Just as a side note, it has occurred to me since I first heard the real version of this story -- well before seeing Charlie Wilson's War -- that the zen master could be either very zen, or a neurotic who never gives up. Food for (nervous) thought.
There was once a zen master, a young man who knew well how to ride the frequently oscillating currents of life. This zen master also wrote screenplays, kept a blog, and (occasionally) taught adorable little French kids to speak English.
One day, the administration told the zen master he would be teaching all by himself. His neighbor consoled him for the hardship, but the zen master simply said:
"Well, we'll see."
It turned out his life was much simpler without having to coordinate unnecessarily with several teachers. "This is wonderful," his neighbor said. The zen master replied, "Well, we'll see."
Then, one day, the zen master's fellow teachers asked him to give his students evaluations, since no one else could. Everyone consoled the zen master, but again he replied, "Well, we'll see."
After grading tests for several hours, camera close by, the zen master returned them to students. He also posted several dozen photos of their funniest mistakes for friends and family to enjoy. "This is wonderful," the neighbor gushed, "These photos are great!"
"Yeah," the zen master replied, "They're freaking hilarious."
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Opportunities
.
Saturday, 4 February 2012
6:53 PM
Snowing. The talkative French woman with the big hair is gone... one or two of the teenage guys are still there, so's that girl with the headphones in.
"There aren't any buses."
Shit.
2:26 PM
Okay, tickets to Grenoble, now how much for Lyon - oh, wait, I need to go back and trim the scene where Murphy persuades Kyle - ...Gah, I need to take advantage of the opportunites. Been in this apartment all week. "Opportunities" - hate it when Mom and Dad use that word... Ahh, they're right - I go to new places, but I just do the same old tourist thing, while - oh, look - Ellen just added more photos to that skydiving album -
Gah! Forget it. Where are the movie listings? 'The Artist', 3:30 in Mouans-Sartoux, take the bus at 2:50. Yup. Done.
6:20 PM
"Bonsoir, monsieur."
"Bonsoir - do you have a room for tonight? One person?"
"One person?"
"What a day for the trains to be on strike, right?"
"Alors, une personne... Sixty-five euros."
"Sixty-five..."
"Oui. Shall I book it, monsieur?"
"Euh... I'll be back. Merci!"
Sixty-five... do I have a choice?
4:00 PM
Student discount with my old ID on the last ticket - YEUSS! I don't care if this is the worst seat in the house - this is a cool movie! Nice visual storytelling, good music - actually, this may be the first silent movie to have the same soundtrack everywhere it's distributed... Yeah, I guess back in the silent era it was all whoever played piano in the individual theater- Ba ha ha! That dog playing dead...!
5:34 PM
Look, just because the big-haired French lady said the buses are cancelled doesn't mean she knows what she's talking about - I mean, her husband pulls up in their car, blasts the horn, and she turns to us wondering what that wacko in the red Renault is going on about.
Who else we got here... girl with the headphones, teenage boys huddling together but still trying to look cool - it is freaking cold in the Riviera this week and I don't know why.
I tell you, if they cancelled the buses for this, I am gonna' be pissed. It's flurrying! We're talking less moisture than a light rain. The question is, can I walk back to Grasse?
*Sigh*
If it were lighter out, maybe... and if I had a water bottle. But it's only gonna' get colder...
...Is that a bus?
5:35 PM
No. It's not a bus.
11:15 PM
"Mmm ! Tug ['Toog'], this is delicious! Thanks again for inviting me over, you two!"
And I'm not usually this big a fan of beef bourgignon.
"Oh, pas de problème ! It's nice - we don't know anyone in Grasse..."
Nice couple, these two. She looks different without the headphones.
"...And, after all that," she continues, "it's good that we had an opportunity to talk!"
Amen, Louise.
6:52 PM
Of course the trains are on strike today. Don't even have the number for a taxi, which I didn't think I'd need, 'cause no sane organization shuts down a bus over a few flakes of snow! Yet, here I am standing in the bus lane watching the oncoming traffic for something tall with scrolling text in its windshield -
"Excusez-moi, monsieur?"
- and I'm this close to paying 65 euro for a hotel room, more for dinner, and the bus tomorr- oh, it's the girl with the headphones.
"There aren't any buses."
Shit.
"Ah, OK. Merci, madame. So, how are you getting home?"
"Euh, my boyfriend looked on the internet, and he saw there are no buses..."
Yeah - great day to 'take advantage of the opportunities'...
"...and he called me a taxi to go back up to Grasse, but it's going to be very expensive."
"Ah, I see... How much, if I can ask?"
"About forty euro, I think."
...
Well, it's not skydiving, but...
"Interested in splitting it?"
Saturday, 4 February 2012
6:53 PM
Snowing. The talkative French woman with the big hair is gone... one or two of the teenage guys are still there, so's that girl with the headphones in.
"There aren't any buses."
Shit.
2:26 PM
Okay, tickets to Grenoble, now how much for Lyon - oh, wait, I need to go back and trim the scene where Murphy persuades Kyle - ...Gah, I need to take advantage of the opportunites. Been in this apartment all week. "Opportunities" - hate it when Mom and Dad use that word... Ahh, they're right - I go to new places, but I just do the same old tourist thing, while - oh, look - Ellen just added more photos to that skydiving album -
Gah! Forget it. Where are the movie listings? 'The Artist', 3:30 in Mouans-Sartoux, take the bus at 2:50. Yup. Done.
6:20 PM
"Bonsoir, monsieur."
"Bonsoir - do you have a room for tonight? One person?"
"One person?"
"What a day for the trains to be on strike, right?"
"Alors, une personne... Sixty-five euros."
"Sixty-five..."
"Oui. Shall I book it, monsieur?"
"Euh... I'll be back. Merci!"
Sixty-five... do I have a choice?
4:00 PM
Student discount with my old ID on the last ticket - YEUSS! I don't care if this is the worst seat in the house - this is a cool movie! Nice visual storytelling, good music - actually, this may be the first silent movie to have the same soundtrack everywhere it's distributed... Yeah, I guess back in the silent era it was all whoever played piano in the individual theater- Ba ha ha! That dog playing dead...!
5:34 PM
Look, just because the big-haired French lady said the buses are cancelled doesn't mean she knows what she's talking about - I mean, her husband pulls up in their car, blasts the horn, and she turns to us wondering what that wacko in the red Renault is going on about.
Who else we got here... girl with the headphones, teenage boys huddling together but still trying to look cool - it is freaking cold in the Riviera this week and I don't know why.
I tell you, if they cancelled the buses for this, I am gonna' be pissed. It's flurrying! We're talking less moisture than a light rain. The question is, can I walk back to Grasse?
*Sigh*
If it were lighter out, maybe... and if I had a water bottle. But it's only gonna' get colder...
...Is that a bus?
5:35 PM
No. It's not a bus.
11:15 PM
"Mmm ! Tug ['Toog'], this is delicious! Thanks again for inviting me over, you two!"
And I'm not usually this big a fan of beef bourgignon.
"Oh, pas de problème ! It's nice - we don't know anyone in Grasse..."
Nice couple, these two. She looks different without the headphones.
"...And, after all that," she continues, "it's good that we had an opportunity to talk!"
Amen, Louise.
6:52 PM
Of course the trains are on strike today. Don't even have the number for a taxi, which I didn't think I'd need, 'cause no sane organization shuts down a bus over a few flakes of snow! Yet, here I am standing in the bus lane watching the oncoming traffic for something tall with scrolling text in its windshield -
"Excusez-moi, monsieur?"
- and I'm this close to paying 65 euro for a hotel room, more for dinner, and the bus tomorr- oh, it's the girl with the headphones.
"There aren't any buses."
Shit.
"Ah, OK. Merci, madame. So, how are you getting home?"
"Euh, my boyfriend looked on the internet, and he saw there are no buses..."
Yeah - great day to 'take advantage of the opportunities'...
"...and he called me a taxi to go back up to Grasse, but it's going to be very expensive."
"Ah, I see... How much, if I can ask?"
"About forty euro, I think."
...
Well, it's not skydiving, but...
"Interested in splitting it?"
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Weekend Things
I think, after this entry, I'll finally be caught up. I've been explorin' a bit...!
Amy Evans and I went to Eze a few weeks ago and took these pictures. Cool place, Eze -- I thought Grasse was isolated up on a hill.
No. That's this place.
But at least it has the views to (more than) make up for it. On a warmer day, I will go back and take the hour-plus hike from the seaside up to the center of town. It's another one of those tightly interwoven cobblestone passage deals, like St-Paul-de-Vence, and it boasts two very, VERY nice hotels/villa neighborhoods. Like, we're talking my entire month's salary for a weekend stay. Amy and I had hot chocolates at the terrace cafe of one of them. You'll see the pictures.
Nice has also been pretty good to me lately... I did a little shopping, 'cause the French government decides when things go on sale, rather than stores themselves. One-euro bus from Grasse to Nice is The Best Thing.
I also had the pleasure of seeing a dance show in Menton a few weeks back. I went with Nice teaching assistant Jenifer Queen (and we ate at Pizzeria Vesuvio, which I mentioned a few entries back) to see this Amnesty International benefit show put together by local dance classes... who were surprisingly good. A third assistant (Jennifer Lindblom) works with Amnesty's Menton chapter, so she told us it was happening. I stage managed dance shows back in high school and always went to Vassar's, so this was a nice throwback as well.
On a separate occasion, Jenifer Queen and I also saw The Descendants and found dinner at le 22 septembre, located here in Nice. Outstanding food on a very affordable 4-course menu (we could barely finish it all). I had a warm mushroom quiche, a steak with (basically) fries, a cheese and salad course, and profiteroles for dessert. 17 euros. And it was all delicious. Plus, they had tables available with no reservation required at 10 PM. We had a great time. A big thank-you to Molly Smego for the recommendation.
Another thank-you goes to Amy, who introduced me to (the oddly named) Choopy's on the corner of Rue Vial and Rue du Marc in Antibes. You can get a full breakfast (eggs, toast, tasty preserves, hot chocolate, genu-ine bagel sandwiches, and even cupcakes) here in a cozy little cafe with a pal. Nice way to spend a Sunday morning.
My promise to you: the very next entry will bring narrative focus back.
-Andy
Amy Evans and I went to Eze a few weeks ago and took these pictures. Cool place, Eze -- I thought Grasse was isolated up on a hill.
No. That's this place.
But at least it has the views to (more than) make up for it. On a warmer day, I will go back and take the hour-plus hike from the seaside up to the center of town. It's another one of those tightly interwoven cobblestone passage deals, like St-Paul-de-Vence, and it boasts two very, VERY nice hotels/villa neighborhoods. Like, we're talking my entire month's salary for a weekend stay. Amy and I had hot chocolates at the terrace cafe of one of them. You'll see the pictures.
Nice has also been pretty good to me lately... I did a little shopping, 'cause the French government decides when things go on sale, rather than stores themselves. One-euro bus from Grasse to Nice is The Best Thing.
I also had the pleasure of seeing a dance show in Menton a few weeks back. I went with Nice teaching assistant Jenifer Queen (and we ate at Pizzeria Vesuvio, which I mentioned a few entries back) to see this Amnesty International benefit show put together by local dance classes... who were surprisingly good. A third assistant (Jennifer Lindblom) works with Amnesty's Menton chapter, so she told us it was happening. I stage managed dance shows back in high school and always went to Vassar's, so this was a nice throwback as well.
On a separate occasion, Jenifer Queen and I also saw The Descendants and found dinner at le 22 septembre, located here in Nice. Outstanding food on a very affordable 4-course menu (we could barely finish it all). I had a warm mushroom quiche, a steak with (basically) fries, a cheese and salad course, and profiteroles for dessert. 17 euros. And it was all delicious. Plus, they had tables available with no reservation required at 10 PM. We had a great time. A big thank-you to Molly Smego for the recommendation.
Another thank-you goes to Amy, who introduced me to (the oddly named) Choopy's on the corner of Rue Vial and Rue du Marc in Antibes. You can get a full breakfast (eggs, toast, tasty preserves, hot chocolate, genu-ine bagel sandwiches, and even cupcakes) here in a cozy little cafe with a pal. Nice way to spend a Sunday morning.
My promise to you: the very next entry will bring narrative focus back.
-Andy
Thursday, February 2, 2012
A Case of the Randoms
I promise you that, one day, my entries will go back to having some sort of organizing principle.
Today, however, is not that day.
...
Last week, I had my oldest kids playing "Point-To," which is about as simple as it sounds. I put a bunch of flashcards on the board, two kids come up, I say "Point to... 'Raining'!" (or "sunny" or "foggy" or "flunderstorming"). First kid to point to the right answer wins. They love it. Before we started on this particular day, I realized there were exactly 16 kids in the class.
OH SNAP IT'S TOURNAMENT TIME.
'Cause I know y'all just can't wait to see how this ends...
Final round, folks... place your bets.
Ta-da...!
...
A few of my classes had ski lessons scheduled for this week, where they would leave school as a class and go on a bus up to the mountains for their P.E. Those lessons were all cancelled because of unsafe driving conditions on snowy roads.
Ski lessons. Cancelled on account of snow. So French! SO FREAKING FRENCH!
...
This is a brick of peanuts. I bought it. And yes, a brick.
...
A dear friend of mine from back home, one David Adler, is coming to visit from April 21st-29th. It's gonna' be rockin' awesome. If you're reading this and likely to still be in Paris/Riviera during any of that time, let me know.
...
Andy: "What do we say when... *ah-CHOO*?"
Kids: "Bless you!"
Andy: "Good! And what do we say when... *cough*, *cough*?"
Kid: "Not bless you!"
...
G'night, folks.
-Andy
Today, however, is not that day.
...
Last week, I had my oldest kids playing "Point-To," which is about as simple as it sounds. I put a bunch of flashcards on the board, two kids come up, I say "Point to... 'Raining'!" (or "sunny" or "foggy" or "flunderstorming"). First kid to point to the right answer wins. They love it. Before we started on this particular day, I realized there were exactly 16 kids in the class.
OH SNAP IT'S TOURNAMENT TIME.
'Cause I know y'all just can't wait to see how this ends...
Final round, folks... place your bets.
Ta-da...!
...
A few of my classes had ski lessons scheduled for this week, where they would leave school as a class and go on a bus up to the mountains for their P.E. Those lessons were all cancelled because of unsafe driving conditions on snowy roads.
Ski lessons. Cancelled on account of snow. So French! SO FREAKING FRENCH!
...
This is a brick of peanuts. I bought it. And yes, a brick.
...
A dear friend of mine from back home, one David Adler, is coming to visit from April 21st-29th. It's gonna' be rockin' awesome. If you're reading this and likely to still be in Paris/Riviera during any of that time, let me know.
...
Andy: "What do we say when... *ah-CHOO*?"
Kids: "Bless you!"
Andy: "Good! And what do we say when... *cough*, *cough*?"
Kid: "Not bless you!"
...
G'night, folks.
-Andy
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
A Disconnected Mess of an Entry
First and foremost:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=edYHlnhxyOI
Now that your day has been brightened, hopefully you won't be as cross that I've got almost no governing principle behind this entry, other than a desperate desire to catch up with the present. Accept my apologies and (forthcoming) stories about adorable little French kids. Also, if you like, check out my updated photo album.
Since starting up again in January, I've introduced the weather as a unit of study. I had a lot of really good classes on it (although I'm getting the sense I need to either change my methods or move on to new material). I even dabbled in arts and crafts this time around, having them make more attractive versions of this thing:
Okay, so it's been riding around in my backpack a while.
But it's fun. They get to draw, they get to write the names of the weather, they have it as a study guide for the test I'll give in three weeks, and they get to turn it to whatever the weather is.
Speaking of weather... Beautiful for about 3 weeks. Then, today:
I had my first snow day in five years... which was fantastic. I want to take a minute to share my flatmate Erika's particularly French story about hers. She goes in, and half the teachers are on strike, half the students are missing because the buses are on strike, and then at 10:30 they close the school for a snow day even though there's no snow on the ground (yet).
French kids? French kids!
...
One day, one of the boys comes in with "an English song" on his flash drive that he wants to listen to it in class. "Oh, cool!" I think. Maybe this is like the kid in my oldest class who had lyrics and dance moves for 'Hello, Goodbye'. "This kid's really getting into English class, and maybe this is something I can use!" I take this kid's flash drive and look for the song. I find the song.
"Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO.
...
Andy: "Today, it is chilly!"
Class: "Today, it is chully!"
Andy: "Chilly!"
Class: "Chully!"
...
Andy: "Hot and cold are opposites! Now, how is the weather today?"
Boy: "Today, it is opposite."
...
Andy (to one girl): "Chilly!"
Girl: "Chilly!"
Andy (to the girl): "What is your name?"
Girl: "Chilly! Uh, non..."
...
There's a little kid in the CP (ages 4-6) class who always goes to the bathroom around 9:55. I know because, on his way to and from, he spends a minute or two standing and watching from the hall just outside the space where I teach. Maybe it's me he finds different, but I rather suspect that that's how I looked when I was that age watching the bigger kids do what they do.
...
That's all I got for now.
Also, two good restaurants (mostly for pizza) that I've stumbled across in recent weeks (told you this entry was all over the place). Chez Xavier (in Cannes... more specifically, here) makes really good, reasonably priced wood-fire pizza in a charming setting that's secretly really close to everything. Second is Pizzeria Vesuvio, way over east in Menton (here) and thus close enough to Italy that any Italian dish you order will be good (same goes for the complimentary limoncello they served us after). Friendly service, too.
So, I put in to renew my contract for next year. Same region, unless they honor my request to transfer to Lyon (unlikely), but different town than Grasse, unless I don't have the final say in that matter (certain). I like being in France, working with the kids, having writing time (very productive, even if this blog doesn't show it), and riding out the storm of a tough job market back in the States. To my friends braving said hurricane, I wish you bon courage.
But I'm also doing it because I've learned a good deal of things, mostly from my students. Like this: next time you see lightning and hear rumbling afterward, don't be afraid, even if thunder usually scares you. Because, according to one of my kids, that's not a thunderstorm.
It's a flunderstorm.
-Andy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=edYHlnhxyOI
Now that your day has been brightened, hopefully you won't be as cross that I've got almost no governing principle behind this entry, other than a desperate desire to catch up with the present. Accept my apologies and (forthcoming) stories about adorable little French kids. Also, if you like, check out my updated photo album.
Since starting up again in January, I've introduced the weather as a unit of study. I had a lot of really good classes on it (although I'm getting the sense I need to either change my methods or move on to new material). I even dabbled in arts and crafts this time around, having them make more attractive versions of this thing:
Okay, so it's been riding around in my backpack a while.
But it's fun. They get to draw, they get to write the names of the weather, they have it as a study guide for the test I'll give in three weeks, and they get to turn it to whatever the weather is.
Speaking of weather... Beautiful for about 3 weeks. Then, today:
I had my first snow day in five years... which was fantastic. I want to take a minute to share my flatmate Erika's particularly French story about hers. She goes in, and half the teachers are on strike, half the students are missing because the buses are on strike, and then at 10:30 they close the school for a snow day even though there's no snow on the ground (yet).
French kids? French kids!
...
One day, one of the boys comes in with "an English song" on his flash drive that he wants to listen to it in class. "Oh, cool!" I think. Maybe this is like the kid in my oldest class who had lyrics and dance moves for 'Hello, Goodbye'. "This kid's really getting into English class, and maybe this is something I can use!" I take this kid's flash drive and look for the song. I find the song.
"Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO.
...
Andy: "Today, it is chilly!"
Class: "Today, it is chully!"
Andy: "Chilly!"
Class: "Chully!"
...
Andy: "Hot and cold are opposites! Now, how is the weather today?"
Boy: "Today, it is opposite."
...
Andy (to one girl): "Chilly!"
Girl: "Chilly!"
Andy (to the girl): "What is your name?"
Girl: "Chilly! Uh, non..."
...
There's a little kid in the CP (ages 4-6) class who always goes to the bathroom around 9:55. I know because, on his way to and from, he spends a minute or two standing and watching from the hall just outside the space where I teach. Maybe it's me he finds different, but I rather suspect that that's how I looked when I was that age watching the bigger kids do what they do.
...
That's all I got for now.
Also, two good restaurants (mostly for pizza) that I've stumbled across in recent weeks (told you this entry was all over the place). Chez Xavier (in Cannes... more specifically, here) makes really good, reasonably priced wood-fire pizza in a charming setting that's secretly really close to everything. Second is Pizzeria Vesuvio, way over east in Menton (here) and thus close enough to Italy that any Italian dish you order will be good (same goes for the complimentary limoncello they served us after). Friendly service, too.
So, I put in to renew my contract for next year. Same region, unless they honor my request to transfer to Lyon (unlikely), but different town than Grasse, unless I don't have the final say in that matter (certain). I like being in France, working with the kids, having writing time (very productive, even if this blog doesn't show it), and riding out the storm of a tough job market back in the States. To my friends braving said hurricane, I wish you bon courage.
But I'm also doing it because I've learned a good deal of things, mostly from my students. Like this: next time you see lightning and hear rumbling afterward, don't be afraid, even if thunder usually scares you. Because, according to one of my kids, that's not a thunderstorm.
It's a flunderstorm.
-Andy
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