Tid-bits

I haven't written in here in a couple of weeks...but I don't really have much to say. Here are some little tid-bits about what's been going on:

1.The other day a child asked me if I was the creator of Dora the Explorer (she teaches English in France instead of Spanish). As I'm probably the only English-speaker this kid knows, I guess it's a valid assumption in the mind of a 7 year-old. It made me laugh! I certainly would not mind having the bank account of the creator of Dora the Explorer, that's for sure.

2.Today was our program coordinator's last day as our coordinator. She's been replacing the woman who usually does it since we got here, but now the woman is back and so she's gone...which is really sad, cuz she has been FANTASTIC!. A few of us got together and got her some chocolates and two girls made a card that we signed. Three of us went to her house tonight to deliver the stuff and say goodbye and she made us tea and then we had drinks and some snacks and two hours later (!) she drove us home. I'm really going to miss her, but she's really cool and one of those people I could just call up and invite somewhere sometime, so I'll probably do that. Also, she may call me someday soon to babysit her son for her (who is SUUUUPER chatty and will be a very intense French exercise for me, haha).

3.I've been reading a French novel called La Premiere Nuit. I've scheduled myself to read at least 10 pages a day, in order to actually finish it at some point...and also because my friend, to whom the book belongs, told another friend of ours that she could borrow it after me...and finally because I want to read something else in French while I'm here! ;) Anyway, the book is goodish. It's a lot like a Dan Brown book (but French), and not really something I'm super into reading right now, but I'm trucking along anway. I'm on track and almost half-way through. I'm sure I'll get lots of reading done over break (airports, train stations, trains...stuff like that).

4.I'm giving a mini-report tomorrow on the north-western regions of France (Brittany, Normandy, and Pays-de-la-Loire...which, apparently, doesn't have an English translation) in my French class. It was neat to learn a bit more about other regions of France...I barely know anything even about the region I'm living in! It did make me wonder, however, how I ever made it through college. Life has been so easy-going here these past 5 months that I sometimes forget what work is. lol

5.Yoga is still going well and I'm still doing it daily (for the most part). Healthy eating still going pretty well. The news watching...not so much. I haven't been turning it on in the morning anymore like I used to...not really sure why. I should do that again, cuz if I don't listen to the news in the morning, I won't do it at any other time during the day. :(

6.Tomorrow is my last day of classes (today, technically, as it's currently 12:19 here) before break. My friend Noelia is coming to Paris from Madrid this weekend to visit Stevy and me! WOO HOO!!! And it's exactly a week from today that I'll be heading off to Italy. Good stuff, good stuff.

7.I've decided to buy a bike/borrow a bike....FIND A BIKE...at some point in order to take a bike trip along the Loire at the end of my stay, which I think will probably be until the middle of May now. I don't want to leave right away. I'm going to Germany for about a week at the end of April and then I'd like to do this bike trip and, if I have time, head to the south of France with Sylvette and Alain. We'll see what happens. Also, it's just SO gorgeous here these days and I'd LOVE to be able to go on bike rides. (Where I will keep this bike, I'm not yet sure...as there is absolutely NO place anywhere in my apt/apt building to keep a bicycle. Meh, I'll figure it out.)



Those were a lot of long tid-bits. Hmm. I'd better try to sleep, as I am getting up in 7 hours.

Hugs and Kisses!

French Journal

So, my friend Tara (another assistant here) and I have decided that in order to write a bit more in French durin our time here, we will start writing French journal entries to one another every week. In talking about said journals today, we gained a new member to our mini journal club (if you want to call it that), Tom, another assistant.

The entries must be:
-written in French.
-under 500 words, but over 350.
-related to that week's topic (for example, this week's topic is...yoga!).
-emailed to the other journal participants by no later than Wednesday at midnight (so, technically, Thursday).

It's 9:41 and I have yet to start mine...or to lesson plan for tomorrow. So, of course, I decided to watch a yoga documentary and post a blog instead.

I really am excited about this though. Especially this week's topic! :)