...another chapter opening!
I have been so busy having way too much and trying to find another job and packing and hanging out with friends that I have not had time to sit and write about it. I'd like to say I have time right now to sit and write about it but a million and ONE things await me. Like a bus in 30 minutes. But before that I have to pack and clean.
I am moving on Friday. YEA!!!! I cannot wait! But between now (today is Wednesday) and then I have every second planned.
This week is so bitter sweet and a little more bitter than sweet except to say that I've been having a blast.
This week I get to say goodbye to THREE more friends. SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!! I am hating this part of Paris with a passion. PASSION, I tell you!!! The only good thing that comes out of people leaving are the parties that are held, oh yea! Last night was Maya and I's last night together. She has become one of my closest gal friends in Paris and I have treasured every memory together with her. We have had some crazy times, some serious times and a little bit of everything in between. We have been each other bank offering loans at times, we have had weekly date nights to watch stupid american reality tv together, we have had dance parties and cooking parties, we eat like its going out of style, our signature is going out at night and shutting the place down because we are so into playing card games, oh yea! Maya is someone who has changed me for the better in certain ways. She is one that has brought out some of the dreamer in me, she has definitely brought out whatever hippie i have in me (very little but there is some), she has allowed me to be myself and enjoy the multiple facets of my random personality and she loves me for me! Anyways, I will miss her dearly! Although she is coming back. I should note that. She is only going back to the States for the summer, she will return in September. But 2 months is a long time not to have your best friend around!
Also, I am saying goodbye to Christina this weekend! This is going to be the hardest goodbye yet! She is the best thing that has happened to me in a long time! Christina rocks my world and I think its safe to say I rock hers back!!! I will have to describe our relationship some time as if it even matters because it will never be understood by outsiders. Just know that Christina is one stellar woman and we will be friends for life! No doubt! She is heading back to Michigan for the time being but I know our paths will cross again REALLY soon because we just can't be that far apart. She is an amazing person and I know the next people who come into her life will be so blessed! I am jealous! Anyways, in the mean time, she and I still have some memory making to do!
So, this past weekend I went to EuroDisney, started watching Gilmore Girls (because I needed a wholesome and silly tv show to watch) and enjoyed the company of some goooooood friends over more food! I also had 2 more interviews which didn't go so well and so I am still on the search. And since then I have been packing, attending french class, hanging out with friends from Texas, saying good bye to people, almost missing trains at midnight (thank you Jesus that this part of my life is almost over), trying to avoid the semi annual sales in Paris, trying not to die from a who-knows-what weirdness that decided to pop up on my legs, found out my parents bought a house and are moving (so-long childhood home), sleep very little, experienced the heat without AC and let me tell you its less than pleasant and am now on my way to create some more fun times!
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and is having a great week! I miss you alll sooooooo much and hope our paths cross later than sooner as I am not ready to come back to Texas, but you never know where the wind might take you!
Je vous aime! -moi
Wednesday, June 29
Thursday, June 23
dreamer
Do you ever have those friends that bring out the different in you????
I do.
And I looove it!!!
Since moving here and making friends, my closest friends i haver made and love to pieces would be classified in the .dreamer. category. i love this. and thus it is starting to bring out the dreamer in me.
After the last ish post being so down, my life really is a roller coaster ride these days, i am deciding to take a new approach to life. a dreamer type life. i am ready to dream away. i thought i lived life with no regrets, no reservations, no hesitations, no care in the world... but i dont. so i am changing that.
I am ready to start living more vivaciously ...is that a word? and more carefree and less uptight about the future and what it might hold in store for me.
So what if my visa expires in less than 2 months and i have no clue what will happen after that if i have no way to renew it. the fact of the matter is that i have awesome friends, an awesome family and if i am homeless and jobless in 2 months, i will figure that out THEN.
well, i off to go dream and enjoy and LIVE. hope you do too. ....love moi
I do.
And I looove it!!!
Since moving here and making friends, my closest friends i haver made and love to pieces would be classified in the .dreamer. category. i love this. and thus it is starting to bring out the dreamer in me.
After the last ish post being so down, my life really is a roller coaster ride these days, i am deciding to take a new approach to life. a dreamer type life. i am ready to dream away. i thought i lived life with no regrets, no reservations, no hesitations, no care in the world... but i dont. so i am changing that.
I am ready to start living more vivaciously ...is that a word? and more carefree and less uptight about the future and what it might hold in store for me.
So what if my visa expires in less than 2 months and i have no clue what will happen after that if i have no way to renew it. the fact of the matter is that i have awesome friends, an awesome family and if i am homeless and jobless in 2 months, i will figure that out THEN.
well, i off to go dream and enjoy and LIVE. hope you do too. ....love moi
Wednesday, June 22
DO YOU LIKE READING BLOGS?!
If you like reading BLOGS then you need to read (AND FOLLOW) this BLOG HEREEEEE <---click here
My friend Christina has become one of my closest and dearest friends here and she is an incredible writer. Incredible. She has kept a blog of her experiences as well while living here as an Au-Pair and the changes she experienced with the culture differences. And well, whatever else she wanted to write about. She is a lovely gal and you can see that through her awesome writing abilities! I hope you all will choose to check out her blog and encourage her with comments and whatever else you want to leave. Kindness only please!!!!
My friend Christina has become one of my closest and dearest friends here and she is an incredible writer. Incredible. She has kept a blog of her experiences as well while living here as an Au-Pair and the changes she experienced with the culture differences. And well, whatever else she wanted to write about. She is a lovely gal and you can see that through her awesome writing abilities! I hope you all will choose to check out her blog and encourage her with comments and whatever else you want to leave. Kindness only please!!!!
heavy heart
Hey guys,
This week I've had a heavy heart. It's weird to be in the place I am currently in. Not knowing where my life is going and having no control. The rain here doesn't help the mood either. And not enough sleep aids in the desire to sleep all day. But beyond that, life here has just been in a major rollar coaster ride. Why? Because I have been having the time of my life with my friends, making memories, enjoying all the experiences I can and yet I have this horrifying fear of what is to come. Ok, thats a lie, its not a horrifying fear, but some days it can seem that way. In two months, if I don't have a job, I will be an illegal alien (what a foreign concept), jobless, homeless, and utterly confused on what to do next. Ok, pity party officially over....now.
But even though the pity party is over, all this uncertainty has led to a whole lot homesickness. A lot. more than I've ever had in the last ten months. (Which by the way, last weekend was my ten month anniversary and I spent it in Istanbul) Anyways, this week I have been "Craving" me some America. Ice cubes. Baseball. American tv. Fast food. Soda from a fountain. hugs. smiling at strangers. chatting up the cashier at the grocery store. Wal-mart. Warm weather. ...I could basically go on and on so I Will stop now.
In all this awesome fun of being in a foreign country, traveling, living life to the fullest, enjoying every moment, having so much fun, I still need to admit that it can become a bit overwhelming also at times.
People keep asking me (alllllll the time) how I just up and moved to a foreign country and honestly, I can't answer that. I just did. I had all the will and determination in the world and I was ready for the change. I didn't do it alone, I trusted in God to guide me and keep me safe and that He did do. I also believe that some people are designed to do what I have done and others, not so much. I have seen that since I have been here, people just leaving because it was too much to handle. But I don't know where to go from here. When all the odds are stacked against you and the hurdle in front just seems too big to manage around or over. What do you do then?
I am asking these questions in a rhetorical sense. I am sure everyone has been in this place at one time or another, maybe not in France or in a foreign country, but in some instance in their lives I am sure you all can relate. But how do you battle the feeling of defeat? and the feelings of hopelessness?
I am praying so hard that God would reveal his plans to me. And I am hoping it comes quicker than not because in my eyes, time is running out. Everyday that passes is another day closer to my visa expiring.
There is a lot of uncertainty in the next few months. A lot. I welcome all the changes. But am I really that welcoming to uncertainty? Are we ever welcoming to uncertainty in our lives?
Some deep thoughts to ponder.
Well, I will leave you on that note. Have a great day, the choice is yours! <3, MOI
This week I've had a heavy heart. It's weird to be in the place I am currently in. Not knowing where my life is going and having no control. The rain here doesn't help the mood either. And not enough sleep aids in the desire to sleep all day. But beyond that, life here has just been in a major rollar coaster ride. Why? Because I have been having the time of my life with my friends, making memories, enjoying all the experiences I can and yet I have this horrifying fear of what is to come. Ok, thats a lie, its not a horrifying fear, but some days it can seem that way. In two months, if I don't have a job, I will be an illegal alien (what a foreign concept), jobless, homeless, and utterly confused on what to do next. Ok, pity party officially over....now.
But even though the pity party is over, all this uncertainty has led to a whole lot homesickness. A lot. more than I've ever had in the last ten months. (Which by the way, last weekend was my ten month anniversary and I spent it in Istanbul) Anyways, this week I have been "Craving" me some America. Ice cubes. Baseball. American tv. Fast food. Soda from a fountain. hugs. smiling at strangers. chatting up the cashier at the grocery store. Wal-mart. Warm weather. ...I could basically go on and on so I Will stop now.
In all this awesome fun of being in a foreign country, traveling, living life to the fullest, enjoying every moment, having so much fun, I still need to admit that it can become a bit overwhelming also at times.
People keep asking me (alllllll the time) how I just up and moved to a foreign country and honestly, I can't answer that. I just did. I had all the will and determination in the world and I was ready for the change. I didn't do it alone, I trusted in God to guide me and keep me safe and that He did do. I also believe that some people are designed to do what I have done and others, not so much. I have seen that since I have been here, people just leaving because it was too much to handle. But I don't know where to go from here. When all the odds are stacked against you and the hurdle in front just seems too big to manage around or over. What do you do then?
I am asking these questions in a rhetorical sense. I am sure everyone has been in this place at one time or another, maybe not in France or in a foreign country, but in some instance in their lives I am sure you all can relate. But how do you battle the feeling of defeat? and the feelings of hopelessness?
I am praying so hard that God would reveal his plans to me. And I am hoping it comes quicker than not because in my eyes, time is running out. Everyday that passes is another day closer to my visa expiring.
There is a lot of uncertainty in the next few months. A lot. I welcome all the changes. But am I really that welcoming to uncertainty? Are we ever welcoming to uncertainty in our lives?
Some deep thoughts to ponder.
Well, I will leave you on that note. Have a great day, the choice is yours! <3, MOI
Tuesday, June 21
Istanbul in pictures
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| Blue Mosque |
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| candy |
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| Hagai Sophia |
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| There were kittens everywhere, kind of like mosquitos to Houston |
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| Alyssa after our Turkish bath |
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| Blue Mosque at night |
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| Turkish delight |
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| Topkapi Palace |
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| Hagai Sophia |
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| Blue Mosque |
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| There are no further pictures because we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the mosque as it is still a functioning mosque. We were required to take off our shoes, wear a head dress, and have our shoulders covered and be wearing pants or a long skirt. |
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| Grand Bazaar |
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| Alyssa and I at the Grand Bazaar |
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| Jesse, Alyssa and I This was just the beginning of their three week trip throughout the Middle East. |
A few things I learned about Istanbul:
-Its hot (and what I learned about myself, I have somehow in only ten months acclimated to my new life of being in Paris and the hot is horrible now!)
-The men were a lot like Italians but in a sense worse. They were incredibly forward, friendly, and not always in a good way.
-Being pale and with blue eyes is not a good combination in this part of the country. I stood out like a sore thumb.
-Kebab's are a what the Turks eat. yum.
-Turkish delight is one interesting treat. It's like a gummy type jell-o rolled in powder sugar. Not sure if i described that correctly.
-Turkish bath's are ....interesting. So glad I did it once, but don't plan on doing it again.
And lastly, I had a great time in Istanbul, but the best part was not where I was or what I was doing but who I was with. It was so nice to see some friends from Texas and be fully Texas-fied for a weekend. It showed me just how much I have changed in ten months but also, just how much I have NOT changed. I am so thankful for the opportunity to meet up with Alyssa Jesse and for a few short days and make some lasting memories with them, but I am probably ok for saying that I don't think a return trip to Istanbul is in my future. It was a great city, I ate some great food, saw some incredible places, but was happy to be back in Paris Sunday evening!
Alyssa and Jesse are just starting their 3 week trip throughout the Middle East. If you would like to follow their blog and see what all they are doing, click on this link HERE. Alyssa should be updating but who knows when she'll have time (or internet).
Hope everyone had a great weekend themselves, only 2 more weeks until I move!!!!!!
Love, me
Monday, June 20
weekend recap
the weekend will have to wait to be fully recapped as i am still recovering and i let my friend borrow my computer so i am currently typing on a french keyboard and its not as easy as it might seem. anyways, this weekend started thursday after work when i made my way into paris to stay the night with my friend grace. she lives by the arc de triumph and with the sun not setting until rather late we decided to go for a late night walk to the eifefl tower to get crepes for an after dinner dessert. we ended up breaking into my friend mayas apartment to say hi, she lieves by the eiffel tower, and stayed rather late. this left grace and i walking back to her place rather late. it was worth it tho. i love late night strolls through paris with unexpected and unplanned events. the only downfall was that i had to be up at 5:30am the next morning to catch my flight to Istanbul.
I have 2 more weeks here in Chambourcy before I am officially a Parisian and can take my own late night walks through Paris. I am counting down the days. And not because I am not happy but because living so far away has been rather inconvenient and an inconvenience I am looking forward to getting rid of. 2 more weeks....
I have yet another friend leaving¨Paris for good tomorrow morning. How do you deal with this type of stuff? I am so over saying good bye to people thatI kind of want to become a hermit and not make anymore friends. It sucks. I cant even describe it but it really does start to take a toll on you, or at least it has me. I am very blessed to have had these people in my life for the season they were, thats for sure.
And in some bad news, i recieved word from a few more families, including the main family I was interested in, that they have chosen to hire someone else over me. TAlk about a downer. I am struggling to choose to see the positive in all this rejection but I am winning the battles so thats good. I am staying put in Paris and not giving up in defeat. I will have to be removed from this country before I voluntarily leave. I still have options and I am still researching other options and opportunities but its getting to be such a task that I dont have the time to undertake. job searching is such a time consuming task and when you have a job and are about to move and traveling all the time and add in a language and culture difference et voila...cest mon problemme. but i am confident something wioll come along so i am holding firmly to the hope that i do have.
on a positive note Clemence has been well behaved today, unlike her brother, and has been warming my heart by speaking to me in english. she even used a new word i was unaware she even knew. she is learning to jump rope these days and she is making a whole lot of progress and she was telling me to LOOK and OPEN MY EYES and COME HERE. shes a ham.
well, i am off to do other things, like rest my fingers from being so confused from typing on such a foreign key board. hope everyone had a great weekend. love and miss you all a whole bunch right now. love, moi
I have 2 more weeks here in Chambourcy before I am officially a Parisian and can take my own late night walks through Paris. I am counting down the days. And not because I am not happy but because living so far away has been rather inconvenient and an inconvenience I am looking forward to getting rid of. 2 more weeks....
I have yet another friend leaving¨Paris for good tomorrow morning. How do you deal with this type of stuff? I am so over saying good bye to people thatI kind of want to become a hermit and not make anymore friends. It sucks. I cant even describe it but it really does start to take a toll on you, or at least it has me. I am very blessed to have had these people in my life for the season they were, thats for sure.
And in some bad news, i recieved word from a few more families, including the main family I was interested in, that they have chosen to hire someone else over me. TAlk about a downer. I am struggling to choose to see the positive in all this rejection but I am winning the battles so thats good. I am staying put in Paris and not giving up in defeat. I will have to be removed from this country before I voluntarily leave. I still have options and I am still researching other options and opportunities but its getting to be such a task that I dont have the time to undertake. job searching is such a time consuming task and when you have a job and are about to move and traveling all the time and add in a language and culture difference et voila...cest mon problemme. but i am confident something wioll come along so i am holding firmly to the hope that i do have.
on a positive note Clemence has been well behaved today, unlike her brother, and has been warming my heart by speaking to me in english. she even used a new word i was unaware she even knew. she is learning to jump rope these days and she is making a whole lot of progress and she was telling me to LOOK and OPEN MY EYES and COME HERE. shes a ham.
well, i am off to do other things, like rest my fingers from being so confused from typing on such a foreign key board. hope everyone had a great weekend. love and miss you all a whole bunch right now. love, moi
Monday, June 13
recap
Most importantly, I finally finished reading my book, Lone Survivor. Obsessed!!!! As of right now its the best book I've ever read. Although, thats the story of my life these days, every time I do something new, it's always my new favorite thing. But honestly, this book was so addictive. I promise you they'll make a movie out of it someday and when they do, i will be the first in line to see it. Wow. It's so powerful and so raw and real. So its a bit gory and I did cry a few times which is not that uncommon for me and books, but just saying. It was a bit embarrassing crying on the train but thats where I get my good reading time in so oh well! I am a bit bummed my book is over though, that means I have to find another book and hope its as interesting to read as this one was. :-)
Anyways, where to start on the recap of my weekend? It was so busy. 2nd week in a row where there was a holiday and honestly, I am ready for some normality but it really doesn't exist anymore. Anyways, Saturday night was awesome with friends coming over for dinner and ending up having a random picnic at the top of my hill overlooking the countryside as the sun set. I learned a new skill I have, painting nails on the very fast moving train. Seems easy but the train was moving from side to side constantly so it is definitely not something anyone can do.
After church on Sunday I ditched my normal crowd and had a one-on-one lunch with a friend who I am getting to LOVE these days. We had some very deep conversation and it was just nice to talk to someone who you can just put it all out on the table and not be feared of being judged or misunderstood. Yes, she is American, haha! Us americans need to stick together.
So Sunday evening started the real party. My group of friends who have now adopted me into their "family" got together to spend the ferie together today. We decided to do a pizza and movie night last night and a slumber party. Yes, a co-ed slumber party. It was the most awesome night ever. Co-ed slumber parties should be more widely accepted. And before you all go getting ideas, we all slept in different rooms, actually, the boys slept on the first floor and all the girls got the beds in the bedrooms upstairs. But before falling asleep there was a lot of good old fashioned fun. One thing I am loving about some of my newer friends is how much we are alike in a very important way: we find it very important to satisfy our childish desires.... for instance: last night we build a fort. Yes, you read correctly. We can't just watch a movie...thats boring! So we turned the living room into a fort with blankets and clothes pins and pillows and string. It was pretty incredible. I hope to steal a few photos and maybe post them soon. It felt like camping, but inside. At around the perfect time of 3am, all our movies were over and we were slowly fading away so we hit the sack. We didn't exactly have pre determined plans this morning so most of us didn't end up waking up until 11 or 12 this morning (afternoon). Oh the life. We had not been able to decide on a place to go today because we had originally wanted to go to the beach but the forecast was not very solid for today (it rained a bit) and trying to find a car to rent was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. In the end I am glad we didn't because the traffic would have been horrible! But atlas, we finally decided on this park none of us had been to called Bois de Bologne. It was awesome! we had no idea what to expect but the 8 of us headed out on a hopefully fun filled adventure. We ended up finding a pond that rented out row boats and we spent an hour rowing boats around this man made lake. It was beautiful at this time and oh so much fun. We have videos to prove it, but they are in the editing room at the moment. Then we found a place for children with all the bouncy house things and a area with 10 trampolines. For 2 euros you could spend 5 minutes on the trampolines. We all decided to do it. For 5 minutes we were having the time of our lives. It was mostly young children out so we definitely drew a crowd as the guys were doing flips and the girls were screaming. (again, childlike behavior, and why i love my friends). Today I spent 4.50 euros and had the best time ever! Afterwards we ended up at a restaurant that is known for not so great tex-mex but we were hungry and I was dying to eat out. I know I have explained this before but I never eat out (except for Sundays and its always under 7 euros so that usually means subway or mcdonalds) so I was very excited to eat anywhere, didn't really care where it was. I left before everyone else to head home because I still (but only for 2 more weeks) live out in the middle of nowhere but what an evening.
I am so blessed beyond belief to have such incredible friends. I know back in Texas, trying to find a time to get everyone together was like pulling teeth (yes, one of my moms sayings) muchless trying to find something that everyone agreed they wanted to do and then in a budget that was affordable. Today we had no plan and a group of us (that all like each other) headed out the unknown, spent under 5 euros and made such incredible memories. I know I have also told you that I make next to no money, and so I even more appreciate the days when little is needed to make such awesome memories with such awesome people. I learn more and more daily how much the life you lives is about the people around you, not what you do or how you do it. I enjoy tremendously the company of my such incredible friends here that we could be sitting at home eating a home cooked meal or watching a movie (which is also a very common past-time for us) or going out in search of an adventure on a bank holiday, I am a happy gal!
Thats enough of that. Hopefully I remember to post pictures because it was fun and we took a lot.
My next couple of weeks are incredibly hectic as I am traveling to Istanbul on Friday and arrive back Sunday in time for another goodbye dinner for another friend (i am so over saying goodbye to such awesome people). My cool cousin Jackie and her girl scouts are going to be in Paris next week so I am excited to see a little bit of my family, and then the following weekend I move into Paris and then the following Monday when you people back home will be celebrating our countries Independence, I will be on a flight to Romania starting my new job!!! Normal life for me is officially over, school will be out, I'll be starting a new job and I will no longer have a set schedule.
Oh, and in the future I want to start introducing y'all to my lovely friends that I talk about so much on this blog. Are you in? Do you want to meet them? I think you do because they mean so much to me and really have made this experience thus far the most incredible days of my life yet (and to come) and I wish you all to see that part of my life.
Well, I am off to get some sleep. Have a great Tuesday!
Love, me
Anyways, where to start on the recap of my weekend? It was so busy. 2nd week in a row where there was a holiday and honestly, I am ready for some normality but it really doesn't exist anymore. Anyways, Saturday night was awesome with friends coming over for dinner and ending up having a random picnic at the top of my hill overlooking the countryside as the sun set. I learned a new skill I have, painting nails on the very fast moving train. Seems easy but the train was moving from side to side constantly so it is definitely not something anyone can do.
After church on Sunday I ditched my normal crowd and had a one-on-one lunch with a friend who I am getting to LOVE these days. We had some very deep conversation and it was just nice to talk to someone who you can just put it all out on the table and not be feared of being judged or misunderstood. Yes, she is American, haha! Us americans need to stick together.
So Sunday evening started the real party. My group of friends who have now adopted me into their "family" got together to spend the ferie together today. We decided to do a pizza and movie night last night and a slumber party. Yes, a co-ed slumber party. It was the most awesome night ever. Co-ed slumber parties should be more widely accepted. And before you all go getting ideas, we all slept in different rooms, actually, the boys slept on the first floor and all the girls got the beds in the bedrooms upstairs. But before falling asleep there was a lot of good old fashioned fun. One thing I am loving about some of my newer friends is how much we are alike in a very important way: we find it very important to satisfy our childish desires.... for instance: last night we build a fort. Yes, you read correctly. We can't just watch a movie...thats boring! So we turned the living room into a fort with blankets and clothes pins and pillows and string. It was pretty incredible. I hope to steal a few photos and maybe post them soon. It felt like camping, but inside. At around the perfect time of 3am, all our movies were over and we were slowly fading away so we hit the sack. We didn't exactly have pre determined plans this morning so most of us didn't end up waking up until 11 or 12 this morning (afternoon). Oh the life. We had not been able to decide on a place to go today because we had originally wanted to go to the beach but the forecast was not very solid for today (it rained a bit) and trying to find a car to rent was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. In the end I am glad we didn't because the traffic would have been horrible! But atlas, we finally decided on this park none of us had been to called Bois de Bologne. It was awesome! we had no idea what to expect but the 8 of us headed out on a hopefully fun filled adventure. We ended up finding a pond that rented out row boats and we spent an hour rowing boats around this man made lake. It was beautiful at this time and oh so much fun. We have videos to prove it, but they are in the editing room at the moment. Then we found a place for children with all the bouncy house things and a area with 10 trampolines. For 2 euros you could spend 5 minutes on the trampolines. We all decided to do it. For 5 minutes we were having the time of our lives. It was mostly young children out so we definitely drew a crowd as the guys were doing flips and the girls were screaming. (again, childlike behavior, and why i love my friends). Today I spent 4.50 euros and had the best time ever! Afterwards we ended up at a restaurant that is known for not so great tex-mex but we were hungry and I was dying to eat out. I know I have explained this before but I never eat out (except for Sundays and its always under 7 euros so that usually means subway or mcdonalds) so I was very excited to eat anywhere, didn't really care where it was. I left before everyone else to head home because I still (but only for 2 more weeks) live out in the middle of nowhere but what an evening.
I am so blessed beyond belief to have such incredible friends. I know back in Texas, trying to find a time to get everyone together was like pulling teeth (yes, one of my moms sayings) muchless trying to find something that everyone agreed they wanted to do and then in a budget that was affordable. Today we had no plan and a group of us (that all like each other) headed out the unknown, spent under 5 euros and made such incredible memories. I know I have also told you that I make next to no money, and so I even more appreciate the days when little is needed to make such awesome memories with such awesome people. I learn more and more daily how much the life you lives is about the people around you, not what you do or how you do it. I enjoy tremendously the company of my such incredible friends here that we could be sitting at home eating a home cooked meal or watching a movie (which is also a very common past-time for us) or going out in search of an adventure on a bank holiday, I am a happy gal!
Thats enough of that. Hopefully I remember to post pictures because it was fun and we took a lot.
My next couple of weeks are incredibly hectic as I am traveling to Istanbul on Friday and arrive back Sunday in time for another goodbye dinner for another friend (i am so over saying goodbye to such awesome people). My cool cousin Jackie and her girl scouts are going to be in Paris next week so I am excited to see a little bit of my family, and then the following weekend I move into Paris and then the following Monday when you people back home will be celebrating our countries Independence, I will be on a flight to Romania starting my new job!!! Normal life for me is officially over, school will be out, I'll be starting a new job and I will no longer have a set schedule.
Oh, and in the future I want to start introducing y'all to my lovely friends that I talk about so much on this blog. Are you in? Do you want to meet them? I think you do because they mean so much to me and really have made this experience thus far the most incredible days of my life yet (and to come) and I wish you all to see that part of my life.
Well, I am off to get some sleep. Have a great Tuesday!
Love, me
Saturday, June 11
you know when....
you are reading a book so good you just can't put it down. oh yea. thats me, right now. i am still trying to finish the last book i suggested, Lone Survivor. I know i suggested it before I was even 50 pages into it (thats just how good it is) but seriously, i have only about 50 pages left (out of 400 or more) and its to die for. Again, I will repeat that its only for those people who like this type of genre but its SOOOOO GOOOOOODDDDDD!!!!! i hope they make a movie out of it someday, i would buy the movie before i even saw it. its just amazing to read what a real person has gone through, all for the sake of our country's safety. wow. I hope to meet this man someday, Marcus, because he is a real hero!
Anyways, in other news, last night was interesting, as is my life in Paris. Since living here I have come to appreciate and love the unexpected as part of my daily routine. I don't have to work today? oh, no big deal. I can't use the car when I really needed it? Nothing new. Sleeping on the floor of someones apartment? Normal. Sleeping anywhere? Yea.... that was last night. So its not as interesting of a story as I might me making it out to be, but last night was again another first. I was invited to babysit for a family from my church. They live somewhere between where I live and Paris. I had already looked up online multiple ways of getting there (reglardless it took at least 2 train changes minimum) and how to get home. I had been told the latest would be 11pm and if that was correct then I'd have a short window of opportunity to catch my train back to the boonies so I could sleep in my own bed. If not, I had a back up plan up staying at friends house but this was not ideal because walking to this persons apartment from the metro at midnight is not what I consider fun. Atlas, I had a great time. Got to play with some new friends kids, the little girl, the same age as the one I watch, was such a fresh of breath air. When I asked her if she understood english she told me "oui" haha. SHe doesn't know English, although, at 4 years old, she is pretty much bilingual in german and french. Anyways, it was a quiet evening... but the parents didn't end up getting home until after 12:30am. There were no more trains leaving this late. OH NO! just kidding, not a big deal. I ended up spending the night at this families house on the clic-clac (not a pull out sofa but a.....i forget the word in english, oh darn languages) it was an interesting experience. I am all for sleeping in unknown places, but i do have to say it was a bit weird at first to be spending the night in some french families rather small (to me) apartment. Their apartment is the size of the upstairs of my current families house so you can imagine the size. Anyways, woke up this morning to a bright eyed 1 year old boy coming to greet me.
Ok, sorry, that wasn't that interesting, but it was a new experience and a bit of an awkward one at that. But good thing I have the "flexibility" gene in my body, or else I wouldn't be able to stand living in Paris where flexibility is a requirement.
Anyways, today I am off to go enjoy a picnic on the other side of paris while my friends and i watch a soccer match between the different age groups of my church. And the rain has stopped just in time to enjoy a lovely day! It is however in the 60's here...gasp!!! I have been wearing what you would consider "texas winter clothes" these days, crazy to me. at night it has been getitng to the 40's. weird. weird. weird.
so, have a great weekend! enjoy your awesome heat and i will enjoy my.... whatever it is, cold?
love and miss you all!
moi!!!
Anyways, in other news, last night was interesting, as is my life in Paris. Since living here I have come to appreciate and love the unexpected as part of my daily routine. I don't have to work today? oh, no big deal. I can't use the car when I really needed it? Nothing new. Sleeping on the floor of someones apartment? Normal. Sleeping anywhere? Yea.... that was last night. So its not as interesting of a story as I might me making it out to be, but last night was again another first. I was invited to babysit for a family from my church. They live somewhere between where I live and Paris. I had already looked up online multiple ways of getting there (reglardless it took at least 2 train changes minimum) and how to get home. I had been told the latest would be 11pm and if that was correct then I'd have a short window of opportunity to catch my train back to the boonies so I could sleep in my own bed. If not, I had a back up plan up staying at friends house but this was not ideal because walking to this persons apartment from the metro at midnight is not what I consider fun. Atlas, I had a great time. Got to play with some new friends kids, the little girl, the same age as the one I watch, was such a fresh of breath air. When I asked her if she understood english she told me "oui" haha. SHe doesn't know English, although, at 4 years old, she is pretty much bilingual in german and french. Anyways, it was a quiet evening... but the parents didn't end up getting home until after 12:30am. There were no more trains leaving this late. OH NO! just kidding, not a big deal. I ended up spending the night at this families house on the clic-clac (not a pull out sofa but a.....i forget the word in english, oh darn languages) it was an interesting experience. I am all for sleeping in unknown places, but i do have to say it was a bit weird at first to be spending the night in some french families rather small (to me) apartment. Their apartment is the size of the upstairs of my current families house so you can imagine the size. Anyways, woke up this morning to a bright eyed 1 year old boy coming to greet me.
Ok, sorry, that wasn't that interesting, but it was a new experience and a bit of an awkward one at that. But good thing I have the "flexibility" gene in my body, or else I wouldn't be able to stand living in Paris where flexibility is a requirement.
Anyways, today I am off to go enjoy a picnic on the other side of paris while my friends and i watch a soccer match between the different age groups of my church. And the rain has stopped just in time to enjoy a lovely day! It is however in the 60's here...gasp!!! I have been wearing what you would consider "texas winter clothes" these days, crazy to me. at night it has been getitng to the 40's. weird. weird. weird.
so, have a great weekend! enjoy your awesome heat and i will enjoy my.... whatever it is, cold?
love and miss you all!
moi!!!
Tuesday, June 7
let's get personal
As if I am not already personal...ha!
So, its almost 1am and I have a full day ahead of me and I am up and at it on the computer.
I am excited and a bit nervous because I scored a babysitting job for this Friday. Why would this be nerve-racking for me seeing as how I watch kids for my occupation? Well, because these are not my French kids... eeek! My french isn't quite where I would like it to be so I am a bit nervous to be watching some french kids who aren't used to my awkward broken french for a few hours. But so excited to be playing with some different children for the first time in almost ten months. whew! so excited.
On a different note, I am flat broke. Ok, thats a lie. But not too far from it. Who knew life was so darn expensive? who knew?! So lets talk money. Since I have moved here I have had to learn the hard lesson about how to be good with your money. So I think i've done an ok job. I don't have any debt, I've managed to travel a bit, made it back to Texas once and am hoping one more time before my savings finally runs out and while I rarely eat out and never shop anymore, I don't go without any necessities. (and I can be honest and say I've never been happier, so I don't mind scraping by each week).
Well let me tell you: I make 320 euros a month right now. That's 80 euros a week. yea, i know, you're thinking how in the heck does she do it? haha. sometimes I wonder the same thing. Why did I go to college for five years and choose to take a job making LESS than minimum wage among the other hardships I've had to endure since being here? crazy some might say but like I said, I've never been happier so I am happy to do this. I know its the life I was called to live and I wouldn't have it any other way. With that being said, try doing it. Yea, I don't pay rent and I don't pay for food as long as I eat at home (which is easier said than done sometimes) but its still not a whole lot of money.
So here I am learning life's lessons: how to live on the means I am choosing to be paid. Not an easy task. In fact its been a lot harder than I ever imagined. I come from a nice, comfy life style (thanks, Dad!) back in the States to having to save up (might take months) for a pair of shoes I want. That skirt in the window? forget it!
Life is different now. My priorities are different. I count my blessings, no matter how big or how small they are. daily. So when I say I am excited about this babysitting job on Friday.... I am excited. For many reasons, but one of them being, the blessing of a few extra euros this week. It won't be much, but in the life i live where every Euro counts, I count it as a blessing!
Choosing to see the good in everything is a daily decision and one I am making today. Glad I did because the ATM ate my debit card this morning....
love, me
So, its almost 1am and I have a full day ahead of me and I am up and at it on the computer.
I am excited and a bit nervous because I scored a babysitting job for this Friday. Why would this be nerve-racking for me seeing as how I watch kids for my occupation? Well, because these are not my French kids... eeek! My french isn't quite where I would like it to be so I am a bit nervous to be watching some french kids who aren't used to my awkward broken french for a few hours. But so excited to be playing with some different children for the first time in almost ten months. whew! so excited.
On a different note, I am flat broke. Ok, thats a lie. But not too far from it. Who knew life was so darn expensive? who knew?! So lets talk money. Since I have moved here I have had to learn the hard lesson about how to be good with your money. So I think i've done an ok job. I don't have any debt, I've managed to travel a bit, made it back to Texas once and am hoping one more time before my savings finally runs out and while I rarely eat out and never shop anymore, I don't go without any necessities. (and I can be honest and say I've never been happier, so I don't mind scraping by each week).
Well let me tell you: I make 320 euros a month right now. That's 80 euros a week. yea, i know, you're thinking how in the heck does she do it? haha. sometimes I wonder the same thing. Why did I go to college for five years and choose to take a job making LESS than minimum wage among the other hardships I've had to endure since being here? crazy some might say but like I said, I've never been happier so I am happy to do this. I know its the life I was called to live and I wouldn't have it any other way. With that being said, try doing it. Yea, I don't pay rent and I don't pay for food as long as I eat at home (which is easier said than done sometimes) but its still not a whole lot of money.
So here I am learning life's lessons: how to live on the means I am choosing to be paid. Not an easy task. In fact its been a lot harder than I ever imagined. I come from a nice, comfy life style (thanks, Dad!) back in the States to having to save up (might take months) for a pair of shoes I want. That skirt in the window? forget it!
Life is different now. My priorities are different. I count my blessings, no matter how big or how small they are. daily. So when I say I am excited about this babysitting job on Friday.... I am excited. For many reasons, but one of them being, the blessing of a few extra euros this week. It won't be much, but in the life i live where every Euro counts, I count it as a blessing!
Choosing to see the good in everything is a daily decision and one I am making today. Glad I did because the ATM ate my debit card this morning....
love, me
Monday, June 6
C'est Vannes
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| the streets of Vannes |
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| 2nd day, a ferry ride to an island for a bike ride |
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| meet one of my soul mates: Christina! |
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| Adrian and Christina on the ferry |
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| the baguettes for our picnic lunch |
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| my lion mane of a hair, thats what wind will do to ya |
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| day 3: market, but i only took pictures of the fish market |
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| road trip through Brittany |
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| my friends, Kyle actually made it into a picture |
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| the cliffs |
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| at the beach, but i forgot to take pictures until after |
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| Mont Saint Michael |
La fin! C'etais mon week-end. J'espere que vous avec apprecie ces photos!
Love, moi
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