Francophile in the West

Living in the same city as your boyfriend for the first time in your life is a weird and wonderful thing. I have SIGNIFICANTLY less time to myself now, which is both good and bad. And I'm getting used to 35-minute bus rides (mostly bad). However, I have been keeping up with my homework and reading for my classes (so far). Work is slow at the ISS desk, but things will heat up from now until the end of February for the Campus Visit Program, seeing as we're starting the hiring process and we have to be finished with everything before finals week. I'm pretty positive I'll have an entire two weeks of Spring Break this year, which is amazing. With any luck, I'll be graduating by next year's Spring Break! I guess it depends on whether or not I only take one class during fall quarter so that I can work and go to Thailand for two weeks... In other exciting news, I've been living with $6 to my name for about a week now. Not fun. But I get paid on Monday, thank the Lor...

I know it's been a while since I last updated, so here's what's been going on: I made it back to the 'Couve safe and sound, had a great Christmas with my family, spend the New Year with Kris and his mom and brother up in Bellingham, and rolled back into Seattle on Sunday the 3rd. Classes and work started up again on Monday and things have been moving along at full-speed ahead! I'm taking French Culture to the Revolution, The Modern Novel, and Literature of the Americas this quarter. Great classes, but it was stupid scheduling on my part because all three are ridiculously reading-intensive. Yikes. I'm in for a busy quarter. I guess I'd have to get it done eventually, it's too bad I decided to do it all at the same time! It's been wonderful to be back in Seattle and up here at the UW. I sure missed it here. I keep bumping into friends and co-workers, and everyone is really excited to see me and glad I'm back and can't wait to hear stories and s...

I'm in the SeaTac airport, listening to the Kings of Leon whilst waiting for a flight to Portland that's been delayed. Thanks for the holiday gift of free WiFi, SeaTac; you're giving me something to do. So, what was the first thing I bought when I got back to the States? A grande green tea lemonade from Starbucks. Terrible and typically consumer-ish, I know, but it's been a long 36 hours from Paris to London to Seattle and soon to PDX. Looking forward to a heaping plate of Mom's homemade Chicken and Rice Casserole when I get home. Commence Opperation Gorge-Yourself-on-all-the-Delicious-Foodstuffs-that-don't-Exist-in-France. GO! Hot damn, it feels good to be back on American soil!

It's my last night in France, it's four days before Christmas, and I'm in Paris. Amazing . I checked out of my room this morning without any trouble, met up with Jessica Wilbourne (she's a student from Georgia who works with the Seattle-Nantes-Jacksonville Association; she's been decently involved in a lot of the city-organized activities that the UW kids have participated in) and her boyfriend Sebastian and had a late breakfast in downtown Nantes, then I headed to the train station and caught my train to Paris. It was sad leaving Nantes. As I was on the train (listening to Elliott Smith, Yann Tierson, and Damien Rice, appropriately enough), I was internalizing once again just what an incredible time I had there and how much I love that town. It's so familiar to me, like another home, and I really hope I get to go back and stay again for a while later in life. Checking into the hostel and everything here in Paris went just fine. I'm qutie surprised, but ...

Check out some of my favorite / most hilarious photos from France. Enjoy!! :) Best Sneaky Photo of a Frenchman "in the Wild" This cute old guy was digging for clams at La Baule. Best Quote from a French Children's Book This was in a book about potty training, found at FNAC. It reads, "Poop, it's good for nothing!" Personal Best "WTF" Pose This took place at Iain's flatwarming party. I was having fun. Not exactly sure what else to say, haha. Best French Dog EVER This prize goes hands-down to Poupette, affectionately called 'Poo-poo', the wonderful dog of Anne-Marie and Andre. Best French Protest This manifestation was seen on the final stretch of road leading to the Mont Saint Michel, the most visited tourist sight in the world. Silly Frogs and their mauvais protest placement! Best French Signage Found this one at the Picasso Museum in Antibes (near Nice) Best On-Campus Graffiti Photo courtesy of Mari Lindstrom ...

I haven't wanted to write anything recently because I don't feel that I could do the last four months justice with a quick wrap-up blog post. Classes are finished, grades are in, the majority of my American and non-French foreign friends have all returned home for the winter holidays, and I remain, almost alone, until Monday the 21st. Nantes has been a dream come true. In a way, I'm happy to leave now because I have had the four best months of my life, I have hundreds and thousands of memories that I can look back on and laugh at, smile about, or reflect on, and I have nothing that I regret about my time here, and nothing that I wish I would have done. I (fortunately) also have so much to look forward to when I return to the Northwest and to my family, friends, and school. At the same time, I don't want to leave - I've come to adore France and its people and its language beyond any way in which I thought I loved it before. It's so normal now to hear French and ...