Another 60 days later...

Well it's been another 60 days and I'm updating again. I just seem to forget about this blog. Here are some highlights of the past 60 days:

Prague: I went to Prague for the last weekend of January to see 2 of the Miami skating teams compete at their international competition. I traveled alone and everything went really well. I didn't realize how much I missed my old friends - it was really revitalizing to see them and spend some time with them. The teams did well - 5th place and 4th place. Unfortunately I caught a really bad cold and came home very sick.

Rouen: The next weekend I traveled (alone again) to Rouen, France in Normandy where my best friend, Gianna's, little sister, Gabi, was competing with another U.S. skating team. This town was where I went to my first international competition when I was 12 and was the first town I ever visited in France. It was neat to go back and see what I remembered about it. I spent most of my time in the ice rink (there's not much else to do there) and it was great to watch some skating.

Italy: By now you probably understand why I forget about this blog. It's been a crazy 60 days now that I think about it! Between all this stuff I've still been teaching and I even got new students. I left for Italy the weekend after I got back from Rouen. I went to Rome with another assistant named Linsey. We had an awesome time. Everyone told me to be extra careful and warned that I might not like it since it's louder and dirtier but I LOVED it! We couch-surfed there which means we found someone on a website who offered to let us stay on his couch in return for nothing. It's a cultural exchange and it was great experience. We stayed with a guy named Max who was really cool. We did all the touristy things and after 2 days I left with 2 other assistants, Katie and Christina, for Naples. Naples was shocking - it's obviously corrupt and very sketchy but we didn't have any problems (well besides receiving a ticket immediately after arriving for not having validated our metro tickets...). I absolutely loved Naples because we didn't actually stay in Naples. Our hostel was in the city itself and it was great - everyone was friendly and we shared meals and it was a real safe haven in the middle of the crazy city. The first day we went to Sorrento and Capri which were beautiful (and warm). The second day we climbed Mt. Vesuvius - my favorite! - and then went to Herculaneum which was the town destroyed by the lava from Vesuvius's explosion. The last day we went to Pompeii. After that I took a train to Florence to meet back up with Linsey. We spent 4 great days there and I loved the Tuscan region! We had great couchsurfing hosts named Silvia and Silverio who cooked for us and really helped us out. We went to museums and monuments and just walked around to take everything in. The surprising part was that you almost feel like you're back in America - there are so many students studying abroad! Overall it was an awesome trip and I will definitely return to Italy someday soon!

Since I've been back from Italy I've been going out a lot more with friends. It's springtime here and the weather is great. I really like the actual season of spring - we don't really have it in Chicago!

Soccer Game: The weekend after Italy I went to my first European soccer game. It was really fun and very interesting - a lot like an American sporting event. I didn't realize how much I missed sporting events - I used to go to about 3 Miami events per week in college.

Perouges: The weekend after the soccer game my French mother took me and two of my friends to a medieval village called Perouges. The weather wasn't great but it was really pretty and felt just like you were walking around in another time period.

Birthday: I celebrated my birthday by going out to a bar with my friend, Janie, the weekend before and then on the actual day I didn't do much. I taught all day and my students all found out it was my birthday so they sang in the hallway. The teachers bought me a nice book about Lyon so I could always remember my time here. My French dad had climbing practice so it was just me and my French mom for dinner and then we watched Nouvelle Star (French equivalent of American Idol). The next day was my "real" celebration. I had my French brother and my 2 best friends, Janie and Vice, over for dinner. Thierry made homemade hummus, a salad with roasted shallots and a puff pastry, quenelles (Lyon pasta specialty), cheese, and a chocolate/banana tart. Bastien gave me a Lyon cookbook and a burned DVD of 4 famous French movies. The family gave me a mini fondue pot, 2 cookbooks, and a "voucher" to go see a guignol (marionette) show - it originated here and they have adult shows that are satirical about politics and current events. It was so nice and it made my birthday really special!

Skiing: My French parents took Janie and I cross country skiing in the alps last weekend. It was on a mountain with a plateau at the top. I got "skating" skis and it was really hard at first but I got the hang of it. It was so much fun - we had a blast!

Preschool: My French mom works as a teacher in a French preschool and I helped her take the kids to a show called "Sinbad the Sailor". The kids were really cute. The following Monday (2 days ago) I came back to the school to see a normal day. I spent the morning with the 3 year olds and helped out with activities. It's hard to understand the kids but they are well behaved - they stared at me with big eyes when I talked with my accented French and when I spoke in English. The structure of the schools here is sooo different and it was really interesting to see that. I spent the afternoon with the "kindergarteners" and that was fun. They all tried out every English word they knew with me - one kept repeating "open". Overall it was a great experience and the kindergarten teacher has asked that I come back and read "Where's Spot" to her class so hopefully I'll get to do that soon.

Future: Next weekend I will be going to Bordeaux to see my friend, Morgane, who was a French grad student at Miami with me. The weekend after that is when my final 2-week vacation starts. I bought tickets to Istanbul for April 8-15 with my friend, Vince. I'm sooo excited! When vacation is over I only have 2 more weeks of school! I can't believe how this has flown by. In May I'm thinking of going to Stockholm and Madrid and then my mom and sister will meet up with me and we'll travel to London/Edinburgh/Dublin. I'll be getting back to the States in early June (4/5?).

Well, I hope to update this more often. I'm adding some photos from my recent adventures. A bientot!

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