Chocolate overload

I am very sensitive to the word "THE BEST." I cannot remember how many times I have been disappointed after a great introduction such as, "Try this---! It is the BEST!" Sometime they add the regional boundary at the end of the sentence, but the regional boundary means nothing when that person has never left that geographical area. Or, it might be the best in town, but if that is the only one that exists, what can you say? Every time I hear the word, I cannot help but remember the scene from Elf. 

Having said that, Nathan and I are currently experiencing chocolate overload trying to find THE BEST chocolate in town. It is truly a chocolate season in France right now which started with the Poisson d'avril (April Fool's Day) to Pâques (Easter). Grenoble is a small town yet it offers many chocolatiers. La Caraque, Bonnat, Zugmeyer, L'amandine, Voisin, La Déesse, Bochard... This is just the north eastern part of Grenoble and if I added the boulangeries that sell chocolate, the list goes on. The verdict is that they are all SO GOOD!

Nathan was never a big chocolate fan, but this year he is actively participating in our hunt for good chocolate. Today he came home with a doggy shaped chocolate from Bourbon. He is THE BEST husband that I have ever had and will ever have! That is the correct usage of the term THE BEST. 

Bonnes vacances à tous !

The mighty five

Today was my last day at L'école complementaire des japonais. I feel very content and relieved, but at the same time I am sad to leave my students. I never felt this way before in my seventeen years of teaching career. I do not remember how many times I scolded them and yelled at them, but they were just so sweet and fun to hang out with!

I taught five second graders who spoke Japanese as a second language. At the complementary school, which is partially funded by the Japanese government, the curriculum used is the one prepared for Japanese kids in Japan. So you can imagine it was not an easy chore to keep the students interested in learning, not to mention the material, as their exposure to the language is limited.

Luckily, my students and their parents were all enthusiastic about learning. Thanks to their effort, the class finished in the positive tone where students are all willing to continue onto the next grade (as the new school year begins in April). I hope I was able to give them joy in learning and in succeeding. Even though it may be a bit painful now, they will one day appreciate so much that their parents let them attend the complementary school. In fact, I have faith in all of them, that they have the strength and courage to keep on learning whatever may come.

As I am quite possessive, I am reluctant to let my students go to someone else. I wish I could teach them until they graduate from the elementary school. However, as we are leaving France this year, I now have to take up a position as their life-long supporter. Work hard, the mighty five, and I wish you all the best in your future. Always remember that what you do is for your own sake and be responsible for your act! I love you guys dearly even though I usually do not like kids :D. You touched the special part of my heart and you will be remembered.

In honour of Dad: March 23rd, 2012

Nathan and I were back in Japan to attend Dad's Sankaiki memorial (counting 3rd year/two full year) which was held on March 18th. It happened to be Grandma's 10th memorial, so I am sure she was quite happy to see lots of familiar faces as well.

Mom and Dad were paying visits to the family tombstone every 18th day of the month after Grandma passed away, and now Mom does so on the 23rd for Dad. It is all symbolic and ancestry worshipping may sound quite bizzarre to some. However, comparing to the daily visits when Grandma was in the hospital, and to the 24hour care that Mom, my brother, and Nathan and I provided for Dad by staying in the hospital room with him for one month and a half, once a month visit to the tombstone is nothing.

As Mom serves three cups of green tea to the family alter at home every morning, Nathan and I serve coffee to Dad every morning together with incense. On Dad's anniversary, I am reminded once again to dedicate my life to those who gave so much to me.

Oingt (Beaujolais) March 3, 2012

As we were heading toward north of Lyon for Chana's agility trial, we decided to visit a small town called Oingt, in the heart of Beaujolais, recommended by our Lyonnaise friends.

The village is known for "pierre dorée," and as you can see (thanks iPhone), all the buildings are made of golden yellow stones. The village is surrounded by vineyards and I cannot wait to visit there again in the summer time.

France is full of beauty especially in the countryside.

Agility in France No. 5: Chana's 2nd agility trial

This past sunday, Nathan and I took Chana to the 2nd agility trial of the season in our region (Rhone-Alpes). We were blessed with a warm weather, and the first outdoor trial experience was nothing but positive.

Chana brought home two trophies this time, one for Jumping (1st place out of 9 dogs) and the other for Open (2nd place out of 9 dogs). She ended up on the 2nd because she committed a fault by touching the long jump. We should have trained with that more often! For the third run (GPF), I made a mistake by running to fast at the end of the dog walk. As a result, she missed the contact zone. Had it not been for this fault, she would have been the 3rd. 

As the weather gets better, I assume there would be more dogs in our category. I believe it was a good idea to register for the two early competitions to make Chana get gused to the environment.

You may be wondering why we are doing this? I think it all comes down to the fact that I love taking tests, exams, or any kind of evaluations. It helps me find the weakness and helps to improve. Although it is quite tiring, I will continue to aim higher with a hope to run like a ballerina one day :).

Jumping

Open

GPF

Agility in France No.4 : Chana's 1st agility trial

Despite the cold, the agility season in the region of Rhone-Alpes started this weekend (February 11 and 12)  in Annonay, 150km east of Grenoble. The trial was held inside the "boulorome," where the national sport of Petanque is usually enjoyed. We participated on Sunday, and there were close to 80 dogs entered. It was a full day event, and you gotta love dogs or you are not a happy camper. 

It was our first trial ever in our career of any dog sports, and we came back with a trophy and a bag of food! Not a bad start, eh?

In France, at the trial you can run 4 times:

1. Open/Open Plus : standard course with contact obstacles (A-frame, dog walk, teeter). More experienced dogs run in Open Plus.
2. Jumping/Jumping Plus : jumpers course without contact obstacles.
3. Grand Prix de France : If you accumulate 3 Excellents under 3 different judges in the region, you are entitled to participate in the Sélectif du Grand Prix de France. 
4. Degrés : If your dog has a LOF (Livre des origines français)/registered, you run in 1st (novice), 2nd (advanced), or 3rd (master) degree.

(All together, it costs 13 euros, and to participate in the trial, you have to be a member of a local dog club. See my post on Agility in France No. 2.)

So in our case, we ran the first three, as Chana is not a purebred dog with a paper. There were 11 dogs entered all together in Chana's jump height (Categorie B), and in the Open and Jumping, there were only 6 (as other 5 are in Plus). I must say it was truly an ideal trial to make our debut. 

In the morning, Chana ran the Open, and did excellent without a fault. In mid-afternoon, we ran GPF, and Chana was rather distracted and started refusing taking some of the jumps. In late afternoon, we ran Jumping, and she decided that it was too much and she left the course. Hence she ended up eliminated. After all, we really need to work on focus. My theory for Chana leaving the course is that she saw someone with food. My regret is that I did not call her name when she was in the tunnel.

Despite the elimination, we still ended up on the 3rd podium thanks to the small number of participants. A lot to think about, and a lot to work on, but I am glad our first trial ended up on a positive note. Again, never underestimate Chana. Good job earning your food doggie, but you still have to work for it :). Our next trial is March 4th. Stay tuned!

Must love winter

It has been soooooooo cold here in Grenoble. I even put my ski pants on to take Chana for a walk. Ugh. I hate being cold. If this was not France, what would I have done? Here are the tokens that France offer to compensate for the weather.

1: La galette des rois (January) : I made it twice this year, and it was easy and delicious. We will have to make this our family tradition wherever we live.

2: Les soldes (January 11-February 14) : There are only two sale seasons in France, so why miss it? However, as I hardly ever go shopping, it was painful to step inside crowded and perfume-y stores. 

3: Les crêpes (February) : Candlemas (February 2) is celebrated with crêpes. The easiest and fastest meal and dessert combo. 

4: Les bugnes (February) : February is a month of crispy donuts called bugnes. I have no intention of deep frying at home, so we thank our boulangeries for their excellent work.

5: Les vacances d'hiver (February 11-26) : Schools are on holiday! In France, on top of the long two months summer holiday, kids have 1.5 weeks at the end of October, 2 weeks for Christmas, 2 weeks for February, 2 weeks for Easter. This applies to my teaching schedule as well, so I am off for two Wednesdays!

6: Free French classes (January-March) : Yes, I am taking French classes again funded by the government. It is four afternoons a week. Thank you France!

Well, to tell you the truth, I have not been able to enjoy any of the above for the last few days as I am sick again! I hardly ever take medicine nor go see a doctor voluntarily, but today I took care of myself. This is the worst year of catching colds or getting ill in my life! I think what happened is that I laxed the cleanliness level from a OCPD level to a French level. Let's look at this as I am building a stronger immune system.