Thursday, January 15, 2009

Not exciting, but still GOOOOOD

I've been getting complaints (mostly from my adoring Mother, who follows my every move on this trip ;)) that I haven't updated my blog in a while, and she's right. The thing with committing to writing a weekly update is that when you have slower weeks, it's quite hard to get motivated and write about how you spent New Year's alone (true story! Remind me to tell you aaaaaallll about it one day), or write a re-tell of the French movie you saw the other day. Which led me to think about what I wanted to write about, since I didn't want to write just for the sake of writing. This post will be a little bit like those TV episodes of your favourite show, where they have a 'reminiscing' and 'reflecting' episode, and they show flashbacks of your most beloved scenes. So, regale my friends (and MOM!!) I'm about to share with you some of my most unique, embarassing, and self- discovering moments of my voyage thus far:

PART 1- Everyday Lessons
"I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma". ~Eartha Kitt

  • Before I left, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted from my life, and that I knew myself pretty well: my ambitious personality, my desire to overtake every single obstacle and turn it into another success, to be the BEST 24/7, 7/7, 365/365. You might all be familiar with this Maria, who while overtaking the biggest adventure of her lifetime in a foreign country, decided she wanted to start her masters, not even a year after having finished her undergrad, and with only 5 months of teaching under her belt. But I think a lot of my "150%" mentality has a lot to do with the environment that I have been in for the last 5 years. Being competitive in university, for the best grades, the best practicum reports, the best candidate for that interview.. it eventually gets to you, and you think of yourself as this one-faceted person who is only truly herself when being on top. Now that I've had some time to unwind, live a life that is less demanding, and immerse myself in a culture that is innately laid back, I've come to realize that as much as I love being the aggressive Latina who works her butt off for everything, I also enjoy succeeding in the smaller challenges of life. This means, that instead of overloading my plate when I come back with a new job, a new city, a re-entry culture shock (can you imagine, no wine, no cheese??? THE HORROR!) and on top of that starting a Masters program, I'm going to focus on making my first full teaching year a success, and really enjoying from A-Z all the things and the people that make my life at home so rich and beautiful. Then, if I feel satisfied with the way I've tackled this challenge, I'll continue with my perfect plan for world domination :)
  • It's okay to be alone. If I'm completely honest with myself, I'll recognize that I'm a total people addict. I need to have several meaningful social episodes with multiple different people in one week to consider it a success. And you really can't blame me! I have the most amazing family and friends... why on earth would I want to be alone?? But here, I've learned that my life can still be satisfying while I enjoy little moments with myself: going to the movies alone, sitting at a cafe and writing on my journal, taking off on a whim to explore a city for a day. If I may say so myself, I am the most delightful company!!
  • Being uncomfortable is a good thing!! And I'm not talking about my lifestyle or physically, since I've been quite pampered my whole trip. I must admit that there was a significant part of me that didn't quite want to leave on this trip. I was comfortable and cozy right where I was: fresh diploma in hand, making an actual salary, surrounded by people that I love... Sometimes I just couldn't see past the little things to focus on the big picture. So mentally, I think I was way out of my comfort zone when I first came here. I had to start from zero, and get used to being out of my cocoon, but as a result, I'm a bigger, better person!
  • I can eat and be fine!!! hahaha... I know this doesn't seem like a very philosophical or meaningful point, but it really is. The French are famous for their love affair with good food, and I must say that I'm in love too. While I've been here, I've re-learned to love "forbidden" foods like cheese, butter, white bread, pastries and chocolate. But I've also re-learned the true pleasure of eating. Sitting down, and really savouring each bite, stretching a meal for easily, 3 hours, without devouring everything that's set on the table at first sight (unlike one unnammed sibling of mine... ) Really, in the past 5 months, I have eaten more of these things than ever, and have gained 2 pounds only... I'm sure if I was going to the gym 5 times a week like I was back in Canada, you'd barely notice! Viva la France, viva la food!
PART 2- These are too good to be made up.

"The rate at which a person can mature is directly proportional to the embarassment he can tolerate"- Anonymous

  • Week one, I'm having a very meaningful conversation with my hostess Michelle in Nantes. I'm very proudly, and eloquently, in my broken French explaining the difference between nutritional habits in North America and the rest of the world. I sustained that food in North America was more conducive to obesity because of the amount of preservatives in it... which is perfectly true, except that in making the exact translation of "preservatives" (preservatifs in French) I just stated that North American food was full of condoms. So much for an intelligent argument!!
  • Driving on highways here requires you to pay a toll everytime you get on one. About 2 weeks ago, while driving to Antibes to see my friend Marion, I forgot to bring change for the toll.. no biggie, I'd pay with my card. Except that I got on the lane that only accepts cash, and as luck would have it, someone pulled in behind me right away. While I tried to fish for coins at the bottom of my purse, the guy starts honking like a madman, impatient to get through. I get out of the car, and make my way over explaining that the only way he's getting through is if he pays for me, so he either gives me money or backs up so I can change lanes... I did it all in a very ticked off, impatient tone. He looks at me and says: Mademoiselle, you have a charming accent, where are you from? OOOOH, I GET IT!! WHen you see it's a young pretty girl in front of you NOW you have time? All of a sudden you're not in a rush? You want to make some conversation? Alrighty, let's take out my coffee mug and get to know each other... geez. Some men only think about one thing! (although he did pay for me... so that was nice)
  • Imagine: me on a parking lot, hitting a grocery cart with my fist attemptin to get my 50 cent coin back. A supermarket employee comes over, tells me that they're non-refundable, but if it's that important to me, she can talk to her manager... THE SHAME. But seriously, we give money back in Canada, why not here??!?!?!
  • Standing at the bus station, I commented to the lady next to me that the stroller she had was the same one Sacha has, and that I find them very practical. She proceeded to tell me her baby also enjoyed it... then she took her "baby" out, and it was a furry little yappy dog! Seriously, this lady carried her dog in a stroller!
  • Playing at the park with Lisa, she get's on the merry-go-round thing and I start pushing it to turn. Another little boy comes over, I ask him if he wants to go on, he does, and I push them both for a good 5 minutes.. they love it, etc. Then the boy's mom comes over to thank me, the boy turns to her and says in a perfect little Scottish accent: Mummy, that lady speaks French funny! BAH!!! THE NERVE!! I can't believe I got called out on my accent by a snotty 4 year old whose first language isn't even French!
Anyhow, those are just some of my anecdotes and reflections for what's soon to be the first part of my trip (Can you believe I'm half-way done??) I hope they've put a smile on your face.. they put one on mine!