WHAT UP SAINT GERMAIN?!

Tuesday was a meh day at work. The kids were better than Monday, but since the Education Nationale decided to inspect me and tell me I suck at life, I enjoy my job a whole lot less. Whereas before I could have fun and just make the kids care about learning English, now I'm constantly wondering if I'm doing things wrong or speaking in French too much or I don't even know what. So, basically, instead of giving me feedback, they wrecked my confidence and made me dislike my job.

Smooth.

ANYWAY, what made yesterday awesome was coming home to find Josh and Kim in the middle of making bruschetta for our own little apéritif. We then promptly popped a bottle of champagne (out my window, for good measure) and held a dance party à la américain, while Kim shouted "WHAT UP SAINT GERMAIN!!!" over the Parisian rooftops.

I have the greatest friends, EVER.

For further examples: The other night Kim and I giggled ourselves into fits of hysterical laughter-tears when she referred to my treetop bed as "upstairs," or otherwise referred to my "spacious duplex." Priceless.

Add to this a slew of ridiculous commentaries of all sorts and you have a decent idea of the state of the union.

So besides having my stay-at-home spouses to go buy me toliet paper and have dinner and drinks ready when I get home from a rough day at work, the best part of having Kim and Josh here is that it feels like I have a little part of Binghamton with me. The last few nights of the three of us goofing around is the closest I've felt to being back in Bing (perhaps more specifically Hillside or Tom and Marty's?) in a long time.

It feels pretty awesome.

SOS: Send fortune cookies!

Kim and Josh got here on Friday; I'm so happy to have them back here with me :) Kim brought me, as per request, fortune cookies ... my main source of spiritual guidance.

Today my fortune cookie informed me that ' A healthy way of living is to be good to your health.'

Self-evident, you say?

It's not about the profundity of the advice offered, it's all about timing. In this case, it is important to note that I received this fortune after spending yesterday afternoon at the Salon des Vignerons Independants, aka, monster wine tasting. By monster I mean over 600 wineries, all ready to have you taste anything your little heart desired.

Emma, Pat - Oh.My.GOD.

Then a group of us went out to a fondue place for dinner. I think my internal organs melted.

Long story short, fortune cookies are my moral and spiritual guidance, and I haven't had any in six months. Problem solved (temporarily).

Because Jewtalian is cliché.

Found this on a walk with mommy ... See that little store's sign? That's right, you're not imagining it ... O'Kosher.

O'Kosher? Oh yeah, they went there. Someday I'll have to investigate further.

Buy one Concert, get two free!

March 13-14th was our 'week-end de travail,' aka the weekend that immediately precedes a concert and books you into 12 hours of rehearsal (three hour rehearsals both mornings and afternoons).

These pictures were taken by photographers that came while we rehearsed Saturday morning in the Grand Amphithéâtre de la Sorbonne. Need to steal pictures from concert night from my friend Elodie still ... You can see me on the right-hand edge of this one, in grey.

Here's a shot of the whole orchestra, plus the smaller chorus, mid-Sea Symphony.

On March 16th we had the public concert of Ralph Vaughn-Williams' Sea Symphony, on March 23rd we had a private performance of the same thing (for our sponsors, my first private concert?) and then on March 25th we had a different concert aux Invalides.

For the concert aux Invalides we played the overture and airs from Mozart's Clemenzo de Tito or something like that (with a soprano), as well as a Haydn cello concerto, and a concerto for violin and viola.

Phew, I'm concerted out. The next one isn't until the end of May :)

My mommy comes to Paris!

It was so fun to have my Mommy come visit me in Paris again :) She even got to come to my concert on March 16th! More on that later though.

One day we spent wandering around the Marais, where we found a 13 à Table, which is a kitchen supply store. Toasters with WINDOWS! The best part is that for a project engineering students do in the classes I TA'ed for, the students have to propose modifications -- and a window was one of the things the toaster group suggested.

The Little Shop ... of Horrors?! Found this in the Marais too.

Another day, after the Marché aux Puces and errands we stopped for a while to listen to the same fun jazz band, La Planche à Dixie.

We were really lucky that my penpal from years ago, Emma, was having her housewarming party ... we took the train out to Melun, and my mom went to dinner with her parents while I celebrated at Emma's with her other friends. Then Emma's parents brought me back to Les Ecrennes with them and we all got to talk for a bit. I'm so glad that my mom finally got to meet Emma's parents, they've heard so much about each other :)

I think it was Sunday night that we made chili! Mmmmmm, I've been meaning to do it forever, but instead I got Mommy's expertise :)

Mommy left on Tuesday morning. On top of the usual bummer, it was a super bummer because my schools all decided to go have grèves (strikes), so I actually could have spent the day with her :( Extra bummer because the trains were on strike too, and so it was a bit more of a pain than usual to get the B out to Charles de Gaulle.

So happy she was here :D !

Spring is in the air ...

At orchestra rehearsal last night, the girls I'm friends with brought me birthday flowers :)

Reasons I love my job (part II)

1. It wasn't a question so much as a verification of fact:
"You're Michael Jackson's mom?!" (First grade/CE1) There are so many problems with that statement that I can't say that I know where to begin. I might have said yes, just because I was too dumbfounded to form a sentence. When asked why she thought so, she informed me that my hair was the reason (note to self --- NEVER straighten hair, ever again).

2A. We practiced opposites. The kids get skinny/fat mixed up with sneaky, a word I didn't teach them. Thus:
Me: What's the opposite of fat?
Kids, in unison: SNEAKY

2B. Also a result of learning opposites, they confuse fat and happy. Don't ask, I have no idea why. So I'll get a stupid grin going, and ask "What am I?!" To which a chorus of small French voices screams in reply "FAT!" It's beginning to take a toll on my ego, but I still can't stop laughing.

3. Due to the absence of a critical comma, one little girl, in listing things she liked, referred to me as "Sister Molly." I think I died a little.

4. In making their own restaurant menus, some important questions arose: How do you say 'Halal?' How do you say 'game room?' How do you say 'This restaurant accepts checks?' Among others. The food lesson tests the parameters of my French vocabulary sometimes. In eight or so years of French classes, never once had I learned that a pastèque is a watermelon. Fail.

5. One time, when I brought my violin, the kids saw the picture of Hebes (who I count among my honorary grandparents!) in my case and asked if he were my husband. Words fail me here.

6. The constant effort of switching between English and French makes it such that sometimes I catch myself pronouncing French words with an English accent, and English words with a French accident. This could prove problematic in a course which purports itself to be the teaching of ENGLISH.

7. Given my reputation as the ultimate spelling nazi, I find it incredibly difficult to accept the decline of my proficiency in English. The worst is finding yourself in front of 25 small children with a severe memory block. Recently, I had trouble spelling 'twelfth' and 'fuchsia,' which I find insulting. Also, rampant problems with homophones and doubled letters.
"Hold on kids, the Maitresse is having a serious brain fart, please wait while she attempts to retrieve her SANITY."

8. I discovered that screaming at children in English is effective long ago, but what I learned more recently is that screaming nonsense at children is not only effective, but highly amusing. I now scream such quality nonsense that it's all I can do to keep a straight face, for effect. PURPLEELEPHANTMONKEY HOUSEFACETOOLDWARF!


Right and I still dance around in front of my classes and grunt at them in exasperation. Grunts are universal.

Don't judge me.