As Belgian As French Fries!

So a new development, I have started to think in French! Kinda bizarre right? I'll be thinking in French but if I get to a word I don't know, I'll just think the English and then continue on in French! Haha and in my head, my accent sounds just like all the people I hear everyday! Haha if only I can convert that to my real life speaking!

I told my friend, Ashlee, this and her first response: "No Alyssa! You can't get that French! Stop it right now"

Me: "Too late! I'm too far gone! I'm as French as French Fries which actually isn't saying a lot cuz French Fries are actually Belgian!"



Ashlee: "Okay then that makes you as Belgian as French Fries!!!"

Me: "What the heck? I've never even been to Belgium! I don't even care about them! What have the Belgians ever done?"

I love Ashlee and her completely irrevelant comments! :)



But seriously Ashlee is awesome cuz she sent me a package for my b-day with a mix CD(each with a little explanation of the meaning of the song), Pride and Prejudice DVD(our movie!), and candy (Skittles, Starbursts, and Nerds cuz I'm a nerd as Ash put it!)

Thanksgiving/Birthday

I can't even begin to tell you how terrified I was for this day... Seeing as this holiday is non-existent in France (Haha but it's hilarious the number of people who have asked me "Do they have Thanksgiving in France?") and it's just like any other normal day... I thought it would be me just drifting through the day as I thought of my family traditions and classic Thanksgiving I would be doing back home. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and just skipping it would be too sad :(  I was also thinking that with my birthday on top of that I would get major homesickness! I didn't even care about my birthday the few weeks leading up to which is so unlike me! I have a big 25 Day Countdown starting the beginning of November! And well... No one forgots my birthday let's just say! But this year... Anytime it was brought up I would just be like "No!!" and I got really sad when there was ever a lot of attention on it. I just wanted to skip it...

So for the first time in my life, I was wrong! I know... I know... It finally happened but I had a good run :-) It was such a great day!!! One of my best by far! Who knew? One of the days I was most terrified ended up being a memory-filled, amazing day!

Thursdays I have PE for 2 hrs in the morning but I got to skip that and sleep in! Many people told me I had to look especially cute on my birthday (My reply-"So I don't look cute every other day???" Haha) so I got up and gave it my best effort! Everyone is all fashion-y at school and I'm about the epitome of comfy clothing! Yeah for T-shirts!  But that day I got some compliments so I considered it a success! I had a Hot Fudge Sundae PopTart for breakfast! My mom sent them from America and I've been rationing them but this day definetly called for some thing special! Then I took the bus to school and I made sure to only listen to happy upbeat songs! :-)

Everyone was really nice wishing me Happy Birthday and I would just respond wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving! Even though they don't understand the importance of the holiday! I had kinda confused some people because I said on FB "My birthday is February 29th!" just because it only happens on leap yrs so I would only be 4 yrs old and I could also skip it this year but it really is Nov 25th. So when I got there, they were like "Is it really today?" Haha!

Then I had English class... So my teacher had found out it was my birthday/Thanksgiving so she started planning this big party with food and music! Everyone loved it because it's better than work but I didn't like being the reason for it so I just considered it a Thanksgiving party even though there was a "Happy Birthday" banner. Haha so the very first thing she makes me do is get up in the very front of the class room and then she had this girl who sings opera sing the Happy B-Day song and then the whole class did it normal! If that wasn't embarrassing enough, the teacher made me tell my "thoughts" about having a birthday! This is all I had to say: "Thank you... Uhh... It doesn't feel any different than 16... Umm... I don't know... I'm just glad it's Thanksgiving"!

Haha after it was better because it was just food, eating, people singing and playing instruments. There actually were some really talented people in there! The teacher asked me if I could sing! No stinkin way! I am more of an appreciator of music! The food was pretty good. There were some odd things that I couldn't eat. Someone, the teacher I believe, had attempted to make a pumpkin pie but it kinda turned into a sorry excuse for a dessert but hey... she tryed... I made sure as to not eat a lot so I could prepare myself for dinner! As I was leaving, she gave me a big hug and said "You are so beautiful and so bright and I like you very much"! Haha I kinda noticed... You threw a huge party in my honor. Amel was like "She's got a crush on you!" Haha creepy!

Then I went to Math class! We had a test that day which I thought was so unfair considering it was my birthday! But I took it and it was really easy! I actually liked getting into "math mode"! I know... I am a nerd but when I am confused or lost, it is just something logical that I can do... well when it's in English! Haha it's easy math but a lot of the time, I am not sure if I am exactly answering the right question. Plus we have to write out the answer in sentences which of course is a challenge for me!

I skipped French that day and just took the bus home at 12:30. The weirdest thing happened... I was crossing the street at the Val de Mougins and I had my iPod in... And after I had crossed this guy on the other side yelled at me saying "You shouldn't cross the street listening to music. You can't hear the cars." At least that's what I understood... I was just like shaking my head and saying "OK.Oui." just trying to get out of there. And then he's like "You want a drink? I'll buy you a drink? We got wine, beer, blah blah blah." I was just like "Non merci"... Haha weird much???

When I got to the house, this was on the fence...


I was in the kitchen for pretty much the rest of the day!


 I also helped blow up some balloons! We decorated the salon with a bunch of Happy Birthday stuff and it made me so happy! Haha :-) Sophie had a good quote right about here: "I have teenage hormones. Abby said that teenage hormones make you yell at everyone all the time and I yell at everyone all the time so I have teenage hormones!" Haha she is too funny!!!






Stasha was so awesome! She had gotten all the stuff to make a great dinner and she rocked it! I had fun talking to her and just hanging out. Amel came over at like 4 and she helped cook...




Amel liked making the rolls...


Yummy rolls!


Stasha with the pureed pumpkin which looks gross but would turn into something amazing!!


I was jumping up and down with excitement and just generally freaking out! I was just so happy to be having any Thanksgiving even if it wasn't exactly "American"! I was allowed to speak English all day so I totally took advantage of that. I was quite the chatter box! :)

At about 6:30, we celebrated my birthday! I had to wait in my room for about 5 minutes. All the lights were off and I waited at the top of the stairs and they started singing Happy Birthday and I went down... My family was all on Skype (minus Josh playing Turkey Bowl and Nate who is in CA but JerKee had come from Cali). The candles were all lit. It was so amazing!







I blew out the candles and made my wish!




This cake was so gorgeous!!! Pascaline had gotten it from this really nice bakery called "Jean-Luc Pele"! It was chocolate rasberry with macaroons! The kids had eaten most of the macaroons before I ever got to it but I did get to eat the thing that says "Joyeux Anniversaire Alyssa" which was like this almond fondante. I just know even the b-day cake I had when I was little with a real barbie inside and the cake was her dress could not even top this amazing cake!

 Because we had a big Thanksgiving dinner and pumpkin pie to prepare for, we didn't really eat any cake... But that was good cuz it made for good leftovers!

Read my ginormous French birthday card!

By the way the writing on the card means "For your birthday, we are all at your side"

Then I opened my presents...

I had picked out my presents at the mall the Saturday before so I knew exactly what I was getting. My red jacket and the brown cozy sweater! Gotta prep myself for winter!

All the chil'en watching...

It was such a special occassion we even had Champomy which is fizzy apple juice/ Martinelli's!

And then there was just a box from my parents...


I opened the box and there was a bunch of styrofoam and I put my hand and I start feeling around and I find the card. I was like "Where's the thing???" Haha so I just opened the card...


 and my presents was inside... I'm smiling cuz I'm almost starting to figure it out...


Ane then it really hits me...ATICKET HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!! Oh my gosh!!!! You can not believe how excited I was! I starting jumping up and down!


I was getting hugs! And I even started crying! Joyful tears of course... My family is terrible at surprises! They always blow it before but they had done it! I found out that all the adults here had been on it!



To make it even more crazy, I had been talking to my mom about buying my own ticket home... She had gone along with the whole thing. Just earlier that afternoon, I was talking to Stasha about that and she thought I knew about the surprise. I hadn't asked my mom for anything so I asked her what I got she me, she just said "Moms have a way of knowing what you need"... That's when my hopes of getting a ticket were shattered. I don't need a ticket. I want a ticket. I thought it would be socks or something! Haha my sister even played her role well! She texted me "Can Jess use your snowboard?" I was just thinking "I need it!" There were so many things that seemed normal at the time but now all make perfect sense...

I was still in shock hours after! I was smiling ear to ear and questioning everyone! "You knew??? The whole time???" They had known for so long! Haha so when I was sad and crying, I am sure they all just wanted to tell me but they stuck to it. They always made sure to check the mail before me! Haha it ended up being the greatest most amazing surprise I could ask for!!!

Amel couldn't stay for very long because her step-dad was being a jerk so she had Thanksgiving to-go! Haha :-) It was funny seeing her reaction to pumpkin pie! "It's so weird!" I think the taste and texture are just unfamiliar to her. I went to take her home and I got out to give her a hug and Nicolas got out and was like "There you go in the front" "What??? Drive??? No! I can't!!! Its''s too scary!" But he was completely serious, so I got in the driver's seat of the Mercedes seat, adjusted my seat, and I was driving for the first time in months! I told Amel "If I die tonight, you'll know why!" Haha it was so scary! The roads are smaller and there is more manuevering involved but we made it back to the house with minimal damage done to people and the car. I asked if it was legal and Nicolas was like "Uhh... I don't know" Haha but I guess it's no big deal! I have my license in the US but I did't know if it worked here. Total adrenaline rush! And it felt really good to drive after so long!

I was supposed to eat with the kids but they were all done by the time I got back and there ain't no way I was gonna eat Thanksgiving dinner by myself so I ate with the adults! We all went around and sad what we were grateful for and do you know what? I have so much to be grateful! I could go on and on... But the things that have recently been huge in my life is my family who love me so much and made it an absolutely amazing day! I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time! Friends can come and go but family is always there and that's really who was all there... My family :-) That family being... my real family in Arizona, my extended family: the Ashtons, and the people that become your family: the Hussons aka my French family!

Then we ate! Turkey that was so juicy! They don't have frozen turkeys here so ours was fresly killed! And I thinked that made it so amazing! Green beans as Dave put it were "like candy"! Haha fancy apple juice called Champomy which is just like Martinelli's! Delicious rolls! And the oh so amazing pumpkin pie! They don't have canned pumpkin here so we had to actually had to cook pumpkin to make it mushy and then puree it. I think that made it so good especially with whipped topping! It was like heaven! I think just eating something so American made me really happy!!!  :-) Here's one before we cooked it...


I was totally stuffed! It was all good! It wasn't the same American get-up but that was no big deal! We all kicked Thanksgving French style this year! :)

Later the kids were making Thanksgiving hand turkeys, I had just turned 17 but oh yes... I really wanted to do it! All the children in my family are all grown up so we don't ever do fun holiday crafts like that! My hands were of course bigger than all of theirs but I thought it was so fun! I get all sentimental about memory moments like that! This is how it turned out...

This one looks normal...

...this one on the other hand! Haha I'm so big compared to the chil'en!

I was wearing my cute new sweater!

Nicolas was just a tad bit tipsy and he was saying some wacky things! And then... what's new??? He went swimming! The pool was 13C! Later he was like "I payed for the pool. I am gonna use it at least once a month." Apparently he is going on Christmas too! Haha he is so crazy!

After everyone else had gone to bed or left, Nicolas and me were watching music videos and just hanging out. He fell asleep pretty quick and started snoring! Haha I fell asleep too at like midnight. Then I woke up at 3 and went to my bed but didn't fall back asleep until 5. My new sweat did this to my arm... It felt funny...


 I tried to get up for school but that was completely impossible! To be honest, after having such a crazy high-energy day, I am surprised I got up before noon! Haha so I didn't make it to any of my classes the next day which I absolutely had no problem with!

I had such a great birthday and Thanksgiving! I had been so worried but I couldn't have asked for a better day! Everyone all pitched in to make it very special for me and I was beyond happy to be going home for Christmas! I still have shocks were I can't believe this is real! :-)

Month 3 Update

Okay... So I am here without a Visa and you are only allowed to stay 3 months as a visitor! So now I am officially illegal! The French are pretty chill with that so I'm not expecting to get thrown out anytime soon! :-) Finger crossed!

K... I can't lie... This past month has probably been the hardest so far! Starting with Halloween and kinda fluctuating however evident, I have just had a rough time... Mostly because my birthday and Thanksgiving were fast approaching. Those feelings kinda led to homesickness. On top of that, I felt stressed with all the catch-up I'm going to have to do next year and I was just fed up with French school and being "dumb"... At home, I knew there was always some way to figure out something I didn't understand but here it is just a matter of language and communication. I also really don't like the French school system and the teachers. The language is always a struggle. I had issues with some people in the US and France. I don't want to turn this into me complaining about things so I won't get into details. I was just flooded with a lot of worries that kept me up late thinking a lot of times. Quite a few tears were  shed for I probably worked myself into a fret for no reason...

I knew having all these feelings are normal and I wouldn't want a little rough patch to send me home for good and trust me I thought of it... But I realize that I am happy here and I know I would be happy and feel more comfortable at home but this is such a great experience and I have grown immensely as a person. I consider here my home as well! But that doesn't stop me from missing my AZ home. I was so close with all my family. Me and my mom were talking about that... A lot of times it has made me feel like I wasn't a "good" teenager because I rarely fought with her. I can't even explain how much I really do miss my friends and family but I know that the people who truly care about me will let me enjoy this experience and be there for me when I come back :-)

French... So right now I am on a "No English" policy! It gets difficult at times but it has helped me a lot! I can ask how to say things in French but other than that, ALL FRENCH! I'm getting more and more used to French. The kids are always laughing at my accent! I can't help it :) and I won't let that stop me from trying! Everyone else thinks it's cute! Haha :-) I never thought I would be anywhere where I had an accent! I'm from AZ for gooness sakes! Not the Deep South! :-)

I understand a lot! Definetely more than I can speak! But I can usually find a way to say how I feel... I do get frustrated but just gotta keep working and looking for the light at the end of the tunnel! Everyday I improve and learn more! French is beautiful and I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn it :-) I am always happy when I have a conversation with someone and they understood everything! Also... I used to ask Amel what words were in French and so now it feels amazingly awesome when she asks me what a word in English is by saying the French and I know right what it is! I have a lot of people around me who are willing to help me learn and correct  me when needed which may be more than I would like but that's how I learn!

I LOVE FRANCE!!!

Family Bowling Night

So Wednesday we went bowling with the Ashtons :) My family and I would go bowling all the time so it was so fun! Even if I did terrible :-/ I got like one spare and my totally was only 2 digits so I'll just leave it at that. I blame it on France because I never stunk this bad in America! Haha but then again all the kids had bumpers and I did not! I was laughing too much when this picture was takien


Carter was funny because he would just throw the ball, slip because he went past the line, and then starting dancing and messing around not even caring if he hit any pins! I love kids!!

I like bowling shoes... They are fun to go on your tiptoe in! So when the final frame came, Pascaline and Nicolas said if I could get a strike they would give me a note to get out of PE swimming the next day. I think I came one pin away and I was so distraught but they finally agreed that was okay! :)

We went to Haagen Daaz after :) I love me some ice cream! I had eaten mine pretty quickly because I hate melting but Mailys is like the slowest eater ever... So once I was all finished and she had only taken 10 licks tops, she decided she didn't want it anymore. Everyone was like "Just give it to Alyssa! She'll eat it!" So she shoved her melting ice cream into my hands... I was kinda in a pickle. I like ice cream don't get me wrong but I didn't know how I was gonna eat a whole nother! And it was just sitting there melting and I couldn't just chuck it out the window so it was either eat or have it covering your entire front side... So I ate it! Haha I guess I am just the American garbage disposal! I sure know how my dad feels now!

So the next day, I got to sleep in which made put me in a dang good mood! I took the 9:30 bus and I was on there about 5 minutes when the bus started smoking. The driver stopped right in the middle of the road and everyone evacuated the bus. I was having a hard time understanding what was going on because I couldn't understand but when everyone is rushing to get off the bus you kinda just go with the crowd :-)

So right when we got out, it started raining! I had forgotten my umbrella that morning and I was gonna go get it but I was afraid I would miss the bus... But I ended up standing in the rain because I caught the dang bus... Irony much? I guess I was just not meant to go to school that day! After about 10 or 15 minutes a replacement bus showed up and I actually ended up being right on time for class! Haha :)

Singing in the Rain

I had been doing good since I had had my little "episode" on Saturday but once school came around... it was all downhill from there... I absolutely adore France but there is something about the school that is so out of my element everything from the people, the teachers, the work, the system in general, the French... It stresses me out and I just get really uncomfortable... It has some good moments but most of the time I feel like I am just lagging through the day just trying to get by! A lot of times I wish I could just go home but at night I feel a lot better... It's the days that are hard to get through! I just try to think of the family and friends who love me no matter what and will always be there for me. I don't need to be accepted because I already have all the people I need :) I love France but it isn't my home home! Well it's my temporary home but I know that at the end of this I'm going home to where I truly belong...

Okay now that that tangent is over... I was just having a rotten day at school worse than usual. I barely talked and I was just drifting off! I had made it through most of the day but once it came down to go to science class at the end of the day, I just couldn't do it. I just told Amel I was sick and she said she would tell the teacher.

But instead of going home, I found myself walking to Cannes. I was just listening to my iPod trying to figure everything out, and I may have cried just a tad... It started raining... It had been drizzling all day but it got more and more intense. Because of the rain and the terrible day that had just occurred, I thought some ice cream was in order :-) I always like ice cream when it's raining. So I walked int Haagen Daaz and got my usual caramel thingamajiggy! Seriously right when I started eating it my day just got so much better. It was pouring rain but there I was eating ice cream! You should have seen the looks I got!


 I was listening to music too :)


I started walking towards the beach on the little boardwalk there... And then it started raining some more! It doesn't look like it so much but you can't really take a picture of the rain... Seriously though everytime I tried to take a pic my phone got completely soaked


 I jumped in some puddles because... well... there is just a point where you can't get much wetter so what's the point in trying to stop it! I hadn't had this much fun in so long! I felt like such a little kid but after all the hard times I was having it was so worth it :)


By the end I looked absolutely fabulous...On the bus going home..


By the time I had gotten back, I had dried a little but not much so I went and boiled myself in the bathtub :)


It was a crazy day but I had never felt so happy and carefree in such a long time. Overall I am not a very spontaneous person but I do have my moments. That was a day I will never want to forget :) I even kept the Haagen Daaz spoon to remind me of it!

Another French Dinner Party

Saturday was a real rough day... Just the whole weekend had mounted into one big confusion of emotions. My birthday and Thanksgivng were getting closer and closer. I felt like the more attention that was put on it the more I wanted to skip it! It made me miss my family like no other and I would just want to cry... Saturday evening I spent a large amount of time crying but I was discovered by some of the kids even though I was trying to bury my tear-stained, make-up smeared, puffy-eyed face in my pillow pretending I was sleeping but it didn't work out so well...

They told the adults. I was thoroughly embarrassed... I don't like crying in front of people... And Pascaline just came into my dark room and was talking to me. She knows there are just times that are hard. She is so sweet! We can't understand each other all the time but to love her like my mom doesn't always need to be communicated. I know she cares about me :) She gave me a big hug and encouraged me to go to the dinner party and I'm really glad she did or I would have cried even more that night bundled up in my dark room...

She even said I could call my family. My Skype microphone hadn't been working so we hadn't been able to really talk to each other for too long. They were at the Gilbert Temple Breaking Ceremony but I caught them right before it was about to start. It did make me feel a better :) It was my hardest day by far. Anytime I had a bad day I would always talk and hang out with my mom and family. I can't really do that especially since the fact that this bad day was caused by missing my family so if I was with my family I wouldn't have had this problem in the first place.

So I wiped off the mascara off my face, changed at lightning speed, and made myself presentable. We drove to the dinner. The same couple had been over to our house a few days before. They work with Nicolas or something like that. The guy was so crazy! He was in the kitchen cooking (that I didn't understand cuz he was the guest), throwing down some English, and the most hilarious... singing! Just this loud "Ahh daaaddaaa duhhh" so I knew I was in for an interesting night again.

There was homemade pizza (They had a brick pizza oven! So legit!) for appetizers... I had like 3 squares and I kept getting offered more but I was practically full and dinner hadn't even started! He was singing again :) The couple's daughter and her 3 kids were there as well.

For the actual dinner, we had raclette which is the melted cheese thing that Jeremy had gotten in Paris. You eat it with different thinly sliced hams and meats and then potatoes. It was so good but I was so stuffed by the end! I had Tropizian cake for dessert but I couldn't finish it. I was so stuffed! I thought French were supposed to have tiny portions but that night like many other dinner parties I was so stuffed. If you just stop, it seems rude so I get conflicted! After we had some dried fruit and later some chcocolate...

As we were getting up from the table, Nicolas was trying to ask me "Are you thirsty?" and it came out "Are you thirty?"... My reponse "No actually I'm 17!" Haha I almost died laughing!!!

Their daughter was smoking almost the entire night... In the house... In front of her kids and guests... I thought it was rather rude! It's her vice but I think she should have been a little more respectful of others... I counted like 6 cigarettes total that night!

Nicolas was driving crazy on the way back! He would go kinda fast over the bumps and he was like "I like zeh bumps!" Haha his English was quite entertaining that night!

Once I got back, I skyped my mom. She made me feel a lot better but the thing I always just really want is to be with her :/ Later I skyped Lane and Linds... That didn't turn out so well... We kinda got into a little tiff... I dont' want to say what exactly about ... I stared crying more and more... So I skyped my mom again for a while. I had the biggest headache by the end of it and I couldn't even manage to get up to brush my teeth or wash my face after. I just fell asleep right there... I woke up at like 6 am and did all that stuff. My eyes were so puffy. My eyelids were like 3 times thicker than normal. I am not a very pretty cry-er...

Class Pictures

The French have a funny way of doing school pictures. They don't have yearbooks... Just one picture of your class because you are always with these people. It's like elementary school but you switch teachers. I think it's bizarre! And basically there are no rules when it comes to class pictures! Earlier that day, I saw this one class taking pictures and there was this guy wear NOTHING but some spandex shorts! It was freezing first of all and how in the hey would anyone let him do that? And then I saw others kids just wearing bright colors, odd scarves, funny glasses, and just random things... Amel told me that this is totally normal! And everyone is okay with it! Haha later we went to get our pictures taken indvidually. I seriously sat down for 1 second and it was over and then the class picture was quite a trip! Haha definetly different from US!

Me and My Big Sister

So one day Mailys was insistent she do my hair... I let her :-) And this was the result...


I kept it in for the rest of the night even if I did look like her little sister!

Au Revoir English!

Okay from now on until my birthday I am no longer speaking any speck of English even with the Ashtons! I can say "How do you say 'so and so word in English'?" but other than that nada! It's about time and I really have to commit! I can however speak English for a half an hour 3 times a week. Just if I need to talk to somebody cuz I'm having a hard time or something. The hardest is having to speaking French with the Ashtons because when I have something I want to tell them I know I could easily do it in English but I have to figure it out in French :)



I revel in the fact that I can speak coherent and intelligent English but I hate sounding like an idiot in French... I know that's normal and all but I can't wait until the day when I can speak somewhat decent French :) Sometimes it feels years away... But this will for surely help me out tons!

Sick! (Not in a Good Way)

Just like in AZ with the start of the cold weather, I am sick and it always stays to some degree with me the entire winter!!! I get colds year round even in AZ summers so winters just magnify my susceptibility! Also seeing how Mougins, France is a vastly colder than Gilbert, AZ, I think this just might be my best record yet! Not exactly an acomplishment if you ask me!

I'm pretty sure I got sick in Paris because it's colder there plus we were walking around outside pretty much the entire time! When I was having my lazy days, it wasn't too much of a bother but when school started, it became very much intolerable! I had a sinus headache that lasted about 4 or 5 days! My nose felt like it was melting! I filled up my trash can with tissues! My throat was killing me!

The only cool thing was the voice changing! It's always fun! But I was worried because I can barely speak English with a different voice let alone French! Haha one morning Nicolas had asked me a question and I answered "Pas beaucoup" which means "Not a lot" and he was like "What??? Barbeque???" Haha! :-)

Plus my mind is totally shot when I am sick! I had forgotten half my stuff for school to take to school so I was so unprepared! Something in history said J.C. and I was like "Oh Julius Caesar!" Haha that's not it... It's Jesus Christ... Haha oh and one day, I was trying to ask my friend if he could freestyle on the piano... You know like play without music just rocking it! But it came out "Are you fluent at playing the piano?" Oh man!

Fortunately, my parents are both doctors who got me some great drugs! Immunity powders to drink with water! And nasal spray which I felt really nerdy using but it actually helps a lot! Well... once you get past the feeling like you just squeezed toothpaste up your nose! Nicolas even wrote me a note to get out of swimming because I felt like crap!

So Saturday afternoon, I went down for lunch which in and of itself was pretty crazy! When I'm sick I kinda feel "drunk" in a way! I do and say the weirdest things but I don't remember much of it! I was barely able to form coherent English sentences let alone French! I remembered Abby had dropped her chair in the pool and I just went right in, got my whole arm wet, and got the chair... When just the day before I couldn't get more than one toe in! And somewhere along the way, Nicolas ate a whole spoonful of wasabi! We were eating sushi and we were just joking around and he did it! Later he drank soy sauce too cuz I told him how my sister, Bri, does that!

After lunch we were just hanging around the pool eating chocolate... For some reason, I was walking around the little basin... It was freezing but once I got used to the temperature, it was too hard to get out so I just stayed there for a while... Plus they said it's good for circulation and my legs have major issues so why not? Then we got going on the topic- "What will you give me if I jump in?" Negotiations went on for awhile... 10 euros per minute... 50 euros for just one jump...etc...But they were constantly reminding me that I was sick and I would get sicker!


Pascaline was like "You'll get the money but you'll have to pay the doctors to make you better"

"You guys are doctors so you can make me better"

"It costs more on the weekend"

"Okay... I'll just wait until Monday then!"

"You'll be dead by Monday!" Haha sounds like something my mom would say!

Finally, they knocked some sense into me... I wasn't gonna jump... But I really wanted to! So I was still hanging out... Nicolas had actually jumped in but he's crazy! I was flicking water to look at the ripples it makes... I was kinda like a kid... I was too easily entertained! Haha well somehow I lost balance/slipped and fell right in the pool! 16C/60F!!! I got up real quick and was just standing there in shock!

Pascaline whipped out her phone real quick and starting videoing all of it! She was like "Go jump in!" because I was already wet so I dived in and starting swimming! My whole body was instantly numb! Mailys was pointing out that my stretchy headband had fallen out and was just drifting in the water! I thought she was talking about some animal or creepy thing in the pool! So I looked to where she was pointing and screamed! But once I saw it was just my headband, I stopped screaming well kinda... headbands can be very scary little things! I bet you could choke someone with it!!! Okay back to the story... then they told me to swim! I tried but my body was so frozen! I could barely move let alone swim fast! Once someone came out with a towel, I got right out...


At least I was representing NY in my neon shirt!!!

Then I took the hottest steamiest bath ever! It was heaven! Eveyone thought I would get a lot sicker but it actually didn't make me too terribly worse and I progressively got better after that but like I said, I still have it but just to a lesser degree! Falling in the pool was pretty SICK :) I got some good stories to tell about it! Haha :-)

Lazy Days! :-)

So for the 3 remaining days of break, I had about the laziest days ever! I didn't put on make-up, wore PJs the whole time, and I barely got out of bed to eat! I watched movies, worked on my blog, and slept... I kinda looked like this... Abby randomly took this picture... I had gotten excited about something I read on the computer which explains the odd look on my face!


Or something like this... I wore the funniest clothing... Long sleeves, shorts, and knee highs! It was comfy though :)


One ofthe few times I left the house was Monday night we all went for a family walk...in the rain! It was so fun!!! After we got the fire going, watched old western and music videos, and just hung out!

I was also awaken out of my zombie like state when the girls came in to my room begging me to take them to Cannes because they are too little to go on their own! At first I wasn't feeling very inclined to go but the girls would not take no for an answer... The bus ride there was a trip! So we all got on, payed, and got our receipts then a few stops later, this lady just storms on and passes the driver to pay and just plops herself down at the back of the bus. So then the bus driver has Abby go up and he said that one of the little girls hadn't payed. So we all got out our tickets to show him but then he told Abby because that lady hadn't payed, it was "her duty" to pay for her. I really didn't see why he was picking on a little girl and why he couldn't get the lady to pay for herself! Abby just gave him the euro. I told her she shouldn't have because the guy's an idiot! I couldn't stand up for her at all because I can't speak French in a coherent manner that would suffice for this situation. It was definetely and absolutely ridiculous! Abby was not too happy and you could definitely tell she was upset... Finally, I told her to stop the negativity and gave her a euro... It did suck but when someone is going on and on, it is uncomfortable and tiring for everyone around.

After that it ended up being way fun! We went to McDonalds where this little girl was going around begging which was pretty sad. We walked over to the little play area by the beach and they have these cut-outs all over the place! Captain Jak Sparrow... The girls were a little short :)


Mailys is taller but Sophie jumped and hung on!


All the girls wanted to go on the merry-go-round and so I kinda played mom by watching them, holding all their stuff, and taking pictures...








I think we know what she is aspiring to be... Sophie the Truck Driver!




Check out the little Ferrari! Remind me of Cars... Again with the Disney movies! :) "Luigi only follow the Ferraris!"


And the Cinderella pumpkin carriage...









Best Friends!




I was actually pretty surprised at how fast this thing could spin!


Sophie had given me her bag to hold... And I got a tad curious about what a 10 yr old would need in her purse...


A Barbie dress because you just never know when you are gonna find a naked Barbie in need of a pink ball gown! :-)


An old check book of her parents where she had taken the liberty of writing herself a check for one million dollars/ $100 000 000! Haha


I think it was too much stimulation for one day so I was really happy when I got back home, got in my PJs, and got all toasty and cozy in my bed again!

All the days kinda run into each other so I don't remember when this was... Actually I think it was after break but it's all in the same category... Random! Okay so... Abby had picked some flowers and gave them to me...


One night Carter just comes into my room and shows me this app on the iPad...


It's like this Robot thingamajiggy and you can make it talk and such... Carter absolutely love it!


He would have me type things for it to say like names and stuff... For one, he wanted me to put "Alyssa is weird"... But instead I had it say "Alyssa is awesome! Carter is weird!" Haha his reaction was hilarious! Just like that lightbulb like "Hey! That's not right!"


He really did get a huge kick of it! His face would just light up and he would have the cutest smile when he made it say something funny!


Pascaline and Mailys found a porcupine somehow... We kept it in the back for awhile but I don't know if it died or what happened...

Some will flip and some won't... Oh well!

I don't know how this got started but it ended with Abby having a pen in her hair...


Silly Bandz have been the big crazy with the chil'en lately! Mailys had just bought a ton so put them all on my floor and showed me um...


It's more impressive when you see them all on her wrist! Haha obsessed much?


My lazy days wer definetely very refreshing especially due to the fact that at the end of it I would have to face school! I absoutely love France but the one thing that has been just a total terror is school which of course was expected but it does drone on and on... I feel so out of my element and it is for a long time. I am trying to think of classes not as a history class or a chemistry class but just as all French class... I'm not here to learn the historical dates, philosophy regarding Candide, or properties of water! I could care less about all of that... I wanna learn French! I try of course but with little avail. Sometimes going to school just feels completely useless especially when it's raining! I don't mind rain as long as I'm not in school! That's the worst! :-/ Plus I think it's totally dumb to have to go back from break just for Thursday and Friday! No teachers really do anything! Mine as well just make it a nice even 2 weeks but then again having a week and a half is a lot better than just one week! :)