"Go Cubs."

Maybe that is a phrase you hear occasionally in Chicago, certainly on game days on the north side, but in Cannes?!

I almost didn't hear him say it at first; I was dressed in jeans and a cubs t-shirt on my way to the beach when I passed a businessman who said softly, under his breath, "Go Cubs." I was thinking in French, so it didn't register for a few seconds and by the time I turned around he had already reached the corner. I called out "Go Cubs" and he turned with a smile on his face. I learned that he was in Cannes for a business conference and had lived around Chicago his whole life. Hearing him talk about the windy city made me miss life in the mid-west just a bit, especially game days at Wrigley Field.

However, once I was spread out in the sun on the sandy beach, I told myself I will always have time to live in the mid-west. For now, I am content to savor life in the sunny south.

In any case, "Go Cubs."

GREECE

Just Another Winter Day in Cannes

Thetas for Life

Have you ever heard the whisper of eucalyptus leaves? Have you heard the dry, silvery, sun washed whisper of eucalyptus leaves? Have you heard the dry, silvery, sun washed whisper of eucalyptus leaves in the late afternoon on top of a mountain?

I have.

Deciding to take advantage of the beautiful day, Richard and I set off hiking in the Esterel mountains near Cannes yesterday. After handily scaling rocks, traversing crevices, skittering along slippery footing and fighting the glaring sun (well, perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration), we arrived at the edge of a precipice amidst a grove of eucalyptus trees. I could have stood there forever, surrounded by the dry whisper of silver leaves in the golden light of late afternoon. It was a perfect moment.

Mao being Mao... possibly the cutest black cat in the world. Thanks to my new feline friend, I am officially a cat lover. Picture #1- I was getting ready to return a dress from Zara when he decided to investigate the contents of my bag. Picture #2- For some reason water seems to taste better from the kitchen sink than it does in his water bowl.

Michael, Sara and I spent an absolutely perfect day together in Italy. We visited the enormous market in the morning, ate scrumptious pizza for lunch, lounged in the cafe sunshine, found smooth rubbing stones along the beach and then discovered the ancient, picturesque old town before perching on the rocks to watch the sun slip away over the horizon. On our way home to Cannes, we stopped in Monaco to check out the Monte Carlo Casino and then ate chocolate and cookies all the way home. Hard to imagine a better day than that.

Christmas in Holland 2006

Reflexions

Sarah and Emily's 23rd birthday party in Juan les Pins. That was one crazy fun night...

Rotaract and Northwestern friends Jessica and Nandita- my first visitors in Cannes! It was awesome to hang out with friends from NU- exactly what I needed!

Vieux Port in Cannes

Exploring Villefranche and Cap Ferrat with Aunt Karen and Uncle Bob! I was so happy to see them and spend another gorgeous weekend in the south of France.

Wednesday, December 6^th

I just got my first call about giving private English lessons! And we had the whole phone conversation in French! So about two weeks ago I gave a tutoring announcement to Richard’s mom, who works in the book store across from our apartment. Apparently she gave my contact info to a girl who goes to Stanislas, which is the school across from the bookstore.

I was confused when I first answered the phone because the woman was speaking in French, and it is still difficult for me to switch back and forth between the two languages, but once I realized which language we were conversing the exchange went off without a problem. We set up a render-vous to meet and discuss the lessons tomorrow at 5pm. Now I just have to figure out how one goes about giving private English lessons. Guess I’ll find out what level this girl is at and we can go from there. I can’t wait to get started and make some more money- life in the south of France isn’t cheap!

Sunday, December 3

After a depressing and home sick weekend, my run tonight could not have been more helpful. I set off with no direction in mind but found myself running again along the narrow beach away from the busy center of Cannes. The water was lit an eerie turquoise by the full moon and the departing storm left the rough waves crashing against the rocky shore. With only the sound of the wind in my ears, my tangled thoughts somehow smoothed themselves out and I returned home calmer and happier and ready to face the week.

Cannes in the Rain

It was a cold and rainy weekend... booo hiss. At least it made for some cool pictures...

Impromtu dinner party chez-moi with my lovely travel companions Emily, Sarah and Marci, our friend Ed and my roommate Richard. It was an evening of good food, good wine and great company.

Wednesday, November 22

I walked to Italy today.


To be fair, I should preface that statement with the fact that I decided to take the hour and a half train to Menton for a day of exploring. It just so happened that when I learned I was only 1000 meters from Italy, I decided to go for a meandering walk that way. It was an absolutely gorgeous Mediterranean day, perfect for jeans and a t-shirt and exploring the colorful town.

Monday, November 20^th

I should have started with colors, at least not with the weather… some of my kids are so bright, they are like sponges and soak up everything that I teach them. Others are like brick walls and nothing gets through to them. For the most part, teaching is going really well, aside from the frustratingly different levels of ability. I felt like today went particularly well at Vagliano, with a review of date and days, weather, numbers, age and name. I just clearly need to remember that these are little kids and I need to go twice as slow as I think is necessary.

We have our daily routine almost all set: greetings, which include Hello, Good Morning and Hi, the date, days of the week, numbers and what’s the weather like. We just have to finish up “how are you?” and our daily ritual will be complete. As such we can touch on a little bit of everything at the beginning of each lesson and then continue on with new material. I think from here we will do colors and family. Thank goodness I have elementary kids and not high schoolers who could care less about the weather and colors.

Sunday, November 19^th

Well, plans to Italy got cancelled last minute for this weekend. But then again, they were last minute plans, so it was half expected. Instead of Cinque Terres, I ended up spending a perfectly lovely and agreeable weekend in my ever sunny and charming town of Cannes. Saturday consisted of checking out all the morning markets- flowers and produce at Fourville, clothes and jewelry at Gambetta, and arts and flea market at Allé de la Liberte. I love wandering the markets, and this weekend was particularly fun because I saw several of my students and two of my teachers. I felt truly Cannoise.

After a relaxing and exploratory day, it was a perfect night to try our hand at the night life in Cannes. The first two bars the other assistants and I tried were absolutely awful, but the third was a fun and fully packed Irish pub called Morrison’s. I am sure we will be going there again. Hopefully next weekend we can try there and then Calienté, the salsa club in town. I have been craving a good salsa dance.