looking back

I was greeted at work this morning with an e-mail from my boss. "Hey Danielle! Just wanted to pass along that everyone keeps telling me what a great writer you are!  Apparently your... [private, sorry,] have been fantastic! Keep it up - so glad to have you on board!" is it possible to have started my day off any better? I think not! I am loving the feedback from my internships, I really feel like I'm improving and getting some great experience. But before I get too ahead of myself let's start from the beginning, breakfast. I fully intended on having a green smoothie and then I found out that we didn't have any bananas left. Change of plans!I ate an apple while making my to-go breakfast and packed lunch. Breakfast: farmer's market strawberries, purple grapes, and ground flax. Lunch: spinach and arugula salad with yellow pepper, broccoli, spring onion, avocado, and cucumber topped with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Both were absolutely delicious. The small container is hummus, which I dipped two carrots in for a snack... it was around this time that my cloud 9 Tuesday took somewhat of a downturn. It's not my place to share any details but it made me very nervous and upset. And although everything seems to be working out okay at this point, I haven't quite left that place.

So, since I'm not really in the mood to "talk" much tonight, I thought I'd share some recent photos that my Chilean host-mom just posted on Facebook (yes she has one, she's that cool.)

They were taken with la familia the night before I left Santiago, right after I finished my fantastic dinner of fresh salmon and a beautiful array of salads.

Going back to the U.S. at that point felt surreal and I was almost numb to the fact. I couldn't say that I exactly felt sad, silly perhaps, but not too sad at all :).

Now I figured it'd be nice to also feature a few photos to from Strasbourg. Here's my French host mom at the "fashion for disabled" charity event sporting her artistic neck brace.Fast forward another two months to another event we attended ensemble, this one in honor of the new Mini-Cooper. She has all the connections :).

Last but certainly not least is my host-sisters 21st birthday party. She'll be headed to Sydney, Australia in the fall to spend a year abroad... just, like, me.

souvenirs

One of the first French words I ever learned was souvenirs, and it has become one of my most favorite foreign words and concepts. To me, memories seem to evoke a bittersweet nostalgia, glimpses into a remembered past; souvenirs, on the other hand, are present and real.

Souvenirs are reminders of what was and who you were without the risk in losing them. They're the kinds of things that you take away from your past experiences and hold close with you forever, treasured smells, tastes, feelings, and thoughts that you carry throughout the rest of your journey through life. 

Doesn't that make every moment and memory seem so much more special?

Ah lovely, a little Tuesday morning cultural philosophy :). As I look back, some of my fondest memories in Strasbourg are somehow food-related. Shocking. Above, Café Brant, was the location of my most diligent studying and paper-writing, in addition to e-mail replies to friends and blogging. I preferred the latter responsibilities, of course.Most of the time I enjoyed a small espresso or green tea during my time there as to save money and stay focused on the task at hand but as the semester came to a close I began to explore their menu options a bit and my favorite lunch quickly became the delectable quiche du poireaux garnished with the freshest and tastiest of salads. 

Another lovely eating establishment was located about a half a block from my apartment building, L'eden. I had been eying this adorable Lebanese restaurant from the moment I moved in! It was decorated so uniquely with beautiful views of my old neighborhood and church and the food always smelled spectacular.

Of course, it wasn't the most budget-friendly place, so my friends and I needed an occasion to splurge... the goodbye dinner with myself and my closest girlfriends gave us all the initiative we needed. Oh an it was beyond worth it! They just don't make Middle Eastern (or North African food for that matter) the same in the United States.

There were a few glitches, (they lost our reservation, Liz lost track of time, etc) but other than that it was perfect. We began by purchasing a bottle of a local Pinot Noir and reminisced over our French semester.

As for our orders, Gloria and I split the Mezze Vegetarian, an assortment of veg-friendly appetizers. Every bit was incredible, from the eggplant spread to the tabbouleh,  even to the delicious falafals that rivaled the Irish creations I had gushed over a few months before.

We were ecstatic over every bite from each small plate, even the pita triangles seemed to be better than your average flat bread.It was the ideal amount of food too, balanced in nutrients and flavors,and it left us satisfied and happy and possibly a bit disappointed in ourselves that we hadn't made it a weekly habit to come here :).Nevertheless we still wanted some dessert, (ha, there's always room,) so we split assorted Lebanese delicacies. I probably had a bite of each yummy treat, all simply fantastic, but it was the crème brûlée that literally "took the cake."

 The best souvenirs are always shared.

And that officially closes my European chapter abroad. At times, I appreciate being back home but then there are those moments in which I miss being away. I miss having the freedom to selfishly explore myself and the world around me, I miss traveling, and just because this challenging transition was expected, it doesn't mean that re-creating a place to belong is any easier. 

Having some of my closest friends graduate from college has really had me thinking about my own journey into the real world and what I want to make of it. Gosh, I have no idea who I'll be, where I'll be in a few years from now! Yet. I'm choosing to look towards that uncertainty as exciting rather than terrifying. After all I don't have to do it alone, right? With friends and souvenirs from around the world, I'll survive :). What's new with you? Happy Tuesday everyone!

le crêperie marxer

Oh my, my, my, last night = so many tears, goodbyes just are so not my thing. Today I'm feeling a lot less sad, although I can't say better, perhaps it's more of a surreal numbness? Weird. Nonetheless I can't help but smile when I think back to my last French class...

It was yet another beautiful day in Strasbourg

for my final FRE325 class with Professor Marxer.

I learned so much this semester and have improved my French beyond what I thought possible, thanks, in a very big part, to that man.

He's one of my favorite people and moved up even higher on the list when he taught us how to make French crêpes, Alsatian style (replacing baking soda with beer, ha).

Our first batch were salée with the European staples of ham & cheese,

all but the two very special cheese crêpes pour moi.

Delish.

Then it was time for dessert, les crêpes sucrées. I enjoyed mine with a bit of Nutella, yummy hazelnut, chocolate goodness.

La recette des crêpes à la français (pour dessert)

Ingrédients

250 grams of flour

30 grams of brown sugar

1/2 liter of milk

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of oil

Préparation

1. In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, and salt

2. Add the eggs, dilute the mixture with milk, and mix well.

3. When the mixture is smooth add the oil and wisk.

4. Cook each crêpe in a warm, greased pan (use butter for extra flavor, it's worth it!) About one to two minutes on each side.

5. Let them cool on a platter for up to 5 minutes.

6. You can eat your dessert crêpes with jam, sugar, honey, chocolate, the options are seemingly endless. Bon appetit!

What a lunch, what a day, what a semester. So... my plane departs 11am tomorrow (5am EST) and I land in New York at 7 pm. Please wish me a pleasant flight; no matter how often I take planes, I never seem to be able to enjoy them. Hope you're having a spectacular week! It's back to life in America for this girl...

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."

-The Wonder Years

the end of an era

Sorry to have been MIA for a few days! Not only have I been running around like a mad woman- studying for final exams, closing accounts, returning Madeleine, purchasing Alsatian souvenirs- but I've been anxious the entire time while doing it. After a year of traveling and self-exploration am I really ready to go back to my routine life in the United States? And even if I am do I want to be? Eek, there I go again.

Last Friday was my study abroad program's farewell dinner. What a wonderfully emotional time that was :).

Everyone was getting together for photos, like this fantastic group of girls that I went to Barcelona with.

I'm going to miss my friends.

The meal began with a small piece of Quiche Lorraine and a salad.

This restaurant was amazing! Each bite was delicious and paired perfectly with my glass of Riesling.

I've gone into both of my study abroad experiences not knowing anyone and we've all come out of it as close as can be.

With dinner my friends and I split a bottle of Bordeaux.

It was a good choice for the duck, sauerkraut, and potatoes. Supposedly the duck, in particular, rocked... but as it turns out, duck is just not my thing. Oh well.

My fellow globetrotter, Genevieve: Chilean memories last a lifetime.

As for dessert we were served a raspberry compote with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream. I don't know what they did to this but it was incredible, the mint leaves were the perfect addition!

Then it was time for speeches (and tears). We officially sad goodbye to the music students, they're headed to Berlin and Vienna for the final part of their conservatory studies.

I wasn't able to get as close with each person as I'd like but I nonetheless wished them all the best of luck. They are so talented!

I took a lot of pictures that night. Candid shots, especially of the best of friends, are awesome :). Gosh, I'm going to miss my friends.

After leaving the restaurant we made our way to a nearby brasserie with the majority of students and a few professors, haha, what fun that was.

Following a few hours of drinking and final bonding my friends and I still weren't ready to go home so clearly, we rode our bikes to another bar. Here's Julia and Elizabeth racing past Strasbourg's cathedral.

No more drinking for me though, I was famished!

It could very well have been because of the fact that I hardly touched my duck at dinner. I had a Tarte aux oignons which I devoured, apart from the two slices I shared with my girls.

Then we played some pool, by this time it was about four in the morning. Was it even worth it to go to bed yet?

Not before a little pain au chocolat! On our walk home qwsmelled the fabulous bread and pastries being baked for Saturday morning and couldn't resist. One very generous boulangerie broke the rules to give us warm, out the oven, crispy, buttery, perfection.

And that was that, another great memory from Strasbourg that I'll cherish for the rest of my life. I'm such a sentimental sap, huh? :) Now before I get back to studying I present you with the birthday gift I baked for my host-sister this morning, Double Chocolate Crisp Cookies. We're having a small gathering at our house this evening to celebrate and I'm hoping everyone will appreciate the homemade dessert.

What a whirlwind of a trip. Hope you're having a very happy Tuesday, I'll be back at least once more before heading... home...