There is not much to say about yesterday. It was a hard day. A day that I spent most of crying. Not because I missed Canada. I mean, I did but only because certain things caused me to feel that way. I don't want to post that type of news on th internet which, yes I know, takes away from the whole "blog" thing but really, who wants to air their dirty laundry. The people who know about what happened are the people who are supposed to know. Everything is fine now, perfect in fact. It is back to normal and things are looking up!

So yes, yesterday sucked. There is always going to be one day that stinks though, right? It can't always be sunny with a 100% happiness. Life lesson taught and very much learned. I am thankful to have road blocks in my experience...it lets me know that its really real! 

I will say though, I have my sister back which is awesomely(yes Mom, I know that is not a real word) fantasic. And that my French mom is amazing. Oh and that, I hate Math no matter what country I am in! That will never change! 

Also, Lena and I leave for Paris on Sunday and return on Wednesday. Then Friday we are all goingto Barcelona. VIVE LA VACANCES!

ps. If any teachers read this....slow down on the work!!! Kidding....not really. HAHA

Concert or Club Scene

 By the looks of it, it is a club. I promise, it was a concert. A fantastic one at that!

le week-end

le vendredi

We did not do much on Friday. Marie and Celia came back because we were going to see a concert on Sunday. After school, I took a nap and then woke up and les filles were here! We all decided that we would go for a run, so the four of us went for a long, amazing run. It was awesome! I could've kept running! I forgot how much I loved to run...November was the last time I ran. Of course, I owe all of my thanks to Mrs. K for giving me the love of running. If it weren't for her being a hard ass (sorry) about running, I would still be lazy. Anyway, that is beside the point! After our run, we sat around and talked with Lio and Mami Eliane (LOVE that lady!) and then Nath came home after being at la mer for 4 days with her class. We had dinner and by the time we were done, it was already 1030! The girls and I started to watch a movie but it sucked so we stopped and did our own thing. Then we all went to bed.

le samedi

What a day! We woke up pretty late and everyone got ready. After lunch we finished getting ready and went to a Carnival that was going on in the town that Lio teaches in. His school was having it and it was so fun! It was basically a parade that all of the kids dress up for. It really reminded me of Halloween! So fun...but crazy! All of the kids and a lot of the adults were throwing confetti EVERYWHERE. Not only that, but literally at people. One of the Indian Guys on the float chucked two huge handfuls of confetti at me. I had it all over. My hair, down my shirt, in my bra, all in my jacket, pockets of my pants and all in my pant legs. I took so many photos!

The kids were all just too cute. So many different costumes! Even parents dressed up as well as all of the teachers...too funny! I got a kick out of a few costumes but mostly I just said "AWWWW". Towards the end of the parade the float stopped just before le boulangerie and the Indian Guys started chucking little bags of farine at a station with guys dressed in all white with surgical masks to cover their mouths (they needed them!) The guys at the fort had a flour bazooka...it was unreal. The flour was everywhere and killed the eyes and got all in everyones hair,eyes and mouth. No one was impressed. The kids? They were lovin' it!

At the end of the parade, we went to this field and the la Sorciere was lit on fire and burned. The kids marched around her and sang a song before she got lit on fire. It was cute to see them all parading around her! 

After la Carnival we went home to make sandwiches. Let me tell you somethin'....I can make a MEAN SANDWICH now. I am pro at it. And the sandwiches here aren't on crappy sliced white bread (BLEGH!). Ohhhhh no...we use baguettes and good french fromage. After we made our sandwiches, the five of us kids went to see.......PONY PONY RUN RUN. You need to check them out (another commercial song... take a look at "Walking on a Line") It was an unreal concert. I mean, literally just UNREAL. I cannot even explain it. The last song...oh mon Dieu! It was like a club...the place went crazy. You could feel the building shaking, I'm pretty sure! I had the biggest adrenaline rush for 2 hours after...

le dimanche

Today was beautiful. In many ways. The weather was amazing! We had on tank tops, shorts (well not me) and sandals. It was, I think, about 20 or maybe closer to 21 or 22! But besides the weather, it was spent with beautiful people. Of course, ma famille, but Renuka also. She is another Canadian that I know but my family also knows. Her sister was Celia's partner 3 years ago and after Renuka had problems with her exchange partner thid past fall, she was put in the family of Solene who happens to live in the town our school is on. Small world. So, she came over and we ate lunch dehors with the sun shining down on us. It was really nice and I can speak for everyone and say that it was a really beautiful day. After a long dejeuner we played a game called Jungle Speed. I won't take forever to explain it but the name speaks for itself...it is a game of speed. SO HILARIOUS. Also, brutal because you actually have to battle it out sometimes. Funniest times ever!

Celia had to leave today so after Lio left to take her to la gare in Avignon, Lena, Renuka and myself watched the new episode of Desperate Housewives. Then we took Renuka to Menerbes (I posted about that a few weeks ago) because she hadn't yet been. A lovely visit of the village without lots of vent led to us taking Renuka home. After we took her home, we came home and I have been working on this. It has taken me forever because I uploaded pictures from this past weekend to my computer, talking with a few people, unloaded the dishwasher and finally at 1015 I ate dinner. Now, here I am doing this!

It was a magnifique weekend spent with great people. And today....

J'ai passe une belle journee avec des personnes belle; ma preferee :)

School tomorrow...last week before VACANCES!! WOOOOO!!

bref...

I suck. Its Thursday and I last updated on Monday. Go me...NOT. I'm not even going to make excuses. I'm just going to sum up the past couple of days in a very short manner. I mean, really, I haven't done much!


Lundi

Went to school which was super stupid because we had Eco for two hours starting at 10 and then lunch for two hours and then french for two hours. When I got home, we just relaxed. Honestly, I can't even remember what we did or what we ate for dinner. I know we had pizza (I am not kidding...the pizza saga IS STILL CONTINUING. I might throw up the next time I eat it.) Anyway, Monday wasn't important. Went to bed, exhausted as usual


Mardi

School. Long. Exhausting. Chiant. After school on Tuesday, because the weather was gorgeous, I came home and ran. A nice, long run. Just as the sun was about to set. It was 18 degrees that day. And I ran without stopping. It was awesome. Then I showered and then I ate dinner.

Dinner : Canard, green beans with potatoes wedges, salad and bread. So delicious....mmmm

Mercredi

Wednesday was a good day. We finished school at 11 which is always great and then came home. I took a really long nap and when I woke up, it was because Tom was telling me I needed to set the table for lunch. Sprang out of bed, set the table and ate dejeuner. After lunch I called my mom to talk about some issues going on which turned into like...an hour and a half of conversation about everything. It was nice to talk to her.   I miss mom and my dad, too. I don't think about it often but sometimes it creeps into my mind. Especially at night when Nath or Lio will say goodnight to Lena. I think that's when I most miss home. But not for long because I either fall asleep or remind myself that I am lucky to be here.

After talking to my mom on the phone, I did some research on whats going on with politics in the states. I'm not going to exaggerate on that subject because 1) I could get nasty and 2) you aren't here to "hear" me rant about my passionate hate for Obama, you want to "hear" about France. So moving on, I did that research for a large amount of the afternoon and then creeped Facebook. After that, we had dinner.

Guess what dinner was? PIZZA. I swear....
And after dinner Lio took Lena, Tom and I to see a movie! (Nath is at the sea with her class...she teaches 4 year olds. Talk about a field trip...) It was in French but I understood a large part of it, which was genial. It was HILARIOUS! Oh man, the whole salle was just dying. There were even people laughing so hard that they were snorting. Classic! That's like something that would happen to my mom. Or even me. Luckily, I was breathing well enough during my laughing that I didn't snort. After the movie, we got home around 11 so I did some last minute things on the computer, which did not include writing this blog, and then went to bed.

Jeudi

Today was an okay day. It was a rough morning. It has been a weird week for me. Emotionally I've been...weird. Lena and I aren't exactly...well its just...weird. (As you can see, weird is the theme!) So this morning did not fly over too well, but as the day progressed things got better.

My history teacher proved to be really...annoying today. She basically forced me to write the note that she was saying as she spit it out like rapid fire. Didn't happen. I tried my best, got some things down like dates and stuff but definitely not the note! Then, she wanted me to write an essay in 40 minutes. That was a joke. (Not actually a joke, she was pretty much serious). Two girls in my class could see that I was struggling so the quietly asked la prof if I could sit with them so they could help me understand the content of the note. So nice and I greatly appreciated it. After they explained we chatted about Canada and the differences. We also chatted about what bad words I know in French, HAHA. Then class ended and I did not have to write the impossible essay, thank God!

Lunch was good! Chris, another Canadian, ate with us which was cool. After we all just sat around and did nothing for the second hour. Then I finished out the never-ending day and at 5 I was more than happy to be done! I think this was the slowest possible! We got home around 545 and ate. Then I showered, reorganized my clothes, and did some homework for Anglais tomorrow. By the way, if you get the chance, watch A Dry White Season. Its an older movie but amazing.

To end today, we had dinner. No surprises here...pizza!

I am off to watch the newest episode of Desperate Housewives online. Then bed for me because tomorrow is another long day of school.

i forgot...

Thursday, the 18, was........


ONE MONTH. Already?! Where does time go? It's too quick, much too quick.


Slow down, please.

a single man

We saw that movie yesterday. Fantastic. After the movie I was literally left speechless. The ride home was spent pondering. Thinking. Contemplating. Relating. So much of the characters emotions were relate-able. I had been there before, to some extent.

If you haven't already seen it, you must. It was really well worth the time. Lena did not like it so much, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although it was a bit bizarre, I guess to me it was good because, like I said...I knew some of those emotions. To sum it up for you in a really short way I will say this: Its a story about a man who once loved a man (I have to admit, I was shocked to know it was about two gay men but it was actually good) with his whole heart. His partner died and he was left hanging on to his memory. But he held onto more than his memory...it was literally hanging onto him to the point where he hit depression. He spent his life loving a man who was no longer alive, loving him with every fiber in his being that it literally hurt him. I would tell you more but the next thing I would say would sort of give the movie away. Go see it, I promise you that it is good movie.

Other than the movie yesterday, we spent the day doing mostly nothing. I woke up super late again and read. All day. I finished the book I started that night. Great book! Also, Nath and Lio took me to some hortifleur thing. It was basically a flower market. Oh man, my mom would have literally been in heaven. It was just like an area aligned with people selling flowers and citron trees along with some other petites arbres and pretty fleurs! There were also venders selling bon-bons and gateaux as well as pots for the plants and other cool things. I was definitely thinking of my parents, Grand-pop and Mamaw the whole time.

After that I came home and got ready for the movie and after the movie we had dinner. We had pasta, soup and guess what...PIZZA! HAHAHAHA, that pizza will never go away! I seriously think they have like an endless supply somewhere? Not too sure, though. Moving on...just before dinner, I got this stabbing pain. It wasn't that bad so I just ignored it. As I sat down to eat, the pain became really bad. So bad that I could not breathe and tears started rolling. I cannot even explain to you the pain it was but it was just under my ribs and it hurt so bad. Literally, it was the worst pain I have ever felt in my whole life. Nath and Lio kept asking if I wanted medicine but it wasn't the kind of pain the medicine cured. Unfortunately, I could not explain that to them so I just kept saying no and I think they sort of thought I was crazy. I wanted to call my mom so badly but then I thought about it.

I realized it was God testing me, putting my into a situation to try and handle on my own. I did get through it, with some frustration and plenty of communication problems not to mention tears. I was relieved when the pain finally started to go away about an hour later. I was thankful (in the end) that I did not call my mom even though in the moment I wanted so badly to just hear her and have her tell me what to do. I knew I had to trust Nath and Lio and even though I did not take the medicine, they offered me water and told me to lay down and stretch my stomach. That did help it so I was happy about that. It was a lesson well learned, that is for sure!

The day was quiet, relaxing and rainy. A good day to just lay low and read which is what I did. I love Sundays...

vendredi et samedi!

Vendredi

What a fun day at school! First off all, it was about 20 degrees here! For you folk who aren't quite sure of the metric(Is it the metric?) system, I am going to go ahead and take a gamble and say thats somewhere around 70 or maybe a bit over. Anyway, CHAUD!! The phrase of the day was most definitely "Il fait chaaaauuuudddd" Ha, but yes, it truly was!

In the morning on Friday, we went to Math. Not so good but afterwards our class and another class went to a small...hut? No, kidding. I don't really know how to explain it though. It was just a one room place that had a big screen and then chairs set up. We watched Invictus there. It.was.AMAZING! Honestly, it was one of the best movies I have ever seen...message was great and it was overall just an awesome movie. I would definitely recommend it to all, young and old!

After the movie, it was lunch except instead of the norm. 2 hour break we had 3!! WOO HOO! Lena and I ate in a park sort of thing then met up with Manon and we ventured over to the foot. I soon learned that this was the soccer field. The sun was shinning and so we plopped down and soaked up the sun, took pictures, chatted and listened to music. After about an hour we headed back to the school and found a bunch of friends just hanging out by the ping pong tables so we joined. It was so fun! We all talked about nothing really and everyone tried my sunglasses on. We people- watched and napped and laughed and took tons of pictures. The bell rang and then it was time for 2 hours of Eco which was sort of a bummer. Finished at 5 and got home at 6! So tired from the long day, we really just did nothing until about 8.

We left for Avignon to go see Ghost Writer. Not what I was expecting. It won awards or something so I thought, "this is going to be great" but it wasn't. It was almost boring and way confusing. We got home so late. That's the night I wrote that post about being tired. I have seriously never been so exhausted I don't think. Good thing that there was no school Saturday and for the next two weeks so that was awesome!

I honestly can't remember what we had for dinner on Friday. I know it was pizza because we have had that everyday for like the past 5 days! Something else with it but I really cannot remember!!

Samedi

We woke up super late, taking full advantage of the day off. I think we both woke up around 1145. We were so excited for the day though because that night a bunch of us girls were going bowling! Woo hoo, first french girls night! We ate and did our things to get ready. Of course Lena and I wore dresses...we are the type of people who go bowling in dresses :)

The girls arrived a la maison around 5 and we left at 530 to head towards Avignon. Got to bowling and had a blast! I did not loose this time which is awesome but more importantly, we had a fabulous time! We took tons of pictures and even found a boy. Camille and I just boy scouted most of the night, it was too funny! Camille won both games but Elsie was really close both times. Of course, Manon et moi sommes nul! We were the last two both games and Lena was the middle man! We played two games and then left to go have dinner.

McDo for dinner, classic. Manon and I found a hot boy and we were legit just obsessed the whole dinner. All we did was talk about him. It was a fun little adventure to McDo had by all. After dinner we took all of the girls home and then I came home and just did nothing because I was tired. Plus I had a migraine which ended up lasting about 3 days. Not too exciting!

It was a fabulous two days! I had so much fun that even just thinking about it makes me happy! :) I love days like those...the days that you remember for a lifetime to come.

oh boy.

I will update as soon as my computer stops being a word that I cannot say. eventually my pictures will upload...



....EVENTUALLY


I am truly sorry!

i'm back. sort of

It has been a rough few days. I am literally running on empty. Last night I called my mom for a few addresses because I have a million cards and letters to mail. As we were getting off the phone she told me write in my blog because Tuesday was a long time ago! I know, it was a long time ago. Too long ago. I figured I would write in my blog after we got home from seeing the movie. That did not happen, as you can see. I was so exhausted. I think I was actually past exhaustion because I literally felt like I was floating through air. Wrote that post quickly and went right to bed. I am not kidding, it took about 30 seconds to fall asleep, I think! I catch you up to speed and hopefully I can remember everything!!

Mercredi

Our half days are Wednesdays. School is from 8-11 which is always great! Usually Nath picks up and we go grocery shopping. Not on this Wednesday! At midi Lena, Chris (another Canadian) and I caught the bus to Avignon! Shopping day for us! We got to Avignon and Chris wanted to go to just one store so we set out for his store and eventually found it! While he was in there, Lena and I walked around for about 30 mins. and then met back up with Chris. In this store, he bought two things and it cost 108 euros. You do the math. 1.5 times 108 euros. He got ripped off but he didn't care! Just my luck, there happened to be a BenSimon store right down the rue and I have been DYING to buy a pair. This was my chance, ladies and gents. Walked in, grabbed a pair of nay blue in a size I wasn't sure would fit. Put them on...parfait. It was meant to be, I just know it. So, I whipped out my visa and bought my shoes and was happy for the rest of the day. Plus, they weren't that bad of a price!

We continued to shop, I tried clothes on and had zero luck. The clothes are just literally made for stick people. Or Lena. She's a stick though so it's the same thing. I don't think my mom has to worry about me blowing thousands of dollars here because I really don't think I will be buying a ton of clothes! Anyway, the last time we were in Avignon, we went to a hole-in-the-wall shoe store which had bottes for 10 euros. I didn't buy them then and totally regretted it afterwards. Thankfully, we went back on Wednesday and I bought a pair. They are gorgeous, I love them. Plus, you really cannot beat 10 euros!!

We also saw Palais de Papes and after that we caught the bus home. We were so tired! We got home and then had dinner. It was pomme de terres avec jambon but it wasn't the same casserole from the party. It was so good! I loved it. Lena and Tom hated it. Afterwards, I did a little bit of homework. I think that night I skyped with my mom for a little bit. I can't even remember though! Oh yes, I did because that was the same day I got her package from the family for Easter! YAY! And after that, bed. Good and tiring day.

Jeudi

It was a long day...REALLY long day. We had school until 5 and my god, I didn't think I was going to make it! On days like that, when we are at school until 5 and then get home around 6, we don't do much at night. I was tired so I just did some homework for Canada. I am practically finished my whole Credit Recovery book. Go me! Lena and I looked around on the internet and searched for the new Justin Nozuka songs that have already been put on YouTube. Then Lena made dinner because Nath had a meeting and Lio has been out of town in Brest.

For dinner we had pizza and salades and I had some of the yummy leftovers from the night before. After dinner I just surfed the net and Lena watched Dexter. I was out really early, at around 10 or 1030.

Vendredi

I am going to make this its own post because I actually have pictures for this. My computer is just really stupid and it takes FOREVER for it to actually read my card and get them on the computer. I literally have to take it in and out for about 3 hours until finally, it will read it. It was a fantastic day though so that is why it deserves its own post!


I have no gotten enough sleep to not make me so tired that I can't update! I will work harder on updating daily and getting the pictures on the computer. My Friday post will be hopefully today but definitely tomorrow!

...

tomorrow.


i will update.


tonight.


i just cant.


exhausted.


maybe....no?


i think i am past that point.


tomorrow.


yes, that sounds good.

j'ai passe une bonne journee

Yesterday was a good day! Because Marie was going back to Paris, Papi would be driving her to the TGV in Avignon. Our classes for school were going to begin at 10...uh oh! Papi would normally drive us but he was taking Marie! This meant Lena would take the scooter and me? NO SCHOOL!

Those amazingly wonderful, awesome blogs you read yesteday? Thats what I spent my day doing! That and a little bit of homework. I have so much work...it is actually unbelievable. I think I could spent 5 full days doing nothing but homework and still not be done! Hint, Hint teachers who are reading this....I don't think any but if you are.... ;) Just kidding. Sort of.

Lena finally got home around 430 and we chatted about her day and then went off to do our own thing. She studied for a huge controle pour espagnole and I farted around doing nothing. Finally at about 6 I decided to take a nap. Bad idea. Really bad idea because when I woke up I felt worse than I did before I went to bed! Weird and totally not good.

We had dinner. Its was yummy as usual. I don't know the French name but in English it was just rice with some type of fish on top. I think it was all baked but I'm honestly not sure. Whatever it was, it was great! Along with punch (again...except because its a few days after, it was really strong!) and you guessed it...bread and cheese!

After dinner I started to watch a movie that I brang with me and then Lena asked if I wanted to watch the newest episode of Desperate Housewives. Could never pass that up so we lounged on her bed and got caught up with DH! Afterwards, I returned to my movie and when that was over...bed time :) I was tired anyway and I knew waking up was going to be difficult. It was, by the way.

That was my nice, relaxing day!

a dream or a dream come true?

Everyday I wake up and I lay in my bed for a few minutes. I think. I wonder. France. France? FRANCE!

A dream that I have had since I was a little girl. I don't know why I was so fascinated as a child with France, Paris, French. I just remember always loving it and wanting to learn French. Looking back on it, it is weird to me that I, as such a young girl, loved France. In honesty, I knew nothing of it except what I saw on the TV or asked people about. I would tell myself, "One day I will learn the pretty language and I will go to school there and live there". I decided for it to be a dream. And the dream stayed with me for years.

I got older and wiser and more capable to actually look France up. Mostly just pictures. I saw the styles, the people, the places and I was still so mesmerized. As I continued to get older, I began to do research and found out that in college you can "study abroad" for a semester or a year. I thought, "THAT is my opportunity. That is what I'll do. My dream can come true!" It was my best shot at living through my dream and making it actually happen. That my plan and I was going to stick to it.

I moved to Canada and while I was in school my freshman year, as I was walking to my locker, I passed by a bulliten board in the hallway. It was litered with flyers for post secondary and job opportunities and "What do you WANT to do with your life?" papers. In the corner though, I spotted a bright yellow paper. 8.5 x 11 inches and it said "Imagine YOU on a Student Exchange!" and I read the paper a little more and thought to myself, "No Way....that is not real..." I kept walking and pushed it out of my mind. But every now and again, as I walked to my locker, I would glance at it. As I entered into French the second semester, I learned that a girl I was acqauintences with was going to do the exchange the following year. I realized then that it was actually real. I went home and begged and begged and begged some more for my parents to let me go. They told me no, it was not going to happen. Heartbroken and feeling totally defeated, I left the idea.

The next school year rolled around and Jess walked in with her exchange partner. I had Math with her and we became close. Sharing life stories that turned out to be similar, we realized we lead lives parallel to each other. She told my every detail of living life with an exchange partner and how you become so close, like sisters. I longed for that. I had Hope and all of her adorablness but I longed to have someone my age, like a sister. Jess left in the following February (still 10th grade) and we talked almost everyday. She told me everything there ever was to tell about life in France. She shared all of her memories and stories and adventures with me. My heart ached to be where she was. I was beyond jealous. I wanted to be her just for those 3 months.

Little did anyone know, behind my parents backs (although, they had some clue), I had filled out those first 3 pages of the Exchange Package. I had teachers sign them well in advance. I was determined to do this. I was not going to let anyone get in my way. When that January rolled around (before Jess left) I told myself that I was going to tell people I was going to France. I did and then I begged and pleaded with my parents once again (probably for the 20000th time) and they said "We'll talk about it" Good enough for me. A week later, there I was again, implying about France. With lots of annoying speeches to them on why I should be able to do this and all that jazz, they finally said yes. The process began.

I filled out the 15 pages that inquired everything about my life. What do I do in spare time, what languages are spoken at home, what is my favorite music, why do I want to go on the exchange, chores, pictures of the house and friends and family. It was long and took forever. February, March and April came and went. I handed my papers into my Guidance Counsellor, Mrs M.S. (for privacy purposes, I'm going to use her initials because I don't know if she wants her named out there for all the internet folk to see. Also, Mrs. M.S., If you ever read this, THANK YOU a million times over again for your constant help and and support over the past year or more.) and then I waited. And I waited. And after waiting for like 8 weeks I finally got my package in the beginning of June. But before that, about 3 weeks before that, I got a friend request from  girl named Lena (accent on the e) Charon. Huh, weird looking name, someone I dont know. School was "Lycee A.B" (also not going to name that for privacy purposes. Never know who stumbles upon these and then tracks you down....) and I thought ," This all sounds a little too French for me!". Shot her a message inquiring if she was, by any chance, doing an exchange because if so, then we must be partners. Reply with in minutes "I am your partner!!!!" I saved that message, I still have it. I was so happy. I ran downstairs, told my mom. I ran upstairs, cried, and she popped up on chat. Best friends since then and that won't change.

Time flew, and before I knew it she was here and then she was gone. The heartbreak of losing my sister for three months killed. I thought they would be the slowest 3 months (110 days to be exact) of my life.

Here I am. In France. Sitting at my computer while the sun shines into my room. No, I am not writing that for effect..it is gorgeous here today. Everyday I wake up and I think, "This is just dream. It has got to just be some sort of sick dream". Even writing this, which makes it a little more real, I still feel like its a dream that I still have. The pictures, well, they just look like something I saved off of the internet. (Which, by the way, I have not. I do not plagerize. Mme B., Take that and stick it where the sun don't shine while I live my life SPEAKING FRENCH.) It feels to surreal to actually be real(does that make sense?) and most days it really just like a dream.

I really am not sure what is going on. If this is a dream, please don't wake me up. Although, I also feel like, if it is please wake me up before I get any more attached to this. So very long ago this life was all just a thought in my head, a dream that I had fantasized about. So long ago, this was all I ever wanted to do in life. It was my biggest goal. And now, I am here and I am living it and mostly I am loving it. But soon it will all be a memory. It will just be a life that I lived for a short period of time; a chapter to add to my book. I can't help but wonder if I am actually ready for that. Am I ready for this to be over in two months? Can I go back to living my old life, normally, whatever that is? Can I go back to the Canadian culture and fit in? I am not sure. Really and truly, I don't know. It will be hard. I know I will spend a few weeks, if not months, carrying around this immense sense of missing. 


I'm changed. I'm altered. I'm different. I left Canada with a different mind set than I have now. I'll be going back as a whole new person. And as I sit here, drifting in and out of dream state, I think about how this is all happening. How a dream literally came true. Or did it? Is the beauty that I see everyday, all around me, real? When I go to bed at night and thank God and my lucky stars for giving me this amazing opportunity and chance, is that real? Waking up in the morning knowing that I'm in France...thats real? Dream or dream come true? I want it to be both. I want to be selfish because I want this to never end. 


I was once a little girl with a dream. I am now a big girl living the dream of that innocent little girl. Is this how life works? 


I am eternally grateful....

dimanche

It was a good Sunday spent relaxing after a crazy, fun night! We all woke up with a bit of a headache so we just sat around lazy for most of the day. Then around 4pm Nath and Lio offered to take me to another village to sightsee. Lena said she did not want to go but I did not let that stop me! How could pass this opportunity by. Sunday stroll with two great people seeing a great place. Sounds good to me!

We went to Menerbes and it was such a beautiful little village. Nestled on a hilltop, its home to la maison that Picaso bought and then sold to a woman named Dora. It has a jolie eglise and the cemetiere is shaped like the Titanic..you know, the part where Rose stands and puts her arms out. The part that everyone knows and loves. That part. We walked and chatted and when we came across a beautiful, old house that was for sale Nath asked me if I wanted to buy it. Without thinking even a split second I replied with an enthusiastic YES! (except in French, of course!) and then went on to say "Je souhaite...." She then told me that this town is very expensive and that a lot of American and English people live in. I thought that was kind of cool.

I took lots of photos...the lighting was perfect. The story behind me and picture-taking is quite simple. I try my best to take artsy photos that can look along the lines of  "pro". Sometimes it works and others a picture comes out just like any other tourists. I try. Keyword being try. Mostly I am inspired by lighting because I think it changes everything. A lot of people hate sunflare, I embrace it. I think its beautiful. I'm also inspired by simplicity because I think a simple photo captures a million things. There are so many reasons to take a picture of something. Memories, beauty, simplicty, love. I could think of a million and five reasons why I take pictures. But mostly I take them because I enjoy to. The other "mostly why I take them" reason is because a picture is literally worth a thousand words and sometimes I don't have those thousand of words to say. A picture does something justice.

After we got back, I finally found a way to upload my 50390 pictures of Facebook so if you are on FB and a friend of mine, check those out! If you are on FB and not a friend of mine, add me! Just my whole name. And if you are not on FB then...you stink! No, I am only kidding. But you should get it that way you can creep my pictures all of the time! ;) Yes, I should be the only reason you join....okay, also kidding on that one too. Sort of.

It was a perfect day doing perfect things with perfect people in a perfect place. Did I mention "perfect" yet? Oh wait, it got even perfect-er (Yes, Mom, I know that is not a word. I made it up. And I do spell check on this so if things are wrong or "frenchie" its because I am not the writer I used to be. Plus, I have not theslightest idea of how to speak English anymore!!). Nath told me that I would not be going to school tomorrow. Oh heavens, could it be! WOO HOO! I was overjoyed :)

For dinner last night we had quiche (epinard et saumon...mmmmmm) and pate avec fromage. Accompanied, obviously, by some fattening but oh-so-delicious bread and after...wait for it! Wait......keep waiting!

Tiramisu!! France became my Heaven on Earth.

Sunday...I loved you :)

Coucou from Menerbes!

Wish you were HERE

PS. As we were leaving (coming in too) I saw that on the side of the building that they had put these cast iron letters up that said :

Yes...yes, it is

Fete!

Saturday was an incredibly busy and exhausting day! Thinking about it makes me tired all over again!

I woke up at 7am because, NO, it was not the weekend...yet! I had school from 8-11. Death. I don't use that word lightly so when I say something is death, it is really and undeniably terrible. Seriously, I had the hardest time getting up. The alarm just kept ringing and ringing until finally we got up. We had "sports" for two hours and we started Step. What a joke. I hated it because it was so stupid! Mrs. K would have loved the fact that you get a full two hours for working out. Too bad it wasn't Fitness class. I miss that class so much, it was the best class I have ever had and Mrs. K was amazing! Back to what I saying, though! We did some dumb stuff and then we had to make a coreography to these Step moves using our arms. I was in a group with girls that I don't know because Lena was in a group with her friends and there was already too many to I had to venture off and be in some random group. Good thing I understood everything they said! At the end of class I was happy it was over.

After was had Francaise. Not much to say there either because I hate that class and the teacher. I'm not the only one either, no one likes the class or the teacher. If only you heard the things they said....
I am not trying to bash school because I know that I am lucky to get this experience and have this chance and opportunity. But seriously, school is awful. It's too long and the classes are hard. I'm tough though, I can stick it out and enjoy it as much as possible. In the end, it is France and it is a beautiful, new opportunity. Nothing can "rain on that parade". I will never forget what I've seen and learned here!

When school was done, Marie picked us up and we went home. I quickly fixed my hair a little bit and then Celia, Nath and I went to Cavaillion so I could find a gift for Lena and Nath for her sister. Nath had luck and found something! Me, not so much! We went home, I napped for a bit, took a shower and got dressed because Marie agreed to drive us to Avignon early so we could do some shopping there! Luckily, Celia and I found gifts for Lena while Marie took Lena into Sephora!

After shopping, we met up with the WHOLE FAMILY at bowling! I found out that I am horrible at bowling. Like...REALLY BAD. I also learned that Nathalie's family has bowling skills in their blood. All of the people on her side were great! High scores for all of them. We had a good time and lots of laughs though, so it was okay!

At 8pm we decided to call it quits and go back home for a celebration. And what a celebration it was! We got home and had a little dance party, listened to some musique and then ate. For dinner we had an assortment of quiches that Nath slaved over all day in the kitchen to make. We also had a casserole with potatoes and ham. It was all so yummy! Plus we had about 6 gateaux! Lionel made a punch...so,so great. We all had a few glasses of that and we all payed for it this morning with huge headaches. But, it was a fun night. Actually, fun does not do it justice! Way too many laughs (is that possible?), plenty of jokes and hilarious things that were said and done. Nathalie brought out Lena's cake and we all sang to her except halfway through the singing I realized the cake said my name, too. Oh no. It is not my birthday, it is Lena's! We finished and Nath began to light the candles again and slid the cake over to me. "NON NATH! C'est pas mon anniversaire!!!" I practically begged her not to do it. She insisted and the next thing I knew, lights were out and the singing began once again. So sweet, so awesome, so great. We all showered Lena with her gifts and then I was showered with gifts. What is going on?! I told people, "non, non!" but once again, they insisted. We opened our gifts. Incredible! I got a scarf, a CD, concert ticket, beautiful stationary set, adorable little ornaments and then Lena and I both got entrance to a theme park in Paris! Seriously, does it get better than this?! I don't think so.

It was an amazing night. So many great memories were made and I will never forget it. Unfortunately, I was way too busy having fun and enjoying the company of great people so I did not take any pictures. I know that Marie did so I will definitely get those off of her!

I truly, truly love it here. I cannot say enough positive things about this whole experience. Just love. Words fail me.

oops!

I really stink at keeping up with this sometimes! I have a good excuse though! Saturday was a busy,busy day! I will post my Saturday blog after this one so you can see how I am actually not just saying that! Alors, (I had to write that in French because I can't actually remember the English word!) I had zero time for blogging!

Friday was a pretty low key day. We had school of course and I had my test for Anglais. I failed it for sure and I am not saying that to be negative or anything like that. I wanted to cry the whole class. Took the test, it was horrible, we handed it and afterwards we took it up orally. The teacher calls my name and asks me to give another detail for the second question...in FRENCH. In front of the whole class, by the way. Now, before I finish I just want to say that at school, I am practically mute. I talk to Lena and her friends and thats it. I'm not quite confident enough yet to talk to others! Plus, they stare at me like I am some sort of freak show. Back to my story! So, I started off telling a detail and it was going fine but then I got to a word I didn't know and I did not want to turn to Lena and say, "Comment dit on ____________" because then everyone would think I was weird! (Turns out they probably thought I was stupid which is worse but you know what, oh well!) so I kept saying, "ummm.....uhhhhhhhhhhhhh....umm". The teacher must of realized that I was struggling because she finally said "Say it in English, I think it will be easier for you". UM, YEAH, YOU THINK SO?! I was so embarrassed. I really cannot even begin to explain how embarrassed I was. It seems small to everyone and I see why. But you see it from an outside perspective. For me, I just wanted to disappear right then! Tears started to well up in my eyes and I had to tell myself everything I could not to let one fall from my eyes.

Another thing about Anglais, it is really hard! We were doing an exercise with verbs and it said, "Complete these sentences by conjugating the verb in correct tense". The tenses were so hard! I did not understand. How people learn our language, I will never understand...

After English, it was lunch and because Lena and I don't eat in cafe on Fridays, we traveled into town to find something to eat! When we stopped at the store, Lena pulled out and her phone and dialed her mom. I listened to her conversation and I realized she was asking her mom to pick us up because we were going to watch a movie for our afternoon class that was scary and in French. Nath agreed so we walked to the sourge and sat by it, munching on some cookies and chatting.

When we got home, we ate some lunch and then I did homework for the rest of the afternoon. Read all of Act I for Macbeth. I hate that book, its awful. Worst Shakespeare play I have read so far. Maybe it gets better, I don't know. I just hate how the opposite side of the page is all of the translations and because theres so many, you cannot really read the story fully to understand because you are always glancing to see the translations! It is just annoying. I also worked on some American History which is so hard. Go figure seeing as though I'm from the states and lived there long enough to know history and information. Doesn't matter, its still difficult.

Friday for dinner we had Raclette. I think it is by far my most favorite meal. It isn't the first time we've had it, either. What it is is an apparatus that has about 8 slots and in the slots is a removable little pan. In the individual pan, you put Raclette (fromage) and then slide it in the slot. It melts and when its all melt-y and gooey, you put it over pomme de terre and different meats. It is SO yummy!

It was a slow day. Uneventful (well eventful for English class but other wise, no) and quiet!

hier

Yesterday (Thursday), what do you know...school! It was a good day actually! A long, very long day but still good! For lunch, all of us Canadians got together! We all brought our partners, except Randi, so it was good for them. We ate. We chatted. We reminisced. We laughed. A good time was had by all. Two hours passed by quickly and before we knew it, the bell was ringing for class!

The rest of the day was okay. We finished at 5:00 and by the time we got on the bus(520) and got home(540, plus walking), it was close to 6! By that time we were hungry so we ate. After gouter, we sort of did our own things. I showered and then read. Lena did whatever she did and then a little while later we had dinner!

Last night for dinner we had something that we have often. It's a dinner crepe sort of thing. Inside is fromage (usually chevre) and du jambon and un oeuf. It is really good, I love it! We also had soupe and of course du pain and fromage. It was delish!

After dinner, Lena and I ate some glacee and chatted about things. Nothing important, just random things. Finally, I retreated to my little loft, read some blogs and went to bed.

It was a long day. By the end I was so ready to sleep that even if Gerard Butler walked in, I would not care. Okay, not really but you get my point! ;)

I'm off to bed. School tomorrow...yes, I have school on Saturday for 3 hours. Nath tells me I don't have to go because its sports and francaise. I want to say that I don't want to go but I feel bad. So I will suck it up, sweat it out a little, and then do nothing in francaise like I usually do. It is all just a routine that I am slowly getting used to.

A bientot,

PS!!

I just had an idea! Every time I talk to my mom, she asks me, "What was for dinner?" And then I got this amazing idea to actually tell you what was for dinner that night. I've had some amazing things so far so from now on, I will write what I ate for dinner! 

Also, I do read the comments that are left here and I just LOVE them so if you want, leave comments. When I read them, they always put a smile on my face and make me feel good. Its great to hear from people and hear what they think :)

This is your experience, too!

desolee!

I am sorry for the late posting again. It seems like there are just never enough hours in the day to do everything! Between school and homework for Canada and other things, time flies and by the time I look at the clock I am ready for bed! Although, I have been suffering from a bit of insomnia lately but usually I just read...

Mardi

School again. Hard. Really hard. All day all I could think about was please, please let this day be over quickly. No, it was not over quickly and when I got home I just wanted to fall into bed and sleep forever. After school, I literally just did nothing except read and do homework. That was my Tuesday. First day back to school in 10 days and I was already dreading the rest of the week! One great thing that happened...I am now officially a sponsor of a gorgeous 13 year old girl from Kenya! Loice. I am so amazingly happy. Won't you help one of these beautiful children live a life a little more free from poverty? Make their life better, make your life better.

Mercredi

Waking up. So hard...so very,very hard. Lena called my name a few times to get me up. Stuffy nose. Je suis malade encore. Good thing school was only from 8-11! WOO FREAKING HOO! Nath picked us up at 11 and we went grocery shopping (usual Wednesday routine!) After getting food we came home and had lunch. For the majority of the afternoon I worked on my English essay. Not fun at all.

At 4pm Nath, Lio, Lena and I piled into la voiture and headed for Fontaine de Vaucluse! What a beautiful place. Fontaine de Vaucluse is a small town, tucked away in the corner of a mountain. If you walk up a hill you will find a deep (and I mean VERY deep) pool of water. Its still and tranquil, beautiful blue water. But just a few feet away, the water turns into rapids. Loud and fast, the white water rapids gush over rocks and down into a river. It is a beautiful sight, mysterious though! In the summer, the water recedes and you can actually plunge into it! There is also a cave exposed at that time too but the waters are very deep, either way. Hundreds of meters deep, in fact.

It was really cool to see that because Nath was telling me that, besides Mont Saint Micheal, this is the number  2 tourist spot for something that both places have. I suppose there some sort of river at MSM. Would love to go there one day, I have seen pictures and it looks beautiful! I'm not quite sure, I forget. Anyway, I thought was pretty neat because its such a small village all the way in the south!

When it was time to leave, we realized that we were running late. Lena had to babysit at 6 and it was 5:38 and a good 20 minutes from Robion. Lio was going to be driving home so I knew what this meant. Back in the car we went and as we headed back towards Robion, I noticed we were going awfully vite. Glanced at the speedometer and saw that it was reading at 95. Looked ahead and saw a speed limit sign. 50. Awesome!

Now, there is something to say about this. The roads in France are small. Like, really small. If another car is coming towards you, you're 1) Hoping and praying to God that you do not crash or 2) Hoping and praying to God that you don't fall off of the side of the road, mountain, etc. So, imagine us going 95km in a 50km zone. Not only that but Highway to Hell was on the radio (no, that is not a joke. I mean, we were literally on the Highway to Hell but seriously, no pun intended!) and Lio starts playing the air guitar. Aka, he is not holding the wheel. Nath was just going crazy! "Arrrrreeettteee Liiio! ARRETTEEE!" He laughed and cupped her chin. She pulled away. Meanwhile, I was in the back seat just loosing it, about to pee myself. This was all too much fun for me. Lena, no so much. I think she was secretly fuming out of her ears but instead of getting angry she just closed her eyes. Whenever we made a turn, the envelopes on the dash went flying. Nath did the angry sigh thing. I laughed. Lio laughed. Lena did nothing.

We did make home safe. Needless to say, Lena was also on time for garder des enfants! After we dropped her off, we were on the way back to the house and we passed by Nath's school! She happily declared "C'est mon ecole!" And I replied with a knowing "Oui!!" A conversation started about who had a better school; Lio or Nath. Before we knew it, we were on the way to see Lio's school! Oh boy, what just started. "C'est la mienne! C'est jolie, huh?" Lio demanded from me. "Mais oui! Les deux sont jolie!" I replied, trying not to create more of a problem. We left and on the way home, we once again stopped at Nath's school. Except this time we went into her class! So cute, so different! She teaches Maternelle and her kids are 4 years old. There is also a room with about 30 little beds in it where the kids take a nap everyday. She said its horrible but I thought it was cute. Lio once again tried to make me say his school was nicer but I just kept my mouth shut.

Finally we got home and for the rest of the night I finished up my essay with a lot of help from my mom. At 11:30 I decided to go to bed. Much too late, it would have to do though.


It has been a crazy past couple of days. Starting back at school is always dur. I find that waking up is hard in the mornings just because I know I have a full day of school but once I am up and going, things are fine and I am heureuse. My days are exhausting! Whether I do nothing at all except go to school or I do something after, by the time 9:30 rolls around, I am read to hit the hay!

Its been genial so far. I love it her, really love it. This weekend, on Saturday, we are celebrating Lena and I's anniversaires avec tout la famille!! So excited!