Book List - Part two

Okay, so we're about a month and a half away from my deadline to read 50 books! Eeeeeeek!

I'm not done yet by any means but things remain do-able for the moment. The last time I updated you all on the list of books I've read since August 25, 2007, I had read 15 books. Here's the rest of the list for now, in the interest of being totally up to date and putting things out there so I'm more likely to stick to them. :)

16. Kite Runner (Hosseni)
17. Girl With a One Track Mind (Lee)
18. A Clean Slate (Caldwell)
19. Simple Genius (Baldacci)
20. Sammy's Hill (Gore)
21. Is Our Children Learning? (Begala)
22. 1,000 Splendid Suns (Hosseni)
23. Deer Hunting with Jesus
24. Starter Wife (Grazer)
25. Eat, Pray, Love (Gilbert)
26. Dear John (Sparks)
27. Prep (Sittenfeld)
28. The Weight of It (Wilensky)
29. The Other Boleyn Girl
30. The Almost Moon (Sebold)
31. Change of Heart (Picoult)
32. Ca Va Mal Finir (Leotard)
33. Me Talk Pretty One Day (Sedaris)
34. Doctor's Wife (Brundadge)
35. Babyville (Green)
36. Blame it on Paris
37. Second Change (Green)
38. Every Crooked Pot (Rosen)
39. Holidays on Ice (Sedaris)
40. Naked (Sedaris)
41. A Time to Run (Boxer)

Eeeeeeek - as you can see, lots of progress, but still NINE books left in the next seven and a half or so weeks. Can I do it? It'll be rough, but I am really really hoping to succeed on my little goal.

Stay tuned to see how I do!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!

My favorite holiday of the year!!!

Last year at this time I was an intern and spent my early morning in the hospital for a heart issue.

This year I'm a real worker at the same company and am spending my day acting like the American that I am, for better or worse. I have struggled since moving here with my identity - I often feel overly critiqued, stared at, different and criticized because of my differences with coworkers, and the French public in general. I often adjust my behavior accordingly. This is not to say that some degree of adjustment is unnecessary (as of course I have to be expecting to adjust slightly), but sometimes I go a bit too far in over-adjusting and changing who I am to please people here.

So today, if only for today, I am taking a break. Not scared to tell my boss that her sexual references and jokes are inappropriate in the workplace and are offensive to me. Not hesitating to wear blue and white. Not ashamed to wear a bracelet with the American flag on it - my standard accessory for Independence Days and national holidays when I was in the States.

Because, at the end of the day, no matter what I do to try to fit in, adapt, or hide it...I am an American. Proud of it. No reason to hide and happy to celebrate the birthday of my country! Now, I just wish I had a great Dodger game, hot dogs, friends and family to celebrate with...

C and J Restaurant Review #1: Anahuacalli

For the inaugural restaurant review post* I am so happy to present Anahuacalli, an amazing Mexican restaurant in the 5eme arrondissement, nestled just off of Boulevard Saint Germain and in the shadows of Notre Dame.

We've passed this restaurant MANY times and have always wanted to give it a try - unfortunately we seem to always pass at lunchtime, and the restaurant is closed for lunch, except on Sundays.

After a particularly hard work week, we decided to head over there on a Friday night on our way home from the movies, and we were not disappointed.

Immediately upon entering, we were greeted very warmly by the hostess who later ended up being our server. She was extremely friendly and welcoming, and made room for us at a great table, despite the fact that we didn't have reservations. Note - it would be a good idea to reserve a table in advance, as the place was packed already around 8:00pm when we were there but became increasingly crowded as the night went on.

Our server spoke impeccable French, Spanish, and English and seemed to want to speak English with us as she overheard us discussing the menus in English. Upon being seated we were presented with delicious chips and (spicy!) salsa as we perused the menu.

We of course decided to start with margaritas which were to die for - certainly the best I've had in Paris.



When we first arrived, we thought of getting a PITCHER which I'm really glad to have not done. The one margarita packed quite a punch on its own. No need for anything else or a second round.

My partner in crime who we'll call "FINO" ordered guacamole as a starter. As some of those of you who have known me for a while understand, I pretty much DESPISED all that was avocado-related until about....oh, five minutes ago. I'm new to the guac scene but have to say that this was pretty delicious.

Finally, for the main course, I hesitated between the enchiladas rojas and the tamale. FINO and I have a running joke about tamales in Paris - another Mexican restaurant that we love in the 5eme has tamales on their menu and I try to order them every time we go, and EVERY time they've run out or are not available. I don't know if it's all a lie or what - are there or are there not tamales? Maybe they're just so good that they've run out by noon, a half hour after opening(???)


Anyway, my chicken tamales were delicious although a bit on the dry side. I was happy to heap spoonfuls of salsa onto my bites to give them that extra "kick!" I sampled FINO's enchiladas as well and they were delicious! I may have to try those next time.

All in all, a GREAT place to get your Mexican food fix in Paris - one of our favorites so far.

Anahuacalli
http://anahuacalli.com/
30 rue des Bernadins
75005 Paris
01.43.26.10.20

* Please excuse the cell-phone quality photos. I'll try to do better next time! :)

New blog feature...

Hello all!

I'm excited to introduce a new feature to my blog that I'm hoping to make semi-regular. It's going to be based upon something that is near and dear to my heart as an American in Paris...

Get excited for.....THE C AND J RESTAURANT REVIEW FEATURE!

Named after Cindy and Jerry, who love dining in Paris and know more about it than anybody I've met (despite the fact that they live all the way across the world in California!), the C and J Restaurant Review will be an opportunity for me to post about and review restaurants that I visit in the City of Lights. I've been to some great ones, so this is going to be lots of fun!!!

Stay tuned for the inaugural installment - to be worked on and hopefully be completed today :)

Work, work, work

Yes - I am still working at 10:45pm - see my screenshot for confirmation....

And yes - I am drinking an amazing glass of Bordeaux and eating REAL, imported KRAFT Mac and Cheese at the same time. It's the little things that keep me from going totaly mad.... :)

P.S. Please note that the photos are poor quality as they were taken with low light with my old, antiquated, last-year's version, not so sexy iPhone. Anyone have $199 to spare?? Or actually $299 for the cute, white 16gig model...I've got to benefit from all of this madness somehow, right??? ;)

P.P.S. Didn't I LEAVE politics to not work until 11:00pm at night anymore??

Only in France

Wanted to share this shot of Chateau de Breteuil that I had the pleasure of visiting for a friend's wedding reception last week. It was unbelievably gorgeous and SO "typically French chateau" to me that I had to share. I have to also admit that I'm proud of my picture-taking!! :)

Only in France....

Space Invader of the Day

I stumbled upon this guy on a lunchtime walk yesterday. Up close and personal!

Lunchtime!

This is what I gazed upon while nibbling on my home-brought lunch this afternoon.....I swear, I couldn't even make this stuff up! Unbelievable!

Drive-By Space Invader

Just a quick post to show you all the BIGGEST Space Invader that I've ever seen...taken from our moving rental car in Champigny-Sur-Marne, a suburb east of central Paris.

Not the only American in Paris....

There's a statue of George Washington in the square immediately in front of my new office. Nice to know I'm not the only American around these parts for once! Maybe I'll go share a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with him one day and revel in the fact that I'm not made fun of....well, not made fun of for the peanut butter, but maybe for the fact that I'd be trying to feed it to a statue! ;)

An office with a view...

As many of you know, my company moved offices this past week and we are finally located in Paris. This changes my life (positively) in SOOO many ways, not the least of which is the fact that my commute is now 30 minutes each way and on only one bus. No more hour and a half, walking 10 minutes in the pouring rain or falling snow, no more waiting for the bus on the freeway, muggings in the RER in the middle of nowhere, mandatory team lunches in the cafeteria every day, etc etc. I can already tell that there's been a change in my mood when I get home from work which is awesome!

I have much more to say but since I actually have to do some work from this new amazing location, I'll leave you with two quick snapshots that I took from my desk....can you believe the view??!?!

Loire Valley Extravaganza

As many of you know, I have old friends in town and we've recently returned from a long weekend in the Loire Valley. I'd never been to this region at all and have to say I was blown away by the castles we visited, the tiny towns we drove through, the meals we had, and the hospitality and friendliness that we encountered along the way (save for one couple but that's a story for another time...)

I just wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures to give you an idea of what we saw. I had a BLAST!



Azay-le-Rideau was one of my FAVORITE of all the castles we saw, and was kind of off the beaten path. I loved the grounds and the little town surrounding the castle and really loved the time we spent there.



Chenonceaux was perhaps the coolest castle, with the long gallery/hall stretching across the river. It was awesome, but very crowded. We called it the "Disneyland of castles" since the tour buses filled the parking lots and there were TONS of people on the grounds and in the castle itself. I would have loved to have visited when it was a bit more empty and even a bit cooler outside. We spent a good part of the morning there and once we left, the entrance was deserted, so it's definitely something to hit up either very early in the morning or later in the afternoon.



Of course, we had tons of great meals and even better wine! My favorite meal was in the little Medieval town of Chinon where we ate at the Musée Animée du Vin, an awesome all-you-can-eat, all you can drink place with hilarious owners. Would definitely recommend this place, as it was one of the most fun and BEST meals that I've ever had in France.

All in all, it was an amazing weekend and I cannot wait to go back and explore more again soon. Have any of you been to the region? Any recommendations for next time?

Why Friends from Home Are Amazing, Part 1

Please see the LOOT that I got immediately upon the arrival of two of my oldest friends last week....note the plethora of amazing American items that I received. God bless Target.



I will draw your attention to the fact that I got THREE, count 'em, THREE new pairs of shoes, along with a bag of enough permutations and varieties of ranch dressing to last a whole year, gum galore, shirts, etc etc.

LOVE IT!

THANK YOU L&L....

Many more "three American girls and a French guy in France" stories to come...

"Correction" is the same word in French AND English.

Just a little recount of a conversation I had with a colleague recently....

Colleague: "KEF, il y a quelque chose que tu dis assez souvent et tu dois vraiment l'arrêter." (KEF - there's something that you say often that you really need to stop saying)
KEF : (Uh oh....here comes more criticism!) "Oui???"
C: "Tu dis toujours que tu fais des fautes en français mais franchement je n'entends rien du tout comme ça...tu parles français mieux que nous parlons anglais, c'est sûr. Donc, il faut arrêter de t'excuser!! (You are always saying that you make mistakes in French but honestly I don't hear any at all. You speak French better than we speak English, so you need to stop excusing yourself!)

Maybe something IS clicking in my head after all???

I was just so shocked to not be corrected and criticized that he left my head spinning! HOOORAY for little victories....

"Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams..."

We arrived together, wide eyed, scared and excited 18-year olds. Worried about what to expect, who we would meet, and where we would live. Is college going to be as fun as they say it is? Are these the best years of our lives? Will I find my new best friend in one of these strangers?

It was 1997, and I moved into my dorm at UCSD along with seven other girls. Our little suite was to be home for the next year...and we had no idea what to expect. Little did we know how much fun we would have and what adventures were in store for us....

Here I sit today, thousands of miles away and fighting back tears, with the terrible news that one of my suitemates passed away last week. Though we had lost touch over the years, she will always be an integral part of my college experience...one of the eight who was there through the confusion, the elation, the hard times and the easy...we created our little family together and in my mind all of these women will always hold a special place in my memory.

I'll be playing Karma Chameleon by the Culture Club in your honor today, Jaci....just the way you would like it! The song will always remind me of our time together in the suite and the madness that was Freshman year. Your energy, smile and determination will be sorely missed.

Oh.My.Goodness...

Are you kidding?!?!?!?

Take a look at this video from a Japanese train platform....



I am officially not allowed to complain about being a "sardine" in the Paris metro trains ANYMORE.

Woah.

Why am I so bad at blogging?

I always say I will be better, I will post more, etc but it never sticks!

I wonder why?

Things here have been pretty "quotidien" or "every-dayish" lately. I've learned that our office is moving FOR SURE on May 13th, so I have less than a month left of my hellish commute. That makes me more and more excited by the day, especially seeing as how all the May holidays will have me out of the office quite a bit. At this point, I only have to take RER B to work 13 more times.....ever. I just might bring champagne on the last day....

Otherwise, I've been doing a lot of reading, not enough exploring, and just a little bit of Anglo friend-meeting which makes me really excited actually. I think that I have been really missing the U.S. so much lately because I've been feeling a bit out of touch in Paris. Not only out of touch literally with friends and family, but also out of touch with my surroundings. My French is getting better which is great, but there is still so much missing...the little jokes, cultural references, etc. that I'm not sure if I will ever understand. It's hard sometimes but I'm trying to have a good attitude about everything.

Anyway, that's my brief update from over this way....hope everyone is well and looking forward to a few more April updates!! :)

A little out of control....

Went to an awesome English book sale yesterday and it looks like I went a bit crazy...please note that three of the books are library books (also picked up yesterday...) and TWO are for S. But still....

Looks like I have plenty of material to help me reach my "50 books by August 25th" deadline! :)

My favorite section of the wall at East Side Gallery

My favorite section of the wall at East Side Gallery
Originally uploaded by KEFINPARIS

Seeing the Berlin Wall (what was left of it) was amazing. I remember when the wall came down and a boy from my fifth grade class brought a piece of it in that we all passed around.

I never dreamed I would actually see the place for myself one day!

Riding on the metro!!!

Riding on the metro!!!
Originally uploaded by KEFINPARIS

Got back from Berlin on Tuesday and miss it already...it was an awesome trip!

I'll be posting a few more photos in a few minutes to give you an idea of what I saw - it was an awesome city filled with so much history.

Enjoy!