so i LOVE montpellier.
i am sooo upset that i don't live here. this city is crazy beautiful. it's petite, ancient in parts, full of young people, diverse and just wonderful.
within 2 minutes of arriving i had already met jules who rushed off to class leaving me with a friend. he was so incredibly nice! he helped me carry my stuff back to their place and gave me a tour; and the walk from the station was lovely. people everywhere and the streets were old and cobblestoned and there were statues and parks and churches and fountains all over the place. plus incredible art and street exhibits. on top of it all the weather was a good 8 degrees warmer than serignan so i was in love.
jules and her 3 flat mates live in the heart of the city right by the roman aquaducts. in fact the view from jules' window is the aquaducts!! they all get around on bikes and everything is close and compact. i met her flat mates and more friends last night because they had a dinner party. mounir is algerian and studying/ working here; yoko is japanese and doing the same; shana is chinese/mongolian and doing the same; and jules is takinng french classes and being an english assistant like me. it's such a diverse group and since jules and i are the only ones who speak english, we all have to speak in french and it is quite musical how all the accents blend into the french.
yesterday we walked around the city and i think i could do that all day, everyday for the next 2 weeks and not get bored. there seems to be so much to see since every little thing is squished into very little space. there are old buildings that have been converted into museums and restaurants and little alleyways with cafes and art galleries and shops. in fact, there are cafes everywhere you turn. and even the shopping here looks more attractive since the store buildings are so old. the center squares always seem to have something going on and yesterday it was yet another greve (strike). we walked through it to head to a grocery store and i managed to snap some pics: my first greve!
then when we got home i helped in preparing dinner which was mongolian wontons! and for the first time in all my experiences in france, the vegetarians were the majority! me, jules, and mounir! so shana made only veggie wontons. i paid very close attention and the recipe itself is fairly simple. it's the technique to roll out the dough and then wrap the wontons that is tough. very very tough. i tried my hand at it and though i got them the right size, they were never round. and never mind trying to wrap them; when shana did it, they ended up as little pieces of art. perfect. and she worked so fast!
she also hid a one euro cent coin in 2 of the wontons. and she made a sugar one as well. whoever found one with a coin would have good luck and prosperity and the one with the sugar brings good luck in love. then she steamed half in a wonton steamer, and she fried half in a frying pan. and they were ready. filling: cabbage, mushrooms, onions, spring onions, clear rice noodle, fried egg along with powdered ginger, salt, a special seasoning salt, tiny bit of clove, soy sauce, and garlic powder.
mounir also made a special algerian dish. it was a semolina flour fried bread that was dense and delicious and that was soaked in a tomato and red pepper sauce/ soup. it was seasoned with a lot of mint and a little garlic and coriander seed paste he ground himself. it didn't turn out as he wanted it to (he had taken notes when his aunt in algers made it) but it was very yummy and we didn't know the difference.
dinner started when everyone arrived. we were joined by 4 more people and we ate in jules' room cuz it's actually a living room divided to make 2 bedrooms. dinner was fun and we discussed varied topics including horror films, superstitions and paranormal activities, ouija board experiences, internet idiocies, pranks, the world's most boring jobs, late night/ late shift jobs, travel and a whole bunch of other things. and somehow, i got both the coins in my wontons! so i am going to have exceptional prosperity this year! yay!
after dinner mounir made some strong delicious mint tea and we all had 5 rounds of it and kept talking until we were all sleepy. then we lazed around a bit longer and finally went to sleep.
today we are supposed to head on a bike ride to the beach with jules' french class but it is very cloudy and gloomy and we're worried it will rain. we're going to give it another hour before we decide though cuz hey, you never know. it would take us 40 minutes on bikes to get to the sea and it sounds like a lot of fun! unfortunately the forecast for the weekend is rain. bah humbug!
craving: a warm bright sunny weekend to explore this fabulous city
currently listening to: montpellier traffic and the shower running.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
she wants to go home, but nobody's home
today, i start with my dream from last night: me and vee were with pere and at costco. i remember thinking "yes! pere is here, i can get all the stuff i really need, and all the heavy stuff too!" and i ran around getting such luxuries as q-tips, organic oatmeal, a large bottle of lotion, flour, chocolate chips, lots of milk, and of all things, a blender. and i remember being very happy.
i think my subconscious is forming an Anti-France and Living Sans Parents Campaign.
Tuesday: (yesterday) i went shopping with melanie. it was at the new mall out in beziers called Polygone (not pouligen) and it is very nice. quite high end with stores like benetton, guess, levis, a whole bunch of ridiculous french ones and h&m. i tried to gauge what french fashion is this fall and i think i like it. not that i can afford even this season's gloves. it consists of various styles of tunic sweaters to be worn with leggings and belts and mini-vests and sweaters and amazing long coats. there's also knee length skirts and knee high boots paired with poncho type sweaters and belts and other things. the french have more words for the different types of clothes there are than english speaking world does.
melanie is an interesting shopper. she spent over 500 euro while we were there. but on 4 or 5 items. and i didn't think anything she bought was worth what she paid for it. least of all the 50 euro long sleeved black tee from levis, that said san francisco on it in large letters. but i don't judge (hahahahaha).
wednesday (today): went shopping again with melanie to a different mall and this time gladys and clara came along. we were shopping for winter clothes for little clara. she picked up some very nice things, almost an entire new wardrobe. all she had to do was smile at her grandma and she got what she wanted. example: benetton winter boots that wouldn't last an hour in the snow and a handbag to match. we even went back to polygone where i picked myself up a little birthday gift. boots! and i like em! :)
we had lunch at a chinese buffet place and never has food tasted less asian. oh well. i napped when i got home and woke up to clean. the studio is now spick and span (that looks so strange written out) and that's how i like it when i come home from a trip.
speaking of which, i'm heading to montpellier tomorrow for the weekend. i'll be staying with jules and monique who have graciously agreed to put up with me for 5 days. i am pretty excited.
i wish everyone a happy halloween and i hope i have one too!
craving: money money money
currently listening to: the fridge rattle away the night
i think my subconscious is forming an Anti-France and Living Sans Parents Campaign.
Tuesday: (yesterday) i went shopping with melanie. it was at the new mall out in beziers called Polygone (not pouligen) and it is very nice. quite high end with stores like benetton, guess, levis, a whole bunch of ridiculous french ones and h&m. i tried to gauge what french fashion is this fall and i think i like it. not that i can afford even this season's gloves. it consists of various styles of tunic sweaters to be worn with leggings and belts and mini-vests and sweaters and amazing long coats. there's also knee length skirts and knee high boots paired with poncho type sweaters and belts and other things. the french have more words for the different types of clothes there are than english speaking world does.
melanie is an interesting shopper. she spent over 500 euro while we were there. but on 4 or 5 items. and i didn't think anything she bought was worth what she paid for it. least of all the 50 euro long sleeved black tee from levis, that said san francisco on it in large letters. but i don't judge (hahahahaha).
wednesday (today): went shopping again with melanie to a different mall and this time gladys and clara came along. we were shopping for winter clothes for little clara. she picked up some very nice things, almost an entire new wardrobe. all she had to do was smile at her grandma and she got what she wanted. example: benetton winter boots that wouldn't last an hour in the snow and a handbag to match. we even went back to polygone where i picked myself up a little birthday gift. boots! and i like em! :)
we had lunch at a chinese buffet place and never has food tasted less asian. oh well. i napped when i got home and woke up to clean. the studio is now spick and span (that looks so strange written out) and that's how i like it when i come home from a trip.
speaking of which, i'm heading to montpellier tomorrow for the weekend. i'll be staying with jules and monique who have graciously agreed to put up with me for 5 days. i am pretty excited.
i wish everyone a happy halloween and i hope i have one too!
craving: money money money
currently listening to: the fridge rattle away the night
Monday, October 25, 2010
"They say hello, they say hola and they say bonjour"
i now do this thing where i ask my self daily whether i should blog about today. and everyday i say no because nothing of interest to anyone (including me) has happened. so i will continue to do a semi-weekly recap until my life becomes so exciting that every day deserves a post. which will be soon, i'm sure (haha).
thursday: nothing much happened. i had work and it went well. the students were insane because it was the last day before their 10 day holiday for toussaints. so they were restless and i played games with them until they were bouncing and then i let them go.
friday: i don't remember what i did.
saturday: i went to the hyper U cuz i had run out of anything to cook with (veggies). bought some cous cous and veggies and some chocolate pudding to cheer me up. i then ran into sandrine, one of the english teachers i work with and we chatted for a few minutes. and that night i was to lazy to cook so i just had bread and cheese for dinner.
my baguette diaries: when i first got here i was thrilled to have a bakery so close. i thought i'd buy 2 baguettes a week and enjoy the yummyness of freshly baked bread. baguettes unfortunately have the shortest shelf life of all the bread family. 2 days max. even when refrigerated. and i don't eat bread everyday. so i googled ways to revive a baguette and was told to massage the crust with water and microwave for no more than 20 seconds. i do so and voila, an edible-ish piece of bread. after day 2, a baguette takes on the consistency of croutons. and even after this microwave trick, there is a stale taste to the bread that is less than desired. current bread status: one more-than-a-week-old baguette in the fridge.
sunday: stayed at home all day because i woke up with neck pain. i had recommenced the tiny bit of yoga i do in the morning and my neck got very angry, very fast. so now even that little bit of exercise is on hold. i don't know for how long. all i know is that i really want to start working out to a) give myself something outdoors to do in a village and b) to get me some happy hormones going. alas. i resort to neck exercises along with cat-like stretches when i've been sitting too long.
monday (today): no more neck pain, yay! and dear gladys has her grand children over for the holidays. she shares them with their other grandparents who also live in serignan, which i now realize is like an old age home in several ways. she invited me over for lunch and a movie. the kids, melanie (15) and clara (7) are adorable. lunch was interesting. gladys made me an aubergine and red pepper fry and cracked an egg into it. it was yummy but strange and very rich. she also had some leftover gratin. this gratin was made with chayote (yes i googled it, that's why it's in bold) or chow chow as i know it. gladys grows them in the back yard. the gratin wa
s yummy, it was a lighter, blander quiche. She also over-cooked them and added parsley for me to try them that way. And this tasted like every other over-boiled vegetable i've had in france. i was really sad because when i took this picture, all i could think of was sambar. we had cheese and dessert as well but i was stuffed. gladys then took the three of us to the cinema in beziers. the kids had already picked a movie: Alpha et Omega. A story about two wolves of different social standings in the pack who fall in love and triumph over wolf-adversity. in animated 3d. it was exactly how it sounds. and it was in french so while christina ricci and justin long were supposed to be the voices, i heard french voice actors. i understood all the french which i was proud of. it was silly and cheesy and disney- without actually being disney. the credits were the most interesting part because there was a mumbai crew. the movie (animated) takes place in canada. there were lots of indian names in the credits so i think that part of the film was outsourced!
clara was adorable in the car trip home, she kept whispering to me things to ask melanie in english like, "say, 'melanie, what is your name?' in english!" and i had to explain how logistically that wouldn't work. and then she said "oh, ok, ask her if she likes pizza in english!" and then she would whisper-ask me what her sister said in response. i don't think she fully understood that i know french because although we only spoke in french, she still asked me to read several street signs to her as if she wanted to see if i could read it too. hilarious.
tomorrow i will finalize my trip-to-montpellier-for-my-birthday plans and go shopping with melanie and clara. there is a new shopping mall called le pouligan in beziers.
an interesting tidbit: i've noticed how people here like to say 'bye.' they do it at the end of phone calls, when they leave a room, and even when they leave in general. so it sounds like "allez, bye" and it throws me off. and they do it in their french accents so it's nice.
craving: hot hot pav bhaji and sweet lime juice
currently listening to: the wind blowing outside, it's crazy windy today. so it sounds ominous like a disney channel halloween movie haha
thursday: nothing much happened. i had work and it went well. the students were insane because it was the last day before their 10 day holiday for toussaints. so they were restless and i played games with them until they were bouncing and then i let them go.
friday: i don't remember what i did.
saturday: i went to the hyper U cuz i had run out of anything to cook with (veggies). bought some cous cous and veggies and some chocolate pudding to cheer me up. i then ran into sandrine, one of the english teachers i work with and we chatted for a few minutes. and that night i was to lazy to cook so i just had bread and cheese for dinner.
my baguette diaries: when i first got here i was thrilled to have a bakery so close. i thought i'd buy 2 baguettes a week and enjoy the yummyness of freshly baked bread. baguettes unfortunately have the shortest shelf life of all the bread family. 2 days max. even when refrigerated. and i don't eat bread everyday. so i googled ways to revive a baguette and was told to massage the crust with water and microwave for no more than 20 seconds. i do so and voila, an edible-ish piece of bread. after day 2, a baguette takes on the consistency of croutons. and even after this microwave trick, there is a stale taste to the bread that is less than desired. current bread status: one more-than-a-week-old baguette in the fridge.
sunday: stayed at home all day because i woke up with neck pain. i had recommenced the tiny bit of yoga i do in the morning and my neck got very angry, very fast. so now even that little bit of exercise is on hold. i don't know for how long. all i know is that i really want to start working out to a) give myself something outdoors to do in a village and b) to get me some happy hormones going. alas. i resort to neck exercises along with cat-like stretches when i've been sitting too long.
monday (today): no more neck pain, yay! and dear gladys has her grand children over for the holidays. she shares them with their other grandparents who also live in serignan, which i now realize is like an old age home in several ways. she invited me over for lunch and a movie. the kids, melanie (15) and clara (7) are adorable. lunch was interesting. gladys made me an aubergine and red pepper fry and cracked an egg into it. it was yummy but strange and very rich. she also had some leftover gratin. this gratin was made with chayote (yes i googled it, that's why it's in bold) or chow chow as i know it. gladys grows them in the back yard. the gratin wa
s yummy, it was a lighter, blander quiche. She also over-cooked them and added parsley for me to try them that way. And this tasted like every other over-boiled vegetable i've had in france. i was really sad because when i took this picture, all i could think of was sambar. we had cheese and dessert as well but i was stuffed. gladys then took the three of us to the cinema in beziers. the kids had already picked a movie: Alpha et Omega. A story about two wolves of different social standings in the pack who fall in love and triumph over wolf-adversity. in animated 3d. it was exactly how it sounds. and it was in french so while christina ricci and justin long were supposed to be the voices, i heard french voice actors. i understood all the french which i was proud of. it was silly and cheesy and disney- without actually being disney. the credits were the most interesting part because there was a mumbai crew. the movie (animated) takes place in canada. there were lots of indian names in the credits so i think that part of the film was outsourced!clara was adorable in the car trip home, she kept whispering to me things to ask melanie in english like, "say, 'melanie, what is your name?' in english!" and i had to explain how logistically that wouldn't work. and then she said "oh, ok, ask her if she likes pizza in english!" and then she would whisper-ask me what her sister said in response. i don't think she fully understood that i know french because although we only spoke in french, she still asked me to read several street signs to her as if she wanted to see if i could read it too. hilarious.
tomorrow i will finalize my trip-to-montpellier-for-my-birthday plans and go shopping with melanie and clara. there is a new shopping mall called le pouligan in beziers.
an interesting tidbit: i've noticed how people here like to say 'bye.' they do it at the end of phone calls, when they leave a room, and even when they leave in general. so it sounds like "allez, bye" and it throws me off. and they do it in their french accents so it's nice.
craving: hot hot pav bhaji and sweet lime juice
currently listening to: the wind blowing outside, it's crazy windy today. so it sounds ominous like a disney channel halloween movie haha
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
let me take you down cuz i'm going through (wine) fields
Where the orb meets the sea
vines all around.it has been almost a week since i last blogged and so i will do a week recap:
last friday: i was invited by one of the english teachers named eleonore to a dinner at her house with 5 other teachers. her invitation did feel a bit like pity, but i wasn't going to complain. she lives in beziers so i got a ride from a teacher who lives here in serignan. she was very sweet and double checked on what vegetarian means according to me and everything beforehand. i finally tried the speciality wine from this region, it's called musca and it is a sweeter wine. i had a white variety for aperitif and loved it.
we talked for a long time and then had dinner and continued talking throughout. this means that they talked and i listened in. it was pretty interesting and i was surprised at how much of the conversation was about the school and students and such. i would have thought that teachers wouldn't want to discuss work outside of school, but i guess they do. dinner for me was over-boiled sugar snap peas with a hint of ginger and plain rice. eleonore did apologize for the overcooked-ness and i was happy about this because it at least means that she is aware when a vegetable is destroyed, unlike other french people. everyone else has a very elaborate north african chicken dish with a peanut sauce. this again was interesting because i have never witnessed a french person cook a cuisine other than french.
another little curious fact from dinner was that we began with the main course, followed it with a salad and finished with dessert. whereas up north they begin with salad. dessert was homemade apple sauce that annie, one of the english teachers brought over. it was yummy but, it was just pureed apples.
we then played a few hours of french trivial pursuit and i was only able to help with one question all night: indira gandhi's son's name. all the other questions were so french specific like the name of the only coniferous tree that sheds its pines and the longest southern trekking route in france. but the teachers were all very into it and i enjoyed watching them enjoy themselves.
saturday: i didn't do much. stayed inside and slept, went to the library.
sunday: i was restless. so i went for a walk to valras plage. it's the village south of serignan and it's where the nicest beach is. i took a bicycle path for an hour. it lead me through a giant vineyard and it was very secluded and beautiful. there were no grapes on the vines but every now and then i spotted some so i tasted them. they were very large and sweet and so i ended up eating quite a lot even though they were considerably dusty! by the time i reached the sea, the wind had really picked up so i only stayed and stared out at the mediterranean for 30 minutes.
it is so very beautiful. the beach was empty because it was late and so chilly. there were only a few insistent fisherman around. from where i was i could see the river Orb run into the mediterranean and the river's colors mixing with the sea's. the sea is a lighter blue and the river was so dark so it was a lovely contrast. i even touched the water and it was warmer than my hands! granted i was freezing, but still.
monday: the internet man was supposed to come and fix up the wifi for me but he was a whole 45 minutes late! and my landlady had somewhere to be. so i rescheduled and moped. i also went out to try and get a cell phone service but it turns out that i need additional bank paper work so i have to wait some more. i then went to the hyper U to look for oatmeal again. i found the organic aisle (incidentally called the 'diet' aisle) and walked up and down looking at every single shelf for around 10 minutes until i saw two packs of oatmeal squished in a corner. oh how my heart soared. i grabbed them both and it almost made me forget that i still didn't have internet at home! flocons d'avoine= oatmeal in french.
tuesday: i woke up at 6:30 before the sun did and got ready for school. i made oatmeal and it was SO good. especially because it was only 6 degrees outside! and the sun was shining like a clueless mongoose. i had 4 classes all to myself and they went fairly smoothly. my first group were excellent. the participated and were good and everything. the second group, not so much. and the third were great again. i was really tired by lunch and happy i had the yummy pasta salad i made the night before. turns out that there was a staff lunch and there was an interesting spread. i had some leek tart which was delicious and some mixed berry tart too. i am officially obsessed with french berry tarts. especially raspberry ones. mmmm. i also tried a new obnoxiously yellow cheese though i don't remember its name.
at the end of the day laure, one of the english teachers i work with gave me a ride home. she's new to serignan too, she's from montpellier. not such a difference but still, strength in numbers. she was also an assistant just 3 years ago and this year is her first official year as a teacher. she was a french assistant in london. when i got home i found that i had internet! yay! at last!
wednesday: i have no work today because the classes are such that i only have work every other wednesday. and i am at home and online :) and now i am hungry.
craving: a raspberry tart from my bakery 30 seconds away
currently listening to: almost silence in my studio.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
We definite, B.E.P, we reppin' it...
i am le tired.
and since the library is closed today i am using the computers at school.
i have a bank account! and insurance for my studio! i am almost all set according to the french government!
i don't really want to go into the details of how going to the bank was today, it's quite boring.
i got to take class alone today though, but the teacher didn't tell me i would be so i just played 'name, place, animal, thing' with them. and instead of 'name' i used 'food.' so i could figure out their level and see what they were like as a group with me. they seemed to really enjoy the game and wanted to continue playing after the hour, which was gratifying. but they were so talkative and loud all class long, it was hard to get them to stop talking. and of course, they didn't want to talk in english.
here the teachers don't seem to organize seating charts or anything like that so students sit where they want when they enter and it changes whenever they want as well. so nothing prevents friends from sitting together and talking all class long. so i wonder if i make them sit where i want them to (away from their friends) it will upset them or worse, upset the teachers. i think i'll give it a go anyway though, just for my sanity.
the daal i made last night was amazing! and gladys brought me turmeric and cumin powder! she has a sister who lives in reunion and so she is apparently used to spicy food and lots of the same spices! so she gave me some and i am eternally grateful. i used 3 of the tiny chilies she grows in her garden and they were excellent in the daal! and i made enough for dinner tonight!
no work tomorrow but there is the market and i need tomatoes. and i have other errands that need doing.
i did ask my students about oatmeal here and they said i was looking in the wrong aisle! i apparently need to look in the organic aisle for it! so i'll give it another go soon.
and they asked me about the black eyed peas (the group), so i told them they're a type of bean and they said that they had a teacher last year who said that as well, but who had also said that there is another significance that they were too young to know about! and i have no idea what that is! maybe i'm too young as well haha!
craving: ice cream!
currently listening to: people talking in french about boring administrative french school things.
and since the library is closed today i am using the computers at school.
i have a bank account! and insurance for my studio! i am almost all set according to the french government!
i don't really want to go into the details of how going to the bank was today, it's quite boring.
i got to take class alone today though, but the teacher didn't tell me i would be so i just played 'name, place, animal, thing' with them. and instead of 'name' i used 'food.' so i could figure out their level and see what they were like as a group with me. they seemed to really enjoy the game and wanted to continue playing after the hour, which was gratifying. but they were so talkative and loud all class long, it was hard to get them to stop talking. and of course, they didn't want to talk in english.
here the teachers don't seem to organize seating charts or anything like that so students sit where they want when they enter and it changes whenever they want as well. so nothing prevents friends from sitting together and talking all class long. so i wonder if i make them sit where i want them to (away from their friends) it will upset them or worse, upset the teachers. i think i'll give it a go anyway though, just for my sanity.
the daal i made last night was amazing! and gladys brought me turmeric and cumin powder! she has a sister who lives in reunion and so she is apparently used to spicy food and lots of the same spices! so she gave me some and i am eternally grateful. i used 3 of the tiny chilies she grows in her garden and they were excellent in the daal! and i made enough for dinner tonight!
no work tomorrow but there is the market and i need tomatoes. and i have other errands that need doing.
i did ask my students about oatmeal here and they said i was looking in the wrong aisle! i apparently need to look in the organic aisle for it! so i'll give it another go soon.
and they asked me about the black eyed peas (the group), so i told them they're a type of bean and they said that they had a teacher last year who said that as well, but who had also said that there is another significance that they were too young to know about! and i have no idea what that is! maybe i'm too young as well haha!
craving: ice cream!
currently listening to: people talking in french about boring administrative french school things.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
brrrr it's cold in here, there must be some clovers in the atmosphere!!
at the serignan mediatheque (library). it reminds me a lot of a slightly smaller british council library.
wednesday: school was great as usual. i only had 2 classes in the morning so i could leave and get things done afterward. today's class started with the teacher asking the students what they remembered of my self-introduction and question-answer round las week. they remembered almost everything! it was a bit strange to hear one child at a time raising their hand and calling out things like "you were born in 1988!" "you 'ave one seester!" "you're muzzher leeves in san francisco!" and they were quite excited when they were correct! They then had to print out paragraphs on Shakespeare thy had written in partners and go over them for a pronunciation review in which they would individually read their paragraphs to the teacher and be evaluated on intonation, pronunciation, speed, comprehension, etc.
Their paragraphs were very well written and it made me wonder if they had actually written them. I always feel awkward asking someone if the words on the paper are their own. (not a situation i'm in often thankfully) And even here I avoided asking to simply observe. We only had time to listen to 3 presentations and all 3 girls did not know what a 'century' was though they used the word several times. They also had no idea where Stratford upon Avon is! They all mentioned it at least twice too!
All of this really makes me think back to my first french classes and whether i too was as clueless about random french culture things and oral tests. i wish i could remember.
i was really nervous for the kids when they were presenting too and i would always ask the easiest questions. i think one girl almost cried when the teacher was giving her feedback and i felt really bad. thankfully this particular teacher is very kind and gentle. phew!
last night: i met my landlady. she is unbelievably nice. i feel so very lucky! she knocked on my door and when i opened it was all excited to meet me and she just talked for 15 minutes straight about her past tenants and how she hoped i was settled in and to ask her if i needed anything and what changes she could make, etc. and she gave me a great big hug!
wednesday contd: this morning after classes she took me shopping to the local hyper U which is like superstore. she told me about her life and she has a daughter and 2 grand children. they're very close and she keeps in touch via internet. (her wifi password isn't working for me so i gotta get tech support to figure it out) her name is gladys and her husband passed away a long time ago. she lives with a partner named jean paul or jean pierre and they are adorable. she also told me that she lost her 17 year old daughter in a car crash 26 years ago. and i don't know what to say to something like that in any language.
i found ginger! and daal! so i bought some veggies at the market (happens every wednesday and friday) and i'm gong to make daal tonight! with rice! yay!
there is one thing about this place that i am opposed to: i can't find any oatmeal. i searched all over the hyper u and couldn't find any, gladys didn't even know what i was talking about! i'm worried too, cuz the mornings are so cold and cereal for breakfast isn't going to cut it! what a random thing for a grocery store to not have!
one thing i do like: i have never met a french person with an automatic dryer. all their laundry is dried outside on clotheslines. i'm sure up north and near the mountains and in the colder places they use dryers but everywhere they don't need to, they don't even buy them. this is pretty cool. and i'm reminded of this only because i gotta do laundry while it's still sunny out. the weather is so unpredictable!
dilemma: in 2 weeks there is a 10 day holiday for toussaints (all saints day) and i have no idea what to do or where to go if anywhere. i don't think i should stay here in serignan since it's so tiny and i don't have friends. but i don't know where i could go...
and in an effort to read books in french i have started reading a french translation of a gossip girl book. it's pretty hilarious and there are SO many words i have to keep looking up! and french gossip girl has all principle characters smoking! i don't know if it's there in the english books too and they just omitted it for the tv show, but yikes. not the best example for our youth.
more tomorrow!
craving: wifi at home so i could be online, talk to my loved ones, stream tv and cook at the same time!
currently listening to: the humm of natalya (my laptop) in this quiet quiet library
wednesday: school was great as usual. i only had 2 classes in the morning so i could leave and get things done afterward. today's class started with the teacher asking the students what they remembered of my self-introduction and question-answer round las week. they remembered almost everything! it was a bit strange to hear one child at a time raising their hand and calling out things like "you were born in 1988!" "you 'ave one seester!" "you're muzzher leeves in san francisco!" and they were quite excited when they were correct! They then had to print out paragraphs on Shakespeare thy had written in partners and go over them for a pronunciation review in which they would individually read their paragraphs to the teacher and be evaluated on intonation, pronunciation, speed, comprehension, etc.
Their paragraphs were very well written and it made me wonder if they had actually written them. I always feel awkward asking someone if the words on the paper are their own. (not a situation i'm in often thankfully) And even here I avoided asking to simply observe. We only had time to listen to 3 presentations and all 3 girls did not know what a 'century' was though they used the word several times. They also had no idea where Stratford upon Avon is! They all mentioned it at least twice too!
All of this really makes me think back to my first french classes and whether i too was as clueless about random french culture things and oral tests. i wish i could remember.
i was really nervous for the kids when they were presenting too and i would always ask the easiest questions. i think one girl almost cried when the teacher was giving her feedback and i felt really bad. thankfully this particular teacher is very kind and gentle. phew!
last night: i met my landlady. she is unbelievably nice. i feel so very lucky! she knocked on my door and when i opened it was all excited to meet me and she just talked for 15 minutes straight about her past tenants and how she hoped i was settled in and to ask her if i needed anything and what changes she could make, etc. and she gave me a great big hug!
wednesday contd: this morning after classes she took me shopping to the local hyper U which is like superstore. she told me about her life and she has a daughter and 2 grand children. they're very close and she keeps in touch via internet. (her wifi password isn't working for me so i gotta get tech support to figure it out) her name is gladys and her husband passed away a long time ago. she lives with a partner named jean paul or jean pierre and they are adorable. she also told me that she lost her 17 year old daughter in a car crash 26 years ago. and i don't know what to say to something like that in any language.
i found ginger! and daal! so i bought some veggies at the market (happens every wednesday and friday) and i'm gong to make daal tonight! with rice! yay!
there is one thing about this place that i am opposed to: i can't find any oatmeal. i searched all over the hyper u and couldn't find any, gladys didn't even know what i was talking about! i'm worried too, cuz the mornings are so cold and cereal for breakfast isn't going to cut it! what a random thing for a grocery store to not have!
one thing i do like: i have never met a french person with an automatic dryer. all their laundry is dried outside on clotheslines. i'm sure up north and near the mountains and in the colder places they use dryers but everywhere they don't need to, they don't even buy them. this is pretty cool. and i'm reminded of this only because i gotta do laundry while it's still sunny out. the weather is so unpredictable!
dilemma: in 2 weeks there is a 10 day holiday for toussaints (all saints day) and i have no idea what to do or where to go if anywhere. i don't think i should stay here in serignan since it's so tiny and i don't have friends. but i don't know where i could go...
and in an effort to read books in french i have started reading a french translation of a gossip girl book. it's pretty hilarious and there are SO many words i have to keep looking up! and french gossip girl has all principle characters smoking! i don't know if it's there in the english books too and they just omitted it for the tv show, but yikes. not the best example for our youth.
more tomorrow!
craving: wifi at home so i could be online, talk to my loved ones, stream tv and cook at the same time!
currently listening to: the humm of natalya (my laptop) in this quiet quiet library
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
whan i was just a little girl, i asked my mother, what will i be?
and i'm back and still alive.
this past weekend was probably worse in retrospect when i think of what i did:
saturday: i took it slow, woke up nice and late and lazed around. i wasn't worried about getting anything done cuz there wasn't really anything for me to get done. i wanted to sweep and mop the studio cuz its all tile and that gets dusty fast. i went outside and it was very cloudy and then i realized that all my landlady's plants were really parched. so i looked around for a way to water them and spent around 45mins doing so. then i ate some cereal and watched a movie. for dinner: heated up some canned ratatouille and had it with linguini and another couple movies. the rest of the day was a bit of a blur.
sunday: i woke up to pouring rain. and it didn't stop. i know that most things are closed on sundays here so i only ventured out to buy a baguette from the bakery that's less than a minute away. heated up some soup and had it with bread and fresh rain-drenched parsely from madame mur's garden. watched more movies. took a long shower. more films. that night was a little more tough, harder to fall asleep. and since i am an idiot and didn't realize that watering plants for 45 minutes the day before is considered a 'repetitive acticvity' my neck and back reminded me with more pain. so i took it easy and rested. and tried not to let my mind convince me of how alone and bored i was.
monday: (i don't work mondays) woke up ready to explore the town and the library and other things. pouring rain. so i watched a movie with breakfast and one with lunch and in between i showered, read a french cook book i found lying on a shelf, and decided to go out despite the rain. the library is about a 5 minute walk from home and it was closed! the hours that things are open here are so strange! turns out both the library and the bakery are closed mondays. and things close for lunch and reopen and this includes the library! moped around the tiny studio, listened to npr podcasts, watched another movie, heated up soup for dinner and watched another movie. then tried to get some sleep.
i couldn't of course because i had spent the last 2 days oversleeping and my body didn't want to sleep. so i lay awake and tried to convince myself that this whole stint is a good idea after all. and i think the count was 11 movies in 3 days.
tuesday: oh the kids are so funny. today is one of the many and very famous grèves (strikes) in france. so some teachers are on strike and i didnt know so i showed up anyway. turns out only the one teacher i was supposed to spend the majority of the day with, was absent so i shadowed some other, very cute classes.
eleven year olds are funny. there was a class with just 6 of them and they were scared to bits about even asking me how old i am in english. then followed a class with another 6 who were more relaxed and oddly philosophical. i was asked what my favorite object was, whether i liked myself and what i thought of the phillipines. they wanted to know what kind of music i listened to and whether i liked katy perry and owl city! these were 13 year olds but still they all told me they liked eminem and rihanna's song and that was a little disturbing. and in other classes they want to know if i'm single or not and even with a negative response continue to ask if i have children and this is after asking my age! am i jaded or are they?
and now i feel like i have repeated about a million times that my sister's name is Veera and that she is 19 years old and that i don't have pets but used to have a hamster (i cup my hands to indicate hamster, how else can i do it?) and that i love to swim and bike, that i am terrible at soccer and tennis, that i have never ridden a horse, or played rugby, that my favorite dish is (depending on the day and mood) pizza, pasta, indian food, chinese food, cakes, etc. the toughest questions are ''meees, what do you like?'' how do i answer this? i started by saying this like shoes, bracelets, food, puppies, and then i stopped and ask them to be more precise.
there is also the dreaded ''what is your dream?'' what do i say? i don't really know if i have a dream, and that makes me wonder if i should think of one, or something. and all the time i spend waiting for them to come up with a question to ask me, i think about how philosophical it all is. do they have dreams? did i at their age? what did i want to be? why did i not become that? when did my dream go away? of course they are all just looking for ways to practice their english and i shouldn't read into their questions. right?
and now i have an hour before the library closes and i would love to check it out, i'm really hoping it's nice and has lots of books that i want to read and wifi!!
plus my landlady is home today and i get to meet her for the first time! stay tuned for more excitement!
craving: rasam satham and vendeka curry- extra spicy!
currently listening to: hums of computers and some kind of floor waxer thingy in the hall
this past weekend was probably worse in retrospect when i think of what i did:
saturday: i took it slow, woke up nice and late and lazed around. i wasn't worried about getting anything done cuz there wasn't really anything for me to get done. i wanted to sweep and mop the studio cuz its all tile and that gets dusty fast. i went outside and it was very cloudy and then i realized that all my landlady's plants were really parched. so i looked around for a way to water them and spent around 45mins doing so. then i ate some cereal and watched a movie. for dinner: heated up some canned ratatouille and had it with linguini and another couple movies. the rest of the day was a bit of a blur.
sunday: i woke up to pouring rain. and it didn't stop. i know that most things are closed on sundays here so i only ventured out to buy a baguette from the bakery that's less than a minute away. heated up some soup and had it with bread and fresh rain-drenched parsely from madame mur's garden. watched more movies. took a long shower. more films. that night was a little more tough, harder to fall asleep. and since i am an idiot and didn't realize that watering plants for 45 minutes the day before is considered a 'repetitive acticvity' my neck and back reminded me with more pain. so i took it easy and rested. and tried not to let my mind convince me of how alone and bored i was.
monday: (i don't work mondays) woke up ready to explore the town and the library and other things. pouring rain. so i watched a movie with breakfast and one with lunch and in between i showered, read a french cook book i found lying on a shelf, and decided to go out despite the rain. the library is about a 5 minute walk from home and it was closed! the hours that things are open here are so strange! turns out both the library and the bakery are closed mondays. and things close for lunch and reopen and this includes the library! moped around the tiny studio, listened to npr podcasts, watched another movie, heated up soup for dinner and watched another movie. then tried to get some sleep.
i couldn't of course because i had spent the last 2 days oversleeping and my body didn't want to sleep. so i lay awake and tried to convince myself that this whole stint is a good idea after all. and i think the count was 11 movies in 3 days.
tuesday: oh the kids are so funny. today is one of the many and very famous grèves (strikes) in france. so some teachers are on strike and i didnt know so i showed up anyway. turns out only the one teacher i was supposed to spend the majority of the day with, was absent so i shadowed some other, very cute classes.
eleven year olds are funny. there was a class with just 6 of them and they were scared to bits about even asking me how old i am in english. then followed a class with another 6 who were more relaxed and oddly philosophical. i was asked what my favorite object was, whether i liked myself and what i thought of the phillipines. they wanted to know what kind of music i listened to and whether i liked katy perry and owl city! these were 13 year olds but still they all told me they liked eminem and rihanna's song and that was a little disturbing. and in other classes they want to know if i'm single or not and even with a negative response continue to ask if i have children and this is after asking my age! am i jaded or are they?
and now i feel like i have repeated about a million times that my sister's name is Veera and that she is 19 years old and that i don't have pets but used to have a hamster (i cup my hands to indicate hamster, how else can i do it?) and that i love to swim and bike, that i am terrible at soccer and tennis, that i have never ridden a horse, or played rugby, that my favorite dish is (depending on the day and mood) pizza, pasta, indian food, chinese food, cakes, etc. the toughest questions are ''meees, what do you like?'' how do i answer this? i started by saying this like shoes, bracelets, food, puppies, and then i stopped and ask them to be more precise.
there is also the dreaded ''what is your dream?'' what do i say? i don't really know if i have a dream, and that makes me wonder if i should think of one, or something. and all the time i spend waiting for them to come up with a question to ask me, i think about how philosophical it all is. do they have dreams? did i at their age? what did i want to be? why did i not become that? when did my dream go away? of course they are all just looking for ways to practice their english and i shouldn't read into their questions. right?
and now i have an hour before the library closes and i would love to check it out, i'm really hoping it's nice and has lots of books that i want to read and wifi!!
plus my landlady is home today and i get to meet her for the first time! stay tuned for more excitement!
craving: rasam satham and vendeka curry- extra spicy!
currently listening to: hums of computers and some kind of floor waxer thingy in the hall
Friday, October 8, 2010
i kinda like it in my brand new place, i wipe the spots off of the mirror, don't leave the keys in the door...
thursday continued: we got my keys from the neighbor and went in to my new home for the next 8 months. i couldn't believe it. i was excited beofre but really doesn't begin to explain how perfect this place is. i have everything i could possibly need and more; they said fully furnished but wow. everything is small but i have a double bed. i have a little kitchen with everything there! dishes, cutlery, pots, pans, microwave, etc. i have a large wardrobe type closet and a small chest of drawers; there is a desk with a lamp, a bedside table with a lamp and a cute round dining table with an overhead light. the bathroom has lots of storage space and a large shower- bigger than Pond! and the water pressure is perfect. i even have 3 small windows in the bathroom! the odd thing is that there's a thing that looks like a urinal but isn't and i don't know what it's for. so i ignore it. the landlady even put in special touches like a blowdryer, an iron and ironing table and extra pillows and blankets and towels!
thursday and friday:
then i went and checked out the school. it's pretty big, around as big as harvest park but with less outdoor space and fields and whatnot. it's kinda old and grimy especially the toilets which look frightening from the outside so i haven't yet ventured in. it's a closed campus that's a bit more harsh than pleasanton cuz these fences, though they are white, look more daunting. but students are allowed out for an hour and half for lunch- not all students, just the ones that live in Sérignan. There are students that come from neighboring villages; there are 5 or 6. I can't really imagine places smaller than Sérignan so i will definitely check these out.
I have observed classes over the past 2 days and have very few conclusions about french middleschoolers. they are all incredibly well-dressed for village-dwellers. They are surprisingly sweet. They are terrible at English. They are pretty good looking as well and almost all of them are athletic in some way or another. From rugby to tennis and baseball and dance, they seem to keep busy. But i think this is pretty much the same of kids in a lot of places. they even have cell phones. so i guess they remind me of pleasanton kids a lot.
The teachers are harder to observe. The english teachers all have very adorable french/british accents when they speak english. i was told that they usually do not like having a native speaker around since they are not native speakers and they are teachers, but none of the teachers i have worked with so far seem to have any problems with that. some even double check pronunciation and facts with me in front of students. i think this is very cool of them and i think i'd definitely do the same. most of them are pretty young- mid30s max. there are more women than men and they all seem to get along. i must admit that i find the staff room a pretty boring place after having wondered what goes on in here all my school-going life. teachers just hang out and talk and gossip between classes. most teachers eat at the cafeteria at lunch and i need to figure out if i will as well. i have been informed that there is one vegetarian teacher around but i have not met him/her yet. it costs around 4 euro for lunch every day. which is definitely cheap for this country.
today i observed a class vote for their délégués- class reps and they did it to mimic the french election style. it was all very serious and professional with voting booths and stamps and real-ish ballots and voter registration cards and numbers and id checks and everything. the kids were all solemn and cute and took it seriously. it was interesting that they laid out ballots with each candidate's name on them and had each student take one, then they went into a booth where they each selected 2 candidates from the ballots and put those in an envelope and through out the rest. they came out and got in line to check their ids and put their envelopes in the ballot box that had a counter and required 2 keys to open. it seems to be a clearer way to do it than in america biut i'm not sure since i can't vote in america. then the votes were immediately tallied and marked on a chalkboard. two girls named melody and sara won by more than the required absolute majority. if not they would have had to vote again and again until they had one. interesting stuff.
last night i was too pooped to care so i had some veggie instant noodles i found and i bought the most delicious raspberry tart. i live a minute away from a very good bakery which is not good for me i'm sure. i figure if i allow myself no more than 2 desserts there a week i should be okay but it's going to be hard to resist.
and now i'm heading home cuz i'm tired and hungry. i won't have internet until tuesday when i have classes!
what oh what am i going to do this weekend? at least the weather's lovely.
craving: another raspberry tart and some bread and cheese!
currently listening to: the same persistent tube light and a custodian sweeping
thursday and friday:
then i went and checked out the school. it's pretty big, around as big as harvest park but with less outdoor space and fields and whatnot. it's kinda old and grimy especially the toilets which look frightening from the outside so i haven't yet ventured in. it's a closed campus that's a bit more harsh than pleasanton cuz these fences, though they are white, look more daunting. but students are allowed out for an hour and half for lunch- not all students, just the ones that live in Sérignan. There are students that come from neighboring villages; there are 5 or 6. I can't really imagine places smaller than Sérignan so i will definitely check these out.
I have observed classes over the past 2 days and have very few conclusions about french middleschoolers. they are all incredibly well-dressed for village-dwellers. They are surprisingly sweet. They are terrible at English. They are pretty good looking as well and almost all of them are athletic in some way or another. From rugby to tennis and baseball and dance, they seem to keep busy. But i think this is pretty much the same of kids in a lot of places. they even have cell phones. so i guess they remind me of pleasanton kids a lot.
The teachers are harder to observe. The english teachers all have very adorable french/british accents when they speak english. i was told that they usually do not like having a native speaker around since they are not native speakers and they are teachers, but none of the teachers i have worked with so far seem to have any problems with that. some even double check pronunciation and facts with me in front of students. i think this is very cool of them and i think i'd definitely do the same. most of them are pretty young- mid30s max. there are more women than men and they all seem to get along. i must admit that i find the staff room a pretty boring place after having wondered what goes on in here all my school-going life. teachers just hang out and talk and gossip between classes. most teachers eat at the cafeteria at lunch and i need to figure out if i will as well. i have been informed that there is one vegetarian teacher around but i have not met him/her yet. it costs around 4 euro for lunch every day. which is definitely cheap for this country.
today i observed a class vote for their délégués- class reps and they did it to mimic the french election style. it was all very serious and professional with voting booths and stamps and real-ish ballots and voter registration cards and numbers and id checks and everything. the kids were all solemn and cute and took it seriously. it was interesting that they laid out ballots with each candidate's name on them and had each student take one, then they went into a booth where they each selected 2 candidates from the ballots and put those in an envelope and through out the rest. they came out and got in line to check their ids and put their envelopes in the ballot box that had a counter and required 2 keys to open. it seems to be a clearer way to do it than in america biut i'm not sure since i can't vote in america. then the votes were immediately tallied and marked on a chalkboard. two girls named melody and sara won by more than the required absolute majority. if not they would have had to vote again and again until they had one. interesting stuff.
last night i was too pooped to care so i had some veggie instant noodles i found and i bought the most delicious raspberry tart. i live a minute away from a very good bakery which is not good for me i'm sure. i figure if i allow myself no more than 2 desserts there a week i should be okay but it's going to be hard to resist.
and now i'm heading home cuz i'm tired and hungry. i won't have internet until tuesday when i have classes!
what oh what am i going to do this weekend? at least the weather's lovely.
craving: another raspberry tart and some bread and cheese!
currently listening to: the same persistent tube light and a custodian sweeping
I remember when we were driving, driving in your car...
at the end of my second day of observation of classes here at Marcel Pagnol- the middle school I will be teaching and assisting at for the next 8 months.
A few words before I dig in: I do not yet have internet at home because I need to run that by my landlord and she is out of town until next week. So I use the internet at school and facebook is blocked. and so needless to say that this weekend is going to be boring unless i can find a way to get online. oh enslaved are we to the great triple w.
wednesday: ridiculously early in the morning i got on a train for Montpellier from Bordeaux. the night was ok even though my room was incredible tiny and the bathroom was highly disgusting. check tripadvisor for a horrible review of the Hotel California Bordeaux, if you'd like. worst 60 euro i ever spent. monique, an amazingly kind lady i met this summer, met me at the station and drove me to the meeting of all the assistants at this one high school in montpellier. i was 2 hours late. i walked in and sat down and listen to a few people drone on about things i already knew. but i guess it didn't hurt to hear them again, reinforcement doesn't hurt. but qfter 2 hours, it was a bit painful. they then let us go for lunch and i cringed cuz that meant either eating alone or talking to people i didn't know. i really don't like approaching people i don't know.
but i went for it and as luck would have it i ran into 2 girls who teach in Béziers and one in Montpellier. The 2 Béziers girls are from america- elaine from santa cruz (small world) and becca from minnesota. they were very sweet and happily hilarious. funny thing was that 2 of them doesn't speak french too well and they still got into the program. we were told that there are more schools that want assistants than there are assistants and funding available. and that if we are being abused by our schools to remind them of this fact. lol, I can't imagine doing that even if they were mean to me.
after the meeting they split us into our language groups and we discussed some more stuff and ran through some teaching techniques and ideas. in english which i was happy to be speaking in france, something i haven't done before.
the day ended and monique came to get me and we went to have a drink in a central square area of Montpellier which was really nice. i had the oddest lemonade called a diablo. it had a mint syrup in it that honestly tasted like mouthwash. i had to consciously remember not to swish it around my mouth and spit. then we went back to her place where i showered and then we went out again for dinner. i had a cheese and mushroom omlette with fries (of course, everything in france is served with fries) and i couldn't finishe it. monique had some sort of raw fish thing that looked like ridiculously thin slices of salmon all laid out on a lettuce leaf. and she didn't have room for dessert. i do not think i would enjoy living with someone who ate as little as she does.
thursday: the next morning she drove me to Sérignan. she has a tiny two-door car and she drove at 190km; i felt like i was in a video game. at times her car would protest and she would just laugh and say that her friends tell her she's going to wreck her car if she drives too fast. she was sweet though cuz she asked if i get car sick before revving it up to that speed. we discussed CIFC and her camp CIFAS the whole way.
the rest in the post that follows cuz this one is already quite long.
craving: an awesome and spicy lunch
currently listening to: this tube light struggling to stay on
A few words before I dig in: I do not yet have internet at home because I need to run that by my landlord and she is out of town until next week. So I use the internet at school and facebook is blocked. and so needless to say that this weekend is going to be boring unless i can find a way to get online. oh enslaved are we to the great triple w.
wednesday: ridiculously early in the morning i got on a train for Montpellier from Bordeaux. the night was ok even though my room was incredible tiny and the bathroom was highly disgusting. check tripadvisor for a horrible review of the Hotel California Bordeaux, if you'd like. worst 60 euro i ever spent. monique, an amazingly kind lady i met this summer, met me at the station and drove me to the meeting of all the assistants at this one high school in montpellier. i was 2 hours late. i walked in and sat down and listen to a few people drone on about things i already knew. but i guess it didn't hurt to hear them again, reinforcement doesn't hurt. but qfter 2 hours, it was a bit painful. they then let us go for lunch and i cringed cuz that meant either eating alone or talking to people i didn't know. i really don't like approaching people i don't know.
but i went for it and as luck would have it i ran into 2 girls who teach in Béziers and one in Montpellier. The 2 Béziers girls are from america- elaine from santa cruz (small world) and becca from minnesota. they were very sweet and happily hilarious. funny thing was that 2 of them doesn't speak french too well and they still got into the program. we were told that there are more schools that want assistants than there are assistants and funding available. and that if we are being abused by our schools to remind them of this fact. lol, I can't imagine doing that even if they were mean to me.
after the meeting they split us into our language groups and we discussed some more stuff and ran through some teaching techniques and ideas. in english which i was happy to be speaking in france, something i haven't done before.
the day ended and monique came to get me and we went to have a drink in a central square area of Montpellier which was really nice. i had the oddest lemonade called a diablo. it had a mint syrup in it that honestly tasted like mouthwash. i had to consciously remember not to swish it around my mouth and spit. then we went back to her place where i showered and then we went out again for dinner. i had a cheese and mushroom omlette with fries (of course, everything in france is served with fries) and i couldn't finishe it. monique had some sort of raw fish thing that looked like ridiculously thin slices of salmon all laid out on a lettuce leaf. and she didn't have room for dessert. i do not think i would enjoy living with someone who ate as little as she does.
thursday: the next morning she drove me to Sérignan. she has a tiny two-door car and she drove at 190km; i felt like i was in a video game. at times her car would protest and she would just laugh and say that her friends tell her she's going to wreck her car if she drives too fast. she was sweet though cuz she asked if i get car sick before revving it up to that speed. we discussed CIFC and her camp CIFAS the whole way.
the rest in the post that follows cuz this one is already quite long.
craving: an awesome and spicy lunch
currently listening to: this tube light struggling to stay on
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