Okay time for a confession. Oh yes, I am a bit like all those programs and magazines that are diving into the last twelve months and give away their overview. Well, Stallie took a close look at her last few months and all she can say that she had not her best time ever. It has been tough and more than once I was about to give up. That the darkness lingered around longer in the morning did not help either to chase away the turmoil but still... Nope, my last trimester as a teacher has been quite challenging and I am not sure that I wish to sign up for a continuation of such a time.
Yes, I knew that it was going to get tough and that some of my classes were not that easy to tackle. But I had forgotten how gloomey and dark it can get when I am in such situations. I knew half way through September that I needed more time to get my work done. That was to foresee and even part of my job description. The hours of a teachers are not set in stone and I always take my work home. The moment that I leave the educational hotspot my mind is still spinning around. Yes, I can be walking around in a supermarket and forget half of my mental grocery list due to the fact that I am thinking of colourful work sheets. It is like I am walking in a dense fog and my brain just does not even disconnect when I am reading something that id educational related.
For the last three months I have basically invested so much time in my job that I kind of have forgotten about everything I consider worthwhile and need in order to function normal. My life got to the point that I even was checking mails on Friday evening, the one moment when I used to have this golden rule that after Happy Hour I would not do anything work related till Sunday after my very lengthy brunch with freshly baked croissants and a few George Clooney coffees. There used to be this golden routine that I managed to tackle most of my work in a record time and then I used to find some time to have some golden ME-time. It were those precious hours that seem to produce the oxygen and energy that helped me to get through my long week and fueled my creativity.
Well, all that ME-time got exchanged for time to plan and trying to stay ahead of everything. So that this came with some serious consequences. Oh yes, I have been neglecting my friends and even my family. Nope, it is actualy not okay to come to terms with the fact that the people you care about and love seem to be forgotten because you are not that good at time management. The thing is that I felt that I had no choice. It is me who is most of time in the way of sacrificing some time that I normally spend on my job and ironing blue shirts. Nobody else. That I love my job is quite natural and I also need my job to stay on top of many things and to feel connected with the world in general but there are limits.
This week I did admit to a former colleague and close friend (I hope that she is stil one of my close friends because I bet that she is one of the many people who has been affected by my behaviour) that I was not happy how my social life was coming along. While sitting there in Marks&Spencer in my capital surrounded by lovely dressed up Christmas trees and many carols ( sung by pop stars who suddenly feel the urge to express their festive mood) in the background I did for the first time said outloud what I did feel like. It even felt like relief that I was able to tell this her because I am 100% sure that she is one of the people who I have been 'neglecting'.
I am not good at letting go and also finding a balance between work-friends-family I don't seem to get the hang of. Secretely I had hoped that my age would have helped me out on that frontier. But sadly enough it does not. It was during reading 'Big Magic' of Elizabeth Gilbert and a very deep going heart to heart with someone who recognized the signs that I so desperatedly have tried to hide for many that I did knew that I am the only one who has got the power to change this situation.
Yes, I love my job including all the s*** it comes along with. The thing is that now I need to get out of the Ferrari and get back into the Alfa Romeo and get used to just cruising over the high ways. But then at least noticing the view and now and then take a break for a needed overhaul. That many might overtake me and will be driving a faster car is something that I will need to come to terms with. It is not easy to admit that I have the last few months not being totally honest with myself. Yes, I did think that I had tamed the beast and had it under control. No, I don't and that is the honest truth.
While picking out my christmas present last Monday (one that I had been longing for since a very loooooong time) I made a new promise that will be very challenging to keep but is actually essential to keep me sane and to make sure that I can keep breathing. It still involves in believing in what Enzo Ferrari preached so strongly:'You can not describe passion, you can only live it.' But hey, you are not telling me that Enzo not once in while got out of his car and enjoyed the scenery while filling up a glass with prosecco while eating a piece of pizza in the company of family and friends.
So my dear friends and readers (where ever you are from and whoever you are) I wish you a very nice Holiday season and also the best wishes for 2016. And I hope that you can forgive me for not having been around that much in the last 12 months. All I can promise that I am very willingly to exchange my Ferrari for an Alfa Spider! We all know the reputation of that type of car but I am pretty sure that this is the type of car that matches my personality so much better than the race car I crashed a few times. In the end we are all equal when it comes down to time.
And now please excuse me for the remaining days of 2016 I am going to hang out with my family and friends and hope that they can forgive me for not having kept my eye on the road that realy matters. Looking very much forward to meeting up with many I might have speeding by in 2015! In 2016,while I am racing, I am planning to keep the words by Henry Ford close to my heart:'When I see an Alfa Romeo go by, I tip my head.'
PS: No swooning or cheesy Christmas songs to go along with this entry. Instead two songs that ended up in my personal Top 5 of the last 12 months. One is so much linked to my job and one particular person and the other is a great song made in Belgium by someone with lots of girl power.
Oh yes, I am talking about the Brussels here and what is going on in my nation and beyond. Stallie has only been there about a week ago. Right after Paris. I had decided to let fear NOT change my mind. Like that one journalist so bravely wrote an open letter to the terrorist that had killed his wife in the Paris attacks that they would not get his hate. That is so me for the moment. And I am trying very hard. It is like I am Anakin Skywalker but refuse to go over to the Dark Side. For those who know the Star Wars saga you know exactly when our 'cross over'-protoganist decided that he did decide what side he would love to hang out permanently. Yes, right after he had lost what he loved the most. It is then that we suddenly feel triggered and make very emotional decissions. What is totaly understandable.
Every time I see Darth Vader popping up I do visit my dark spots in my mind. They are there and I do come across so many things that I wish to change in a split second. I do produce so many internal curses that if I would be on public television I would be constantly beeped out. What about staying zen or practising mindfullness, Stallie? You have told others so many times that you believe so strongely in those things or did those suddenly went into hiding?
Well, let me put this way for the moment I am a bit ashamed to be who I am. The international press is all over us. I am Belgian... I am born here and I have been raised by parents who are Belgians. My dad was born a few years before the second world war and my mother her dad was a Belgian soldier who became a POW. He managed to escape and fled to Paris where he did go into hiding. My mum told me recently that one night he suddenly managed to get back home and that my grandmother knew that the German soldiers would come back to look for him. He was on the run and letting him in must have been so hard for her. Yes, they came and then he did appearently told the German soldiers:''Just take me back in but it won't be long before you will be defeated.' A few days later the allied forces landed in Normandy and the rest is history.
My grandmother has never told me this story herself. I also never knew my grandfather because he died of a heart attack shortly after turning 60. I only know him from pictures and most of those show him in uniform. He looks a very handsome man and surely someone with style&pride. After the war my grandparents moved to Germany for over 20 years where my granddad was stationed. The childhood memories of my mother of that time are over all very positive.
That I now speak rather fluent German is a side effect of that unconditional love. I have never heard any of family member use foul language about Germany. Never ever has my grandmother openly expressed her hate about this nation. Once a year she even begged one of her daughters to take her to Germany to visit all these places where she and her family had created such nice memories. The war stories seemed to be not important. She did seem to keep those for a place that we were not allowed in. I have never pushed her to tell me what she must have felt like when suddenly her husband was taken prisoner and she had to take care of her family on her own. It is not that I not dared but it rather seemed that there was never the need to ask her.
Right now I am longing to talk with her and ask her how she managed her state of mind. How she did stay so strong? How she made sure that at the end of they day she still was able to keep on going and let hope win from fear and hate. The thing is that I am sure that she might not even tell. There is something that tells me that the answer was in her overall state. Undoubtedly there are major differences about what is going on now and then. But still the similarities are there...
It is hard, it is challenging. There is only one thing that keeps me going and that is the belief that she has managed and that I have not got a single excuse not be as strong as she and many of my family have been during that time. Yes, there are those moments that I feel very weak and that I wonder if I will ever find back that spark that I know is deep down inside of me. For the moment I just try to find back my balance. Yes, I am lost but the force is re-awakening! Han Solo is about to return and say:'Chewie, we are home!'
Oh yeah, it is October and I did look forward to this month... It is the month that in my head the Summer is brushed out of my mind and I rather start longing for winter coats and Christmas trees. And I also am expected to be used again to be full time a teacher..... Well, nope that last bit seems to be post poned. Why? Well, let us call it a bit of a time management issue. This year it seems that even trying to come up with a to do-list is not a good idea. The list I had lying on my office desk is now still there and only has become longer. Prioritize then, Stallie. Get the important things out of the way first and concentrate on what matters most. Lean in and do not let panic become your advisor. Trust me, I am trying but this school year everything seems to be priority. Or at least that is the perception that I am given.
So Stallie is still alive but barely. She has already had a few moments that she head banged in her office and in class. Very frustrating once if you are a perfectionist when it comes down to teaching and only want the best for each of the students you have under your educational wings. Plus I try to keep everybody happy in that educational hotspot I work at. Now this week I did calm down and this due to perception that I am not alone. Nope, I am not. It is just that we not always communicate that easily about things that do not go smoothly or when you just ran out of time. The teachers lounge is also for the moment not the best time to hang out at because I seem to be surrounded by many kindred souls who seem to searching for time. Time that is not there and we have seemed to ran out of.
It even got that bad this school year that I had to make the very hard and painful decission to quit ballet lessons. Yes, due to work and the planning that comes along with my job description. I sat there in my car driving home reflecting about my job and the time I need in order to get it done. 'I need extra time to get this all planned and make it work for everyone involved in this process. So where can I get that extra time?' And right before I got home it seemed that the only time that I could think of was the time that I normally reserve for my ballet classes on Tuesdays. My mind was yelling at me:'DON'T DO THIS. YOU NEED TO GO TO BALLET. IT KEEPS YOU SANE AND BALANCED. IT MAKES YOU EVEN A BETTER TEACHER!'
Oh believe, I am fully aware of that. I need the ballet studio and that ballet teacher that pushes me that inch further and makes me produce sweat. The adrenaline that rushes through my veins after 85 minutes of hard work at the barre and beyond has the last 3 years certainly made me stronger in many ways. I could work on Saturdays but that is the one day that I not open my professional mailbox and try to give my brain some time to breath and even manage to put things in a better perspective. Sunday is already half reserved for work. So..... there it is. Ballet classes have been sacrificed for something I care very deeply about. But I have made the promise that it will only be for this year. Please be kind and remind me of this promise in case I have forgotten this when August shows up on on the calendar.
P is not happy about it but I did tell him that I am not happy either. It is hard and this school year will be very hard. It already is. The thing is that my job makes me very happy. The longer I am a teacher the more I am certain that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Yes, I sometimes seem to need more time than others to get some things done. Plus I am not easy to please with ready to copy work sheets. Plus that I do sometimes also expect my coworkers to share the same work ethics as me when it comes down to teaching. Now, don't get me wrong... I have over all been blessed on that part. In all the years I have been teaching and worked with many gifted people. Oh yes, in the world of education there are rather some 'rare exemplaren' but those are in most cases also the ones that you might have come across when you were a student yourself and did think of:'WOW, I like this teacher a lot. He/she is not like all the rest. He/she makes learning so much more fun and worth while to put my energy and time in.'
That I now this school year have made come to terms with this I also need now to calm down. Oh dear, Stallie is not mastering that skill. But you know what the last 6 weeks I have been saved by my students and some of the parents and coworkes and also P&A and even strangers. It have been precious moments in the class room and some amazing moments that my students shared with me. Moments that make me realize why I am doing this in this first place. That I am given the priviledge to enter that room and being granted access to their mind I still consider so worthwhile. This week I sat there thinking more than once this is why I have made that once sacrifice. This is why I need that extra time... It is worth it... for now it is...'
I remember very vividly the day that I went to see 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'! It was a sunny and warm day in the city of Louvain and I was in my first year at the university. That day I met up with Hugh Grant and Kirstin Scot Thompson and did the music of my Barry White and the poems of W.H. Auden got a deeper dimension. The movie is now considered a classic by many and the soundtrack I did play over and over again at the time. Why did become such a success? Well, that is perhaps due to the fact that we all attend once in a while a wedding or a funeral.
Weddings are surely more fun than a funeral. But both they have something in common: they bring people together. The last few years I ended up at very intense weddings and funerals. People that I carry close to my heart have tied the knot or I had to say goodbye to some individuals that surely have made a big impact on my life.
The thing with weddings and funeral is also that there is always some drama or there is this moment that you do wonder if you did come up with the right words to say. There are so many times that you assume that your natural flair will be enough to get through a wedding and funeral services but believe me I myself have screwed up a numerous times. I have been head banging in rest rooms at wedding receptions because I mixed up names of the parents of the happy couple. Or I did dare to mention a former boyfriend in the presence of the groom. So not done but it did happen. And more than just once.
And because I end up going to receptions on my own I do end up sometimes standing all by myself in the corner of venues wonderin observing many people and wonder what connects me with them. At a funeral there is then always that moment that I just get caught up by the grief of others and end up crying in the car while I am playing the music by Craig Armstrong. It is so me and I do wonder why I never stick to the straight forward rules that my mother taught me about weddings and funerals. But then I can assure you that I am 100% myself at these moments!
The thing is that I also found out that weddings and funerals can be the moments that you do find out who you exactly are. It is at those occassions that you run into life and what matters most. That those are the events when life passes by and you become very aware of how fragile and precious everything is. The pictures taken at weddings are sometimes hilarious because to be honest a professional wedding photographer has got the talent to sneak up on you and suddenly there is this flash. It is then you freeze in the middle of a very private conversation. Hilarious at times but also very confrontating. Looking at them shows you more then just a snapshot.
My family is the perfect example of human beings who are very good a celebrating life. Oh yes, there are already a few people missing but there are also many new faces popping up. Yesterday seeing one of my second cousins dancing with her boyfriend made me smile. He guided her very gentle over the dance floor while her cheeks turned very red. She surely enjoyed the attention she was getting. He not for one second took his eyes of her. That she was having troubles following in his footsteps was rather cute.
'He is doing a good job.', a voice suddenly told me. 'Oh yes, he is.', I said and I then became aware that the person who was sitting next to me had been witnessing the same scene as me. I even envied that young couple because they still had their whole life ahead of them. Now a few minutes before this scene I had seen my mother out there on that same dancefloor. My mother who the last 15 years her life surely was not that easy. That moment that one of my cousins grabbed her and made her move over the dance floors made me even LOL. And then there was an other cousin whispering into my ears:'Look at your mother. What a woman!' My mother still loves dancing at weddings and she will be dancing along with young&old. She even beat us to it last night. The only excuse I had to bring in is that the Friday rush, traffic and thunderstorms had made me end up being rather tired. But what was I enjoying that view!
Yeah, I guess that at weddings she will miss my dad. There were so many people that were missed last night. My family does not sugar coat things. Even not at weddings. I do have even serious chats at such family affairs. That I the last 24h have been able to catch up was so nice and I also understand myself better and better. Eating a piece of wedding cake was even sweeter while listening to some of the stories my aunts had to tell and I shared many stories with them and showed pics of A.
My family demonstrate a very deep understanding of what life is about and they will never give up and this against all odds. They don't come up with excuses and they can suddenly burst out in singing and dancing. They demonstrate living intensely but there this first layer of varnish you have to scratch of us before we open up. Well, at weddings we shake of that layer and it is there you get the opportunity when someone asks you sincerly:'So C how are you doing?', you are not expected to just say:'I am fine, just fine... It is then that someone, whose genetic content you for 50% share with, will stare you into your face and you just know... It is like coming home.
Then this afternoon ended up at an other wedding reception. This happy couple had tied the knot last summer in the home town of the bride. They did share some pics on Facebook with the world and I can tell you that there was one picture that I just knew that she is very happy in the state she is now. The way she was looking over a field while holding on to one of her children even send me shivers down my spine. I envied her at that moment because I still long for that one moment that I can say outloud that one word that I want to say loud and clear in the presence of the people I love and who care about.
In case you wondering about me and a personal wedding experience. It still has not happened. I hardly talk about it anymore. Oh yes, I have somewhere in my picture library on my phone an image of a wedding dress that I once walked by and just fall in love with. It is a dress that has not left my mind yet. I still picture myself in that dress and dancing with P while I am wearing a wedding band around my finger. Oh yes, people have already told me that I just should give up that this is just in vain. Well, no I don't... never ever... Why? Because the people I love I always give the benefit of the doubt.
So this weekend I said 'cheers' numerous times to the power of love and that wedding vows bring families&friends closer. Once more that life is about keeping close what you love and wish to protect it, cherish it and take good care of it. I have seen the power at work and ladies and gentlemen I can only state that it is a lovely view. It lifts us up...and at the same time it reminds us how fragile everthing is. Because one day you walk into a room where you then have to say goodbye to those loved ones and you then feel like you have missed out a few chances to say how much you did care about them. Weddings and funerals they are part of life... they are reflections of how much we love and care!
P.S.: Oh yes, I picked two very cheesy ones to go along with this one. The fact is that those two where played at the family wedding. And one was even the opening dance of the happy bride and groom. :-)
September... I hate September... Do not get me wrong I love the job that is very much interlinked with that month but still I hate September. So now that we have got that out in the open I can just state that my first week back at the educational hotspot was as expected 'chaotic'. Nothing new. I even consider it part of the job description. Believe me, I had been planning ahead and I even had tried to stay ahead of some red tape. Well, like every year over and over again September won from August. The chaos I did try to stay out of so desperatedly found a way back in.
It is all around to be spotted and to experience:traffic jams, longer waiting times at cash tills, messy&busy supermarkets, hairdressers invaded by under the age of 18, busy tones when you call a dentist, sold out trainers, over 30 different versions of a time table (I am afraid that when I state that the version that I have now in my folder is the final one I will be doomed for sure), not being able to locate your smart phone and car keys when you want to beat the morning traffic, a photocopy machine that over the summer seems to have forgotten how to spit out the correct copies of your worksheets, lost textbooks, lunch money, sold out bakeries when you only arrive 5 minutes before closing time, passwords that can't be retrieved or you seem to have forgotten while hanging out at the beach, pushing the wrong button on the coffee machine at work, parking lots that are so full that you would rather go home without groceries then having to face the crowd, forgetting to put the trainers in your son his gym bag, preparing lunch bags and making sure that everyone gets out of the house in time, the alarm that goes of in the morning at an hour that you do consider insane and now and then you then ran into even more annoyed people who seem to have forgotten that we all face September once a year... No, I am not a happy teacher when dealing with those aspects when the S*** (pardon my French here)-month pops up on my desk calendar.
Now, I have been told that one tactic in order to survive September is that you have to embrace all of the above. Still if I could I would now push the fast forward button and go straight to Oktober. My mind is bursting and I every year again wonder how I ever in the world have managed to get through that month before. I don't get it or yes I do... Every year a certain collision takes place in my mind and it feels a bit like the icebucket challenge. Brainfreeze and headbanging are daily activities. Ones that I don't like to face but seem to be the only way to survive this month.
I also face that one thing that so many teacher face at this time of the year and that are new teaching sets. Surely it is not a good idea to assume that every academic year involves just copy and paste actions. Every single student under my wings is an individual with their own talents and personal traits. Every single class room is a different story and in September I get to face a blank canvas and I do then always keep my fingers crossed when walking into my 'fresh' classes that our first encounters or reunions are positives ones. That our kick off of the school year sets a positive tone for the weeks and moths ahead.
So this month is also coming to terms what involves teaching. Not that only nice elements but also the ones that make you wonder why I went into to teaching in the first place. Like yesterday, yesterday I faced that one moment that makes me feel so helpless that I wonder what I have done wrong or could have done differently. I had ran out of breath and that after only lesson. I left empty the classroom and was not satisfied. The best comparison I can come up with is that I felt like a surgeon who walks into a fully equiped OT and considers him/her experienced enough to face this complicated procedure with confidence (hey, you have experience under your belt...so what can go possibly go wrong on your watch) but THEN having to face half way through the operation a cardiac arrest. One that even ends in a flat line. The patient is declared dead. And you walk out of there with bloody scrubs and sweat on your forehead and wonder how in the world you will be able to face yourself in the morning. Yeah, that is what Stallie then faces.
That I here now admit that I after 17 years of teaching still have not found the secret of class management 'in all weather conditions' some of you might consider a weakness. Well, fair enough... it then means that you have your own bag of tricks that seem to work for your teaching sets and that you have the magic touch that some us envy you for. Good for you! But it does not make my life any eassier. Not in the coming hours or days. That I yesterday went from teaching on cloud #9 one moment (ace poetry lesson with my IB students who after the Summer have become more mature and can make me smile and LOL) to the what I can only describe that one spot you as a teacher hate to hang out at is not easy. It even hurts and fills me up with a sensation that goes so deep. Very deep!
I have been there before and yes believe me, it has caused me sleepless nights. I do meet up with myself in a classroom in such situations because I then suddenly become so much aware that I need to face the fact that my lessonplan has not covered every angle. And believe me, I have not just spend a quick five minutes on such lesson plans. It also does not help that I then have coworkers that are expressing that they are rather happy that they are not teaching certain challenging sets. NOPE!!! In all honesty, it only makes it worse and does not sugar coat things. Because you know what? I do feel then like a major FAIL!!!
Oh yes, I am fully aware that expressing my failure out here makes me vulnerable. I bet that there are now teachers out there that will be having a ball. Well, you know what? At this stage I do not even have to time to be upset with you. It won't be helping me out and please do me one favor do not start sharing your teaching tactics and class management at this stage. Because you know what? Chances are likely that in 99% of the cases they won't work for me or for the teaching sets I am working with this year. Please don't advise me to start reading the newest insights about dealing with teenagers in the classroom and don't start me on new approaches. Don't get me wrong. It is not that I am not interested. That it not the case. I am because I do but not right now. And sorry (don't take it personal, please don't), it does not help me out that you walk into my classroom shortly after such a lesson because I need more than just hearing 'So how did it go?'. First of all what I need is a hug and a bar of chocolate because I am very sorry but in the teaching business you do sometimes feel lonely. I am the one that will have to walk back into that classroom and face the 'enemy'. Not you who is so lucky not to be teaching that particular set of students.
Why does the above not work for me? Well, the year I started out as qualified teacher I have found out that 'copy&paste' when dealing with class management does fail. For weeks I had been trying to be that one teacher that I looked up and who had been mentoring me. She was ace with the students. Her rules were straightforward and in her class there never ever did seem to be any disorder. More than once I had told myself that I was going to be just like her. Well, talking about rude awakenings that second week of September surely qualified for such a thing!!! The September of my first teaching year I faced the fact that her teaching style was not mine. But I did wonder why her tactics did not work when I was teaching that exact group of students. I had observed her so many times and worked along her side and her classes were always spic and span. WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I DOING WRONG?
Never I will forget that one day the school nurse found me in my classroom and I guess that my face must have told her that my day had not been such a big of a success. No, she did not even ask me how things were going. She did something that saved my day (I am even tempted to say that she saved my teachig existence at a certian level) and that is telling me what she had seen me doing. She just plainly told me the facts and she did express her feelings about that. No, she did not sugar coated the situation and nope she did not give me any advice. That day she did point out one that what I had been doing was 'copy and paste'. She even knew who I was trying to 'copy&paste'. What surprised me. 'You are an individual. You are not C! Students are aware of this. You need to be true to yourself.' So I had to let go and find my own approach. And yes, that did involve trial and error. Step by step I did discover that teaching is not set in stone. But I am now very sure about one thing and that my students face is the genuine Mrs S.
Well, let me just be even more honest with you all. I don't have a teaching degree that qualifies me to teach at Hogwarts. I don't have a bag filled up with trics that will make it work every single day of the academic year. I don't have the ability to anticipate every single situation in my classroom. After all, I am not a MI6 agent. In the first place I am Stallie, the teacher who is not afraid to admit that (and this even after 17 years) I don't have got all the answers and that I have got flaws. Not matter what I try to be an honest teacher who also has those days that are not that big of a success and wish I could do over. So don't hold back when you find me in a classroom with no smile in sight and bring chocolate or Haribo candy along. I need a hug nothing more and nothing less.
Now Stallie has not the intention to just give up. No, I am too commited to do so...and so the only promise I can keep at the beginning of an academic year is that I am planning to keep true to my teaching style and principles but this with an open mind and also have the intention to give everybody the benefit of the doubt. I am the one and only Stallie and I do hope that the original version will be strong and creative enough to survive the coming school year. So welcome back! And to all fellow teachers out there in the world I wish you as well a very smooth going September and a year ahead that mostly can be called fun. Please try to be original and let the copy and paste-version at home.
PS: The song that I picked out to go along is surely an oldie and will even make some of you LOL. The thing is that while I was on my back to work after two months being nobody's teacher this was on the radio. Yes, I did turn up to the volume and yes I believe that this song will get me through the year when things are a bit less sunny I did run out of energy and ideas. Plus I have also met up with great cast of the awesome (and must see) movie 'Inside Out' in a Powerpoint presentation at work. Next time I see a paper plane heading my way I will start LOL for sure.
I have been busy this Summer... and in less than 1 day I will be officially back at work. Oh yes, it were surely two months that flew by. You know what they say about when you are having fun. Looking back at my break and having and scanning over the pics that I took with my iPhone I can only state that I had a lovely time not being anyone their teacher for a while. Oh wait, that is not true..I ended up tutoring a Y12 student for her history retake. Surely something that involved teaching methods and trying to keep a teenager focused for longer than a Youtube-clip. That this student passed that exam surely was one of the many times that my break did feel extra special.
Yes, I have not been sharing a lot out here and my previous blog post was mostly about my brain trying to find some peace and quiet. My body tells me that I have not managed to do so but then I have been ignoring a few things that I am better at during the school year and I am working at it to get back on track. It surely would help if those specialist who I need some help from in order to get back in shape would get back to me. Answering machines are an useful invention but I seem to have the impresssion that they are sometimes used to ignore some people. They better get back to me asap after the weekend or they might end up with finding some less friendly messages on there.
Looking at my self in the mirror also tels me that I have spend some time in the sun and my nails tell me and you that I still prefer a beautician getting her hands on those instad of my stress. The reflection also tells me that I did finally find some time to get a hair cut and some highlights. My skin feels softer and so I do assume that my vitamin D intake surely went up. All well while hanging around in front of the mirror then? Uhm, well I think I might need a crash diet because I did gain some weight. Oh yes, I have been enjoying food and drinks wile the sun did hang around. Most of the time in very good company. But there is perhaps one spot that did stand out this summer. One spot, that I surely had not a instant crush on. No, it even asked for some forcefull language of P and being less prejudice about a certain kind of cooking and the name certainly will not ring a bell that easily because it sounds very down to earth as well: TERO.
The first time that P took me there I was not even in the mood. The thing was that he had been there for a 'fantastic' lunch and that he wanted to go back. The 'They have got quinoa, hummus and grilled vegetables.'-tag line was not that what I was after after a long day waiting in vain for him to show up at the promised time. At that point I was graving for a real steak with fries and mayonnaise. Also A whose turn it was to pick out the restaurant had his mind set on a hamburger. So that was two against one and we headed for the brasserie where we know the menu by heart.
Turns out that on that day half of Belgium was dining out and P then decided to just ignore our wishes and drove to this one place where food sounded not as inviting to A&Stallie. A even told us that he would rather stay in the car than having to have the food that his dad had been describing. When we did get there the place even looked deserted and I even admit that I secretly I hoped that they were closed. 'Mum, I don't want to go in there. I want to go for burgers.', A kept repeating over and over. I did feel sorry for him because honestly P his description of the food is not what an 11 year old is after on a Saturday evening.
Five minutes later the three of us were seated on the outside terrace and scanning their no nonsense menu. Desperately I tried to keep my smile up when A found out that there was no Fanta or Coca Cola on the menu. Not one fizzy drink in sight at all and so I expected a summer storm to break loose at the opposite side of the table. I started to worry even more because guess what? TERO has got no childeren's menu and nothing that sounds similar to words like 'chicken nuggets' or 'fish burger'. Even the word 'pasta' was not be found on the tight black&white list of dishes. So I did panic that my son was going to run out of there and even walking home on his own. Even myself, was having a hard time to find food that produced positive 'dining out-vibes'. P at the other hand was already in food heaven. 'Wait till you tasted the bread and the olive oil.', he told us and so I gave him at that moment the benefit of the doubt.
Well, when the bread arrived I did notice first of all that it did smell nice and the color of the olive oil also told me that this was nothing prefabricated. The moment that I dipped my brown piece of slightly still oven warm into the golden liquid I did sense something in the air. Okay, I was very hungry and I do have a very weak spot for bread in general. The thing with bread at restaurants is that it can already tell you a lot about the food that will follow. Some chefs will fully agree with me. The bread is where the culinary experience starts with. Nowdays there are also those people who try to stay away from gluten and that is understandable but bread is the calling card of a restaurant that wishes to stand out. Dietwise bread is surely not your best companion but I do advise you to have at least one bite of the bread they serve at TERO.
Now the other thing you need to know about the menu is that for dinner is that you are not supposed to pick out the classic starter and main course. Nope, here you pick a few dishes out of a list and share those with your table. Sounds a bit like that formula that the Spanish call tapas, doesn't it? Well, you are right. P was already in full swing picking out his dishes and I still was under the impression that the bread was the only thing that A would have. Next I started to have a more depth reading of the menu and then my eyes came across some ingredients that can make me smile while the sun is out and temperatures call for 'al fresco' dinning. The moment I saw the words 'ceviche' I knew I was going to live happily ever after.
So now keeping A alive and kicking. Words like sun dried tomatoes and Buratta pulled him over to the more 'content' side of the table. 'Mum, they don't have coca cola?', was of course the only thing that kept him still on the edge. 'You can have instead water.', was P his response. 'I don't like that. Why did we have to come here in the first place?', my son replied. Surely very light dinner conversation when at the point your waiter shows up. This young guy still looked very crispy in his white t-shirt and was beaming all over with positivity. Plus the boyish grim on his face also told me that he knows how to please the hungry ladies that are after a nice light dinner and a few compliments. But I was more worried about A at this point and did not pay that much attention to him. (I can tell you that this changed the next time we paid a visit!)
P shot his order at him and next up was me and surprisingly there were four dishes on that list that I just could not wait for to come out of the kitchen. I then ordered for A three things that I was sure about that he knew what they tasted like. At this time I did feel a bit more at ease and that by now the terrace was almost full of hungry guests. Most of them were women and A was the only child. 'Guess that this is not a spot to bring children in the first place. What were we thinking?!', my mind was shouting at me. A had by now emptied the whole bread basket and forced us kindly to order more bread. I couldn't blame him at this moment but I did hope for more positivity to come out of the kitchen soon!
By the time our dishes arrived my stomach had already communicated that it needed food. And then... well then I fell in love with food... Nope, don't expect impressive molecular cooking and complex looking dishes. That is not what TERO is after. Everything that the menu had told me I met up with in my mouth. A had gone silent by now what I not always consider a good thing. He was inspecting his food up close and personal. But after I saw him swallowing down his fist bite of the Italian cheese and producing a positive sound I relaxed. P looked at me and said:'Good food, isn't it?'
Good????? That word did not even come close to what my taste buds were telling me. I was at the beach somewhere in Southern America looking at the sun set while having a few bites of nicely and fresh cut up fish bathing in some lemon juice and the nice glass of perfectly chilled Cava did surely help out as well. I was in a very happy spot and I refused to be disturbed by anyone or anything.
So when one of these lovely waiters checked if everything was okay he only saw smiles and we produced happy sounds. Yes, including A and that did fill me up with even some pride. Okay, he must have been hungry but he had managed to finish most of his plates. The atmosphere had now for sure changed at our table. We were only surrounded by empty plates when our still good humored waiter came to clear our table. 'So, you enjoyed?' I did not even give P time to answer:'Oh, yes and even the little gentleman over there did.' A had his angelic face on and wondered if we could have dessert? 'Oh, that is good to hear. After all, if we manage to let children eat this food we know we are on the right track.' I could only agree with him.
The desserts that is always a league of their own. Desserts are the cherry on the pie and some chefs know that they are their forte or their achilles heel. That star restaurants have a chef de patisserie never surprises me. Now P, A &I love desserts and so we will hardly skip that part of dining out. We love the words you come across on a dessert menu. It can make us even more happy but we also are fully aware that it can be risky and that chances do exist that it might be dissapointing. It can make you leave a restaurant less upbeat and your memories of the meal will be a bit less fond. It is a bit like a roller coaster ride of which you are wondering if it will end with a great looping or rather a downwards hill that will suddenly come to a total stand still.
The dessert list at TERO is not exhuberant and sounds again very down to earth. The best news of all is that your friends who have to enjoy a gluttenfree life will be able to share the fun and chocolate lovers out there have to taste the chocolate dessert for sure. So we enjoyed the last course of the evening as much as our first bite and also the coffee and tea they served along got 2 thumbs up. And so yes, we paid our bill with a smile on our face and promised to be back soon... very soon.
Simple food, a love for fair and natural ingredients, being proud of what we can produce close to home, kicking out the additives and trying to stay true to your principles that is what I did taste while I was dining at TERO for the first time. What a delight, what a fresh summer breeze I felt that night. There is nothing complex about what leaves this kitchen and they are hiding nothing from you (proof the see through windows) and it seems their only hope is that you will rediscover the wealth in simplicity. Well, in my case: mission accomplished. While walking out I waved at the chef ,who seemed to be content as well in her kingdom, and I was thinking:'You put me under a spell! One I am planning
to enjoy over and over again. You surely deserve a hug you wicked lady chef!'
Next week TERO celebrates their first anniversary and I do hope from the bottom of my heart that the modest lady chef and crew who has more than once brightened up my Summer will keep up their cooking and good work for a long time to come.
PS: The perfect movie and music that goes along with this entry is 'The Hundred Foot Journey.' Watching it after having dinner at TERO will make you even fall more in love with food and life, the simple life and the passion for cooking.
And as an extra two more: One the song by Berlinda Carlisle 'I won't say' because I have to say now out loud that P made me fall in love with something that I not so easly am won over for. And the other one is the Muppets clip that A&I just love when it comes down to cooking. Enjoy
Today I decided that I am just going to give it try because for the last few months I have been mostly silent while reading the news and analysing articles that I end up using for my IB classes. Being a teacher is something that I do take very seriously and I am fully aware of how time consuming it can be too be always on top of things. But hey, for my students I love going the distance. Not that I am perfect... Oh no but there is already one reason why you have not found anything out here and that is something that is related to the behaviour that I have been witnessing in the media and beyond.
Stallie loves reading... I read constantly and I also love writing. Words can trigger my creativity and I just love it to find out what moves people and what word combinations authors can come up to tell their story. That the digital world came along with a revolution in the world of writing was to expect but I have noticed something that I just can't get my head around. Okay, P calls me a Facebook addict and I share quite a lot on Twitter of my private life. The days that I signed up for those two social networks I was fully aware of the pitfalls and so when Facebook comes up with new security features I will never forsake to look into those. I just made some choices about my own profile and still I am fully aware that it is not a safe world out there in the digital world.
A few weeks ago someone who tried to become friends on Facebook told me face to face:'Hey S, if you don't wish to become friends with me then just be honest!' Yeah, I am not that easily to find on Facebook and I did check most of the security boxes on there. Plus no, friends of friends do not have the priveledge to just hit the friendrequest button. Nope. Now don't worry. If we ever meet face to face and you will ask me very politely to become friends then chances are very likely that you are granted access. Your face I love to see first up close and personal and let us first share a piece of cake and nice cup of coffee or a gin&tonic before going digital. That is what it takes for me to feel secure enough to share with you my adventures, some pics of my family or food that I had, some status updates that might be insane to you but have made me smile or cry or that I share a link to an article that I consider worthwhile to read. My facebook page is surely a reflection of who I am and what my personal opinion is. And this last one is linked to the issue I am facing for the moment....
The last few months more and more I ended up not sharing my personal opion about some issues. Why? Well, because I don't wish to unleash the same thing that is going on some of the forums that I end up while reading the digital newspaper. That we now more openly can express our opinions is great. That many of suddenly will speak up when they feel the urge I do dare to call progress. Due to the digital revolutions there are seeds planted for real revolutions. Ideas and creativity are easily exchanged. Lessonplanning has become so different than when I was a student teacher when there was only the library and a photo copy machine to rely on. And nope, I do not wish to go back to the time that I first had to locate the books that my professor of Renaissance art got his images from before I could put together my own picture sylabus. Looking back at that I do think this in some ways a waste of time... Seriously...That is honestly my opinion about this but this does not mean that I did think my professor was a not a nice guy. Copy?
Still, when I upload a picture, share a link or type a status update there is always my inner voice at work. Now, I might have hurt some people while writing some things and some people might think that they know me very well when they analyse my Facebook page or Twitter account. There is even scientific data available about what social network gives away about us. People can use that data... I am fully aware of that. Privacy in the 21st century is more and more abstract. I am at risk out here and I can get hurt. And I can hurt people... I have got the t-shirt! Plus that I come across some people on forums that I just wonder what their IQ or rather what their EQ is.
Sorry,... You see that is now the whole dillemma that I am facing and that is when I do read articles, reviews, opinions it feels more and more as if I am obliged to pick a side ... That little 'thumbs up' icon on my Facebook page I do use and when I do I have a smile on my face or when I think an article is worth to share I have also read the article myself (because then I am fully prepared when friends or Twitterati will react) from A-Z and even have checked out the reviews and reactions. Yeah, Stallie tries to be prepared. And no, I don't start throwing with mud or using words that my grandparents, my parents, teachers and many people do not consider kosher.
Now let me tell you what goes on my brain when I read the news and forums. The following events are the reason why Stallie has not been as active out here as she wishes because I just had second thaughts and did not wish to hurt anyone:
1. Grexit:
Believe me Stallie has a very outspoken meaning about and has spoken with tons of people about it (including Greecs some around the corner and some down under) and even on an airplane I had some interesting conversations about this. Not that did it made it any eassier because when I did hear other people spitting out their opinion this is what went on in my mind:
'Oh, so when I do think that Greece should pay back the banks and the EU I am not considered a person who wishes that all Europeans can pursue hapiness.....So the Greecs just never ever questioned their government when it came down to spending money or when life time pensions to people even after they died... Strange?...You can't blame the Greec fisher who hardy makes any money due to this very low pension...Hmmm, it seems that I am a racist or not socialy engaged enough and do not have enough empathy when I say out loud that when you join a club that you are aware of what can happen when you do not live up to the conditions of your membership....Oh my dear, I am so naieve to believe in certain values... So I am not a social engaged European citizen..'
2. IS and terror in general:
When I board a plane or get on the metro in Brussels and even when shopping at the Delhaize in my town (where terror has already paid a visit in the eighties, for those who remember 'De Bende van Nijvel') I am fully aware that I am entering the war zone. It is a split second that I let the dark side running wild in my brain.
'Oh, so we are all to be blamed that we have not given people enough opportunities.... I am to blame that some people can not get a job due to his or her skin color or religion..... It is because I have not spoken up hard enough that now young people join an organisation that promises them everything that they can't obtain here.... That girls are talked into going to Iran and Syria is very logic if they face an even unpredictable future here then... Interesting, so seems that I did cast the wrong vote then.....'
3. The refugees on a sinking boat heading for the promised land (but also a sinking ship considered by many) the EU.
'Oh, why do they even come here when we have our own issues to deal with first.... Uhm, it is still better out here than having to live in a nation where you have a no future at all. But hey, is it so wrong to wonder what their plan is. Nothing comes for free anymore.... Can you give us your word that you are going to invest time, energy, money in the EU and make this a better place for all of us including me... Not sure that building a wall at your border will be the long term solution...I am expected to understand that you send back part of your welfare check or your pay check to less fortunate family at home but please can you also understand me that I wish for a social security system in shape in case I need it and this means that we need to invest at home in the first place.... Oh my dear, I am going to upset people with expressing this out here but the long term planner thinks it is very essential to make all people aware that you are responsible for many and in the first place .....STOP IT Stallie right there....Who are you to judge that one person who tries to keep his grandparents, parents, siblings, cousins and nieces and nephews alive in Afghanistan by sending a few euros... Pff... Have I casted the wrong vote?'
4. Sacrificing a sheep
'Oh, sheep do need to be fully conscious before the knife is planted into them because that is what holy word instructs you to do...hm so when I do think that this is all a bit too farfetched and do think we are wasting time on issues I am not taking you and your religion seriously... No, I don't agree what you always say or think about my relegion either..... The division between church and state in this nation seems to be a bit abstract as it seems... Hitler opposed against this way of dealing with animals so then means that I am like Hitler then... OMG it is all about votes.... COUNT ME OUT... I need a gin&tonic tonight to digest most of the comments and reactions..... Oh look 'Shaun, the sheep, the movie' is out for rental on the paid movie channel. '
5. Trophy hunting
'Oh, no not Cecil... You must be serious that you consider taking a selfie with a dead lion is something cool.... I am not sure that people who kill living creatures for fun can be taken serious... If this is what you do with your fortune then I think that it is a bit sad out there in the world of milliounaires or the more fortunate ones... So now you end up being the haunted one... Oh, wait I don't understand you if you do think that endagered species don't need be preserved....Well I am naiev then..but the only lion that enters our house is a cuddling toy...'
'Oh, so all it takes a lot of money and a very sharp tongue to become the next occupant of the White House... I am not sure that I can take someone serious who makes very offensive remarks about women, Mexicans and minorities in general.... So what is then your plan Donald to fix all the these problems.... Donald Duck...LOL...Still many people consider you the best option they have got?...Jimmy Kimmel his imitation of you made me LOL...You fired someone who says he resigned... Not sure if 'attack-invade-grab their oil' is going to make an impression on those fierce warriors who love Allah and gladly die for him and their principles.. I do think that you not fit in the same room with Putin... But then I am not an American and I do not have the right to vote there.'
8. Taxshift
'Oh, a taxshift that sounds like something politicians in Belgium have been talking about a lot but we never found out what this exactly is and what the implications are...So if I get this right we are going to pay just some extra taxes?... Hey wait, that about the cost for the electricity that must be a joke?...And those 100 euros some of us will get extra comes down to 30 euro after the taxes?... I think this taxshift is rather 'geschift!'... In the end it are always the same people who end up paying...Welcome in Belgium! Did I vote for the political party who introduced this in first place?'
In case you wonder what I am trying to point out is that every time that I did come across something out there worth to write a blog entry about my brain suddenly got frozen because it never felt 'good enough'. Plus yes, I was a bit 'afraid' to express to my opinion. No, don't start me on political corect language now... DON'T YOU DARE... a few weeks ago even Barack Obama used de n-word and it amazed many of us but he did try to point out something very essential. (no, I don't have the intentions to go into detail into this but he made sense or at least to me... You see... here we go again... stop it now Stallie!)
Stallie found out in the last few weeks that I won't be able not to 'hurt' some people their feelings or always share his or her opinion. For someone who prefers to hang out in the grey zone and who tries to find the perfect balanace between her light and dark side this is very confronting. Stallie does not like to pick sides or labelling people because of their skin color, religion, gender, etc. I refuse to do so but I am fully aware that some of you who read the nonsense that I created won't share my opinion. Does it matter? Well, hard to say...Just as the thin line between fiction and reality there is not always a very clear difference between opinion and being justified. I am very busy with figuring this out and trying to find a safe route amongst all the mines that are planted out there. This summer I did spend in most of the time in no man's land.
But you know what? Today I finally found someone who expressed partly what is going on in my brain and what I am facing constantly when I just give over to the rahter negative vibes that have taken my creative vibes hostage. This Summer I have tried to come up with a recipe to write a blame free entry and I failed... Should I feel guilty about that?... At least I tried... The positive side of this I have taken the time to reflect and found out that I am not only facing this. There is no escape of something you love as much I love writing...
PS2: Turns out that what I have been writing about does actualy have a name. In the latest issue of The Atlantic they go into the depth what is called 'microagression'. Read and find out what is happening out there. No, I don't think this is heading into the right direction. If professors are already scared of their own students and we might have to rewrite half our dictionary then this is getting a bit out of hand. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/
