Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Ancestry

Now I feel like I have to post something even if I'm not thinking about terribly much.  It doesn't really mean nothing is in my thoughts though.

Tonight there are a few things going on around here.  Guides and Brownies are having a potluck supper tonight to celebrate their various ancestral backgrounds.  So, what should I make? 

Meat and potatoes would be the normal Dutch meal.  Blah.  Boerenkole?  Potatoes with green bits doesn't have univeral appeal with other people's kids.  Hmmm.   Oliebolen was suggested by the kids, but I don't have a deep fryer.  Croquettes?  Same hinderance.  Boterkoek?  Desserts are always loved, and something so full of butter should appeal to everyone.

Then there is their French heritage.  Pancakes with maple syrup?  Hard to cook and bring.  Split pea soup?  Even I say "yuck" to that.  Tourtierre?  Again, I say yuck because I've never liked the traditional spices in that and I shouldn't experiment on others with my first attempt.  Hmm.  Laura voted for French Fries.  Not exactly Quebecois french, unless I turn it into poutine.  There's a thought.

At Christmas my kids were granted their Metis status.  We've raised them with none of that cultural background simply because Yvon was not raised that way either.  I wouldn't say there was a lack of pride in that part of their family background, but certainly no emphasis.  However, bannock would be easy to bring.  

So, boterkoek and either bannock or poutine.  We'll see what the afternoon brings. 

And tonight I've been asked by Beth's principal to either speak to the open house attendees at the school about our experience with late French immersion or just be a contact for potential students to talk to.  I hate public speaking so I've opted for the second option.  Really I'd rather attend choir practice, but last year I wished for some parents to talk to about the challenges that late immersion might bring, or some reassurance that this is a good thing to do.  I'll suck it up and be that parent tonight.

1 comment:

Bonita said...

Simon did a project on Ancestory before Christmas and I struggled with the potluck thing too... unfortunately we only have Dutch to work with (Simon thought it was so boring that we are Dutch, through and through... only 1 flag on his poster, besides Canada's! I'm hoping he thinks it's sort of cool one day?). So anyway, I went with boterkoek, and it was a hit at the class party!