Last night, it was "almost" like Christmas at the Namestka's

So one big plus about being a student is the enormous flexibilty of hours.  For example, by the time it struck 10am yesterday (Thursday) morning, I was ready to start my weekend.

I arrived back in Nantes around 4pm with an extra spring in my step.  As of yesterday, I am officially excepted as an intern for a translation company starting April 1st 2012.  Where?  Nantes, France.  The company is called "Cabinet Martinez" and it is about a 15 minute bus ride from where Benoit lives.  The pressure of passing an interview in a professional translation company for an internship that I need to have in order to get my diploma IN FRENCH has finally passed and I am relieved to know that I will finally be returning and staying in Nantes (at least until September and until my visa is up--but we will cross that bridge when it gets here).  

I was all ready to celebrate with Benoit and cook a big, fabulous dinner with him; however, as time and weather would have it, Benoit is sick with a soar throat, a cold, and the chills.  He humored me and we bought all the stuff we needed to try out a new recipe, "Saucisses en ragoût."  Little did I know, this is the French version of good ol' polish kolbasa.  The French call it "saucisses fumés" (literally translated as smoked sausage), but has almost exactly the same texture, juiciness, and taste as polish kolbasa.  The recipe was very simple and I HIGHLY recommend it.  The great thing about it is, since kolbsa is a heavy meat in general, it is accomanied either with carrots or chestnuts!  Here is France, it is not quite yet the season for chestnuts (november to january), so we opted for carrots.

Saucisses en ragoût


Ingredients for 4 people:

1 1/2 lbs. carrots
3 onions
4 nice size pieces of kolbasa
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1. Peel, wash, and cut carrots into thick strips and cook in a pot with boiling water for 20 minutes.  Strain.  Peel and chop onions.

2.  In another pot, bring water to a boil.  Boil kolbasa for 5 minutes.

3.  In a frying pan, lightly brown the chopped onions with the olive oil.

4.  Add carrots and kolbasa to the pan of onions and cook 5 minutes (You can puncture the kolbasa with a fork in order to let some of the grease out and to avoid  kolbasa explosion lol)

5.  Place the kolbasa on a bed of onions and carrots on each plate (aethetically pleasing to the eye lol).  KEEP THE SAUCE IN THE PAN

6.  In a small bowl, mix the leftover sauce from the pan with the balsamic vinegar.  Dress the sauce over the kolbasa, onions, and carrots.  Serve hot.

Bon Appétit !! :)

I spy with my NEW FULLY EQUIPPED ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE OF A BIRTHDAY PRESENT OF A CANON CAMERA

Yes everyone, it's the return of the wonderful technology we all know called the "camera."  For my 23rd birthday, my loving parents bought me a brand new camera in order to replace the one that I dropped on 15th century year old cobblestone and did not live to tell the tale.

So a "petite" apology before I start for the fact that it's been at least 2 weeks since I've blogged.  I am not by any means complaining or making excuses that I am "just too busy" to post a new blog, but I have to admit, being a grad student, a girl, a girlfriend, and an AMERICAN in France is a full time job.

Let me start with some pictures.  Below you will find various pictures of my "temporary home" in Angers.  WARNING: What you see below may cause effortless laughter and astonishment.

So this is my room in Angers.  Kinda cool, right?  Different and rather appealing at a first glance.

Now we get into the details...I am convinced that his head was torn off by the two yappy Yorkshire dogs that also live with me...who give off a wonderful odor that resembles that of  Petsmart.

Obviously extremely practical object.  I don't know what I did these last 23 years without a large wooden strawberry, an Indian glass elephant, and a broken carousel.

My friends.

And even larger class elephant.

Either the person who rented this room before me accidentally left his exercising material or Mme Sophie is implying something.

Hello doggy bedspread and Barbie pink pillows!!

Maybe she thought it was funny to put this in my room because I am American?  I'm not sure...

In case I want to brush up on my 4th century math calculations in my spare time.

So this is my living space for the time being.  It has its advantages (i.e. being in the center of town and only a 10 minute walk from my university) and its disadvantages (i.e. the smell of dog, the fact that Mme Sophie repaints the entry way practically every week, the sounds of yapping yorkshires, the fact that we MUST open the window before we leave in the morning in order to "air-out" the room--even when its 40 degrees outside) as any living situation.  As a whole, I'm content where I am.

The day I received my camera in the mail, I made it my mission to walk around town in order to take some pictures and "show" you a little bit of Angers! :)

Charming, n'est pas? However, not as charming as this guy,

Yes, that is a huge block of cheese.  This past Sunday we hate a wonderful little restaurant called Chez les Gaulois.  It specializes in charcuterie (fine delicate pieces of ham--for example procuitto) and raclette (a large plate of this charcuterie covered in melted "raclette" cheese.)

Bon appétit !! :)

A few reflections from a 23 year old...

It is hard to believe that it was exactly two years ago that I reached the milestone of 21 and had the interesting experience of celebrating such a "high-lived" occasion in France.  I must admit that I have grown and learned so much as an individual, as a developing woman rather, over the past two years that the 21 year old girl who decided to live abroad for a year, more or less for the right or wrong reasons, seems like a stranger to me.  The night of my 21st birthday, I found myself in a strange home, having dinner with a family that I could barely comprehend language and culture-wise, going out to the bar with a mix between American and French acquaintances, taking shots of tequila, kissing a random French boy who ended up breaking my heart (but at the same time lead me to who is now the love of my life), and waking up to a collection of random French CDs, a coat that didn't belong to me, and text messages leading to fact that I was in a relationship with the boy I kissed that night.  I am not saying that I didn't have a great time (from what I seem to remember); however in comparison to the second (and surely not the last) that I spend in France this past weekend, "il y rien à voir" (it doesn't even compare).

For my 23rd birthday, Benoit offered me the biggest dictionary I have ever seen.  It consists of ever single word in the history of the French language, including the word's origin and evolution.  It weighs approximating 25 pounds.

I told Benoit that now I am in love with two men, Benoit and "Robert" (which is the name of this brand of dictionary ironically).  But yes, it is also true that there are two men in my life that I love and hold most dearly, Benoit and Robert (Hi Daddy!).  :)  Miss you.

Luckily, I didn't have class this past Friday, so I was able to return to Nantes Thursday evening.  My friend Pauline invited me to have dinner with her family Thursday night and they too offered me a book for my birthday; however, more practical, in that it is a recipe book of how to host a dinner between friends!  What luck, because that is exactly how I celebrated my birthday Saturday night!  

Ironically as well, Benoit had the day off too on Friday.   Friday morning we slept in, walked around Nantes for a bit, enjoying the much needed and rare sunshine of the early fall afternoon whiling ate smoked salmon sandwiches and fresh caramel candies.  Shortly after, Benoit decided to take me a short day trip to Guerande, a small fortified medieval town dating back to the 15th century.  Today, Geurande is known for their fresh sea salt, still harvested by hand by French salt farmers. 

Friday night, Benoit took me out to a restaurant (big deal in France) on the port of Pornic.  I started with a warm goat cheese and walnut salad and Benoit opted for the oyster and shrimp platter.  As a main dish, I had grilled ray in a warm cream and butter sauce with white rice, and Benoit had a rare piece of a beef with fries.  As a dessert, of course I chose the chocolate mousse and Benoit had the trio of sorbet.  

Saturday at Benoit's grandparent's house in Pornic, we hosted a themed birthday party.  What was the theme you may be wondering?  I chose the theme, "What makes you think of America?"  Response?  Witness pictures below:

For Benoit, it was Steeler pride and Jägar...I won't tell you how he was feeling the next day...

For others, it was GIs and Uncle Sam...

And for the rest, baseball players, cowgirls, Brittany Spears, and Mickey Mouse.

My dinner was a great success, with the huge help of Benoit of course.  The dinner was as follows:

Aperitif: hot dogs bites with Heinz ketchup and mustard (Yes! You can find Heinz ketchup in France and it is considered one of the best brands), Pringles, peanuts, Ritz crackers and Philadelphia cream cheese (which also exists here!), and chips and salsa.

                -Things that don't exist: Marzetti coleslaw sauce, okra, and pumpkin in a can (which made  

                 the rest of my menu a bit of a challenge)

Entrée: Dad's coleslaw--Marzetti substitute?  Dijon mustard, mayo, and lemon juice.

Main dish:  Mom's jumbalaya--There is no substitute for okra so I just left it out.

(Sorry, no cheese course.  And even though that has become a tradition in the Namestka household, it still remains a "French thing")

Dessert: Pumpkin pie--Pumpkin in a can substitute?  A REAL pumpkin!

Everyone raved about the coleslaw and the jumbalaya; however, the pumpkin pie was less than a hit than I thought it would be.  The pie itself turned out wonderful; however, it was more the texture that didn't pass well by the French.

Haha by that point, the Jäger had already got to him...the next morning, Benoit blamed the polish.

The next day, we spent the whole day at the beach!  It was actually hot that day!  :)

Thank you everyone back home for all of the wonderful birthday wishes.  You too made my birthday a day that I will always remember.  I feel so loved and appreciated.  Thank you and I love you so much!  

Thinking of you always.

Laura