Raclette!!!

So, I promised I would tell you about raclette.

Oh my goodness.

Seriously, you guys don't know what you've been missing. I'm convinced that whoever invented this idea should get an extra room tacked onto his mansion in heaven. It's that good.

Alright, get on with it, you say. What IS this wonderful thing with a weird name? Well, to start with, to eat raclette you have to have an apparatus like the one in the middle of the table:



This is one version of what is called an "appareil à raclette." There are plenty of others with grills on top or fancy attachments, but really all you need is an apparatus that melts the cheese in individual trays. Oh yes. Cheese. The best part. Raclette actually refers to the type of cheese used as well as to the meal itself. The difference in French is that the cheese is masculine and the meal is feminine. The cheese isn't particularly special, from what I can tell; it's just a soft cheese made from cow's milk. But, all cheese in France is better. Believe me. Anyway, the real magic happens when you place your slice of cheese in one of the little trays (les coupelles) and slide it inside the raclette oven. While your cheese is melting, you fill your plate with your choice of an assortment of sliced bacon, ham, sausage, boiled potatoes, or vegetables. When you notice that the cheese is bubbling, you take it out and scrape the cheese over whatever you like. ("Raclette" comes from the French verb "racler," which means "to scrape.") Then you refill the tray and start eating. Everyone else does the same, so that there is a constant supply of melted cheese in the oven, ready for someone to grab. Ideally, you keep going until all the cheese is gone. :) That's why raclette meals can last hours. But, the main focus is not the raclette -- it's the people. Raclette meals are meant to be relational, a concept that is a lot more common here than in the United States. I love the fact that they have a tradition built around gathering friends together to enjoy a meal and each others' company...especially since it's a meal that involves a never-ending supply of melted French cheese. ;) It has already provided me with amazing memories, like this one involving Suzanne, who fancied a bit of cheese with her eyeglasses:



We definitely laughed about that one.

So yes. Raclette is a must-try before you die. I'm seriously considering buying my own grill before I leave France, even if I do have to pay extra for overweight luggage. I hear they're hard to find in the US. (silly Americans)

Oh, by the way. The rest of the day with the church family was absolutely refreshing. The weather was intoxicatingly perfect, and I was able to see the Loire river for the first time, as well as the amazing beauty of the area surrounding it. I could live there, I really could. It would have been great just to experience the wonder of nature on such a beautiful day, but God supplied even more blessings through the precious time spent with brothers and sisters in Christ here. Nearly the entire church was able to come to the retreat (which is amazing in and of itself), and we spent the morning singing songs and reading passages proposed by one another, praying, and discussing verses related to sharing life within the church family. Then we took a break for the raclette lunch and a relaxed hike on a nearby forest trail before coming together again for a little more worship and taking the Lord's Supper. It was so refreshing to be with everyone and to spend the day in fellowship with them and with God. I'm so thankful!

Yesterday was a crazy day...and probably one of the longest I've had here in France. I shadowed a class of 8th graders at a private middle school as a part of my internship for my Didactique de l'Anglais class. Their day starts at 8am and goes until 5pm. I don't think I've been that exhausted in a long time. How I survived being that age, I'm not sure. In any case, I'm glad that my parents were never led to put me in school, because I would have hated it. Of course, there are differences between the US and American systems, but I know enough to be quite certain that 15 year olds act like 15 year olds no matter what country they live in. Anyway, I attended all of their classes with them, which included Technology (like shop/tech/real-life problem solving), Spanish, English, Math, Latin, and French. I wouldn't mind learning Spanish now, to be honest. I actually understood a bit of what they were discussing in class. In math, however, I was totally lost, and I *know* I learned how to find those angles.



That was the problem.



This is what me and Agnes did instead. Yeah, that's my sorry attempt at a US map, locating states by memory. And yeah, we were bored in math class. What else is new?

I couldn't remember how to do all of that now, even if you paid me. (However, I'm sure I could find out, if you offered me enough. lol) I suppose it must not be necessary for my field of interest if I haven't used it for so long that I forgot it, so oh well. A word of wisdom, though, for all of you young-ish people reading this: you still have to study it and master it, even if you think you'll just forget it later. It's a good discipline. Seriously. Learn it.



This math professor with a stereotypical appearance agrees with me.

;) Okay, I think I have a little more chocolate to eat and a bit of French journaling to do before I turn out the lights tonight. Tomorrow is my long day of classes, but I'm looking forward to it because Kendra and I are cooking dinner and hanging out together at the end of it. :) I'll talk to you guys later! Gros bisous!