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?
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, January 10, 2011
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...
Thursday, January 6, 2011
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 24th. To be fair, Christmas Eve is the big celebration here, not the 25th. 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!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
That time I got Trench Foot in Strasbourg
Earlier this evening I returned to Le Havre after an epic day of train delays and slow moving TGVs. I had a really really great time in Alsace with Nichole, which turned into something of a culinary tour, due to inclement weather. Early Saturday morning we packed up and headed to Strasbourg, where we caught a train to Séléstat, a nearby town. Séléstat has a population of about 18,000 people and is on the Alsatian Wine Route. Historically, the town is famous because it was academic center of the Holy Roman Empire, AND because it was home to the first recorded Christmas tree in Europe in 1521. Nichole and I spent our time there wandering the Marchés de Noel and trying to find food. Warning: DO NOT try to find an open kitchen in France between 2:30 and 7:00. All your efforts will be futile and people will look at you like you are straight out of the nuthouse if you ask if they know of any place that might be open.
Séléstat was pretty charming, despite the lack of food, and we were able to check out the very old churches there, as well as see an exhibit on the history of the Christmas tree, most of which I've forgotten by now. I can guarantee it was interesting, though.
The next day, we headed back to Strasbourg for the rest of our Alsatian vacation. Our first night, we happened upon an ENORMOUS marché de noel with every type of vendor imaginable. You could get anything from choucroute pockets to vin chaud to boudin noir to paté en croute to boots to mittens to Baby Milo sweatshirts (all my students wear these. Evidently, Baby Milo is a young cartoon monkey that can play baseball, among other things, and he is always in sequins. I have never seen a non-sequined Baby Milo. Also, it's just the boys who wear these. I don't get it). After exhausting the market we headed to a bar called the 12 Apotres right next to the cathedral for some local flavor. German beer is so good!
Monday was really when the adventure started when we woke up to find that it was snowing. Heavily. We had planned a whole walking tour through the city, but we only made it 5 minutes before we were soaked and had puddles in our shoes (and so began my trench foot). Instead of winding through old streets looking at half-timbered houses and canals we had no other option but to go into the cathedral to sit and try and dry off. We got kicked out 5 minutes later, however, because you have to pay to be inside with the astronomical clock goes off, and I couldn't think of a way to justify doing that. Incidentally, I still can't. Is it just me or is the church trying to nickel and dime some tourists? Anyway, still a little bit miserable, we couldn't think of anything else to do but check out a salon de thé to warm up and have some bouche de noel. It was very ladies who lunch of us. Importantly, this is how our culinary tour began. Wanting to avoid the bad weather and trying to give my worsening trench foot a fighting chance to go away, we hopped from restaurant to restaurant and from to winstub to tea house. The next stop on Monday was a place advertising tarte flambée, a local specialty. It's basically a matzoh crust pizza, but made with creme fraiche, bacon, and onions, instead of sauce and cheese. After our two meals we wandered into the Musée Alsacien, which was great. The museum showcased Alsatian life up until about 1900, from the house to the religion to clothing, to cultural traditions. Fun fact: Alsatian Christmas used to involve Hans something or other, a hooded man who looks EXACTLY like the grim reaper who appears to scare bad children. These people weren't joking around. I literally jumped when I walked into the room and saw him. Coal doesn't seem so bad now!
Monday's culinary tour ended with a very fancy dinner at the Maison Kammertzal, where Nichole and I tried choucroute for the first time. Choucroute is THE regional dish, so I would have felt bad if I had left without trying it, but it is decidedly not my thing. When I was in Germany a few years ago I remember feeling like I was having meat sweats from a constant diet of wurst, and this dish brought me way too close to that feeling. The plate is heaped with sauerkraut and then topped with about 3 sausages - including boudin noir - three pieces of ham, and some other cuts of unidentifiable cuts of pig. Nichole and I definitely struggled with this one and were astonished to see everyone else in the restaurant just putting it away. People cleared their plates!
Tuesday, the weather switched to rain from snow. My shoes still hadn't dried from the night before, and I could hear water swishing around in them. Trench foot! Regardless, we walked around La Petite France, a small island right next to the old city (which is also an island). La Petite France was originally the craft-center of the city where the tanners lived and set up shop. Very quaint, very charming, very old! Now onto the important stuff: what we ate for lunch. This was definitely the best meal of the trip. We chose a winstub with a COMPLETELY illegible handwritten menu (a good sign, I think). Ordering was kind of like Russian roulette, since we could only make out about a third of the description of most of the offerings. I wound up with an entrée of super fresh and tender herring over potatoes à l'huile. SO GOOD. It was almost like being at Zabar's! For the plat, Nichole and I both had boar stew with spaetzle. It was super tender and savory and delicioussssss. If you are ever in Alsace, go eat at Le Pont du Corbeau! The rest of the day was spent trying to walk off our heavy lunch, which isn't to say that we didn't stop for cake and coffee when our feet hurt from being so cold and wet...
All in all, the trip was great. The people we met were very nice and warm and excited to speak French with us. And the food was amazing! The only downside was the weather and having to sacrifice a pair of boots. The rest of my vacation will be spent in Le Havre and Paris with my family. I can't wait!
P.S. I'm uploading photos of the trip now - please check them out!
Séléstat was pretty charming, despite the lack of food, and we were able to check out the very old churches there, as well as see an exhibit on the history of the Christmas tree, most of which I've forgotten by now. I can guarantee it was interesting, though.
The next day, we headed back to Strasbourg for the rest of our Alsatian vacation. Our first night, we happened upon an ENORMOUS marché de noel with every type of vendor imaginable. You could get anything from choucroute pockets to vin chaud to boudin noir to paté en croute to boots to mittens to Baby Milo sweatshirts (all my students wear these. Evidently, Baby Milo is a young cartoon monkey that can play baseball, among other things, and he is always in sequins. I have never seen a non-sequined Baby Milo. Also, it's just the boys who wear these. I don't get it). After exhausting the market we headed to a bar called the 12 Apotres right next to the cathedral for some local flavor. German beer is so good!
Monday was really when the adventure started when we woke up to find that it was snowing. Heavily. We had planned a whole walking tour through the city, but we only made it 5 minutes before we were soaked and had puddles in our shoes (and so began my trench foot). Instead of winding through old streets looking at half-timbered houses and canals we had no other option but to go into the cathedral to sit and try and dry off. We got kicked out 5 minutes later, however, because you have to pay to be inside with the astronomical clock goes off, and I couldn't think of a way to justify doing that. Incidentally, I still can't. Is it just me or is the church trying to nickel and dime some tourists? Anyway, still a little bit miserable, we couldn't think of anything else to do but check out a salon de thé to warm up and have some bouche de noel. It was very ladies who lunch of us. Importantly, this is how our culinary tour began. Wanting to avoid the bad weather and trying to give my worsening trench foot a fighting chance to go away, we hopped from restaurant to restaurant and from to winstub to tea house. The next stop on Monday was a place advertising tarte flambée, a local specialty. It's basically a matzoh crust pizza, but made with creme fraiche, bacon, and onions, instead of sauce and cheese. After our two meals we wandered into the Musée Alsacien, which was great. The museum showcased Alsatian life up until about 1900, from the house to the religion to clothing, to cultural traditions. Fun fact: Alsatian Christmas used to involve Hans something or other, a hooded man who looks EXACTLY like the grim reaper who appears to scare bad children. These people weren't joking around. I literally jumped when I walked into the room and saw him. Coal doesn't seem so bad now!
Monday's culinary tour ended with a very fancy dinner at the Maison Kammertzal, where Nichole and I tried choucroute for the first time. Choucroute is THE regional dish, so I would have felt bad if I had left without trying it, but it is decidedly not my thing. When I was in Germany a few years ago I remember feeling like I was having meat sweats from a constant diet of wurst, and this dish brought me way too close to that feeling. The plate is heaped with sauerkraut and then topped with about 3 sausages - including boudin noir - three pieces of ham, and some other cuts of unidentifiable cuts of pig. Nichole and I definitely struggled with this one and were astonished to see everyone else in the restaurant just putting it away. People cleared their plates!
Tuesday, the weather switched to rain from snow. My shoes still hadn't dried from the night before, and I could hear water swishing around in them. Trench foot! Regardless, we walked around La Petite France, a small island right next to the old city (which is also an island). La Petite France was originally the craft-center of the city where the tanners lived and set up shop. Very quaint, very charming, very old! Now onto the important stuff: what we ate for lunch. This was definitely the best meal of the trip. We chose a winstub with a COMPLETELY illegible handwritten menu (a good sign, I think). Ordering was kind of like Russian roulette, since we could only make out about a third of the description of most of the offerings. I wound up with an entrée of super fresh and tender herring over potatoes à l'huile. SO GOOD. It was almost like being at Zabar's! For the plat, Nichole and I both had boar stew with spaetzle. It was super tender and savory and delicioussssss. If you are ever in Alsace, go eat at Le Pont du Corbeau! The rest of the day was spent trying to walk off our heavy lunch, which isn't to say that we didn't stop for cake and coffee when our feet hurt from being so cold and wet...
All in all, the trip was great. The people we met were very nice and warm and excited to speak French with us. And the food was amazing! The only downside was the weather and having to sacrifice a pair of boots. The rest of my vacation will be spent in Le Havre and Paris with my family. I can't wait!
P.S. I'm uploading photos of the trip now - please check them out!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
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