Snow in France

Well, it appears that I cannot live in a snow free environment.  Even moving across the Atlantic I find myself looking out at freshly fallen snow on the ground. The plus side of snow over here is that I do not have to do any of the following:

1. Shovel it off my car
2. Drive in it

3. Wake up at 5:30am to watch the news/check websites to see if school is canceled
4. Be cooped up in my apartment by myself for days on end.

So, that being said, it is quite nice to look outside and see a winter wonderland!

The Homesick, Depressed, Helpless Stage

There are certain stages that one goes through when you live abroad for a fairly long period of time.  Moving and living in another country is a fairly emotional process from the beginning all the way to the end and afterwards. To help you all understand all the emotions that one goes through, take a look at this chart:

You'll notice how stage 3 is the stage that is circled, and I feel that this stage explains how a lot of us are feeling at the moment.  The "honeymoon" stage is officially over, and nothing about being here seems to be appealing anymore.  Daily tasks that we take for granted as being easy have become frustrating and at times drive you to tears.  I am completely over walking the 30 minute walk to Carrefour, I am over lugging all my groceries home, I am over not being able to pick up a phone and call the people I want to talk to, and I am over eating bread, cheese and pastries,.  I'd kill to go to Manhatten Bagel and get a bagel and a cup of coffee that isn't the size of a shot glass that I could put real coffee creamer in.  Now these feelings probably stem from the fact that it is the dead of winter and everyone is becoming board and restless....we are all needing a slight change to zap us out of our funk.  I am hoping that will occur during our February break, when I will be traveling to Prague, Brussels, Brugges, Antwerp and Mont St. Michel.  I am most excited for my upcoming travel plans, and am looking forward to the slight change in my schedule that will take place upon returning to classes. I would also like to say that on the chart above I think #'s 3 and 4 should be switched.  I think because you are more aware of the differences in cultures that you first find ways to adapt and then after those strategies become more routine you develop the depression that sets in. 

In closing, if anybody gets the inkling to wrap up a bagel (or my car) or any other American products that are not present here in France and wishes to send them to me, I'd be eternally grateful.  I'd be even more thrilled if someone decided they wanted to pay a visit to me over here, because while I do miss certain things, it is my friends and family that I miss most by far.

A (cold) day in Bourges

Traveling in the dead of winter can be downright COLD.  Especially when you are relying on your own two legs to take you everywhere you want to go once you get to your destination.  This was no exception when we arrived in Bourges last Saturday with my friend Emily and her American friends Jake and Jen.  While there is not a whole lot to do in Bourges to keep one occupied every minute of the day, there is an absolutely incredible cathedral, with the most magnificent stained glass windows.  I should mention that every cathedral in this country has incredible stained glass windows, but it was at this one that I proceeded to take a picture of every one.  Just take a look at some of them, and then drink in their beauty and the fact that they have probably been around longer than the USA has as a country, and you will be able to understand why they are so captivating.

View of the altar

love the stained glass

this one might be my favorite

love how the light is hitting the window

The cathedral was without a doubt one of my favorite parts of the day, but the absolute best part was all the laughs we had.  One of  the days laughs, and by far the funniest part of the day, came from when we decided we were going to play on the merry go round carousel that was near the cathedral.  It started out with Emily on it and Jake swinging her around, but we watched in slow motion as Emily's body parts began to hang off the carousel and then in the blink of an eye we saw her literally fly off the carousel and land on the ground.  I still laugh when I think about it a week later, and I have fantastic picture proof of her flying off this thing:

I really should have just video recorded us for most of the day and posted it on here so you could hear all the laughs that occured.  Who you travel with definitely can either make or break the best/worst travel experiences, and I've been fortunate enough to find some great travel companions!

Bonne Annee!

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new year, and I'm feelin' good!

It's about time I posted a little something about my NYE adventure in Paris! I was able to meet up with another assistant that I've met over here in France.  We had previously "met" through Facebook, and our immediate connection was that we were both hailing from the great state of North Carolina.  She is from Raleigh and a UNCW grad, and we have bonded over living in the Southeastern US while being over here.  Stephanie's good friend Rachel had flown in to spend the week with her, and was leaving the next day on a flight to NC out of Paris, so we had made plans to meet and spend NYE all together.  Stephanie and I were able to take Rachel to a lot of the hotspots in Paris-Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge, Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, the Louvre, etc.  After our sightseeing portion of the day, we headed back to regroup before taking on Paris nightlife for New Years.  This is us before heading out to ring in the New Year:

Rachel, myself and Stephanie

We wound up having a great night! I haven't known Stephanie very long, and I had just met Rachel that morning, but our NYE adventure proves that you can have a great time with even the newest of friends!

Bonne Annee a tous! (Happy New Year to you all!)

The Small Things in Life

I am all about the small things in life.  I am easily entertained and I am kept happy by all the small things that occur during the day. Yesterday was no exception.  I started out my day in an 8 am economics class that I don't really teach....I am in the background, observing and helping out with the English.  I happen to have 3 students in there that are in the class that I do teach onTuesdays.  One of the girls, Laura, had asked me to bring her back some peanut butter from the States; you can find tiny jars of Skippy here, but I thought it would be better to bring her peanut butter with American packaging on it so that she knew it came from the US.  I had forgotten to give her the peanut butter when I saw her last week, but I remembered it yesterday morning and gave it to her.  She was very excited that I had brought it for her.  I guess she thought that I had forgotten or that I hadn't been able to bring it back here for her. Either way, I had made her day, which in turn put a smile on my face as well.  Later on that afternoon/early evening, I was on the bus on the way home after teaching my class at the middle school (I'm on the stupid bus for at least an hour on the way back from JJ Soulier-I miss being able to drive the most when I'm on the bus) when I saw Laura get on with her friend.  I waved and smiled at her, and then saw her walk towards my seat. I assumed that she was coming over to chat, but instead she presented me with a small bag and said "this is for you".  It was a box of macarons, which are a delicious dessert over here.  I was so delighted not by just the dessert, but the thought that she had wanted to give me something very French in exchange for the very American thing I had given her.  I normally don't bat an eyelash if a student asks me to do something.  If it's within reason, I have no trouble telling them I'll buy/do/help them with anything without ever expecting anything in return.  But I have to say it was nice that Laura had wanted to give me something in return.  It brought an even bigger smile to my face for the rest of the day!

In case you don't know what macarons are, take a look at the ones I got yesterday;

Strawberry, Chocolate, Chocolate Banana, and a Caramel 

This is the store that sells them in town

Musee d'Orsay

After spending about 10 days celebrating the holidays in the US, it was time to board another plane and head back to France.  I was fortunate enough to be able to stay in Paris for 2 nights instead of one this time, so after I landed and dropped my luggage off at the hotel I headed out to the Musee d'Orsay.  The Musee d'Orsay is an old train station that's been converted into a museum; it is home to quite a selection of impressionist pieces, and it was those pieces that I was anxious and excited to see .  I really enjoy the impressionism unit that I taught back in the US, and have been dying to go see some of the pieces done by the artists that my students studied during the unit.  I was able to see some Manet, Pissaro, Sisley, Renoir, and of course, the mac daddy of them all, Monet. It was almost like another Christmas morning for me, that's how excited I was to see these works of art in person after teaching about them. I also saw some Van Gogh paintings, but as famous as he is, he really belongs to the Post-Impressionism era.  I wish I had pictures of the actual pieces themselves, but museums don't like you to photograph the paintings on display. :(  The building, however, is every bit as remarkable as the paintings, and I do have some pictures for you to look at. Enjoy!

View of the builidng

Inside!

It's just incredible that this used to be a train station

Love this clock