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