Get thee to a grocery

This morning I read about the You Are What You Eat project by Mark Menjivar from The Bobby Pin blog. I personally find it super interesting!

....Except for the lady with the snake in her fridge. That's just f-ing creepy!!!

Short Order Cook | Marathon,TX | 2-Person Household | She can bench press over 300lbs. | 2007

Well, anyways I suggest you take a look over there and maybe play along with me :) So without further ado, here is my fridge/freezer:


Sports Writers/Media Relations | Stockton, CA | 2-Person Household | Seriously in need of a trip to the grocery store, even though 60% of our meals are eaten out | 2010

So that's my fridge! Hope you aren't judging us, our eating habits, and lack of free time to go shopping.... hehe. I'd be interested to see some of yours!

On a side note, I made a really yummy dessert with some leftover ingredients the other day. Wanna see what I threw together??

Apologies for the picture, I was just about to eat it in the napkin on my way back from lunch when I realized I should take a pic with my phone :)

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. quick-cooking oats
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/3 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 (6 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet morsels
1/4 c. powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. peanut butter
2 to 3 tbsp. milk

***Note before baking, I would add a LOT more PB next time to hold it all together. It was very, very crumbly at first, which is why they say to cool for several hours. I actually found that by day two or three in the fridge was when they were more compact and at their best!

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Combine flour, oats, soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat butter for 20 seconds, add sugars (NOT the powdered, that's for later) and beat until fluffy. Add egg, the 1/3 cup peanut butter, the 1/4 cup milk, and vanilla, beat well. Add dry ingredients to beaten mixture, beating until smooth. Spread mixture in pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Immediately sprinkle chocolate pieces over top. Let stand until softened, then spread evenly. Cool. Combine powdered sugar and the 2 tablespoons peanut butter. Gradually add enough milk to make of drizzling consistency. Drizzle over top. Cool several hours before cutting.

***Instead of making a fancy drizzled topping (because I read "add sugars" as all the sugar, not realizing the powdered would be for the end), I just spread the chocolate chips on the top and melted them until they hardened. I think drizzling peanut butter over the top would not only be pretty, but would also incorporate more of the PB taste (which wasn't as strong as I'd have liked!). I also decided to go healthy and used skim milk and whole wheat flour, which was nice. Definitely a starting point, but I for sure think I could improve this dish in one more try :)

Goona keep this brief

But I'm so stoked we'll soon have a national health care bill! As someone who's been denied twice by insurance companies (and it's not like I'm a huge health liability, just have a few nagging problems), it's nice to know there'll always be a safety net. Or maybe in a few years a cheaper solution. I imagine it's going to be a giant administrative mess at first (kinda like how France's system is.... X amount of years in the making), but it is nice that we finally got around to it!

....And I'm a republican! I feel like national health care is a life necessity, geez. I mean if Canada already got on board with that, how hard could it actually be?! (Sorry for the shot at Canada, eh).

I think I could be, but I hope I'm not, turning into a hippie

Over the past few weeks, something has sort of gotten into me. Actually, months if not year. But I've been into buying products that go on my body which are made from organic, natural materials. Think about how weird it is to be clogging your pores with synthetically-made products that scientists still aren't 100 percent sure how they'll affect our bodies...

I hope that doesn't make me a hippie.

But lately, I've been using this shampoo and conditioning line from Target that's 100 percent natural products. It smells funny and I'm pretty sure that smell "au naturel" isn't sticking to any part of me.

But to the point of my story: my mom and dad brought back some French shampoos and conditioners when they came back from France not too long ago. I know the French pride themselves on their superior sense of style and pure ingredients and whatnot. I lived there twice, I understand and kind of think they have reason to feel that way.

However, after coming home for the weekend and using the equivalent of L'Oreal's Vive PRO, Elsève, my hair feels really slick (but not in a good way), heavy and greasy. I always felt like my hair was shiny, fuller and thicker after using that product. I guess you don't realize what something actually does to your hair/body until you've stripped down to the bare minimum and see what a difference artificially-synthesized products will do to you.

...in case you're worried, I'm still shaving my armpits by the way!!!

Dollars and centimes

I'm actually a little surprised at how quickly this worked.

But now that my dad is back in the States, I no longer have any need for my French bank account. Since I still have the checkbook (but somehow lost my CA ATM card), I wrote myself a check for almost the entire remaining balance. I left a little bit in there to pay the monthly assurance for my ATM card, which is lost anyways.

When I first tried to deposit the check at Bank of America, it was after work just before closing. I was told that the latest they'll do international check deposits is before 3 p.m., which sucks because I never get off work that early. But I can come in late....

So this morning I went to my bank and deposited the check. I didn't have to walk past any glass doors, didn't have to go through a security check. I didn't need to provide any proof of who I am, where I live, anything.

Yet, somehow the Euro always screws me. When I was in France, the Dollar had reached an all-time low against the Euro, so I was getting horrible USD-EUR exchange rates. Now that our economy is affecting everyone else, the Euro is dropping meaning the Dollar is getting a little stronger in the world economy. So while I could have milked it for all it was worth back in May when I was back from France, I only made 1.2 percent off my deposit today.

Now I'll need to email Credit Agricole and explain how I no longer live in France and would like to stop the monthly charges on my ATM card insurance. Thanks to logical French banking, it actually would cost me money to close out an account, but if I stop my insurance charges, I don't have to pay anything to keep it open....

Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up

It was an interesting trip this weekend to say the least.

I'm not talking about from a work standpoint or anything to that nature, but more so as a trip down memory lane if you will.

Other than for Aimée's graduation in June, this was the first time I went back on campus in Santa Barbara. Then, we only hung out on the University Center grass by the lagoon. This time, I went into buildings to meet up with friends and hung around Isla Vista where all the college students live.


Classes just started two weeks ago so there was a frenzy of activity throughout the campus, with new freshmen racing their bikes throughout the bike trail to get back to their dorms and eat in the dining halls. Our volleyball match was held inside the Thunderdome and that was the first time I'd been in there since my graduation two and a half years ago!

So weird.

Especially eating lunch in IV, while my friends got pitchers and tried to recreate what once was. We all kept saying how weird it was to be there, even though all of them still live in Santa Barbara.

Now I can finally understand all the parents -- and former alumni -- who would accompany their children on the campus tours I used to give. Unless you're still a student, Santa Barbara just doesn't have the same magic it used to in my nostalgic memories.

Does that make me old?!

C'est le moment de vous prendre le mur

"Now's the time for you to face the wall."

Those were probably my eight favorite words when I was living in France. I'm talking about the bizarely amazing show, Le Mur Infernal. Almost as good as French Wheel of Fortune.

Anyways, a bunch of my coworkers were talking over this new Fox show earlier at work, and I thought their conversation sounded vaguely familiar. Then I realized, LE MUR INFERNAL has come to America! And my mom reminded me about it tonight. So I got to watch it for myself.

Except it's called Hole in the Wall here. And "It's time for you to face the hole," just sounds a bit more raunchy than the French version. Yikes.

Either way, they've kept most of the game intact, minus the hideously amazing French host. So watch the show for yourself. And for those of you who haven't yet been blessed by the French host, here's a little visual treat for you all. C'est parti:

Yay, Health!

Alright, now that I'm no longer on the French government's dime (and technically no longer considered a dependent of my parents), I'm back on my own health coverage.

That means that yesterday I finally had my appointment at Kaiser in Walnut Creek. I've always had a PPO, so this was the first time I got to view the inner-workings of a very, very large HMO hospital. And let me tell you, the fact that I was able to figure out some of this crap in French astounds me.

Though many people are skeptical of Kaiser for its long-term negligence with terminal and elderly patients, I'm really pleased with my minor dealings with them thus far. Heck, on my plan vaccinations are free, visits are about $20, and I think x-rays are free too.

Furthermore, after being accepted to Kaiser, I was able to scroll through eight pages of doctors to find someone of my gender, who shares similar interests, is closer to my age range than my parents' and a doctor who is familiar with issues I have in my family (i.e., cardiac concerns). I picked my doctor and then met with her yesterday.

Not only did she give me a (VERY CHEAP) refill on my current prescription, but she also administered blood tests to check up on my heart vitals and sent me out to a nutritionist so we could help curb my triglycerides and cholesterol -- which have been historically high in my family.

After wandering the maze that is this hospital, I found the laboratory in the basement where I proceeded to draw a number and wait in line until it was called. Upon being called, all I had to do was show photo ID, my member card and voilà, instant blood-drawing. Much, much easier than anything I had to do in France and I didn't even need to bring a book with me, because the lines weren't very long at all!

When it was all said and done, I paid around $60 for a new prescription, doctor's visit, and eight lab blood tests.

But the best part is when I checked my personal Kaiser web profile last night, my blood test results came back only about six hours after the test! AND EVEN THOUGH I GAINED A BILLION POUNDS WHILE LIVING IN FRANCE, MY CHOLESTEROL IS ON THE LOWER END OF THE SPECTRUM!!!

Wow, I'm not excited about that or anything.

So for now -- I'm shocked to say this -- it's American (dental/health) bureaucracy 1, French (dental/health) bureaucracy -3. I figured it wouldn't be too long before we got something right in comparison to European societies.

Now if only Kaiser dealt with major issues this thoroughly...

Would you like some help out today?

Another glaring difference between the U.S. and France occurred to me today, after taking a detour at Safeway during my afternoon hour bike ride out to San Ramon.

Other than the woman who "forgot" that she was in the express lane with a million items in her cart, peoples' behavior in the U.S. is completely different than anything I ever experienced in France.

1.) When biking, walking, or driving (peu importe) people in France always seemed to huddle up together on sidewalks and roads. When you happen to be coming at them from the other direction or even wanting to pass, the French would not budge. In short, I find that they are very rude pedestrians/cyclists/motorists.

On the Iron Horse Trail this afternoon, I encountered many groups of people and my blood pressure did not immediately increase 55 points upon seeing them, like it usually did in France. Instead, the mothers would tell their children to move over to the side, passing cars would STOP AND LET ME CROSS even though I was the one with the stop sign, and runners with their dogs would pull their dogs off to the side of the trail.... and then *gasp* pick up whatever their dogs left behind. That never happened in France.

2.) At the French grocery stores, people do their own thing and run up to the fastest-looking line, taking no precautions to care about anyone around their general vicinity.

While I was in line at Safeway this afternoon, two older women's carts sort of bumped on their way out. It wasn't really a problem and neither of them were in any ways harmed. But instead, they both genuinely made eye contact and started apologizing at the same time.

And 3.)....

French people just don't do small talk. They don't offer any unnecessary services either. Since we're in the grocery store context, you have to bag your own groceries. I guess this is all part of the "independent me" I learned to become in France and I can say that since living in a different country, I'm so much more self-sufficient and less reliant on others.

But again, at Safeway, I forgot that checkers/baggers always ask, "Would you like some help out today?"

And for the first time -- since hearing that question 1,381,649,503 times throughout my entire life -- I was blown away.

For a second.

"Par contre aux Etats-Unis..."

(Though it is much larger than mine, here's a good example of a typical French elementary school.)

I find myself saying this a lot: "But back in the United States..."

Basically, it's setting me up for a comparison between France and the United States. I swear that's all my roommate and I talk about, is what it's like here compared to the good ol' U.S. of A.

Whatever. If you're born a certain way, you're always going to be seeing through that tint of glasses, right?

And I'm super surprised I haven't brought this one up yet, but that's probably because I see it every day at school. But every morning, rain, hail, thick fog, or shine -- though we haven't been seeing much of that lately, it seems I did, in fact, jinx the nice weather this weekend -- all the students are left to run a muck outside in la cour (the playground, though it's nothing but a concrete square blocked off from the outside world by the fence and gate that circle the entire school).

When the morning, recess, and afternoon bells ring, the students have two minutes to line up according to class, two-by-two. Once this is done, the teachers -- usually laughing amongst themselves in the center of the cour -- break off and go to their respective lines. From there, they take turns going up the stairs to their classes. It's all very systematic, like a ballet really.

One teacher enters, the others encourage their lines of children to follow and instinctively take sequential pauses. You have to wait 30 seconds at the door to enter the interior. Thirty seconds at the bottom of the stairs to climb them. Once you reach the summit -- you guessed it -- a 30 second pause atop the stairs. Then the double doors leading to the classrooms requires another 30 second stop, while you wait at your teacher's door for him/her to say the magic words, "Entrez les enfants." Only then is it safe to enter the classroom. If I didn't know better, I would have guessed this country has an impeccable military power, based on the obedience and compliance alone that is visible in the elementary school system.

All that explaining and picture-painting was necessary to say this one thing: WHY DO THE TEACHERS LEAVE THEIR KIDS OUT IN THE RAIN SO LONG?!?!

This morning, it rained again. And during all the 30-second pausing, a bunch of class lines inevitably are going to have to wait outside. I understand that it'd be pandemonium if everyone was to run inside all at once, but why can't the classes begin like ours did back in California: Students entered the classroom at their leisure, as long as everyone was seated and ready to go by the time the first bell rang, when teachers would call roll. And if it was raining, we'd certainly have indoor recess; we weren't left to fend for ourselves against all the elements. Especially since the majority of parents obviously don't equip their children with raincoats or umbrellas! Fashion wins over practicality nine times out of 10 in this nation, so every student is perfectly dressed in their long peacoats, jeans tucked into their boots and perfectly coiffed hair.

Oh yeah, did I mention they're only NINE YEARS OLD?!

And let's not forget the scatter-brained teacher. Everybody had one at some point in their life. I remember a good handful from just elementary and middle school alone -- don't get me started on college.

But said teacher was nearly five minutes late after the first bell rang this morning! So guess what that means: her perfectly-lined up students stayed in their line, necks craning towards the front door, waiting patiently for their maitress to show. If only they were this orderly and quiet in class... However, that doesn't excuse the fact that they were just left standing in the rain and not one single teacher/administrator pretended to even half care! Am I missing something here?

Well, just like all things here, I've decided just not to care really. I know that sounds selfish and totally wrong, but I find that my lessons are better when I've hardened to my environment. Instead of worrying about minor details and being everyone's friend, I'm just here to do one thing and one thing only: teach. For example today my classes erupted in noise and general outburst all afternoon long when I decided to put my foot down. I let them finish and then ripped through my exercises and lesson with some success, I think. Well, at least half the class understood what was going on and did really well, so we'll see how Day 2 of my "emotions" lesson goes on Tuesday.

There you have it, I only have 53 days of teaching left to look forward to in France.

And yes, I actually did count out how many teaching days I have left in this country. The other 50 will be extremely blissful, since they are not filled with school. Oh yeah, and two weeks of that time won't even be spent in this country at all since I'll be spring breaking throughout Europe :)

What I did today....

I went skiing in a pretty big resort in Clusaz with my dad and his co-workers today! It's about 45 minutes from his apartment in Annecy. (And this video is where I, unsuccessfully, tried to spray my dad with powder. Except that I was too concerned with falling on my face and having one ski end up over my head, since this was the first red run of the day.)

It's been about six years since the last time I went skiing falling with Laura in Tahoe. This time definitely didn't turn out like that, probably because I backed off the red and black trails until my very last run of the day.

Lunch was amazing. I had white wine, salad, salmon and a baked potato on a redwood plank instead of a plate. I guess it's a little better than the cafeteria hotdogs, chowder and hamburgers/fries they serve in American lodges. I'm really sad we didn't get any pictures to do this justice, but in France skiing is really unlike what we're used to in the U.S. For example, I noticed on the first time up the lift that there were about six or seven restaurants along the way. And that was only a small, green slope! Imagine how many more must have been up higher. Not to mention the fact that every single one was packed! There were probably more people sitting down eating than there were on the hill.

Not only that, but people take their habitual two-hour lunch, and if you're too into the good life to get back to carving through a snow-covered mountain, why they have "chaises longues" for you to lounge out on the balconies and soak up some sun.

And can we say "Lawsuit waiting to happen"? The second-most common way to get up the mountain is by the "tire-fesses," which is probably my favorite French word, ever. It literally means "butt pull." The device is basically a long rod with a circular seat at the end that you put between your legs. In the up-right standing position, you literally are pulled from the butt-region up the hill.

Ridiculous!

As soon as I can stop being so nervous about falling, I would definitely like to do this again here.

Oh yeah, I also completed my first Sudoku puzzle entirely in pen. Big first in my life since I've been doing them in pencil for the past three years.

Thoughts on pond-hopping

In case you were wondering, I have indeed made it back safely to Europe. Let's just say that air travel to France in 2008 turned out MUCH better than it did when I first made the long trek out here back in September of last year.

On the way to California I took Delta, while the carrier back to my dad in Annecy was Air France. The first thing you notice when flying AF is that every single flight attendant is a native French speaker, usually, with pretty terrible English. I found myself listening mostly to the French announcements and translating for my neighbors in the window section.

When I was on Delta, we were served lunch 30 minutes after boarding. I overheard on the PA system the two lunch choices, along with the announcement that red/white wine would be served with the meal, compliments of the sky team. Figures when I ordered my very own glass of rouge, the large, American flight attendant carded me. Lady, we're only 30 minutes off the ground from France, STILL IN INTERNATIONAL AIR.

Well, my point here is that flying with a French team dramatically changed that experience. First of all, the flight attendant began speaking to me in French, assuming I was French, while all my neighbors ordered their meals and were asked questions in English. I'd like to think that because I was giving simple, quick answers -- I'm quite efficient when it comes to food and beverage choices -- I think she actually mistook me for a Francophone. Perhaps I should thank the nature of the short replies for not allowing my American accent to betray me. Either way, another group responded to her in heavily accented, slow) French, but she refused to answer in that language, dropping down to their English level.

When we landed in Charles de Gaulle, I wanted to show off my newly-acquired carte de sejour and prove my legal residency in the country. Seeing as how I was practically the only American coming off that flight, the "non-European Union" passport line was extremely short. So when it came my turn to present my papers, the two men working in the both had plenty of time to talk to me without worrying about clogging up the line. But this is France, even if they held back the line, I doubt it'd ever weigh on their consciences.

After looking at my work card -- which clearly states I'm here to work -- the man sitting in the front of the booth asked if I was here as a student.

"No, I'm a visiting teacher," I replied.

"Ahh, what language?" the man quietly standing in the back asked me.

"English," I said, motioning toward my AMERICAN passport.

And then Man No. 2 in the back starts smiling wildly, responding rather sheepishly, "I've always wanted to learn English."

That's when Man No. 1 sitting in the front decided to play wingman and told me I needed to leave me phone number and e-mail so I could have private lessons with his co-worker.

But the creepiest part was when he winked at me, reassuring, "I'm sure he'd pay you well."

What am I, some kind of language whore?! Well, I guess I could have had a worse experience/encounter at the passport control desk, so no further complaints from me...

14 Signs I've Been In France Too Long:

1.) Even though I'm in the U.S. and hear English spoken EVERYWHERE, my initial reaction is to try to speak to people in French.

2.) Being excited way beyond belief at seeing my first Starbucks in New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

3.) Opting to walk/bike to Safeway even though I have three cars to choose from.

4.) Being surprised that you don't have to pay for grocery carts.

5.) Worrying when I got to the grocery store that I didn't have my own bags (which is related to...)

6.) Disbelief that someone would actually be willing to help me out/ask how my day's going/BAG GROCERIES FOR ME!

7.) Forgetting what currency is used here and accidentally trying to pay in Euros.

8.) Being bummed out that one-dollar units are bills and not coins.

9.) Watching WAY too much Travel Channel/Food Network because it's been about 5 months since I've last done so.

10.) Forgetting how keyboards on American computers work. (Well, I have my American laptop in France, but I've only ever used French desktop keyboards, so naturally my fingers wanted to find the French keys on the first desktop I used here.)

11.) Wanting to flush the toilet with the little pull lever on top, instead of just pushing down the handle to the side.

12.) Forgetting what fluffy, machine-dried towels feel like.

13.) Being amazed at the holding-capacity of my parents' dishwasher!

...and the best indicator that I've been in France for too long:

14.) When I came home last night, everything was new and exciting, kind of like a first-time vacation even though I've lived here for 22+ years. For example: seeing the Empire Building off in the horizon when landing in NYC was akin to a never-bef0re-experience. Driving past the Golden Gate Bridge was probably more exciting than any of the other times I've ever done it. Seeing billboards and commercials in English (and not just for perfume or Nespresso) got me excited about "practicing my English."

Yeah, being in the U.S. does feel like a vacation. Not my permanent residence because I've been out of it for so long. This is probably due to the mindset that when I return, it'll be for a little over three and a half more months.

Can't sleep!

In quintessential form, Monique cannot sleep because a big trip is coming up!

So let's talk about what I've been doing today. Maybe this'll make me bored, slash tired and get me ready for bed. Though, no loss here because I don't work until 1:30 p.m. tomorrow anyways. Or is it today now ;-)

AND IT'S MY LAST DAY OF WORK FOR TWO WEEKS!

Things I'm going to accomplish in the very near future:

-Assistant party slash brunch for dinner in Cannes Friday
I've got the o.j. and champagne ready for my contribution
-FESTIVAL DE CHOCOLAT in the port of Antibes on Saturday
-Finish packing my suitcase
-Job application

I guess now's a good time to mention I'm applying for my 18th job in hopes of finding some sort of work when I get back this summer. You must all be laughing at me, because each position I apply for is totally unlike anything else I've done before. You could say I have a wide range of interests.

Anyways, this one's for a college counselor at a FRENCH HIGH SCHOOL in San Francisco. I think my chances at possibly landing this are very good. But then again, what do I know...?

Things I want to accomplish when I go home:

-Scrapbook
-Catch up with some friends
-TARGET/COSTCO RUNS!
-Read at least three books
-Mooch a "free" seven-day pass from 24-Hour Fitness
-Organize my room
-Grade all my CE2/CM1 students' tests
-Fill out CAF housing assistance forms

Things I've done today:

-Went on an aimless 50-minute walk b/c my gym membership's expired!
-Gave out four tests
-Had my students write pen pal letters to California
-Wrote out my signature on at least seven students' notebooks

I kind of felt like a weird American celebrity or something. Not sure why but they all wanted my autograph today... Strange.

And I really would like to point out this piece of information:

When helping them come up with sentences to write their pen pals, I used the generic "Do you like" sentence structure. One thing someone suggested was Harry Potter. Then a few students yelled at him and said he was stupid because, "They don't have Harry Potter in America."

Au contraire mes élèves. I proudly pointed out that Harry Potter is an Anglophone work, thus it first came out in the U.K., then the U.S. and then the rest of the world.

Then since they were on the "Do you like" roll, they all wanted to know if American students loooove Tecktonik. I had to break it to them that Tecktonik only exists in France -- thank God -- and that instead of asking if they like it, they should tell their pen pals to search YouTube for it.

I got more puzzled looks. "You know what YouTube is, too?"

My response was very English teacher-y of me: "Well, look at the word's composition. 'You' and 'Tube' are both words from what language?"

"Ahh ouais! Anglais!"

Next they asked me if I could dance it. I just stared at them blankly saying, "Uhh, no thanks."

Oh. My. God.

I've become that person. I'm now associating with the "older" generations in disapproving of the crap that kids are listening to these days....

(But can you blame me?! Nearly half of my students dress like the music video I just linked above, with the rat tails, disturbing 80s colors, mullets, and weird shavings in the sides of their heads.)

Bah, en tout cas: TWO DAYS UNTIL CALIFORNIE!!!

Young at heart

So just before lunch, I was walking home from my morning classes thinking about my only French "friends" here.

That's when I realized, all my friends are children! Haha, seriously though, I do have American and English friends my age, but the only French people I've had over to my house are my students. Hmmm, am I disillusioned here?? :) Then yesterday I was at the gym where I ran into my American friend Sarah, she had a little girl tagging along and doing exercises with her. When Sarah left to go home, the little girl befriended me and started doing my exercises, asking all kinds of questions about myself. I think being from California makes me really exciting and interesting, even if I'm not that great back in the States... hehe.

My first lesson today consisted of adjectives and opposites, so one exercise was to describe people in the class. Using words they already knew, my students described me as, "alive, tall, THIN!!!!, nice, and good." Wow that did a lot for the self-esteem. And even though I do yell at them all the time, they still think I'm super nice! I imagine it's like chastizing a little puppy or something -- they're too resilient to let it affect their feelings towards me. And I do have a handful of students in every class that clings to me when I enter/exit the classroom, telling me how pretty/cool my jewelry is, how great my perfume smells, etc. But the cutest part is when I arrive at school, all the students in the playground run to me and demand the French bisous -- a kiss on both cheeks. Adorable!

Yet, as I was thinking this, I unlocked the front door to my building and the man who drives me to school every morning was checking his mail and asking about my schedule. I'm waiting for the elevator, when he invites me into his house for tea or coffee with him and his wife, both who are around 68-70ish. I was a bit hesitant to accept, but then I thought, what the hell??? I have nothing to do for the next three hours and this will give me a good chance to practice my French.

Long story short, I ended up staying my entire lunch break! We discussed American politics, world travel and Madagascar, the birthplace of his wife. So we were a very international group comparing three styles of living.

Oh yeah, I also helped cook! We had what he called an "exotic French lunch," complete with stewed lamb, potatoes and Mediterranean olives in olive oil along with a spicy salad of mango, shallots, peppers -- chili peppers and no, they were not red hot, carrots and other exciting spices that made my nose run for hours. For desert I had a clementine orange and he made the three of us traditional thimble-sized cups of Arabic coffee, but with a whole crapload of whipped cream on top. Man it was good, and I'm not usually much of a fan of the small, but very strong French coffees.

Then he drove me back to school for my classes. One was cancelled because the teacher was involved in an accident driving back in the rain. I hope he's alright!!!

But Guy told me I could come back whenever I want for a good, homecooked meal. He wants me to tell my dad that he's taking good care of me in his absence, though he's more of a grandfather-esque figure right now. Honestly though, I'd love to go back because watching him cook was unlike anything I've ever seen. He has a mortar to grind fresh ginger and basically makes his own seasonings. He showed me how to bottle olives in oil with bay leaves and lavendar to make the taste that much better and more Provençal.

Maybe I'll use some of his tricks on my own time. That, or I could always come back for another lunch, since they enjoyed my presence so much. (And it was mutual!)

French banking is the best in the world!!!

Case in point:

-It took nearly three weeks for a bank to approve of me putting my money in an account

-After opening my account in October, I couldn't officially access it until I received an ATM card in the mail

-I wasn't allowed to have the card until I could prove that I actually lived at the address to which it came

-I wanted to deposit money in my account in my dad's city, but they wouldn't let me because I can only withdraw cash (and perform no other transactions) outside of my region.... regardless of the fact that I was still in the country

-In order to deposit a check (in my region) I needed to wait in line at the welcome window, get a slip, fill it out, go back outside of the bank and deposit the envelope in a box

-For every transaction I want to make (in my region) there is a different ATM

-If you go to the wrong ATM, you have to remove your card and then wait in line (again) at the next station.


...Oh my God I miss Bank of America. I can't wait to go back home and do everything I want to anywhere in the country from one machine.

But point of the story, I was able to deposit my check today... even though it's written out to Mr. Moyal. The lack of a first name means I can probably get away with it, but we'll see.

Oh and it takes over a week and a half to register transactions online. Super.

Final update (of the year!) before Paris

Alright this is the last time I get to access a computer for about a week (ok, maybe a little less, but I like being dramatic).

Anyways, Aimee and I have made quite a journey up and down France and the Swiss border over the past few days. While Geneva was interesting for a day trip -- note, fairly cold -- I'm really glad we ended up canceling our hotel for three days. We basically did and saw all there was to do in less than one day. I'm glad we went and now I can add Switzerland to the list of places I've seen in my life. If I get the chance to go back again, I'd love to see some other cities!

But because we've been staying at Dad's house with the family, we've been eating home-cooked dinners and making fun little road trips. For example, today we road-tripped out to Chamonix, France and saw Mont Blanc. It's a pretty cute little ski resort town on the borders of France, Switzerland and Italy. Thus, we ran across many English, French, German and Italian speakers. Same thing was true in Geneva, but mix in a bunch of Asian tourists as well. I keep forgetting that I'm not living in a small little city, I'm really right in the midst of an international destination. Sometimes I need to step back and remember that. This is my home for now!

Speaking of that, I've been in contact with one of my advisors here and she says I can basically leave mid-June to make my sister's graduation in Santa Barbara, even though my contract says I have to stay until June 30th. However, they'll look much higher on my request if I plan to be an assistant again for the 2008-2009 school year.

Now I'm giving that a LOT of thought. This trip this year was pretty much a seat-of-my-pants, last-minute decision. I've had my ups and downs, but I'm very glad I'm getting this opportunity and meeting the people I've been meeting.

Does that necessarily mean I want to do it again? One thing's for sure though, if I stick through a second year, I'm definitely requesting a seven-month contract. Supposedly the high school assistants have far fewer responsibilities than we do at the elementary school level. And their schedules, for the most part, seem much looser than mine does. Those are two very enticing prospects.

Now where would I be placed is the next big question. Because it's officially recognized as a department of the French government, the idea of working in the French Caribbean sounds mighty tempting.

But how much longer do I really want to put off my real life? I'm pretty sure that once I start making a REAL salary, I'm going to be in debt up to my ears to my parents, since they're bailing me out when my salary runs low. In my defense though, I am paying for my rent/utilities and half of my food bills for the first time in my life. Without their help. Then again, assistants in the French Caribbean ARE paid over 1,000 Euros a month after taxes, while we in the actual country are only paid 780...

But what am I going to do when I get back in June?!?! I don't have a job lined up.... nor do I have any idea what it's going to be when I finally do start searching...

Any ideas? Should I put my life off for seven more months and experience another exciting part of the world...?

Whatever, PARIS HERE WE COME! See you next year :)

Beware of Dog.

So everyone knows that dogs in France are up on a higher pedestal than children most of the time. However, I find dogs here to be a little mangier than their American counterparts. While they're allowed access into restaurants, gyms, on the bus/train, hair salons and what have you, they're not as neatly-kept as most pets I've seen at home. But then again, I did live in Santa Barbara for awhile where people kept their little doggies in purses and painted their claws. Sick.

Last Friday when I was having lunch with my mom and sister in Juan-les-Pins, this big gnarly Burmese Mountain Dog was busy shoving its nose up a tree, investigating hours and hours of other dogs' piss. That's exactly what I want to see right before I stuff my face. He also was almost entirely white, except the tips of his fur were extremely gray and dirty, thanks to the lack of care he's given by his owner.

Long story short, said dog starts bolting after an older woman and her dainty little old dog. Instead of shrieking and freaking out, the woman pulls her dog close to her and looks directly in the Burmese Mountain Dog's eyes.

"It's nice to meet you. You don't scare me," she says and continues walking on her merry way.

It's almost like they think that dogs are equally rational beings here. Then again, I wouldn't be so apt to call many people that I've met here "rational." Oh well...

15 More Days Until France BANS Indoor Smoking! :)

- and -

8 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS IN FRANCE!!

Freedom, Beauty, Truth and Love

Moulin Rouge is hands down my favorite movie -- EVER.

And since coming to France, the only movies I've ever seen the network television channels show from the U.S. are these super old and lame '90s flops. Even the t.v. series are at least a few years behind, so why wouldn't the same be true for movies?

I've also come to the conclusion that I'm on my computer watching American shows too much here. Plus with all the writers' strikes, that will soon no longer be a problem. With that in mind, last night I decided to go back to French t.v. and lo and behold, Moulin Rouge was going to be airing at 8 p.m. last night!!

I showered as quickly as possible and prepped myself for this musical/visual treat.

The most bizarre part about it was how they even re-recorded the songs with the French speakers' voices, however they still sang in English. So most of the songs were heavily accented. Besides that oddity, I was quite impressed because the casting was very true to their American counterparts. Whoever was dubbed over Ewan McGregor sang and spoke almost exactly like him, that if he didn't have an accent while singing in English, I could have believed that Ewan McGregor was actually reading off his lines in French. Not the case, but you get the idea.

So yeah, that kind of made my week and now I'm back to downloading Moulin Rouge songs for my iPod. :)

Unrelated: Since it's left over from Thanksgiving, my new favorite thing is French bread and brie with cranberry sauce spread on top! Fantastique!

...35 More Days Until France BANS Indoor Smoking! :)

The circle is my least favorite shape

Today was brutal because I've already been rejected by one French bank for not having the right paperwork... and what they're asking of me is impossible to get from the U.S. The other thing they want, my carte de séjour, is ALSO impossible. The Catch 22 is that I can't get my account without a carte de séjour, but I can't even apply for the carte until I have a bank account number. So this afternoon after I finished my observations, I went to Crédit Agricole to hopefully sign up for a compte. Supposedly this one is way less anal than Banc National de Paris (BNP). I have an appointment tomorrow morning at 9:30. WISH ME LUCK, because this is the THIRD really bad day I've had in a row. Homesick is totally an understatement for what I'm feeling.

And since I'm on the subject of school, today's observations were at my headquarters. This one's very close to my house so I can walk. And I suppose the busses are back up running today, because people are waiting at the stops. Funny story, my stop was DEMOLISHED yesterday. It's still gone today but now there are people huddled near the construction posts.

I'm a bit reassured about teaching, because now I have some sort of direction. Still not 100% reassured. Although, I met a teacher today who gave me an English book to use, but it's ridiculous. I'm not sure what she wants me to do with it or how to divide the lessons, but supposedly we're supposed to be on the same course. This will probably come with time. The food at La Tournière is not as good as Juan Gare, but still a lot better than I remember in elementary school. I think we had the equivalent of "mystery meat" today, as it was steak -- or pork -- in a brown broth with mushrooms, accomapnied with the French version of cheesy rice, really puffy grains with camembert. And then we washed it all down with the famous French cheese platter, fruit, and bread.

And again, the differences between our educational systems is astounding. I can't really speak too profoundly on the matter, because I only attended three or four different schools in the U.S. But from what I recall, we weren't THIS excited about education in elementary school. And I've noticed the teachers have much more restraint over their students than all mine did. I think that's partially due to the strict nature of the French in general. Everyone here is so guarded and closed off at first, but they warm up rather quickly if you give them a chance.

But back on topic, every time I enter a new class (third through fifth grade), the maître(sse) introduces me as the English assistant to his or her class, the children light up! Today my first class was so excited, half of the children jumped out of their seats. Then when he announced I was from California, the other half jumped up.

When I arrived at Ecole Juan Gare yesterday, all eyes were on me. A group of girls approached me and asked if I was there to teach English or Italian. When I responded, "anglais," the girls jumped up and down together shouting, "Ouais! Engleesh!!" Very cute.

So soon I'll be Maîtresse Moyal. That's Mistress to you. I better watch out before some sort of power-trip arises.