Nutella and strawberries
March 18, 2008
Fergus Falls Senior High in the late 1980’s and early 90's was a land of big hair and pants pinned at the ankles. I fit right in with the crowd. I can’t say that I recall much about my high school days with full clarity, but I do know that the blending of around 800 students who either liked hair bands or punk rock made for a pretty motley looking crew. In retrospect of course…
I was pretty convinced that Bono would probably fall in love with me (and my hair) if I was just able to get a front row seat to the U2 concert, and so I spent an awful lot of time listening to my Under the Blood Red Sky and October cassettes in my room after school each day while practicing tricks with my curling iron. (Never mind that my mom wouldn’t let me go to the concert anyway.)
And classes? Well, I wouldn’t say that academics were high on my priority list. But there were classes that I loved even if I struggled with them.
You see, my aptitude for foreign languages is embarrassingly low. In high school I struggled through French and German, just squeaking through with less than decent grades. In college, I tried again (well, I was actually required to take 3 semesters of foreign language), and ended up taking four semesters because I didn’t manage to squeak by that third semester of German.
Despite all of that difficulty, I have lasting wonderful memories of my sophomore year of French class all because of a really marvelous teacher known as Madame Eggen.
Those of you who attended FFHS when Mrs. Eggen was teaching will remember a stern looking woman with a heart of gold who referred to her students as “my little bambinos” and clucked around the classroom speaking many of the different languages she was fluent in. She might have graded me poorly, and she probably thought I was a terrible student (as did my poor friends who put up with my stupidity in that class—Laurie, Annie, Kelly…), but I have her to thank for introducing me to Nutella.
Yes, Nutella. French class with Madame Eggen was never just about constructing sentences or memorizing past and present participles; rather it was a cultural immersion. Many a morning we would wander into class to find that she was whipping up her version of café au lait (instant coffee mixed with hot chocolate) or serving Nutella with crackers.
When I was 15 years old I had no idea how this amazing hazelnut spread made with cocoa and milk would add pounds to my frame over the years. When strawberry season rolls around (and it’s coming soon!) I can think of no better snack than Nutella with strawberries. And if I’m having a bad day in March, it’s pretty fabulous on a slice of baguette.
So to you Madame Eggen, wherever you are today, enchante. And merci beaucoup.
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