Saturday 30 April 2011

national identity

Despite being in France, I managed to watch the Royal Wedding live at a friend's house (thanks, Manue!). I still remember watching Charles and Diana's wedding when I was nearly 5, and so when Simon asked if he could come with me, I said yes (as long as he promised to be good!). I don't know if he will have any memories of it, and it has to be said that the soldiers on horses and the policemen on motorbikes interested him more than the wedding itself, but I thought I should give him the chance.

It's hard to know where our boys will feel that they come from. I am English, Marc is French, and yet we live in Benin. Watching the British Royal Wedding with French commentary is quite a good example of what our life is like! And I do want to give our boys the opportunity to feel they have some roots, so keeping up with what is going on in our respective countries is important.

It's true too, that I never realised how English I was before I lived abroad. Or perhaps I never had to feel English as compared to someone else. Apart from the clichés (and I do love Marmite and tea), it's hard to define, and must vary for each English person, but you still recognise it when you meet someone else from your own country! I think it is possible to be proud of your origins without believing yourself better than someone from somewhere else ... and doesn't mean you don't recognise the negative side of your own country.

Here is the English flag flying from our balcony in France for the 2006 World Cup:


Friday 22 April 2011

nomads

It's a chameleon life that we lead. Our clothes might change, the language we are speaking with other people might change, but underneath we're still the same people serving the same God.

Anyway, this Home Assignment thing we're on at the moment is made for me! We get to travel around seeing beautiful parts of France (and soon England), catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, and speaking about a country and a people who we love (Benin and the Monkolés, in case you're wondering!).

We spent two weeks in Nancy. It is the city where Marc and I met and Simon was born. And in some ways it still feels like home. Obviously some things have changed, but it was good to catch up with friends from church and Marc's colleagues at the university, and meet new people. Being there for a fortnight meant that we could relax when spending time with people, instead of it being a marathon, and also meant that we could take part in regular church activities and not just the meetings that we ourselves were leading. Another bit of good timing was the inter-church service on the second of our Sundays, giving us the opportunity to chat to friends from other churches in Nancy. And staying in the flat over our church gave us some family time on our own too.

It was funny to go to an inter-church prayer meeting for the GBU (university Bible groups) and not to recognise anyone in the GBU! I helped to lead it for 4 years while living in Nancy, but of course things move on quickly in student circles. I was encouraged to hear the students' testimonies of living out their faith on the same campuses I knew a few years back.

Meeting up with Marc's colleagues was great. It reinforced the feeling that there is a real friendship there, which is going to last. We had hoped also to visit a friend of mine from the university, who is now in Châlon-en-Champagne, but unfortunately her little boy wasn't well, and we had to make do with a telephone call this week.

Nancy is a beautiful city, especially when the sun is shining, as it was almost every day of our time there! I love the fact that it is surrounded by hills, and also that there are so many lovely parks in it. Parks are one thing I miss in Benin … that and being able to walk around anywhere anonymously!

Here are a few photos from our time in Nancy:






Saturday 9 April 2011

tour de france (2)


After a good time of debriefing in Orange, we spent a long weekend in Lyon visiting friends and another of our supporting churches. We also visited the "Parc de la Tête d'Or" to see animals we haven't seen (yet) in Africa.




We are now in Nancy, where we used to live, and as a friend here said, "Ce sera toujours chez vous!" ("It'll always be home for you!") We're staying in a flat over the church and have several meetings and meal invitations lined up. It's good to be staying somewhere for a bit longer ... and Simon and Benjy are also enjoying the different playgrounds around Nancy!