Out with the Old and In with the New

so instead of recapping on all the places i went during my vacay, I've decided to take a different route. My blog is not being updated as often as i would like and part of the reason is i wait too long to write a post and by the time I've gotten around to it I've forgotten nearly all the events i wanted to tell. So as the title suggests it's out with the old and in with the new. I'm searching for a change and not just with my blog but with my entire life. Since trying to tell you what all that entails may take a lifetime I'm just going to recap on my week thus far. Tuesday sucked. Yes the word "suck" might be inappropriate and just plain juvenile but honestly i can't think of a better word to describe it. I walked the 30 mins to the bus stop, got on a bus to Bollene, Got to Bollene and walked another 30 mins to Lycee Lucie Aubrac. As soon as i got there i saw a crowd of students milling around idly dressed in ridiculous costumes. Yes, Costumes. As i tried to avoid being ran into by pirates and sexy nurses i eyed one of my students near the doorway. I decided to have a little chat with her to figure out what was going on. Turns out they were having a mini carnival to celebrate Mardi Gras.... 2 weeks late.... hmmm. Due to all the ruckus i didn't have classes which would have been ok i guess if i didn't have to walk so far and catch a bus to be there. Why they can't just tell me in advance about things like this, i will never know..... i suppose it's a question sort of like "Why is the sky blue?" and "Is there really life on other Planets?", truly unanswerable. Le Sigh. Today however was a great day. I went shopping with the French Family. Despite the fact that it was raining horribly, i had a very good time. "T" and "L" were arguing (in a playful manner) in true brother/sister fashion. The reason this is worth telling is because they did all this in English, which made me super proud as well as provided me with some great comic relief. When we arrived to the huge shopping center that is Auchan i began rummaging to find my size. The only problem is i don't know what the heck 36 (or all the other double digit numbers) is as a shirt size? i mean it's bad enough that with the weather and distances i have to bust out my conversion function on my phone but even to indulge in my shopping addiction there has to be a "french way". Anyone who knows me knows i shop more like a guy. I know what i want and i try to get it while avoiding trying it on, so there was no way i was going to go through a several shirt changes just to figure out what size i was. Plus, everything in France runs small which makes you feel incredibly fat and God knows i don't need anymore blows to my ego. Luckily for me a store called "Pimkie" exists, which i believe is a store from Great Britain. they had perfectly normal sizing and like the good shopper that i am, i found a couple things that kept me more than satisfied :-)

Bisous,
HK

Channeling my Inner Fashionista

Salut Faithful Readers
not surprisingly i didn't exactly keep my promise of updated this blog weekly but at least it hasn't turned into a month :-S So picking up where i left off, i had an excellent time at the Fête des Lumières. Lyon is a magical place. it seems to be fashioned after Paris but it has it's own engaging charm. It helps to be around awesome people when you are setting out on an adventure and i truly was surrounded by great friends. We all piled up into what we call "The Tank" and drove a couple hours out to Lyon. Once there we tried to figure out exactly where the fete was..... easier said then done. Since everybody and their mom, dad, brother, and dog decided to come it was majorly crowded on every street corner. All 7 of us attempted to get on a light rail but quickly realized that that was going to be impossible. Therefore, we split up into two separate groups and and we were packed like sardines (literally) in this rail car. This was by far the most cramped i've ever felt in my entire life and let's just say i felt my waist being grabbed several times by unidentifiable passengers. I feel if you're going to feel me up I at least deserve dinner :-S After several minutes of following crowds and random maps we finally reached our destination: Hôtel De Ville and the light show was amazing :-) here's some pics if you don't believe me:
The cool thing about this festival is that it last about 5 days and each day there is a different light show and things get more and more elaborate. It's really something that can only be fully appreciated when you see it up close and personal. I'd like to give a special thanks to Jerome for driving everyone out there and dropping us off :-)


In other exciting news, I'm anxiously awaiting my sister's arrival which is only 10 days from now! Strangely enough i just can't wait for her to see me in my environment because in some crazy way i think I've kinda figure out my French life a bit. I'm not the distraught girl who stepped off the train station in from Paris 3 months ago. I'm a self assured, world traveling and (kind of) French speaking woman..... at least that's the impression she'll get ;-) Along with that comes the fact that i will be revisiting Paris once again :-) My heart has ached for it ever since i left it that faithful day in September. So all of this has got me thinking. I need to let loose my inner Fashionista, After all it is the city of lights. If you've ever been to Paris you know exactly what I'm talking about... you know those gorgeous girls (and guys for that matter), with all the right clothes and looks. It's almost as if the girls in those glamor magazines have left the pages to live in Paris. The girls in Paris remind me of the Kanye West song "Flashing Lights" especially these lines:

"She don't believe in shootin' stars,
but she believe in shoes & cars
Wood floors in the new apartment,
couture from the store's department"

Believe me, I'm not saying I'm going to try a become one of these chain smoking, anorexic, material obsessed girls De Paris but it wouldn't hurt to let some of that Sophisticated fashion rub off on me. For example below is an outfit I've been eyeing at H & M and it's actually under 100 Euros:

So this is what is to follow in the coming weeks: seeing Paris lit with Christmas lights/Decor, Shopping with my Sis, Eating authentic Crème Brûlée and Maybe this time I'll climb to the top of Eiffel Tower.....Paris I hope you're ready for me..... Again.

Bisous,
HK

To the Supermarche!

December 2nd, 2009

So it dawned on me that i don't have mini updates, just a bunch of long posts. From now i think i'll try to update this blog weekly :-)

I just got back from teaching in Orange. In typical French fashion i didn't start right away. I had to take a 8:00am bus even though my classes start at 10:00am all because Bollene's transportation is crappy at best. No matter, i figured I'd get there at 9:00am grab my coveted cappuccino from my beloved coffee machine and mentally prepare myself for the kiddos. I sit in the teacher's lounge sipping my drink and suddenly the teacher whose class I'm assisting walks in. She informs me that she doesn't have classes from 10:00 to 11:000 because the students are doing some internship but i can sit and read for another hour. Hmmm ok? read what? what could really be interesting enough to hold my attention for another hour? well i opted to read the adverts on the bulletin board... However, despite how intriguing it was that the Opera was coming in to town, that got boring fast, luckily 30 mins later the teacher was back. We then began to chat for a bit.

I think now is a good time to let you know that a lot of my interactions with the teachers i work with have been mainly in English. Yes i know "Bad Halima!" but i can't help it.... When i speak French i become weak, shy and nervous. Yes, i am fully aware that i am in France but it's just so easy to slip into my comfort zone of Anglais. As i once told someone, "i'm not charming in French".... and we all know how charming i am in English ;-)

So when we are about halfway through a convo in English she asks me how's my French coming....i blush, as only a dark complected girl like me can, and i say "C'est difficile" (it's hard) or "Pas Bon" (not good) or something along those lines and she suggests we speak in French from now on..... i'm doing a happy dance and crying inside at the same time. Though difficult as it was i survived and i really enjoyed trying (emphasis on trying) to speak French. It went sort of like this:

Me: Je vourdrais.... uh.... What's the word for renew in French?
Teacher: Renouveler
Me: ah oui, je voudrais renouveler ce program encore

That's progress right? hmmm..... well it's a start. After helping the teens with their CV's or Resumes as we know them in the U.S. i was off for more adventures in Bollene. This time i was having fun at the Supermarche! (hey there's not much to do here so the supermarket is where it's at LOL) The thing about French supermarkets is i spend part of the time looking for where what i want is and the other part of the time realizing that I'll have to settle for a substitute for what i want. Then there is the added problem of budgeting and trying to choose the right product among hundreds of brands (most of which i don't recognize) So i grab a small cart and stare (aimlessly as it appears to others) up and down the shelves of food, one hand on hip thinking and thinking. I can feel the intense gaze of the security guard just knowing he's thinking i'm about to shove one of those tuna cans into my purse. Relax dude, i'm just indecisive, i want to say.... although i don't know how to say that in French :-S Another thing i have to be careful about is whether or not i can carry everything home since i don't' have a car.

When I'm finally done choosing what i want there is the dreaded wait to be checked out. 8 times out of 10 i found myself in one long-ass line and only one person available at the checkout. Nevermind that it would be all too logical to get someone else to help with checking people out, no instead we must wait. C'est La France. Finally when i do get to the checkout person i have to hurry up and catch all my things so i can bag them with my bags. Ok, ok i know it's environmentally friendly and all but i hate bringing my own bags and i hate that when i forgot to have to pay for them! There something "pas bon" about that... All in all shopping for groceries in France is like everything else i do in France: Interesting ;-)

oh and as any proud Aunt would do i have to show off the latest pic of my Adorable nephew Baba :-):

Now i'm off to prepare to go to Lyon for the Fete Des Lumieres which only comes during Christmas season. Also, Bollene apparently has a Marche du Noel which should be nice, i can't wait to see this town light up :-) i will have a post and pics about all of that, so stay tuned


Bisous,
HK