More Morocco

I will pick up my vacation story where I left off: Chefchaouen. Michael and I spent the rest of our time in this small town walking around, buying handwoven scarves and blankets, and eating tagines. I think we probably walked up and down every single street in the medina, and even made it outside of town to a waterfall. We also had our first encounter with rain, which I had not been expecting. It wound up raining a little bit almost every day we were there, but fortunately, it only lasted the length of time it took to drink a cup of tea.

The next stop on our trip was the capital city, Rabat. To me, Rabat felt simultaneously much less touristic and much more western than both Chefchaouen and Tangier. We saw many fancy cars, ice cream parlors, and men and women in suits. Also, the souks were dominated by more practical objects like groceries, clothing, and shoes, not just crafts. After wandering through the medina, we checked out the well-known kasbah (as discussed in my previous post), which is strategically located right on the Atlantic. We spent a long time standing looking out at the swimmers and boogie boarders, enjoying the intense and refreshing wind.

After Rabat was Essaouira, a touristic fishing/beach town. Getting from Rabat down to Essaouira was an adventure in its own right. We took the train from Rabat to Marrakech and met some interesting characters along the way, including a Sudanese business man who lives in New Jersey. He told us about his secrets to looking young (no coffee, tea, or alcohol), the many languages he speaks, and his flight from New York. All unprompted! In any event, Michael and I had banked on catching the bus from Marrakech to Essaouira, but once we got to the station, we found out that the next couple buses were already sold out. Two Swiss girls approached us and asked if we wanted to split a cab to Essaouira. They told us that there was a big van, and we could fit 6 people, so we spent the next 30 minutes looking for 2 more people. Eventually, we found a very glamorous French couple from Biarritz. La classe! We headed out to find our van, only to discover we would be riding for 2.5 hours in a regular sized sedan. The driver didn't seem too flummoxed about fitting 7 people into his 5 seater, so we decided to go for it. Adventure!

Once in Essaouira, we found our hostel and headed out to explore. That night was the Copa del Rey match between Barcelona and Madrid so we found a Spanish restaurant and relaxed and watched the game. The next day, we spent a lot of time at the port and on the beach, wandering around and talking to people. The fishing boats there are known for being very picturesque because they are painted an intense shade of royal blue as a means of insect control. After having fun playing in the sand and dipping our toes in the water, we had a lunch of fresh grilled fish that the fishermen catch and sell in beach-side stalls. Then, we spent the afternoon checking out the souks, buying crafts and postcards.

We left the next afternoon for Marrakech, the final destination of our trip. We spent most of our time getting lost in the souks, trying to haggle and joking around with the vendors. There are also some pretty amazing monuments in Marrakech, like madrasas, palaces, and tombs, which we checked out. Eating in Marrakech was a very cool experience, since there is a very big street food culture there. Each night, vendors go to the main square to set up stalls that cook everything from snails to merguez to sheep heads. We made sure to try as much as we could, and even though we both got a little sick, it was worth it.

I'll be extremely sad to say goodbye to these long and frequent vacations. I think I did pretty well this year in terms of travel!

Last Day of Teaching and the Start of Vacation

My teaching contract ends Saturday, but the schools have been on spring break for the past week and a half, so I have already finished with my many work responsibilities. The last week on teaching was sad, but a lot of fun, as my teachers decided to have parties (goutés) for my send-off. My last two days were laden with cakes and cookies and a surprising number of varieties of orange juice. One of my teachers even made a cake with my name on it (but more importantly with chestnut filling...yum city)! My littlest kids got together and sang Old McDonald Had a Farm for me - my calisthenics lesson paid off, I suppose. I can't say that the littlest ones really understood what was going on, however. They repeatedly told me that when I came back next fall they would be in CE1 (2nd grade) and a new student whom I had never seen before came up and gave me a kiss and told me she'd miss me. On the other hand, they gave me many drawings and big hugs and kisses. The best drawing I got was a cityscape that had a stick figure with a speech bubble standing in front of the bridge. What was he saying? "Waow, c'est beau!" Indeed, Noah, indeed. Some of my older kids got me Easter chocolates and flowers, one even painted my name onto an Easter egg. It was all very sweet and it made me very happy, but obviously very sad to say goodbye.

Luckily, I was leaving the next day for Morocco, so I didn't have that much time to be too sad. Early Saturday morning, I left Le Havre and flew to Tangier, where I met my friend from Wash U, Michael. He is teaching English in Madrid right now. Anyway, we walked around the medina, got lost a few times, and stopped for my first thé à la menthe of the trip. Tangier wasn't my favorite place I've ever been, but it was fun and I got to eat some good grilled fish. Always a plus, eh? The next day we caught a bus to Chefchaouen, a small town in the mountains. On the way there, I was struck by how lush that part of Morocco was. Based on ignorance, I had assumed we would be in a much more arid landscape. Oops! Sorry, anthropology degree, for not doing my research! Chefchaouen is visually very striking because everything in the medina is painted blue. Everything. Apparently, the old (and now non-existent) Jewish population introduced this technique as a method of insect control. The cool blue contrasted with the green of the mountains is really calming and beautiful, as you can imagine.

Upon arriving, Michael and I had our first encounter with freelance guides. Almost anytime we looked lost or held up any kind of map or guidebook, locals would come up and offer to direct us. It was always extremely friendly, and usually helpful, but sometimes, the young men helping us would turn themselves into freelance guides (who demanded a tip and complained when it wasn't high enough) and we got harmlessly scammed a few times. Part of the experience, right? Mostly, it made for good stories, and sometimes we got to see parts of town that we otherwise wouldn't have ventured into. The best was when someone told us the kasbah of Rabat was about to close (at 3 pm) and directed us down an alley, telling us it was the only way to the ocean. In said alley, his partner picked us up and took us on a loooong winding tour of the kasbah, then complained when we only had 10 dh in coins to give him. The tour was in Spanish. Also, people live in the kasbah, so I don't know why we believed that it could close....

I digress: A freelance guide helped us find our hostel and then chose to wait outside of it for an hour, so he could try and sell us things when we were ready to start exploring. Michael and I walked all around the medina, checking out the crafts (lots of loom work going on), drinking tea, and eating tagines. By sunset, the clouds were below the mountain peaks, and things got even more beautiful. All in all, a great beginning to a trip.

To be continued, I promise!

Poisson d'Avril!

If people were wondering at what age kids seem to enjoy April Fools related pranks most, I can give them the answer: 9-10. In France, they call the "holiday" Poisson d'Avril, though nobody could tell me how fish got involved. My older kiddos were going crazy cracking themselves up with hilarious and clever pranks such as taking the notebooks of another class, switching seats while the teachers weren't looking, etc. The classic French prank is to take a paper fish and tape it to an unsuspecting citizen's back. One of my students got me with this one, which made me really happy, actually. I like being able to participate in their kid world.

I only have 2 weeks left in the classroom, which is something of a shock, because it doesn't feel like it's ending, since for everyone else at my schools, it's not. The kids are in school until June so nobody seems super aware of the fact that I stop getting paid pretty soon. In an ideal world, the teachers I work with would be informed by my contact person of the dates when our contracts end. In fact, I'm 99.99999% certain that this falls under her umbrella of responsibilities. Surprise, surprise, this hasn't happened. Luckily, I discovered this the traditional 2 weeks in advance, so I've been telling my teachers. Otherwise, I'm realizing that I would have just been disappearing without notice.

Before thinking about what's next, I will fill you in on what happened since my last posting. I went to Lyon with my friend Michael, from Wash U. He is living in Madrid right now doing the same program as me. I had visited Lyon once before with my parents and sister, and I remembered really enjoying it, so I was anxious to go back. Lyon is known as the gastronomic capital of France, which I think we'd all agree is an impressive title to carry. Michael and I made sure to take advantage of this by tasting all kids of weird animal dishes. Ok, that sounds disgusting. But it wasn't! Lyonnais cuisine just happens to be filled (in a good way) with organs you don't find very often on the menus of restaurants in America. We also rented bikes one day and rode along the Rhone river and through the big city park. The highlight/weirdest part must have been when we stumbled upon the Miniature museum. Yep, this is a museum filled with miniature dioramas. Miniature chairs, miniature desks, miniature food, miniature 70s style living rooms, miniature dilapidated theaters. Worth forgoing the Musée des Beaux Arts? Probably. If nothing else, it was definitely the weirdest museum I've been to in a long time. I recommend it.

The Final Stretch?

First, let me preface this by saying: yep. Two posts in one week.

After vacation, I ran in the Paris half marathon with Nichole. It was a really fantastic (though difficult) experience. We managed to run the whole thing, which was a huge and pleasant surprise. I felt very accomplished after the race because this was never anything I thought that I could or would do. Yay! I hope to run another one of these bad boys at some point in the future.

Back in Le Havre, I had my first of my final weeks of work. It was really nice to see my kiddos after the break. They were generally excited, though some of the little ones seemed slightly confused after such a long break from seeing me. I received many drawings and had many songs sung to me, though, so I'm pretty sure they were happy to have me back. Amazingly, I only have 5 more weeks of teaching (though I won't be back in the States after five weeks). Pretty hard to believe...

Ciao, Sicily!

Working in France is tough. Before college, I had never had a vacation that lasted more than one week, but now, it seems like I get two weeks off for every six weeks of work.* It's a hard life, but someone has to live it, right? The French might be on to something with this whole labor laws thing. I'm certainly enjoying it. For this vacation, I headed down south to Sicily with assistant Nichole for ten days of theoretical sunshine. We definitely brought the chilly rainy Normandy weather for the first few days of the trip, but don't worry! Sunshine came to us by the end!

*I say "it seems like" to make my friends who work 12 hours a day with one week of vacation per year feel better. This is a true fact. 2 weeks off for every 6-7 weeks of work. La vie francaise...

We flew to Catania (approximately 20 hours after I got back to France), an industrial coastal city on the east side of Sicily. It's a pretty gritty city with seemingly little tourism, though it could have just been the fact that it was February. Our first day, we decided to go on a hike/tour of Mt. Etna, the active volcano right nearby. This tour was...an experience. The guide, Ernesto, spoke zero English, despite advertising that he did, but to make up for it, he played a U2 CD on repeat for both directions of the hour-long drive. He took us to sites and into "lava tubes" - aka caves - that no American tour company would sign off on because of liability issues. At one point, he actually dug us into a cave with no markings. In retrospect, Nichole and I realized that we hadn't signed any liability forms and that nobody knew where we were and that we were on a massive and active volcano. Oops! The sights were obviously very cool to see, though. That afternoon and the next day we wandered around Catania, visiting churches and a really beautiful monastery, stumbling upon Communist bars, and restaurants that played Lionel Richie on repeat. All niiiiight long (puns are fun, aren't they?). A fun fact about Catania: it's the birthplace of cannoli. The cannoli I ate there was, simply put, incredible.

From Catania we took a bus down to Syracuse. For me, this city was the highlight of the trip. It was charming, beautiful, old, friendly, accessible, etc. Great for a tourist! There are a ton of Greek and Roman ruins to see in Syracuse, from a whole archaeological park to catacombs to temples. We also ate extremely well in Syracuse, particularly when it came to seafood. One night for dinner I had homemade gnocchi with pistachio and sea urchin, a dish that was decidedly different from anything I had ever eaten before. The next day, we wandered to an outdoor market that started with knock-off sunglasses and ended with singing fishermen. We had huge oysters right off the table and incredibly fresh and tasty mozzarella. All the vendors were so happy to see two Americans anxious to try different food that we got sample after sample after sample. Not too shabby, eh? I should point out that nobody we met in Sicily spoke a word of English or French. It's ok, though, because I got the chance to kick off my career as a professional mime.

Seeing the ruins at the archeological park was my favorite sight, hands down. (I realized that I should divert this post away from food for at least a little bit). The catacombs - second largest after Rome - were also a highlight because they were essentially an underground city. A few years out of high school, I had forgotten a lot of what I used to know about Greek and Roman history, but the tours we went on were informative enough to make out visits interesting and meaningful. The advantage of being there in February was definitely that we were never crowded or being shuttled through sights as quickly as possible to make room for other visitors. Nichole and I spent a lot of time joking about how claustrophobic we were when we found ourselves totally alone in beautiful baroque piazzas. Somehow, it didn't get old, though it most definitely should have.

Because we were having such a good time in Syracuse, we decided at the last minute to rearrange our trip and spend an extra day there. It was a good call, because it allowed us to spend time sitting in the sun people-watching and snacking. The best person to watch may have actually been our roommate at the hostel, an American lady named Jeanette. She was in her 40s from Baltimore and she had opinions to offer on everything. Before we met her, we actually figured out she was American based on her stuff: she had a plastic bag filled with prophylactic medicine.

The last stop on our trip was Palermo, by far the most intense of the three cities we visited. Traffic laws didn't necessarily seem to exist, as vespas were weaving in and out of everything - cars, buildings, humans. We did a lot of walking and then stumbled upon a local restaurant by the port where we got involved in a raffle for a stroller full of fresh fish. Yup. First things first, the meal we had at this place was totally blog-worthy. They grilled fish for us on the sidewalk, then followed it by a pasta dish that tasted exactly like the tomato salad I grew up eating every summer, which is to say that it was chock full of raw fresh garlic. In any event, this dripping stroller rolls up (literally) and when we get up to see if some poor little kid wet himself, we find a basket of fish. Then a group of old men show up so excited that we are curious about what is going on. Through miming, we discover that it's a raffle. The guy even let me pick a number! Great success!

Basically, it was a great trip. The Sicilians we met were very nice and friendly and so happy to meet Americans who like to eat. I would definitely go back there and I highly recommend it to anyone. I'll post photos soon!

Arrivederci!

Almost three weeks later!

So sorry for the lack of recent postings (there are probably only about 4 of you who have either noticed or decided to care, but consider this a far-reaching apology), but I have been BUSY BUSY BUSY since February started up.

Hmm....where to begin? I applied to a handful of jobs in late January/very early February, which was pretty time consuming. Then, I wound up coming home (surprise!) to do some interviews and enjoy the bitter cold of Chicago in February. It was an exhausting 10 days, chock full of phone conversations, testing, and interviewing. Luckily, I got to see some friends and family, even though my opportunities to relax were fairly limited. Being home was pretty fantastic, in spite of having a pretty bad cold and being super booked. I felt so comfortable with my friends and my parents, and it made me so happy to have had the chance to revisit "real life." I forget sometimes that everyday tasks in France can be exhausting, and the trip actually made me excited to start my postgraduate life in the good old US of A. Don't get me wrong, though, I've really loved my experience in France so far, and I will definitely be sad to go.

Now, for some less sentimental stuff....

In case you were wondering, while I was home, I made a point to eat lots of American and ethnic treats that I can't find in Le Havre. My 10 days were filled with bagels and lox, Mexican food, home fries, and cereal. It was both delicious and the opposite of nutritious. Now, it's back to the rough life of camembert!

Making life even harder, I'm going to Sicily tomorrow. Le sigh, right?

Long Time No Blog

When I told Heidi that I hadn't updated my blog in a long time, she told me it was because I must not have been eating. Because all I write about is food, she said. Duly noted, Heidi, duly noted. I will write about about other things...

Life has been pretty busy lately, since I've been doing some job applications and the like. I've also been working and visiting my cousins in Paris. Work has been pretty status quo, more Old MacDonald, more fighting the good fight against silly bands. Seriously, those things have got to go! Not only do they provide a hard to understand distraction for the kids in class, they look ridiculous. Instead of choosing one or two, my students are elbow deep in rubber bands. I sympathize with my elementary teachers who had to deal with Tamogachis, etc.

In less curmudgeonly news, I headed down to Paris this weekend to take a much needed break from Le Havre and meet the new baby Maurin - Thomas. I spent the better part of Sunday with the adorable 3.5 week old in my arms. I highly recommend this as a Sunday afternoon activity. Especially with babies who, like Thomas, don't seem to cry that much.

So, that's pretty much it. Maybe I should stick to writing about food, HEIDI.

EE I EE I O

Perhaps unsurprisingly, much of the new vocabulary I've picked up deals with discipline. The teachers here do not mess around when they yell at their students. Maybe I'm forgetting something, but I don't think I was ever sent to the corner and told to face the wall. Nor was I sent into the hallway only to be told to move away from the door because the teacher didn't want to see my face. Again, it's entirely possible that I'm just blocking this from memory. "Tu te calme!" is one of the phrases I hear multiple times throughout the day. I tried this on my sister while she was here. She didn't like it, per se. On some days, I feel bad for the kids, but on others, not so much. Yesterday was a complete and total circus: 2 of my little kids got pushed down the stairs (by the same kid - a new guy who already told me he knows a "gros mot en anglais." Yup, a 7 year old dropped the f-bomb on me!), many tears were spilled, recess was more like a general wrestling hour, and one of my older kids got BIT. The offender even drew blood! I hope he's not rabid...I'll let you know if anyone starts foaming at the mouth during Sports Day.

The good news is, with all the crazy energy pumping through my students, I was able to turn English class into calisthenics hour. If you didn't think Old MacDonald could be choreographed into a makeshift step aerobics routine, you were mistaken. Throwing a "moo" here or there and "moo moos" everywhere is exhausting stuff. The kids think it's funny when I jump around, but I don't really know what the teacher makes of it. It's really too late at this point to start worrying about that stuff, though.

Joyeuses Fetes!

My family arrived in Le Havre early Christmas morning. I went and met them at the train station and then we continued on to my apartment. I spent the whole day cooking while they napped (they deserved it, but still. Transatlantic zing!). I made boeuf bourguignon, mashed potatoes, and carrots and parsnips sauteed with honey and rosemary. This was, of course, after the foie gras, boudin blanc, and charcouterie. It was a really lovely day filled with pretty good food (if I can just toot my own horn for a little bit).

The next day, we headed to Rouen to walk around and eat a fancy meal at La Couronne, the oldest inn in France. The ambiance was pretty over the top and hilarious, with a clear hierarchy of waitstaff and menus without prices for the delicate ladyfolk. I also introduced my family to vin chaud, which I think they appreciated. Later, when we got back to Le Havre, my parents taught me how to play Hearts, which I got addicted to. Nora refused to play because she "doesn't like competitive games." Sorry, Nora, I had to include that.

We spent Monday in Le Havre, walking along the beach and checking out the art museum. Then we headed to Paris, where we had arranged an apartment swap. The apartment was super cool, filled with lots of found objects and art. It was also HUGE. In Paris, we saw family, went to a bunch of museums, and walked and ate a lot. We went to Arts et Metiers, La Maison de Nissim Comondo, the Cluny, the Orangerie, etc. A pretty busy week!

On New Years Eve, we invited our English family friends over (hello, if you are reading this!), and the two "older dudes," as I imagine Andrew and my dad would like me to refer to them, spent the whole day shopping and cooking up a feast. My roommate Heidi joined us as well. There was a ton of delicious food, but the highlight of the night was definitely the post-dinner game of charades, particularly Andrew's interpretation of Avatar.

For posterity's sake, I'll post my New Year's resolutions:
1) Run in the Paris Half-Marathon
2) Stay positive!

It was a really great, but REALLY tiring vacation. I felt like I needed another week after I got back. No such luck.

Until next time...

7 courses in 7 hours

Happy holidays everyone! I hope you all had a nice and relaxing Christmas and a very happy start to 2011. I spent my holidays in France; first in Strasbourg, then in Le Havre and Paris with my parents and my sister.

After getting back from Strasbourg, I headed straight to Le Havre to start preparing for Christmas dinner with my family, which I was going to be cooking. I had to make sure to get all shopping and chopping done ahead of time, since things tend to shut down around here at the first possible moment where it might be considered legitimate. As in the afternoon of the 24^th. To be fair, Christmas Eve is the big celebration here, not the 25^th. But still. It shouldn’t be this hard to find food on a Sunday. By some good fortune, I was invited to a real French Christmas Eve, which was incredibly fun, and a pretty crazy culinary experience. Disclaimer: the rest of this post will be about food.

I got to the house in the late afternoon and helped set the table (for 18! Unheard of in the Mullman residence) and milled around awkwardly while the family argued and fought. I probably should have expected this, since it’s pretty normal behavior for anyone who is about to entertain his or her family, but I still felt super out of place. Luckily, things calmed down when people actually started showing up and cocktails were poured and hors d’oeuvres served. They had prepared various canapés with tomatoes, smoked salmon, crème fraiche, etc. on them. Then we sat down and were served 2 different types of foie gras with a special type of wine. I think it may have been ice wine? I only just learned what this is (thanks, Mom and Dad!), so I can’t be sure. After the foie gras was cleared, smoked salmon was brought out, followed by a course of three different types of local oysters, which the host had cleaned and opened himself. So fresh! Every course lasted an extremely long time, as plates were not cleared until after a long digestion period to socialize. Or, in my case, to get convinced to dance to island music from Réunion with an uncle in front of the whole room. Normally, I probably would have said no, since I barely knew most of the people there, but I’m trying to rep America, so I went for it. Score one point for Team USA?

Moving onto the main courses: the first was a salmon tartare with a cucumber mango salad and an avocado relish-y thing. Very fresh and full of flavors you don’t expect to find on a French dinner table. After the customary digestion period, skewers of scallops were brought out. They were served with more cucumber/mango-y goodness. Apparently, eating seafood on Christmas is very in style in Normandy since there is such easy access to it.

Next was, of course, CHEESE. Lots of odors ensued, some good and some...different. The hosts busted out a 20 year old Bordeaux for this part of the meal, officially making this a completely unique and French experience. Dessert was just ice cream, and I can’t really say that I blame them for buying this course. What a delicious and ridiculous night.

I would be lying if I said that experiencing things like this were not part of the reason I decided to come to France this year.

A la prochaine, with tales from the rest of the break!