the setting sun. I felt truly at peace in the warm, patchwork greenery. This scenery really puts the “beau” in Beaujolais.
On Sunday, Anne invited me to do the accrobranche on Fourvière Hill. It was a challenging ropes course in the trees and I had fun following Sanae and her friend around. Our finale was a huge zip-line! I’ve seen Lyon’s beauty from many angles, but I never expected an aerial zip-line view.
This week was pretty normal with my usual classes. Emma’s mom and grandma are visiting from Germany, so they joined us at a café Wednesday morning. Her grandma doesn’t speak French, and I don’t know a lick of German. Needless to say, Emma and her mom did a lot of translating for us. I had a fantastic time hearing languages collide.
Currently, I’m sitting in a coffee shop before my last class for the week. Once it ends, Anissah and I are hopping on an evening bus to Chamonix! I couldn’t be more excited to spend a weekend in the Alps.
And there you have it, folks! I finally caught up on my blog. Have a great weekend!
7 responses to “Nothing to Wine About”
Not sure how you remembered the “sun-soaked and beige-y” from new girl but your quote made me pull up the episode. I needed that laugh today:)
New Girl lives in my head rent-free
Thank you, really enjoy your travels.
Wow Kera! You are seeing and doing sooo much and I am enjoying all your observations and details…. You are a very clever and funny writer and I get disappointed when your blog ends and I have to wait for the next episode! A Bientot- Renee (Bendrick)
Merci beaucoup, Renee !
I love this so much. I can’t wait to hear more when you come home!!! <3 Keep up the confidence, all of us are SO proud of you.
Thank you Bella !!! <3