Bonne Annee!

Back to the ole diary... We're having a great New Year so far. Made some new friends and we're planning a trip to the black forest of Germany, by Freiburg with them. They are homeschoolers and the mother actually works for my old pre-school, Clonlara in Ann Arbor, translating homeschooling programs for German and French families here. They have three young girls between eight and twelve and then a couple grown girls as well. I learned a lot of interesting facts from her. She said the music of the sixties and seventies was all dubbed in France. I began singing a Beatles song and she said that was something we had in common. I of course thought that was something everyone had in common, but then learned everyone but the French, and of course there are probably others out there who somehow missed the Beatles. They do say there are some sauvage folk yet. Sauvage simply means wild in l' francais. Would be interesting to hear the francais version of Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin, or may be not. Now they have piped in Christmas music in Onglais throughout the town for the season. We can all breathe a sigh of relief, we won't find ourselves tapping to the tune of, "Santa Bay-Bee" as we walk to and from the market place today. These sweet German girls are going to loan Anja and Sofie a guinea pig so they have someone furry to cuddle while they are here. The girls are very excited. Going to see, "Le Renard et L' Enfant" today. Went skating in Macon yesterday for the last time. The ice will be gone on the sixth. Our friends who have everything also have a small pond that might be skateable though I doubt it, though it is up higher, and a pony we have yet to meet as we have only played in town thus far. There is an extra bounce in Anja's step since our first visit with them. Also learned home-schooling is illegal in Germany though the people tend to have more alternative idealogies and alternative schools than the French where home-schooling is legal. Home birth is shocking to the French also. Whereas in Germany Naturopathic Physicians are as popular as massage therapists in Sebastopol according to this couple though that could be an exaggeration as he is a Naturopath and has since retired from that profession as it is not a business according to him. If you do it well, you have no patients, and then you are only seeing people who seek medical care as a hobby which is not very rewarding. Nice to make more connections here and learn more interesting cultural differences and likenesses. Small World!