We are in a wonderland

After the Halloween decorations all around our neighborhoud, it's place to christmas lights. It's astonishing. Instead of having lightening in the city, it's on private houses. It awakes the little child we have inside each of us. I share some pictures with you even if it's not redering too well, imagine...

Christmas traditions

We enjoy all the nice christmas trees in department stores, museum, gardens. We enjoy the gingerbread houses also.

Wasted food !

I was so angry yesterday at school. I was in Eugenie's kindergaten class for her Gingerbread house and her Christmas Party.

Why American people aren't angry like me when they throw away so much food ?

First, children have crafted their gingerbread house, in front of them they have too much candies parents had to bring (list of candies, how many do you know ? licorice pieces, spearmint leaves, candy canes, necco waffers, gum drops, skittles, hershey kisses, miniature marshmallows, pretzels...). Without kidding, we put more than half of the items in the trash bin.

The party : there are 23 children in the classroom and there was food for let say 50 children, perhaps more. With the food (cupcakes, cookies, pretzels, fruits, vegetables...), come also paper or plastic plates, glass and napkins. 

At the end, within two hours, we filled three enormous trash bins.

Now the data of the ecological footprint became more concrete. You anderstand why we'll need five earths if every inhabitants in the world had the standard of living of American people.

Damages causing by guns and weapons...

It's frightening to think of neighbours, people in the streets, cashiers in stores who may have a weapon to use when you are in this country.

This week, I was thinking about it because of three events. 

I just came back from my running when Thierry scared me to death by sending me this email :

"The UD Police Department has been notified of an armed robbery at the Buffalo Wild 

Wings Restaurant on Elkton Road.  This incident occurred today, 12/11/2012, at 4:02 pm.

 Two suspects were last seen running towards the Rodney Underpass.  If you see anything

 suspicious, please contact the Newark Police at 302-366-7111." 

I was just running around in this area, I go to the dance class in that same street. 

The second one occured the day after, a man has killed two people and has injured others in a mall shopping center in Oregon, near christmas trees and Santa Claus display.

The last one is the most scary ; a young man killed 27 people including 18 children in Newtown, Connecticut.

After that you remember some of mass rampages of the last decades : Columbine (1999), Virginia Tech (2007), Colorado in a movie theater (2012). Often, the killer is a young man, shy and unnotified, he shut himself with the other victims, he was from a white middle class family and the shooting occured in wealthy areas.

Will we have Baby shower parties in France ?

The first time I heard about it was in two TV shows.
What's a baby shower party ? To organize one, you have to be pregnant of your first child. You invite only women and they offer you presents for your future child. It's a convenient way to have quickly clothes, stroller, crib, diapers... It's all about money saving for the hostess. And you can organize 2 or 3 baby shower for the same child.
For the other childs, you'll have a baby "sprinkle" party, the gifts will be more modest as you can use again some of your stuffs.

I'm a fan !

Thanks to the New York Times, I discovered a wonderful blog : brainpickings.org.

The writer lives in the United States but is originally from Bulgaria. As the blog title announces it, you will find whatever is in her mind but as she knows a lot and she is very eclectic, it's very interesting.

It goes from culture to science. From children picture books, to photography to Einstein equation... I let you discover it. Enjoy your reading !

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Comitments to the arts

If there is one thing good in American schools, it's the place for the arts.
In elementary schools, you have one music teacher and one drawing teacher ; kids have one hour of each in one week from kindergarten until 5th grade. They are proud to learn songs with their recorder and to paint "à la manière de".
In middle schools and highschools, it's not optional and you can take two specials between music, dance, arts, acting, cheerleaders, sports... and you will have some hours each week in your timetable... Those teachers are respected ; kids have a lot of opportunities to perform in front of others. For example, during the football season, the school team will have a game each friday evening, during the half time the school band will play and cheerladers will support the team during the game.
They have dedicated program for the arts in a lot of public schools. That's why we are impressed to see so many teenagers good at sport, dance, voice, music...
When they go to college, the arts are well placed too. We had the chance to see a Nutcracker performance, one major cast was in the chemistry department and at the same time in the dance department  and it's not unusual. You can mix your courses easily and both departments are important for the success of the university. The department of music has also very good players, we saw a very good performance of a violonist in 2009.

My own neighbour is a baker, lucky me !

As you don't have so many  bakery here and industrial breads are not so tasty, some Americans are baking their own bread.

My neighbour is one of them. He was very proud with his first baguette and he can be.

Driving on the I 95...

When we have to drive, we are often on the Interstate I 95, we take this road to go to Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore or Washington. It's the main highway on the East Coast running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean seaboard serving areas between Florida and New-England inclusive. You can play "on the US road again"...

I was quite worried to drive on this big road but I handle it right now better ; sometimes it has four or five lanes. Big trucks and cars by pass you either from the right or from the left. My GPS helps me to be confident... It's less in a good shape than the french highways, you have to be careful espexcially for the flat tires. 

For Christmas, we will drive until Charleston, South Carolina.

The new technology era

It's so great now to be on time at an airport where you need to pick up a relative or a friend. You don't have to waste your time by waiting in front of an arrival time checking board. With internet, you follow the plane ; it tells you if it will be late or on time. When you read "on its way", you imagine the plane between Paris and Philadelphia or Montreal and Philadelhia, it fills my dreams...