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

liste des classes reçu!

I finally got my schedule for classes starting Monday. We students could choose between two disciplines: literature and human sciences or economy and politics. For a break from my normal life, I chose the latter! I would like to remind the council that I have no background in economy and have taken exactly two politics classes in my life. Let's hope I don't flunk out!

Classes I'm taking:
Histoire économique
Presse spécialisée
Etudes européennes
Littérature et société française
Français juridique II
Grammaire
Initiation à la synthèse et à la contraction de texte
Compréhension et expression orales
Géographie économique et sociale
Langue de l'économie et du commerce II

Get all that? So many cognates!

I'm going from 12 hours of work a week to 31. Not including prep time/homework time. I'm just saying, I might not be around for a while, cause I'll be all up in this building.

Wish me luck!

1am gripe

The absolute worst thing about my stay in france this year? The toilet is downstairs in the coldest scariest hallway. not even on my floor.

grrrholdingitinbrrrrr

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

Detox Day 8: The day I realize my cereal has vegetables in it

Officially a healthy-eating grown-up. three principal ingredients in my cereal: anise, ginger, and...wait for it, cilantro. Or coriander for you brits. Whatever way you cut it, that's a veggie. And no sugar added. Oh, how I miss Cookie Crisp sometimes.

I smelled up my hallway in the best way possible this evening, with curried roast parsnip, carrot, leek and potato.

I think I have officially regulated my sleep - clocking in sleepy at 10pm and waking up early enough to go for a run before classes.

I am having the most wicked sugar cravings though. Want. cake.

I think this week I will re-incorporate peanuts and wheat into my diet. The goal of the detox is to eliminate common allergens completely. But let's face it: I am not allergic to these two foods, and even if I am, there's no way I'm giving up either of them.

Holding strong against sugar though. Go ahead sugar, keep luring me with your siren song. I got this.

Detox Day 7: Feeling when I done wrong

Woke up again today before my alarm. It feels nice not to be so tired all the time. The cleanse is going well and I think I have successfully hit all three goals: clean, rest, and balance. And as an extra bonus, in the last few days I've been feeling really in tune with my body. I know how hippie that sounds, but hear me out.

First thing I did wrong: got dehydrated. One of the keys to this detox is drinking tons of water. At least two liters a day, to facilitate digestion and flush the bladder. Friday, being the first day I wasn't at school/in town with my water bottle attached to my hip, I barely drank anything. How I felt it: I had no energy at all yesterday! Was ready to take a rest after the four sets of stairs up to my apartment.

Second thing I did wrong: skimped on whole grains. How I felt it: see exhausted! Friday was the only day I didn't eat very much (bad planning and I was in town without a meal).

Third thing I did wrong: ate at 10pm. How I felt it: Trouble sleeping. Before I started this I was tossing and turning more than usual, and not liking the new pattern. As part of the detox, I don't eat after 7pm, so that my body can focus on resting during the night and not digestion. But last night I was waiting on a friend and didn't get to eat until 10pm, then went to sleep at midnight. Hello weird dreams and waking up at each noise, something that hadn't happened all week.

Fourth thing I did wrong: ate past my hungry limit. My chili was just so damn good I wanted some more. Can you blame me? kidney beans, tomatoes, squash, carrot, onion, pepper, and whole grain brown rice. Yum! I had a second spoon even though I wasn't hungry anymore. How I felt it: maman, j'ai mal au ventre!! (Felt like a kid who ate five bowls of ice cream for dinner)

Yesterday I had my cranky hat on, and said maybe this detox isn't for me because why am I so tired. Today let me be honest with myself: I feel great when I do it right, and I feel loafy when I do something wrong. So I think I'll give it some more time and see what happens when I go all in.

Happy Sunday! Go check out PostSecret!

Detox Day 5

Feeling damn good, even though my brain is trying to convince me I need sugar. No more headaches, but I did have a dream about cake. American cake, frosting and all.

Currently eating quinoa and feeling like OMG WHY DID I NOT KNOW HOW FREAKING DELICIOUS THIS FOOD WAS sooner.

Detox Day 2: Good morning banana oatmeal!

Felt headachey and sleepy last night, though couldn't tell if those were from lack of sugar or cause I'm still recovering from état grippaux this weekend.

This morning I don't feel hungry at all and woke up really energized!

Today is my longest day at school so I will have to bring plenty of detox-OK snacks and remember to drink lots of water.

What I ate on Day 1
Banana
Clementine
Hazelnuts
Rice/Veggies (onion, garlic, broccoli, carrot, red kidney beans)
Apple
Corn cakes with hummus

In case you were wondering, I'm only drinking lemon water and limited tea/coffee this week.

OK, on to day two. Wish me no headaches or other sugar withdrawal symptoms!

my favorite Kate Nash song ever

Right, birds can fly so high or they can shit on your head, yeah they can almost fly into your eye and make you feel well scared, but when you look at them, and you see that they're beautiful - that's how I feel about you.

french cough syrup...good to the last drop

So I'm sick for the 6th time since I've come to France. It's pretty wonderful. You know, I get to be laid up in bed on a beautiful Saturday night in a hopping university town, chugging cough syrup and spraying solution up my nose (note to self: do the spray first - it's disgusting!) while I tear through my 24 pack of lotus tissues.

I have to say, I'm not surprised I'm sick. I gave my immune system a beating over Christmas holidays being lazy and eating too much sugar. My body wants me to know I screwed up. It's interesting for me to think that my habits brought this on. Throughout my life, I was always unhealthy, but rarely sick. Eating shit food and not exercising was normal for me. Now, it's the other way around. I can feel it when I haven't been healthy, and it hurts. I gotta say, as uncomfortable as I am this week, it's pretty awesome to know that the healthy space is now my norm.

Anyway, to apologize to my aching, no-energy having body, I'm starting a detox on Monday. Apparantly this works really well for a friend of mine whenever she's feeling off or out of balance. It's basically a diet of whole grains (except wheat), veggies, fruits, and healthy oils. Vegan and gluten-free. And tons of water.

I went to the French version of Pamela's health food store today and got myself loaded up on brown rice, quinoa, millet, oats and rice cakes. Tomorrow it's the open air market for all my seasonal fruit and veg. If I can get out of bed, that is. I wish these vendors would deliver.

What I did yesterday

Booooks!!!!

SCORED:
-hard-bound complitation of photos of Caen taken thirty years ago
-anthology of poems from the Rochefort school (of which Rene Guy Cadou is a member - some of you may recall a very bad tattoo idea that had to do with a poem of his)
-anthology of popular French poems (which probably means they're not the best out there but good to know what the french are reading)
-anthology of prose poems
-compilation of hope poems. i should clarify here that while this may be a book of the "soup for the soul" variety, the poems are actually good, so i don't feel bad about it.

The good news is that the marche aux livres comes the first week of every month. The question is: how am I possibly going to get these books back with me?!

Among other things, I also had two coffees yesterday. I hate coffee in a big way, but I have been spending way too much money on hot chocolates and teas in these french cafes. So coffee it will be. Goodbye sugar crashes/hello caffeinated twitching and too much energy!!

Resolutions shmesolutions

It's a New Year! Which means everyone is busy at the gym or registering for Mint.com, or doing whatever else they gotta do to get those resolutions moving. I set myself some goals when I came to France three months ago, so I'll be working on those throughout the year. Let's see how I'm doing.

1. Get healthy physically, mentally, spiritually: Working on it. Physically is coming easiest to me, though I did meditate last night, and I'm still thinking of doing a cleanse in the spring.

2. Run 5k nonstop by March (the 3k track is literally right outside my door): This one is on hold because it has been feezing and I haven't been running! I started again today with Whit. God knows how long it will take me to get to 5k!

3. Find yoga and do it at least weekly - Oh man. This is a story for the ages. Found yoga & went to a class and realized it was partner yoga. Awk! I just want it to be mr and my flow. Looks like I'll be doing it in my room.

4. Eat seasonally: Succeeding. I even got a chart with the fruits listed by season to help me.

5. See Germany: Going to Volksfest in May!

6. See south of France: Planning to go in February when my friend E comes to visit!

7. Perfect my french: Working on it. England hurt me a little bit, but I've been getting back into the swing of things. And I found a group of friends who really don't mind correcting me.

8. Cut down dairy/sugar consumption: Again, England hurt me on this one. But, I've cut wayy back and I can definitely feel the difference.

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: Freewrote some stuff and been journaling. Got crafty with my Christmas presents. Must find another métier...

11. Create lessons that I can use later as a teacher: Coming along handsomely! Best lesson ever = how to express yourself when a fight about politics breaks out at Christmas dinner.

12. Save money: Harder than you would think. Marking this unsuccessful for now, and hoping I can get it together soon.

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: Translated some passages from a really poetic book. Gonna start a class about Jacques Prévert after the break.

16. Complete National Poetry Month in April (write a poem a day): Still far away.

17. Volunteer: No movement. Gotta get on that.

18. Complete advanced degree of french studies: Classes start at the end of the month!

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

I'd give myself a solid C so far. I've still got a long way to go. Also, this year I would like to get my Christmas cards out on time and be more independent. Wish me luck!

Since Tuesday

-hopped on the ferry to Portsmouth with a bookbag for me and a bag of presents for the family hosting me. the bottle of wine takes priority over another set of clothes for me, right?

-got headache, faceplanted into plushy seat, and napped for really not long enough.

-was welcomed to England by a gruff security guard who wanted to know who I was, why I was here, how long I was staying, why on earth I was living in France, why I left the USA, and how much money I had in my bank accounts.

-was really welcomed to England with big kisses by Lizzi and the fam! I can't believe I'm really back here sometimes! She's exactly the same =)

-Spent Wednesday morning doing a big British grocery shop in Waitrose, which is apparantly the place to shop.

-Spent Wednesday evening decorating the tree and getting into a British soap called Gavin & Stacey. The title characters are boring, but it's worth a check-out for the alternative friends and their families.

-Funny thing: English trees look just like American trees:

-Closed the night with a drive out to some lit-up Christmas houses. This is not such a big to-do in England as it is in the USA, but there are some areas that do it. Felt closer to home. Now if only I could see a giant inflatable Santa.

-Thursday was Portsmouth. A great little harbor town full of shops, and a really cool structure called the Spinnaker tower. It's high and from the top you can stand on a glass plane and look down all 170 metres to your bloody death if the pane didn't hold. Good stuff. It even blows in the wind.

-Shopping in Portsmouth: New Years cards (which is code for late Christmas cards), dress for Christmas day, and super cheap lady garment in my size! Take that, France.

-Lunch in Portsmouth was yummy pizza. But let's talk about dessert:

-Southampton was Friday. Did shopping, found my New Year's dress (the theme is class). Crap weather though, so we didn't bother to go find the Tudor houses. They were probably closed anyway.

-Fish & chips minus the fish.

-Tea, tea, tea

Will catch up later. For now, I'm off to see Winchester and the round table. Little bit of history for my Christmas Eve!

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.

charlie chaplin helps me out of a funk

So it's Christmas time and I've let myself get a little depressed. Homesick to the 100th power. Haven't got a tree yet, haven't listened to any music yet, STILL haven't started my craft presents. But you know, life is still good. I spent the weekend in Brittany with dear friends of mine and the new addition to their family. I'm going to a holiday dinner party on Thursday and a birthday party on Saturday. And in a week, I will be in England with an amazing friend, laughing and enjoying the holiday spirit.

This video made me feel a lot more hopeful today:

Also, thinking of starting a blog in French.

The glowing review you have been waiting for

So I had to go to the doctor and get a prescription.

My appointment was at 19h15. Me being me, I got lost on the way. For about an hour, I walked around Calvaire Saint Pierre, which happens to be the same neighborhood I work in, and still I couldn't find it. Man, am I nulle at orientation.

In the space between getting lost and finally getting there, I called the doctor's office three times for directions. The receptionist was never frustrated with me or even hurried. He continually told me to take my time. And the third time I called, he non-sarcastically asked if I would like him to come and get me in his car.

Finally I arrived and quickly realized I had not been talking to a receptionist, but the doctor himself! Because doctors answer their own phones in France! What? We sat down, he asked me what's up, and I told him what prescription I needed.

Silly me, I didn't bring the box with me. BUT, not to worry, there's an app for that! Doc whips out his iPhone, types in the American name, finds the French equivalent, and BAM! I have a prescription in my hands.

As Doc is signing the prescription, he frowns and apologizes to me. He says, I'm sorry mademoiselle, but this prescription isn't covered by insurance here. You will have to pay.

In the USA, with insurance, my prescription is $60 a month. In France, without insurance, it is $5 a month. Again I say, what?!

All in all I was only there 10 minutes, and the last three weren't even necessary - we were just talking about insurance in the USA. OK France, major points for you.

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!

Les Comediens

Joined a choir!

That's where I've been these Wednesday evenings, singing my heart out with the other assistants who invited me and their professors. We will even have a performance in May! Oh, how it reminds me of being with Bev at Stockton. How happy I always was to leave the writing center to go sing for an hour. And how happy I am on Wednesdays to go sing in French, in English, in Spanish, in Italian! Our choir is a little European Union and my apartment is a little planet. I'm a lucky girl. Plus, I get to sing fun songs like this: