the year in review

The time has come for the review of the year. I usually do this on my livejournal, but since I deleted it, this year, it's going to be here.

Last year at this time, I was sitting in my apartment in China, freezing to death despite wearing a puffy coat, two layers of everything, and gloves. I was simultaneously thanking and cursing the winter for both sending the spiders in my apartment into hibernation and making everything absolutely freezing.

I can't say 2010 was a year of changes because I still don't feel as though much has changed. Perhaps outwardly, there was a lot of change, but inwardly, I feel basically the same as I always have, which annoys me to no end. At some point, you're supposed to change, right?

What did I do in 2010 that I haven't done before?

In 2010, I climbed the Great Wall in the snow in Beijing, saw Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, ate way too much amazing food for Chinese new year, pet cats in Japan, visited 20 year old prisons in South Korea (literally everything was rebuilt in the 80s), sweated in the middle of February in Hong Kong, ate waffles and fries in Belgium, and had the best night ever in England.

One of my best friends got married to a guy I'd never met. I spent over 18 hours on planes to go to the wedding and spent entirely too much time collecting things for the outfit I wore (hair clip from Japan, dress from China, tights from Japan, shoes from America). I nearly kissed the ground when I finally got to the US. I spent 3 glorious weeks visiting friends and family, including two weeks in LA with my best friend where we spent lots of time watching Harry Potter and even making a Twilight parody for youtube.

My time in China was interesting and people constantly ask me about it and I always have to stop and think before I answer. I'm not the kind of person who can just spout the same answer every time without thinking. Granted, my answer is usually the same, but it takes a minute. China was... an experience, that's for sure. Am I glad I went? Of course. Would I go back? Well.... I don't know. To visit, yes, not necessarily to live. China is a very odd place that a lot of people don't understand at all, and when I read news reports about it or people just giving their opinions, it takes a lot of restraint not to correct them about some of the things they say. Chinese society and culture is so different than ours that simple assumptions are just wrong.

Of course, the most recent change in my life has been France. I applied for the TAPIF program in November of last year and spent the next five months anxiously waiting for the answer. I don't know when I decided I wanted to move to France, because if you'd have told me nine years ago when I first started learning French that I would be living in France, I would have said you were crazy. Then again, I never thought I'd end up majoring in French either, but when it came time to pick a college, the answer was obvious. Even a few years ago, I told my mom that it was crazy to think that I would go abroad alone. I guess I'm eating my words now.

April 6th, 2010 I woke up (being 12-15 hours ahead of the US in China) and went to my computer, convinced that the email from TAPIF would not be there, as I'd been checking incessantly since the first of the month, but lo and behold, I opened it up and there it was, congratulating me on being accepted to the Lille academie. People had been telling me for months I was a shoe-in, but doubt always grows, especially when you take a look at the people who had been rejected who had great qualifications.

France has not been nearly as hard as China, but I think it's comparatively speaking. If I hadn't gone to China, I'm sure I would have found France much harder than I have. China taught me patience and to significantly lower my expectations for time-lines and quality, which in turn makes the French bureaucracy seem breezily efficient. It probably helps that I haven't encountered the same problems as others have with their paperwork.

2010 was also the resurgence of my huge Harry Potter nerd-ness. God. It started in the summer when I watched all the movies and started rereading the series backwards (I got to book 3 before I had to leave for France). Then I found Mark Reads Harry Potter, the blog all about HP from the viewpoint of a first time reader which rekindled the lost flame that you only have once: the first time you read. I also finally watched A Very Potter Musical and Sequel, which just exploded everything. All of a sudden, I was as obsessed with Harry Potter as I was at age 18. This all culminated in the release of Deathly Hallows part 1 movie. I decided to do something crazy; I went to London and I stayed up all night on the street like a homeless person all for the chance to see the HP actors, and of course to bond over our mutual love of Harry Potter with total strangers. It was the best 19 hours of my life.

All in all, this year has been good. There have certainly been some low points, lower than normal too for some reason, but in general, I think I'll look back on this year with a smile.

As for resolutions. Clearly, I failed last years which was to write everyday, more specifically write everyday in a story-type blog. I failed about halfway into January with that one and the blog has since been deleted. I also went nearly 5 months without writing anything, so yeah. Epic fail on my part. I think this year I'll do something simpler. My 2011 resolutions are to 1) learn to make macarons (this requires me moving home first, or to America anyway), and 2) learn to cable knit so I can finally make my perfect Ravenclaw scarf. Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to do that before DH part 2 release. But those are my resolutions. Perfectly reasonable, right? I think so.

So Happy new year to you all reading this. I hope your year has been just as interesting and you've learned something from it. Joyeux nouvel an! Xin nian kuai le - 新年快乐! Next year is the year of the rabbit (my year!) so if you're a rabbit, be sure to wear your red underwear everyday for good luck ;] See you next year!

macarooooon

Just thought you all should know that someday - someday - I will learn to make macarons the right way.

That should totally be my New Years Resolution. the end.

funny how things change so quickly

I just did this thing on facebook that picked out my top 10 statuses for 2010 and I thought this was the perfect place to post it. You may notice a pattern when looking at it.

Looking back on this list of statuses (which I think are based on the number of 'likes'), the theme is clear: travel. That's what my life has been about these past 12 months. Oh, and if you're wondering about that last status that got cut off, I'm pretty sure it was something about the evil Hummer truck I had to drive upon arriving in the US after 24+ hours of no sleep (and not driving for an entire year). What a fun day that was.

Now that I reread these, especially the ones about the US, I just remember how utterly thrilled I was to be coming home from China. I can still remember the feeling of elation when I stepped off that first plane in LA, the swelling in my chest like a giant balloon of giddiness to be somewhere I belonged. God, it was such a relief. I won't say that I didn't enjoy China, because I did, but coming home was a much needed breath of fresh air. Granted, the reverse culture shock was... surreal to say the least. For a week afterward, I walked around thinking, "Why are there so many foreigners here? Oh wait, no, those are just normal people." It persisted past a week, but the first one was the worst. I walked into a grocery store, walked around the whole thing and walked right back out. I had no idea what to do or how to function in it. It was crazy. I never posted anything about it here, but it totally happened.

I could go on about the reverse culture shock because it's actually quite interesting, at least to me. I remember sitting in the airport in LA waiting for the next plane to Phoenix and realizing that everyone around me spoke English and that if I wanted, I could talk to any of them. I didn't know what to do with myself. It was a weird feeling. I also realized that I couldn't just say what I was thinking without consequence. I'd spent the past 11 months doing it in China and I literally had to stop myself from making off-handed comments about things I saw.

Anyway, the point is that my China experience was about a million times different than my France experience has been, and it's only been three months here so far, but I know that come April, I won't be clawing my eyes out to get back home. I'm not saying China was bad because I learned and did a hell of a lot of things I never thought I would or even dreamt of doing, it's just that it's so much harder than Europe is and you have to be so much stronger to go there. I'm sort of glad I went there first, though. It's made France a breeze, and all those people complaining on the forums ought to shut up and get a clue because it could be a million times worse.

It's Christmas Eve Eve and I should probably go to bed but I haven't been sleeping lately, so I'll stay up a little longer and contemplate how much easier France is. Happy holidays, all.

don't ever let them fuck with your dreams

Remember that maybe possibility of Amsterdam after Prague and Rome in February? Well, that's been scrapped and replaced with Toulouse and a My Chemical Romance concert!

With the concert ticket, it's about the same price as going to Amsterdam would have been anyway. I was debating for a while since I have seen MCR twice already, the last time being in 2008 on their "small venues" tour when they stopped in Tucson and I got to meet Frankie after the show.  But I haven't seen them in France and they have a new album and on the plus side, I was thinking of going to Toulouse anyway, so this is just one more reason to do it.

So there. The fully-formed (and paid for except for hostels)itinerary is as follows:

February 22: train to Paris, plane from Paris to Prague
February 26: plane from Prague to Rome
March 2: plane from Rome to Paris, train from Paris to Toulouse
March 4: train from Toulouse to Paris, train from Paris home

I will probably hate myself once this is over, if last years big vacation wasn't enough to teach me that. I've given myself plenty of leeway between the trains and the planes (6 hours should be enough, right?) in case anything goes wrong. Last year my flight was two hours late due to ice. Ugh.

But! I am SO EXCITE and I'm sure it will be fun.

would you care for a delicious Red Vine?

I'm sitting here, four days into Christmas break while the snow slowly melts outside my window, plopping sheets of ice from the roof onto my sill, and all I can think of is how utterly amazing doritos are. Yes, doritos, the chips. I've been messing around making a mashup video of A Very Potter Musical and it's made me desperately want doritos, so today at the store, I happened upon nacho cheese doritos (the best kind) and had to buy them.

They are amazing.

I didn't realize I was missing American food that much. I remember the first time I got American food in China, and that was only after two weeks of being there. It was like a breath of fresh air, a reminder that there was something other than rice and noodles in the world (not that I don't love Chinese food, because I do. I ate it for 10 months straight if that says anything and I still love it).

I've found that I do quite like French food, though. Before I came I was pretty ambivalent. I think I was under the impression that it was funny sauces and tiny portions like the French restaurants in America, but it's really quite good. Granted, I spend most of my time eating bread and cheese, but who says that's not French either? At the cantine for school, they make great meals and most of the time I have no idea what I'm eating, but I refuse to ask because God knows what it might turn out to be. It tastes good and that's what matters. The other day I had a coquille Saint Jacques that was delicious.

France has been under a deluge of snow lately which has consequently messed up all the trains and planes. Luckily (funny how it turns out to be lucky after all), I have no plans so nothing was ruined. Instead, I stuck around Arras with another assistant and we hit up the spectacle in the Place des Heros, which was a light show and fireworks show behind the belfry. "Regardez vos pieds. Oui, c'est moi! La place des Heros!" - It was a little odd, and I felt like I was back at Disneyland for Christmas, and it didn't help that half the soundtrack music was from Disney movies.

I have no big plans for the holidays. I'll be spending Christmas with Carole and her family, hopefully for a semi-traditional French Christmas. I do like to experience the "traditional" holidays of a country with real families. It makes the experience so much more interesting. Last year I spent Chinese New Year with a Chinese family, so I have to say I definitely know what happens (hint: they eat and watch TV, A LOT).

On another note, I finally got my act together and planned a real vacation. In February, I will be heading off to Prague and Rome for about a week, and maybe I might go to Amsterdam too if it fits in the budget. I got all the flights (3 of them) for about 170 euros, and if I were to go to Amsterdam, it would be an extra 70. A part of me says I should just go, but the other part asks why I even want to go to Amsterdam. Because everyone says I should? That's not really a good reason. I could save my money for somewhere I really want to go like Edinburgh or Germany.

Well, that's a problem for another day. I'm just going to enjoy two weeks of no commitments and all the chocolate I want.

and if you're interested, the video I was working on:

may all your Christmases be white

What I wouldn't give to be sitting in my parents' living room watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated 1960s version only) with a bowl of homemade chex mix right now. It's not that I'm homesick or missing home particularly, it's just that it's Christmas time and this is the second year I've gone without the comforts of home. I have all my favorite Christmas TV shows downloaded onto my computer (Mickey's Christmas Carol, the Grinch, the Santa Clause, etc) but it's not quite the same. Maybe next year I'll finally be able to start Christmas traditions over again.

On Friday, I headed off to Brugge (aka Bruges/Bruge) in Belgium for the ice sculpture festival. It was cold and they made us change trains? I just followed the other French people who were changing trains and nothing particularly bad or interesting happened.

Brugge is a quaint little town about 2 hours from where I live by train, probably extremely touristy in the spring and summertime. But this is winter so it's appeal was brought down a little by the grey, murky clouds and nipping chill at your fingertips. But it was cute and with a little editing, my pictures look very nice.

The actual Ice Scuplture festival was interesting. The theme was "Around the World" which basically means that the sculpture were all of landmarks, for instance America had the statue of Liberty, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis. France had the Arc de Triumphe, etc. The sculptures themselves were really cool, but I wish it had been a different theme seeing as I've already seen a lot of those in real life - the arc, the great wall of china, xi'an terracotta warriors, Japanese temples, Big Ben, etc.

But! There was an ice slide. The Great Wall of China was made into an ice slide that you could slide down, and of course I had to do it, whether or not I would look like an idiot doing it alone. But hey, such is the life of a lonesome traveler. I've learned to deal with it, and I still don't understand why some people just won't travel alone.

Christmas break is coming up in less than a week and I have absolutely no plans aside from eating too much chocolate. I guess what they say about New Year's is exactly right: where you start, you will end. Last year I spent New Years Eve watching Pride & Prejudice with Jesse and Lucy and trying to figure out Chinese monopoly. I remember eating McDonalds after unsatisfactory "Coffee Bar" food. If you ever go to China, do not eat at "coffee bars." Food is much better in the random, hole-in-the-wall places, cheaper too. Of course, that New Years was made up by the fact that I went to Beijing the next week. Maybe I'll go to Athens in January... There's a flight special! ;] I'm having far too much fun today planning out Christmas videos to show one of my classes. I'm thinking Pluto's Christmas Tree and Animals Singing Deck the Halls. :]

si on veut connaître les papillons

When I worked at a preschool the summer after my freshman year in college, there was this kid who, although he was already five years old, didn't have the best grasp of the English language. He used to say things like, "I go ride bikes now." - now, that sounds like a statement, yes? Wrong. It would be a question, so when you answered, "Yes," as in, "Yes, soon you will," it was really a "Yes, you can," or at least that's how he took it because it was a question to him.

The above story demonstrates perfectly how I feel every time some little kid talks to me in French. There's a terrifying moment where you say oui and hope it wasn't somehow a question that you weren't supposed to agree to. Of course, these kids mumble and half the time they're just telling you things for the hell of it, so the logical answer is oui and it always seems to appease them. But I just know that someday I'm not going to hear the entire sentence, say yes, and the kid will run off and do something they shouldn't. Maybe I should try to pay more attention or tell them to parler plus fort.

I also for the life of me can't figure out the deal with some of the teachers at my school. Some of them are subs, I get that, but some of them are there every day for the same teachers. I didn't even meet one teacher for three weeks before I started teaching with her, and she's been gone the past two weeks again. And one teacher never comes on Thursdays? I just don't understand what they're doing. Oh, sure I could ask, but imagine trying to formulate that question... "Pourquoi Mme ____ ne vient jamais à l'école? Elle travaille deux jours par semaine? Je ne comprends pas. Pourquoi son nom est à la porte quand elle n'est jamais là?" Yeah, that would not be awkward or intrusive at all.

Whatever. Some things are best left unknown.

Tomorrow I'm headed off to Bruges for the Ice Sculpture festival. Yay Belgium again! Maybe I'll get another gouffre (waffle ;]). I've been dreaming about them since Brussels the first time.

A Parisian Snow Day

Yesterday I ventured forth from the cozy (yet very cold) sanctity of my little town. I left Bill, my little snowbird I made a few days ago, perched on my windowsill and bundled up in entirely too many layers (did I say too many? I meant not enough), and headed off to Paris!

Bill says, "Tweet! It's cold."

Of course, I've been to Paris three times before so it's definitely not as special as it once was. But I was meeting a friend (who had never been) so I had the advantage, not to mention he can't speak a word of French.

We started at the Place de la Concorde and strolled up towards the Champs Elysee, through the Christmas market which is surprisingly similar to Arras' Christmas market. I'm starting to believe my referent that they're all the same. Halfway up, it started snowing. "Snow? In Paris?" you think, "that sounds awesome!" Well, not really. It immediately turns into slush as it hits the ground and at some point it turned from snow to snow/hail and took vicious pleasure in hitting you in the face.

Although, once we got to the Eiffel Tower (because somehow, you always end up there no matter what), it was back to thick flakes that made things seem a little bit more magical despite the freezing cold and the annoying African guys shaking their hangers full of crappy Eiffel Tower souvenirs.

We started out on the Palais Chaillot side and then wandered down over the bridge and underneath and over to the Ecole Militaire side where we proceeded to have an oddly-thrown snowball fight. Lastly, before escaping to warmth, we made a stop at Gerard Mulot, Paris' best pastry shop. I wish I could buy everything in it, however, I wish neither to be that poor nor that fat. I settled for my usual tart. Of course.

Paris in the snow is a beautiful idea but not a very practical reality. Perhaps, though, it's one of those things you must do since, after all, the Eiffel Tower is no longer the metal asparagus it once was, and Paris in the snow is beautiful too.

haters to the left

There is a girl in one of my classes named Chlésia and all I can think of when her name is said is Chlamydia.

Today in one of my classes, I decided to do the traditional, "let's make turkeys out of your hands!" that every American kid had to suffer through every year from age five to ten. Well, my kids liked it anyway, but they love anything that has to do with coloriage. Afterwards, I told them that the drawings were for them to keep and take home. And lo and behold, about seven gave me their drawings for me to keep and take home! lol. 

On Thursday, I have my inspection, or... observation. I don't know. Willy is going to come by and watch me and that's not nerve-wracking at all! Not a bit.

I woke up this morning to a fine layer of snow blanketing my windowsill and the sidewalks and roads outside. And for once, I had a nice, interesting conversation with a French person that consisted of more than just, "Oui," and "Okay." Kévin (a sort of teaching assistant - he helps the "challenged" kids) drove me to the train station after work (it's another town over) and it was nice to talk to someone who wasn't twice my age. For once, I was bringing up subjects and actually answering questions. I know my French isn't horrible but a lot of times it just feels inadequate. But hey, everyone understands me and I've gotten really lucky with my school in that all the teachers are nice and accommodating and they seem genuinely happy to have an English assistant (it's the school's first year). But I've actually heard that all of the people in my département are happy with their schools (by département, I mean the nine of us teaching primary school in the Pas-de-Calais region), and I think it has a lot to do with Willy, who really does care, hence why he's coming out to do inspections and give us some tips. 

I'm really glad for my situation, and after looking on the forums (god, people complain a lot), I think maybe they don't appreciate it as much as I do. There are plenty of people that didn't get to come who would gladly take one of those complainers places. As for me, I'm happy just where I am.

It's Harry Freaking Potter

A week after the worldwide release and two days after the French release, I finally saw Harry Potter et les reliques de morts, or the Deathly Hallows. I spent my last few euros to go into Lille and see it in English at the UGC cine cite theater.

Given that I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and have read all the books a lot (I seriously couldn't tell you how many times as I lost track back in 8th grade), and a lot of my friends I've met because of Harry Potter, I obviously have very strong opinions on how the movies should go. Of course, I have been disappointed every time, and every time, my expectations have dropped a little farther so that, by the time we reach the seventh movie, my expectations are low enough that I can almost finally enjoy the movies.

HP7 was the best so far. Most definitely. It was the truest to the book and THANK GOD the actors finally learned how to act. It only took them six movies. The writers finally learned how to write, and the actors learned how to cry. For the first time in six movies, I actually believed Emma Watson when she said her lines. It's no secret I've had big issues with her acting, and Dan's for that matter.

My favorite parts were the Tale of the Three Brothers. The animation was a nice cut from the rest of the film. My other favorite part was the return of Ron and his story about the ball of light. Not gonna lie, I cried. For the first time ever in a Harry Potter movie, I felt like the movie did real justice to a scene. Rupert added emotion behind the words to a point where it certainly needed it.

My biggest issues were the random dropping of information. I understand the need (because they've forgotten to do it the last 6 movies. come on.) but it's still annoying. "Hey, they're Snatchers." "I'm Bill." "He's Mundungus." P.S., where the hell has Kreacher been for the past three movies? Apparently he's just been snuffling around cupboards in the Black house since Sirius died.

My other issue was Wormtail. He didn't die. What exactly happened to him anyway? I was confused there. Also, the reintroduction of Dobby in the beginning. I was sitting there thinking, "Man, he's annoying, and I'm supposed to be sad later when he dies." - Dobby's death was the single time I cried while reading the entire HP saga. Oh, and Voldemort. My god, is he in love with Snape or something? I swear, at the party meeting, Voldemort was like, "Snapey-poo, where have you been, darling? Come sit, I saved you a place right near me so that I may pet your greasy hair as I speak."

But overall, it was good. Even from the first scene with Hermione and her parents, I thought Emma somehow reigned herself in and did a good job. She stopped acting with her eyebrows and her overdramatics finally came in useful. Rupert was brilliant, as always, and I wish the writers would stop acting like he's only there for comic relief. It's too late now, but still. He never gets enough credit. Dan... was better. I didn't cringe in the theater at his acting, so I count it a success.

And Draco, my lovely Draco. Only two lines. Someday you'll have your revenge.

I left out the part where the Americans killed all the indians.

Joyeuse Action de Grace! Or rather, Happy Thanksgiving.

I woke up this morning at 7AM as usual for a Thursday, went to work, explained cranberries to children of varying ages ("It's like a cherry but smaller and not sweet") - the teacher went on to explain that they have cranberry juice in France, and around noon (while revising "I like playing football") it started snowing.

The first snow of the season on Thanksgiving day. How awesome. Me, I love snow although snow in France is a definite step-up from snow in China. At the very least, we have heat here. It didn't last long and the ground was too wet for it to stick, but there's more in the forecast later this week.

At lunch, I ate something I didn't bother to ask what it was. As long as you don't tell me, I'm much more likely to try it. Turns out I ate veal the other day (first time, very glad I didn't know at the time). I also ate mussels for the first time (although those were pretty obvious what they were) - they're a very traditional northern dish. Mussles and fries.

Afterwards, I miraculously forgot the word for "food" after using it numerous times that week and even that day. It was just a blank moment. The teacher mentioned Obama pardoning the Turkeys, who of course will be sent to Disneyland.

The Happiest Turkeys on Earth

My big plans for Thanksgiving involve nothing more interesting than watching TV. Compared to last year, when us 12 Americans got together for chicken, sweet potatoes, and various desserts (both appetizing and not, lol). 

On a more random note, whenever I put quotations around my words as I speak in French, I'm reminded of high school French class where we decided that we should do the French quotations << oui ! >> with our arms in that shape. Six years later, it's still in my head. Happy Thanksgiving!

A Foreigner's Survival Guide to France

In order to survive in France, there are some simple words and phrases one must know. They may seem simple to you, but really, they are the essentials!

The List:

Oui
Ca va (say twice for emphasis)
Okay
D'accord
Ca y est? (this basically means, it was okay?)
Ca y était? (same as above)
Je fais rien
Et beeennnnn oui
Beeeennnn oui, je crois

(you can combine any number of these whenever you feel like your answer needs more padding)

The most confusing on that list are definitely, "Ca y est?" and "Ca y était?" Why? Because you never know what they're referring to. Are they talking about this morning? This afternoon? The forty-five minutes you spent trying to make kids remember that green and grey are not the same color? Or that you do pronounce the H in hello, horse, he, here? I just want to say, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN." So, instead, I just nod and say, "Oui."

That's the extent of my vocabulary in France. However, my word of the month is "une punition" (yes, it is what it sounds like, a punishment). French teachers are quite fond of giving these out to students who do anything wrong. I don't give them out, but threatening to send them to the Maitresse for one gets them to shut up for at least a few seconds.

Students are particularly wild on Thursdays for some reason. I haven't fathomed why yet. I was supposed to read them Brown Bear and every single time a page was turned, they went into a frenzy. Seriously? It's Brown Bear. He's a bear, who's brown. Not real exciting. But I suppose when you're eight years old, a purple cat can really excite the senses. Ah, to be young again.

back to witches and wizards and magical beasts, to goblins and ghosts and to magical feasts

Date: November 10th, 2010
Location: London, the UK
Mission: Stalk the Red Carpet premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Meet the stars. See JK Rowling. Be a complete and utter nerd.

10:30PM
On arriving in Leicester Square, the wind was sharp, the air was cold, and the tents were already up. Some people (those diehard fans who, I hate to say, are possibly more hardcore than me? - is that even possible? I was told by several people this weekend that I was more hardcore than they were even... and I don't even go on mugglenet. crazy!) had been set up since "teatime." The line wound halfway around the square already.

12:00AM
I finally took my place in line, near the end, and the security guard who probably thought we were just as crazy as everyone else divided us up into groups of ten and moved us along the fence. He sat us down near a gate and said, "Sit there and don't move." And don't move we did... for the next nine hours. I made friends with my neighbors, from America, Mexico, and Wales. It turns out that probably about 80% of the crazies camped out overnight were Americans. I suppose most of us saw it as our last chance, and really, it is. There's only one more premiere left and if we don't go now, we miss out on something all of Britain has had for the past six movies.

2:00AM
The cold had set in and I could no longer feel my fingers or toes. We sang songs from A Very Potter Musical/Sequel, drew up ridiculous posters that eventually never made it out of the bag, and huddled together under thin blankets and sweatshirts. A few people managed to sleep under umbrella-made shelter from the wind, and I had to stand up just to get the feeling back in my toes. The drunk hecklers stumbled out of the surrounding clubs, slurringly asking what we were doing, one guy pissing on umbrellas, and a girl, barefoot and stumbling, shouting, "Don't you feel stupid?" Honestly, not compared to you.

3:00AM
A woman from a British radio station I've never heard of came out and interview me and another Australian girl I met there. The questions were standard - How long have you been out here for? Who do you want to see the most? What does Harry Potter mean to you? - My answers were easy - about four hours, Rupert Grint, and I came out here and am sitting in freezing cold because it's my last chance and the end of Harry Potter means the end of my childhood which is depressing when you think about it, and I've been thinking about it far too much lately. She also asked what I would do if I got to meet Rupert, and my answer was something like, "Probably say something stupid because that's what I always do when I meet people like that."

5:00AM
The rain begins. The umbrellas go up. People began to arise and rub the feeling back into their limbs. New (idiotic) security guys arrive and are apparently not briefed on anything. Those not-so-dedicated fans show up and try to cut in line. We send them to the back with only a few snapped words, attempting to be polite after seven hours of waiting already.

8:00AM
The line begins to move. The groups ahead of us were moved up and we were left with a flippant, "Someone will be along," and a person who never showed. We asked the guy in the yellow vest. He knew nothing. He bumbled about different gates. Someone from the group ahead of us came back to tell us people were attempting to shove in ahead. Eventually, Dumb Yellow-Vest guy tells us we were right, and we should move up. We push out the cutters and take our rightful places.

9:00AM
We are finally allowed to enter the all hallowed ground of Leicester Square and get squashed in with little red stamps on the backs of our hands. And then we wait.

And wait.

And wait.

2:00PM
The rain decides to dump everything it's got on us. Umbrellas are squashed together and dripping on everything and everyone is wet and cold and tired, but no one leaves. We discuss how amazing it will be to see everyone, how utterly unbelievable it would be to meet JK Rowling. We discuss the books and characters. We are dorks to the max. It is awesome. We wait.

4:30PM
The red carpet is finally assembled! The press begins to arrive, video cameras tell people to scream over and over again, giving us false hope each time.

5:00PM
It begins.

6:00PM
An hour after the announcement that a star has arrived, they finally enter the red carpet area and it begins for real. The crowd is screaming and squishing and shoving autograph books and papers in front of people who we don't even know at times. My spot is directly behind the interview stage and I get to see Emma Watson, Dan Radcliffe, and Tom Felton way up close. I saw "Neville," "Luna," "Dean," and people who play Padma (or Parvati? Still not sure on that), Jason Isaacs, and new actress who plays Gabrielle.

7:00PM
It ends. We're all exhausted, exhilarated, thrilled, tired, so happy. Nineteen hours later and I don't regret a single thing, well, except perhaps the lack of a tent or sleeping bag.

Would I do it again? YES. Do you even need to ask?

I challenge you to a duel!

The gauntlet has been thrown. The proverbial glove has come off the hand and been smacked across a cheek, leaving a smarting red print behind. The flags have been flown. And only one can come in the winner.

I have been challenged by a friend to the Battle of NaNoWriMo 2010.

I accept this challenge.

50k Words. 30 Days. 1 Insane Month.

This will be my fourth year participating in National Novel Writing Month. Last year I wrote two novels. The year before, I self-published my novel. This year... people have placed very high expectations on my head. I'm not sure I can meet them all.

Last night was the official NaNoWriMo kick-off party at La Cantine in Paris. It lasted from 8PM on October 31st, noveling beginning precisely at midnight, and ended at 8AM November 1st. In that span of eight hours of noveling, I wrote a whopping two thousand words. Not a very impressive start. However, it has long been proven that I do my best writing during the mid-afternoon.

As to the Battle of NaNoWriMo, no set prizes have been designated yet. But I have been officially slapped with the white, silk glove. That's not to say I don't fully expect my other NaNo buddies to keep up with me as well as my challenger. Those I have dragged into NaNo with me over the years should do well to remember that it is I who holds the glove now, and a challenge could be waiting to smack you just around the corner.

it appears to me the pen is overanalyzed again

I'm really not good at writing blog entries; I never know what spin to put on it. In that measure,

On Tuesday, I headed off to jolly old... Belgium, for a bit of chocolate, waffles, and beer. What I love most about Europe is that all it takes to go anywhere I want is to walk into a train station and buy a ticket. It's not like China, where my method involved carefully copied Chinese characters and train numbers on a paper slipped through the glass. It's also not like China in that in order to get to another country, it's only thirty minutes.

The entire trip can probably be summed up in this sentence: "Ow, my whole body hurts."

Of course, that's (almost) entirely in a good way. We did so much walking and climbing and staring and eating. We ate waffles topped with enough whipped cream and strawberries to reach the top of the Eiffel Tower. We were mistaken for English. We stared at paintings of slightly vulgar faces and men with bowler hats (thank you, Museum Magritte). We were asked directions and (hopefully) didn't get them lost, but who knows. The directions were in French.

We molested Jesus. Now, that's not as bad as it sounds. It's like in China when everyone touches the gold knobs on doors for good luck. Well, in the Grand'Place, there is a Jesus incarnation on a wall and he's rubbed gold where everyone has touched him, from head to toe. We thought it only fitting to follow the tradition.

We saw the Manneken Pis, which, let me tell you, is not quite what you expect. You walk around a corner to find this tiny little statue and you think, "that's it?" It's very small. I would like to think it's a sort of euphemism about men and the way they view themselves - you know, how they like to talk themselves up? But in the end, that's all it is.

Brussels is over and done, and it was enjoyed aside from the remnants of pain. I shall be updating my "travel places" tab from now on to reflect places I want to go/have already been.

high ho, high ho, it's off to... where?

The whole point of being a language assistant is to live in France, and therefore improve upon what I've supposedly been studying for the past 9 years of my life. But it's also the point that I'm in Europe, which is generally an awesome place to be if you ignore the constant strikes and weird men on the street who greet you with a curling smirk and wandering eyes.

Poking around on various (and by various I mean about twenty) travel websites, I think I may have finally found my cheap way to Prague. There's a flight (in February) from Paris to Prague one-way for about 45 euros. From there, I want to fly to Rome and then back to Paris. I think I could do it all for around 150 euros. It might sound expensive but it's three (very far from each other) places.

Attempting to plan the London trip is becoming very annoying. The best deal I think is to take a train there and back, for around 100 euros. Plus there's the extra hassle of the visa and no one having the same information so who knows if it even matters. However, I think I may just be dedicated enough to make it happen anyway. This is the only chance (well, unless I miraculously happen to live near New York next summer) to go to a Harry Potter premiere and (hopefully!) see Rupert Grint. It's on my Bucket List, you know, to meet him. Don't ask why. It just is. Idea! I should buy one of the HP books in French and bring it with me in the slight off-chance that I do get to meet someone. It's something for them to sign, you know? Whenever I meet people at concerts, I never have anything. It's an unfortunate pattern in my life. Oh, and let's hope the OFII medical visit is not scheduled for that week? Because that would be just awesome. /sarcasm.

As for the Toussaint holiday (which we are currently sitting on right now), some plans are slowly formulating to hit up Lille and Brussels. I did a little research on Brussels, and it seems the majority of things to do there are eat, which would be great if I had more money. Ah, the ever-lasting paradox. Things to do but no money to do them with.

Adios, amigos. Or, au revoir, a bientot!

the time has come, the walrus said

It's that time of year again... care package time!

Ever since my Freshman year of college (a whole six years ago. Oh god, how did I get to be so old?), my mother has always taken the time to send along a holiday package, generally one for each holiday excluding St. Patrick's Day (I guess she didn't want to encourage underage drinking?). I assumed the packages would stop once I graduated, but as I found out, the way to ensure that they don't is to move abroad!

Last year, the packages were like little pieces of home considering I would get American candy and things in English (I think it was the English I appreciated the most). Not to mention, China celebrates none of the same holidays as America. At least France is a little more up to date in the Christmas department. Halloween, not so much, though.

Yesterday I got home, though, to a note from the post office (with a very illegible address written on it) saying they had a package waiting for me. I couldn't go get it because it was too late by the time I even got the note. However, the knowledge that it was there was probably what kept me from digitally slapping this annoying person online. It's been a very annoying couple of days, none of which has to do with France or teaching.

Yesterday was my first official day teaching, and it went okay for the most part. I had prepared a few things but nothing extensive. I attempted to explain Halloween (in French because their English level is certainly not that high). I didn't go to work on Tuesday due to the many greves taking place, and I was supposed to make it up today, but my referente said not to bother since the teacher's couldn't fit me into the schedule. Oh well. Looks like the vacance is starting already and I have nothing to do.

I'll just enjoy my care package and dream of things like Chipotle. Oh god, don't let me do that. I started doing that in China like the 2nd month in and I had to endure 10 months of dreaming about it.

This care package includes a plush pumpkin (I swear I've collected enough of these plushes from the care packages to have my own display for every holiday), orange pop rocks, candy necklace, nerds, orange hot chocolate, a card, and the most adorable owl key chain (press his wing and his eyes become a flashlight and he hoots). He will be my NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) buddy. I've just got to name him now.

I love my mother. She always makes things better.

there are many shades of black

Trip planning is such a huge hassle. Why can't I just hop on a train and let it take me wherever it's going? Oh, because then I'd have no idea what to do after I got there. That's why.

There are so many places I want to go to. Once you add in the costs, though, and the time spent on trains and planes, it all seems very much not worth it.

I'm attempting to plan a trip to London for November, a short, weekend jaunt, and it's possible, but only if I manage to get the visa stuff figured out and, well, some money would help. I may be going to the prefecture today to see what the deal about the visa de retour is. For all I know, they'll say I don't need one, which is in direct contradiction to what other ~official~ people have said. Why so confusing, France? I did go to the secu office today (social security) and apparently they're going to send me a provisoire card (temporary). I just tried to write 'provisory' in English. It didn't work.

I think maybe I'm getting cabin fever. I need to go somewhere for the holiday. Anywhere. I don't even care if it's just Lille. It needs to be somewhere.

even on dimanche, on fait de la greve

What did I do with my Sunday, you ask? Well, I spent the majority of it messing around on photoshop creating a comic for a friend. It's mostly about Harry Potter. Don't judge me.  I can't draw for my life (*chorus of Hermione Can't Draw plays in the background*) but I can use the computer, so it's simple but you can tell who is who.

Obviously we can see how well I'm integrating into French society! But do not judge my social habits based on this one day spent frowning at a drawing's eyebrows and wondering how I can make them look happy and devious and excited all at the same time.

Yesterday, I saw The Social Network... in French. I liked it, yes, but I really want to see it in English now. It's a talky, smart movie, which doesn't work so well when you can only get about half of the dialogue. Normally, I don't like Jesse Eisenberg (or the many others that are so similar to him: Michael Cera, and that other guy). They all play the same characters and I don't see how it's possible to like one better than another). But he seemed to do a good job here. At least he was playing a somewhat different character than normal. Even without the English dialogue, I felt really bad for his best friend. If you haven't seen it, I would recommend it.

As for the Toussaint holiday, I had plans but now they are fuzzy, and I'm still not sure what's going on. My friend is being flaky, which I hate. I suppose I will know soon enough. I should really go start a lesson plan or two.

une carte postale

It costs 87 centimes to send a postcard overseas. It's almost the same as the cost of a baguette in the boulangerie. I sent one today to my friend in China, and I sent one to the US a few weeks ago. It takes about a week for the card to get to America. As for China... well, last year my experience was that it took about a month either way (US to China). Two postcards down, only about 8 left to go.

I'm planning on going to Paris in a few weeks, just for a weekend. My friend is studying abroad in Wales this semester, so he's going to come down. That weekend also just happens to coincide with a NaNoWriMo meet&greet somewhere in Paris.

I shall buy a postcard in Paris and send it to someone!

the time has come for touristy things

Normally, I'm not one to do the traditionally "touristy" things. It took me nearly 9 months to go to the Xiangfan museum when I was in China, and it was free. But today, I did some of the more touristy things that there are to do in Arras.

Along with two other assistants who live in town, we went up to the Hôtel de Ville (which just happens to house the office de tourisme. It was amidst the (very large) saturday market - I can't wait to go when I have some actual money so I can buy things there. Apparently there's a Christmas market too, starting in November, which ought to be good fun. There were some other foreigners abound - mostly British and German. We even got shanghai'd by a couple of British mormons (I swear they are everywhere. The same thing happened to me in South Korea).

We bought a City Pass, which basically is a ticket for all the different things to do in town, including the belfry, les boves (which I'll explain in a minute), the art museum, and the cité musée. It was only 10euros with the help of my old student ID. The great thing about my Cat Card (UA student ID card) is that there is no date printed anywhere on it. It's becoming faded after six years, but hey, I've still got it, and it gets me discounts! We went up to the belfry, which offers a 360 degree view of the city of Arras, particularly cool on the market day when the market surrounds the entire thing.

Afterwards, we went a-wandering amongst the many vendors in the market. Actually, we went to find one of the girl's landlady who has a stall selling yarn. I occasionally knit, although I didn't last year at all, and I've bought some yarn to see what I can do. It's not as if I don't have a lot of free time.

We wasted a bit of time in the Furet de Nord bookstore, where I did see all of the Harry Potter series books. If you don't know, I have a 100 Things to do Before I Die list, and reading all the HP books in French is on this list. So far, I've only read the first in French. That's one of my goals to get through this year. I should start on that considering I'm bad at making time to actually read things.

As to touristy things, we also went to les boves, which are underground quarries under the city of Arras, once used to excavate limestone to build the churches and other buildings in town, starting in the 9th century. In WWI, the caves were used to house British soldiers, who then launched a surprise attack on the German line, who had no idea the caves were there. They also used them to cross into the no-man's land. In WWII, the residents of Arras used the caves to hide in during the bombings. Ingenious, isn't it?

I realize I've said nothing about actually teaching yet in this journal. But it's a travel journal, right? Plus, I'm not sure who's actually reading this (if anyone). I have gone to school and things have been slightly shocking and jarring in strange ways. Paperwork has been done and procrastinated and pushed around by various French government agencies, so we'll see how that all goes in the future.

Lillois!

Yesterday I went to Lille for pretty much the first time ever. Sure, I stopped there for five minutes while changing trains, but it was hardly enough time to get a grasp of the city. This time, I went and met up with a few of the other language assistants.

Mostly what we did was wander, or as the french put it: qu'est-ce que tu fais toute la journee? - Moi, je flanne!

And we stumbled upon a few patisseries and there was the most delicious (at least I didn't put deliciours) lemon meringue tart. For those of you who aren't aware, I am a very big fan of tarts, specifically fruit tarts. If you ever go to Paris, you must go to Gerard Mulot patisserie and get a strawberry tart. It may be expensive (5e) but it's totally worth it.

I also spotted a bakery plein de macaroons. I will have to investigate further on my own. Ever since a friend posted a picture of macaroons from Paris last year, I've been thinking about them. I attempted to make my own this summer, but unfortunately, macaroons are extremely touchy desserts and mine did not form the correct way. Well, oh well. Baking is always a leap of faith.

Instead, I'll leave you with this picture. Maybe you'll want to come get macaroons with me next time?

hey france, whats up?

So I've been in France four days now. I flew into Belgium, somewhere I've never been before. Immigration took an excrutiatingly long time, just for a few questions and a stamp. The woman told me that the French really need English teachers, lol. Then I got to spend over five hours hanging around the Brussels-midi train station, only to have my train be late! Yes, it was late, therefore I missed my second train once I got to Lille. But apparently (it's been a while since I took a French train, and I've never taken one where I had an actual, specific ticket for one) you can just jump on the next one to wherever you're going. I did not composter my ticket - there wasn't time and they didn't check anyway - but that is something I need to learn how to do...

I've gotten so used to Chinese trains and the fact that you never have to change trains to get where you're going... So it's a little strange right now. Although, thank god, European trains are so much nicer than Chinese ones!

I'm in Arras right now, about 40 mins outside of Lille. It's a small, quaint-ish little town with cobblestone streets and red brick houses. It reminds me a little of UofA, but only slightly. I met my referente at the train station, despite being about half an hour late due to the train change, and we went straight to the house she'd found for me.

It's a three-story house about 2 minutes walking from the train station, owned by an older French couple. My room, and my roommate's room, is on the third floor, or 2nd if you're going by French measuring standards. Basically, everything is included in the rent - electricity, internet, water, whatever. The internet is wi-fi (wee-fee en francais) and there was some trouble but I finally got it figured out yesterday. I've also got a French phone and food and basically I pretty much set on basic necessities. Except trash bags. I keep forgetting them when I go to the store.

Now I need to find a copier so I can send in my OFII form and get that out of the way.

A week before I leave for France. I've got copies upon copies upon copies of documents that I'll probably never use. I made so many copies for China and didn't use half of them. But France loves paperwork, so we must be prepared.

I, so far, have a place to live, even have the address. The google earth view puts it looking like a nice street - and when has google earth ever been wrong? Personally, I trust this non-humanoid tool to judge my life off of. Google has never lied to me yet! I shall be fairly disappointed if technology comes to disappoint me, because, as we all know, technology is never wrong, never breaks, never lies. Never. Just like television. It never lies either.

I'll be arriving in Belgium, and either taking a train to Lille or Arras, or my referente will be picking me up at the airport. I'm slightly nervous about an hour-ish long car ride in French. I haven't exactly been brushing up this summer. Instead, I've spent the time brushing up on my pop culture references and speech speed. I should have used the time to learn how to say "bake" in French (faire cuire au four in case you were wondering).

But tonight is the premiere of Gossip Girl, and they're, guess where? In France! I love irony.

This time next week, I'll be on a plane across the Atlantic ocean, and my only comfort is knowing that it's not a 12 hour flight like my last trans-continental flight. That was enough to put anyone off flying for a long time.

Shanghai Silly

It's the eve of July 4th, the most important holiday in American history, and I will be spending it shopping in Shanghai on Fuyou lu.

This is my second visit to Shanghai in eight months and I don't remember a damn thing from the first time. North becomes south, east becomes west, and I'm constantly lost in a whirl of streets, but that's nothing new if you know me at all. My sense of direction is pretty bad which is why I'm always armed with a map! Because no matter how bad my sense of direction, my map reading skills are top notch.

The guy on the bed across the room is watching a movie that I don't recognize on his computer and the guy on the bed across from mine is playing on his phone. While I sit here writing a random entry into a journal no one reads. Ironic.

Today I went to the French Concession, a section of Shanghai that was once colonized by the French, and therefore, looks nothing like the rest of Shanghai. There are shady back streets, crunchy maple leaves underfoot, strange statues, and shop fronts that look nothing like normal Chinese shops. It's a little European flare in the middle of the richest Chinese city.

The day started out hot and humid, the sun barely breaking the layer of smog, and by two o'clock, the rain was coming down in sheets. It looked like the rain does in movies. I treated myself to Starbucks instead of standing out in it like a loser without an umbrella because every Chinese person and their dog carry around umbrellas no matter what the weather. Consequently, I left both of my umbrellas in Xiangfan, never to see them again.

There was lightening and thunder, the first instance I've seen in ten months here, and Tony was just complaining the other day that the weather was too mild in China. And by mild, I'm sure he means absolutely freezing in the winter and scorching in the summer, but rain without thunder? Too mild.

Tomorrow the plan is to waste away the little money I should be saving on useless things like pearls and jade. And last, but not least - in fact, the entire reason for this last little jaunt in China - is the Shanghai EXPO, which hardly anyone in the world even knows is happening. Every country has a pavilion, inside of which are cool, local-type dealies. I hear tell that Isreal, Italy, ... and I've already forgotten the four or five others I was told, are cool to go to. So I shall venture into the unknown! And try not to get lost too much tomorrow.

Intro

This is probably the exact wrong time to start a travel blog after already being in China for nine months. I've spent those past nine months traveling everywhere from the Pearl Tower in Shanghai to eating scorpions in Beijing, to giant Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, and huge dams in Yichang. I've pet cats in Tokyo, bet on horses in Hong Kong, and been to prisons in Seoul. The year is coming to an end but I've got a whole other country lined up for the next year: France!

In September I'll be off to France to live for 7-9 months and I hope to travel to all those countries I've never been to. And this time, I'll have a second language I can actually speak under my belt. Mandarin is way too difficult to learn in one year, and I've got eight years of learning French behind me, so I feel a bit more prepared this time.

So I guess we'll see how the next year plays out and hopefully I'll have some good stories to tell!