Le Nouvel Ans

Well,

Things have been a little crazy for me... Im in Paris at a friends house and a lot of things have happened which are sad. Im with people that I dont know very well so I have to pretend to be happy. That is hard. I was going to stay in Paris for the New Year but I think that Ill go back to Orleans because Paul is there and Raina and Arnault... people that are close to me. I think I would like to start the New Years with them.

Its so hard to know that you are making the right decisions in life, I never do but what Ive learned that even if you do make the "right decision"... if it wasnt what was in your heart you will always wonder. I think too much with my head sometimes. Anyway so far Paris has been really good and Ive eaten way too much and tonight is RACLETTE!! yay

Love from Leah

It's 3:30pm... My Turn Jesus!

Birthday cake!

Ok so yesterday was my birthday, I'm sure all of you know that because I usually do a countdown beginning in December haha. Anyway. The night of the 24th I went over to a family's house (I give english lessons to one of their kids and they just really like me) so we exchanged presents and they gave me local specialties, like cookies and candy and this pear brandy sort of thing AND two tickets to the championship basketball game because Orléans team is playing. Apparently they are really good, so that should be cool. So after that I went home and starting cooking. I made Turkey with foie gras and fig stuffed in it... so good, and I made my french green bean casserole. For those of you who have never tried foie gras, I suggest you do it because it is delicious seriously. So anyway then Raina, her boyfriend and Kyle (another american dude) came over and there were supposed to be more people but we actually had a lot of fun. We ate, we drank and boy were we merry. Then of course I talked to my parents at 3 in the morning.

The next day was a surpisingly beautiful day. I went to Raina's house and had brunch and then we went for a sunny walk (for once in the last month and a half) along the Loire. Lovely. Later that night we went to the best sushi restaurant ever. I mean real japanese style restaurant. Good wine good food good peeps. I couldn't have asked for more... well except my friends and family from the States. But beggars can't be choosers I suppose. :) All in all great day!

Thanks to everyone who made it special!

Love Leah

Big 2-4

It's my birthday and so far so good. I will make a real post later after all the festivities are finished. I've already gotten some really good presents though. :)

Jingle Bells Batman Smells

So, I'm on vacation. School is out for a couple of weeks and I don't know what I'm going to do here because everyone is gone. Literally I have no one to talk to at this moment. Some people have gone back to their respective countries for good which is really sad and others will come back. Although its been pretty hard for people to get places what with strikes, bad weather and train accidents. Everybody has had major issues traveling lately. Anyway, what makes this important to me is my birthday. haha. I was kind of hoping that this year lots of people would not be with their families and we could all spend it together but sadly it is not turning out this way and it will just be me Raina and her boyfriend... which I'm sure will be awesome but  I was hoping I could have a big party. Also a couple of days ago  my friend offered to take me to a restaurant for my birthday and he found out it was closed on Christmas. "Story of my life" is what I said to him. I mean I'm used to it everything is always closed but for some reason when he said that I got a little bit upset. I just don't like being disappointed. Its different when I'm prepared for things to not go how I want them, I was just really hoping that this time it would be different so now I'm disappointed. Oh well I do however have a christmas tree because it was on the street and I felt entitled, so I took it. Wish I could say I was drunk but this was just a bad sober decision.

The snow is gone
Love Leah

I Wasn't Dreaming of a White Christmas... Mais Merci Quand-Même

For the millionth time... I don't like snow.

Its ok for about 5 minutes and then it just becomes ugly, dangerous, brown mush. In fact, I would love someone to convince me to like it. Not only that, but today in class it was ridiculous. I mean, how do you teach 12 year olds English, when its snowing outside and they know they aren't going to have class tomorrow? You don't... you just sit there, staring out the window, cursing the white flakes that are falling before your eyes, covering the roads in any icy death trap. Ok sure I'm exagerating a little bit, but can you blame me? I from Texas for christ's sake. Sure it gets cold there but I don't have to go out in it, and if it snows, everything is cancelled for at least 3 days even if the snow doesn't stick. So all this snow does is make everything around me look either like a white desert (depressing) or like someone shit all over the sidewalk (equally depressing borderline nauseating). I know, I know I need an attitude adjustment. I'm working on that in fact I'm going to go workout right now at a gym that costs me money because ITS SNOWING OUTSIDE which means I must pay to run. Whatever...

Baby mine don't you cry
Love Leah

The New Marilyn Monroe

SOOOO
It has been an eventful weekend for me. First thursday night there was a party at my house where I accidentally got drunk I forgot that American whiskey (yes i specifically bought bourbon) is stronger than scotch. I dont know if thats true but thats how I feel it all went down. So anyway I went to bed at about 2 and woke up and 6 to work allllllll day. 8- 430 ( I know all the people with real jobs are like shut up Leah) THEN I had to run.. seriously run.. by tram and then on foot.. to the place where the concert was for soundcheck. Then I had to run... again seriously... to my house. None of these places are even remotely close to each other. Anyway luckily Mathieu picked me up once I showered and everything because he had to go there too. So we get there and its 3 euros to get in with an open bar. Nice. The family I work for came and most of our friends came because the jazz group I play with are all my friends. Long story short the band was awesome. We rocked it seriously. People were dancing and cheering and people came up to us after, it was really great. Then we just danced the night away. Oh how I miss singing.

So that night I went to bed late again because of the partying and had to get up early again! 730 this time to go to Paris with the family. It was the Fete de Mexicanos. So we went to mass at Notre Dame which was really neat and its just beautiful in there. But instead of a traditional mass they had a mariachi band to play mexican hymns. The mass was in spanish and french. All in all it really made me miss my little mexican Sarah. The mariachi singer sang Ave Maria and it was the most beautiful thing ive heard in a long time. So after that we ate at a Mexican restaurant!!!!!!! I was so stoked, we even had margaritas!! So good.

It was a good day but by the end I just couldnt say anything else I was so cold and tired. But now Im good. I miss everyone like crazy especially because its the holidays. They actually play christmas carols in the sreet through speakers. Its like being in a movie or something. Ha, anyway I hope everyone at home is good. I love ya'll;

Love Leah

I taught Frenchies how to Two Step

Hello everyone,

I feel like its been a long time since I've written. That is partially due to my fab trip to Paris grâce à Mathieu and his friends who were super nice. The only, I mean the only thing I would have changed about the weekend was the fact that they live on the 13th floor and the elevator is broken. Well at least I got some exercise. Anyway I ate delicious Japanese food and we saw a really good rock show, which made me super homesick. All I could think about was Austin when we were watching them. Anyway, we also so an amazing Miles Davis exhibit. It was cool because there are so many things to show since it wasn't that long ago that he was alive. It went through his entire career and it just goes to show, NOBODY looked cool in the 80's. It really was a good trip and the people were very cool and patient with my bad french.

But now with the sadness. Its funny how with an  awesome weekend comes a bad day. Its raining (like always), I don't feel good, I'm homesick, I sang really badly at practice because A) my heart wasn't in it and B) I'm getting sick. Then I had to go to tutoring which wasn't bad at all actually it was nice. But then when we were waiting for the tram and there was this group of idiot boys, you know the kind that harass women and rape children, sell drugs all that good stuff. There are a lot in Orléans so I just avoid that part of town.. which is easy. But they were at the tram stop and they came up to the car and asked Nico (the guy I tutor) for his car lighter, which was missing. Nico said to me... well he sure didn't come up here to ask for that lighter he came up here to see what you look like. So we went to the next one and sure enough they were on the tram and then one of them pissed in it. What the fuck. You know I get really tired of being called FILLE FILLE VIENS! TOI, FILLE! I hate it.

Anyway, Stoney sent me a good christmas gift and I'm listening to some of it right now.  Here are some pictures from Pere Lachaise (the big cemetery in Paris) Why do I like to visit cemeteries so much... I don't know. Makes for good pictures though.

 

Allah Akbah

Get this,

Switzerland just passed a referendum banning the construction of minarets, which are basically muslim steeples. Just the colorful top of a church. I want to know how you can justify this without talking about racism or hitler? Whats so wrong with the swiss muslims building mosques you ask? Well the minarets are a symbol of political power. Ok.... so does that mean the Vatican is not ok, because god knows that is a symbol of political power. Someone might say to that, "Well, the christians dont't go around killing people who are different." Go open a history book, you idiot. That is basically the entire christian legacy. Sure they suffered for about 500 years but boy did they return the favor. The christians had the 1st century, the jews had the holocaust... why dont people realize that this is heading in that direction. In a tolerant country, with a democracy, you cannot ban someone from practicing their religion unless you ban everyone from practicing their religion. Its discriminatory. And when people feel discriminated against... well thats when you have real problems.Come on Switzerland, I thought you were supposed to be the sane people?

Leah

BBC News Article

Thanks for Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I had the best thanksgiving. I cooked a lot of it and then other people brought other things. It was so tasty and the first thanksgiving for a lot of French people. They were really impressed I think. We had a couple of frenchies and a couple of Americans and lots of wine. It was really nice. It made me really miss my grandmother though. I really think she would have been really proud of my cooking abilities. I even made up the green bean casserole because france doesn't believe in canned soup. I was so happy. We even went around and made everyone say what they were thankful for and it was just really touching. So here are some pictures. :)

Also for those of you that don't know I'm singing in a Jazz group and it makes me really happy so we're going to have a concert and maybe I can record some of it. here are some pics from that.

---- or maybe not because the internet is stupid!

Love Leah

A revolution without dance is a revolution not worth having.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I really hate umbrellas. Some old lady almost poked my eye out because she couldn't see where she was going. Maybe she could've seen my face if hers hadn't been stuck under a stupid plastic tent preventing her from getting wet... I mean really what is that umbrella really protecting you from. Your pants are still wet, and if you are worried about your hair GET A HOOD!

Ok enough of that. Today I finally watched V for Vendetta... I know its been out for a really longtime but I just haven't gotten around to seeing it. I love it. I think everyone should watch it, because it redefines your idea of terrorism. I mean in this case, the movie scenario, this terrorist is seen as a liberator. But is it ok to kill people in the name of liberty? If you say yes... then you must ask yourself where you draw the line. When is terrorism ok, and when is it too far? Is it only too far when its your side they're terrorizing? And then the better question... who says your side is right anyway? It's all very intellectually stimulating. It makes me wish my Dad was here to discuss it, i.e. argue about it. But then again maybe its better that he's not. ;)

At this moment I am trying to plan a two hour lesson for this kid I started tutoring. Two hours is a long time for two people to talk about English. Luckily he's my age and seems pretty interested so its almost like he's just paying me to hang out with him while speaking English. And the family is super nice, last night they fed me din din and for once I felt really comfortable eating with a family of French people. As a population they just have so many rules about food and that freaks me out cause god knows I don't have any. haha

You know what else freaks me out... all of the people in the Mcdonalds eyeing my computer right now. Gotta go :)

Love Leah

Lazy Sunday

Its raining outside, which is not unusual but today I can really appreciate it because I dont want to go outside anyway and now i have a reason. Not to mention Waterworld is on and since it is one of my guilty pleasures, I have to watch it. Today started late because I woke up at 1 30 (even though I went to bed at midnight). Its funny because when I stay up really late I get up really early, maybe to make myself feel better about going out. Haha. But when I go to sleep really early its hard to wake up the next day. But I think Im all caught up on sleep. Raina and I had a nice quiet evening eating red beans and rice (that my lovely mother and father sent me) and watching the latest Woody Allen movie, which was actually pretty good, if you like his style. Its called Whatever Works and it was really funny. The guy from Curb Your Enthusiasm is in it.

So here are my plans for the next couple of weeks, Im super excited but they arent solidified yet so we'll see
Orphan Thanksgiving
Going away party for early leavers ( Im gonna be really sad)
Paris for a couple of days
Barcelona just before Christmas then Orphan Christmas/ My birthday for those of us who cant fly all the way to America
Edinburgh for New Years Wooo
After that I have no idea. Im super excited though its going to be an awesome christmas break. Jam packed with fun, excitement and shenanigans.
Now Im going to eat leftovers,

Love Leah

Big Banana

I wish everyone could be a teacher for a day. Sure it sounds easy... vacations all the time and just the sheer act of teaching sounds easy, but its not. Normally I just have small groups of 10 but today because the teacher wasn't there, I took 3 whole classes of spoiled rotten teenagers. Some of them I really like, others not so much. I think I scared some of them because I turned the bitch on. They just wouldn't shut the fuck up. (Sorry mom)I even gave them the stern voice and the go to hell look. It also adds to the intimidation that they don't understand what I'm saying. I don't mind if we aren't talking about what we're supposed to talk about, I mean, its a conversation class so we can talk about whatever we want... but they do not give a shit about me, where I come from, who I am, or what I do. I want to know about them but they won't answer and they never ask me. The kids at the other school(the ghetto one) are interested in me and America and just the fact that I'm older, which makes things easier because I can just talk about America and they are fascinated. In Artney, they can't even consider a life outside of their tiny town. The only time they even acknowledge me is to say something about what I look like. Today I heard a girl make fun of a boy for having a grosse banane. I'm pretty sure its what it sounds like. I just stared at them and another kid said "Don't you know she understands?!" Yeah I do understand... I wasn't really sure how to respond to that. What do you do when a girl tells the whole class that her classmate has a hard on? What the hell. I mean I'm even wearing a scarf so no one can see my boobs... SO that sucked. Luckily I can go for a run its beautiful outside and the day is over. I'm actually sitting outside a tiny train station waiting to go back to civilization and heureusement there is internet. Weird. This is last place I would have thought would even remotely have wireless internet. Ah the modern age.

Anyway France won, cool
Long weekend ahead, also cool

Love Leah

Pictures of Blois

Ah, here we begin our journey to Blois. If it wasn't so green I would have thought it was North Texas.



Most of France's electricity comes from Nuclear Power. Interesting. Everytime I see one I think of Homer Simpson.



The castle is right in the middle of town and you almost don't realize its there. Like Raina who whilst looking at it asked where it was. But in her defense... it does just look like a wall at first.



Mathieu and Zack trying to figure out where to go first.



You know I always knew I'd look good on a throne.



I like this one a lot.

For more pics look at facebook. I had a nice time at this castle, because there were a lot of us there and it was just fun to be in another city together. The castle itself is really interesting because it has 4 different styles in one castle. Like each side of it is from a different period. Gothic, renaissance, medieval....and something else that I can't remember.

Next trip is to Paris where I will drink Starbucks until I die. :)
Love Leah

Did I say Blah? I meant Blois

I love road trips!!! This weekend was amazing... actually, this whole week was awesome. I can't remember the last time that I've laughed so hard so often. For real, everyone I hang out with is so hilarious. So Friday night I hung out at Raina's for awhile and it was really nice to just chill out and talk but then of course we decided to go out because there was gonna be a reggae show. We never did make it there but I did meet up with my roomate and her friends. Needless to say we are three beer glasses richer ;) Then Saturday I got up quite early and went running, yeah, I'm impressed with myself too. After that, I had a really nice lunch with Mathieu. Hmm, lets see what was it? It was quiche lorraine (delicous) salad (deliciously refreshing) some meat soup thing (surprisingly delicious) and chocolate cake. Yeah it was seriously as good as it sounds. Then he took me to this place to buy furniture, sort of like ikea. Well its exactly like Ikea actually. I HAVE SOME FURNITURE NOW!!! Wooo. The best part was when the clerk asked for my address. Its rue Pereira which is extremely difficult for me to say, but Mathieu has been helping me. So when he asked me, Mathieu just looked at me with this hilarious face, like go ahead Farmer lets see what you can do. I said it, and, SUCCESS, he understood me. He spelled it wrong but thats not my fault. Little personal victory for me. And then there was dinner with other friends... also good. After that we went to a party which was mostly dudes. Raina and I were a little apprehensive but after some sparkling wine I think it was fine. At one point everyone was sitting around the table... everyone meaning like 20 people. And this guy asked me to explain my tattoo. He even made someone turn off the music. So everyone was looking at me and I got all embarassed. It definitely didn't go as well as the furniture place. Ha anyway my friends and I (who are american) got all drunk and then in true United States tradition got fast food from, surprise, a drive through. Then I went home and proceeded to talk to my parents on skype... sorry Mom and Dad. Next time you talk to me, I wont slur my words ;)

Sunday was spent in Blois which is a little town south west of Orléans. It was awesome, Ill post some pictures I got some good ones of all of us in the Chateau. Anyway I need to go to sleep, Im exhausted.

Love Leah

Uh Oh

Its Friday the 13th... didn't even realize it. I wonder what creepy things will happen today.....

Enjoy your weekend ladies and gents, I'm going to a reggae show and then I will sleep for days on end. Wake me and die. Just kidding.... or am I?

Love Leah

Jour Férié

Way to go soldiers. You deserve a day.

Today is Armistice Day the day of the end of World War I. Everything I mean EVERYTHING is closed. The grocery store, the bars, restaurants are all closed. I didn't really see anything cool going on but apparently there was a parade. That's nice.

A little update on my life. I did in fact get paid, so now starts the repayment process. I owe a bunch of people drinks, maybe some food, and my teacher lent me money to buy a tram ticket so I could get to my job. Nothing serious though. My air mattress that I was sleeping on lasted me just long enough to get paid so that I can buy a new one. I'm thinking a bigger one. I even saw these things to raise it up off the ground for really cheap. I can also buy something to hang my clothes on so they aren't just folded onto the floor. I finally did laundry today... real laundry (not my silly handwashing) after almost 2 months of being here. I have so many clothes and they are all displayed neatly on my floor until I have the time to take them to the landromat to dry them. I used my friends washing machine but he doesn't have a dryer. And since ALL of my clothes were dirty I need to dry them pretty quick. Ha. Anyway things are going good, I'm not lonely or anything and I seem to have found some really good people to hang out with. I cooked lasagna last night and that was a hit. Someone even said it was the best lasagna they've ever had. Yay me. There is an American girl that just got here and sometimes I think we are the same person. Its nice to have her around because we are going through similar things. Its cool to be able to deal with that with someone else.

Raina cooking me a delicious meal,


My clothes displayed neatly on the floor for drying purposes.


Mathieu and Zack in the park


Yay friends having intellectual discussions... probably not too intellectual.
It's nice here, or as my friend would say c'est pas dégeulasse. I'm pretty sure he's the only person that says that... but now I think there will be a lot of Americans that say it. I've noted that my English has gotten really really bad since I've been here. I really have a hard time saying an entire sentence without messing it up, or accidentally saying a french word with an american accent. Weird. Well, that's a folks. À la prochaine.

Love Leah

*edit*
See I can't even say That's All Folks... je suis dumb

Better late than Never

It is 7 in the morning and I just looked at my bank account, just out of habit I guess because they're is never any money in it and each time I look at zero, a little piece of me dies.

BUT NOT TODAY! I just saw 745 euros in my bank account. I wish it wasn't so early.... I'm too tired to be excited. Not really. WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Ok its good no more worries.

Love Leah

America the different

I heard that the house passed the health care reform bill. I'm happy about what is trying to happen. Obviously because I didn't have health insurance in the US. If anything happened to me I would be paying for it the rest of my life. Even if I had insurance, the kind that I could have afforded probably wouldn't have covered much. I know there are consequences of this bill, like the rising deficit, and people like my parents paying higher taxes. But Mom, Dad, wouldn't you rather pay a little more in taxes then worry about paying off my medical bills? I don't know, but I am very curious to see what happens. I know you work hard for your money and you want to keep it. But at this point in history, I think it is important to take care of each other. A lot of things are changing and a lot of bad things are happening to people that we may not know but does that mean we shouldn't care about them? It will be hard to get used to this idea of universal health care. I refuse to believe that it will be the end of America as we know it. People that say that are just afraid of change. We are the only developed nation with privatized health care... doesn't that say anything. I think it says we are selfish, ego centric and most of all, shortsighted. It's hard to take a leap of faith like this but I think it could be really good, I urge everyone to have a little confidence in change.

I am however really curious to see what America is like when I get back. I think a lot of things will be different and that is ok with me.

I'm listening to Chuck Fleming an Austin artist. Look him up on myspace, it'll put you in a great mood.

Love Leah

Hi. My name is Leah and I'm a bread addict.

I have a problem. I love bread way too much. I've started this bad habit of eating an entire baguette myself when I don't feel so good (you know.... a hang over). Its delicious because I put butter and a ton of garlic (because for someone reason I feel like it cancels the alcohol in my stomach) and then I shove it in the oven for a couple of minutes. Delectable. I think I just have a problem with food in general. Once I get it in my head that I want something, I have to have it and I'll eat it until its gone. If I'm busy then I don't think about it and that's ok, but man when I'm bored or when I think I need to eat, I go overboard. I guess that's my addiction, at least it could be worse.

On another note, I was out with a bunch of friends, American, French, Swiss... and we were talking about who spoke french the best. I have a better accent but my friend Raina can express herself better, which in the end is the more important. Then I tried to explain to my french friends that it isn't just in french that I have trouble. I cannot easily express myself in English either. They didn't really understand why someone would have trouble talking in their own language. I attribute it to my intense need to choose the exact right word that I want, and my fear of saying something I'll regret. I don't want to just blurt things out because every time I do, it is usually followed with "Wait! That's not what I meant!" Besides that, word choice for me is important. There is a lot to be said about words and their connotations. For example, in my opinion, angry is not the same as upset, though a lot of people would use them interchangeably. So it can be very irritating for the person who is listening to me, to wait for me to choose my words. In some ways I think it helps me here because other people that come here get frustrated that they can't express themselves like they can in English... but I'm used to it. They get frustrated because they can't tell jokes in French, so they can't be that class clown type of thing....but I'm used to it. That's why I've invested so much of my time in my facial expressions and physical comedy. Just kidding its all natural. It's funny being in a foreign country at this stage in life because I feel that it's at this age, when you really solidify who you are/ will be as an adult. Experiences like this make it infinitely more difficult but also way more fun.

Love Leah

Chestnuts are only good for eating.

I just tried to go running. Apparently it wasn't in the cards for me to do so because, not a block away from my house, I stepped on a chestnut. Chestnuts are super hard and therefore do not crunch under your feet but instead make you fall down. So there I was just finding my running rhythm when "Oh SHIT" I fall down. I even rolled a little bit in true Leah fashion. I never try to catch myself when I fall because I have a theory that you are more likely to suffer serious injury by trying to catch yourself. Maybe break and arm or a wrist. Not me, I've never broken anything and I'm positive its because I've mastered the roll. Anyway... so that was really embarrassing because I was completely out in the open with lots of cars driving by and people walking. Luckily my ankle is fine, and I didn't have to go running. I just walked home and tried not to look people in the eye.

Last night I went to see "This Is It" the MJ movie. It was amazing. Go see it. Not only do you get to see behind the scenes of a concert in the making, but you get to see Michael Jackson in a very natural setting. You get to see that he is... was a real person. Plus, the songs were great.

I've just discovered a British show that is pretty hilarious. Its called Peep Show. Look it up.

Love Leah

Where is your costume?

Happy Day After Halloween,

I never remember to bring my camera out with me to normal places, but I think that that is where all the cool pictures come from. Plus, its nice to have something to help you remember what you did last night. :) All I know is that there was a Halloween party, someone made pumpkin pie. Then I drank really bad wine.... corked wine, and went back out to another bar. From there I met a California girl who was mad because her boobs kept getting grabbed. I just responded with "so are you coming or not?" Haha. Call me insensitive if you must. Anyway at the bar there was beer... and I saw a friend that I knew... after that things get a little bit hazy. In fact, I was looking at chats with my friends that I had when I got home, and they made no sense whatsoever. It was bad. I'm here though, in the morning, safe and sound. Yes I have a ridiculous hangover but oh well. I will just wash it away with some water. I hate cleaning up the morning after.

Love Leah

What? The US never had a king?

Hey castle,

This is Chambord. Apparently construction was started by François I and finished by Louis XIV, but he didn't like it so that's why he decided to finish Versailles. Its very interesting looking with a lot of detail and I was told, has a lot of Italian influence. It isn't what I expected... I was envisioning some medieval castle out of Sleeping Beauty but it was totally beautiful... and FREEEEEZING. There are 365 chimneys in there, one for each day and still it was totally cold. Anyway the area around the castle is known for its hunting grounds, mostly red tail deer and wild hogs. Neat right? But man, the trees were so pretty. The weird picture that looks like a sea anemone is actually a tree. Every winter they completely cut the branches off of these trees (I dont know what kind they are), so that next spring they will grow branches back but they will be all small and weird looking. That way the trees can't grow too tall. It looks really creepy like the trees on Mario bros. They are all stumpy but super leafy. I don't know, it makes for cool pictures though. Anyway it was a nice day and I'm happy that Mathieu was kind enough to take me. And yes, French people, the concept of kings is weird for us because, as the United States, we've only had Presidents. :) Yay Democracy.



But I do wish I could have been a Princess,
Love Leah

I need a guitar

You never realize how important hugs are in your life, until you don't get one for a month. Here they do that kiss thing, which I love, I think its adorable but its no hug. So, every time I see my American friends I make them hug me for a ridiculously long time.
I have been very bored the last couple of days. Its vacation and... well most of my friends have left. So I'm here, alone, at least I've been running everyday. The weather here has been beautiful but its hard to force myself to go outside for anything other than running or walking or some other sort of exercise. I can't wait for my friends to come back. Other than that the last couple nights have been nice because the few friends I do have here have cooked me dinner. Well technically last night I cooked so I could earn my food. Ha and tonight I got dinner because I cut my friends hair. Getting paid in food is quite nice. Tomorrow will prove to be interesting and might even entail some pictures. One of the frenchies is driving me to Chambord to see a nice castle. It should be pretty fun...free fun. Well I'll probably have to cook again to repay the gas haha but thats ok. At least I get to eat.

I've been addicted to Kings of Leon lately and I really miss singing.
I like to dance all night, summons the day
But that's how I play, yeah that's how I play
I said who are you? Don't matter who you are
So we dance all night and dance all day

I say, I say

We're gonna fuel the fire, gonna stoke it up
We're gonna sip this wine and pass the cup
Who needs avenues, who needs reservoirs
Gonna show this town how to kiss these stars

I say, I say

We're gonna hunt to kill, gonna skin the hide
A yelp and scream and away I ride
And every drop that spills on every plot of ground
It's all for you for what you found

I say, I say
I say, I say

It's gonna take your head
And gonna drive you home
It's gonna keep on, keep on, keep on
And then forever roam

Love Leah

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses.

Last night was a lovely evening. I've been really tired from all of this doing nothing business but I decided to go out anyway. My friend Laura came over for me to cut her hair and afterward we went down to the river and drank some beer that she had brought.



The beer is called Desperado... its very apropos because its "desperately" trying to be good. I think its supposed to be Mexican, but its brewed in France and its tequila flavored. But beggars can't be choosers I suppose. Ok so then we went to L'Atelier which is a bar, the only bar in fact where you can hear live music on a regular basis. So I met a bunch of friends and listened. The band was from Rennes which is in the Brittany region of France. The were folky with a southern american, irish celtic influence. It was lovely AND they sang in English. Actually it made me pretty homesick but not in a bad way. I told them afterward that I really liked it and that I was from Texas and their music reminded me of home. One of the guys said "Oh Texas I've been there once, to Austin to play in this big music festival called South by Southwest." I went nuts, I said "OH MY GOD!!! Thats where I'm from, I know that festival blah blah blah."

After that we tried to play UNO with 4 different nationalities and that my friends is just too hard. Its a little funny that UNO stands for the United Nations Organization. We were not representing it well. :)

See you soon,
Love Leah

BON ANNIVERSAIRE!

Ok so its not my birthday but today marks my first complete month here in France. Just thought I'd share. :)

Love Léa

Packin em on

I am eating entirely too much bread, and too many carrots, and drinking too much wine. The problem is all of those things are not only very cheap, but also tasty. In the breads case, very tasty. But lucky for me I was paired with one of the most lovely teachers ever and she bought me a mango and some pancake mix (American Recipe). They still tasted like crèpes though and I didn't have any maple syrup. They were freaking delicious. So that was a little change of pace. Also she pumped me full of chocolate before I left her house. On top of all that they are taking me out to dinner on Friday night so I can experience a nice french dinner out. She used to be an assistant, so I guess she knows what its like to be limited on funds. I lost a lot of weight here initially because I don't eat when I'm nervous but now that I've settled in and realized that there is a boulangerie literally downstairs... I've been eating my fair share of baguettes and butter. Mmm. Oh well you only live once.

The story of the turnips...
Simone (my teacher) and I went to Carrefour (the grocery store) to get a turnip. Apparently in England they don't have pumpkins, so for halloween they hollow out turnips and use them as lanterns while they trick or treat. Sure whatever, so we go. We were walking through the canned food aisle when all of the sudden, we see a man and a woman (mentally challenged) screaming at another woman (mentally challenged and possibly homeless). The man slapped the homeless mentally challenged woman in the face while the other woman screamed "Don't do that Don't do that you B*tch!!!!" (in french of course) I have no idea what she did but she just stood there with this blank look on her face like she didn't know someone was slapping her and calling her a b*tch. It was really weird... so I just kept my eyes on the peas and carrots until they left.

I also had to call the police on my next door neighbors for suspected domestic violence. His reply to the police... "Well, my neighbors had a party and I didn't call the police." Yeah, a party and hearing a woman scream "Stop hitting me" and furniture being thrown aren't really the same thing. Needless to say, I haven't heard any screaming since. I did my female duty. But most of our neighbors that we mention the story to, seem really angry that we did that. They thought we called because they were being too loud, which made them mad because apparently we're always too loud Oops. But I don't give a crap if you throw a party or play music. I would never call the cops because of that... but I can't in my right mind let a man think he can get away with doing stupid crap like that. All the frenchies said that its really American what I did. Maybe it is... and maybe I don't care.

Love,
 the intervening American

Chartres

One of the cool things about France is all of the religious history. I myself am not religious but you don't need to be to appreciate the beautiful cathedrals that those medieval people made. It blows my mind that it was in the 12th century that people created these buildings. There is so much detail and beauty and sheer grandeur that you can't help but be in awe. Yesterday one of my friends, Zach, invited me and some other people to go to Chartres because his host family was going and they had extra room in the car. It was me, Zach (US), Laura (Swiss), Alex (Swiss), and Rafael (Chile). Chartres is close to Paris and is known for its gigantic cathedral. Its beautiful and much much older than the one in Orléans. Its easy to tell its older by the style of artwork. It's almost more celtic and mystical whereas the newer ones are brighter.


We wandered around Chartres for awhile and ate some delicious Kebab (I'm addicted) and we even went to this huge cemetary that was pretty neat. Afterwards to avoid the rain we went inside a cafe and got some hot chocolate. The weather was crazy because at first it was beautiful, then these dark clouds rolled in and it rained. Then it was beautiful again, and of course the clouds came back. It happened 3 or 4 times like that. It was ok though.
Once we got back to Orléans we wanted the party to continue so we went to the grocery store, bought plain mini pizzas and a shit load toppings (Pineapple, tuna, onions, crème fraiche). Along with that came an even bigger shit load of boissons which was just enough for all of us to get to a nice toasty level of drunkeness. We had lovely dinner conversation about Obama, gun control, drugs in Morocco (our Moroccan friend was there) and other various topics. Then we danced forever... lots of salsa thanks to Rafael. It was a wonderful day and night. As a result I am now exhausted.









Love Leah

Kick the Tires and Light the Fires.

Well this is probably the last thing I thought I would ever see in this slightly sleepy town of Orléans. I didn't even know about it beforehand. Usually when the frenchies are planning a strike they let everyone know in advance. They are so polite about their complaining. Anyway, I left for school at 7:30 and it is 30 minutes away. I was there until about 12:30 and on the way home my teacher lady (who will be referred to as Simone from now on) was talking about how the farmers were doing a demonstration today. I was thinking "Oh ok banners, marching, yelling whatever." WRONG! They set tires on fire! It smelled awful and I'm almost positive I'm going to develop cancer from it. The most hilarious thing was seeing people watch the events, in the midst of burning rubber smoke, sucking on a cigarette. As if the black cloud of smoke hovering about you isn't enough. Ha. Anyway I wrapped my trusty scarf around my face and trudged on, trying to capture the mayhem that was downtown Orléans. I'm not entirely sure what they were asking for but I know they are pissed at Sarkozy. I think they are mad that the supermarkets can charge whatever they want to the public, but the farmers aren't allowed to charge over a certain price. So they can't make more money even if the supermarkets decide to raise their prices. I'm really just speculating. I still don't really get the vegetable dumping. How does that help them? It helped me, I got free lunch out of it.... Yeah, thats right, I rummaged and scrounged like a homeless person. But hey, I'm broke and everyone was doing it. So yeah, I can't wait to see what it looks like tomorrow. Sweet.



Thats all folks,
Leah

------------
Side note... the next day it looked like nothing happened. So yeah maybe their taxes are high, but their streets sure are clean.

Leffe is a delicious beer

Just some more pictures for all you jealous people. Also to anyone that thinks french people are mean, then you have just met mean people that would be mean anywhere because everyone I've met here has been so kind, generous, and genuine. Ok so sometimes the boys can be a little too much sometimes but what can ya do, I'm a pretty foreign girl. Who can blame em right? Jk Anyway its cool here too because its pretty much a small town, so everywhere I go I see someone I know. It reminds me of Austin and feels homey. On the other hand my life just isn't the same without all you Americans. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. But, don't cry for me Argentina cause I'm havin a grand 'ole time here in the land of frogs.

Love Leah

Hey is for horses

Hello again,

Sorry its been a couple of days. I havent had internet as you all know but my roommate is kind enough to lend me hers. So my life here is a piece of cake. I work for 12 hours and I sleep... a lot. Something new and different for me because in Austin I worked for 50 hours and slept very little. I think Ive decided to teach middle school. They are so funny. I dont think I could stand to deal with real teenagers yet. These kids still have an essence of childhood. They still think Im cool and it makes them want to listen to me and they tell me I'm pretty a lot and, hey, who hates that? High school kids would be way to cool to even act like they liked me, I think. Middle school kids dont know who they are yet, so they cant know what kind of person they shouldnt be... if that makes sense. Today we played pictionary with animals and talked about family trees. All of the teachers here are super nice and helpful.
I cant wait to get paid, I want to go somewhere cool, any ideas?

Love LeeLee

Get out of here Binx II

Well I am officially a technology addict. My internet doesnt really work and my phone is out of minutes. What is really troubling is that I dont have a reliable source of contact for work. On top of all that, Im typing on a french keyboard and its hard. The whole phone thing is only bad because everyone expects that they can get a hold of me. If no one cared then it wouldnt matter.Anyway...

Im really enjoying our apartment. We have these gigantic windows that I would really like to keep open but Binx II, the neighborhood kitten, loves it inside our house way too much. Hes really cute and everything but he has sores and stuff... I dont want to pet that. GROSS.

Ive now seen most of my classes, and at this point all of the kids in the school know who I am, even if they dont take english. So, when I walk across the quad, everyone screams hello at me. Its almost tiring how much a french person says hello during the course of his or her day. They say it to EVERYONE! This is the weirdest age for kids especially in french schools because middle school is from 11-16. So there are these tall dudes, im talkin young men, sitting next to little boys whose balls havent dropped yet and could sing soprano. Its hilarious hearing them talk to one another. One of the classes though is insane. Its pretty much because the teacher has zero classroom management abilities. She was so nervous and spent the entire period saying shhh. And the kids just ignored her completely. When I was talking they were a little better because they didnt know me but they just dont give a shit. Plus she kept calling them stupid, which is a big no no I think. I mean if I raised my hand and the teacher said, and I quote, "What is that question, are you stupid or something?" I would never want to raise my hand again. On the other hand the other teachers I observe are amazing and so helpful. One offered to take me with his family when they tour chateaus. And my mentor teacher is letting me do my laundry at her house. Everyone is so nice here.

Thats all for now Im hungry,
Leah

Chips, Cheese, Chocolate and Champagne

Ok so it was sparkling wine... but the title describes what I had for lunch today at school. WINE... AT SCHOOL. That is just so illegal to me, so very punishable. So I drank a glass and toasted to the sober, chaste biznatch that is the USA. Here's to you prohibition.

Just a quick tid bit before I forgot :)

Leah

House Warming Party

Well you know the party was a success when someone throws up in the bathroom. :) I guess French people just can't handle their whiskey. Anyway the party was pretty awesome. We had a handful of people at the beginning and then I buzzed someone in who brought an army with them. They're all assistants so it was cool but seriously 20 people showed up together and they all came in a line through the door that just never ended, like they were coming out of a clown car. There were a ton of different people there, different countries represented. Lets see let me list a few:
Trinidad Ireland England Scotland France Switzerland Reunion Spain Senegal and Canada, just to name a few. Its pretty neat that we're all here just to work 12 hours a week and expand our notion of the world. Its only now that its hitting me how very seriously lucky I am. I mean I knew that before but I really get it now. So here are a couple of random photos from the night.








See told you it was good, don't worry there's not far to fall out of that window. Anyway the only thing that sucked is I dropped my phone which is not an uncommon occurrence for me but this one has one of those nice screens that looks pretty and has pictures so it broke... and that ladies and gentlemen is why I will never get an iphone. They can't make one strong enough to withstand the abuse that I will undoubtedly put it through.

Maybe I'll go for a walk.
Love Leah

Queen

Well hello there time for an update,

So I've been to both schools now, and the first one (which is rural) was pretty easy going with easy kids. The second one is mostly minorities in the ghetto part of town and of course the first question a kid asked me was, "What does son of a bitch mean?" I of course responded with "Something bad." But they were just as curious and excited as the other kids were and of course as I am.
Today we had our assistant de langue orientation and for those of you who know me, you know that I hate these kinds of things because probably my hugest pet peeve is open forums with morons. I hate people that ask personal questions and I hate people who ask the same question someone else just asked because they weren't listening. We were in a large classroom because there are a lot of english speaking assistants. This includes British, Australian, Canadian and even a Trinidadian. Of course the most obnoxious girl in the group was american and well she was just so angry at the way the French run things. She asked a question every 5 seconds and even yelled at the lady giving a presentation for not knowing enough. Sit down and shut the fuck up you are not that important. Anyway, the bright side of this is that I got to broadcast tomorrow nights House-warming party to lots of people and I hope they show up.

Also any of you who really know me also know how much I love Bohemian Rhapsody... and now the French know it too, because I sang it karaoke style. That one is for you Sarah.

Love Leah

Les Élèves

Today I went to one of the schools for the first time. I work at two and this one happens to be in the country. The town is tiny and feuled only by a sugar beet factory nearby which employs over half the village in various ways. The school was also tiny and the kids were adorable. When she introduced me, she said this is Leah the American assistant. They couldn't believe I was american. They kept asking me if I was really from america and if I came in an airplane. They were around 11 and 12. But I'm really going to be working with 13 and 14 year olds. But they were soooo cute. And they had a hard time understanding my accent because their English teacher is french and they learn british english. So if I asked "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" They didn't understand I had to ask "Have you got any brothers or sisters?" And I asked what their favorite food was and they had no idea what I was saying. Haha. But I think with the older ones it will be better. The teacher that I was sitting in on was a little bit weird about my speaking American english and she said that I still had to teach them british english so I don't confuse them.... but I'm still going to say pants instead of trousers and I refuse to spell color and favorite with a u. So there.

Can't wait to go to the second school which is more "urban" if you know what I mean. Good luck to me!

Love Leah

Fatiguée

Wow, French people stay up really late.

This past weekend has been really interesting. As I don't really know anyone, I just kind of follow people I meet around for awhile and hang out with them. Through my roommate, I met some girls who are studying at the University. They only speak English, which is kind of weird, but they had one french friend. I ended up hanging out with this french girl and her french friends when the English speakers went home early. I followed them around for awhile and we drank in front of the cathedral, which is much bigger and more beautiful than I would have expected from such a small city. On another night I went out with Arnault. My good friend Paul in Austin is Arnault's cousin. Its a very small world. Anyway we went to a club and went dancing. It was fun.
This week was the festivale de la Loire. The Loire is the river that runs through the city. So by the water there are booths with food and crèpes and beer and wine. Its awesome. And last night I saw the most beautiful fireworks. C'était vraiment sympa. This city is very charming and quaint. There are a millions little streets to get lost on, a million shops, and a gazillion brasseries. I live on top of one in fact.

Today is Sunday and nothing is open. So I went to have lunch with Arnault and his parents which was delicious. They have a beautiful house with a beautiful garden. This is Arnault! We ate some sort of stew I think it was duck or turkey or something like that. It was really good and of course bread and cheese.
It's pretty right? So I think I'm going to take a nap... I start working on Tuesday so I really should take advantage of these nothing days. I will teach at two schools, one is apparently in the country, a forgotten city as Arnault's dad said. And the other is in the ghetto. Awesome. Well I'll post soon.

Bon courage!
Leah

YAY! I'm here

Ok so I've been trying to update this for many days... we are stealing our internet and its a little bit shaky. Anyway my trip was fine although I really wish someone was videotaping me dragging my two 50 pound suitcases through the Paris metro and up and down stairs... people were laughing at me and some actually stopped to help (and people say Parisians are rude). There were a couple funny things on my way though like, when we landed in London we couldn't get off the plane because we had to wait for the police to escort someone off. Terrorist? Maybe.. but I think it was just a black man and his baby.... weird. Also I kept running into people in Heathrow because I instinctively want to walk to the right of people and they want to go left, go figure. There were lots of transfers and metro riding, I even hoboed it onto the Tram in Orléans because I didn't have a ticket. Finally I got to my apartment and found my keys which Amanda (my roommate) had left with the barmaid next door. I walked up the one flight of stairs and tried to open my door... and couldn't. Thats right folks, my keys worked I was just too weak to push the door open. Here are some photos from that.



My giant French keys

I'll post some pictures of my house and room later because I have a huge room and nothing in it but an air mattress. Which is quite comfortable... thanks doll.

I love ya'll and miss ya
Leah

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love ya.....

Welcome to my blog. Here I will post pictures and stories and lots of other goodies so people can live vicariously through me as I live for one year in France. For those of you that don't know, I am 23 years old and as a recent graduate of the University of Texas, have taken a job abroad teaching English to French middle school students. I'll be gone for a school year and right now I'm attempting to pack... but just how does one pack for a 10 month trip? Suppose I'll have to figure it out and hope I bring everything I think I need.

10 things I think I will miss:

Barbecue sauce
Thanksgiving
Target
Free public bathrooms
An oven/stove
Ice
Cereal
Pasteurized milk
My people
My cell phone

Random list I know but we'll see what stays on it and what gets replaced. Well I should get back to packing and taking care of last minute things. Hope you follow me through my "harrowing journey" to France.

Love Leah