Hello, everyone. I do believe I owe you an update, and after surviving one too many guilt trips about not writing, I am finding solace in finally writing this post!
Clermont is going very well. I like my situation more and more despite my somewhat rough start. School is excellent and a complete (yet satisfying) challenge. Trying to find a way to trick 35 college students into speaking English and accomplishing this task in under one hour a week is a lot of work.
The past month or so, we’ve been doing a project where each group (4-6 students) creates a small business in Clermont-Ferrand and pitches the idea to the class. It’s been going very well! Some students created restaurants with a buffet line that rolls by the tables for guests to stay seated and choose their dishes, others created a multi-flavored whip cream called “Chanti-flavour.” My favorites are between an idea for a Latino-American restaurant in Clermont and “The Pink Pill,” a magic pill that cures hangovers and only costs three euros. It’s fun to experience the wide range of creative ideas that each class comes up with. The challenge was to organize the presentations so that it wasn't the most gifted speaker presenting for the whole group. So we did speed dating presentations, which meant each group presented seven or eight times. One of my students responded to me, saying, “C’est bien, Madame! It forces us to talk in English!” Et oui. Way to go, champ ;) It made my day to hear that what I was an effective teacher. I've had a couple more comments (tiny little things like that) that mean a lot to me.
Ballet is going well, and I’ve added a fifth class to the week where we learn repertory like the solo variation from Swan Lake. :D I am running, and will be attempting my first snow-run since Spokane this week. Yes, it is snowing!! Quite heavily, too, with great big fluffy flakes that stick to your nose for a while before melting.
Dad’s visit was a great success. He came into my classes and gave a short presentation about the history of Texas. Bravo, Dad, for doing it 13 times! The students were receptive, and I had many ask about Dad in the following weeks.
Here is Dad cooking in my tiny kitchen (apparently France wasn't made for 6-footers. ;) ).
Our staples to every meal.
A boulevard in Paris
A few days ago, I had a magnificent Thanksgiving party with my friends. Me and four other American girls (and one helpful Irish girl) cooked up a storm for 15 guests. We all fit in my 27 square-meter apartment. Don't believe me?
The food was wonderful. We had marinated turkey breast (our plan B turkey in case our little 5-pounder wasn't enough) in a wondeeeeeerful sauce (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Marinated-Turkey-Breast/Detail.aspx), mashed potatoes, traditional green bean casserole, cranberry sauce (from a jar, since we couldn't find any berries at this time of year at the markets--you should have seen my face when I found it in the "English Food" aisle at Carrefour--I was so excited), homemade stuffing (remarkably well-done by our Irish friend), and a REAL turkey (huge surprise since until the day of our meal, no whole turkeys were to be found. We got lucky--stores started selling "Dindes de Noel," or Christmas Turkeys that day!) Here's my little turkey that I marinated in a homemade vegetable broth:
Here's a chicken I did a few weeks ago in the same way (yum!):
The mashed potatoes (done by Rebecca, my friend from Kansas), gravy (my first try ever!), marinated turkey breast, stuffing (in the back behind the potatoes), and green bean casserole. Where did we find French's Fried onions to top the casserole, you may ask? (Because of course, French friend onions aren't French)...
Onion rings!! I know how to make them myself now! This was the biggest triumph of my week: I bought a bottle of oil, and was able to make a delicious batch of fried onions. I will admit: I had no idea how hot the oil was. My first onion burnt before it hit the bottom of the pan. Thankfully, no burning of the apartment complex ensued, and the onions went beautifully on top of the casserole.
My drying onion rings:
Me, hard at work, and our pilgrim turkeys (artfully made by my friend Sarah from OU).
Of course, we couldn't have pilgrim turkeys without red indian turkeys.
Dessert. Speaking of the possible burning of my apartment complex, these pies apparently were the culprit of a near disaster. I had school the day before our dinner. My girlfriends came to my house to bake the pies while I was gone, and had a heart-to-heart with my gas oven. They made it work, though, and I am very proud. :) Pecan, sweet potato (no pumpkins in France at this time of year either), and apple. A heavy cream to go with, plus coffee and tea. I was very proud of myself, given our little means. Would you ever guess this whole meal, for 21 people, cost 109 euros? Impressive, huh?
Checking on my green bean casserole :)
So life is going well in Clermont. I will start working on a post with all the pictures I've taken of my daily life, things here and there that you might find interesting. Hope all is well in the states, and happy beginning of the holidays!
