Obama Soirée

I do realize that members of my family could potentially disown me for this post but here goes...

Last wednesday night I went to an Obama soirée held by the Democrats Abroad- Avignon Chapter. (In case you were curious, the Republicans Abroad- Avignon chapter does NOT exist…)

It was such a mixture of French and American culture, it was incredible- I loved it!

The soirée was held at Bistro Lyonnais- a French restaurant specializing in cuisine from the town of Lyon. The restaurant was decorated in American flags, Obama posters, and even an Obama cutout. It was great to meet other americans that have moved to france and have a chance to speak english. The menu included a 3 course meal with as much bread and wine as you want. I was going to try to spare you the food details, but this is the nicest restaurant I have been to yet, so I am going to have to give it to you play-by-play:

1^st course- self described by the chef as “chicken liver cake” with wine jelly and salad

2^nd course- chicken drowning in the most amazing creamy sauce ever with golden roasted potatoes, probably cooked in duck fat because they were perfectly crispy and ready to soak up the extra sauce

3^rd course- dessert! Rhubarb cheesecake- somehow I got a significantly larger piece than everyone else, so this caused some jealousy at the table

After dinner, I had some super strong coffee, which somewhat balanced the sleepy effect of the wine…

My friends and I were going to call a cab because it ended somewhat late- the dinner lasted 4 hours (very French! And yes we were eating pretty much the whole time), but the chef, Yves, offered to give us all rides home. Since the restaurant was a 30 minute walk away, this was much appreciated.

Since I have been here, I have had some political discussions with French people about the political situation in America. You probably won’t be surprised (as I wasn’t either) that every single French person I have talked to would pick Obama over McCain. What I’ve gathered from talking to French people here is that our political right is somewhat equivalent to their political right (although it’s sort of a stretch on some issues-like gun control), but our political left is equivalent to their political center. So basically to them democrats seem moderate, whereas republicans seem radical. It’s an interesting perspective that I never really realized. I’m just glad I’ve been able to have some candid political discussions here- although one guy seemed to think that if he said anything perceptible as a criticism of America that I would suddenly turn very violent. Obviously, that’s not true and the discussion wasn’t too productive.

Anyone who isn’t registered to vote, please do so. Time is running out!
For friends studying abroad that need an absentee ballot, go to votefromabroad.org
I received my Pennsylvania absentee ballot a couple days ago and I’m sending it in soon!

Sorry it's been awhile since I've updated. In a couple of days I hope to put more photos on facebook and maybe update again about my trip last weekend to visit noemie.

here's a preview: (we had so much fun!)