One more post

Somehow we have managed to throw away, give away, or pack away everything, and barring some unforeseen mishap (did we forget to renew our passports?), we will soon be on our circuitous 26-hour journey home (Paris-Rome-Atlanta-Detroit-Perrysburg!). Needless to say, it's been an incredible year, and we have loved sharing it with so many family members and friends via this journal. Strange how everyone knows more about our day-to-day lives while we are on the other side of the ocean than when we are in Ohio.

Obviously, spending a long period of time with one's family abroad, you can't help but learn about the place where you are living. And, indeed, we have. We know so much now about the Metros of Paris, the streets of Paris, the rhythm of Paris. But, what has been somewhat surprising to me is that even more than learning about the other place or culture, an experience like this allows you to learn about yourself.

Going about every day activities in a new environment makes those activities stand out even more. Although some of the kindest blog readers disagree, a blog about our daily life in Perrysburg would be monumentally dull. But, when you are a foreigner, you are always a little bit of an observer, and you pay attention to the meaning of things. Taking your child to kindergarten each morning is not simply a chore to accomplish on the way to work. Even as a parent, you see things as they must look through the eyes of the child – new, exciting, unknown.

We have also learned a little bit about what it means to be American. Not in the flag-waving, anthem-singing ways that the politicians talk about, but on the subtler level that sociologists and anthropologists talk about. One striking aspect to me is logic. Logic seems given, a universal truth, unmarred by culture. But I don’t think I could count the number of times each day that something strikes me as completely bizarre, whereas by French standards it is completely logical. I walk into a boulangerie that is advertising a special. Croissants, sold at 80 cents a piece are, today, available 5 for 3 euros. I ask for 5 croissants and get my 3 euros ready. The lady tells me, "I’m sorry, but we only have 4 left." Ok, I tell her I’ll take 4. She puts them in a bag and asks me for 3 euros and 20 cents. "But, they are on special today. 60 cents each," I argue. No, she tells me, that’s only if you buy 5, and you are buying just 4. Her logic is tempered by a desire for fairness, a priority for following the rules unless you can give her a very good reason why not to, and the belief that it’s not her fault that they don’t have enough croissants. My logic is influenced by an a priori belief that the customer’s good will is worth more to the store than the extra 20 centimes, that the special offer overrides the usual rule, and that it is not my fault that they don’t have enough croissants. We are both right. And so in a hundred little ways each day, you are forced to examine your most basic assumptions. One little "French-ism" that Ella uses in English is "That's normal." which is how the French say "that makes sense." I wonder how this year will impact how she and Jonah understand what is "normal," even after they forget the wallpaper in the apartment or even the names of some of their closest friends here.

We've been getting closure. We had one last Wednesday with the kids (the musee Marmottan and lunch at a cafe). Ella's class had a little fete in school to say goodbye to the kids who are leaving the school - either to move or to go to a different school, and the teacher made a little "yearbook" for each of these kids. Ella had a birthday party (at Mcdonalds, no less - a chance to ease back into US culture?) and got to say goodbye to all of her pals. There was a little gathering at Inserm for a retiring secretary, and they used the occasion to wish me farewell too. Abe took Jonah for a last stroller ride through the neighborhood, photographing a few of our favorite spots along the way. In honor of our departure, the Blues (France) beat Brazil tonight in the quarter finals of the World Cup - can you hear the celebration in the streets of Paris from there? Ella has cried a few times about leaving, and has declared that she will stay and become Olivia's sister. Jonah has fallen hook, line, and sinker for the pro-Ohio propaganda we've been spreading and announces on a regular basis, "I am ready to go back to Ohio," or "I will miss Louise, but I am all done living in Paris."

Just like when we first arrived, the summer sales have started in the stores and the markets are selling sweet, yellow plums, letting us know that a year has gone by and it's time to go home. We're already planning for our next sabbatical!