Maggie: our June hike

It was the last hike of the season, and what a lovely day we had - at last!  It was a comfortable walk through the Maison de la Nature reserve at the étang de Méjean in Lattes.  

 

 

Maggie, Y-J, Rosie, Mariannick, Robyn, Katharine J

 While we were picnicking alongside the Maison de la Nature, we noticed some of the employees carrying what we thought might be crayfish, caught in the canals, but when we asked what they had caught, they showed us a snapping turtle, which they called tortue exotique, or tortue de Florida.  Just goes to show that we are not the only Americans in the area.

 

We had barely left the carpark when we saw a heron standing in a field.  Then just inside the entrance to the reserve we saw nests full of storks, 

 

 

 

and as we walked along the waterfront, we saw flamingos and other birds.

Further inland we saw taureaux and chevaux de Camargue, including some foals.  I wonder how many people know that, although the adult horses look white, the foals are born black or brown.  At one point along the path we met some leaping frogs, one of whom stopped long enough for us to snap some photos. 

 

The wildflowers were beautiful, and we look forward to another hike in the same area, when we will try to do the loops we missed because we ran short of time.  Merci to Y-J's friend Nicole, who took most of the group photos for us.

 

Maggie, Katharine, Rosie, Y-J, Mariannick, Robyn

Maggie: La Montpellier Reine run

Here are a few photos from La Montpellier Reine on May 26th.

I was very proud of myself for jogging most of the way.  I had to jog just to try to keep up with everyone else, since my walking speed just cannot compete.  Unfortunately I suffered on Monday and Tuesday.  Despite the fact that we walked 8 to 10 km almost every day during the second week of the school hols, and we climbed the Croix Rousse in Lyon, and I do Scottish dancing almost every week, there are muscles in my legs that evidently had not been getting a sufficient workout.  Now I know why some of you mentioned training and preparation for La Montpellier Reine.

 

 The team which Chris organised, the Long Duck Ladies, won a trophy for the largest group that was not a business effort.  For some reason, though, the trophy is inscribed "la plus grande famille."  Chris said she heard some remarks about the family having an unusually large number of women.

Once again, thanks to Chris for organising this -m.  

Peggy R: important letter to the European Parliament for American/European citizens

 Editor:  the following is a letter sent to the European Parliament on behalf of many of us, by Lucy Laederich of FAWCO.  This letter has been posted on the FAWCO website.

May 24, 2013

Sophia in ‘t Veld
European Parliament
Bat. Altiero Spinelli - 10G317
60, rue Wiertz / Wiertzstraat 60
B-1047 Brussels


Re: Public hearing on “The fight against tax evasion - FATCA as a step towards international automatic exchange of information”

Dear Ms in ‘t Veld,

I work with two organizations of Americans abroad: FAWCO (Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas), with over 15,000 members in 40 countries worldwide, and AARO (Association of Americans Resident Overseas), with some 1,000 members, the vast majority of whom reside in the European Union, where an American law is having a direct and growing impact on EU citizens. Our organizations and their partner organizations represent the estimated 6-7 million Americans living and working abroad and have considerable experience, as you can imagine, in dealing with what we realize are the unintended consequences of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act you will be discussing on Tuesday afternoon.

Obviously, the population we have been hearing from for the last three years, with increasing distress, is Americans who clearly must have “foreign” financial accounts in order to live, pay their bills, plan for retirement and conduct normal business in the countries where they reside.
However, there are two groups equally affected who deserve your attention, I believe, as you and your colleagues explore the ramifications of FATCA implementation.
The first are the European spouses and domestic or business partners of Americans living in the EU.
Because of FATCA reporting requirements, these people are seeing their personal and business accounts, if jointly held with the American, reported to a foreign government. Not only does this raise serious questions of privacy but, as I know from experience in the organizations I represent, it generates major discord in marriages and partnerships. The worrisome results range from divorce or dissolution of joint business ventures to renunciation of nationality on the part of the American to protect the European spouse/partner, and dangerous financial vulnerability for Americans removed from joint investment and retirement accounts.

The second are the “accidental” Americans, many of whom may even be unaware that in legal terms, they are or could be considered Americans. These are the children born in the United States during temporary stays on the part of their parents, or children of dual-national couples who have then been brought up in Europe and may never even have possessed an American passport. For these individuals to be required to comply with reporting requirements that have nothing to do with them, and for their banks to be required to investigate, for example, whether a parent was American or where the child was born, is again a major breach of privacy but also an absurd waste of time and human resources.

One of the possible solutions advocated by the two organizations I represent is to redefine the concept of “foreign” in the FATCA context. If, as an American living in France, I hold a bank account in the United States to receive my US pension and pay my US taxes, this account is not “foreign”, because I am American. Also, if I hold an account in Bordeaux, where I live, in order to pay my bills and taxes and to save for my retirement, this account is not “foreign” because I am legally and fiscally domiciled and pay taxes in France. If, however, I hold an account in Luxembourg for investment purposes, or in the Cayman Islands for tax evasion purposes, this account is clearly a “foreign” account that should be reported, not only to the French authorities but to the IRS.

We urge you and your colleagues to consider the adverse impact of FATCA implementation on many EU citizens and to work with the IRS and Treasury Department not to repeal FATCA, which was justifiably designed to prevent tax fraud, but to step back and correct its many unintended effects on perfectly law-abiding citizens of both the United States and, most importantly for you, the European Union.

Very sincerely,
Lucy Stensland Laederich, FAWCO U.S. Liaison and AARO President

Peggy F: Greetings from Tunisia

I thought that our AWG members might enjoy seeing what our beach property is like in this lovely spring season.   

The old guy is our 'guardian'/'gardener' - he's 85 and deaf, but still pretty strong and smart!  He cultivates our field (for his own benefit) -  he got a crop of potatoes during the winter and is doing fèves now.  He irrigates himself, with irrigation ditches between the rows of plants, and uses a hoe! Fortunately we have a well that never dries up! No wonder he's still strong!

He picked fava beans for us.  We eat them every day!

Peggy maintaining her garden

Latif - under an ancient oak tree

Spring blossoms with Tunisian pottery

Ahhhhh! 

You can feel the warmth of the sun

Glorious colours

The vegetables on the table we got at our local market - the produce here is fresh, always sweet and colorful, and we are always thankful to be able to enjoy such delicious food.

What a great idea Scriveners is!  Especially for those of us who are out of town and feeling a bit 'homesick'.  Many thanks!

All is pretty calm here, but who knows?  The Tunisian economy is très sick, so one of these days....?? Meanwhile, weather is perfect and... carpe diem!

My best to everyone!  Peggy

Anne: Eating in the Fifties

Editor:  Today is the 60th anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Anne's text is a reminder of those times in postwar England that a number of us experienced - food rationing, a nation still bankrupt after World War II, and it probably rained a bit too, although I remember long summer days in the Fifties.

Anne:  How the world has changed; these are all so true     Pasta had not been invented. Curry was a surname. A takeaway was a mathematical problem. A pizza was something to do with a leaning tower. Bananas and oranges only appeared at Christmas time. All crisps were plain; the only choice we had was whether to put the salt on or not. A Chinese chippy was a foreign carpenter. Rice was a milk pudding, and never, ever part of our dinner. A Big Mac was what we wore when it was raining. Brown bread was something only poor people ate. Oil was for lubricating, fat was for cooking Tea was made in a teapot using tea leaves and never green. Coffee was Camp, and came in a bottle. Cubed sugar was regarded as posh. Only Heinz made beans. Fish didn't have fingers in those days. Eating raw fish was called poverty, not sushi. None of us had ever heard of yogurt. Healthy food consisted of anything edible. People who didn't peel potatoes were regarded as lazy. Indian restaurants were only found in India. Cooking outside was called camping. Seaweed was not a recognised food. "Kebab" was not even a word never mind a food. Sugar enjoyed a good press in those days, and was regarded as being white gold. Prunes were medicinal. Surprisingly muesli was readily available, it was called cattle feed. Pineapples came in chunks in a tin; we had only ever seen a picture of a real one. Water came out of the tap, if someone had suggested bottling it and charging more than petrol for it they would have become a laughing stock. The one thing that we never ever had on our table in the fifties .. was elbows!

Maggie: Seder at Claudia's

The traditional Passover seder chez Claudia (and Philippe, Ben and Emilie) was lots of fun and very informative, and the food was delicious.  We had printed copies of 'The Wandering is Over Haggadah' and each of us was asked to participate in the readings.  Claudia, Ben and Emilie recited and sang for us in Hebrew, but the rest of us stuck to English.  As well as the songs and readings, there were blessings over the wine, the meal and the matzah, ritual hand-washings, dipping of a green vegetable in salt water and a bitter herb in sweet charoset, the breaking of matzah and hiding a piece for the children to find at the end of the meal, and, of course, the traditional eating (special dishes prepared by Claudia) and drinking (we may have expanded a bit on the traditional four glasses of sweet seder wine), but all in the proper order.

 

 

Claudia (standing) with her family;  Maggie and Serge with their family.  Rosie and Susan Rey.

We ended the seder with the traditional prayer for the future: "Next year in Jerusalem."  Actually, I would be happy if we could just have another seder near Montpellier next year.  And if Passover doesn't coincide with Easter weekend, we might have more participants.  L'chaim! (and no, there were no fiddlers on the roof)

 

I hope I haven't forgotten anything, and that Claudia will correct any mistakes.

 

Maggie: AWG members in solidarity with the FAWCO bridge participants in Bern, CH

These were taken while I was on a bridge in Bern with other FAWCO participants, but Serge transferred them to my computer so I can share them with you.  Thanks once again to Mariannick for organizing - and to the sun for deciding to appear at the end of a rainy week.

 

Mariannick, Jessica with AWG's littlest member, Anna Rose;  Laura, Serge and Emily P;  Genette and Kim

Background of the Lez

The group is joined by Denise

And the University buildings now form the backdrop