Author Archives: Sj

Tonight

We’re going to see Moondog.

I’m not exactly sure what it will be, but I expect that it will be spectacular.

It takes place in an actual Roman amphitheater. For real.

Yesterday we went to check it out. The percussionist was amazing; yes, we eavesdropped on a rehearsal. Incroyable!

Pedrata at Roman amphitheatre

I think they’ve done this before.

the 4 rats won

Les quatres rats ont gagné!

Yesterday marked the completion of week one at ALPADIA in Lyon.

What does that mean exactly?

  1. That we each got to have a complimentary croissant.
  2. That we were to take a test covering this past week’s topic: le subjonctif.
  3. And that we were to play a game of guessing WHO or WHAT someone or something was.

“Such as?” you ask.

Name at least 3 French présidents. I wrote Charles de Gaulle and Mitterand. A teammate wrote Sarcozi. (Must have been right because we got a point : )

Who is this French singer? Someone one of my teammates knew. Pas moi.

Who’s playing the guitar? Jimmy Hendrix

Etcetera.

We were to give our team a name. Three guesses what our team was called.

And on a side note: the French verb rater is a clue, BUT it didn’t really apply because in French rater means to miss or to fail . . . ;-)

So . . . with that I shall sign off. Enjoy les photos!

p.s. I zqs qble to uploqd the photos to ,y zebsite using ,y iPhone; but then the co,puter qt the school just decided it zqs ti,e for q lunch breqk: So : : : I too stopped qnd figured it knez best: I hqd the ,ost a,qwing rest of ,y dqy in Lyon : : : zqlking : : : tqking pictures : : : riding q bike : : : hqving q glqss of zine zith ,y hostess qnd q French of herùs : : : qnd then todqy; Sqturdqy; I found qn internet cqfe so thqt I could post it; ,qke chqnges thqt I cqnùt do zith ,y iPhone; etceterq : : : qnd; qs you see; the keyboqrd is q little different thqn ours: M  ° ?qde it ,e q little chqllenging: M 0

Qlohq tous1

Pedrata makes a great study companion. 

Not sure how much she’s learning; she may be waiting until we get to Spain since Spanish is her native language, but she definitely helps keep me on track.

For example, she just reminded me to set the timer on my iPhone so I don’t forget to stop and go for a bike ride.

Merci beaucoup, Pedrata!

Will do!
Sj et P out.

Un peu d’observations


Bonjour Everyone!

I hope that all is well in your world.

The other evening while dining in Paris, I made a few observations.

First of all, as I sat there at the window alone, I happily watched the world go by. There was a man on the telephone on the other side of the street; he wore very large black headphones, and talked and talked and talked. But at another glance, I noticed that he listened, listened, and listened.

I saw a woman dressed very elegantly being pulled down the road by two little dogs.  Little French dogs. Classically so. A matching pair of fur on tiny little dog bodies.

I saw a strikingly beautiful woman with midnight dark skin carrying bags of groceries.

I saw . . . I saw . . . I saw . . . ***

And then the cute, tiny waitress with black hair carefully clinging to her head as if it was afraid to stray came to my table with a stack of magazines.

? Quoi? J’ai pensé? Why is she bringing these magazines to me?

But of course . . . it makes others uncomfortable to see others alone.

Of course not EVERYone, but those who prefer not to be  alone themselves.

That’s how we humans are. If we hate something, we think others do too. If we love something, we think others do too.

But is that true?

Of course not. Each one of us lives in our own little world privé. And in this private little world of ours, we see things, experience things, interpret things based on our conditioning, experience, etcetera.

And on this particular evening, when this cute, adorable, kind, and considerate person brought these magazines, I was grateful.

Porqué?

Because it gave me such a clear view of the world from others’ eyes. For I realize that as my world view has changed, as I’ve gone INside and been alone with MYself so very often in the past view years, I’ve changed. I’ve dropped so many things that used to weigh me down. Things that were important to me then, but aren’t now. Things that I carried on my back like a very heavy a sack. A backback of obligations. Things that I gladly carried then because i wanted to be a good girl, someone who was an active participant in this life as I knew it then.

But after she set those magazines down and quietly walked away, I smiled. Content. At peace. Recognizing the change and appreciating the change. And then . . . my eyes returned to the window on my left. The window view that I chose at a table for two. And but of course . . . said with a French accent, it was a table for two. For Pedrata was there with me. ;-)))

And  . . . before I close and return to class, I think of a friend who’s a wonderful writer. And I imagine that she MAY be bothered by my use of incomplete sentences. Things like: content. Not, I was content, but just content, at peace.

But pour moi . . . it’s somehow more fun to write like that. To write as I think. As I speak. (that was one! ;-) And so I shall. For as I let those things drop to the ground, (or even rise to the sky), they simply disappear. Evaporate. Become no more. And I feel a peace that was previously unimaginable. But now there’s no need to imagine it. For it’s here to stay. A peace that’s absolutely unshakeable. And for that, I give thanks. Thanks with ALL of my heart and soul.

Alors, la clase va commencer . . .

A bientot et bisous xoxoxoxox

***

. . . a young girl running and laughing as she moved quickly down the sidewalk while winking at a man who strode confidently down the middle of the street . . . a man who I presumed to be her papa . . .

a man carrying two heavy packages of water, so heavy that his arms were extended by at least a foot for there was barely a centimeter between the bottom of the bottles and the cobbled sidewalk . . .

a black taxi which stopped right in front of the restaurant, just to the side of me . . . a foot that slipped out from behind the door finding the ground slowly and hesitantly . . . a sandeled foot on a woman who wore a trench coat tightly closed . . . the very same woman who removed the coat once in the restaurant exposing an elegant black dress with a V at the front that revealed even more . . . and a husband (presumably) with a paunch that extended well over his belt and a smile which stretched from ear to ear . . . ahh . . . I think he was also content, at peace.

Et vous? Qu’est-ce que vous pensez? What do you think?

Sj out

Saturday in Paris ala Pedrata

Continue reading

Pedrata Flight Route

How a Rat Finds Its Way to Paris

Sj et Pedrata out . . . for now.  ;-)

Airplane path

The Where & the What 4s

A friend commanded, “Blog!” And so I shall.

Mon ami, Pedrata, and I are travelling to Europe for the summer.

Yup, sure nuff we are!

Why?

Because we can. Yahoo!!!

And as long as this gal takes on teaching jobs, June and July is when we can get away for the longest time. I italicize the get away because leaving Kaua‘i isn’t about getting away. But that’s one of those expressions we use, and once we stop and think about what we’re really saying, we see it’s not really accurate.

So . . . rewind.

June and July is when I have a break from a real paying job.

Again, why italics?

Because we humans have some weird idea that a job is only real if we get a paycheck.

So again . . . rewind.

June and July is when I have a break. Period.

This gal’s life is about BE-ing, not doing or getting paid, or making money, or whatevahs.

It’s about Being me.

Who else could I be?

So I’m going to do it as passionately and with present moment awareness as possible.

Okay, I hear you all saying, “Get to the point, Sj!”

And so I shall.

WHO: Sj and her pal, Pedrata

WHAT: Traveling to Europe for a couple of months

WHERE: Paris for 2 nights then on to Lyon for 3 weeks of studying French at ESL (more on that later, this is where I studied in January 2009 btw).

THEN a week break when I’ll probably visit a family friend in Geneva (think CERN, Physics Professor, re-visit from shots from 2012), and THEN 4 weeks in San Sebastian, Spain to study Spanish. Yes, I know they speak Basque in that region. But I figured I was already going to *&%k with my mind, so why not go all the way.

And . . . here’s to hoping this Spanish teaching school does what it says. Teach Spanish. : )

Then on home by way of a Megabus ride! Yep! This gal and her pal rat are going to do an overnight trip on a Megabus. Yahoo! Here we come NYC and Pittsburgh.

WHEN: Right now! At the Philly airport ready to board. ;-)

WHY: Because I love learning languages, meeting people and being able to listen to Harry Potter in a couple of different languages. I’ve been itching to dive into Spanish, and before I do that, I want to make sure my French is up to speed. Locked in and pretty much “in the groove.”

HOW: Miles, miles, miles! Thank you airlines for the miles. Thank you, Sj, for the gumption. Thank you, Pedrata, for the companionship.

And now . . . it’s time to roll!

Roger over and out from Sj and little ‘ole Pedrata.

Pedrata Au Revoir Tennessee

After a brief stop in Tennessee . . . we’re REALLY on our way!

Pedrata in LAX

On our way!

: )

Pedrata in KORE hat

Getting ready!

More to come .