Wednesday, March 31, 2010

life list: make my own ice cream.







did you ever read american girl stories when you were young?
we were big fans at my house
ever since reading how 
samantha made ice cream 
in a home made ice cream maker
i've wanted to do that

i'd make fresh strawberry
or vanilla bean
or mint chocolate chip
or peppermint
mmm

what flavor would you make?

ps.

here i stumbled about a recipe for chocolate thin mint ice cream
yes please.

a+

alli

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

a shitty easter.

since easter is this sunday,
i've taken the opportunity to talk about it
with some of my classes.
the youngest and the oldest
everyone has something to say.

in france, tradition is that
les cloches
bring the easter candy to little children
anxiously waiting easter morning.
bells!
not an easter bunny
although you see rabbits everywhere anyway

all the boulangeries
 and patisseries
are filled with chocolate fish
chocolate ducks
chocolate bears

i decided to not necessarily go into 
the religious side of easter,
but rather let the kids bring it up if they wanted to.
which most of them did

they explained to me that jesus was
resucitated...
ressucité
resurrected
three days after he died. 

in one of my 6ièmes classes, the youngest ones
a curious boy interrogated me
'madame, why are we talking about rabbits is it's about jesus?'
how do i describe that to a ten year old?
even in my own language, i feel weird about it

while i was still pondering how to answer this curious guy
the class started yelling out their own thoughts
'maybe jesus and the rabbits deliver the eggs together'
'but why do we have eggs? where do they come from?'

and then came the show stopper
from the corner
un petit malin
who yelled out

'non, non, ce sont des lapins qui chient des oeufs!'
apparently, the rabbits shit the eggs, and then deliver them.

originale, n'est-ce pas?
the class all looked at me
wanting to laugh
knowing they shouldn't

that little guy had a note written to his parents that day
but i have to say
A for Creativity

although if that were the case, 
i think we would enjoy easter egg hunts a lot less...

a+

alli


Monday, March 29, 2010

le weekend.

deliciousness.


which would make this, heaven.


me, about to try to caramel beurre salé macaroon.
caramel and salted butter.
sounds a little strange.
guarantee you it is nothing but wonderful.


catching up with ryan.
i've now seen him in four countries.
austria, gemany, france, and the us.


mmm!


copacabana night with the assistants.


alright, i look excited to be there at least.

the first pictures are from my trip to lyon,
last wednesday.
to try this fabulous macaroon shop
and visit my friend Ryan, studying French there.
one of my favorite cities, 
wish i could have spent more time there!
also, as a side note- 
i don't usually like macaroons.
but that store changed everything for me.

it seems fitting
that every time i write a post about the weather
the opposite rolls in as soon as i finish the post.
i blame my 'i love spring' post
for the rain we had all weekend
made me want those rainboots i never bought
even more!
and regret the fact that i left my parapluie
in the teachers lounge for the weekend.

sunday i walked under the raindrops 
to palm sunday mass
in france (and maybe a lot of europe?)
they don't celebrate with palms, 
but buis, boxwood.
easter's only a few days away!
which doesn't seem possible.

what did you do this weekend?
stay out of the rain?

a+

alli

Thursday, March 25, 2010

falling in love.



hello!
i know i haven't been here very much this week.
but it doesn't mean i haven't been thinking about it!
so many things to write about
the week just kind of got away from me.

yesterday i strolled along the streets of Lyon
one of my favorite French cities
(besides Paris, obbbbviously)
visited with a friend from college
talked about languages yet to learn
cities yet to visit

today i got some exciting news
looks like i'll be moving back across the atlantic
come next fall
try my french alongside les quebecois
see if they can understand my "France French" and vice versa
very exciting!

in other news, 
i am absolutely falling in love
with spring
which has decided to come and stay for awhile
the smell of the air in the evening
the sun shining through the windows in the morning
stars speckled above my head
riding my bike home in a light sweater
beaune is vivant again

the first time i ever came to france,
i was 17
i'll never forget driving through the countryside
in a van full of rowdy americans
and a french teacher trop content
to be back in la france
windows rolled down, driving next to sunflowers
arching to gaze at the sun 

listening to a guitar strumming calmly,
watching the rain move across a valley
the noise, a whisper at first and then a roar
completely content

that was
the first time i fell in love with france

but every spring, the wave of nostalgia that comes with the budding flowers
and warm breeze
is so strong.
it's like i'm falling in love with the season
the atmosphere
the culture
all over again
and i'm loving every second

is there something you fall in love with every year?
as strong each time as it was before?

a+

alli

Monday, March 22, 2010

le weekend.


hand woven baskets.

garlic. fruit. sun dried tomatoes. and an awesome hat.

garliccc.

fresh fruit.

fresh flowers.

sunday walk in the park.

the funniest ducks i've seen in awhile.
instead of sitting in the river, 
all three were sitting at the edge of the road
unfazed by the passing cars
content sitting in the sun.

vines getting ready for spring.

fresh fruit at the market.
flowers smiling in the breeze.
les beaunois wandering with their wooden baskets
full of market goodies.
roasting chickens
cheese, eggs, fresh loaves of bread
flour sprinkled on checkered towels.

beaune is coming alive again!
lovely spring weather
means spring coats
ballerina flats
and sunny bike rides.

what was the best part of your weekend?

a+

alli

Thursday, March 18, 2010

quirks.


I feel most myself when my hair is curly
Or when I’m wearing my red coat

I’ve gone on a morning run on my birthday every year for at least the past 5 years.  It’s a tradition.

I’ve lived the last two years of my life in two languages.

I love my feet.  Especially my toes. 

When people ask me how long I’ve been learning French, I never know what to say.  Honestly, I remember French teachers coming to my Kindergarten class at Montessori school, but I feel weird admitting it.

I hate listening to people eat.  You shouldn’t take it personally, I hate your noises just as much as the next person. 

I passed the exam to get my pilots license 7 days after my 18th birthday.  My flight examiner’s name was Albert Halbert.

I have an inexplicable and irrational fear of things falling on me.  I’ve never really voiced it out loud, but I’m often thinking of what could collapse or fall down on me from way high above.  It’s a completely illogical, I’ve never had anything fall on me before.  Knock of wood.  Too much Wiley Coyote cartoons as a kid.

I always notice how people walk.  Strangers, good friends, colleagues, relatives.  If their feet point inwards or outwards when they step.  If they walk slow or fast. 

My sister and I still have this unspoken rule about who sits in the front seat when we ride in the car with other people.  Her on the way there, me on the way back.  Even in our twenties.


what are some of your quirks?
what makes you, you
the ones you keep secret
or the ones you readily admit to
anyone else with a fear of falling pianos?
can't wait to hear :)

a+ 

alli


Wednesday, March 17, 2010

life list: go to the batting cages.

honestly,
i'm a little ashamed to say i spent 
14 years
of my life so far in the midwest...
and i've never been to the batting cages

silly
but true.


one day i'll go
put on a helmet
a glove
wait for the pitch
and see how i do

i'll be a little sad 
not to run the bases though
or have any caramel corn or a budweiser
or a hot dog

who wants to come with me?

a+

alli

Monday, March 15, 2010

le weekend.


the wonderfully sunny montpellier sky


doors.


picnic spot.


roomies!


THE assistants.


roomies take 2.


march, folks.  MARCH.


sunnnnny.


afternoon carousel ride.


on a vitamin D high.


winding streets.


great company.

i did some amazing things this weekend.
i wore a tshirt
i let the mediterranean tickle my toes
i got a SUN BURN!
i didn't see ONE cloud
i wandered around a wonderful city 
with absolutely wonderful company

we sat at cafés
sharing funny stories
being obnoxious
soaking up the time we have left with each other

every time i put my hands in the pockets of my coat
i can still feel sand from the beach
a lovely reminder of the weekend
and a reminder that i'll have to go back
sometime soon

i stocked up on my vitamin D
which is a good thing since it's cloudy today
now off to start my work week
this weekend i have a concert
i'll be singing a solo 
for the first time since high school
wish me luck!

what does your week look like?

Thursday, March 11, 2010

teach for the world.




and this article here, which appeared today in the nytimes

these are just a few reasons i want to be involved in education
it talks all about an idea stemmed from 

this idea of sending americans not only around our country
but around the world
to teach in classrooms
to experience another way to live

it's a combination of the
eye-opening experience of traveling
and the humbling and patience-inducing experience of teaching

sometimes all we need to remember is 
understanding.
empathy, or even the effort to find empathy...
shouldn't that be the ultimate battle? 

read the article, tell me what you think!
i would hop on board a team for teach for the world
in a second

a+

alli


Wednesday, March 10, 2010

life list: sew a skirt

along with cooking an extravagant homemade meal all from scratch
having my own vegetable garden
and 
writing (and maybe illustrating?) a children's book

one day i also plan to sew a skirt. 


how cute is that?

i would make mine in red
with polka dot material for the pockets
pair it with a striped shirt
some navy flats
or strappy gold sandals
a pair of sunglasses 
summatime please!

it even has a link to a tutorial, that i miiiiiiight be able to follow 

never mind that i'll have to learn how to use a sewing machine first...
got a birthday gift idea, madre : D

here are some more pictures that make me wish i would have taken drawing classes at some point
another life list item!







photos via the hidden seed
interestingly enough,
a teacher
and author, of a children's book
also she has a fabulous collection of shoes
:D

still working on your life list?
share with me!

a+

alli






Tuesday, March 9, 2010

what kind of normal?

ever stopped to think how your life changes?
what you consider normal, or what once was?
routines. 
habits.
languages.
hairstyle.
friends.
passions.
putting on a left shoe first or the right.
peanut butter toast with a cup of coffee.
or granola and yogurt with green tea.
having 16 hours of class a week.
12 hours of work a week, instead.

sometimes changes are incredibly obvious.
moving 1500 miles across the country 6 weeks into high school.
having an address in another country.

other times nearly imperceptible.
thinking in a different language.
a different fruit at the supermarket.
a new favorite color.

but are the only important changes, the ones that are startlingly obvious?

i like to believe that changes... the important ones 
start as a very small
teeny tiny voice
with no chance to pinpoint.

over time they grow, until 
one day with no pressure or prompting
you just know.
something has changed.
i know it's not always like that though.

i think there's something romantic in the thought, the belief
that sometimes the smallest seemingly insignificant things 
are really the heart of everything.

so listen closely
look twice
what's changing in your life?
what's normal now that wasn't before?


a+

alli

ps. 
you will laugh at me when i tell you how i thought of this post.
because it wasn't technically anything small

when i was unlocking my bike today to ride home from work
i heard something loud and boisterous rolling down the road.
a diesel motor chugging against the wind
and without looking i knew what it was


six months ago, i would not have thought that was normal. 
but today i could have told you without looking.
odd how perceptions change, isn't it.


photo.  

Monday, March 8, 2010

le weekend.

happy monday afternoon!
well, i'm hoping that monday finds you doing well.
it has been realllllly winnnndy here recently
making bike rides and non-ponytail hair a little complicated 
:O

here are a couple of pictures from my weekend.
lunch with a professor, where i tasted my new favorite fromage
which was a littttle bit like this

a visit to a town called autun
its cathedral and a museum with lovely red walls
a walk along the ramparts in the wind
yummy chicken drummies in the oven 


autun museum. 


i liked the floor even more than the displays :)


that's a mosaic!


rawr.


outside of cathedral st. lazare




this was really the only light in the cathedral.
it was kind of gloomy


pretty windows.

a clock with the wrong time :)


pretty courtyard, back in beaune


a nice surprise in the hidden courtyard.

finishing up day one of my work week.
this weekend i'm going to hop on the TGV 
and cherche for some mediterranean sun
down in montpellier!

the last time i was there was last november
to visit a lovely friend 
and even then, the sun was gleaming

so tell me, how was your weekend
?

a+

alli

food for thought.

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