WASA Crêpe Night

Bonjour tout le monde,

Last night, Western's Ambassadors for Study Abroad (WASA) gathered at the old International House for a DIY Crêpe Potluck!

Everyone who attended brought ingredients to share with the group such as jam, honey, Nutella, powdered sugar and strawberries.

 I, As mentioned here, was in charge of the copious amounts of crêpe batter...

We took turns making crêpes and practicing our wrist swirling, which is WAY more nerve-wracking than it sounds! 

However, I was very excited to see everyone master the technique and have fun doing it!

We pumped out dozens of thin and tasty crêpes; enough to share with our members, all of the residents of the international house, AND take home leftovers. A triple batch of batter *may* have been overkill...

Don't they look sweet?

It's safe to say that the event was a success. Now we'll have to have food at all of our WASA meetings!

Thanks for reading!

Half a Gallon of Crêpe Batter!

Bonjour à tous,

Tonight I made a triple batch of crêpe batter - almost half a gallon - for tomorrow's WASA Crêpe Night Potluck.

It was really pretty easy, and it came together pretty fast using ingredients that most everyone should have on hand. I used the sweet variety, minus the liqueur, from the Food Network recipe below:

I just can't wait to cook up some of these babies with my WASA friends! 

Have you every made crêpes? What's your favorite topping or filling? Tell me in the comments below!

Joyeux Anniversaire à Moi-Même + Reverse Culture Shock

Bonjour bonjour,

Today is my 21st birthday, though it's a little anticlimactic.

More strikingly, today marks that I've been "home" from Canada for 3 whole weeks. As expected, though, it's taking some time to fall back into my "normal" routine.

I've seen my family, started school, gone back to work, and tried to readjust to life as it was, but I still can't shake this feeling of dissatisfaction, angst and wholehearted loss that seems to be steming from being away from Paris and the friends who surrounded me in the dorms, missing the hustly-bustly Moncton atmosphere, and speaking God-awful English all the time, (a punishable offense less than a month ago).

I feel like I'm in shock, and no one including my friends and family quite knows how to react to it.

In the meantime, I can't help but ask what keeps (most) Americans from Smiling like (most) Canadians, and why, just WHY, are there no decent sushi places in Macomb?! Reverse homesickness certainly exists, and I am swimming in the midst of its awful funk...

Luckily, some insightful Leathernecks of years past created Western's Ambassadors for Study Abroad (WASA): an organization that provides a place for study abroad alumni to share their stories with fellow international education enthusiasts to help them cope with the stress of "re-entry".

As WASA's current President, I can't wait to encourage open lines of communication within the group, and to create as many opportunities as possible for members to share these valuable sentiments, as well as memories, photos and stories of any kind. This will help future travelers understand, and prepare for the inevitable pressure of coming home, and should this help alumni come to terms with reverse culture shock, and realize that these feelings are normal and temporary, and that they are not alone.

What were your sentiments upon returning home from a trip, or study abroad adventure? Tell me below in the comments.

Thanks for reading.