So today I saw Santa Claus. He was riding in a carriage preceded by a cavalcade of French gendarme. He does exist: to this I can attest. He is, however, French; and a great deal skinnier than the jolly, supersized American Santa Claus.
Video footage of the spectacle:
In other news, an association called the Confucius Institute opened three blocks away from my high school last Saturday. I'm hoping to enroll and be able to once again take classes in the language I have half-learned (as far as the UC system is concerned...). To say that I am excited would be an understatement.
Learning Latin on my own has been fun and eye-opening from a linguistic perspective: but I am definitely in need of someone to correct the exercises I've already done... I'd hate to cultivate bad habits right from the get-go!
I've put together lesson plans to teach The Giving Tree, Where the Wild Things Are, and Harold and the Purple Crayon to a couple of my more advanced classes. Working up the nerve to do so might prove challenging... I'm so attached to these books, I have a profound fear when it comes to sharing them with my students, who lie somewhere between strangers and new acquaintances on my social scale.
I've been practicing the guitar assiduously; and although it is taking some time, I am improving. I wouldn't dare torture you with a video until I've got something respectable to show off: I'd say at least a month, maybe two! Let it be known, however, that I have every intention of recording my playing and posting it on the blog.
Here is a video from my Thanksgiving. Erina, a fellow English-language assistant from Seattle and her housemate Blandine, Angevine extraordinaire, were kind enough to welcome me and some of their new friends to their apartment. Erina managed to find a poultry vendor at the open-air market which takes place every Saturday morning, and lucky for us, he was able to get his hands on a turkey!
I realized there were a few videos from my trip to Brest that I had yet to post, so here's the compilation:
Last but not least, a video of me cooking in my apartment.
Enjoy!
Ben
7 comments:
I enjoyed your cooking videos. Very cool
Ben,
Your video of Brest is wonderful - what a pretty, quaint little town.
Loved the abbey - and to hear chanting! - what a treat - beautiful! Thank you!
Ben - just saw the one of you cooking! looks delicous - didn't know you could stir-fry in a rice cooker - very innovative!
what a healthy meal!
very cool cooking videos, european apt cooking. good audio. Also, cool steamer in the thxgiving video. food! food! food!
and great choices on the childrens' books (though giving tree is a controversial one, which should make it interesting)!
Kim: Thanks!
Mama: The abbey was indeed beautiful. The whole town made a great impression on me that I'll never forget; so tranquil, elegant. I didn't know I could stir-fry in a rice cooker, either! Until I tried it! hahaha.
Simone: If I can stimulate discussion in class, it doesn't matter whether it's controversial or not. Having a different history of tolerance from that of the US, I have a great deal more liberty to open up for discussion things that might not be considered appropriate in a typical American classroom: racism, religious freedom, abortion, gay rights, etc. There was a great quote by a professor at Stanford on Wikipedia's page about the book. "Is this a sad tale? Well, it is sad in the same way that life is depressing. We are all needy, and, if we are lucky and any good, we grow old using others and getting used up. Tears fall in our lives like leaves from a tree. Our finitude is not something to be regretted or despised, however; it is what makes giving (and receiving) possible. The more you blame the boy, the more you have to fault human existence. The more you blame the tree, the more you have to fault the very idea of parenting. Should the tree's giving be contingent on the boy's gratitude? If it were, if fathers and mothers waited on reciprocity before caring for their young, then we would all be doomed."
Dude Ben, way to cook. Even my gf is jealous!
very interesting perspective on the giving tree, thank you for sharing. it is a heartbreaking story, but one that also reflects truth about parenting for sure, and in that regarding, endearing. i'd give my wee one every last thing i had until the day i died if he needed it, and would hope that one of the necessary thing i could give him is a sense of gratitude twds people and life as well. so cool of you to bring these into the classroom.
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