I'm Coming Home

It is Monday right now and by this time on Wednesday I'll already be on a plane headed back to the good ole USA.  My feelings are so mixed right now.  On the one hand I'm so unbelievably ready to see my friends and family, eat the delicious food I've missed so much, drive my car, go to my bars, drink Abita, etc etc etc, but on the other hand I keep thinking about how much I will miss France.  France has become my home over the last 8 months and especially since I've been in Paris.

I moved to Paris and have been sharing a studio apartment with my darling boyfriend.  It's small, but it's so perfect.  We're a great team, cooking and cleaning together, helping each other, spending time together, it's awesome.  When I was in Valenciennes, I never really had a space that I felt at home in.  I spent some nights out in St Saulve at Annabelle and Eric's where I was paying for a room, but I'd spend other nights and much of my free time at friends' apartments.  Although Valenciennes felt like home, I didn't have a space to call my own.

This space still isn't my own, but it's felt like it.  It's actually on the roomy side of what I've seen out of studios here in France, and I absolutely love it.  Unfortunately, now it's time to leave.

I'm also going to miss my boyfriend.  I've gotten quite attached to him especially recently and although I'll enjoy spending the next day and a half with him, I'm also very sad and will be having sporadic crying fits and of course a big ole sob fest Wednesday morning when we say goodbye.

Living in two worlds is oh so very hard, but I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.  As much as I miss everyone back home, I loved living here and hope to do it again.  It pains me to see my nieces and nephew grow up so quickly without me there, but there are sacrifices that have to be made.

So to end on a not-so-sad note, I'm coming home lovies.  I miss you like heck and I can't wait to wrap my arms around each and every one of you.  I'll be busy this summer, but we're gonna party!  See y'all soon!

M. Le Chat

M. Le Chat aka Mr the Cat aka Felix (the Cat) will be coming to the US of A!  He is flying into Houston, spending some time with me in Baton Rouge, taking a Greyhound bus (yeah I know, right?) to Los Angeles, and then returning by plane to Houston where he will fly back to Paris.  He arrives in Houston July 14 and departs August 10.  He will be spending his time in LA with some of his French friends and I am really excited!!!  Get ready America, you are about to get Frenchified!

The End is Drawing Near...

My time in France is drawing to a close!  I cannot say that I am ready to leave France, but I am ready to get home and see my loved ones and roll around and bask in all things American and Louisianian.  So, I'm going to try to do a quick recap of the last month or so and then make a list of everything that's on my to-do list for when I get home.

My contract finished April 30 but thanks to the wonderful French system of awesome vacation time, I got to spend the last two weeks of April in Paris and Barcelona getting paid to vacation.  Ah the sweet life!  I moved my things into Felix's apartment and spent a week hosting a different American friend every night and then took off with David to Barcelona.

Barcelona was such an impressive city.  For one, they love parks.  So much of our time was spent wandering around aimlessly and stumbling into one impressive park after another.  The city is very interesting because of the fact that there are very tall buildings but instead of having rows upon rows of these monstrous towers, they kind of just pop up all over the place.  The city is surrounded by mountains and the sea so it's really very beautiful and made for wonderfully comfortable weather.  My favorite part of Barcelona was by far all of the Gaudi architecture.  Sagrada Familia is just the most beautiful building I've ever seen and the only church I've ever been in that took my breath away. (Hopefully I will upload some photos before too long.)

Upon arriving back in France I said my goodbyes to David and that marked the last time I would see my American friends (minus a brief run-in with Shelby in which I handed her a CD of all the BEST (but really the worst) and BEST (really the best!) music from our time here in France).  I was very sad to see them all go, but really delighted to know that they have all made it home safe and are enjoying Americaland.

Luckily my mother and stepfather arrived the day after David went back to Valenciennes and I had something new to keep me occupied.  The day they arrived was a crazy day of traveling to and fro across the city to pick up the rents from the airport, drop off a bag at the hotel, get to the train station, eat, and have them hop on the train with only a moment to spare!  (The doors to the train closed immediately after I hopped off the train!)  Paris wasn't made for anyone with a physical disability and it showed.  I think John was quite surprised by the number of stairs he had to climb.  Luckily for them I was there to lead the way and provide the manpower (suitcases are heavy!).

They spent a weekend in Taizé, a religious community that John had wanted to visit.  I think they had a good time, but it was probably not the sort of really relaxing stay you would want after getting off an international plane.  Luckily they came to Paris and had very nice accommodations and were able to relax a bit, but not for too long! We visited Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, the Rodin Museum, Versailles, the Louvre and they even went out to Sacre Coeur without me!

We left on Thursday to go to Valenciennes and were welcomed with open arms and mountains of food!  The few days we spent in Valenciennes were somewhat of a blur but I remember Annabelle spoke more English than I've ever heard her speak before, we all ate more than our weights in food, there was a sort of hodgepodge of English and French at any given meal, and general amusement and enjoyment.

Sunday we left Valenciennes, went to Lille, and took a bus to Amsterdam!  We spent three nights there and in the two days we were there we saw the Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, ate traditional Dutch food, and the rents got to go to Electro Lady Land (if you see them, make sure to ask them about that!).  Sadly though, all good things must come to an end and their first European vacation came to an end Wednesday morning.

I am now back in Paris enjoying the cool weather, bright sun shining, the company of my darling boyfriend, and possibly Scream 4 tonight!  My father, stepmother and brother arrive a week from Sunday, and I am really excited, but for now I just need to take it easy!  All this travel has got me pooped!  So I am spending this evening blogging, watching tv, cleaning, and working on my resume.  C'est la vie!  Soon la vie will be very different.  Soon I'll be coming home to my many loved ones.

Now, I will conclude this post by listing, in order, what I am looking forward to most upon arrival:

1. Seeing my darling nephew Kenny!  I just saw him at Christmas but from what everyone has told me he is really growing and changing and I just can't wait to see that dude and give him a big ole hug!
2. Seeing my grandma!  One on one time with grandma is the BEST!  She is such a delightful woman and I love seeing her blossom into the independent woman she is!
3. My brother Kenny and Sister-in-law Melissa!  It will be just before Kenny's 30th birthday and I will be happy to be able to wish him happy birthday (even if I'm a few days early) to his face.  And Melissa!  She is oh so pregnant with baby Reese!  I didn't get to spend much time with her while she was preggers with Kenny so I'm really looking forward to having a preliminary meeting with Reese.  Maybe she'll even kick for me!
4. MY FRIENDS!!! (continued with number 5)
5. Brunch at the Chimes with said friends June 5.  I am going to order 3483249 delicious things and 30294293 delicious Abita beers and I'll be able to die happy.  I cannot wait to see my family of friends and hug and love on each one of them!  If you are a friend you are invited!  Food and friends and family and lovin!
6. Who cares after 1-5?  I mean family, friends, and food/beer, what else could a girl ask for?

Be back in Americaland June 1 and back in BR at the latest on June 5.  See y'all then!

For Felix

So Felix just reminded me that my blog is old news.  As in all the news on it is old.  So now I'm going to update it...in 2 minutes or less.

Last day of school was yesterday.  It kinda sucked.  I had a little party, and no one talked to me.  The end.
Today I laid in bed with Shelby watching TV as she reveled in her hangover.  Then there were sandwiches and pie/cheesecake.  The end.
Going to Paris on Sunday to live with Felix until I move back to the US.  The End.
Tomorrow is my last day in St. Saulve.  The End.
I went to see Cee Lo Green two weeks ago.  Tickets were free, my boyfriend is the best.  The end.
It's been two minutes.  The end.
P.S.
Shelby always ends all her stories with "the end" when they are only two sentences long.  I'm going to miss her.  The end.
P.P.S.
Back to Shelby-Sporcle-TV time.

Day two in Italy/Naples

Today was...insane. Pompeii for 4 hours, then drunk Italian guy (plastic cup of wine that he kept spilling) on the train back hollering (literally) at some French girls, then walked waaaay out of the way to find (not find) a supermarket, passed out (super tired), and then a wild and fantastic bus ride to our dinner locale where an Italian guy tried to convince us that it was okay to walk down the "dark" alley with him. Love my life.

Meet Félix

Before I left to come to France there was one thing I heard from everyone.  You're going to go to France and find yourself a Frenchman and never come back.  I rolled my eyes at all of them thinking, yeah right.  I'm not going to France to find love.  I'm going to explore the unknown and tackle the beast that is the French language and have an adventure while figuring out my next step in life.  Well, my French is coming along swimmingly (although I often downplay how well I can speak to native speakers), and I've been exploring a bit more (I finally visited Paris!  Still no Eiffel Tower though...).

Well, guess what...you were all right...at least about part of it.  I found myself a Frenchman.  I haven't decided to move here permanently, but I do plan on renewing my contract for next year. How you all guessed it, I have no clue.  Alas, I have a French boyfriend, un petit-ami, mon copain.  So now I'd like you to meet Félix.

I met Félix in November at Sara's Thanksgiving/House Warming party.  We didn't exchange numbers, and I thought I would never see him again because he lives in Paris, not Valenciennes.  Oh how wrong I was.  He found me on Facebook because as he put it "Facebook is magic."  In December, we decided to meet up in Paris the night before my flight home.

It was this night that I started to have more of a crush on him.  We went to dinner and got to know each other a bit more.  We walked around the streets of Paris while he pointed out what different places were.  I saw the Eiffel Tower (from afar) for the first time that night.  I also saw the Pantheon and the Jardin du Luxembourg.  Both were closed but they looked nice from the outside.  It was somewhat romantic strolling through the streets of Paris with a cute French boy.

While I was home for the holidays we kept the romance alive with daily skype sessions.  In January he came to visit me in Valenciennes, and the last weekend in January I went to visit him in Paris and met most of his family.  He took me to dinner at a Moroccan restaurant and then in front of the Tour Montparnasse he asked me to be his girlfriend.

I feel somewhat like my love life is a cliché.  Finding romance in Paris, France of all places.  I guess it really is the city of love.  Haha.

So that's the story of how he and I came to be en couple.  Now I'll fill you in about him in a general sort of way where I give you the basics.

1. He's French.
2. He looks French.
3. He's very handsome.
4. He's younger than me (anyone want to take a guess?)
5. He's in school studying music.
6. He has an awesome taste in music and knows that I, as well, have an excellent taste in music.
7. He is really sweet.
8. He is honest.
9. He speaks English.
10. We laugh a lot together.  He's quite the funny guy.
11. His older sister is younger than me. (also, anyone want to guess her age?)
12. His younger sister is 3.5 and unbelievably adorable.  Her name is Inès.
13. We are traveling to Italy (Rome and Naples) for a week in February.
14. He thinks it's cute when I get drunk and talk to him in French (I tend to talk to him in English which is dumb, I know, because that's the whole point of having a French boyfriend, right?).
15. He thinks I'm awesome.  F yeah I'm awesome!

So there you go.  Oh I guess it would help if I added a picture.

The Terrible Threesome

As you all probably know, I went back home for the holidays.  I am working on a post about my treacherous journey home and delightful stay back in AMURICA!  For now, I will tell a delightful tale about my darling puppies.

Bath Time! (Note: I did not take this photo and this did not occur at the time of the story

)

One of the best things about going home was the warm welcome I received from my dogs.  Those three were so excited to see me!  Well Summer was a bit skeptical at first, but then she smelled me and started to freak out.  I guess she couldn't remember me until she got a whiff of that fine Emily odor.  They were all just so happy and delighted I was there, and I in turn was just as happy to see them.

I had a lot of fun with those three while at home, but nothing stand out in my mind more than the day I had to bathe them.   One night they stayed in the kitchen/hallway area of our apartment.  Most nights they stayed in my bed, but on said night I just wanted a bit of space.  Sleeping with three dogs nestled around you on all sides or even laying on your head or back or between your legs is not the most comfortable sleep.  I like to toss and turn violently when sleeping and this makes that impossible because every way I turn there's a dog.

I woke up at 6am partly from the jetlag and being unable to sleep in late and partly because I was having a nightmarish dream which was like the beginning to a horror film.  Nothing bad happened in the dream, but the bad sense of foreboding didn't sit well with me.  I entertained myself for the next few hours skyping France, listening to music, and reading Hyperbole and a Half (my most recent and all-consuming favorite pastime).  Alas, at about 10am I decided I was tired and wanted to go to sleep.

Craig woke up and before I could pretend like I was sleeping, he informed me that I had to clean up the mess the dogs had made.  They are not exactly 100% house trained so we have pee pads for when they make mistakes.  Well I think it was more than a mistake, but not wanting to get up and clean I made a deal with him that I'd bathe the dogs and walk Summer if he cleaned it up.  Well I got the first two cleaned up just fine, but it's not the bathing part that's difficult.  It's trying to dry them off.  I had bathed them simultaneously so I had to dry them off...simultaneously.  Big mistake.

So I start drying off Sterling and let him loose so that poor Charlie wouldn't shiver himself into a coma.  I laid a towel down for him thinking that he would try to dry his head off as he commonly does in such a situation (Yorkies apparently hate when their heads are wet).  Instead, he freaked out and ran off into the distance.  Shit.

At least now I had started to dry Charlie off.  But why was he dripping so much?  Oh wait, I dunked the towel in the water.  Shit shit.

Okay, no biggie.  I thought to myself "I'll just set Charlie down and go get Sterling and try to calm him down."  Now I had two dogs running loose in my room shaking off all over the place. Shit shit shit.

"Okay," I told myself, "don't worry.  I'll just get Charlie back and dry him off."  But before I could, "Oh no Sterling!  Don't use my clean clothes to dry off with!  And don't shake off on my bed next to my computer."  Shit shit shit shit.  

And then, shit.  Literal shit.  Summer had decided she could not for her walk to release herself.   Craig then informed me that walking Summer was my responsibility and therefore so was cleaning up her mess.  Fun times.

Meanwhile, the boys ran out of my room into the living room and jumped onto the couch and were using it to dry themselves off.  Wonderful.  In order to keep Summer from making more of a mess, and to stop the wet crazy dogs from bounding about making a soppy mess everywhere, I had to put the boys in their cage and take Summer for her walk.

The walk was successful, and she peed three times.  When I came back in the boys had been released from their cages into the newly cleaned kitchen/hall area at which point I decided it was time to wash Summer.

No problems with her bath other than she hated it.  I took her out of the tub and set her down and was about to wrap the towel around her to dry her off when all of a sudden....ZOOM!  She was gone!  Soaking wet, with leaps and bounds she ran away from me faster than I could catch her.  She bounded out of my room and onto the couch...still soaking wet.  I hollered for Craig to come help me, and he did.  We finally got her off, and I cleaned up her mess.

Now I'm back in France, and the terrible threesome are far far away.  Sometimes they can be a handful, but man, oh man, do I miss them!