Blogs from Nantes, Pays-de-la-Loire, France, Europe - page 5

Oh happy day! I first want to start of this blog saying thank you to all those who voted for Obama. I woke up in a frenzy this morning at 6:30 to discover his quick victory and I cried tears of joy when I listened to his acceptance speech. I can tell you that the world is already looking at Americans in a different light and I am prouder than ever to tell people that I'm American. Anyways.... So this past weekend was packed full of fun: Thursday night I went karaokeing, out to a sports and dancing with some friends of ours, Americans, Canadians, and French alike. Lucky for me, the bar wasn't very busy, so I got to sing a lot! You know me! The night was really fun and I can't wait to ... read more

Le mardi soir, après une journée en Normandie, je suis arrivée dans une des plus grandes villes de la côte ouest française : Nantes. Je me suis rendue directement à l’auberge de jeunesse où se trouvaient déjà les filles avec qui je partageais ma chambre. 3 Françaises. Oh God. Je ne leur ai pas vraiment parlé, de toute manière, je ne pense pas que j’aurais pu placer un mot. Si vous n’avez jamais assisté à une conversation entre 2 ou plusieurs Françaises ensemble, il manque quelque chose à votre existence. Elles ne se taisent jamais. Après 2 heures de piaillage et parce que je voulais dormir, j’ai commencé à faire du bruit avec mon cellulaire et, surprise, je crois qu’elles ont compris le message. Le lendemain, j’ai parcouru à peu près toute la ville. J’ai vu ... read more

Happy All Saints! Yes it's true, I get an entire week and a half off from work in observation of All Saints. Funny enough, I asked the students what All Saints was and what were the traditions, and they had no idea. Nothing to say. Then I asked, "ok, so is it just an excuse than to get off of school?" and they all gave me a loud and positive response. I'm thinking about taking a day trip to Tours and Chenonceau to see the castles there along the Loire sometime next week. Other than that and a Halloween party, I don't have many plans for the holiday. My second week of teaching is over, I find that the younger students are a lot harder to keep focused and I'm trying different tactics to get through ... read more

Just wanted to show you all how French I've become. Look at my photo, a baguette! And I'm carrying it in a reuseable bag that all the stores sell and then you bring it back to use again and again! Woo hoo! Also, I'm happy to report that I had a productive day in France, perhaps my first full one! Things actually went in my favor! I got my pre-long stay visa card, I paid my electricity bill, and I got homeowner's insurance! So, that's about all to report, just a quick hello! xoxo Cara... read more

Hey everyone.... So Im currently sitting in the teachers room waiting to go to my next class to allow them to ask me more questions about myself and do all that introduction stuff. Im a little annoyed with my schedule for this week because its spread out all over the place and today i have to wait 3 hours in between my 2nd and 3rd class. Im here until 6 o clock tonight! Im also annoyed because I was supposed to have a class at 3 today with the teacher Im staying with, but she decided to join the strike thats going on today for a certain union of teachers across the country. It happens all the time apparently; its like taking a sick day here. So now I have another hour to wait in the ... read more