Friday, October 30, 2009

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

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

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

Monday, October 26, 2009

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

Thursday, October 22, 2009

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

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

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

Sunday, October 18, 2009

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

Friday, October 16, 2009

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


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

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

Thursday, October 8, 2009

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

Monday, October 5, 2009

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

Sunday, October 4, 2009

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

Saturday, October 3, 2009

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