Show And Tell Returns (Part III)

After much anticipation, the final installment of SHOW & TELL is here!  Why did it take so long to post this?  I have been a huge slacker this week (although I did finish the book I've been reading for the last month, baby and I reached our goal of moving 300 miles by foot, and the nursery is finally complete).  These last few items from my French students are a combination of drawings, odd items, and silly written notes.  Let's waste no more time....

Yes!  One child loves English (and not "englais" as I spotted on more than one occasion~ I believe it's a combo of english & francais).  Also Leha~ it's an epidemic.

You may be thinking cute stationary or what does this note say, but I'd like you to enjoy how Lisa Frank-style stationary is not just for the girls anymore.  Thank you Quentin for your decorative handwritten note.

I'm not sure what this is, but this heart face with wing ears showed up on a great number of drawings by students in different classes and different schools.  Should I be thinking this is the French Sponge Bob or looking into alternative manifestations of crop circles? 

In case I forgot somewhere down the road, Florent wanted to ensure that he was always remembered as a "Good boy :)".  It's true~ he is a very good boy and perhaps the brightest in one of my 3rd grade classes.

This poor student was unable to complete their flag of the Union Jack in time.  He did successfully depict the flag of the Belarusian Christian-Democratic Union...

Curse you Lily Allen and Black Eyed Peas for confusing and corrupting the children!  Edgar surely doesn't know what this means.  How does the worst of anglophone culture find its way to young impressionable french children?  We're talking WWF wrestling, Playboy clothing & accessories, KFC, and Michael Jackson.  No wonder they grow up into a whole nation of America haters; I'd hate it too if these were my ideas of American culture.

Oh no!  I love Leak?  Thankfully a friend with a blue pen was able to intervene with the correct spelling of my name.  This makes me giggle every time I see it.

There you have it.  The final chapter of the ad-FRENCH-ure is at a close.  I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane.  It'll only be another year or two before I start shamelessly showing & telling about the Hamiltot's art.  Until then, we'll return to 3H@H like normal.  Au revoir!

Show And Tell Returns (Part II)

We are continuing our three part series today of SHOW & TELL!  Today I'd like to share with you several funny responses I received on an "About Me" style worksheet.  As you will note, the worksheet uses British English inserting the letter "u" where no American would.  Without tons of resources available, this girl exploited every ESL teaching tool I could get my hands on.  Students were asked about their favorite color, food, number, sport, and animal.  I hope you'll be delighted by this selection of student responses.

See Answer 4~ My favorite sport is bowling (appropriate), computer (well... not exactly sporty), and tractor (where did you learn this word, child?)

See last answer~ This one is for Miss Foo, my sister, who has pet robo dwarf hamsters.

See Answer 2 & 5~ The French are fancier than Americans enjoying the finer things in life such as caviar and blue eyed white dragons.  This particularly refined student won't even be limited by selecting a singular number, but opted for the ever classy and impressive infinity.

See Answer 2~ Maybe I spoke too soon about French refinement...  I think this child would thrive in America (sans kebabs which I believe may be our greatest culinary weakness).

See Answer 2~ I can't believe my eyes!  Frog legs as a favorite food reinforces about a dozen stereotypes I had been trying to keep at bay about the French.  Visions pop into my mind of beret capped, mustache sporting, striped shirt wearing, cigarette smoking, baguette toting Frenchmen smooching up ladies' arms and shouting "Sacré bleu!" at the Eiffel Tower.  Probably not what this little one intended.  Also, the interest in sausage segues quite well into our final picture...

See Answer 1~ Dear Solene, I also love the colors gold, blue, purple, silver, and sausage.  This is the most charming answer in the history of time.  Love, Leah

This little stroll down memory lane really made me miss teaching and being around so many bright and wonderful children.  I love how all the children write in cursive and have multicolored pens for every occasion.  Each child had a pencil case that represented their interests.  When they got excited their exuberant "oui!" would sound more like "waaayyy!!"  I really loved singing and dancing with the kids.  I liked playing games a little less~ they are so competitive at times and conflict escalated quickly.  It still makes me sad when I recall the handful of times a child broke down in tears during my class; I still surge with joy when I think of the number of times a little one grabbed my hand in the hallway or the times I was required to lean over to receive greeting kisses on my cheeks.  Perhaps I would be a little less sentimental about it had I taught for more than one year.  I imagine a different batch of students every year may make one a little less attached to the children year in and year out.  I'd like to think, though, if I had continued to teach I'd keep the same attitude.  Without really knowing, all I can really say is that I miss them and hope their families and teachers value them more than I did or could during the 9 months I was with them.

Merciful heavens, this was supposed to be a funny entry.  Just leave it to a hormonal pregnant lady to get weepy over frog legs and tractors~ Hope you were amused by their interests.  One more show & tell to go before we return to all the Ham fam happenings.  À bientôt!

Show And Tell Returns (Part I)

 As many of you know (and as I constantly remind you in my writing), Kyle and I lived in Metz, France for 13 months shortly after getting married.  While we were there I worked as an English language teaching assistant in two elementary schools.  What this meant was that I was responsible for instructing 7 English classes for students ranging from 2nd to 5th graders 4 days a week.  Having never taught before and receiving only a bit of training before diving in, it presented challenges to me most days even after I got into my routine.  The greatest challenge I faced was the level of professionalism I felt needed to be maintained as French school teachers happen to be a bit more stern than the American variety (the star sticker business is a struggling industry in France).  Deep down I wanted to learn all about these little precious ones' lives and hug them each time I saw them.  They were all very dear to me.  As a testament to that, I often spent recess sitting with children in the library over taking a coffee break with my colleagues.

A brief aside about my true sentiments on teaching~  My real hope for my students is that they remember having a likable sort of teacher from America which fuels an interest for them to travel to this country some day.  In truth, I wish I had the boldness and ability to share more of my faith with them (a good many knew I was Protestant because I wore a "croix de Jesus" and they were curious about me not being Catholic).  I prayed then and still pray that if they are inspired to visit this country, they'll meet Christians who can teach them about Jesus and invite them to have a relationship with him.  In the meantime, I happily accept their friend requests on FB, but worry some are growing up too fast by their photos & status updates (middle school is the worst no matter what part of the world you're in). 

I knew I would really miss my little French students and came up with a fun way to remember them.  On the last two days of school it was clear learning would be out the window.  I came equipped with worksheets, colored paper, and a large collection of paper hearts (unfortunately not used on Valentine's day because I had a migraine & stayed home).  Since the school year ended on July 2nd, it seemed appropriate to celebrate American Independence day with a little School House Rock as well.  It was fun for all since the children were commencing a season of liberty from teachers and books and homework.  Armed with a variety of diversions, my (perhaps thinly veiled) plot began to take off; I intended to collect art and English handouts at the end of class to prepare a time capsule for myself.  Sneaky....

Fast forward a year~I had tucked away each classes' collection of paper goods in my accordion folder ever so careful to not steal a premature glance at my spoils.  I toted my heavy folder from Metz to Paris then over the Atlantic to Atlanta where my treasure spent some time in Marietta before settling in the guest/nursery closet here in our apartment in Norcross.  Without the flare of digging a hole in the ground for some ancient buried memories like we see so often in television (here I think of Kate on LOST unearthing the lunchbox she stole), I pulled the folder rather casually out of the closet last Friday night to see what there was to see.  My heart swelled to see their little handwritten names, strange sorts of drawings, and of course humorous corruptions of the English language.  To make this last a bit for our enjoyment, I've reinstated the ad-FRENCH-ure SHOW & TELL section!!!!  Tonight I give you Les Portraits d'une étrangère (or student renditions of me).  Enjoy....

Ah, the French spelling of my name~ I missed it!  I also miss having one pencil leg and one marker leg.  And always remember to wink when your rocking the side pony.

This student made sure to specify my nationality to the viewer lest we confuse me for a Brit or German.  Little known fact:  The French believe all Americans have 2 left hands and no pinkies.

In the arctic tundra that is the Lorraine region, I'm sure my lips never looked so good and healthy.  I can assure that I showed up to work nearly daily with hair like that after having capped and hooded my crown for warmth on the journey.

Oh... the other French spelling of my name.  That "h" always tripped them up.  This child seemed to be channeling something Godfather-esque since there is a horse's head next to my armless body.  Yikes!

The circle with arrow says "Ces toi Léa".  I make a note of this because "ces" should actually be "c'est" in proper French grammar (this kid used their phonetic skills sounding it out).  This grammar error helps me tell myself that teaching a second language to little ones who haven't mastered the basics of their first language is difficult.  This is for the days I came home and felt like they learned nothing from me.

Well, I'm not sure what to say about this one.  Ali was keeping it simple with the black & white color scheme.

This one makes me smile a lot.  On the mitten hands, see Arctic Tundra comment on drawing #3.  Overall I hope there was a lot of smiling and fun when I was teaching these kiddos~ if this is how this one student saw me (with a big grin and smiling eyes), what a blessing.  I'll take it.

Alright~ I hope you've enjoyed Part I of III show & tell installments.  If you want to see vintage art I collected at school last year (and currently have preserved in that same accordion folder), please venture over to the sidebar and select the "Show and Tell" link under "Hot Topigs".  Up next: humorous responses the little ones wrote on their profile worksheets and a mishmash of funny things both drawn and written.  For now, bonsoir!

Here, There, Everywhere

Still feeling scatterbrained these days... So this entry shows some of what we've been up to.  Kyle gave me a lovely bird feeder for Mother's day, and it has been wonderful to have so many avian visitors (mostly cardinals, titmice, and chickadees if you're curious).  Well, the blessings come with a curse~ squirrels.  I had left the bag of bird seed on the porch.  A crafty little squirrel ripped into the bag and feasted on our seeds almost entirely unnoticed.  When I did spot him, I fussed like crazy.  Greedy little rodent...

The cutie bird feeder mounted by our t.v. antenna

The aftermath of that squirrel's binge

Caught in the act!  We need some sort of Gandalf to ward off these sneaky snackers a la "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

As I mentioned recently, Kyle and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on Monday.  It was excellent because Kyle had the day off work.  I love being married to him; he is such a good man and we have the best time together.  He's so smart, thoughtful, cute, fun, social, godly, and kind.  I love that we run together (well....not currently) and that he loves to cook and bake and that we enjoy being together in large groups of friends or just the two of us at home.  Being married is such a blessing~ there is no relationship like it.  He belongs to me and I belong to him; we get to be the best representatives of Christ's love to one another.  I think God spoiled me by giving me Kyle; I hope to be as good to him as he is to me.  Here's a little now & then....

Day 1 of marriage~ vows were just spoken and I became a "Mrs.".  I love how Kyle snuck his hand into my bouquet to hold my hand.

Day 365 of marriage~ we got fancy to see a play, but not before posing for a picture on our narrow porch in France.  I picked out that dress especially for our anniversary; oh how I wish I could wear it now.

Day 730 of marriage~ Kyle has his whole little (or big, depending on your perspective) family on his lap.  We were a lot more casual this year spending the day at my parents' house reading lots, watching Food Network, and napping.

A couple of French lifestyle things came up this week.  We have friends who receive a share of fruits and veggies from local farmers who sell their goods weekly at outdoor markets.  We were offered their helpings from two different farmers' markets~one in Chamblee and one here in Norcross.  Well, we only ended up collecting the Norcross one (thanks Rusty & Kirsten!)  Why is this like France?  We went to markets and even a nearby farm to collect fresh produce to enjoy what was in season.  Here's our plunder!

Leafy greens, yummy potatoes, baby carrots, and a very tiny onion~ how cute!

Another French thing (for me) is being artsy.  We didn't want to put holes in our dorm room walls in France, but they were too white and bare to hang nothing.  I ended up painting (admittedly very amateur) water colors and using putty to fill our home with some color and life (I shouldn't fail to mention that my students & card senders also filled our walls with art).  I haven't painted anything since we came home from France; we really haven't even found placed in our apartment for the paintings I did abroad.  For lil Mr. Hamilton's nursery I wanted to make something cute especially for him.  I copy pretty much everything I ever paint so no originality points for me, but I ended up feeling pretty happy about my cute recreation....

Colorful birds in a blue tree to match his nursery colors

I couldn't overlook my sweet husband; he deserved a little watercolor.  I copied this little piece from a card I saw in Southern Living.  I think it's too cute!

Little lemons love to lock lips!

If I haven't gone all over the place already in this entry, let's do one more random thing.  Ready to see my pregnancy progress?  Baby boy is growing right on track according to our OB visit last week.  We are officially going ever two weeks!  Eek!  He'll be here in no time!

29 weeks~ can we really get any bigger?

This baby enters every room before I do.

There you have it!  My thoughts and pictures are more scattered than Waffle House hash browns.  Hope you are having a wonderful start to June!

Certified

May of 2009 seems like a lifetime ago.  I was talking to a friend about how Kyle and I have shared so many big events in the short amount of time we've known each other~graduations, our wedding day, new jobs, travels to various countries, moves in and out of many an apartment/dorm/home park house, and now our baby.  So many wonderful new adventures makes the week that we were wed seem much farther in our past than it really was.  Maybe you get this way too; when we are approaching a special anniversary (our first date, our engagement, wedding), I love to revisit pictures of those seasons.  I'm often surprised by Kyle's hairstyle or find a picture I am positive I've never seen before.  Well, I found a treasure that seemed so relevant to what we were up to today.

Everyone loves to get their marriage license in Marietta where they can also pick up a license for firearms (see door).  Don't be frightened by my face~it was a trial run for bridal make-up.  Kyle was appalled so my look was toned down.  Also, seeing Kyle here reminds me that one friend said he looked like Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley's love child.  I married Albus Severus Potter....

Why would this have anything to do with today?  Well, we received an official document that marks a new Ham fam accomplishment....

The tiny diploma states that we have completed training for childbirth preparation.  This is the face of one proud, sleepy daddy (sadly, when baby and I don't sleep, Kyle can't snooze solo.  Poor fella).

I would have loved to have the gift of prophecy on that day in the court house to tell my groom that exactly 2 years down the road, we'd be 1/3 of a pregnancy away from having a baby boy.  It's better that we didn't have the foreknowledge; that's how a bride gets on the fast track back to being a batchelorette.  Still, I think of the French word impressionnant (impressive/awesome/spectacular) when I reflect on how many wonderful things can happen in such a seemingly short period of time.  I can't fathom the next two years being so action-packed, but time will tell on this matter.

Briefly on the birthing class~ we learned lots of great information about labor and delivery.  Our classmates were friendly and our teacher was great.  At times I was super discouraged by talks of how wonderful epidurals can be and even let fear get the best of me when we discussed emergency C-sections (turns out they use epidurals for this much more than general anesthetics).  All in all, though, I took lots of great notes and have plenty of questions for my physician at my next appointment.  Plus, Kyle and I practiced a lot of relaxation and breathing techniques that involved a good bit of massage (for me!).  I loved all the quality time we got to share preparing for this.  Is it weird that I had a good time?  Perhaps... Would it help you to know that Kyle took me on a lunch date to Fresh Market where we picked out some tasty bread and chicken salad?  We have more for lunch tomorrow!

On a final "soapbox" moment about the class, Kyle and I agreed that for clinical purposes it's important to see a good bit of the female anatomy.  We viewed videos for labor, 2 deliveries, and breastfeeding.  Where we had problems were when it wasn't necessarily a breastfeeding segment, there were topless mamas feeding their wrinkly tots.  I am a super easily embarrassed girl and know I don't want folks being able to see me nurse.  I know all aren't like I am, but I definitely have a problem with Kyle seeing other women nurse (he does too, in case you're wondering).  We have a hard time understanding the lack of modesty~ for me, my body is to be seen by my husband and physicians and me ONLY!  Somehow, we believe the "beauty of childbirth" and the (sometimes militant) views on breastfeeding maybe make it okay to show so much in so many videos.  Am I crazy for thinking it's inappropriate for not wanting to see topless women in any form with my husband by my side?  I can't in my mind make it any different than if it were in a movie or a Victoria's Secret catalogue... Perhaps I'm a jerk, but I'll never be okay with using nursing clips outside of instruction on breastfeeding for women (and maybe for men if they are asked permission in advance if they are comfortable viewing the material). 

Let's end on a lighter note!  Kyle is reading a big book on bread (as seen in his lap in the picture above).  He read about pentosans in rye bread and thought it might not be good for pregnant girls.  He was mixing it up with pitocin, a medicine givien to induce labor. I'm impressed that he got so much new vocab today at class.  I probably don't need to avoid rye breads though....

Un magnifique épi de blé! Translation~ A magnificent ear of wheat!  My husband has some serious baker skills!

Those Genes Look Good On Him

Nearly every night in bed, I'll turn to Kyle and say, "Do you think baby will have red hair/blue eyes/a good height?"  Inevitably he answers that it could be or he doesn't know.  I always conclude the conversation with hopes that he is a cute baby.  Kyle reminds me that we'll be happy if he has all his fingers and toes~ cuteness isn't our priority.  So I dug in the depths of our combined photo archives to get an idea of what baby might look like from our baby pictures.  Before I share these with you (and not to be self-deprecating), I sincerely hope he takes after Kyle.  My pictures evoked a "Buzz, your girlfriend!  Woof!!" sensation in me...


Newborn Photos

Kyle after he made his debut next to his twin sister Kelly.  You can see his cute little cleft lip before he underwent surgery.  We're not sure what to expect with our little man; hopefully he'll have perfect little lips.

Among Kyle's and my siblings, I was the only one born with a full head of hair.  Since my birth I have ceased being Asian and dropped the faux-hawk look.  Little Mr. Hamilton would probably rock this do better than his mother...

All Dolled Up

Baby Kyle looks dapper in his church duds.  How handsome!

Holy Olan Mills nightmare!  Would you like some sauce with your meatball? 

Bare Babes

This is my all-time favorite baby picture of Kyle.  The Hamiltots are enjoying chocolate popsicles; I like to imagine this is the moment that Kyle realized that chocolate was his favorite food.  I love his happy face and strawberry blond hair!

Thank goodness I found one cutie picture of me.  After digging around my mom's pictures, it appears only one roll of film was ever captured in 1984.  A hair comb isn't an obvious bath time toy, but it seems to have been a source of mirth for me.

 So do I have any clue now as to what our little baby will look like?  Nope... but I'm pretty sure I'll be happy so long as he isn't a total skeletor-face like the ultrasound photos reveal.  I will say that I am getting excited about seeing him.  We only have 18 weeks to wait now!

Lyon Part I: Now & Then

Once upon a time, I was a young 20 year old who ventured out of the country for the first time on a summer study abroad to Lyon, France.  It's a large, beautiful city with lots of history and culture (but aren't all European cities, really?).  Lyon shaped my idea of living overseas and the French way of life.  It has literally been six years to the day since I returned from that adventure.  At the time I never dreamed I'd ever go back; it'd have been quite unimaginable to believe I'd actually live and work in France then, too, I suppose.  How was it going back?  Amazing... especially because since the summer of 2004, we have made some great friends (both from Lyon and the U.S.) to share the experience with.  It'd have been the icing on the cake to have Hien there (our lyonnais friend who lives in Marietta, GA).  Next time...

Alright, I'm going to share some brief highlights from my last trip that were excellent to revisit this time around.  In 2004, I lived with a lovely lady name Marie-France in a fancy apartment at 28 Place Bellecour.  If you know Lyon, you know this is the center of the city and the largest square of its kind in all of Europe.  Four days a week I strolled through the shopping district, over the Rhone river on a pedestrian bridge, and into a small school to take 3 French classes with the GT LBAT program.  We had a small class of 18 students~14 girls and 4 boys.  You are probably thinking: funny numbers for a Tech program, right?  Yes indeed but a nice break from the Atlanta campus (or the Lorraine campus for that matter...)

Then:  This was home for 6 weeks

Then: Only one more flight of stairs to my apartment on the 3rd (make that the American 4th) floor.

Then: This was my bedroom.  Apparently I forgot to pack sunscreen and a smile.  Yikes!

Now: I tried dropping in on Miss Marie-France.  Over the years, I lost contact with her.  She was out on this occasion... tant pis.  Those four locks on the door really made it difficult to leave and come home.

Then:  My view of Place Bellecour from one of the windows~on a college student budget, I got my money's worth.

Now:  I only get to view it as a mild mannered pedestrian.  The tourism department has exploded here~I like their catchy motto.

Then:  I passed fancy stores like these on my daily walk to school.

Now:  There are not 1, but 2 (that's right, 2!!!) Starbucks within walking distance of my old home.  Seriously, an American girl doesn't need no stinkin' Gucci~ we need affordable coffee in an unstuffy atmosphere.  By the way, I know I have no culture... and I'm not opposed to any Louis Vuitton gifts.

Then:  I crossed the Rhone on this sturdy bridge where a bum spent most of his days under that arch.

Now:  Happy to report that that bum is still there.  I doubt that he's homeless~he's always dressed so well.  Sneaky devil.  Anywho, I've always loved that this bridge leads to a quaint (for Europe) little church.

Now:  This is where my classes were held~it doesn't appear to be a school-type facility any longer.

Then:  I watched old men play petanque in this small garden by school.  Petanque is bocce ball, by the way.

Now:  Even the young folks are playing petanque.  The fountain is more beautiful than I remembered.

Then:  My class ate here everyday.  I'm pretty sure dolphin was never on the menu.

Now:  I have to settle for a picnic in the petanque park since Au Dauphin is nowhere to be found.  Store owners around hadn't even ever heard of it... crazy!

Then:  I hiked up the hill to Fourviere whenever the desire struck me (or my large butterfly...again, yikes!)

Now: It nearly killed me to have to do it two days in a row.  Forget your stair masters, kids.  Move to Fourviere or Croix Rousse.

Then: Le Crayon (read: The pencil building) was the only skyscraper on the map.

Now:  There are two!  You can hardly see it, but this is the only picture I have~it's right in between Kyle's hair and shoulder.

Then:  This was my favorite fresque in the whole city~sneaky cats!

Now:  This one is simply the best; it showcases all the well-known folks from Lyon.

Then: It was easy to sneak a free showing of Guignol in the parc Tete d'Or.

 Now:  You have to steal a peak behind the ever-so-clever curtain they hung.  This should have been done years ago...

T

Then:  Hotel de Ville was totally lugubre.

Now:  A little pressure wash and sunshine makes all the difference in the world!

This is not all I have to report on Lyon~I haven't even told you what we did (except for retrace all my old steps about town).  More to come in installment two of Lyon coming soon.  There may also be a third entry for some special videos... A bientot!