The Collectors

I've been carrying these stories around with me. So many people and places, so many moments that play upon the edges of my memory. I've decided to send them out into the vast and unknown universe of the blogosphere to be intercepted perhaps by no one. Nevertheless, just in typing them I feel relieved as if they have not been forgotten and their memory at least imprinted somewhere.

I've always been fascinated by collectors. There all sorts, collectors of dolls, coins, stamps or the high roller collectors of art, cigars, and wine. Maybe there is something innate within us that feels this need to accumulate. I've come across some interesting collectors and been amazed by the randomness of some collections. Yet one collector who made quite an impression was Soeur Durant a collector of all things cat. I would dub her a true felineophile.

812 cat statues decorated her wall and she knew the history of each one. Cats from around the world that various friends had sent her. Cat statues given at times of trial to console or encourage and cats bought on a whim to add to the collection. This woman was crazy for cats and they were slowly taking over her living space. Yet, she didn't seem to mind that her collection was starting to control her. Rather she was more concerned about finding additional shelving for the cats. I wondered if the collection could ever be complete or what she was ultimately trying to capture and if she ever could catch it. In the end, Soeur Durant will continue collect her cats and if there is meaning, purpose or use doesn't matter. Her collection was her kingdom and her way to gather up the good things in life and store it on shelf. It was her simple way to love, appreciate and celebrate life one feline figurine at a time.

Sunsets from the Kitchen Window

I had to stop and watch the electric sky shift the swirls of pink and purple across the horizon. I grabbed a chair and scooted up close to the window, pressing my hands against the chilled pane of a November evening. I sat and watched the sun disappear as I listened to the spin cycle of my washer and left the dirty dishes in the sink. There was something so luxurious and yet simple about sitting down to watch a sunset amidst the flurry of daily demands. A few minutes set aside to notice and realize a moment.

The colors slowly seeped away and the dishes remained undone. Yet, I continued to sit and marvel at how quickly life passes and how fast our feet must move to keep up. And sadly, how if we don't stop and sit, even for a few stolen seconds, life's pale blushing sunsets happening just outside the kitchen window quickly fade away unnoticed.

Au Revoirs and Effigies...

Sometimes life gets rough. You've got let things go but it's hard. At moments like these the best thing you can do is light a match, throw it on your pile of problems and watch them burn. There is something liberating about watching the flames blaze through your impossible obstacle and seeing the remnants blown away in the wisps of smoke.
Mix in fine dining, French food, fabulous friends and your favorite new dress and you've got one incredible effigy. Saying au revoir never felt so good. Don't let the load continue to weigh you down. Instead grab a match, bundle up your troubles for the torching and throw yourself one wild bonfire.

Cardoman Seeds and Hair Like Dawn

We sat around the table chewing cardoman seeds and digesting Shazia's mother's Pakistani cooking. Dal, jasmine rice, lentils, curry still covered the table in various eaten forms and laughter spilled out of our full bellies. I have learned a great lesson on friendship from these women. It comes in all forms and at any moment when we open our hearts. Their company has been an unexpected field of electric orange poppies on a otherwise gray day.
Billie is tall and willowy with ruffled golden hair. She is the kind and quiet type raised by eccentric and well educated parents. Being named after Billie Holliday with a ginger haired sister named Poppy were the first hints but her plans to travel to Pakistan and preference for French cinema confirmed my suspicions. Caroline is curvy with unruly brown hair and a sense of humor that matches her locks. She laughs loud, lives unabashedly and loves her 77 year old father by carrying around on her phone silly videos of him on in a birthday hat blowing out his candles. Shazia is from Pakistan and is everything I imagined from a good fiction novel character. Upper class and well educated in the West but living obediently to her Eastern religion and culture, she lives between two worlds. She carries herself like a queen and works as University professor of English Literature but was forced to London to live with her daughter due to the dangers of bombings in her city.
Our friendship was simple. It formed in the stress of lesson preparations and the fears of receiving below standard marks on our teaching evaluation. But it has moved beyond the chatter of the classroom to become something much more substantial to sharing moments of sadness and inadequacy to being alone and away from the worlds we want. I hardly anticipated to find such a treasure nestled in a teacher training course. Yet I am sure it is one of the most valuable things I will carry forward.
Before we go Shazia clips off a lock of my hair for her daughter who wants to show her friends the girl with the hair like dawn. I smile and can't help but marvel a bit at how quickly lives can intertwine and how much we have to gain from it.

Sex and the CELTA

One saucy topic.. to be more accurate it should probably be love lives and languages but the other title just seemed a bit catchier.

Today at school, week #4 of the intensive English language course, I had a very Sex in the City moment. An international parade of students filtering in and out of class passed by as me and a few other brow beaten teachers ate our lunches. There I sat on a dirty shop window sill soaking in a moment of British sunshine and discussing the difficulties and drudgeries of love.

Henri wore his typical floral pressed shirt and fabulously bright socks flashing out from his rolled tapered jeans. When describing his closet full of floral fabrics, he said opening his closet is like opening a beautiful bouquet. It's how he has decided to combat the London grey. In his high brow English accent he explains the benefits of internet relationships and laments the recent behavior of his overly needy boyfriend. He considers aloud going back to his internet Californian love life . Apparently the parcels he received in the mail with American jelly beans seem a sweeter enticement to his current romantic fiascoes.

Receiving her arranged marriage proposition at age 16, Shazia escaped the heartache and mistakes of the dating world. Love was obligation and loyalty which grew into affection. Her choice was to accept and love, no matter what she received at the end of the marriage ceremony. For her our chatter is fascinating and foreign and a fray she has no desire to experience on the front lines. Rather, she proclaims life long solitude would suit her the best. Not having to obey or please anyone but herself is her ideal love life.

Poor Stefan an overly uptight Swiss school teacher questions why he has yet to find someone. He anxiously chirps in on the conversation searching for bits of wisdom and reassurance that still being single is by no means of defect of personality. Although in his case, it might not be too far off.

Billie wonders how it will ever work out with her boyfriend. He loves her perfectly and she is not sure another could. But while he waits and wants to settle down being a bit older than herself, she feels the need to fly. How can one love another so well and still hold onto oneself she questions.

I quite a novice in the matters of the heart listen intently. Having received my own battle wounds, I can begin to sympathizes with the survivors. Yet, I hesitate to declare a life long sabbatical of solitude. For while these emotional endeavors can be ever so treacherous, the excitement, aura and eventually acquisitions of amour is impossible to ignore and ridiculous to reject.

And through all the conversation a little card on my wall seems to still say it best,

....With hearts.. the best thing you can do is... invite someone in, make them some tea and secretly hope they don't break anything...

The German Autobahn, One Convertible Smart Car and a Midnight Rain Storm

If after reading this title you are frightened for your life, you should be. Yes, it sounds like a death wish and it probably was. There I was cruising along the German autobahn at midnight in a dinky white smart car trying to fight my way home in monsoon weather. The car acted more like a glorified lawn mower convertible and seemed to crawl next to the finessed stream of Audis and Mercedes speeding by. And did I mention that I can't see at night?

One of my crazy mission companions, Melina, and I were returning after a long day of wandering the German countryside. She was convinced that I needed to return to my German roots by consuming a maximum of the local cuisine and visiting all the small villages. The scenery in the south is unbelievable and story book towns pop up everywhere. I had to resist from buying a pair of lederhosen and running away with a German milkman. The food is hearty but after awhile there are is definite limit to the body's capacity to digest sausage and pretzel. I hit that limit but it sure tasted good. And the beer... lives up to the legend. I sampled some of the non-alki type. I look like a total natural with my stein in hand but I think that I will stick to the juice.

Tasting.... The smile hides the distaste

24 Hours in the City of Lights

Paris Je t'aime.
How could I not? Crepes, shopping, romantic bridges and old buildings...c'est l'amour.
With only 24 waking hours in Paris one must be efficient and focused which really means one must walk till their feet ache and lose oneself completely to the city.
In the end a successful visit to Paris should include:
1) Starting the day off at the top of the Sacre Cour on the stairs overlooking all of the city. There is something so fabulously Paris about this elegant white church on the hill. Stretch your arms out wide and prepare to gather her into your arms, every alley way and hidden monument.

2) One lavishly overpriced banana nutella crepe bought exactly at the base of her majesty Le Tour Eiffel and then consumed immediately while laying on your back gazing up at her immensity and grace... ( a tip- don't be shy about asking for extra Nutella)
3)A stop in one of the many cathedrals decorating the Parisian streets like polka dots. Once inside, sit down and take advantage of the cool air, quiet space and the hundreds of years of history layering the walls. My 3 new favorites are- St. Augustine, Chapelle de L'Assumption, and St. Ettine de la Mode.
4) Discovering a new, irresistible and diet endangering French bakery. This takes alot of work and experimenting. Prepare yourself to sample a few pastries. My newest find is below the Sacre Cour on Rue Calincourt not far from the Lamarck tube stop. C'est trop bon... translation- too good! I'm still dreaming about the fresh peach tart I devoured.

5) Soaking up the city of lights with an evening stroll by the Seine. Paris summer nights are made for poets and lovers. You can't help but be romanced by this place as you see it light up and sparkle.
6) One wild ride on the Ferris wheel set up by the Louvre. It is not always running but if you have the option, the price is a small fee for the incredible view. It offers the cheapest and best cityscape of Paris and who doesn't like reliving childhood as you spin around the wheel?