My Favorite Things

Favorite Things

I assume most of you (if not all of you) are familiar with the musical the Sound of Music and the song “My Favorite Things.” If you have not seen the musical or heard the song, please find the movie somehow and watch it. It will help you to become a more cultured individual.

I took another idea from www.eslcafe.com and decided to designate this week, “Favorite Week.” for my class at the school. Today we went over the lyrics to the song. It took a little while, but we went through each phrase, and made sure everyone understood all the words. Then after that was finished, we went on to other things. At the end of class I told them to make a list of some things that they like to do when they are feeling sad, or things that make them smile, then tomorrow we will share our lists with each other.

Here are the words to the song.

My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

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Iif you don’t know what a strudel is, it is a pastry made from a thin sheet of dough rolled up with filling and baked. And, for those of you confused about the word schnitzel, it is a seasoned and garnished veal cutlet (aka a slice of calf meat—to help people with the term veal cutlet)

After returning home, I too made a list of a few of my favorite things, and here is what I came up with:

· Cold winter days and big heavy sweaters
· Ridiculously long scarves that reach down past my knees
· Breakfast and lunchtime and supper
· Duct tape
· Getting lost in a book
· soft beds with lots of blankets (when it is cold—not here in Laos)
· Torrential rains falling while I watch from the porch
· Lightning and thunder and dark clouds
· North Dakotan winds (especially when they are strong enough to push you over)
· Blizzards (as long as those I love are safe inside)
· Grey foggy days
· Dressing eccentrically just ‘cuz I can
· Plays and Musicals with costumes and makeup
· Summer youth camps
· Holidays with Family
· My mom’s wonderful soups
· Surprises for others (like presents at Christmas—and special things at random times)
· Playing violin or bass and singing
· Lilacs blossoming in spring
· Walks in Ellendale’s cemetery all by myself
· Mist on my face as I travel at relatively high speeds (such as on my motorbike here, or last summer on Flathead lake with the wave runner)
· Children laughing and playing pretend
· A cool glass of clean water to drink
· Air Conditioning

I had a lot of fun creating that list. Before I was finished, I was grinning ear to ear. If you have time, make of list of your own. Then either post it on my blog or email it to me. I guarantee you will be smiling by the time you complete it. Here’s the address in case you forgot: luke.storer@gmail.com.

Just a random bit of information for you: Here and in Thailand I have not seen normal napkins. (normal being defined by what my ethnocentric mind is used to) I have found one of three things at tables instead. 1) a roll of toilet paper, 2) a box of Kleenexes, or 3) a cup with “napkins” but instead of a big square folded so that it has four layers, take one layer the size of a napkin and fold it in half.

Another thing about Laos—geckos, both inside and outside the house. mostly you see them on the walls at night. I believe they eat insects, so there are more of them were there are lights. (like on the porch when the light is on) Geckos make the strangest noise that I wish I could describe, and they move in a path kind of like a slithering snake winding back and forth. (that is, if you made a line where they ran, it would look kind of like a snake.) They stand very still on the wall, and if they are startled, they move surprisingly quickly. (I think they would be very hard to catch.) They are not annoying at all. They stay out of the way on the ceiling or the walls mostly, so that after being here a while you hardly think about them.

I finished The Count of Monte Cristo yesterday, and today I began a book by Tom Clancy, Rainbow Six. The book is enormous. I am reading a paperback version, and I would estimate that the book is somewhere close to two inches thick. (I am not the best at guessing measurments, but I don't think I am exagerating too much) I brought this 897 page book to the office, and one of my students asked if it was a dictionary. (smile) I am currently on page 23, and I wonder if I will finish it before I leave on July 14th.

-Luke