Au Revoir Victoria!

November 7th
Today this project of mine is due.
It is sad I know and I am sure you will all miss my very brief time here on blogger covering the french related happenings of my life.
(If you think a world without me is intolerable you can always follow my regular all the time blog here)
So I debated how to properly say good bye and it was determined that a french themed fair well picnic would only be right...unfortunately the other ladies in my class are too busy with exams so this will be a picnic of one...
Too make it truly french we were going to style it after the Beret Baguette video we watched for homework one day...only it's really cold outside so we were going to do it in my friends living room. Remember party for one here and I live in a low ceilinged basement sweet with few windows. I try my best!
First I must dress as a french hipster from the early 1900s, careful to throw in some stereotypes. I've got my mime stripes, beret and scarf. (Side note: the beret and scarf are actually from Normandy so there's some true authenticity in this blog post!)

Then I open the wine...only I don't usually drink wine because I really don't like it. Luckily, instead of going out and buying a bottle I would never drink, my friend Julie who I mentioned earlier brought me back a juice box of wine from Italy this summer. A genius idea really to have wine juice boxes in a nation of wine drinkers...though I suppose I lose authenticity points for it being Italian wine...I try my best.

Also since I do not drink wine I have no wine classes...only margarita glasses from Mexico. Oh well, the wine will still taste like wine.

Now that we have our wine! 

We are in need of some super classy, Frenchish, finger food! I know usually their appetizers would be much classier with a lot of attention to detail and care in each morcel...but I am a poor student on a budget. So we've got Grapes, sesame crackers, baked garlic and baked brie!

Delicious!

So there you have it! My final post to my french project blog. I hope you've enjoyed your time reading, perhaps I've inspired you to begin your own blog and the random occurrences of your life! Who knows where we will go from here but if we never meet again,

Joyeux Noël! And good luck with all your life adventures!

Cecilly <3 

Merci Monsieur Lazhar

November 29th
So I didn't think I was going to make a post about this even though our teacher told us we could use it but I am because this movie moved me in so many ways.
In class today we watched a movie called Monsieur Lazhar.

The movie starts off sad and only continues to pull at your heart through to the end. 

It deals with troubled children, suicide, child abuse, guilt, feelings of abandonment, the difficulty of immigration, the threats and dangers in other countries that immigrants fear and escape from, the loss of loved ones. So many important issues in today's world that often aren't addressed and when they are, are certainly not addressed in this way.

It begins with a child discovering his teacher had hung herself in their classroom and through out the movie the recurring question is why? On this I would have to agree with M. Lazhar. Why? Why would a teacher choose to take her life in the class room where the students that love her would find her? Why would she ruin their perception of life? But I have often heard that suicide is the most selfish of acts an individual can do. In that moment there is no consideration or stray thought for anyone else in your life. Just the over whelming desire to be free from whatever it is that has made you miserable.

It isn't often that you find a film or book or any form of documentation on how children deal with loss and death of the ones they love and it was very interesting to see how the teachers in the school handled it. To the audience, M. Lazhar is the only one looking at the situation realistically. The only one who actually cares for the students betterment, to help them understand that it isn't there fault and at first you wonder if this is just a culture gap between the Canadian culture of Quebec and the Algerian culture that he comes from. But then it is made clear that M. Lazhar isn't actually a teacher. He's just a man off the streets who needed a job, who hasn't been taught in how to deal with situations like this, doesn't know the proper teacher etiquette in these situations. 

But it is also because of his caring and his attempts to help them that the children feel comforted, they learn, he tries to help them understand.

This is where I think the resemblance can be drawn between the teachers in Entre Les Murs and Monsieur Lazhar. They don't seem like real people when they're teaching their classes. They have to uphold a level of authority and professionalism and they don't connect with their students. I find that really sad but also I can think back on all the teachers in my school experience and the ones that I like most were the ones that cared.  They weren't just a robot rattling off facts and assigning homework. They would take the time to get to know you, come to your concerts, bring treats for the class. 

Maybe how teachers in the education system are selected is flawed but in the case of these students and I think many inner city schools the kids need a teacher like M. Lazhar...even if he is just a man off the streets at least he has their best interest in mind and isn't always worried about the reputation of the school. 

Cecilly <3 

The Trials of a Ballerina

November 26th
Hello my french project blog followers.
Today, is a very sad day.
As it is almost the end of classes it is also the end of so many things I love. Like ballet classes at the Ian Stewart.
I know I'll be able to continue on with them next semester but for the next 3 weeks as I wait for my exams to end in Victoria I will have no one to practice pointing and flexing my toes with. No one to show me how to do proper grand jettes and no one to catch me when I get too dizzy because I still can't spot my pique turns to save my life.
Yes, for the next 3 weeks I will have to do ballet alone.

Now you're wondering why I am posting about this here because true dance history majors know that ballet started in the Italian Renaissance but ballet to me is something inherently French. And there are different styles of ballet, the most commonly taught being French.
I think we can send out a big thank you to King Louis the 14th of France for this. He was a huge lover of ballet and it was because of him that Jean-Baptiste Lully became such a famous, and for a long time, the only, composer of music in the court.
Louis himself spent at least an hour every morning in a ballet lesson and the members of his court as well as the rest of France quickly made it part of their daily lives as well.
Though the ballet in Louis time may not have been as extreme and rigid as it it today it was still very difficult.
I mean if you ever have the chance to go look up the feet of a ballerina, DON'T! It's disgusting! Broken toes, ingrown toe nails, bleeding/blistered/bruised! SO GROSS!
This intensive ballet spun off into several other forms of dance. Contemporary and lyrical for example use many of the characteristics and fundamentals of ballet but are rooted more in natural and flowing movements, often impersonating trees or leaves in the wind.

On a side note if you ever have to go to a dance competition and have to sit through the lyrical section, be prepared for a lot of really emotional dance pieces set to the sappiest hit song at the time dance teachers can find.
This isn't even a song, it's just strange! (link)

My ballet class was not so intense of course. Most of us were new comers to the ballet scene so walking on point shoes and great graceful leaps will have to wait a few years. That of course does not mean it wasn't hard!
For my ballet class we learned a combination from the Beauty and the Beast ballet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znJQiVzN6E4
It's called the Bluebird (the first girl to dance in the video)
It was very hard! Especially since I have very poor balance on a regular basis! Doing all the kicks and turns had me resembling a goose flying in the wind. Not very graceful, hardly any control but some how I made it through and I had fun doing it.
(Our teacher assures us that next semesters variation for the Vikes presentation day will be easier.....I can hope!)

Cecilly<3

Black Friday Bra Extravaganza at LaSenza

November 23rd
What an eventful morning this has been!
Today was Black Friday, possibly the most deadliest day of the year in America and who's bad consumer habits are slowly trickling up here into Canada. 3 years ago there never would have been a Black Friday sale in Canada, well maybe in Ontario but not in B.C. But as I was walking through the mall the other day I walked by La Senza...
I couldn't remember the last time I had bought a bra! And the wire in one my favorite bras had just broke the other day! So I walked into the store and it is so beautiful in there. The women that work there are like Barbies(Tall, perfect hair, permanent smile painted on their faces) certainly the type of woman every girl should aspire to be!

So this girl is talking to me about bras and the right one for my body and she tells me that I shouldn't buy anything today. I should really come back for the Black Friday sale, doors open at 8 and mad sales! Well OF COURSE I'm going to go!
So this morning I work up at 7 and bussed myself down to the Bay Center. And along with about 10 other middle aged ladies and a few of my friends we raided the store!
You can never have enough underwear and don't let anyone tell you different.
But here's some fun facts:
Did you know the La Senza is a Canadian Company?
Did you know they're based out of Quebec?
I didn't. But I think that's understandable, it could be French but the name sounds very much Italian.
But think of something else now. Where do you buy your bras? If your my mother the Bay, Sears or Zellers. But if you wanted to buy a sexy bra! Lingerie! Lace! Too make it just that more special where are you going to go? Well it probably depends on your age range but you might go to La Senza, or you might go to La Vie en Rose...which is basically the La Senza equivalent focused towards more mature women also based out of Montreal....

Do you see a pattern here?
Both have french names, both are based out of Montreal...There is a French monopoly on our undergarments here in Canada.
Am I complaining? No, they're certainly doing it right but what does that say about us as people. No one wants to be caught buying bras in the Bay, it's embarrassing, the Bay is not a sexy place. What is it about French exoticism that hooks us into their lingerie marketing world?
Does every girl have a secret dream of living out a harlequin romance novel with a well muscled man named Francois or Jacques or Antoine and the only way to attract one will be to wear stylish bras? Maybe like Rose in the Titanic we want to be painted like one of Jack's french girls who show no shame at being painted in the nude? I honestly don't know but the people in Quebec clearly do because they're doing it right and making a profit.
And I'm not even sorry for buying into it!

Un Canadian Croque

November 16th
It has happened!

I have finally made un croque monsieur! TADA!

Yeeeess! Feast your eyes upon it in jealousy that you did not think to make one yourself! 

It's really quite easy.

All you need is 2 slices of bread
Some sliced ham
Some cheese squares whichever flavor you'd like ( I used swiss)
And lots and lots of butter!

To all my Canadian friends sitting at home reading this and are thinking "this is just a grilled cheese sandwich with ham in it" you are absolutely right! Which makes it all the more easier to make since no Canadian has lived to the age of 20 without eating a grilled cheese sandwich...unless they're allergic to one of the ingredients.
There are other variations to the recipe if you'd like to give it a little twist:

• croque provençal (with tomato)^[8]
• croque auvergnat (with bleu d'Auvergne cheese)^[9]
• croque gagnet (with Gouda cheese and andouille sausage)
• croque norvégien (with smoked salmon instead of ham)^[10]
• croque tartiflette (with sliced potatoes and Reblochon cheese)^[11]
• croque bolognese / croque Boum-Boum (with Bolognese sauce)
• croque señor (with tomato salsa)
• croque Hawaiian (with a slice of pineapple)

• the "Croque McDo" sandwich at McDonald's locations in France (which is kind of terrifying to think of)

So yeah just put it all together! I like to fry one side and then sprinkle cheese on the top of that side as the other side is frying so it melts everywhere.
There are variations to this recipe of course. A Croque Madame is a Monsieur with an egg on top of it
It's super easy and super quick and makes a great snack.
When I went to Normandy a few years ago I would have at least one of these a day. Of course mine pales in comparison because those bistro chefs are experts and they use the best ingredients where as I am a poor student who buys processed ingredients because they are cheap. But it's the thought and the memories that count I think.
I could not tell you if this snack is originally French. The earliest documentation of it in France was in 1910 but clearly many other cultures have something similar to it.
We in Canada have the grilled cheese sandwich.
In the UK they have Welsh Rarebit where they pour a hot cheese sauce over the sandwich and this documents back to the 18th Century.

So what came first? Well the Croque Monsieur probably came before the Classic North American Grilled Cheese but could the Croque Monsieur be a less messy version of the Welsh Rarebit?
Who's to say what came first.
All I know is that it's delicious and a classic snack I think should become more popular in Canadian cafes.
Until next time.
Cecilly <3

Mademoiselle Saigon?

November 12th
Did you know that once upon a time Vietnam was a French colony?
I didn't! No idea in fact! So I write to you this post in the hopes that I may impart some knowledge of the history of French involvement in Vietnam as well as how I came across this knowledge.
So from the 17th century to the 19th century France was in Vietnam trying to convert the people to Christianity and helping them to see the light of God. Under the pretext of protecting the work of Catholic missionaries in the 19th century France was able to form the French Indochina which was part of the French colonial empire in South Asia and France ruled Vietnam until they lost the French Indochina war in 1954...
Some of you may be sitting there, scratching your head and thinking to yourself "France had an empire?" Well it would appear so and it would appear that our teachers have been holding back on our learning of other countries.
But why is this relevant to me?

Well I was researching for my Commercial Theater essay that's due in December and I have to do a lot of research on Miss Saigon, a megamusical set during and after the Vietnam war with America that began in 1965. That's 11 years after Vietnam became it's own country suddenly the American's are descending upon them. But in this musical there is a character named the Engineer and he's a half-French half-Asian character.
His race alone caused enough trouble in American media but the funny thing about this man is his tendency to throw in little french mannerisms and sayings here and there in his songs. I couldn't for the life of me think why or why his french mother would happen to be in Vietnam in the first place to get pregnant with a Vietnamese man....it's all been explained now.
It is also very important I think to mention since this blog is for a french class that the writer and composer of  Miss Saigon were both Frenchmen. Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg. These were also the creators of Les Miserables, another megamusical based on the Victor Hugo novel. An important fact is that these men are french, when they write their musicals they write them in french and then work with a translator to translate them to English and fix all the rhyming and then set it to the music. It is a very long process.
But anyways, just a fun fact about Vietnamese history portrayed through a musical for you readers.
Peace <3
Cecilly

Toreaor, L'amour T'attend!

November 5th
OMG! I am so happy!
So I'm in this opera history class and in September I saw on the syllabus that we were going to talk about Carmen so I have been waiting very impatiently for 2 months and finally! The day is here!
Honestly I could not explain to you my love for this opera. It was the first opera I ever saw and I was about 15 when I saw it but there is something about a woman who can sashay across a stage singing la la la la and still manage to hypnotize men that every woman should aspire to have. (link)
And also that just because the woman he loves decides she no longer wants to be with him drives Don Jose so crazy that he kills her! Cause that makes sense.
Can't have the woman you want? Better kill her.
Also I think it's the only opera in French I've ever seen. Sure there are lots of operas that take place in France, La Boheme and La Traviata but very few come to mind that are actually in French. Of course, it's set in Spain because of the exoticism that Spain has and because of the sensor laws in place in France during the 1800s.
I think this would have to be attributed to how opera originated in Italy. Many composers from the 1600's onward would continue to go back to Italy to learn the style and while there would learn Italian and then compose in Italian. Or German! I can think of quite a few German operas without having to bring in Wagner and his almighty Rhinegold.
Regardless, even if there aren't many french operas that I can think of off the top of my head they have had plenty of other influences on music.
For example, Claude Debussy was a fantastic composer and Giacomo Meyerbeer, though true he was German, wrote plenty of things for the Parisian opera in French.
If it weren't for the french, Grand Opera would have never become a style!
But anyways, basically I am just so happy to be able to dedicate a 3 hour class to watching Carmen drive men crazy and if you ever have the chance to watch a production of it you should absolutely go.
It even has some dialogue in it, which is usually unheard of in opera, and is very easy to follow along to if you speak or understand french. None of that usual ornamentation of words that the Italians do.
So go see Carmen! Or listen to it when you have the chance! You won't regret it! You'll probably even know some of the songs.