Scuba Diving.

David and I have been interested in scuba diving for a while now. It just so happens that our friend Denis Grandidier used to be a diving instructor at a pool very close to our apartment. So yesterday he told us about an informational gathering that they would be having...followed by a baptism into diving! (Baptism, meaning that we got the chance to try it out to see if it was something we would enjoy and may consider pursuing)

So this is where it all took place. After we went through a room with some pictures and videos all about scuba diving with this club we went to the pool!

It's been so long since we've been to a pool, just being there was exciting. Anyway, below is a picture of my instructor (the one with the blue swim cap on). After they give you a brief orientation of the equipment and what you'll be doing, you get an instructor who takes you around the pool to make sure you don't have any problems. His name is Reggie (probably spelled "Regis" but I'll call him Reggie).

Although we weren't able to take pictures of ourselves we were able to take some of our friend John doing it, because he showed up later. (He had Reggie too)

For some reason they require you to wear swim caps...even when you're just coming to swim at this pool for fun. So they gave them out for free to anyone who wanted to get baptized. David's was black and mine was blue - of course. In the pool they also put some pictures of fish and had a tube releasing bubbles to create a more realistic atmosphere. (hahaha) I told Reggie that they needed to add some of those mechanical fish that swim on their own. He said that he had some at home...but he couldn't find them. Oh well!

For the pictures that they took of everyone, with a waterproof camera, go here. (There aren't very many of us...but you can see, in general, what we did.)

http://nautilus.asso.fr/

Then to "Photos"

Then to "Baptêmes 12/5"

So, by the end of the day it was official! We were baptized!

And we have certificates to prove it :o)

Because of all this we plan to join the club when they start certifying people again in October. It's going to be a lot of fun. We will be doing it with our friends John and Katherine and whoever else we can recruit from now until then. Woohoo - scuba diving trips to come!

In the most recent past...

It has been a while since I have done a food update for everyone, so here goes.

I made stuffed peppers! We prefer the yellow ones over the green ones. But they were pretty tasty. I do have some tweaking I'd like to do on them though.
Salsa! There is nothing like some homemade salsa. The only problem is finding cilantro over here. They don't sell it in clusters like they do in the US, so we borrowed some from a friend who bought it in the form of a potted plant.

Apple Nut Squares. Yummy! But when they are warm they taste best without the nuts. I think this recipe can also be used to make banana bread :o) ...bet you can guess what I'll be trying next.

A Quiche! Although very common, this quiche wasn't made by following a recipe. I did my own improvising and was thoroughly pleased with the results. (important...precook the crust a little before you add everything)

Chicken Cordon Bleu! Yum Yum, next time I will use crunchier bread crumbs, but we were very happy with the tenderness of the chicken and the delicious melting cheese...yum! Homemade Chocolate Chips cookies! Lacking some of the recommended ingredients I was able to make some successful substitutions and they turned out fabulously. :o)

And lastly...although not edible...we made dinner for our friend Vinod and he brought us a cactus! We named him Fluffy.

Politics, a universal similarity.

It's a hazy day here in Metz the day after the French Presidential election. The sun is not shining and it's about to rain. Some may say that this is because of the results of the Presidential election.

Similar to the last Presidential Election in the United States, France experienced a very close race yesterday before announcing their new President, Nicolas Sarkozy. The country was divided nearly in half as 53.1% of the people wanted Sarkozy and 46.9% of the people wanted Segolene Royal.

We went to one of the French PhD student's apartments to watch the results. There was a countdown clock set so that the most recent estimates could be posted all at the same time. (Unlike the map we usually get in the US where states are either colored red or blue as results come in)

Experiencing politics in another country is very interesting. But, it's all the same. The campaigning battles, candidate bashing, and extreme dislike of one party or another.

Sarkozy will take office in June, but the rioting has already begun (most the burning of cars).

Below is a video that was made (not by me) for Nicolas Sarkozy. Just like I had Segolene Royal's theme song in my video, here you will hear the one for Sarkozy. I still think this is the most interesting part of Frence politics. Every candidate needs a theme song...

Spider-Man Trois!

This past Wednesday we went to Luxembourg to see Spider-Man 3. We went all the way to Luxembourg (1 hour) because they show the movie in VO (version originale aka English). It was a very good movie, we were all very impressed. On the way to the theater David was trying to decide what to do with his sweatshirt. So we decided to try the French guy look...

It didn't last very long...he hated it. It was funny though.

We got to the theater and bought tickets. Each one had one of those scratch off prize things on the back of it. I got the best prize...buy one get one free BigMacs - but only in Luxembourg. Oh well. I've never really had success with these things before.
We were the first ones to the theater. At first we thought that we'd be the only ones there. (Surprizing because it was only the second day the movie had been out...but it was in the afternoon) Here we (minus me) are! Sitting waiting for the movie to start. It's nice to have prime seating.
And the movie began...

Everyone look for David's aunt's name in the credits! Vivian Baker - she does makeup.

The long wait.

Today I embarked on the final journey to obtaining my carte de sejour. Actually, over the last two days, but the story will be told in one.

First, from the Prefecture, you receive a piece of paper that has a date on it with two doctor's offices listed and times that you have been assigned an appointment. Then another piece of paper with a certain number of stamps on it and a dollar amount that you have to pay in order to get the stamps. In my case, 275 euros. Yeah, that's a lot.

The first medical visit was for an x-ray...an x-ray of my lungs. This is necessary to make sure that I don't have some illness (I forgot which one). Anyway, the process to accomplish this is quite interesting. You go to the doctor's office give your piece of paper to the lady at the front desk because it proves who you are and that you are there, then you sit in the waiting room and wait. They call your name and take you back into a room. There, the nurse tells you to "take off everything on top, and wait here" ... yep. So I stand there, with nothing on on top, and wait. Then another nurse comes in and grabs my arms and drags in into another room...very awkward. While speaking French she asks me if I'm pregnant (to which I say "no") and then tells me where to stand. As she smashes me up against the x-ray machine she tells me that I have to take a big breath and hold it whenever she tells me to. She then goes back to her "post" says big breath really loud takes the x-ray and says voila. I go back to my room, dress, and go back to the waiting room to wait for my x-ray. This is what it looked like by-the-way. Pretty cool huh...you can even see some of my intestines! Hehehe

Next, I had to take my x-ray to another doctor's office so he could evaluate it. But, I had 15 minutes to walk to an office that was a 30 minute walk away! Luckily, I stopped by the nearest bus stop to check what time the next bus might come and saw it would come in 2 minutes (it really came in 4, but it was ok) I was able to make it to the next office on time. At this office I had to wait much longer. First I was called back by a nurse who weighed me, checked my height, and then my vision, and then made me go back to the waiting room for the doctor. Then the doctor came and began calling patients. When he called me back he asked for my x-ray, took my blood pressure, and listened to my heart. Then he told me my x-ray looked good and that I should find a general practitioner near our house to check my vaccination records.

The next day I went back to the Prefecture, bought the 5 stamps that cost me 275 euros and waited for over two hours to turn in the stamps and doctor's form. When my number was finally called it took me 3 minutes, at the most, in the office, and I was done! Good thing I had my Harry Potter book with me so I wasn't bored and the time flew by. But now all I have to do is wait for the carte de sejour to come in the mail. This should take about a month or more. Why? No one knows. But finally! I'm finished! Now I can live in France with no worries.

On another note, David is in need of another hair cut. See:

Although he really did like this hair-do it needs to be cut again. I cut his hair now :o) And you can ask him, I do a pretty decent job. :o)

Addition.

If you look to the right side of your screen you will see where I have added a link under Links. It is called "More Swafford Photos and Videos." Here you will find more photos and videos from trips that we take or things that we do. Most of them have lots of captions too. Check them out! ...and keep a lookout because I will be updating it whenever we do something...and take lots of pictures. :o)

Just to give you some motivation...here are a few pictures from today

We went on a road trip to a chateau for a picnic, an American Cemetery, and to some other places along the way. You'll find some pretty neat pictures as well as a few videos. Enjoy!

Our Neighbor!

The other day we had a friend over for dinner and while looking out our window he noticed something we had never seen before. We have a furry neighbor!

As I'm sure you would have guessed, I have tried tirelessly to get her (I think) to walk across the roof to visit us...but she is still a little unsure of the crazy red head that keep popping out of the window next door. It's cool though, knowing that she is there. Not exactly like having our own pet but it's as close as I'm going to get for a few years!

Mail, Toe, Meds

Today David went to pick up the shipment from his Mom. Check it out... media mail.

They are the text books he ordered to help him study for PhD qualifying exam. This is actually one of two big bag packages he'll be getting. This was spray painted on the other side of the bag...

To me it looks like something that would be sent for the military. It was "tied" at the top with a big brown belt thing. When David carried it he looked like Santa Clause. I guess we get to keep the bag too...

Secondly, I jammed the little toe on my right foot this morning on my way to the shower. I've done this many times, and usually it just gets black and blue for a while, hurts, and goes away. But, this time, with the jam, I got a nice big slice across the top of my toe. It's pretty deep, and stings. Get what we don't have around our apartment...band aides. Time to go to the pharmacy... It's bad though because it is in a very inconvenient place. I don't want it to get infected...but you should see the door where I cut it...the wood isn't smooth, it's jagged - which is why I think I got a cut this time. Ew... (sorry no picture...that just wouldn't be right...)I still am a little stuffed up, but my nose isn't running away from me. And, I've actually been able to breath out of it a few times! It's wonderful. So let me tell you how it works over here with over the counter medicines. You know how in the US you can usually buy things like Advil or cough medicine right from the grocery store? Well here, the grocery stores don't even carry that stuff. You have to go to the pharmacy, and you usually have to ask for it...because they don't have many things sitting out on shelves for you to just pick up. It's kind of annoying because you have to wait in line behind people that are asking questions about certain ailments etc, but that is what it is like.

Lastly, David and I are getting pumped up about the new Harry Potter book and movie that will be coming out this summer. He's started reading the 6th book (Half Blood Prince) again but still wants to get all of the books to read before the last one comes out. There are now trailers available for the 5th movie (Order of the Phoenix)... I've been trying to finish the first Lord of the Rings book, and I'm getting there, but with all this talk about Harry Potter I have the urge to read those instead. I'm glad I got back into reading...it's a good thing.

My family in Paris.

This Sunday David and I went to Paris to meet up with my Aunt and Uncle who flew in from NY to begin their vacation between France, Italy, and Ireland.

(this is us at the top of the Eiffel Tower)

But, before we meet up with them we went to Sacre Coeur since David had never been there. It's pretty pretty - but they are obsessed with making sure you don't take any pictures on the inside, so this is all you get to see.

So then we went to the Eiffel Tower to meet them. We met directly underneath the tower...it's pretty easy to meet someone when you say "I'll meet you directly underneath the Eiffel Tower in the center." If you get lost with those instructions, you've got a problem. This is the picture I liked the most from our time at the Eiffel Tower. It is from the very top...see its shadow?

At the very top Anna called our cousin Ben (my Aunt and Uncle's son) to say "hello" from the top of the tower. But he wasn't there, so we left a message...but it was a nice thought. Anna will be their tour guide through France and will travel with them into Italy.

On June 10 it will be even more convenient for us to meet friends and family traveling through Paris because of the TGV! Only 1:25 minutes instead of 3 hours. But it still isn't cheap, so sorry if we can't meet you, but we'd like to!

l'escalier

This tissue box represents a couple of things.

The extremely runny nose I've had lately.


Hopefully the end of our allergy season - since it's almost May and I actually bought a box of tissues...so now that I'm prepared it will probably end. (fine with me!)


The box that fell down our four flights of stairs this afternoon because I was carrying too much - it was very cool and it still survived.

The Little Things.

There are a few new additions to our family here in Metz, France... You may have already heard about this one, but here she is...Constantine helped us move it in. He got one too. They are twins - just with two different homes. This is David and Constantine trying to figure out how everything needs to be connected.

This is a view of her insides...look quickly - she's shy. :o)

This is where she resides in the apartment (because of where all the connections are). Right next to the sink.

These are the controls I get to figure out how to use.

Not too complicated. Few words, lots of pictures.

These are the rest of the buttons. Pretty neat huh??

Well, we are really excited!

It's the little things in life people...the little things. (ok...it is pretty big)

Next, David and I took a trip to IKEA. Why? This is why...

Yep. Of free pans from the 50 piece set have reached their limits. I can't cook on these things anymore...they are terrible. They were good for starting out, and it definitely helped to have money to spend on other things, but the bottom of this thing is about to break through. So, with a promise to provide really good meals David bought me some new pans! They are really nice...some of the nicest ones you can get at IKEA - oooh, ahhh!

These are officially our new pots and pans since we didn't get any for our wedding. I'm really excited! We also got a coffee table which will help us out in a lot of ways. We now have more space for guests to sit and eat, and watching movies from this height is much better than what we were doing before. With people watching from the floor it was hard to see. This will work much better. So, technically all this stuff isn't just for us. :o)

We also bought a potato masher and a knife sharpener and some 'cutting boards' to protect the surface of our waching machine.

David also got some running shoes. They are SO hard to find here...these people need better shoes. I'm surprised their feet last so long. AND they were really on sale so we were super happy. So, now we will go running.

Pleasantries.

This morning David and I got up early to go to the Prefecture - this is similar to a DMV in the US. The purpose of this trip was for me to apply for my carte du sejour - this is similar to a green card in the US.

Just like the horror stories and bad experiences you would hear about from an experience at a DMV, the same is usually true about the prefecture. Therefore, we went with the mind set that this would talk all morning and be very frustrating.

Good news! We had a very pleasant experience today. They opened at 8:30am and we arrived a little before then and waited outside in the "line" that had been forming.

(I say "line" because I still have yet to see French people that understand the concept of standing one behind another to wait your turn...they just like to merge together slowly and whoever happens to have pushed they way to the front will get to be first. This is very frustrating having been raised in a culture where taking turns and walking single file was highly stressed.)

Once we made it inside the building it was everyman for himself! A mad dash to the ticket machine to get a number. Not everyone gets in the same line so prior knowledge of which line to approach is crucial for success. They started counting at 700...my number was 713. Not bad.

While we were waiting David decided to check out what was necessary to have his address changed on his carte du sejour (since he's moved off campus). We determined that he could probably assemble all the paperwork he needed while we were waiting so that he could go ahead and take care of his too. So he got a number...721. He left to go buy a stamp and get an envelope while I started making copies of the documentation that he needed (because I had just about everything with me from having to get a visa).

While he was gone the numbers jumped from 701 to 709 very quickly and I didn't think he would make it back in time to go with me into the room. Luckily, just as my number was being called he walked in the door and we went back together. The man took my paperwork, said everything was good, prepared my receipt and saw that David had a piece of paper as well. After David told him that he was also going to change his address, he said "We can go ahead and take care of that now." ! Amazing...David wouldn't need to wait for 721 to be called, he was going to go ahead and process everything. THIS we did not expect at all. The guy was very nice. He let David go back outside, take the ID photos he needed, and then finish the process. So, we got both of our issues taken care of at the same time - oh the benefits of marriage.

I guess I am so excited to tell you all of this because it doesn't seem like this kind of efficiency and willingness to help is seen very often. Here or in the US...especially at places like this. Just think of how much happier people would be if this were a more common place occurrence!

The next step to obtaining the carte du sejour is a medical exam (chest x-ray) and then waiting many months for the card to actually be ready. But this is doable...no rush.

On another note, I am very excited about what I'm making for dinner tonight! It will be a surprise to David, but since he never reads this I can tell you. I'm going to make zucchini fritters! They sound so yummy. I just stumbled across the recipe the other day when I was actually hoping to find something neat to do with yellow squash...but I haven't even seen yellow squash at the store yet, so this works even better. I will make something else to go with them but I'm not sure what yet...maybe something with mushrooms...I have a lot of mushrooms. Oooo, I could make stuffed mushrooms...I have spinach! Yes! Dinner tonight will be delicious!

-=Later in the day =-

stuffed mushrooms

(spinach, butter, garlic, onion, parmesan)

fritters cooking...

finished fritters

(zucchini, scallions, egg, pepper, four)

They were very good. Something I will be making again. It's just a little time consuming without specific kitchen utensils.

A little bit on Politics.

So I've never really been that in to politics. And I'm still not really. But, one of the French Presidential Candidates came to Metz to campaign, so we went to watch.

I made a video of the event. I got a few pretty good shots. Take note of the theme song. This was made especially for her campaign...techno. Don't you just love Europe? What if candidates in the US did this? Would they win more votes or lose them because it would be seen as unprofessional? Let me know what you think.

I'm not showing too much of her actual views and plans for France, but there was a time where she mentioned the US and Bush. Something about how she wants to make France independent to make their own decisions like the US does. It's strange to hear things like that about your own country while you are in a foreign country... but this is what new experiences teach you. Enjoy!

Joy. Japanese Style!

Check it out!
Eileen sent us a box from Japan.
I bet the people in the post office are impressed that we have friends from all over the world!

Eileen is impressive, she always manages to send so much in such small boxes. I used to send enormous boxes with lots of packaging...
Look what she sent us!

Pocky sticks (yummy...but I curious about "Men's Pocky"...it is supposed to be more bitter, maybe dark chocolate?) and strawberry ones. Japanese Starburst-like candies.
Crystal Mint gum, I think.
David's favorite Koala cookies (when he eats these he goes crazy...it's hard to contain him, seriously)
A new flavored KitKat (these are always pretty good)
More chopsticks! Now we have 4 pairs! Time for an Asian dinner party.
Then, what looks like cracker french fry-like things.
And pancake flavored "biscuits" (in France biscuits are cracker/cookies, so probably similar to those)

Oh...and Reese's and Starburst from the US. They went from the US, to Japan, to France. I should send them somewhere else...Nah!

How exciting! Thanks Eileen!!
I'm still trying to find something that is really French that is easy to send you. I don't think you want me to send any baguettes or pastries...they would be rock hard by the time you got them. Usually, here in France, you can find the same things you can get in the US just less of it, or less of a variety. For example, they have M&Ms, but you will almost always only find peanut M&Ms. Not the regular ones...

In other "Swafford News," I picked up my bank card today (debit card basically) So now we each have our own card. April 11 and I finally have a card...no biggie...I could have waited longer to have access to our money :o)
Next point of business...getting my Carte du Sejour (French equivalent to a green card in the US) and editing my French Professor's 50 page paper!

Au Revoir!

Easter Weekend

I'm back in France! I was lucky enough to get a flight out on Thursday the 5th so that I could be home for Easter Weekend. I was in Georgia for a full 2 weeks, but under the impression that I could be there for over a month. Thankfully that wasn't the case - I think David would have gone crazy. But it was very nice to see my family and David's family, and my sister's family, and everyone while I was home, so I'm grateful I was able to make the trip. Although I did miss David's birthday...but we already know what we are going to do to make up for it - Luxembourg...SpiderMan 3...ChiChi's (Yummy Mexican food).

Friday, when I got home I was very sleepy from traveling. I wasn't able to get the kind of sleep I had the first time traveling to France by myself. The other passengers on the plane with me were a little bit more rowdy, and I couldn't sleep as well as I would have liked on the train. This time, I flew into Frankfurt, Germany. It was much less complicated than having to navigate with lots of luggage through Paris, but I do have one complaint. All their information booths were electronic. Sometime's you just need to talk to a person. I ended up having to ask the currency exchange lady a question. But, most people in the Frankfurt airport speech very good english...except for a little old lady that was standing outside one of the doors...

Friday night David made a quiche for dinner. It was delicious. I was very impressed - see, he can survive without me! We slept very late on Saturday morning. I don't know if it was because of my jet lag or just because I was tired from traveling, but either way it felt great. Saturday we had plans to go ice skating. The last time we tried it was closed and we didn't realize it. See:

("Dimanche" means "Sunday" and we tried to go in the "evening" = "soir") See the problem? Katherine and David were very surprised. :o)

Now that we knew the hours of operation we were able to go at a time when they were actually open. It was fun.

Then, on Sunday, Easter Sunday, we woke up early, prepared some deviled eggs and a roast and headed off to church...a little late. Our service was pretty good...I guess. I read the scripture that he was speaking on, but still can't understand enough to fully listen to the sermon. We also had the Lord's Supper (my first time here in France) which was neat. Instead of whatever kind of bread we use at home, they used baguette. Yummy. But I shouldn't have been surprised - we ARE in France! After church we came home to an apartment full of guests (we had given them our key so they could come in after their service). Our roast was cooking, mashed potatoes were being started, and veggies were being munched on. We continued cooking and then ate a huge and yummy Easter Lunch. We also shared some Easter Traditions with each other. Alex brought some to share about her French traditions, Katherine brought some eggs to color and some eggs to hide, and David and I shared about the Swafford tradition of taking a nap after any holiday meal :o)

Alex brought a huge chocolate Easter Egg (the size of a small football) that each child in her family usually gets (but we all shared it) along with some other candies. After all the eating we all talked for a long while and then sat down with full stomachs to watch a movie. At this point the Swafford nap time was demonstrated by David and picked up by a few others. Then everyone left. David and I went on a walk because it was so nice outside then went back home. We didn't have much for dinner that night because we were still pretty full, especially from chocolate.

Since I've been back my allergies haven't been that bad. My eyes have definitely felt better but I'm still a little stuffed up and my throat has been very scratchy. I can't tell whether my allergy symptoms are slowly going away or am I also allergic to some things here. There has to be something here I'm allergic too... We'll see how the next few days treat me. David had a holiday from work again today. I think it was the perfect weekend to come home to.

two leaves vs. almighty creator

Today, while walking around the yard with Duncan I was looking at all the patches of clovers that have begun to grow since my Dad last cut the grass. Then I found it. As we all know most clovers have 3 leaves. Now, when a clover with 4 leaves is found we have determined that this genetic mishap supplies us with luck. Well, what about when there are only 2 leaves?? No, not when one leaf has been pulled off...but just 2 leaves total? Because when I was looking at the clovers today, I found one! And a few hours later...I got a phone call.

A very important phone call... My visa is ready! Amazing! It won't take 5 weeks! So immediately I started to look for plane tickets back, since I had to have an itinerary to pick up the visa. Originally I thought, wow...there must be something to this whole clover thing. Then I realized...it wasn't the clover...(it's never the clovers).

I had talked with my friend Eileen even closer to the time I got the good news and she told me that she would pray about everything. Well let me tell you, Eileen has a powerful connection with God and I believe this is why my visa made it through today. She had prayed for a miracle, that God would surprise me and I'd get to return sooner than I thought. And that exactly what happened. I will be leaving this Thursday!

Just a few minutes ago my sister also reminded me that my situation had been put onto multiple prayer request lists, so I was 'well covered.' Thanks everybody!

So, when it comes to putting my trust in something I'm going to stick with what I don't always have to search through the grass for hours to find.