hiatus

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chez le coiffeur

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fin, bref.

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Back (Home)

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Joyeux Noel!

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I am zanksfullll for......

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vacances part deux

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24 February 2013

hiatus

As I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to spell the word in the title (praise you, autocorrect) I realized the corrected spelling looked to me to be pronounced more like "heyyyy-shus" than "hi-a-tus" with a hard T, which just confirms my fears that my English is getting worse while my French has plateaued. It's a cruel world.

 Anywho, the reason for said title is because of a blogging hiatus that I am currently in the midst of. Literally the day after I posted my last blog entry, my computer went to sleep and never woke up. After seeing two of Angers computer specialists (the term "specialists" being used very VERY loosely) it has been determined that it is, in fact, is unresuscitable ("Say bye-bye" was how one of these guys explained it to me as I fought back tears and the urge to punch him).

 So, because of this, and tomorrow's adventure to Scotland followed by a trip to Geneva, there will be a short break in entries for this blog. But despite my lack of Internet presence, I will still be alive (hopefully). 

 Also, please don't judge me for spelling/word mistakes, this is actually being written on the two inch sceeen of my iPhone.

Ming.
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07 February 2013

chez le coiffeur

For the last...ummmm....since I've arrived in France... I've been dreading getting my hair cut. My hair is one of my top three favorite parts of my body (moreso 'extension' than 'part', but alas...) and a decently large part of my confidence and who I am. So as my four month mark in France began to roll around, I realized I really really needed to do something about my scraggly locks. For the last three weeks about, I have been talking to anyone and everyone about how I need a haircut, how I'm scared to get a haircut, how I'm stressed about it, and just general things involving hair that no human should ever talk to another human about at length more than one time. I told a friend for probably the 6th time since we met a mere 2 weeks ago that I was nervous about my upcoming haircut, to which he replied "Oui, je vois" which, coincidentally was also the point at which I realized I have no social skills.  
A "Before" selfie for your viewing pleasure; also an example of lack of social skills
ANYWAYS, my friend said her friend knew of a really cheap beauty school which is pretty good, and I felt that this woman was a pretty trustworthy source because she's a real adult with a family and a house and makes a pretty delicious meatloaf-type food with nuts and oats in it (and it's still pretty good even with those things included). So I made an appointment, made sure to tell everyone I knew that I had made said appointment, and quickly ran over some vocab with my flatmate so as to avoid looking like an idiot. 
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03 February 2013

fin, bref.

ALRIGHT GUYS, I'm just going to go ahead and spare you my usual "Holy CANOLI, I haven't updated this blog in WEEKS! Life's crazy, so many baguettes to eat, SO LITTLE TIME LOL" schpiel and pretend that I haven't only written once since Christmas. So, moving on, ZBZ.

 The past two weeks of classes have been so-so. I'm beginning to feel easily frusterated by lackluster and chatty/rude students and miscommunication with professors alike, but I'm trying to keep a good spirit. There are wonderful moments, however, when students surprise me with a certain drive or desire to learn which makes up for those who could care less. For example, I have had at least two students who have been deemed "unworthy" of spending class time with me by their professor because of a low level or bad behavior, but who have specifically asked their professor to be allowed back into my class, which is nice. In other news, this week is practice exams for my Terminale students (equivalent to American senior's in their last year of high school), which means at least three of my classes are canceled. Impeccable. 

  In other other news, I have had the chance to see snow in Angers not only once but TWICE, and although it didn't stick around long and turned to mush almost instantaneously, I was pretty stoked to see it if even for a short while.

So happy themed parties are still a thing post-grad
La neige!
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14 January 2013

Back (Home)

After a very wonderulf 2.5 weeks in Chicago, I am back (home) in Angers! (Sorry, Dad) Being that most of the people who read this little cyber hot mess of a journal (I'm guessing) are my family strewn throughout the US, I don't see much of a point of recounting what I did, since I was lucky enough to have you all experience it with me. 

 I will, however, take this time while I have you all here to express how grateful I am that I got to spend time with you all, and how incredibly fortunate I am to have had the opportunity to see you. I love you all so very much and I literally would not be able to be doing what I'm doing in France without all of your support. You all are incredible, amusing, inspirational, and loving beyond words and I hope you are reminded of that every single day. 

 Anywho, not much has happened since I arrived back in France besides a bit of jetlag (and a jetlag-fueled decision to re-arrange my room; promptly cut short by a near-death experience moving a 12-foot armoire all alone), some good classes (some not-so-good classes), a brief potential run-in with the flu epidemic sweeping western France (verdict's still not out on that one...), some nice long walks with friends (some old, some new; see below), and a cutesy wedding-themed party hosted by another assistant who  unfortunately had to miss her friend's wedding back in the States.
Tried way too hard to coax this lil' bugger off this wall.
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10 December 2012

Joyeux Noel!

Christmas season is here! 

 Things that are similar in France as in Chicago:
       - The Christmas Market: One in each little French town, little huts much akin to those at Christkindlmarket. However, the things being sold in these markets are MUCH different. Although they do have the standard churros/crepes/waffles/sugary delights, they also have various devices which can only be described as "As seen on TV!" merchandise (read: microwavable pillows, flower stamps for manicures), which I find a little strange to be in a Christmas market....
       - Christmas music: There is a store that I have to ride my bike past everyday to and from my school that, I kid you not, transformed OVERNIGHT from a normal women's clothing store to a crazy everything Santa-themed store that blasts Christmas music. A little part of me gets homesick when the classic "I'll be Home for Christmas" blares at me on my way home from dealing with demon high school students all day.
       - Advent calendar: These little suckers popped up a little too early in the Christmas season for my liking (around the first week of November), but CLEARLY I had to purchase one for myself and my two good friends, Diana and Emily. They truly are exactly the same here as they are in the states -- same weird Christmas scene on the front, same Christmas-themed chocolate shapes, and same shitty waxy chocolate....JUST as I remembered! Diana and I have both lamented about how let down we were about the awful quality of chocolate. I guess I shouldn't have expected much from something that cost 1 euro though.....

10 days into this mess and not so secretly hating every minute of it


Things that are different in France:
        - No lights: Besides the lights that the city installs, there are no Christmas lights on people's houses! I guess it's an American thing....
        - Christmas music: I know, I know, I had this under "similar", but it is also very different and here's why; they play it on speakers on the main streets, and sometimes they play raggae. I don't get it.

 Anywho, I went to the opening ceremony of the Christmas market the weekend before last, and here is what I saw:

Whatever these things were supposed to be were literally terrified of my spikey phone case
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23 November 2012

I am zanksfullll for......

Alas! Thanksgiving day has come and past and it has not been forgotten about here in France. My celebration of the holiday began last week teaching about the holiday in all my classes. Some of my kids knew a bit about the holiday, but, for the most part, it was something new for them. I began by teaching them about the historical aspect of the holiday, then moving onto modern observances, and then discussing the controversial aspect of the holiday if I felt the kids would be capable of understanding the ideas. After that, we watched a scene from "Smallville" where Clark Kent stands up to say why he's thankful, his mom cries, then dinner rolls are passed as early 2000's sappy music plays in the background. Afterwards (my FAVORITE part), I tell the kids about hand turkeys, laugh while the guess what it means, then force them to draw their own and then present to the rest of the class what they are thankful for. Some of them are really sweet and heartwarming, but also some of them were about cats, which is also nice I guess. Without fail, they all begin by saying "I am zankssssfullll..." There is no S in the word, and that's not even part of the French accent so....why? Anywho, it was fun and made me happy to be able to talk about this American holiday, and I even got a couple "HAPPIEEEE ZANKSGIVING!"'s yelled at me today in the hall, so at least a little something stuck with them, if only the date.
Um....? Also please note the white-out that covered up the "s" in thankful....WHY.
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17 November 2012

vacances part deux

After my first week of vacation spent lounging in Angers, I decided to get out of town for the second week. My first destination was.....Paris (for the 6th time in my life).  After my last time in Paris, I felt more keen on the place, now that I don't feel the need to visit all the tourist-y places, and because my friend Alex would actually be there this time! Saturday afternoon I boarded the TGV in Angers sans communication with Alex (for the two days leading up to my departure), unconcerned figuring it would work itself out by the time I arrived in Paris. Well, it didn't. I arrived in Montparnasse around 6 pm still with no contact with Alex, and by that point realized that her phone was also completely off. Feeling confident in my Parisien knowledge (ha!) I waddled to her house with my bags and plopped down at a bar to have a drink and wait for word from her. Luckily, I had contacted my friend who I studied with in Grenoble who is now living in Paris a couple days before, and he came to rescue me from my lonliness and had a chance to catch up. Eventually Alex turned her phone on, informed me that she had no idea I was coming that day, and met up with me at her apartment after she got off work. The rest of my time in Paris was spent partying with Alex and her comrades (until 6AM on a SUNDAY! These Parisians are a different breed....), meeting lots of people, and a short stop at the Musee d'Orsay to see the Impressionism and Fashion exhibit (which, was kind of a let down, but I can't complain since I defied authority and got in free).


Beautiful sunny day! (The day I left...)

Mandatory lock bridge photo.
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