Metamorphosis

Change is good

Listening to: David Bowie - Modern Love

A tale of 2 carrier networks

Ive recently discovered the joys of 'Skyping' with my love. Unfortunately it does make me miss him a lot more and the data charges are crazy! I usually use an iPhone app named Viber which has pretty much the same features except it doesn't have face to face time and the data charges are a lot more inexpensive. You can make calls and send messages to other Viber users for free. Just make sure you have a good Internet connection.



Listening to: housemate's vacume

Je vais! I'm on my way!

X

Risotto

Chicken risotto made with free range chicken stock and a whole lotta gutso!

Ready for the future

I feel like I've achieved so much today!

I love taking time out of an afternoon for a soothing mug of ginger tea and my French homework

...

4 attempts, a bakers dozen of eggs, 1 litre of sunflower oil and I can say I've successfully made mayonnaise!

Im almost ready!

I've just completed hour 5 of the Michel Thomas corse for iPhone! Yippee!

French Nouns and their definite Articles

When I was younger I never realized how effective 'Look, Cover, Write, Check' was. I'm memorizing French nouns along with their gender of articles and this method is working like a charm. I write a list of say 15 words or so and memorize them within a week. Then change the list to new words once I've got those down pat. Here are some I'm working on:

Mad as a hatter

The party was a magnificent success! There was tea, nibbles and sweets galore. Red Queens, Rabbits, a few Alices, Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum, A White Queen and a Mad Hatter. 'Drink Me' potions, 'Eat Me' cake,

Derp!

It seems Im living life in ADD. I have so many dreams, passions and aspirations Im trying to do that Im getting sidetracked by all the other dreams, passions and aspirations Im wanting to do that I only DO half of the things Im trying TO DO! GAH! Its frustrating. Anyway Ive done a few sketches, STARTED reading The Pillars of The Earth (Ken Follett - its amazing by the way), attempted a painting, sluggishly wadded through books of French grammar, wrote up an exercise and diet regime (that I will stick to religiously - No more Tim Tams for me), continued with my 100 day Bible reading plan, cooked a risotto which resulted in my breaking the stove, signed up to tennis lessons, stressed a tonne for my visa/tried to come up with an alternative solution, tried to master a piece of emotionally charged sheet music by the brilliant Beethoven ANNNNND I just accidently burnt my hair on my bedside table tea lights. Fuck life. Im going to watch Little Women in bed and conk out.

Spring

The sun is out, it's been in exile and is desperate to shed light.

The temperature is slowly rising...

There's hope for us after all!

Origami!

For my gorgeous little sisters 9^th birthday we are having an Alice in Wonderland tea party. And yours truly is the mad hatter. Its slowly creeping up and I haven’t thought of any costume designs yet but Im sure ill be able to razz up something on the day. Anyway, for the decorations we need 100+ cranes and other beautiful origami shapes so were slaving away all night folding and folding. We ended up making around 20 cranes each so we’re halfway there.

As I was searching for instructions on how to create shapes I stumbled upon these aperture lamps by Claire Norcross. They’re at a store called Habitat in Paris! If only I had known about them when I was there I definitely would’ve popped in and seen them.

It hailed today

Hobart is greyer than ever today.

It hailed while I watched on in wonder.

Listening to this makes it alright.

Listening to: Arcade Fire - The suburbs

Lomography

Digital film has taken the world by storm, there are many more people embracing a passion for photography than ever before. So, is film photography dying? Lomographic society begs to differ. And I for one am riding on the train with arms flailing incessantly.

Im in love with lomography.

 

Quel est-il? Pretty much lomography is taking a cheap plastic ‘kodak’ camera and POSSIBLY making an interesting and artistic print. You must be very cleaver in choosing the right subject, lighting conditions, etc, and know how to make use of the cameras defects. There is an extremely fine line to creating a good lomography image. Lomography cameras, like the Holga and Diana are made almost entirely out of plastic. They sometimes have problems with light leaks, soft focus or colour fringing because of the poor quality lens, however its this aspect that will create a parfait image IF you know how to take advantage of these defects….key word: IF.

I wanna give it a crack!

Listening to: Led Zeppelin - Whole lotta' love

Serge Gainsbourg - Les Sucettes

Les Sucettes; a song written in 1966 by Serge Gainsbourg for a budding singer - France Gall, is a song about a girl sucking on an anis-filled lollipop. Unfortunately, the underage Gall had no clue that the song was an innuendo for oral sex, apparently her guardian’s didn’t either. Or peut-etre they were in on it too...

High fashion perler beads by Sabine Ducasse

"As DIY crafts go, perler beads are about as simple as they come — lay them out, sit an iron on top for a few seconds, and they’ll stick together. (We won’t say ‘easy’ because even perler beads are easy to screw up.) While our creativity was limited to ironing 2-D representations of our favorite cartoon characters, designer Sabine Ducasse’s Melting Pot collection wraps a wearable, iron-melted sheet of the little dots around a person. Ducasse’s retro style pops off her model, bending around the shoulders like a set of pixelated wings. Even the styling is retro, in an 8-bit, psychedelic way, but Ducasse’s throwback to old toys was modern enough to win her a scholarship at the International Fashion Academy. The contest’s “East Meets West” theme was perfect for the French-born, Shanghai-based designer, whose collection saw the hemispheres and the decades literally melt into each other."
                                                                                                                     - wired.com

 

 

The Flag Of Japan

Spread the word to raise funds for Japan

www.japan-flags.com

Listening to: Simon &Garfunkel - Bridge over troubled water



Je parle français!

Oui, d'accord seulment un peu. I bought a baguette and a wheel of camembert. It was nerve racking and exciting. I forgot the word for a plastic bag so opted to juggle my wares to the car. Go team!

Coconut Chicken Curry

 

I stood before the mountain of curry gastronomy and took my first timid steps. Halfway through I almost admitted defeat and cried out in frustration to my maman “My curry tastes like shit!” in which she raised a sarcastic eyebrow “Hmmm, have you tasted shit before...” and preceded to give me her non-text-book-acquired wisdom of ‘How to fix anything’. A pinch of this, a splash of that et VOILA! A curry I can admit I made, with chest puffed out gallantly and a strut that would knock Naomi Campbell off the runway. This recipe is quick, easy and uses basic ingredients but still has a wicked depth of spicy taste and heat.

Ingredients

2tbs veg oil
750g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed & cut into thirds
2 potatoes chopped into cubes
1 lge handful of green beans
1can of bamboo shoots
1 onion sliced into thin wedges
2 garlic cloves chopped finely
1tsp ground turmeric
2tbs red curry paste
1 lemongrass stem, trimmed, bruised & thinly sliced
1sml red chilli, deseeded & sliced thinly (if you like hot curries add another chilli or seeds)
1can of coconut milk
15 fresh curry leaves
1cup fresh coriander leaves
½ lime juiced
Cooked Jasmine rice (I cooked mine with a can of coconut cream and thinly sliced spring onion)
Coriander sprigs & lime wedges to serve

 Method

1. Boil potatoes in seasoned water
2. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat. Add half the chicken and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden. You want to sear the chicken without cooking it the whole way through. Transfer to a plate and cook the remaining chicken.
3. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add onion and garlic, using a wooden spoon sautee until the onion is transparent. Add turmeric, curry paste, lemongrass and chilli. Cook for 1 min or until aromatic.
4. Stir in coconut milk and curry leaves. Add potatoes, green beans and bamboo shoots. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Return chicken to wok and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until chicken is tender. Stir.


Easy as pie right? I then translated the recipe into French which took longer then making the actual curry!

 

Im a glutton for punishment I know

 

Listening to: Aretha Franklin-I dont want nobody

A bit of heavy reading

Im reading or should I say translating un petit livre by Gustave Flaubert titled Un Coeur Simple. Ive done un traduction of the first page and its very interesting. Translating french into english is no easy feat let me tell you! When you translate word for word the sentence more often than not doesnt make sense, however I will prevail!!!!!!!!!!

Listening to: Francis Cabrel - L'encre de tes yeux

Oooh Yeahhhh...

I want to try every single one of these...!

Listening to: King Harvast - Dancing in the moonlight



Weekend Indulgence: A simple salad

With so much to do stuck inside typing documents/reading and studying my French textbooks/watching newly acquired seasons of sex and the city ;) and my general laziness confined to the space of my bed, I haven’t done any outside projects. Still I did manage to plant some annuals in my garden bed, as well as some tomatoes, basil, parsley, rosemary and lettuce. The lettuce has taken very well with their spot because I’ve harvested them 3 times since planting them! The crisp tender leaves taste best sprinkled with fleur de sel and a whisper of vinaigrette and olive oil. This evening I added a few cherry tomatoes, a perfect complement to the delicate leaves. There is a special pleasure in eating food straight from the garden, something you have planted, tended and harvested, n’est ce pas?

Listening to: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have you ever seen the rain?

Au revoir

I can smell the croissants baking even now on this side of the world...

Im not there yet but I will be soon!

Listening to: Craig David - Unbelieveable

Alliance Francais Blog

If you enjoy blogs then this one sponsored by the AllianceFrançais is one Ive become obsessed with recently. One could say it’s a Francophiles delight!!! The blog itself is contributed by the Alliance Français staff, students, teachers and their members. There are movie reviews, discussions about art, music and culture in general, and posts about the joys of travelling and living in France. There are posts of local interest, but theres also posts that would interest readers no matter what country they reside in. One of my favourite posts is this one:

"Too Little, Too Late

by Guest on Jul 8, 2011 • 2,765 views 12 Comments

Why knowing just a little bit of French can spell big trouble

Had I seen this picture back in 1987, I would not have learned the hard way that knowing a little bit of a language can be a dangerous thing. It was that summer when my husband (still just my boyfriend) and I took what turned out to be a glorious vacation, a week of cycling in the Loire Valley. I was conjuring up my high school French, even then a distant memory, and he was relying on me to do the talking. And actually, I wasn’t doing half bad. We figured out how to get our bikes from Orly to Paris and then on to Angers by train, found charming hotel rooms and delicious meals in one town after another, and enjoyed the chateaux and sunflowers along the route.One night in Orléans, tired after a day of riding, I spotted cervelle d’agneau on the menu.

“Great!” I thought. “Agneau is lamb and I love lamb!”

But when my meal arrived, it wasn’t a lamb chop. It wasn’t even a slice of mutton. It was unmistakably a lamb’s brain, albeit swimming in butter. So I did what any hungry cyclist would do. I ate it. I’ve never forgotten the word cervelle. (And I’ve never ordered it again either.)

By Anne Schwartz"

LOLLLLL! I really hope this never happens to me. Luckily I have a boyfriend who Im sure will bloody well tell me if Im eating brains or not! Sheesh! So if you have time check this blog out.

The basil arm workout

I work in a place that is filled with people consumed with a passion for food. Their passion is infectious and I often learn many new things about vegies, meat, pastry, bread and other fascinating facts about food. The two owners are constantly researching new food ideas and creating new meals, pastries, breads, etc. It’s inspiring to see so much ardour in someone’s life. Today I taste tested a baked grapefruit with caramelised sugar, yesterday it was a spiced wallaby pie, the day before it was a ‘mighty mulligatawny’ soup! The BEST goddam soup I’ve had in all my 22 years!  -btw Im attempting to make this soup soon so Ill post about it. Everything at the store is locally sourced in Tasmania or are from non-commercial businesses and everyone who works at the store love to cook, buy local and in season and share recipes and ideas. Last week it was kumera (sweet potato) this week the conversation was centred around basil and what to make with the masses we had.

Pesto, obviously!

However, instead of making ordinary pesto with pinenuts we suggested pistou - a simpler version of pesto with basil and olive oil blended to the desired consistency.

The ironic thing is that Pistou is an olive oil based basil sauce from the south of France (mon amour) that closely resembles pesto. True pistou is made by hand, you tear the basil leaves in pieces, then add them to a mortar and pestle with olive oil (garlic can also be added) and grind them together until you’re left with a silky puree of basil and oil goodness.

We (namely them) shared some of our favourite ways to enjoy pistou. The one I tried for breakfast this morning was with poached eggs on sourdough baquette drizzled with a good serving of pistou. I must admit I got a mini arm working out from all the grinding but it was definitely worth it. Peasant fare, to be sure but absolutely bangin'!

I sprinkled it with parmesan cheese to give it a bit of oomph!

Now where to buy a food processor...

Weekend Indulgence: Une tasse de cafe au lait

During the week my morning ritual of a bowl of muesli and a cup of coffee for that effective morning start up has become something of a ‘procedure’ so to speak. I remember the first weeks of this I savoured each mouthful and drank each cup appreciatively. Now, I’ve been so busy with work, my visa documents and life in general I find myself eating my breakfast in a minute and running out the door sculling my coffee - it has become a little more than a passing affair! I love my morning breakfast and coffee but don’t have time to sit and drink a few cups while reading the paper. But this weekend Im going to take the time to use my new vintage coffee cups I bought from an op shop in town and fill them with rich espresso, steaming milk and a bit of honey paired with a bowl of fruit and nut honey roasted museli, a dollop of greek yoghurt and a baked apple, sounds perfect doesn’t it...

Check!

Okay, I've photocopied all important documents, photographed my passport, itentification cards and have half my bags packed! Eeek

Fashion Is My Passion

For fear of sounding like a walking cliché I’m going to put it out there. And I don’t mean just shopping and looking at all the pretty dresses, although I do get an incredible feeling of satisfaction from a good dose of retail therapy. I mean studying, researching, drawing, creating, learning new techniques and discovering new fabrics. I was distracted for a number of years and only just realised how easy it is to become caught up in life’s little traps and become ‘a slave to the meagre wage’ - it’s much more easily done then said. However I have an amazing family, for every ounce of doubt I have they take away two.  And the combination of being surrounded by my encouraging family and a supporting boyfriend, I can feel the heady rush of excitement designing gives me coming back into my life.

My eyes feel like they’re going cross eyed from all the reading and researching I’ve been doing for my visa and my French classes so I decided to take a break and research fashion design schools in France. I’m not going to register or enrol at any of the schools at the moment because I’m planning to work and discover France with mon corpain in the first year I’m there, so obviously the biggest dot point on my bucket list is to find a job. I would love to jump straight into an internship with a French designer or fashion house! But that small dream of mine is but a dream and my heart won’t shatter if I’m not immediately able to find it.

I believe all things in life happen for a reason, having said that, I also believe where there’s a will, there’s a way. And with a little faith and patience I’m sure I’ll reach my ultimate goal, however, at the moment I can focus on learning this beautiful language, culture and staying in blissful happiness with my love.

But maybe, in a year or so depending where my life takes me, Ill fulfil these goals and be able to attend a school in France. If my dream became a reality these would be my top three picks.  

I wish my wants were on par with my budget.

Manifique!

There's signs of Europe and my love everywhere I go! It's incredible!

A French Language Breakthrough

Michael Thomas the world famous linguist is helping me slowly but surely work my way through to French fluency with the ease of a hot knife through unsalted butter. His language course (available for $5.95 per hour through iphone application store) relies on his ability to teach rather than your ability as a student, there is no need to write anything down, memorise phrases or revise words. He simply instructs you to relax, think and repeat after him. It’s a thinking process not memorisation. What I enjoy most is the fact that he breaks down the language into sizeable pieces and challenges you to string these bits into longer sentences with the information he has given you. His technique is to use literal translations, because he is not just teaching French. He is teaching French to pupils who already KNOW English and takes advantage of the vast overlap between the two languages. Part of his method is to let you identify the similarities of the two languages which helps you remember and use the correct words in which context.

For example the French word for ‘today’ is ‘aujourd’hui’ the correct spelling and pronunciation comes easily to my mind because I not only learnt the foundation of the word, but also the word association he gave with the example.

‘aujourd’hui’ is literally a combination of six French words

au is a contraction of á & le  - at the

jour                                            - day                                                        

d’                                                - of                                                         

hui                                              - today

 I would definitely recommend anyone wanting to learn French to buy his courses which are not only  available in book stores but also a click away on the application store of iphone, they’re a bit pricey but it’s definitely  worth it!

Look Out World

                                                                                     I'M REACHING FOR THE STARS......

Happiness

I came to a massive realization tonight as I reflected upon my day. I realized that my happiness depends on the attitude I take. I know many would say - that’s just common sense, but sometimes when you hear something over and over again, you might understand it mentally but feeling it with your whole heart and knowing what it means takes experience.

Lately I have been feeling a bit off. I am usually a very positive, energetic and happy person. But, for the past month and a half or so, I have been feeling abit, weird. I will describe this for you: grumpy, insecure, sad, stressed, anxious, negative, needy = NOT MYSELF!! I was simply blaming it on Tasmania’s’ cold, dark and dreary days, however, today this mood has come to its peak. I realized that it’s affecting others in my life.

This mood comes down to this crappy attitude I’m beginning to develop. This is not who I am and this has got to stop! The antidote: gratitude, love, courage, faith, confidence, compassion and belief in myself.

In the past I would make a goal. I would be so excited for it, I would dream about it, think about it and everything would run smoothly in my life because I am so focused and motivated on this one goal. I would be so grateful for everything, my energy would be up and I would be genuinely excited for the future. I would treat people better, show more kindness, be more respectful and be confident in who I am. And my mood...? Absolutely, positively FEARLESS!

Then, as I began to realize the challenge this goal entails the end result always looked too big for me. I would give up when I barely began. I would begin to only see the problems, complain and blame others. I would lose energy, worry constantly and finally give up!

This time my goal is to get to France in mid-December. This is no small goal and when I first set it I was feeling ready and on top of the world. Now all I am seeing are the challenges ahead, whether this is learning the language fluently, saving a tonne of money, getting all these documents, working 2 jobs 6 days a week and trying to balance other parts of my life as well. Lately, I have been feeling defeated, like the goal has already been lost and I have already failed. As the trip is getting closer, these challenges seem larger and my attitude is screaming “This is too big for me.”

Well, I’ve decided my attitude freaking sucks! Who decides whether or not this challenge is too big? I do. Who decides to focus on all the negatives instead of the positives? I do! Who decides what my attitude is? I freaking well do!!!!! So I am going to tap into my own power and be the best person I can possibly be. I’ll be confident, ready, positive, compassionate, loving, grateful and everything I usually am!! I CANT WAIT!!!

                                                                                                                                                                               

Abientot mon amis

THE DREDDED VISA

vi•sa                        /’vēzə/

Noun                          An endorsement on a passport indicating that the holder is allowed to enter,                                     leave or stay for a specified period of time in a country.

When I started researching how to go to France I found that it was not possible for me to stay there for over 3 months UNLESS I possessed a Schengen visa. After countless hours of investigating the who’s, what’s, where’s, when’s and how’s I came to the realisation that I had three options;

1. Get a 12 month working visa, requirements are I would have to organise a job in France while still living in Australia, and rely on the goodness of my employers’ heart to organise and sponsor my trip

2. Become a tourist for a year where I would have to have enough financial support to get me through a year without an income PLUS sign a contract stating that I will not obtain work in France,

Or

3. Apply for a Schengen working holiday visa, which is pretty much a mix of the top 2 and hope my application is better than the other couple of hundred Aussie hopefuls trying to experience la vie en rose!

Obviously neither of the first two visas work for me because a) I don’t possess any special qualifications at the moment and b) I don’t have $15 000+ in my bank account killing time. Upon further research and plenty of whinging I found that I could qualify for the working holiday visa. Everything seems easily enough for me to get except; the complex insurances and the proof of $5000 in my bank account. So, for the last 2 months I have been saving every penny to come up with the required money.

The documents I will be presenting for my Visa are:

Passport*

Passport photos - at least 2 and an extra one for the application form, 350mm x 450mm

An Attestation d’accueil from the host family

Proof of funds   - $5000

                             -Letter from the bank*

                             -Bank statement & payslips of the last 3 months*

Insurance            -Letter from medical insurance*

                              -Receipt of medical insurance*

                              -Photocopy of insurance card

                              -The policy brochure

X2 Platinum Express post envelopes, filled out and ready for my passport and visa (fingers crossed)

Travel Itinerary*

National Police check*

Application Form (in black ink and block letters)

Checklist

Cover letter in English with French translation

Resume (in French)

Photocopy of birth certificate

Photocopy of Australian Citizenship.

                                              *requires a photocopy of original document

The rest is manageable and all will be presented in a pretty display folder with numbered pages....that’s just how I roll. This week I’m holding myself responsible for researching possible insurance companies, finding out how to get personal liability insurance, writing my cover letter and translating my resume and said cover letter into French - not an easy feat for someone if they don’t have a handy French boyfriend and great French teacher.

I am currently a waitress and barista at a busy gourmet bakery/café in a sleepy suburb of Tasmania and have been raving on about my decision for my new adventure to everyone within eyesight. Luckily for me I’ve received tonnes of enthusiasm from everybody and the gift of personal knowledge from experience; the good, the bad and the ugly. It made me realise, not only do I have a limitless amount of “firsts” to appreciate but I also have a whole WORLD just waiting to be discovered! It’s the first initial step that’s the hardest to get the ball rolling but once it’s started, you’re halfway there.

Abientot mon amis

French Introductions

Okay, first things first! How to meet ‘n’ greet. This is my first entry on my endeavour to immerse myself in a new culture, so don’t shoot me for breathing. Let me just say I’m no expert, just riding first class on the knowledge train throwing my Hansel and Gretel trail along the way, vous comprendez?

Basic Greetings & Salutations:

Formal (for adults, strangers or anyone you wouldn’t usually say; “How’s it hanging” to

                                                                                English Translation                             Literal Translation

Bonjour                                                             Good morning/Hello                     (bon - good, jour - day)

Bonsoir                                                              Good evening                                 (soir - evening)

Bonne nuit                                                        Good night                                      (nuit - night)

Au revoir                                                           Good bye                                         (revoir - to see again)

 

Informal (for friends, relatives, animals or of course; the garden gnome)

Salut                                                                                                                     

Ça va?                                                                (Ça - this/it, va - is going)

Introducing yourself:

Je me presente                                                Let me introduce myself

Je m’appelle....                                                 My name is...                                    

Je suis...                                                             I am...  

Bien                                                                    Well/Good

Très                                                                    Very

Mon prenom est...                                          My first name is...                           

Et vous                                                               And you (formal)

Et toi                                                                   And you (informal)

Enchanté(e)                                                       Pleased to meet you (feminine)

Comment vous appellez-vous?                    What is your name? (formal)

Comment t’appelle tu?                                  What is your name? (informal)

Comment allez-vous?                                     How are you going? (formal)

Comment ça va?                                              How is it going? ( informal)

Here’s a brief conversation of introduction:
Bonjour, je m’appelle Valerie. Comment allez-vous?
Hello, my name is Valerie. How are you going?
Enchante Valerie, je suis très bien et vous?
Nice to meet you Valerie, I am very well and you?
Je suis bon merci, comment vous appellez-vous?
I am good thankyou, what is your name?
Ah, mon pre nom est Beau.
Ah, my first name is Beau. 

Now to find someone who can practice introductions with me!

Abientot mon amis