au revoir :(

all of the other assistant blogs i've been following this year have started posting their last goodbyes, so as much as i've wanted to put it off i guess its about time. 

classic

i'm thinking of starting another blog, because i've loved sharing my travel experiences here in Europe so much...but will there be enough to write about in Connecticut?

so much love

anyways, thank you to everyone who has read this the past year! i cannot, seriously cannot, believe that it's over. the whole year went by faster than i could have imagined! 

paris

i started typing this up back in march, so let's get sentimental:

- Stuff I can bring back with me to USA: un carafe d’eau, wine jug/pichet/carafe on table, tables set nicely, cheese course at end of meal, apertif (vermouth, champagne, fino, sherry and any still, dry, light white wine), amuse-bouche (crackers, cheese, pâté or olives), digestif/café, the word “truc”, saying bon appétit before eating a meal, never leaving the house in sweats or dressed sloppily unless i'm going to the gym, walking a lot, shopping every couple days & not doing one huge trip, eating fresh produce, frequenting the farmers market...

colors in nice

- Things I wish I could take back to the USA: chèvre, macarons, quality red wine for only a few euros, regional foods & wines, daily fresh food market only a 5 minute walk away, sunny winters, daily exposure to the French language, the French train system (even with it’s occasional irregularities), 2 hour lunches, faire la bise (the cheek-kissing greeting), old French men playing pétanque in les jardins, all my friends, & the constant challenge of listening to and speaking French...

french & food

-Things I won’t miss about France: the dog poop on the streets, massive amounts of smokers, having to figure out whether to use “tu” or “vous” with a person, lack of cozy café/bookshops where it’s not crazy to take out a laptop & get some work done aaand that's about it!

garden picnics & friends

lots of love & bises :)

the last leg of a life-changing journey

from washington d.c.....

"the hill after the hill"

KKG (and good ole lincoln)

bigger is better = america

... and back to chicago for some summertime chi

beaches

skyscrapers

bises

our nations capital

traveling lives on! 

i'm in america & it all feels familiar and foreign at the same time. it's very very strange. 

after a relatively uneventful flight from paris to iceland to new york, mk and i had a bit of a time getting from baggage to our hotel (various obstacles). funny how even when you're in your country and everyone speaks your language things can still go wrong. 

things i've noticed: everything really is bigger. houses, starbucks cups, yards, food supplies, cars, streets, trees...some people. the american accent isn't as grating when you're only listening to american accents. dollar bills are light. and one color. and a little bit boring. skippy peanut butter is fantastic, especially with pretzels. driving around again after 8 months came naturally & i know how to whiz around a roundabout now. people smile a lot. it's weird being able to understand everyones conversations again without having to work at it. 

i'm in dc now visiting family & friends & absolutely loving it. this was the perfect stop-over and i'm very grateful for the time i get to spend with my cousins, aunt & uncle as well as seeing some college friends in their new dc lives. 

i miss french. a lot. mk & i came into the same terminal etc that we left from so coming back was suuuupeer weird. like we were only leaving yesterday or none of this really happened. i swing between being incredibly sad to have left europe & being content being back. looking forward to being a bit of a tourist in my own country on sunday with friends! 

bises

henry miller

america is my country and paris is my hometown

i have had two wonderful days in paris

i stayed three nights, each one with a different friend

first in malakoff with an american couple who have lived here for 25 years, she teaches english and he's an engineer. they raised their kids in paris and now have dual citizenship. i definitely consider them to be an inspiration.

my first full day in paris: breakfast in malakoff, dropped my stuff off at my home for the next night, and then off around town! walked nearly the whole blvd st germain, classy classy place that blvd. had lunch at a little brasserie, ordered my favorite salad (chevre) but it wasn't nearly as good as the ones i had down south. 

weird bike event, nearly a thousand bikers went by, taking up the whole street.

everyone was dressed up! berets, baguettes, dresses, suspenders...no clue what it was for but fun to see!

then continued walking (think i walked for over an hour)

made it to les invalides, surprisingly gorgeous!

then musée rodin

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musée_Rodin)

sculptures, gardens, roses, and i met an old couple from new york city on a garden bench and chatted with them awhile about paris, nyc, art

then canal st martin!

cute little canal on the right bank kinda north of the bastille

everyone was lounging outside since it was like 16 degrees (celcius)

cute bridges across the canal with quite the view - it was killing me that i have no camera!

walk along the seine...the crowds were overwhelming though so soon left that for odéon area. succumbed to starbucks and read for awhile

montparnasse area

luxembourg gardens for near-sunset!

anthony's at la place

nice dinner in and a little how i met your mother before bed

arrived at carly's this morning around 9:30 to drop off my stuff

we shopped a bit near l'opéra

then walked all the way to le marais neighborhood for a delicious falafel lunch!

ate outside in a little garden of the national library

we then split and i made my way to jardin des tulieries, walked around a bit

musée de l'orangerie! 

museum of monet, paul guillaume, rousseau, modigliani, laurencin, matisse, picasso, derain, utrillo & soutine

now my favorite musuem in paris...all of the paintings were impressive, lots of information, and a beautiful space. 

walked to the seine and took a seat on the side of the river in the sun to read & soak in the beauty for awhile

back to l'opéra and then carly's!

now resting a bit before we all go out for my last (tear) dinner in france/europe. 

à plus tard!

bises

Scotland, Paris, Montpellier, Perpignan, Nimes, Paris!

Well, after a fantastic 10 days in scotland I really wasnt ready to get on a plane back to france. since ive got no camera there are no pictures at the moment so ill just catch up with writing! first off - im on a french laptop and their keyboards are different so this is slow-going. second - WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!? I am in Paris, have two days left in this fantastic country and on this inspiring continent. seriously, has it already been a year since college graduation? a full 8 months of european glory? 


this is going to be a bit random of a post because i am far behind in updates, mostly due to the fact that i left my computer with my luggage in paris over two weeks ago. bit harder to work on blog posts. 


anyhow lets try to catch up:
april 27th sarah and i left nimes to take the TGV up to paris, dropped off my luggage at carlys, hung out in the jardin des tulieries, and then hiked it over to beauvais airport. fun fact: we took every form of transportation that day except a boat.
arrived in edinburgh and did all sorts of fab things in scotland for 10 days. i dont have pictures, so ill just do a quick blurb. scotland is FANTASTIC. edinburgh museums, bus tour, park, sun. glasgow night out. whiskey tour. philliben family bonding. walking their adorable dog buddy in the park. stirling castle. runs around the university campus lake. fish n chips. lots and lots of love for that country and family for hosting me twice!


(beginning of photoshoot...)


PARIS!!

chillin'

may 6th: depart glasgow prestwick for paris beauvais. cried a little in airport upon leaving sarah and scotland. arrived in paris and greeted by asia and her friend! hollande elected president, paris is going crazy with parties.
may 7th: photoshoot with asia in jardin des tulieries..... :)

loooove her!

voyager c'est vivre

yes, that is the louvre behind me

so that was a fantastic morning, and then i took the train south! montpellier is where i spent the next 4 nights. did a day trip to perpignan, very cool city.
shall do a post just on that plus tard. 
may 11: surprise! back to nimes for a night!
may 12: parisparisparis. made a lovely friend on the TGV ride up from nimes. retired french man who worked in milwaukee for 4 years so knew evanston! such a small world. anyways, we talked geography, history, french culture...it was a perfect last trip up to paris.


and that brings us to today! i am spending all day today and tomorrow around paris. i am getting a late start today because of this post, but figured i was way behind on this blog and wanted to give you all a little update. more to come either tonight or tomorrow!!


bises

reflections

Reflections:
As I go into my last weeks here in Europe…of course I start to reflect. What’s changed since I arrived in France or since I got on that plane leaving Chicago? Did I follow through with everything I wanted to do? Am I ready for everything that comes next? Is my French where I hoped it would be? What have I learned about the French people, culture, food, wine, language…? Will this be the last time I live in Europe? Was this year everything I hoped it to be? And how have I changed?
 
Some of these questions I won’t be able to answer for a while. Some answers may change over time. 
 
What’s changed… Perhaps most importantly, with it’s ups and downs (let’s be honest…mostly ups), I’ve lived abroad for 8 months. Paying rent, speaking a foreign language, adjusting to daily life in another culture, and living a life beyond the safe DU hill. My French is SO much better than it was 8 months ago, and I’m not afraid to make mistakes. If there is such a thing as travel confidence, mine has shot up. I have a confirmed job waiting for me in CT at the end of the summer! The interviews I was prepping for on that plane ride to NY actually paid off. I’m more familiar with the ins and outs of teaching, working with kids for a full 7 months. Kappa & Denison loves…we’ve made it through a year of long-distance friendships. It may have taken a little while, but I’m exactly where I want to be in regards to l’amour. Is everything the way I imagined it would be? Some things, yes…but in many ways everything that has changed has been for the best. 
 
Have I followed through… I have to laugh at this one because I still have that list of countries I wanted to get to, places and people I wanted to see – and WOW was I shooting for the moon! I did do a lot though, such as follow through with the epic road trip of vacances de Toussaint that Asia & I started planning back in August. Explore my region. Swim in the Mediterranean. See friends in England. Go to Scotland. Drink fantastic wine. Make fantastic new friends. Beach days. Fresh seafood. Convince some friends from home to visit me (Lauren & Megan I love you for coming out!). Date some foreigners. Teach my students more about America. Try new foods. Always be ready to meet new people. People-watch like I was born French. 
 
Am I ready for what comes next… Heck no. Who am I kidding – if I could be happy living the rest of my days as an assistant (and it was legal) I’d sign up for a few more years in an instant. But I don’t want to teach English and I don’t want to work part-time. I want to be a teacher, or at least give it a legitimate go. So no, I’m not ready to leave this fantastic life. But I am ready for Connecticut. So let this summer be the bridge that takes me from cafés in the afternoon and garden picnics to working full-time and owning a car.
 
My French… Well it could be better, if I had actually followed through on those grammar books I lugged across the ocean with me. And if I had lived with English-speakers. And my best friends didn't speak English. But it happened as it did, and I wouldn’t trade my living situation or friends for stupendous language skills. I can speak enough to date someone who only speaks French, so I consider that a gigantic improvement from where I was a year ago!
 
What have I learned about… the French… You can stereotype the baguette! Seriously, everyone’s always got a baguette on hand or in the freezer. Baguette hour: 6pm. Bringin’ home the bread. Breadwinner. Bread maker. Totally all came from this country. I’ve met so many different people; it’s hard to pin down something most of the French have in common. 

Culture… Down south, it’s laid back. The French value their down time, with family or to enjoy a meal with friends. I’ve noticed active discussion about government, particularly immigration. Good wine, good food, good coffee are all important. Most people stay in the region or town they were born in.

Food… Fresh. Markets. Time. Balanced. It is so much easier to eat well here. Less processed food, no obscene amounts of added sugar or salt in half of what you eat, markets nearly every day with fresh food from the region. It's been incredible and I know the change in food will be something I miss right away.

 
Wine… Hm or maybe I'll miss the wine first..! Seriously, 3 euros would get you a fantastic wine that goes for who knows how much in the states. I'm sure I'll cringe at the prices of good French wines once I return. Maybe I'll stick to craft beers for awhile...
 
Language… Always beautiful. The French definitely have a fantastic command of their language that I have yet to see from an American.

Will this be the last time I live in Europe... I hope not. I really, really hope not.

Was this year everything I hoped it would be... I had a vague idea of what this year would be like. Where I'd be when I was getting on the plane to return. If I'd get on that plane. Did I fall madly in love with a French man that owned a vineyard (Gramma & Gramps)? Not quite. But this year was so much more that I'd hoped for. Unforgettable memories and trips, friends that I look forward to visiting again (and maybe a reunion in the states next summer!), time to grow and reflect and prepare for the return.
 
How have I changed… I love espresso. I enjoy a café or glass of wine on my own in a café or brasserie. I have made working out a constant in my life. French doesn’t scare me. My kindle is one of my most used possessions. Tights are a wardrobe staple. I think more about what I want from life. I'm coming back in a much better place than when I left. I feel as if so much more is within my reach. Started learning Italian. I have a second family in Scotland! And most importantly - I can see myself living as an expat - not just for a year here and there, but for my life.  

I cannot believe how fast the last 8 months have gone by! I know how lucky I am to have done this program & lived in Nimes with the crew. So there we are, reflections on the year. Phew! 

(Sidenote: I'm currently in Scotland, loving it, and any remaining pictures will not be up for a couple weeks)

bisous!

coming soon...gigantic reflections post!

...in the meantime...

"Thinks about moving to someplace else where everything is different enough to be fun again." - storypeople

(pinterest)

 "We must travel in the direction of our fear."

(pinterest)

"You have exactly one life in which to do everything you'll ever do. Act accordingly." - Colin Wright

bittersweet countdowns

1 week left in nîmes
2 more days of teaching
3 bags to pack
4 weeks & i'll be recovering from jet lag in D.C.
5 days in normandy to look forward to
6 full days left in my french home base
7am train to paris a week from tomorrow
8 days in scotland
9.5 hour flight from Paris to Reykjavik and finally landing in New York City
14 countries in 8 months
15th of may - american soil
34 total weeks in europe
73 posts
3,500 page views since i started this blog
countless friends & people i've met that i hope to never forget...


sarahannaasiamariechadmadamemelissavalériepaulallisonsarahmkkatiemeganlaurenjamesmeganguillaumerafrosienicobenmarshalhaleyelisabethcarlymarkalisonkevinaminaphillibensromaindanielcarmenhelenmeganantonioamysophieandyjonathancolinjesszoerobynbaptistealstonpatxmattirishbrentmichellesusannaashleyheidinicholasjimgillesignaciochloérachelclaudinebernard&leséleves

nîmes, je t'aime au printemps

les jardins de la fontaine

cathedral

les arenes

green!

sarah, me, & allison - sarah thanks for the pictures!! 

olives 

place du marché <3

the cafés  outside my window

huile d'olive

mmmm chèvre

dinner!

my pineapple-looking palm tree

taste-testing

ma belle vie



thanks to swags for the pictures! 


bises

happyhappy

day trip to aigues-mortes

thursday was one of those days i just had moment after moment of "i can't believe i actually live here"...walking to school with the sun rising & the new gardens/place finally opened (they've been working on it since i arrived), back for lunch when the clouds were clearing up even more & a concert being set up right in front of the roman arena, during a fabulous lunch of cévenole salad & vin rouge, joking around with the students (i've picked up enough slang to make fun of the older students for a bit of banter when they're particularly roudy), amazing work out, and i get to look forward to a delicious dinner with friends. is this real life?! 

bbq at sarah's

la belle vie

the last 3 weeks have been busy!! i've had two visitors: megan & amy (both friends from denison), celebrated st. patricks day french-style, went on several day trips, and finally finalized break plans! here's a run down:

-megan visited-

we were together for st. patty's day (looooved all the green!), hit up the market a few times, went out for the casual glass of vino, went to pont du gard, megan cooked an amazing french dinner, picnics in the jardin...so incredible being able to show her my life in france & loved having her here :)

in front of the maison carre

-Pont du Gard-

day tripped here with asia & megan & sarah one wednesday, we had beautiful weather, a delicious picnic, and i'm planning on returning this wednesday with allison! (as per usual, all these pictures are from asia...since i don't have a camera)

epicness of pont du gard

friendship!

so beautiful!!!

goofy

the whole crazy bridge

classic jumping picture

wee bit of white

for more info about the history etc of the pont du gard - here's a link to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_du_Gard

-amy visited-

she got to see a whole different side of nîmes that i had no idea existed - winter feria!!! the weekend that megan left & amy arrived was insane...parties in the streets, bands in costume, herding a bull down the main rue are only some of the things we saw. the real feria is in june, and every time i say i'm leaving at the end of april a french person can't believe i'd even think about leaving before the feria. ahhh well...will just have to come back for it one day! 

amy & me at the winter feria

ok, that's all for now! on my way out the door to pick up allison :D


bises