High schoolers in springtime; they're "twitterpated"

Spring is upon us here in Lorgues, and with every walk through the high school courtyard, I am reminded of that scene from Disney's "Bambi" when all the animals are in love and cudoodling.  They're "twitterpated" as the old grouchy owl explains it.  However unlike the old owl, I find myself strangely unaffected by such excessive public displays of affection.  These loving couples in mid-kiss appear to be simple extensions of the high school building's architecture when you pass by them every five feet.  I have asked myself if perhaps my apathy is born of bitterness and jealousy at not being among this congregation of happily entwined young lovers.  My romantic interest is, after all, halfway across the world, making any semblance of physical embrace a complete impossibility.  Perhaps a small portion of my dispassion stems from resentment, but I feel that the real causes are rooted elsewhere.  It is possible that I have grown desensitized to the openness of affection that is so customary in french culture.  I no longer feel the shock and repulsion I felt when walking the streets of Paris last spring. And while I continue to view such public fondling as inappropriately timed and placed, it has effectively become an element of everyday life.

In any case, it was not so long ago that I was in their shoes.  It is the beginning of that age when innocence is fleeting and when raging hormones and emotions may not always make for the best of situations, yet never fail to produce entertaining results.  Everything is the end of the world, or the beginning of a new one.  When walking through the halls of Lycée Lorgues, I often wonder if my high schools halls were as full of such amorous spectacle.  Somehow, I doubt that I was as as enthused by public displays of affection, even back then, but I do find myself far more reserved now when giving hugs and being within the personal space of others.  I find that such a loss of conviviality is rather unfortunate, being as I rather enjoyed the option of being cozy in the presence of random friends.

Nonetheless, twitterpated teenagers are a perfect sign of spring, especially when surrounded by tweeting birds and jovial squirrels.... a sight to see, for sure.

"Julie and Julia;" inspiring more people than just me, I am sure

And so I emerge from that daze which follows watching any truly delightful film, especially upon the first viewing.  The recent box office hit, "Julie and Julia" starring the icon of an actress, Meryl Streep, has hit home with me as well as with women across America and across the world.  I am not being all too over-dramatic when i say "the world," as I have found that french women (at least those in the south) are in as much of a frenzy over the film as my friends back home.  I held out to see the film, determined to see it in "version originale" (ie english, and not dubbed in french), and found myself constantly taunted by praise for the film at every turn.  I even found myself in a conversation with a local bus driver, an italian woman, living and working in france, who "simply could not believe [I] had not seen it yet!"

The concept is brilliant. The wonderful woman who thought to combine traveling, cooking, blogging, eating, and Meryl Streep, is truly a genius.  I have no doubt that every woman in America, and many across the world (or at least english-speaking french anglophiles) will be flocking to purchase their own copy of the masterpiece that is "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." I would not be surprised if husbands and boyfriends across the land will be experiencing their ladies cooking their way through the book(... not that the men would complain).  While it is rather a copycat idea, I have personally placed this monster of a task on my life's-to-do-list, with hopes to conquer those key elements of cooking that have managed to escape my comprehension.  

To this goal, I have added one of my own design.  I was already conceiving of this notion as I began to accumulate recipes with each trip to Sospel, but Mrs. Julia Child and her miraculous story have given me a swift kick to start the ball rolling.  I decided, for the purpose of further studying and retaining the recipes I have learned while in France, that I am to type them all up in both english and french and compile my own sort of personal bilingual collection.  It is to be as illustrated as photos as will allow, and personalized with the comical anecdotes that paralleled each cooking adventure.

The goal is not to attempt to write a cookbook, but rather to simply review my notes and thus to retain them for future cooking.... oh, and of course, to have the sumptuous occasion to eat delicious food.

And I say once more... "C'est bon d'être gourmande!"