Preparing for Our Glorious Return to America (and the Birth of Jesus)

This evening we had the opportunity to experience something that I have never before seen in my lifetime (with the exception of plastic light-up dolls in front of churches). Of course I'm talking about a live action nativity play documenting (from what I could discern) how scantily clad Roman soldiers were unable to stop a procession of Carnies from setting off fireworks after the birth of Jesus.

The nativity play is a yearly tradition that takes place in Marcq-en-Bareoul which is the town just next to Wasquehal where we are living. The reenactment was conducted outdoors, in below freezing temperature, with steadily falling snow, on a horseracing track called the Hippodrome. We were invited by the British family that we are living with, and it was quite a surprise to see the immense turnout by the French. There must have been over a thousand people watching.

We showed up just as the performance was starting so we were unable to get a seat in the bleachers, and were forced to stand in a crowd just in front of the actors. It was a very well put together event that included a lazer light show, Roman soldiers on horseback and in horsedrawn chariots, Mongolian camels, fireworks and an elephant. The whole show was about an hour long which was good because had it been any longer I think the soldiers and dancers would have gotten frostbite. They were obviously unprepared for the cold and snow because the Romans were wearing skirts and shortsleeves, and the dancers were wearing even less. Even being bundled up in two sweatshirts, two hoods, a winter hat and down coat, two pairs of pants, wool socks, gloves and a scarf, Im not sure Kathryn would have lasted much longer either.

All in all it was a good time with an entertaining soundtrack and devoted actors who shrugged off the cold without much problem. Another plus was that all of the audio for the performance was pre-recorded and played over the PA system so the dialouge was slow and comprehendable.

The rest of our evening has been spent cleaning up our room and getting clothes and luggage ready for our departure tomorrow evening. Really this entire week we have just been killing time and counting down the days until we return to the good ole US of A. Tomorrow night we leave on a midnight bus from Lille to London. Once we arrive in London we have about six hours before we have to be at the airport so we plan on getting some food and exploring what parts of the city we can before heading to London/Heathrow to catch our flight home to Chicago.

A très bientôt,

-Jordan and Kathryn