Summer Reading

It's been a great summer for reading. Some ramblings:

Harry Potter: After nearly twenty years, I've decided to experience the cultural juggernaut that is Harry Potter. I've gotten through the first four books and films and have decided to continue. No spoilers please! I am so thrilled by the world-building and the twists and turns, and I am eager to hear the backstories of the professors. At the moment, Harry is my least favorite character. Hagrid is my absolute favorite. I expect it will take me way into the school year to finish Order of the Phoenix.

La pluie d'ete: I wanted to explore the writing of Marguerite Duras, so I started with this short novel about the two oldest kids in an immigrant family living in Paris. I thought the dialogue was interesting, but wasn't very invested in the characters or the plot. I plan to read Hiroshima, Mon Amour next, mostly because there is much more criticism available about that work.

Holy Cow: I borrowed this book from the library on a whim after I found out that David Duchovny is a published writer!? I thought it was a creative and interesting tale. The whole time, I felt like was reading a book my dad had written. It was all the 2015 slang. Something about imagining my Mulder at his computer writing an anthropomorphic cow going on about how the other animals on her farm are cray-cray was strangely fun.

All the Light We Cannot See: My favorite so far, and I'm not even 100 pages in. I adore the poetic language that Anthony Doerr is using to bring us to WWII-era France and Germany. I am constantly getting lost in his gorgeous paragraphs, and I am relieved that the book is enormous, so I can look forward to a beautiful, long read. Best of all, I know that this book will bring me to St. Malo, a city that is dear to me and in which I have many beautiful memories.

En stage

Some highlights of Vichy and the stage (teacher training) so far. 

-Vichy is so small that even when I got completely lost in town last night I managed to find my way and it only took me a half an hour. 

-My host family is wonderful. Super patient, welcoming, and good cooks. Plus, they have an adorable one-year-old and a super animated seven-year-old who loves to talk about any and everything. 

-It takes me three minutes to get to class every day. 

-The classes are well-organized and interesting. Right now I am in a daily program addressing how to favor oral communication in classes. We learned plenty of activities and techniques and it is only day two. 

-My fellow French teachers are awesome! Although the grant was available to Americans, the University accepts people from all over the world. I find myself again in a "petite planete" where we can learn each other's cultures and techniques and practice our French together. I am impressed by how appreciated we all are to one another, and how we are seen as colleagues by the professor, and not as students. It's a nice distinction, to be a party in sharing and not just one expected to learn. 

And the one I'm happiest about: two days in and I already feel lighter in body and in spirit. My class is on the 6th floor and I force myself to take the stairs all the way up 3x a day. I meditate before bed at night. Vichy is known for its spas, and I am going to book myself an Ayurvedic rebalance later this week. Plus, no snacking. No gourmandises except to try something new. I can already tell it's going to be hard to leave. 

But, oh, not as hard as all that, cause in less than two weeks I get to reunite with my famille Normande!

with 15 days left to go

These are the shoes that are so busted they are not worth taking home.

Yep, you are seeing right. Normandy tore through FIVE pair this year. That's a good thing I guess - less to take home?

Being home in 15 days is starting to feel unreal. I have so much to get done before then. And French administration is a nightmare. I feel like anything that isn't taken care of already will not likely be done at all.

As usual, I feel like I didn't get to spend as much time with most of my friends as I would have liked to. Regardless, I am so happy that I got to live here for another year, grow closer with my friends, and start to master this language. I still have a long way to go, but am leaps and bounds ahead of where I was in September.

Tomorrow, final exams, the beach, a jazz concert and dancing.

Today, a Skype interview with a program I would love to be a part of. I hope they like what I have to offer them!

Oh, photos from our unforgettable pancake day!

Semicolon pancake!

Me cooking pancakes in the tiniest kitchen ever shared by 11 people

Because birthday does rhyme with Monet

Yesterday I turned 26 years old. I think I asked my parents at some point what time I was born. I think they didn't remember. So I usually just go for a celebration that starts at midnight. Midnight on the 20th I was chatting franglais with Whit, Raph, Ian and Andrew at the Broc Cafe. Then I walked home under a sky that I would have expected to be much darker at 1am.

I woke up the next morning, put on my birthday shoes (which look exactly like my regular shoes btw) and walked over to chez Whit to meet her and Daniela, my road trip buddies to Giverny! And what road trip girls we were. Complete with us shouting "road trip," stopping for snacks, rocking out to "You're the one that I Want," and shouting "Giverny!!" in unison as we passed the first road sign for the village.

So, you know how Monet painted these?:

The inspiration for the water lillies series was his garden in Giverny. And that is where we spent the day on Sunday. You know I am a sucker for collective energy. For me, there is no better place than somewhere with a lot of other people appreciating the beauty all around you. So of course I loved Giverny. Even, or maybe especially, under the rain everything was magnificent. We walked the paths that Monet walked, laughed together in this garden that it must have taken loads of people to cultivate. We snapped shots of lillies, hulking trees, weeping willows, colorful orchids, and each other.

We took a little visit of Monet's house. Looked out his bedroom window into his garden. I especially loved his blue kitchen. Blue plaid curtains, awesome stove, and a whole wall of hanging pots, pans, spatulas. And even better than that, a kitchen all decked out in yellow!

We ate overpriced cheese dishes that none of us enjoyed (who knew my favorite of all cheeses is gross when warm?). We drank coffee and juice. We smiled with the flowers when the sun came out.

I am so glad that the rain didn't stop us from going, because raindrops on flowers can be as lovely as the flowers themselves.

May I always have birthdays that are shared with amazing friends, in inspiring places.

All photos are the master photography of Whitney. My battery was being weird.

Me, Whit and Daniela on the Japanese bridge

Rainy leaves

Les Nymphéas

La Foire de Pâques

So here's a video about the Easter Fair that has been the spot to go for the past few weeks. Famous last hangout for my friends Bing, Samuel and Rana who were looking for a fun, memorable last evening before they left la france. I've also been with friends just looking for something fun to do on a Saturday when it's nice outside. So many rides. So much dizzy. So many lights. See for yourself.



Full-disclosure: this was the first time I actually tried editing a video. And it's a video I took on my webcam and cell phone. So I am aware that it is really terribly done. But I'll keep trying.

Things I left out of the video:
-How I screamed so hard on the upside down ride that my friend asked me if I had another cold the next day because I had lost my voice.
-How I got really into the haunted house and running out looking scared that a really nice lady pulled my friend aside to ask him if I was OK.
-How I spent about 2 euros (20 centimes per try) trying to win T a little bear and failed miserably, while Whit totally won a stuffed mario on her first try.
-How a silly mom wore a skirt to the foire and a gust of wind at the funhouse showed everyone everything.
-Another thing I noticed that def would not fly in the USA:

(Yeah, just go ahead and zoom in on that beach scene)


Things I left in the video:
-Me searching for the word jam. Cause most of the time I still can't believe I learned french and love when I forget words in English.
-Me saying I'm going to the Foire tomorrow. It's definitely over now. Sorry, took my time uploading.

worth a thousand words

i took this photo of my pretty spring flowers to send to T, but then i really looked at it, and it turns out you can tell a lot about a person's life from what is in their room! i've been here six months today, let's talk about what i have accumulated.

i. flowers: every flower has a story behind it. i got them as a gift when i left the spring roller skating event last night. it was so much fun! kids and their parents and the generally unbalanced falling down everywhere. one dude almost fell and then caught himself on his hands and did five push-ups. one dad tumbled over his kid and did a somersault. i also had the pleasure of going skating with my roommate B who had never done it before. so fun to help her get out there and watch her take off!

ii. empty wine bottle flower vase: the tulips were a special gift that only i got, i think because i offered to buy one of the pots of flowers before i realized there were crates of them at the exit as gifts. guess they thought i was nice. and as for the vase, i'm broke and in france. what do you want?

iii. an anais poster. EEEEPPP!! my favorite french singer, been listening to her for the past four years and i can't believe i actually get to see her in concert. and on WEDNESDAY!!!

iv. my new jersey sticker on the wall. miss it.

v. the buneke's valentine from last year! one of the best i ever got. they always pull out all the stops those ladies.

vi. my immense university binder full of work that i should be doing right now. five exams this week and a presentation to prepare. eeffffff.

vii. if the flowers weren't enough to show you, and you look really really closely, you can see my heavy blanket rolled up on the chair, meaning not on my bed, meaning SPRING IS HERE!!!

Student win, an anniversary, and an addiction

Student Win
This week I had my students work on the Proust Questionnaire - a 35 question exercise to get them talking in class. I told them to give me super-long Proust-like answers. This is speaking class! One word responses will not do!!

Me (to student): Who is your hero?
Student: Tyler Durden.
Me: (annoyed face because clearly this is not a long Proust-y answer)
Student: I would like to give you more information about this, but the first rule about fight club is I can't talk about fight club.

Instant chouchou status.

An Anniversary
Yesterday T and I celebrated one year together with a date in front of the Skypes wherein we ate dinner together by candlelight and then talked about grammar for an hour, especially the differences between "who," "that," and "which," and whether or not animals can be "who" too. He is so perfect for me.

An Addiction
I should never have asked the post if it is true that I can send books home for a reduced price. It is true. 5 kilos for 13 euros. I now have 10 kilos of books and will probably be visiting the Memoranda religiously. Already three times in less than a week! This is the mother of all used book stores. I am telling you, it's like DR's apartment. Stacks of books so big and vast you could make furniture out of them. Grammar books, dictionaries, classics, poetry, I even saw Stephen King's "ça" in a pile on the floor!

saturday i'm in love

best week(end) ever is back, and it's only saturday. on the quick, a recap.

-yesterday, since my douchenozzle grammar professor established early in the semester that she's not going to teach us said subject, the nerd grammarian in me took herself to the used bookstore (caen is known for having lots of them) and bought exercise booklets in grammar, conjugation, and spelling!!

(i promise, the rest of the weekend is more exciting for those of you who don't find the self-teaching of grammar titilating)

-this morning i fell down my own stairs and didn't break my ankle. win.

-today included lots and lots of walking around caen, no earbuds, appreciating the beauty of doing errands in such a nice city.
*the most exciting of those errands was buying my ticket to munich!!! june 1st will be very very sad, as it is the day i am leaving caen, but at least i can look forward to an awesome last week in europe.

-this evening sylvia showed me how to make some bavarian recipes including knoedel (bread dumplings), mushroom sauce, and a very yummy salad.

-i finally saw the artist. go see it. so, so, so good.

-and finally, i am now ending my day by chatting T about all the movies we are going to watch when i am home. i'm so high on this beautiful little thing called life.

hello, march!

march came a little late this year, cause yesterday we had a little gift from the gods called leap year. among other ambitions, i want to start a lobby to make leap year a national holiday. actually, that probably already exists. when the fates give you an extra day once every four years, the last thing we should be doing is working!

speaking of ambitions, let's do a five-month check in on my goal progress!

1. Get healthy physically, mentally, spiritually: Getting there! I did a cleanse a while back that really balanced me out. I'm working yoga back into my schedule and now that it's nice out I can start running again! I've also been ab-ripping like a champ.

2. Run 5k nonstop by March (the 3k track is literally right outside my door): Officially failed. Because there's no way I'm going to be able to do this in 31 days. I'm going to revise this to the end of May.

3. Find yoga and do it at least weekly - I was on the wagon for a bit, but I fell off again =( But all is not lost! See number one.

4. Eat seasonally: Success! So much easier here.

5. See Germany: Going to Volksfest in May!

6. See south of France: Not sure this is going to happen. I think Giverny may be as far south as I can get. I had to budget and prioritize. The south has always been my dream to see, but I just couldn't make it work.

7. Perfect my french: On my way! Classes have been helping incredibly.

8. Cut down dairy/sugar consumption: Yes and yes. Dairy has been easiest to reduce, and sugar has been slow and steady.

9. Write poems weekly: Still unsuccessful. Lots of inspiration, but now I need to set aside time to actually write!

10. Try other forms of writing/arts: Got crafty on V-Day and am getting back into the book-making scene.

11. Create lessons that I can use later as a teacher: Coming along handsomely!

12. Save money: See south of france. I've made a budget and am sticking to it.

13. Make awesome friends (already cracking away at this one!): Done and done.

14. Talk to family as often as possible: No trouble there.

15. Translate some French poems: Been really focused on reading them, will translate when I'm inspired.

16. Complete National Poetry Month in April (write a poem a day): I don't know how this is going to be possible, but I'ma give it my best go!

17. Volunteer: Unfortunately, this one is gonna have to be let go. Well, unless you count the free English lessons I give to some of my friends!

18. Complete advanced degree of french studies: Immersed in classes right now, and when I finish I will have not one but two degrees!

19. Handmake Christmas presents: Executed and well-received!

So, getting there, though I've had some steep hills along the way. Is that even an expression?

who has time to think of titles?

So remember when I said i was going to disappear when classes started? I thought I was exaggerating. Turns out I really am too busy to breathe. Focused and spiritually breathe anyway. What I'm saying is meditation has been put on hold. Yoga has been put on hold Volunteering has been eliminated. I've resigned from the choir (sad face). Skyping many of my friends has been reserved for weekends. And blogging time has virtually packed its bags too!

Between 12 hours of assisting, 19.5 hours of studies, and 1 hour of tutoring per week, in addition to the time it takes me to get from chez moi to the university, to my high school, or to my client's house, I'm pretty much up and running from dawn till way after dusk. And I feel awesome! Energized, vivante, and best of all, not bored! Sure, sometimes it's really frustrating that I have to eat en route to school from Uni because I don't have ten minutes to sit down between classes, but hey! I'm busy as a bee and things in motion stay in motion.

I've been wanting to blog about so much. I can't really get into details, but here's a list of key phrases:
-Life in France
-Weekend trip to Lille and Belgium (keywords: chocolate, beer, fries, waffles, canal, oldest bar in Brugge)
-My first quiche (broccoli and spinach success)
-Meeting T's family(sorta) in Beaville-Beuville
-A badass barbeque in Bayeux
-My marathon When a Stranger Calls weekend (before classes, back when I had time)
-All sorts of hilarious moments that happen in the streets of Caen or in front of my students
-The poetry I have been reading (the good, the bad, and the incomprehensible)
-Various political and pop cultural musings

And most of all, I want to tell you about my university classes, how happy I am to be a student again, how I can feel, after what? four weeks now? that my French is already leaps and bounds better than it ever has been.

But all that for another time. For now, I've got homework to do!

some things i love, and how i celebrated/honored them on V-Day

1. My friends and family at home, so I sent 15 trans-atlantic Valentines to some of my cherished, and if I'd had moneybags there would have been many more.

2. My friends and family here, so I had a V-Day American-themed party on Friday, complete with all kinds of DIY Valentine's craft nonsense.

3. True Romance, so I fell asleep watching it last night.

4. Baking, so I made my famous yuppie brownie and put candy hearts on top.

5. My body, which I happened to upset with a street-crepe yesterday afternoon, so I cancelled my red-themed meal plan for the night and made seaweed soup instead. And then I woke up early for a run today. Feeling much, much better now.

6. The beauty of this city, so I walked to school instead of taking the bus. Past hotel de ville, two beautiful churches, and over William's castle.

7. Being a student, so I took very, very good notes yesterday!

8. T, so I spent all night yesterday Skyping him while we cooked and while we watched a cheesy 1980s Weird Al movie on YouTube. Even so far apart, we can spend my favorite holiday together. Life is good. <3

it's the most wonderful time of the year

Less than a month to Valentine's Day!!

You heard me right.

This feminist, liberal, anti-corporate girl loves the hell out of Valentine's Day. And this should not come as a shock to anyone who knows me. I love love. And if V-Day gives lots of people the inspiration to celebrate that, I'm in. Point final.

Bref.

Today was a pretty awesome day:
-Finished packaging V-Day cards for my friends.
-Joked around and chit-chatted a bit with the owners of one of my favorite restaurants here. Time to ask for a job?
-Filled out 3 customs forms.
-Drank too much cafe. Today's special guest was W from Lisieux, who was, as always, a ball of sunshine.
-Planned a V-Day party. Bringing my red velvet brownies to France. If you know the secret ingredient, keep it to yourself. I got some people I need to surprise.
-Looked at some poems and started working on a new poetic series. Gotta warm up those poetry muscles. NaPoMo is coming.
-Reminisced with an old friend about playing steamroller in the grass in Lisieux.
-Got back into making homemade pizza crust. Topped it with tzatziki, tomatoes, fromge de brebis, and white onions. No photographic evidence remains.

Currently listening to this gem of a cover by Sara Bareilles

finally caught that holiday bug!

The last few days have been Christmas on lock.
-Home Alone plays on YouTube while I make crafty presents in my kitchen.
-My voice laces the beads of water under the shower. I'm singing The Drifters' version of "White Christmas."
-I buy all of my families' presents on Amazon this year so they will arrive on time. Bank card information is entered while I listen to my GrooveShark holidayzzzz mix.
-Buying more Xmas presents today - Normandy specialties for my English family!
-SCORE: Danny Elfman's "Ice Dance" from Edward Scissorhands just started playing. Spooky Christmas rock.
-Saving the Christmas soap that Erin gave me for England. Why just be excited for Christmas when you can smell like Christmas?
-Oh damn - "This Christmas" by the Temptations just came on. Mmm. Hang low the mistletoe - I'm gonna get to know you better, baby.
-There is an ice skating rink in Centre Ville. How many times do you think I will fall?


Merry Christmas! Now, let me hear you make some holy ghost crazy noise right now.

Birthday in Paris!

Did you ever meet someone and after just a few hours you had this feeling that you could have a super strong friendship with her? That's how I felt after I met Sara. We took the same flight here to France, and we ended up sitting not far from each other on the flight. We had lots of time to chat when our layover was delayed in Iceland, and some more time as we figured out the train situation in Paris.

Sara is an assistant in Lille, so I hadn't seen her since the flight. But she invited me to spend her birthday with her in Paris! Of course I was looking forward to it all month. And it really was a lovely weekend.

I arrived on Saturday before Sara, so I headed over to Sainte-Chapelle, a Parisian church that is known for its gorgeous stained glass windows which depict scenes from the bible and the apocalypse. After that I met up with Sara and was pleased to find out that two other people who were on the flight were coming to dinner - Ellen and Madeleine. I also hadn't seen them since the flight!

We walked along the Christmas markets on the Champs-Elysées, and we bought churros, vin chaud (hot wine), and chocolate covered marshmallows. We could see the lights of the Eiffel Tower in the distance and the Ferris Wheel up close.

After that, we took a long stroll in the mild November chill to a restaurant district by Notre Dame, where we found a pizzeria. After dinner, gelato. After gelato, a smooth liquor called Cointreau in Sara's hotel room. Funny how cointreau gets you talking. Funny how talking bonds. It amazes me how four women like us, from completely different places and situations in life, can have so much in common and feel so close. (Side note: if you wanna see some seriously baby-sitters club photos of me and my girls, just go to my FB page)

Sunday we had a stroll in the Tuileries garden as we ate crepes and gaufres and chit-chatted some more. After a lunch at a bistrot, it was time for me to get on the train back to Caen. I wish I lived closer to these ladies, because I would love to get to see them more.

S & E in front of the Louvre

It was a great weekend for me, and I hope Sara had a wonderful birthday!!

Who's Thankful? This dame.

For the most part, the French don't do Thanksgiving. But I have been blessed enough to find a wonderful Franco-American family who has taken me in, so to speak. And this year they invited me to Thanksgiving with their folks. So instead of sitting in my room missing my family back home and listening to sad mopey songs on Grooveshark, I spent the evening with a super welcoming family eating all the delicious staples of an American Thanksgiving.

First course: Veloute of pumpkin and potatoes with creme fraiche and parsley. A veloute, as W reminded me when I posted my pics on Facebook, is a hearty soup that has been blended into creamy deliciousness.

Then there was the turkey! Turkeys are typically hard to find in France at this time of year, but this family has been doing Thanksgiving for 6 years. They found this bird at a local farm. He's grain-fed and free-range. Which basically means he had a happy life. More than you can say for your average butterball!

Our sides were gravy, stuffing, and these two mashes. Plus homemade cornbread and cranberry sauce. Best I ever had.

Cheese course! I'm definitely introducing this part of the meal to my family next year. We had chevre (W's favorite - the cylinder cheese) and two local cheeses: Pont L'Eveque (the square) and Camembert (the round wheel).

And then it was time for dessert. E really outdid herself. Not one, not two, but three pies! From top to bottom, pumpkin, apple, and pecan.

The night was over much too soon, but I was left with the feeling of family, of holiday, of tradition. I truly am a lucky girl. I hope all of you back home had a great Thanksgiving too!

It was a graveyard smash

Last night, rendez vous USA, or, as Whitney called it, Operation confuse the hell out of the french by carving into pumpkins. This is one American tradition that did not carry over to France. So we brought it!

Mine's the baby, and Preston's not looking too good. Too many tiny wines and chocobons maybe...

And the award goes to nightscape in Paris by the talented Kaitlin!

I was afraid of missing out on Halloween this year, seeing as how it's my 2nd most favorite holiday of the year. But with friends this awesome, I think it's gonna be one of the best Halloweens yet!

Two Words

Lavender. Chocolate.

15/16ths to go

Talking to T last night, I said I've been here almost a full two weeks, and he said that means I'm 1/16th done.

When you put it that way, it doesn't seem long at all! 8 months sounds forever to me, but 16 biweeks sounds like it's going to fly by!

I'm already anxious to be back home and see everyone I love/miss, but I am also really excited about all the new friends I am making here. I live with about ten other assistants from all over the world - Russian, Chinese, English, Spanish, and Arabic - which means we speak only in French woot! And almost every day I meet some new assistants at school or from the Caen Facebook group. Living in Caen there is always something to do. I already feel busy and I haven't even started classes yet!

September October November December January February March April May

I know sometimes it's going to feel like forever, but maybe I don't have such a long road ahead.

Voila le week-end!

It's late Thursday morning here, and I'm wearing a big smile because this afternoon I go to sign my lease. I can't believe how lucky I am. A super cheap apartment in a nice neighborhood. Very calm, just families and senior citizens, mostly. I met my roommates and landlord yesterday when I went to help them move in furniture. All of the bedrooms have brand new armoires, desks, and beds. Then the living room and kitchen have a hilarious blend of old and new furniture. Retro, c'est cool.

And on top of all that being free, we have our pick of anything we want from another apartment that has been abandoned. Well, not really abandoned. See, it's kind of a come and go apartment, people come and leave stuff, knowing a new group of people will be moving in after. So over the years tons of stuff has accumulated - from mattresses and sheets to suitcases, clothing, games, and kitchenwares! I already eyed up a super nice food processor. Get ready roomies, hummus is on the way.

Tonight the weekend begins. I've heard exciting things about Thursday night in centre ville. Lots of people out and about, drinking, and making a ruckus. On vacation, Alex and I saw a drunk fight, and it wasn't even a Thursday! Oh, how I am happy to live in a University town.

Photos to come of apartment and city life. For now, how about a tour of my town's history?

Chateau Ducal de Caen - built by William the Conqueror in 1060. Was used as a barraks in WWII and extremely damaged. (Excuse the bad photo - couldn't get a shot that wasn't blurry and had to put the camera on the ground just to get a clear shot of one tower!)

Abbaye Aux Dames - former abby commanded by William the Conqueror for his honey Matilda. Founded in late 11th century.

There is also l'abbaye aux hommes, which I haven't gotten around to taking a photo of yet.

Eglise St. Pierre - one of the many churches here, this one is closest to where I am staying now. Built somewhere between 13th and 16th centuries. This view is from the drawbridge of the castle at night.

Pardon my bliss. There isn't much better than being in a beautiful historic city with some of the most supportive friends in the world, speaking a language you love everyday. Now, if only I could bring all of my besties and T over here, life would be perfect. But hey, close to perfect is pretty damn good. :)

Bon Jour

Or, Bon Voyage, but the cake they bought me for my last day of work said "Bon Jour" by mistake.

Leaving in 4 days. Feel rushed.

My awesome friends threw me a going away party on Saturday. Highlights:
-The house decorated in yellow, including the balloon stringed to the handle of my car door
-Emily's french prostitute garb and non-pareil cupcakes, because she says there's no match for me
-Competing plum tarts, of which there was no discernible winner
-Coppola wine, Sangria by the bucketful
-Homemade banana bread with fresh bananas
-Cheesy veggie pie and empanadas and kick ass mac and cheese
-The giant scroll on the wall to sign (wall decor for France!)
-Telestrations and apples to apples