March has been busy...and promises to get even busier.
On Saturday, I took Valentine to sign up at the fine arts school in Annemasse. It's her "Plan B" school if things don't work out for the school in Avignon.
I'm sure it will all work out, but it's good to have a backup plan, right?

That afternoon, our pal Max, Alexa and I went to Geneva to do a bit of shopping. I ended up finding an amazing pair of shoes on sale for 60% off! But mostly we wandered around the flea market at Plainpalais. They have one there every Wednesday and Saturday.

Plainpalais is a neighbourhood in central Geneva and here's and interesting fact about it: Historically, it was an area outside the densely populated city of Geneva where they brought the sick to avoid contagion and an epidemic.
Everybody looked pretty healthy there on Saturday, though- so that's good.....
It's such a drag to contract the plague. Amirite?
Something for everyone!

It was a bit cold and windly, so we stopped in a nearby Starbucks for a shockingly overpriced snack. But it was so good!!!!

My mom's visit here in the lovely Haute Savoie continues well.
As you can see, a good time is being had by all:

(Daisy apparently feels really relaxed in my mom's company.)

On Friday, we picked up Tya from school a bit early and went shopping!

We were in Annemasse, a nearby town that has some good shops. What's a trip to France without a trip to the Monoprix? Amirite?

The town square in Annemasse is quite pretty most of the year.
It's a bit barren in January...

...but it was still fun taking pictures to commemorate our outing!

My New Espresso Machine That Will Kill You With Its Awesome...

(or maybe it will just make you a nice latte.)

I really cleaned up at Christmas this year!
I got some delicious Dior perfume from the kids.
And the best part is- instead of the giant purple snake, they got me the body lotion and a Dior makeup bag!
Good choice, kids!

My parents got me adorable (and warm!) Ugg boots.
The astounding coffee machine was from JP and the kids....and the husband also got me a spa weekend in Switzerland. So I really did well this year. Seriously.

The boots really came in handy when we went to the Christmas circus in Geneva on the 26th. It was a freezing cold night, but that New Zealand sheepskin kept me plenty warm...

I like coffee very much, but I'm not addicted to caffeine. Which is really lucky, because we recently went for a couple of weeks with none in the house.

Why?

Because I was too overwhelmed with guilt to buy any. I'd go into the store, look at the coffee and then go back home without.

And why is that?

It's because shopping in France is is so impossibly complicated. Back in Ouagadougou, my weekly trip to Marina Market was not always very effective, but at least it was easy: If it's what you need and you can afford it, you buy it. End of story.

The only real downside was when, for example, they would be completely out of butter for weeks at a time. Or certains items would be priced so high that it was out of the question to buy them. Frozen fish sticks at 15 euros a box were just not an option.

The latter factor acted as a natural control on the system. For example, in Marina Market you could find tomatos imported from France for several euros per kilo. But just outside the door, you'd find the locally grown stuff for just a few cents per kilo. Imported stuff was ALWAYS more expensive than local stuff. So, buying local was always cheaper and directly supported Burkinabé people.

There was no organic produce, so that was a non-issue.

See? Easy.

But NOW I'm in France. The supermarkets are all 20 times the size of Marina market and full of choices.

First off, there's organic vs non-organic. Organic is ALWAYS more expensive than non-organic. So, you have to decide if the product is worth the sometimes very large price difference. Very quickly, I decided that it was worth it to pay more, especially for dairy products and produce. For other things, like lentils for example, the price difference is so huge that buying organic seems crazy. But each choice involves a calculation.

See? Complicated.

Then you have to worry about the fair trade issue. I am all about helping the developing world develop properly...

But what about "buy local"? Aren't you supposed to buy stuff produced close to where you live to prevent the pollution and energy wastage involved in transportation and provide local jobs?

So, there I am, standing in front of the apples in the supermarché. There are about 10 different kinds, which is already overwhelming. (Back in Ouaga, I'd go to the fruit and veg ladies outside Marina Market and they'd have maybe a choice between red delicious and golden delicious from South Africa.) Do I want Reine de reinette? Boskoop, Chantecler? The prices are all pretty similar. Oh wait. These Fuji's are only 2.50 a kilo while the others are 2.70.... But hang on... Another look tells me that the Fuji's are imported from freaking New Zealand, while the other, more expensive apples are all from France. In fact, the Reine de reinettes are from the Haute Savoie.

Can somebody tell me how it is possible that apples flown to France all the way from New Zealand can be cheaper than apples grown just a few miles away? It just makes no sense.

My mind boggled a bit, but I dealt with the apple situation, always buying local stuff. But coffee? That's a lot harder. No fields of coffee growing on the flanks of Mont Blanc. So, no easy answer there.

I'd scuttle around in front of the endless rows of foil coffee packets with a big question mark over my head, reading the labels: Here's one that's organic, but it's not fair trade. Oh -here's one that's fair trade, but it's from Guatamala. Shouldn't I be trying to support local people and reduce carbon emissions? Wait..here's one that's roasted and packaged in our region of France. But it's not fair trade or organic and not 100% arabica. Yuck.

And hey! What about recycled packaging? Shouldn't I be looking for that, too?

My brain would be overloaded within minutes and I'd shuffle away, discouraged and coffee-less.

I spent WEEKS reading coffee packages, puzzling and musing.

Until finally, last week, I found it!! I was so excited as I unpacked the groceries at home. I grabbed the coffee package and waved it in front of JP.

"Do you know what this IS!" I said forcefully. Ok, I was probably screaming, a bit.

"It would be...coffee?" he ventured cautiously.

"Coffee? Coffee? This just isn't just coffee! This is the salvation of the environment and all of humanity in one small package!!!! Look!! Just look!!! It provides a fair wage to Peruvian peasants!!!! It's certified organic!! No pesticides or chemical fertilizers!! It's roasted and packaged in the Haute Savoie, providing local jobs !!! PLUS the packaging is 100% recycled AND it's all arabica. I did it!! I found the coffee!!! You see????"

"Yes. I see that you bought coffee." JP answered in a soothing, but somewhat distracted voice. I think he was wondering if we had any Valium in the house that he could crush up and slip into my next cup...

So, we finally have coffee in the house again. And you see why I am so excited about it.

In French, organic is "bio" and all certified organic products are marked with an easily recognisable "AB" symbol that stands for "agriculture biologique".

In the photo I laid out a few of the many "AB" products that I buy regularly: herbal teas, pasta, bread flour, etc...

I'm also very careful about milk and eggs (which we eat lots of). Just recently, I finally found local, organic eggs laid by free-range chickens who are only fed vegetable products and are allowed to lay their eggs "en paille", that is, in straw nests. They sound like happy chickens.

And I'm glad to facilitate their joy.

But all of this makes shopping in France exhausting and mind-bending.

And now I need to end this blog entry and go... to the supermarché.

But maybe first I'll go see if JP found any Valium...

I am so excited! I wish it was breakfast time! But it's seven pm, so I had better not give into the temptation to break out some of the fabulous COFFEE that my parents just sent me! Chocolate truffle flavour coffee! CINNABON coffee!!! How decadent! How blissful!
I am in heaven just sniffing the packages!
When we first got to Africa, I schooled myself to enjoy whatever breakfast drink was available. Most often there was the inevitable instant Nescafé with sugar/without sugar/with or without condensed milk - all those endless permutations that make West Africa wake up in the morning. Sometimes there was dangerously strong, gritty Lebanese coffee. Sometimes there was Liptin tea. And it was all ok. I learned not to expect much, take what I could get and be pretty happy with it. If you're just going to eat, drink and do all the same stuff you do back in your home country, why leave?
But I have recently realised (only took about 9 years!) how REALLY joyous good coffee makes me ( my definition of "good" being arabica with some crazy flavoring added in) . I even discovered the joys of grinding up whole beans with a sleek black machine (borrowed from an Embassy pal).
This summer I brought back some good coffee from the USA. I underestimated quantites, but now my parents have come to the rescue. Tomorrow morning I'll be drinking Cinnabon coffee! Bet I'll be the only one in all of Burkina- maybe in all West Africa!