These are a few of my favorite things...

Lately I have been enjoying life here so much that I'd just like to share a few of my favorite things...

Food:

Every morning for breakfast I have dark chocolate muesli, which is made up of granola cereal with little squares of dark chocolate.  I looked at the label: it is 15% dark chocolate squares! We are not talking about a few measly marshmallows here.   This cereal is so crunchy, so bittersweet, so tasty, it is all I can do to keep myself from eating it at every other meal, too!

When I feel like eating a hot dinner, "Spices of the Orient" couscous is always the first dish that comes to mind.  Five minutes to make and you have a flavorful and colorful accompaniment to any soup or salad!  You would have laughed if you could have seen me the first time I made this dish- I was beaming with pride at my "cooking skills"!

Mandarin oranges on the go: portable, peel-able, healthy, and tasty!

LU "veritable" petit beurre crackers- somewhere between a graham cracker and a cookie, this is the best afternoon snack, hands down.   

Well, cheese and baguettes would seem to be a given, but they deserve a mention anyway.  The regional comté is always a treat, and I especially like a certain goat cheese that is very mild but tangy.  Beyond the traditional baguette, there are a lot of types of bread to choose from at the boulangerie (bakery).  The bread is golden-brown crusted perfection for about a day, and becomes stale shortly there after.  This makes great toast for breakfast, though.

People and Places:

Every one to two days, I visit my local Petit Casino, a neighborhood grocery store owned by a large chain.  It is adorably small: only two aisles, one of which doubles as the checkout line.  My grocery needs are low, so I am able to find everything I need there: dark chocolate muesli, crackers, oranges and apples, nutella, the ever-mystifying non-refrigerated shelf milk, couscous, soup, croutons, sausages, orange juice, tea, yogurt, and wine.  

But the best part about the Petit Casino is by far my grocer.  Friendly, funny, and a fast talker, he is there every day, ready to answer my questions about shelf milk, regional specialties, and all other manner of unusual items.  He is just about the nicest person I know here and I buy my groceries in small amounts just to have a reason to visit more often.  I often wonder what he thinks about the strange American woman who asks dumb questions and seems to subsist primarily on chocolate muesli and yogurt...

Similarly nice are the two guys who run the cafe on the top floor of my school.  I have acquired the delicious habit of drinking a "café" (what we would consider an espresso) before or during my 3 hour long afternoon classes.  Within two visits, I was a regular.  There is always upbeat music playing and the guys are often whistling and tapping their fingers to the beat.  I even ran into one of them during my weekend in Strasbourg.  Small world!  I will miss their friendly service and funny banter.  They also make a mean panini sandwich, which is a great treat if you get there before the lunch rush to snatch one up.

The riverside area right outside my school is a particularly pretty place.  Yesterday I counted 8 pairs of ducks near the banks of the river- what a sight!  They are graceful and comical at the same time.  There is also a beaver from time to time if you are lucky enough to spot him!  

Victor Hugo cinema is a great hide-out on a rainy day, or any day for that matter.  With only three screens, they manage to show a number of films per day by changing the choices throughout the day.  The seats are like individual thrones- so plush and deep that they practically engulf you!  The theatre is small, dark, and cozy, and the previews are always a treat.  When you are a foreigner, pre-show advertisements that might be annoying or dumb to native speakers are absolutely fascinating!  

Things:

Telerama magazine is the french equivalent of Entertainment Weekly, only more thorough and serious.  I read it cover to cover every week, even though the tv summaries (the bulk of the magazine) don't apply to me 'cause I don't have one.  Mostly I like to survey the number of American films showing on French tv that week.  There is, without fail, at least one obscure Johnny Depp movie featured each week.  French movie reviews are an absolute joy to read, as are the book reviews and cultural/topical interviews.  

Public advertisements and posters:  I remember when I was first learning to read as a kid, I would read all of the billboards aloud with glee.  This scene is repeating itself, as I now take enormous satisfaction in reading and interpreting every French ad I see.  My favorite so far was an ad for Lipton chai tea: Quand un grand coup ne suffit pas (When a deep breath just isn't enough).  

Well, there are certainly more favorite things, but I will end the list there for now.  Hope all is well with all of you!  Feel free to respond and share a few of you favorite things, from when you were my age (or are my age) or from today.