Nicole's delicious homemade cajun gumbo;
a fitting choice for a cold winter's night.
On the cusp of this upcoming holiday season, I have awoken each day with an unusually acute sense that I am indeed dreaming. I already feel that I live my dream everyday here in France, but lately, each day has brought something especially exciting. Back-to-back celebrations of the coming holiday anticipate the future festivities with their own personalized versions of the fun, and leaving very little time to sit still and ponder the happenings elsewhere. I find such distraction to be a great comfort, being as it is never easy to be away from loved ones around the holidays, and I welcome the freeing nature of this never-ending merriment because it allows me to truly take advantage of this unique experience.
Chestnuts roasting on a semi-open fire in Geneva
This past week alone, I made use of my Eurail pass and took a last-minute trip to Geneva, so as not to miss out on any fleeting moment of the season. Mulled wine and characteristic cuisine was in abundance, and a chilly winter breeze made sure its presence was known, so as to make the experience an authentic one. My return home was swiftly followed by lessons with my students about Festivals of Light around the world, and discussions of their own holiday traditions.
In keeping with our own traditions, our North American crew of english assistants (myself-Chicago, Nicole-Lafayette LA, and Julie-Canada), introduced the concept of the Gingerbread House to the Kiwi and the Frogs. They ate it up. Literally. Not that I could stop myself, neither; Nicole's recipe for the gingerbread was irresistible, and frankly, put the french "pain d'epice" to shame. Vince and Julie's house took the ginger-cake, leaving us all with a feeling reminiscent of Halloween when Vince's first jack-o-lantern grinned down on all the others in its magnificence.
Nicole and Jeremy had some construction mishaps for all her planning and preparation done on behalf of the group, but despite all their troubles, their "petite maison provinçale" turned out to be quite the charming creation. Lucy and I teamed up for a joint re-working of the "Eglise Francaise" complete with arches, stained glass rose windows, and a priestly inhabitant. Our little candy village was quite the sight to behold, too precious to eat, yet too tempting not to want after, and ultimately each house slowly met its fate in a distant setting.
The church was to be a gift to some colleagues, but never quite made it, the culprit being a young mademoiselle with a sweet tooth and an insatiable curiosity.
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