et...commence!

I arrived back from a easy going / slightly stressful weekend. How does that work you might ask? Well, it was easy going because I wasn't actually working but slightly stressful because I was with my new family of whom I barely know and who barely speak English. I got the pleasure of riding the train both ways because there was no room in their car for me, which I was thankful for a break to relax. Although I don't find the trains that relaxing. Anyways, I arrived back in Paris just in time to be greeted by the Africans protesting on my street. Protesting is nothing out of the norm here, and especially since I live next door to two embassies, I am sure it happens more often that you think, but what a nice greeting, yea? haha. The street I live off going down to a round-about and several of the other streets leading to the round-about were closed due to the strike. My friend and I, on our walk to the Pizza Hut, passed by the protest, but didn't stop long enough to read their signs. All I know is that they don't like something the President has done. The funny thing is that my whole street was LINED with police cars. and by police cars I mean police trucks. Most of them were still full, just around incase things got out of hand, and a few were protecting the embassy of whichever country was protesting, holding shields and wearing armor. They were cute as well! My friend mentioned we should have told them there was a protest in my apartment but I don't think I could've fit that many policemen in my apartment. Not a dull moment ever here in Paris, I guess that answers my question as to do y'all find my life interesting? This, ladies and gentlemen, is not normal. Protesting and striking is normal here in France, but I am not French, so to me it is interesting when your whole street is lined with 100 policemen and streets are shut down and there is a crowd of people chanting and police officers warn you to be "safe" even though you live in THE safest neighborhood in all of Paris. That was my evening! 

So, my new family is still being discovered so I can leave the breakdown to another time. I will not be moving just yet as I still do not have a move-in date. Apparently my apartment is being painted and so I have to wait to find out if it will be painted this week or later on after I've moved in. I say after i've moved in because let me tell you, I am ready to settle in somewhere. As much as living the nomadic life is fun and all, I am ready to unpack and feel at home again. After 2 months of traveling, living out of suitcases even when I wasn't traveling, not really feeling at home anywhere and not being able to unpack anything or know where anything is, I am ready to start to settle in again. Even if it may only be for a year. 

One cool thing I do now have for this apartment and that I will take with me to my next apartment is a painting. The father of my new family like to paint and at their second home in Le Touquet (where I was this weekend) I found a stash of his paintings in the house just put up against a wall and not being enjoyed and so I asked if i could take one back to paris to hang in my apartment as I really enjoyed them all. He said it would be his pleasure to have me hang one in my apartment and so I chose one, took it with me on the train, got lots of silly looks on the metro (its not small) and now its hanging lop sided on my wall. Lop sided because it needs two hooks and not just one but since I am not here in this apartment much longer I will not be taking the time to make it even. I will just have to enjoy the lop sidedness of my new painting! 

So, thats all for now! Oh, and one more interesting fact: this weekend in Le Touquet where I was, it was so cold that I needed a coat! Who knew that moving to a new country (silly me) that I'd not only need to adjust mentally, but all wardrobe-ly. My wardrobe is not fit for a life here and I am slowly adapting it to French weather. Jackets did not exist in my wardrobe before and neither did rain jackets or scarves (although i have a few of those) or boots of many different kinds. The French do dress for style, this is true, but they also dress a lot for weather and there are so many different kinds of weather that it seems like you need a lot of different kinds of things. 

Anyways, hope you all had an amazing weekend!

Love, me