Dreaming of Alsace, France

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting not just the big shots in my profession 

from all over the world. I also had the chance to meet and spend some lovely time 

with a very nice woman, Khadoudja. She's the wife of the chairman of the meeting

we hosted here in the Philippines. Her and I share the same sub-specialty.

She's also Diagnostic Radiology Medical Physicist, but is no longer practicing.

She's now teaching Mathematics and traveling with her husband instead.

She's born in Paris, later moved to Algeria, and now resides in Vienna.

Her husband and her generally speaks French. I had a great time learning

some French words and phrases from the two of them.

Meeting Khadoudja was a very rewarding experience for me.

She's very down to earth, I didn't know she's got a doctorate degree

until I looked her up on Google for the papers she published. She's gentle

and soft-spoken. There's a spark of warm kinship between us since day one.

We talked a lot about many things French and of course Paris, her birthplace.

I told her I am curious to see the "City of Light" on Christmas season. At the same time, 

I'm also very keen about visiting the Germanic region of France, Alsace in the east.

Facebook Swap, Sender: SébastienSent: 9 Sep 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 18 Sep 2013, Traveled ~11,526 km in 9 days

Alsace is made of two departments, the Upper Rhine and the Lower Rhine.

Colmar is the capital of the Upper Rhine. It is the best preserved historic city centre

in Alsace. On the postcard above is La Maison Pfister, a historical monument in Colmar.

It was built in 1577. The name Pfister came from the family who occupied it from 1841-1892.

Facebook Swap, Sender: Sébastien
Sent: 9 Sep 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 18 Sep 2013, Traveled ~11,526 km in 9 days

The most beautiful villages in France are found in Alsace: Eguisheim and Riquewihr. 

Apart from being famous for the half-timbered houses, Alsace is also famous for its wine. Riquewihr is part of the Alsace wine trail. On the postcard above is shown the Hotel- Restaurant Dolder

in Riquewihr that boasts of serving the best Alsatian dishes and wine.

Facebook Swap, Sender: Ulla
Sent: 19 August 2013 from Marly, France
Received: 1 September 2013, Traveled ~10,900 km in 14 days

More than the delicious wine and the sumptuous dishes, Alsace is famed for its villages

which are 'une symphonie de couleurs'. Alsace is of brightly painted, steep-roofed, half-timbered houses. Historically, the paint color of the houses were significant; the houses

are painted according to the type of shop or boutique they have 

on the ground floor. Nowadays though, they are free 

on what color to paint the their houses.

Merci infiniment to Sébastien and Ulla! They are my postcard swap

partners who introduced me to the beauty of Alsace!

Sharing this post for:

Paulita's Dreaming of France

Sally's Blue Monday

~maria

References:

http://about-france.com/regions/alsace.htm

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maison_Pfister

http://www.dolder.fr/fr/le-restaurant.html

Friendly Hearts

   

DE-2142542, Sender: akiregreb
Sent: 1 May 2013, Sent from Meschede, Germany
Received: 3 July 2013, Traveled 10,245 km in 63 days
 

I am on fieldwork in Bukidnon, south of Mindanao. When many people think Mindanao is not a good place to visit because of the negative publicity it gets in the press, not all of it is really dangerous. Bukidnon for example, is a really peaceful part. I love going back here, and right now it's my 5th visit.

I named this card, friendly hearts because every time I visit here, I always meet female souls who resonates with mine. For this time around, I met two, Anne to my right, and Karen, to my left. 

I sometimes complain how tiring my job is: being in an airplane 4-6 times in a month, working even on Saturdays and sometimes even Sundays, and the feeling of not being properly compensated for the effort and time it demands from me. 

But looking at it in a bright perspective, the real reward of my job is meeting amazing people who eventually become my friends despite being with them just for a short time. That's the first. Second is getting to see awesome places. The one where the photo of us was taken is Lake Apo. There's a house by the lake that can be booked for a relaxing stay, away from the stress of the busy life and close to a quiet lake and rolling green mountains. I really wish I can come back here to stay at that house for vacation even just for a few days.

Well, it might be off topic, but third reward is knowing that the sacrifice you give: lots of effort and time but low pay -- results in uplifting the quality of healthcare in the country. I can smile and say that I'm doing something worthwhile and dedicating my strong and youthful years for the greater good.

I'll end it here for now before I get more sentimental... I still need to wake up before the sun rises tomorrow for a long land trip to reach the airport for my flight back to Manila. I don't wish to go back cause I'm truly being addicted to provincial life, but I have to.

~maria

P.S. The photographer is the husband of Anne. I am really grateful to him for these nice photos which are perfect souvenirs of my 5th visit in Bukidnon.

Love-ly cats

FI-1724304, Sender: mam-mam
Sent: 7 Apr 2013, Sent from Oulu, Finland
Received: 26 Apr 2013, Traveled 8,801 km in 19 days

As promised, I am back after 1 month of absence. :)

I am overwhelmed to share that the final assessment for my clinical residency went well. It was a grueling 4-day ordeal and I'm glad it's finally over. It's just the start though. I still have a few documentary requirements to finish. Then there's the certification board exams in November this year. It was a great experience. It allowed me to pin down my strength and weaknesses in regards with my development and training into the professional in  my field that I hope to be.

For the past 3 years of being into the program I learned that it's truly beneficial to work as a group; to always seek to study and learn together. There's truly great value in collective efforts. Hence my choice of postcard to feature for this first day of August and my first post for Clytie's Guest Heart Thursday after being gone for a month. It shows two cats joining their heads; in my mind, they could have been holding hands in a few - drawing strength from each other.

It's my second postcard of the artist, Minna L. Immonen. The first one can be found here, it features a hydrangea wreath.

I would like to express my gratitude to Grace of Le Blog de Grace Bailhache and Beth of The Best Hearts Are Crunchy for passing by my blog even though I didn't post any entry for a month. It's heartwarming to know that I was missed. Hugs to you both!

I'll end this post for now. Ciao! It's great to be back!

~maria

P.S. Let me share a goofy photo of our group from Monday, 29 July - the last day of the assessment. My co-residents and I are standing at the back, the clinical supervisors, members of the national steering committee, and our expert assessor from the International Atomic Energy Agency are seated in front. Here we flash our 'winner pose' with triumphant smiles. I am the one standing behind the woman in fuchsia pink top.

Pink stamps from Finland.

I had second thoughts on whether to include that teardrop stamp on this entry for Viridian's Sunday Stamps cause the theme for this week is pink. The stamp appears purple. But believe me, it's vivid pink on the real stamp...

But as you can see, the vivid pink teardrop stamp is on this 'pink stamps' post despite being purple on its scanned appearance. 

Why? 

While looking for pink stamps at the back of the postcards I've received, I first found this teardrop stamp -- at the back of the birthday postcard from 2012 sent by my Finnish penpal, Tuija. Leafing a few pages more in my postcards album, I found the fairy wearing a pink dress, at the back of the 2013 birthday postcard, still from Tuija! This is delightful discovery for me. With these pink stamps, I think of my sweet friend Tuija whom I've grown to be very close in heart and thoughts even if we've never meet (yet). I love how we've cheered for each other through life's ups and downs. I am amazed of how the human soul and spirit can find confidence in friendship even with someone who's literally living on the other side of the globe.

Tuija celebrated her birthday just recently. As a late birthday gift, I want her to know how much I appreciate our friendship with this post. ♥

~ maria

P.S. The lovely postcard that came with the fairy stamp will be posted here tomorrow. ;-) See you!