40 books and counting...

I recently discovered that before obtaining my master's (and in addition to writing a minor thesis) I will have comprehensive exams to pass.

The exam doesn't seem so bad because we have to pick a list of books that interest us and submit it to the French department. From that list, they will draft three essay questions that we'll have six hours to answer. The only minor problem is that my book list will be quite extensive. I need to include 40 (!!!!!) titles on that list.

Being the student I am, I've already begun thinking about my list. I haven't read books in French for nearly five-plus years at this point, so I literally will need to get on this. My area of emphasis is modern/contemporary literature, but most French classes focus on the Medieval period to the 18-1900s. I've only read a handful of books that could fit under my area so I've certainly got a mountain of work looming ahead.

Which is why during Thanksgiving/Christmas break I've picked my first read: Marcel Proust.

I've never read any of Proust, but when I took a French Existential Lit class as an undergrad, he was referenced immensely. Rememberance of Things Past, however, will be quite the undertaking. The version I have (in English, let's be honest here) is over 1180 pages and that's just the FIRST VOLUME. It's a very, very vast piece of work. Who knows if I'll even be able to understand it.

For this reason, I'm begging anyone familiar with French literature for help. Any suggestions on authors/titles I should plan to add to my list or I should check out from the library? I'll take anything from the 1800s-onward. Doesn't really have to be relevant, I just need to come up with 40 books and be able to discuss them at length in the next two years...

....What have I gotten myself into?! :)

At UC Santa Barbara I was fortunate enough to meet many (dare I even say hundreds?) of amazing people from all walks of life.

One of the first few people I met in the dorms was Lindsey. We ended up majoring in English together, taking similar classes and even writing/editing for the same two newspapers! Our paths even continued crossing post-graduation. Hers was one of the first blogs I'd ever read consistently. We both were avid travelers who spoke two languages and trying to find our places in the world. We really did have a lot in common.

When she moved to Chicago and a work trip took me out there in 2007, I was able to visit and hear about her life in the Midwest. But that's kind of where the story ends. After living in Europe, traveling and working the non-stop life that is sports, I got so busy I stopped following her blog. Then one day, I went to look back and realized she stopped blogging.

A shame, I though, that such a talented writer wouldn't have the time/desire/energy to do so anymore. I learned through Facebook that she finally moved back to California, sent a quick message and found out she was in grad school. I know first-hand that grad school is a MAJOR time commitment.

But then yesterday, I finally found out why I hadn't heard from her in a long time (other than my own time constraints).

I ran across this on the Internet/Facebook:

To say I'm astonished would be an understatement. So I dedicate today's post to you, Miss Miller. You are one of the most talented, genuine, strong, creative, ambitious, adorable people I know! I look forward to following your journey and I am actively following social media to see if you get your response from him!

My thoughts are with you every day. You literally are one of the strongest people I know, and this is not an exaggeration when I say I've always been impressed by you. Even as undergrads working late hours at the newspaper. When you moved back to Southern California, I knew it would only be a matter of time before you made it. Well, here you are. Do us all proud enjoying your dance in the limelight :)

(Read about her offer, here!)

French Friday...night

I made a fantastic discovery tonight. It all happened because I believed there to be a Sun Devil volleyball game at 7 p.m. this evening. I was scheduled to work the game, planning on making dinner when I got home, but upon arrival realized the freakin game got pushed back to 8 p.m.....

My blood was boiling. I arrived so early and no one told me?! Determined to make something of my evening, I went wandering near the ASU campus in hopes of finding dinner. Even penny-pinching grad students need to eat, you know.

That's when I decided to stop in at a Middle Eastern restaurant and grocery I walk past almost every time I'm on campus. When I lived in France, I used to LOVE North African pastries and Middle Eastern cuisine. Understatement.

Anyways, I sat down, ordered the Falafel Deluxe Pita -- hummus, tabbouleh, falafel and tons of fresh mint with a large side salad -- and a bottle of guava juice before the waiter started chatting me up. I never know what language I'm thinking or speaking in anymore... it doesn't help that I'm about to start taking German next semester either.

He asked me where I come from originally and then what I was doing in Arizona... when it came up that I'm a French TA on campus. He FLIPPED OUT and immediately began speaking to me in French. It came up that he's from Morocco, I shared that I had lots of family in Morocco and we chatted on and on in French for a bit. 

Long story short, he told me I had to come back and the next time I was not to speak to him in any English whatsoever. We're only going to converse en français from here on out... I also noticed my bill was much less than it should have been, by the way. In all, a fabulous outcome from what seemed to be a bleak-looking evening. It literally changed my entire mood around. And I will be back. The food was incredible! I could eat Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food every day of my life.

Granola French Toast: A breakfast worth the wait

I know it's been a while, but my "52 new things" have basically fallen off the face of the planet. Blame it on grad school, I guess. I have been keeping up a little bit, but definitely not as well as I was before week 30ish. Maybe in the future I'll update that page with my new adventures since grad school.

In the meantime, I've got a fantastic new recipe to add to my home made chocolate granola experiment! It's Chocolate Granola French Toast, one of the most amazing breakfasts I've made in a while. Click the link for the recipe if you're curious, but it basically just entails making regular French toast and then dipping it in a thick cover of granola. Cook away as usual. Just be careful not to burn the face of the bread...

Here is how the French toast looked the minute I finished cooking it on the stove:

And then I topped it with Greek yogurt, figs and blueberries (my inability to spell "fig" in English still plagues me even now, I keep wanting to spell it à la français (figure). Oh well, trust me, this was HEAVENLY, especially with the chocolatey granola:

And even still, I had granola left over for weeks! I ate it plain and of course, I ate it in copious amounts of breakfast parfaits. Especially after buying cute little mason jars <3

I'm definitely going to have to bake my own granola again soon. With colder weather approaching Phoenix (as in, 60-80 degree weather), it's time for hot coffees and warm breakfasts!