MES AMIS!!!!! Today marks one week since I have written to you and there is a lot that has happened! Last week we began vacation from school so the girls and I did not have school. Friday night was my first succesful attempt at a half marathon!!!...well it was only 18 miles but that is close....and it was roller blading...BUT I am still proud!!!
The festivities began around 10 PM and G's brother and I made our way to Paris for the grand parade of roller bladers. There were nearly a thousand participants as the night settled and the action began. This particular evening invited Halloween costumes so it was a sight to see! With my witch hat on head and my roller blades on feet we took off with the crowd. The ability to come to a quick halt for my feet is something that needs work because it is not the best feeling when you are behind thousands of people who are standing still and you are speeding toward them. I will continue to work on that because it can be quite frightening.
As we glided through the streets of Paris, the atmosphere was enchanting and the onseers faces lit up as we drifted past....the traffic is paused just for us as we sweep in and out of intersections and the comfort of the police lagged behind to cap off the train of people. There were several stops along the way in order to close the gap between the front and the rear.
The crowd was interesting and I enjoyed my time sooo much! The night was getting late and cold but we kept going. In all, three hours had gone by once we were finished. I did not feel too tired from the trip but 18 miles sounds like a lot! Along the way we met a nice guy from England who was happy to find some people who could speak English. He was all alone but wanted to find people with whom he could talk! He was really nice and now we are facebook friends and going to keep in touch!
I have some pictures from the evening so I will be posting those on facebook soon!
On Saturday I was tired because I did not return home until 2 or a little later! And once I woke up the family was preparing for Halloween. The girls dressed up and painted their faces and we carved a pumpkin and made some soup out of it which was really good! I took the girls out for some trick-or-treating around the neighborhood for a brief 10 minutes or so and no many people participate in Halloween here.
I have been told it used to be more celebrated but now it is just not as popular. I was sad that I could not be home celebrating Halloween the BIG way like many of those holidays that us Americans know how to completely take to the extreme!!! That is my favorite thing about America...we sure know how to celebrate...even when there is little reason to celebrate!! I am having such a good experience here in France but I have been realizing so many things about my own culture and how much more I appreciate where I come from. I think France has so many great things to offer and much more history than America, of course, and I do enjoy learning about the culture, however, I just think America has so much more variety and many more things to experience because of our mixed cultures.
So on Sunday, I woke up and went to see "This is it" the Michael Jackson movie with my friend Flo Dizzle...hahaha Or should I say "smooth criminal" haha but anyways I was late because I got lost and could not find the train very quickly and I am not surprised at all!!! But we made it without missing too much of the movie and that movie is AMAZING!!! I really reccomend it!
I miss MJ a lot and the movie made me sad that he is no longer with us R.I.P.....I wish I could say that I really knew him hahahaha but then we met up with his brother and had lunch at a sandwich place which was good and then Flo and I went to a bookstore called WHSMITH which is an English speaking book store so I felt right at home! I bought some books on french grammar and vocabulary and a lot of books for the girls as well.
I really need to buckle down and learn this French stuff because I am getting very frustrated not being able to express myself to people!
After we were at the book store for a long time, because I am obsessed with children's books and could not leave that section, we headed to a bar for some beers and chatting about french things! haha I am so lucky to have Flo because he helps me so much with french and is such an awesome person! You flower thug you! hahahaha
That night, Sunday to be exact, I came home and G's mother was over for dinner and we talked and ate really good cheese where you melt it on this machine thing and then put it on ham or potatoes. It was sooo good!!! Gs mother is a French teacher so she can somewhat help me, however, she does not know much English. G had an idea, which was kind of what I was wanting to do, to find something to do as a second job in my free time so that I can make more money to travel or whatever. He suggested that I teach English or tutor people in English for some extra money! I thought that would be a great idea because I like to teach people and I know English!!! hahahaha So his mother agreed to mention it to people in her neighborhood and at her school and get my name out there so if people need assistance that would be perfect! Also, I am looking for people who do not know much English at all with whom I can talk and it will force me to speak in French! To be honest, for the past couple of days I have felt the urge to give up, but I know that God has something amazing in store for me and I must not give up now. I need to stay focused and really concentrate on practicing the language everyday!
With my new books it will definitely help me as long as I stay on task and try to use the language as much as possible.
So, on Monday I woke up and did not feel very well and had a bit of a cold so G took the girls to the horse club where J rides and they spent the day there. I slept and just tried to feel better and after sleeping a little I felt great! We did not do too much on Monday evening. On Tuesday we went to EuroDisney!! It was sooooo fun!
I uploaded pictures on facebook already from that day and I am such a huge kid at heart!! I cannot get enough of that kind of stuff. No matter what, I will always be fascinated with the giant costumes of the characters! I got soooo excited to be close to them hahaha
Disney never gets old and my favorite ride is DEFINITELY the Dumbo ride!!! We went on several but that is just always the best in my book!
After a long day at Disney we came home and ate dinner, which is often pasta for the girls because they love it! Then, on Wednesday, I had to get up and go to the post office, the bank, and the store. Wednesdays is when the cleaning lady comes and I try to talk to her and it is fun but also confusing haha At 3 PM we went to see the play Cinderella. Of course it was in French which made it very very difficult for me to understand, but I already knew the story so I knew what was going on for the most part. After the play we went to the big mall here called Gallery Lafayette! It is HUGE but I know where I want to go when I decide to splurge most of my money on shopping! I know there are many of you who have asked me about that and I still need to go shopping but do not worry I definitely will be going soon I hope!!! My mission will be to find shoes big enough for my feet!! hahaha
I cannot believe it is already November 5th! This is crazy but I feel like I have been in France for longer than 3 weeks.
Today I was supposed to be headed to Germany but there was a strike on the train line and I was unable to make the journey :( But I can use my ticket from today to go tomorrow! I am definitely going tomorrow because I am really excited about this trip! I am sad that I was unable to go today but everything happens for a reason and I will still have soooo much fun!!! Right Tweeg?? haha
So I am just sitting here taking this time to write to my loves and do laundry and I will be studying French after this. I downloaded the 2 episodes of Modern Family that I missed since I have been gone and I LOVE IT!!! That show is amazing and I never can stop laughing when I watch it.
Through Skype I can get unlimited world calling for 9 euros a month which means I can call you people on your phones at home through my computer. I might try to look into this so that I can talk to you guys but I have not decided if I want to do that yet or not.
After I get back from Germany, granted there are no strikes tomorrow, I will have class on Monday and then at 4:30 I will be picking J up from school and taking her to her mom's and doing homework, which helps me with French when I help her with homework, and spending some time teaching her English! I am working on some lesson ideas because I really think it is easier to learn when there is a good structure for everyone to follow. I think I will begin with some grammar conducting sentences using the, a, or an and is and connecting words together using these words. English can be difficult to learn in many aspects but I think the language is very logical and the basics may be easier, in my opinion I believe English is much easier than French, which may seem biased because I already know it obviously, but by really breaking it down and focusing on many aspects of each language, it seems that there is more of a patternin English and just an easier way to grasp many concepts.
I really hope to become very knowlegable about languages in general and once I do that maybe I will move on to conquer many other languages one day.
I have thought about maybe taking some online classes or something while I am here so that I can work on a goal to get my masters. However, that does cost money which I have little of and I still am not positive which direction I want to go as far as getting my masters.
I will be saying Au Revoir for now!!! A Bientot and I look forward to talking with you again!
Please keep me updated on what is going on in your lives as well because it is important for me to stay connected and feel as much apart of your lives as I can! Miss you all and I hope to see some of you very soon!!!
If anyone has any suggestions on good books to read I would appreciate it! Also, any good songs or anything that I should know at all would be good!
I heard about the voting YES for casinos in Ohio....not too happy about that!
I will be trying to keep up with the news from over there as much as I can. LOVE YOU!!!
Keep me in the loop ya'll!
My prayers go out to all of you and God has been taking good care of me here!!
MUAH!
XOXO
J