Une Petite Tisane Pour Digerer?

French people take their food seriously. A few examples:
- They normally have a 3 course meal for lunch and dinner (appetizer, entrée, dessert) - side note: we use the word entrée incorrectly in English. It is actually the French word for an appetizer.
- They ALWAYS eat dessert. A meal is not right if you do not end it with something sugary.
- They don't mix salty and sugary foods on the same plate (if you noticed in the brunch pictures below, all of the pancakes are on separate plates...).


Along with taking their food seriously, they also take their digestion seriously. I find this quite entertaining. I have been asked many times if I want some herbal tea (tisane) or digestive alcohol to "digest" (digerer). They talk about it during meals as well - like 'oh, this pastry isn't cooked well enough - we better cook it more or else it will be hard to digest...' or 'oh this dessert is still warm, we should probably wait a bit so that it's easier to digest.' This is something I've already talked to Marco about, which he doesn't think is 100% true. But come to France and count how many times people talk about their digestive process. I guarantee it will out-do the number of times an American talks about it by 50.


AND not only that, they always add 'petit' (little) in front of what they are talking about. They might offer you a 'little herbal tea' but in reality it is the mug the size of a bowl. Or they might suggest a 'petite promenade' (a little walk) but in reality it's a 1.5 hour walk.


I laugh every time I hear it. I guess having a good digestive process is just as important to them as their food.... ohh les francais....

Healthy Food is Boring

Marco decided he wanted me to make him a traditional American brunch before leaving. I was completely game since I LOVVEEE breakfast foods. I made scrambled eggs, bacon, and to-die-for strawberry walnut pancakes (not the box mix either!). Pascale pressed oranges for OJ and made the 'American-style' (aka weak) coffee. Marco made the toast :). It was quite a tasty meal, if I do say so myself!

Miam miam!
Even though Pascale is normally a very healthy eater, she really enjoyed the 'light' American brunch!
Marco dug in while it was hot!
After brunch, Marco, Pascale, and I made the cookies that Aunt Donna sent to me for Easter. We wanted to wait for a day when we could enjoy making them all together, even if it was a little later than expected. They turned out pretty well and we enjoyed decorating them. I made pretty butterflies, snails, and the sun while Marco made monsters, 'ghosts,' cross-eyed rabbits and unhappy faces. Typical boy....
Can you guess who made which one? There better be an obvious difference!

Pascale and I are going to take them on our trip to Normandy to snack on. Well, I will be gone Monday-Wednesday visiting castles and the Normandy beaches so talk to you all afterwards!

Futuroscope

This past Tuesday I went on a field trip with some of the 11th graders from La Herdrie. We went to the 'Futuroscope' which is a multimedia-themed attraction park. There are different interactive rides that involve multimedia of some sort as well as numerous iMax movies to watch throughout the day (I saw one about VanGogh, . It was a lot of fun! Peggy got to go as well which made it all the better. We ran around from attraction to attraction to get to as many as possible during the day! I am proud to say that we surpassed our goal.

The architecture is pretty cool as well. It is very modern with lots of metal and glass involved.

This ride was one of my favorites. It is difficult to see because of the lighting, but you are put into roller coaster like seats and then the robot (the big white thing) spins and twirls you around all over the place! It isn't for the faint at heart....

Unfortunately, it was a very overcast and windy day. We were lucky to be there at a time when there are no lines, since they are all outside.

It was impossible to take a picture of my favorite attraction. Translated into English it is called 'With Eyes Wide Closed.' In groups of 2-4, a blind person leads you into a pitch black 'maze' of sorts. There was a beach room, trash room, a 'boat,' a pedestrian cross-walk etc. We had to identify what we were standing on, what we smelled, what we felt etc. It was very interesting to get a small glimpse into the world of the blind. Our guide was tons of fun and purposefully set us up for disaster as well :). It is always nice to be with someone with a sense of humor!

It was a fun thing to do for a day and I'm glad I got to experience it. Here is the Wiki link if you want further explanation of exactly what it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futuroscope . If you click on the 'French' translation, you can see more pictures of it as well.

Au Revoir La Herdrie!

Last Friday was my last day teaching at Lycee de la Herdie. It was actually quite a normal day since of course everyone still had to work. They were nice enough to throw a little going away party for me and the other assistant, Peggy, during lunch. There was even champagne!!! Unfortunately, I didn’t get to drink any because I was too busy saying bye to people. Oh well, maybe next time!

Peggy is Dutch but is also an English assistant. I am so happy I got to share my experience at La Herdrie with her. She is a really positive girl and full of energy. The experience would have completely different (and not for the better…) without her. We ate lunch together, talked together, did the English camps together etc. We both also have the same work mentality and are very organized so this also helped us to work well together.

The teachers sang “Ticket to Ride” by the Beatles for us. It was hilarious. I promised the students I would post it on YouTube but haven’t yet done it.

A picture with my ‘responsible,’ Veronique. I was also very blessed to have her at the high school. She helped me with so much and was always very friendly. I never felt as though I was being annoying by asking questions etc. There are some other assistants who really had a terrible time with their head teacher – or who didn’t have one at all! It made the assistantship much more difficult for them.

The vice-principal (Monsieur Benac), Peggy, me, and Madame Hermange, the principal. They have always been very supportive of us as well. Madame Hermange had us over to her house a few times for coffee and dinner as well.

This is a picture of the teachers' lounge. Each teacher doesn’t have their own classroom – the teachers move just like the students between each class. The teachers' lounge is where they go between classes, to grade papers, to plan etc. I’d imagine it is difficult for them since you can be easily distracted by others in the middle of grading papers.

On the other side of the teachers' lounge. There are 6 computers for 60 some people. That proved to be quite the challenge…

A classroom I taught in fairly often. Since teachers change classrooms all the time, most of the walls are white with only a few posters here and there. It made it a much colder atmosphere than in the US.

Peggy being crazy Peggy. She made sure she closed the door before standing on top of the desks. We didn’t want to get into trouble on the day of my departure (she actually extended her contract and will be there for another 2 months).

The hall leading to the entrance of the high school.

The heart of the high school.

Oh, Peggy…. :)

Another view of the high school. This hall eventually leads to the teachers' lounge and the cafeteria.

Behind the high school. The bulding to the right in the background is where the principal and vice-principal live. They get free housing. Not too bad, huh?! The building directly behind me is where the students can go when they have breaks.

The ‘front entrance’ of the school. The parking lot is to the left, straight ahead is the gym, and then you make a right and walked down a wooded path until the school pops up out of nowhere!

The wooded path.

Hello there la Herdrie!

As always with such things, it was a bittersweet last day. I won’t miss teaching unmotivated students but I will miss those that made an effort. I will miss the people I met and the experience in general. I learned a lot and hopefully this school year in France will enable me to be a better School Psychologist in the future.

Au revoir la Herdrie!

A Side Note....

Tomorrow is my last day of teaching. Am I disappointed? Not so much. I am glad that I didn't end up getting my Spanish Secondary Ed. degree. Only a little nostalgic to be leaving some cool people behind and to be ending another phase of my life....

I will try to get some pictures tomorrow and update about my last day sometime soon.

Adventures...in a Train???

As I alluded to you all, our flight was cancelled on Tuesday, the day we were supposed to head back to gay Paris. The night before we looked at the flight and supposedly it was to be one of the first out of Prague for the day. We were somewhat relieved but at the same time it made me anxious to be a little like a ‘trial flight.’ In any case, Marco woke me up the next morning with bad news – the flight had been cancelled. He is currently in the middle of an internship and wanted to get back to France ASAP (if he hadn’t had this, I would have been more than happy to stay an extra day to explore the city!). Instead of going to see the Jewish Quarter, supposedly one of the best things to see in Prague, we went to the train station at 8am to get the first train seats out. Normally the ‘international’ counter opens at 9am but because of all of the issues, there was a line by 8:30am. We knew it would be a rough journey, we just didn’t know the path it would take us! The fastest way to get back to France was to take the train from Prague to Berlin, then a night train from Berlin to Paris, then a last train from Paris to Nantes. Who knew that making a HUGE detour through Germany would be the fastest way!? In any case, I was excited because it gave me a chance to see a part of Germany in the train and then the afternoon in Berlin.

The train ride from Prague to Berlin was gorgeous. We rode right along the river for the majority of the trip and saw lots of quaint little German towns and houses like these.

We finally got off of the 5 hour train in Berlin. The train station is even impressive in Berlin! The city is very modern (since it was completely destroyed during WWII). It reminded me of the US in some ways. As you might be able to tell from this picture, Marco wasn’t very happy that we had to carry our backpacks with us around Berlin…. Not only that, but there were gypsies following us around trying to get money from us.

The first thing we saw was the Parliament (Reichstag). I asked Marco to take a picture with me in front to prove to Katie and Oli that I finally stepped foot into their country!

Nearby is The Spree River with cool modern buildings all around. We were still in West Berlin at this point but in about 100 yards we entered into East Berlin. Normally I make a guide for each city I go to, but unfortunately I did not have one with me since it was a surprise visit.

We next ran into the Brandenburg Gate. It is one of the biggest German symbols and is seen in many WWII pictures and communism pictures. This entire street has all of the major embassies in ultra-modern buildings. Directly to the left of the Brandenburg Gate is the American Embassy. I think it is the first free-flying American flag (and American soil) I have seen since being here! I *almost* felt at home! I do have to say, the Anglo-Saxon culture of Germany was much more like the US than France though. It was a nice breath of fresh air!

Along with all of the embassies, there were some pretty impressive cars. This is one of the most expensive in the world (Bugatti). I think Marco told me that it costs 1 million euro or 135 million dollars. He was like a little kid in a candy store – we had to keep crossing the street to see the cars on the other side of the boulevard…. I do have to admit, the Bugatti was pretty sweet!

We continued walking and decided to turn around at the Berliner Dom (a protestant cathedral) with the Fernsehturm (TV tower) in the background. It was just about at this point where the sky started to get really dark and the wind picked up. I got my umbrella out just to be sure and unfortunately, it was needed. It started to rain chiens and chats a few minutes later. There was nowhere for us to get shelter at this point so we booked it back to the train station which was still a good 30 minute walk away…

The rain finally ceased to a mere drizzle. We got slightly lost on the way back but it ended up bing a good thing! We got to see a part of the Berlin wall as a result. I loved Germany and Berlin. I was side I did not get to see my high school friend, Kathi, while I was in her city but since it was such an unexpected trip, there was no way to contact. Darn. Guess I’ll just have to go back again someday!

We got back to the train station and shortly thereafter boarded our train for Paris. We were lucky for the first few hours to only have to share our 6 person compartment with one other for the 14 hour train ride to Paris. Unfortunately, a few hours later, a few big military men joined our compartment. It ended up being a very uncomfortable and long ride back. Needless to say, I hardly slept at all. Marco resided to finding the bike room and sleeping on the hard floor. We were SO happy to get off the train in Paris. And to simply BE in Paris. We knew we still had a 2 hour train ride back to Nantes but after the 30 hours of train we had done in the past 3 days, it seemed like nothing……

All of this for a little volcano in Iceland that no one even knows how to pronounce. Let’s hope the winds don’t change and I don’t have a problem getting back to the US…there isn’t a 30 hour train for me to get back to Philadelphia….

This time you can seriously click on the pictures to enlarge them. I figured out the trick!

Here is the Wiki link to Berlin if you want to learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin

Adventures in Prague!

We stayed a night in Prague with the Rhos before heading to Vienna but we just explored the main tourist areas. After we got back from Vienna, we had a day and a half to see as much as we could – or so we thought!

We started off our day by heading to Starbucks. Marco is one of those people that need a cup of coffee to get going in the morning. We crossed over the well-known Charles’ Bridge on the way and snapped a few photos of the castle and cathedral over the river.

There are lots of people selling souvenirs or doing caricatures on the bridge. It seems as though it is only used by tourists.

We both liked Prague but we also felt as though it had a bit of a ‘Disney’ feel to it. Contrarily to Vienna, the tourist attractions are all concentrated in one area. In this area there are only tourists and things geared towards tourists. Vienna is much more spread out and we could constantly hear German around us, which made it a more unique experience. This picture shows a bit of that Disney feeling – with buildings that look like they were restored just for pictures such as this one.

The Prague Cathedral is situated in the middle of the very large castle (one of the biggest in the world). It is hard to get a picture of the front of it since the castle walls are not far away.

The castle was built from 1344- 1890ish. It is the only cathedral I have seen that has been so recently finished. This stained glass is from the end of the 19^th c. The ones at the front of the church are visibly much older.

Every major city we have been to recently has had some sort of memorial to the former President of Poland who died in a plane crash not long ago. This one was located in the cathedral.

After ‘escaping’ from the Disney Castle and Cathedral area, we walked down a little hidden garden path to take some pictures and then went up the funicular to Petrin Hill. Prague is known as the ‘City of a Thouand Spires.’ You can get somewhat of that from this picture.

On Petrin Hill is the Petrinska Rozhledna, an observation tower which is to resemble the Eiffel Tower. We climbed the endless stairs to the top to see the Prague skyline. We also walked around the gardens which are just blooming on the hill.

We continued on our walking tour through Prague. This is the American University of Prague that the Rhos go to. A little bit smaller than Grove City J.

Close to their university is the Lennon Wall. It started during the communist regime and was covered with John Lennon-inspired lyrics and graffiti. There are some pretty ridiculous things written on it too. Close by is also a little area called Kampa which reminds me of Venice – canals with houses on either side.

A monument that spells ‘Revolution’ in Czech to commemorate the 1989 fall of communism.

The New Old Town Square in Prague. We looked at the sites here quickly but did not spend too much time here.

At the end of the day, we were ready for some peace and quiet. On my list I had a park written down that is on the outskirts of the city (Vysehrad Castle). It was a castle at one point but pretty much all that remains is the wall. It was beautiful and we were pretty much the only non-Czech people there.

That night we took Jake, Hana, and Devon out for dinner as a thank you for letting us crash at their place while we were there. It was so great getting to see familiar faces. They were the best part about the city! It makes me even more excited to see everyone back home.

They took us to a Czech restaurant that is far away from the tourist crowds. It was SO cheap. Beer was 1 euro and this entire plate was 6 euro. It was delicious. After numerous trips to ‘MacDo’ as the French call it, and Burger King, I was ready for a real meal.

The menus were hilarious. What does that mean!!?! Something warm to the ball? Something to beer?

The next day, we planned on going to see the Jewish Quarter which is supposedly very cool. Little did we know we’d wake up the next morning to a cancelled flight in the evening and need to leave right away….more details to come about that in the next post!

In general, we liked Prague but it isn’t a city I would return to like I would with so many others. I am happy I got to see it, but the Disney feel and the techno music blasting everywhere ruined part of the charm of the city. Guess it would be better if I liked to go clubbing…

Tidbits about Prague:

• Lots of tourists – especially from France
• Even though they are in the EU they use the Czech Crown which is pretty cheap
• Obvious that it was Communist at one point in time
• Highest number of atheists in Europe
• Lowest birth rate in Europe – their population is declining at such a rate that there are major government incentives to have children (according to Hana!)
• Their fashion is well…unique…same with hair styles. We saw lots of females with brightly dyed hair.
• Not so friendly over all
• Lots of beggars but no gypsies.

I think this blog is more negative overall, but don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed the city as well. Maybe someone who has lived/studied abroad there can correct my ‘first appearances’ of Prague.

P.S. I am not sure why the photos are not correctly oriented. I'll try to fix it.