And You Can't Come Because You Don't Speak French

So, today marked the first day that I actually had a "lesson" about the French language. It was a very short lesson, granted, but it supplemented the computer learning program quite well.

I am finding that my background in linguistics, as well as some Spanish and Arabic, are quite helpful in deciphering the written French language. After only a couple days, I can read simple paragraphs in French and understand enough to write a summary in English. I can form simple French sentences, and while I have trouble remembering which nouns are feminine and which nouns are masculine, I am generally grasping the grammatical concepts. I can understand the French audio and can transcribe simple sentences. Having only started my French studies a couple of days ago, I was feeling pretty good about my progress.

"I have until next October before the school's next trip to France," says I, to Myself.  "Self, I totally got this."

So I decided it was time to stop working solely with a computer and venture into the world of person-to-person French-y talking-ness.  Lucky for me, I have many friends who speak French. 

One particularly good friend of mine offered to start me off with basic pronunciation: the alphabet, simple words, numbers 1-10, etc. I was stoked. I went to her house this afternoon to practice.

As it turns out...I really, really stink at French pronunciation. :-D

During first attempts at the alphabet, my accent was a mutated atrocity of Spanish, Arabic, and Idahoan English. It was a veritable Frankenstein's Monster: Accent Edition.  It was horrifically coarse, and entirely lacking in the refinement and finesse required of those already among the ranks of French speakers. There was no *rhythm*, no *flow*, no...proper vowel shapes. 

French vowels are HARD, people!  And the consonant paradigm is quite removed from any involved in the other languages bumbling about in my brain-space. 

Luckily, EJ was very patient, and didn't tire of correcting me--which I greatly appreciated! (Actually, she probably DID tire of correcting me, because I needed it a lot, but she endured, nonetheless).  We only got through the alphabet, some demonstrative simple sentences on her end (which I was unable to repeat with ANY kind of accuracy) and numbers 1-5...sort of. hahaha

Maybe when I'm in France, I'll pretend to be a deaf-mute, and make everyone write everything down. ;-)  [then I'll pop down to Egypt and explain that I am completely illiterate, and would you dumb it down to amiyya fi'musr, min fudluck? {egyptian low-speak, please?}]

Ah, well. 

C'est la vie. 

Just don't ask me to say it. 

:-D

----------------------------------------------

"Please dont cry Bar-ba-ra!
You're a nice Manatee!
You've been so good to me!
--But I must go into the world and to noble things for the good of all!!
..and you cant come because you don't speak French!
Au revoir!"

Sort of a Cop-Out

Not to totally cop out of writing a blog update, but I just finished this one for my school blog and I don't really want to re-type it for my personal blog.  Plus, it's a personal story, not an essay, so it shouldn't be too boring to read. I was pretty excited.

Here's the link.

SPOILER: It's about chocolate. 


I love chocolate.


http://chefsabina.blogspot.com/2013/07/field-trip-focus-chocolatier-blue.html

Steps to Take

Or, Things I Could Do To Be Better At My Life


Get involved in the local food scene:  Find somewhere to volunteer. Talk to local farmers, growers, factories. Take advantage of every opportunity to learn from experts of their craft. Put together/volunteer to help with events.

Stay up-to-date:  subscribe to foodzines, food blogs (the pertinent ones), customer stories, food trends, food science developments, restaurant policy, and all the other food news floating around.

Learn about people in the industry: historical figures and their impact, important milestones, current movers and shakers in the US and abroad.

Get back in shape:  "Fat chef" is bad business in our modern world. Plus, I just feel TONS better about life when I'm exercising hard-core on a regular basis. Obviously, I'll never be skinny...but I can be strong.

Write about food:  I think that, whichever specific route I end up on, I will need excellent writing skills--particularly, writing about food, restaurants, and the personal experiences of myself and others.

Publish writing about food: Give myself a deadline. Find a blog (or three), a magazine, a newspaper, somebody that will carry a story that I wrote...maybe a year. Include the writing in my culinary education.  As anyone who has social conversation with me would emphatically tell you--I love telling stories.  Time to tell stories about something I'm passionate about. Like food.

Oh, hey, look.  A food blog. With my name on it.  Maybe I should write in it. Even better--maybe I should give myself a (weekly? semiweekly?) deadline for writing in it. That might help. 

Learn how to take food photos:  Yeah, definitely not a strong point.  But it could be. It will be, eventually. 

Volunteer:  Find outlets to volunteer teaching, cooking, teaching cooking, working on farms and ranches, helping with events, cooking for families, cooking for people with food restrictions, cleaning. Job shadow someone talented. Ask questions. Work hard.



Learn French:  At least enough to not butcher things I'm trying to explain in the food world.  And preferably enough to get me around the streets of foodie places. Like France, for example. 

                     dude....right after I typed that, a native French speaker about my age emailed me and offered to teach me French and negotiate a price for tutoring....o.o.  Sweet!!  (Big Brother is watching...?)

Keep a clean space:  Having my room/apartment/living space clean and uncluttered will help me stay calm and clear and help with the creative inspiration process.  (This post has taken so long to write and publish, primarily because I keep stopping to clean things)

Keep the CLEAN space DECORATED: if I keep it decorated the way that I like it, it is much easier for me to keep it clean and uncluttered. I enjoy being in cohesive spaces. (Also: Give myself permission to get rid of some perfectly good stuff that just isn't my style--even if someone gave it to me as a gift or I've had it forever.)

Start a dinner group:  This is difficult with work schedules, but the concept is the same. I cook more, and better, and have more opportunity to explore new techniques and ingredients when I have other people to cook for.  Preferably other people who appreciate good food.

Develop patience. 

And a more real sense of self-beauty. 

And prioritize taking care of myself. 

Dropping Eaves

My brother is currently in Anaheim, California, serving a 2-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He writes a lot of letters, particularly to my mom. I happened to see a letter sitting next to the computer in the office, and saw my name on the front page. Naturally....I peeked.

and then I laughed and laughed.

This is the paragraph the he wrote about me, to my mom:

"Ahh...Sabina.... The woman, the myth, the legend. She had better slow down before she ends up owning (the store where I work). Or dying. Or even worse...becoming a real chef... ;-) haha priorities, right?"


First, warm fuzzies on SO many levels. (1) Who knew he thought so well of me? :-) (2) Hermione reference!! (3) he also included a note to me directly (a separate letter; the above paragraph was in a letter to my mother and not intended for me to read).

His note to me read as follows:

"Sabina. sorry I cannot write much; I only have 5 minutes left. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH... Send me snacks. :-)" --Elder Robert Safsten



...........I love that kid. So much. Gotta go make some snacks. ;-)

Kitchen Wants

I'm spending this afternoon and evening charting out all the required assignments, optional assignments, and extracurricular enrichment activities for this quarter.  And that's boring.  But do you know what isn't boring?

Dinosaurs.


Like these. 

*lurve*

Xenocide

once upon a time, I spent a ton of time in my kitchen. It was pretty cool or whatever (Well, lately, mostly "whatever." I only have air conditioning in one room, and it is not my kitchen. It's been crazy hot lately.)

I am currently renting an apartment, and have really enjoyed the kitchen set-up. I have these huge sliding glass doors, and a cute little porch, and some classy outdoor furniture (which I need to clean today). 

As I was hanging out in my not-so-cool but soon to be very classy kitchen (I'm working on some artsy stuff and new organization), I glanced down at the floor--and immediately noticed something that caused me great alarm.

ANTS.

all over the entrance of the glass doors, and trailing through to in-front-of-my-stove-space.

===unacceptable===

i immediately stopped what I was doing, and looked up various ways to kill ants, the intent of bug murder burning deep in my soul. Outside is bug territory. Inside--at least, my kitchen-- is MY territory. (Porch is the Neutral Zone). i will sometimes just catch or re-direct bugs that are in my room, or other parts of the house-- but bugs crossing into my kitchen is a trespass worthy of immediate destruction. 

I didn't like any of the remedies I found, and medical situations in my apartment disallowed the use of traditional bug poison. So, true to form, I took the knowledge that I had and mixed up my own concoction. I couldn't use soap, because that would leave my floor sticky.  I need something that evaporated quickly, and didn't leave a nasty scent.

It took a few tries before I was successful, but in the end, this is what I came up with:

Some water (about a cup) (use filtered if your surfaces are particular)
About a cup of distilled vinegar (or apple cider, but distilled is clear)
Also some vodka (or rubbing alcohol)
Mix in lavender oil, cinnamon oil or extract, mint oil or extract, oregano oil, thyme oil, clove oil, ginger oil, lemon or bitter orange oil. Garlic, I hear, also works....but I did'nt want my house to smell like garlic.

For a less expensive version that takes longer, I'm sure I could have steeped the herbs in the water instead of using all the oils, then let it sit overnight. Strain the herbs out, then mix the liquid with the water and alcohol.
But today, those bugs needed to die. Immediately. Essential oils by doTerra for the win!!

Put in a spray bottle. Spray on the bugs, and they die. Also, allow a couple to escape, follow them back to the entrance point, spray the entrance point with the mixture. Mop surrounding floor, spray lightly. If you find the hill, destroy it with either boiling water or dumping some of the mixture into it.

Note: I cannot vouch for whether the ants feel pain.  I really, really don't like killing things (I have a hard time with shellfish cookery)  or knowing things were killed inhumanely. However, bugs do not belong in the house, and one simply cannot reason with them at this point in our mortality.

The bugs are in bug-heaven, my kitchen is up to code, my floor is clean. 

And my house smells fantastic. Bonus points. 

On Clutter...and art

I like having a house that looks like a home. For that, I need to do a number of things (including tackling the last of the boxes that are hiding in corners) but I think one of the biggest things I need to do is to TREAT it like a home. 

I am no longer in that "college student living with roommates" era. I should start acting like it.

As I sat pondering this, I realized:  I have nothing hanging on my wall, except for two metal signs hanging in my kitchen. I have nothing in my living room, and nothing in the office, and nothing in my bedroom. 

Even I don't plan on staying hear forever, there is no reason not to make it a very nice, well-put-together place. Decorations help me keep things orderly and clean. (Analogy: it's easier to live a good life when you fill it with good things instead of just focusing on not doing bad things. It is easier for me to keep my house de-cluttered when it looks cute and tastefully decorated, rather than just focusing on not having stacks of books and paper everywhere). 

I am a cluttered person not because I enjoy having STUFF everywhere. Honestly, it is usually because I am so focused on doing/getting/being somewhere else, and thinking of a thousand things nearly at once, that I just kind of blow through my life like a whirlwind. I just never make time, and I am so brain-busy that I usually don't take time to put things away right after I use them.  I frequently misplace my glasses, car keys, phone, etc. because after I am done using them, my brain is so absolutely "on to the next thing" before I even register that I've set them down. 

Working on that. 

So, first step: clean and de-clutter my house. Reward: purchase and or create nice art with which to decorate my home. 

Excuse me....I need to go put my books away. :-)