My New Passion- French

Well guys, it's been many years since I written anything and so much has happened. I wanted to share a few things I have been experiencing that has given me some "soul therapy". Almost 2 years ago I decided to get serious with my French. I've had an unstable, long distant relationship with it for the past six years but a couple years ago I got up and discovered something. I realized that if I learned a skill or two every two years I would really create opportunities for myself and prepare for life in a more deliberate and productive way. The way I saw things was that I had wasted at least 4 years of my young life which I felt was totally unacceptable; so I began to write the things that I always wanted to do or even finish.

Back in my college days I was introduced to a French learning program called French in Action by Dr. Pierre Capretz (died some years ago). There are 52 videos consisting of a story of a young American guy named Robert and a young french girl Mireille and their adventures. The videos are supplemented by a workbook with audio files and writing activities and exercises. You also get the text of the dialogues among the characters of the show. There's absolutely no English therefore it creates a full immersion experience while sitting in the confines of your home.

I never forgot what I learned in that one semester because it re-calibrated my paradigm about how we learn languages or rather, how languages ought to be taught. Back then it seemed to be that I came upon an ancient artifact that was worth millions of dollars and I still carry that view today. This program to me in the best language program I have ever done or seen; ever. I make no apologies. Not even Spanish that I love so much could come even remotely close to producing anything like this.

In less than two years I know more French that the average person who would go to a class or try to do it using most programs. And the beautiful thing about it was that most of it I didn't even study. I just followed the program as they instructed and I am now preparing to do an exam next month. I remember a lot and I'm on chapter 42 (of 52). I knew that it was good but I didn't realize how good until I picked up some past papers and I could translate whole passages word for word. Don't even talk about the multiple choice section. I would read articles and even a few chapters in a novel and recognize so much expressions and vocabulary that I was acquainted with from the program.

To make a long story short, I love it...And if you are thinking about learning French there are a few things that you must consider:

1. Look past the "dated" videos. Just focus on what you hear and the story.

2. Rome wasn't built in a day; not even creation was built in a day, so don't stress out if you're not fluent in 2 years or even 3. Just stick with it at-least 5 days a week and rest.

3. Don't compare anyone's pace to yours. You will get there but remember what you put in, you get out.

4. No program is perfect and you still have to use other resources but you can't expect something to work for you if you're making full use of it.

Remember, it's not how you start the journey, but it's how you finish. 

Losing Your Dream and Starting Over

One of the worse things in life is when you realize you have lost your way. You wake up one day and watch Olympics and you see countless of athletes that are fulfilling their dreams or attempting to. You admire their strength and determination to conquer and fight but then you look at your life and see nothing to cheer about. There are mixed emotions because you feel happy for them and jealous at the same time because they fulfilled their dream.

You find yourself buying into everybody's dream but yours. You are fixated on other people's achievements. You procrastinate because you don't want to deal or face the issues; head on. You spend hours on Facebook making useless statements and comments on everyone's page. Then, spend more time with yourself, depressed and thinking where or how you've lost it.

I know I have lost mine and I'm not sure how to get it back. It is hard to pinpoint what my dream was to begin with because I thought it was quite clear and yet I'm sort of far from it. My plan was so simple when I began my journey and it just changed course. What happened to it? Fate...I guess. What do I do then? Force way back to my old plan? Do I search for or create a new one? I'm definitely not going back so I decided to start over. It is hard when you are almost arriving at the big 3 and 0 and have to start over or go back to the drawing board.

My uncle who died a while ago visited me in a dream.  Yeah...I know it is weird; but dead people visit me in my dreams and I dream people close to me that are going to get pregnant. Yep...one of those weird things. Anyway, one of the things he said was, "It's just the little things sometimes. Don't focus too hard on the big picture. Spend more time managing the little simple and basic things." So my journey for the rest of the year is getting back to the basics; one small step at a time.

Maybe, if you have some of your own experiences in this context, you can leave a comment. Maybe I can learn a thing or two.

Seasonal and Cultural Eating? Part 2

In my previous post on seasonal and cultural eating, I stated that I think that we need to pay attention to when we eat certain foods and eating within our cultural scope. I'm not saying that occasionally you wouldn't feel for something outside of the normal day to day routine or just want to try something new at times. However, I think life is not as arbitrary as we think. The seasons, patterns, resources are interconnected. There is a purpose to every fruit, every herb, every plant or substance on the earth. Maybe seasons guide us in the way we should utilize food. There is a reason why certain fruits ended up in certain regions.

For instance, maybe there is a reason why we don't have regular apples in the Caribbean, but rather we have Golden apple (Pomme Cythere) which is a way better fruit... to me. Let me give you a story. My dad made some Golden apple juice some days ago. To make it, you have to boil the fruit in water and extract the juice. When we looked at the pot we used to boil it in, it literally cleaned the pot. I mean it you would swear someone used Oxiclean or some bleaching agent and scrubbed it for hours. Whatever is in this fruit cleaned up this pot and imagine what it can do for your body. We know our body needs cleaning at times.

Pomme Cythere is a French name which means apple of Cytherea (Another name for Venus). The tree may bear about 3 times per year. There is not much information about the contents but I will surely do another write up about this and other fruits. Perhaps, it contains something that we need here in warmer climates.





Just some food for thought...

Seasonal and Cultural Eating?

It is believed by quite a number of people, including myself, that we ought to be eating according to what is available in season and also what is accessible within your country of abode. In some countries as we all know, there are four seasons and in others there are two. In warmer climates like in the Caribbean which basically has two seasons, you see a variety of what we call "cool foods" and "heated foods".

Whether the season is more hot or more cold, you need more foods that would essentially make the body more balanced or more alkaline. Therefore, I believe that there is a reason why some foods grow all year, some part of the year and some for a very short time. Due to globalization and improved methods of preservation (not necessarily better), we have access to all sorts of food, all year round. I think the problem comes when we consume all sorts of foods we like instead of what we need.

The other serious issue is eating within your culture and not buying into other people's ways of eating too much. If it "resembles" your country, no problem. There are good health practices wherever you go but I sincerely think eating things that are indigenous to your home is very important. All the fast food that is produced with lots of "unknown components" is detrimental to your health. It is good to stick to what you know because most times, even without a lot of research, these foods  in your culture pack a punch in terms of high nutritional value. We all need to reevaluate how we eat to journey towards better health.

My Top 7 Superfoods 2012

Drum roll please...
These are my top 7 based on these factors:
Overall health benefits, lots of nutritional value, can be eaten almost everyday and curing capabilities.

1. Quinoa

This well known gluten-free grain hails from South America but I couldn't help but notice that it comes in the colours of the Trinidad and Tobago flag--red, white and black. My superfood is called the "mother of all grains" because it contains the most protein of any other grain, which already is a great achievement. Furthermore, it has all the amino acids, a good source of fiber and some carbohydrates of course. It is also high in magnesium and iron.This is a complete meal in and of itself- Ah....Food of the gods. I use it as a cereal for breakfast and add soy milk and flaxseed as well as some cinnamon. I also use it to replace rice at times.It is so multifaceted. I love it!


2. Spinach

I never knew Spinach was so rich in vitamins and minerals. Spinach contains 2.71 mg of iron, a proportion greater than that found in meat. The presence of vitamin C aids in absorption since iron in plants are not so easily digested by the body. There are many other benefits but this is one of those foods that you can eat everyday which is rare. I like to eat it for breakfast and or dinner because I need all the iron I can get.




3. Kefir

This is where food can get complicated but awestriking at the same time. Let me explain. Kefir is a drink that is made when you add the Kefir grain (looks like cauliflower) to raw (unprocessed) cow/goat/sheep milk. The grain breaks down the lactose in the milk and ferments it which makes it easier for lactose intolerant people like me to drink it.
The process takes about 24 hours when sealed and done properly. What you get is a bacteria filled drink lol. On a serious note it does contains all the live bacteria cultures for your gut. In other words, it is a natural probiotic.
Let me tell you this: Yogurt has nothing on Kefir. This is "The Healing of the Nation". This is "the Food of the gods" (actually it has a true story or myth that it was given by the gods). I can't even begin to tell you the accounts of how people got cured of certain ailments or enjoy better health. What I gathered from all this is that it balances the hormones and the body in ways that no other food alone can do. This is definitely a superior food. I did not put it as no. 1 so that you would continue reading and because it's so difficult to access.


4. Flaxseed

Ok... Now I know I've lost you here. You might be thinking what the hell is flaxseed doing on the list. Anyway, I just wanted it to be here. I have a bias for flaxseed. It gives great bowel movement...(visual erased).










5. Salmon

Aside from it's obvious good looks, Salmon is not a shallow creature. It is quite high in omega-3 which you should be consuming more than foods high in omega-6. Take a moment to analyze that...Once you get to know it, you 'll go on find out it's quite tasty and rich in protein of course.






6. Avocado

Aguacate as it is called in Spanish is by no means a pseudo-fruit that should be taken lightly. It is what we call "good fat". You know the type of fat (unsaturated) that we need to help us lose belly fat and overall excess weight and well as remain or grow healthy? Yeah...that one. Bet you didn't know that avocado is an aphrodisiac capable of awakening sexual desire. The Aztecs used to call it Ahuacatl (in Nahualt language) which translates as 'testicle'. Obviously it's not on the list for only that but it has Protein, Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, Iron, and Fiber, etc, etc, etc.. Who knew?


Lastly and the least...no drum roll...just kidding.

7. Sweet potato

Unlike its cousin the white potato, Sweet potato is not highly glycemic which says a lot. When any food is low on the glycemic index you can eat more of it. Therefore you should be eating more Sweet potato than White...Sounds familiar? It is just my belief that White potato is the root of lots of "evils" in the body. Sweet potato is like Apple computers or rather the Mac operating system. White potato is like Windows OS. Windows OS will catch you because it is more interface/user-friendly while Mac takes you a while to get used to...a bit tedious. Here's the catch...Mac is quality and it hardly ever goes bad or corrupt. It is more  difficult to hack into a Mac OS. Same thing for your body: If you eat more Sweet Potato compared to White Potato you will be better able to ward off toxins and delay the angel of death.


And there you have it... the Super Seven. Thanks and tune in for more. Comment and subscribe.






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