Present

Oh my goodness, time goes by fast. Too fast actually. I constantly try to hold on to time and slow it down, but it just keeps slipping through my fingers like sand. Life in France seems so normal now. I'm used to the little roads, bagging my own groceries at the store, stopping to talk with the neighbors when I go on a walk. Everything that seemed so strange at the beginning is now just a normal day in my life. I absolutely love France. I couldn't be more happier than I am right now.

Suddenly the weather warmed up. I was so happy to get two weeks of sun! And it was even warm enough to wear shorts. Piha and I took advantage of the sun by going on very long walks both in the morning and the afternoon. It was positively splendid! Unfortunately I don't tan well, so only my arms got a tint of color; my legs are still ghost white. I even went on a few runs finally. But I figured with all the walking I did with Piha, it was too tiring to be running or walking in the sun all day. The sun was nice while it lasted, but now we are back to windy, cloudy, rainy days... Boo.

My French class has ended. Well, at the GRETA. It really helped me. Although it's difficult to see sometimes, I have made a lot of progress. My first day in class was disastrous. I seriously couldn't understand any word. And by the last class, I could understand most of it, and even participate in class. I made friends with the girls in class, so I still see them in Pau sometimes. And I think one of my teachers is going to do a cheaper class for us. Hopefully because I need all the help I can get!

Leaving the United States made me realize that I really don't know that much about my own country. People are constantly asking me about customs and history and I can only giggle and reply with, "Uhhhhh, je ne sais pas..." (I don't know). It makes me feel like I am living up my stereotype of a loud, clueless American. All those years of cramming facts before a history exam are finally biting me in the butt. I know that I knew the answers at one point in school, but now, I am completely clueless.

Referring back to my French class friends. Where ever we go, I feel like we cause a scene. The French, in general, talk quieter than people from the United States, and especially Spanish speakers. So when you get the American, German, Columbian, and Mexican girls all together, I'm sure you could hear us from a mile away. People walking by tend to stare at us. I believe it is partly because we are speaking a different language, but most likely, it is because of our volume. We speak SO loud when we are together. And it will move from French to English to Spanish.

In my opinion, Pau is magical. You could meet anyone here, even though it is a smaller city. In my church, there are members from Cambodia, India, Spain, America, Canada, Tahiti, etc. And then there are people from my French class from Mexico, Germany, Columbia, Turkey. It is so diverse! Never in my life have I met so many people from all over the world. I love it. I love Pau. It is quieter, but I like it that way. I don't feel too crowded, and there are plenty of walks I can take around and through the city. I want someone to visit me so I can show off everything that I love! Plus I'm going to need help shipping all my luggage back to Arizona..

The time has come for Pierre and Sophie to search for a new au pair. It made me realize that my time is running out. It is the weirdest feeling to be happy and look forward to going home, but yet, at the same time, dread the thought of having to leave. I've made so many friends here. And I have created a life that I am completely happy with. I will be sad to leave all my friends and family in France, and my French life. I try not to think about what is coming too much.

I bought my tickets home. Let's just say that I won't be looking forward to my travels home... I will take four different planes. Check in the Pau airport then fly to Paris. Find my bags, check my bags back in, go through security again, then fly to New York. Lucky me gets to spend the night in the airport. I have to wait 12 hours for my next flight to Los Angeles. Then I only have to wait an hour until I fly to Phoenix. The grand total time I get to spend in the airports and flying is about 31 HOURS! And keep in mind I will be completely alone this whole time... Yeah, it's going to be terrible. Not only will I be alone, but I will be depressed because I'm leaving France until who knows when. I better start praying now for courage...


P.S. My iPhoto finally works! (I just had to reset my computer...) So pictures will be up within the next couple of days!

Last Year As A Teenager

I'm not even going to mention anything about my absence...

But yes, it's true. I survived my first year as an 'adult'. And for the first time ever, I celebrated my birthday away from home. It's weird knowing that this is my last year as a 'teenager'. I still feel too young, immature, and weird to be turning twenty next January. The older I get, the faster time goes by.

For my actual birthday, I hung out with my French family. We didn't have a huge party (I've never been super big on having a large birthday celebration). But after dinner, Sophie brought out a cake for me. I had no idea she even made it. And they got me a watch, that I love. All I had was a white watch that was surrounded by little diamond studs. Well more like rhinestones. So I kind of needed a more sophisticated watch. It was very nice of them. And after Sarah and I watched The Smurfs movie. En français... Les Schtroumpfs. Yeah, try sounding that one out. Not gonna lie, I was very skeptical at the idea of watching The Smurfs, but it was actually kind of cute. And it was nice spending time with Sarah.

Avec mes amis (with my friends), I went to play in the snow. For my 18th birthday, my parents let me take the car to Flagstaff with my friends and little sister to play in the snow. I had such a blast with my friends. So when my Frenchies asked me what I would like to do for my birthday, I asked for the snow. For a little bit, I wasn't sure if it was actually going to happen, but my friends pulled through. The great thing about living in Pau is that I have the beach a little over an hour away, and I have the mountains a little over an hour away as well. It's perfect!

In my last post, I mentioned a little bit about Maruata and Christophe. They are my friends from Tahiti. And for those who don't know, Tahitians speak French. I didn't know that until I met them... Then there is Pierre/Peter/Gabou. But I will refer to him as Gabou so he doesn't get confused with my host dad, Pierre. The four of us went to Gourette. For a while we weren't sure if there was actually any snow, but the further up the mountain we went, the whiter the ground looked. The roads going through the small, little city were tiny. Like, you really can't fit two cars at the same time. Not even the two tiny European cars. And there would be sharp turns all of a sudden. The whole time I kept picturing a car speeding down the mountain around the next curve. But Gabou kept tooting the horn to say, "Je suis là!" (I'm here!)

 After we parked, we had a little lunch. Which was some hard bread, slices of meat, and chips. Then we picked up our plastic sleds, and starting walking up the mountain. Before the trip, I had bought special, but cheap, snow shoes and pants. My shoes were terrible! Yes they kept my feet warm and dry, but I slipped ALL the time! I partly blame the snow. It wasn't really snow, more like ice. So on our first run, we wanted to go on a hill that no body else paid attention to. It was a very gradual hill. Not steep at all. Maruata, Gabou, and even Christophe, who was wearing skate shoes, made it up the hill with no troubles. But for some reason, I could not get up the stupid hill! The first try I fell. Second try I made it a little farther up, but then fell and slid back down. Third try I got a little farther, but then slipped once again and slid down. It was hilarious. I tried to stop myself from sliding down the hill, but there was nothing to stop me! Okay, so the fourth try I made it so close to everyone, but then I slipped again! This time, there was a tiny little hole that I held onto. I didn't want to fall again! Seriously, this hill was hardly even a hill. You would think that it was a cliff by the way I latched my fingers into that small ditch. I was hanging on for dear life! Christophe was coming to my rescue, but then he slipped and almost kicked me in the face. It scared me so I let go and a few moments later, I slid all the way back down the hill. By this time I was weak from laughing so hard. I finally decided to try a different route, so I went all the way around and up another side. And I finally summited the stupid hill! And right when I sat down, everyone wanted to go down...

Sledding was very fun, even though the sleds were absolute trash. I have pictures, but my iPhoto is being a bit lame en ce moment. So soon I will repost this with pictures included. But if you have seen my Facebook, then you have seen the photos... (And now it is working! Woo!)

We tried having a snowball fight, but as I have mentioned before, the snow was ice. Therefore, it was more like an ice ball fight. It really hurt! So I ran up a big, steep hill until none of the ice balls had enough 'umph' to hit the target. I escaped the snowballs, but as I turned around and looked down the hill, I regretted running. I was so high up! I had no idea I was going to get back down without dying. Okay that is an exaggeration, but with my shoes and clumsiness combined, it was a very likely possibility... Anyway, I almost made it down the hill safely, but at the end I slipped. I think I slid into a rock or something because I seriously thought I broke my leg. I've never broken a bone so I didn't know what it would feel like. I just rolled on the ground saying ow. Maruata tried to help me, but I didn't want anyone to touch me. Ha, I had to go through my pain before I could be helped. I stayed on the ground for a while, even though my leg was not broken, and after I got up, we decided it was about time to go. I was very happy I was not driving, because I was completely exhausted. Getting home and into bed never felt so good.

P.S. Just a little update from the current day events. We have more pets. We bought two gerbils. And one is named after me so I could stay with my family even when it comes time for me to go back to The United States of America.

I'm Finally Back!

I didn't realize it has been two months since my last post. I am so sorry! One of my New Year's Resolutions was to post in my blog at least once a week, but obviously that whole goal didn't start out great. But here I am finally. I've been to Toulouse. I've been to Paris. I celebrated Christmas. And New Year's. I celebrated my birthday. And I went to the mountains for a snow day. So I will catch you all up as much as I can.

So, a lot has happened. And Sophie has pictures that I planned on posting on here, so those will come later. Writing about all that has happened seems very overwhelming at the moment, so I will only write about a few things at a time until I catch up. And I promise I will try really hard to be better and post in my blog more.

Toulouse. I went to Toulouse in the beginning of December. I went with PSP (Pierre, Sophie, Piha) on a saturday afternoon, we spent the night at their friend's house and then came back Sunday late afternoon. We went to Toulouse because P&S's friend was expecting a new baby! Her husband had an accident at work, so he wasn't able to work for a while, and their 4 year old is one of those kids that always needs attention, so Marie was begging for us to come visit. We didn't do anything too special. We discussed baby names, visited Toulouse for a little, and watched the Miss France pageant. Lilly kept talking and talking to me, and wanting to play, but at that point, I still could barely understand French. She is a very cute girl though.

I just would like to congratulate myself with my French. Granted it is still terrible, but I am beginning to see how far I have come! December was a month of much progress. I believe it was because of my friends. I spent a lot of time with them in December. And because I can actually make very small conversation, Sarah and I talk more! Sarah discovered that I can understand, and actually say something back, and ever since, she just chats away. Some of the time I have no idea what she is saying, but I just say, oui, ouais, mhmm, etc. She is my best teacher. I love it. And my French class is easier than before. I still don't understand what they are saying usually, but I can speak more. I still have a long way to go, but it is nice being at a point where I can see how much progress I have actually made. If only I could just stop being afraid to speak...

I spent Christmas with PSSP (Pierre, Sophie, Sarah, Piha), but for New Year's Eve, I went to a church party. I was very sad that my friends Maruata and Christophe weren't there. They are my Tahitian friends, and they are married. They were off traveling and visiting the happiest place on earth, Disneyland Paris. Unfortunately for me, I got very homesick after Christmas. I was completely fine all throughout the holidays, until I FaceTimed my family. Seeing everyone open presents and being together made me feel so lonely! I missed the American Christmas time. But I will talk about that more later. So for New Year's I was feeling very homesick. Like I mentioned earlier, I went to a church party. It was mostly youth from church, and we played music all night and danced. Because I wasn't in the best of moods, I didn't feel like dancing. Plus, I wasn't wearing the best dancing outfit...

There was food, so I ate. And I was doing fine until I tried talking to one of my friends and realized he was in a bad mood. It reminded me that I wasn't the happiest either. So after that I just cried. I couldn't help it. And after crying I really didn't feel like doing anything except laying in bed and going to sleep. But because I didn't drive myself, I had to stay. The new year came, and I couldn't wait to get to my bed.

Don't worry I have so much more to write and tell you about, but I think the best way for me to get it all done, is by posting a little bit at a time... So there is more to come! Hopefully more tomorrow! But I am not making any promises.

Just Givin' You the 411

Bonjour tout le monde (Hello everyone). Someone suggested that instead of catching up, I just start writing about current events. So instead, I will post pictures from the past couple months, and only write little stories. So here we go! Are you excited?

Oh, and you should know that this a massive picture overload... And the stories aren't in order.

 The purpose of this first group of pictures is to show you where I live. So welcome to the country. There are cornfields everywhere. And cows. I used to think that Utah smelt bad. (Obviously not all the time, but sometimes when there was a breeze, a stench would be riding along with it.) But no, the country is worse. Again, it isn't a 24/7 stench, but when the smell comes, it is horrendous! Cow poop is powerful stuff.

However, I do think that my area is still pretty. It is fall, so the leaves are changing. I never knew that leaves could turn into such bright colors. It is positively beautiful! The Pyrenees Mountains are covered in snow now, which makes the mountains look even prettier. Even though the lake is too gross to swim in, it still looks pretty. Sometimes Piha and I will walk down to the lake, but the hike back up is steep and tiring, so we don't go too often.

That last picture is of an evil plant. Nettles. Well that is what ortie translates to in the British English. Which reminds me. Looking up words isn't always helpful because the British English word is totally different than the American English word. Back to the nettles... One day, I went with Piha and Sophie's mom to pick up left over corn in the corn fields (the corn was for the rabbits, not us). When we were done searching for extra corn, we halfway slid down a small hill that, of course, was spotted with nettles. I don't think I have ever seen nettles before, and obviously Sophie's mom has, because I put my hands down on them. Holy crap it stung! I was scared it was poisonous and I was going to die in France. The stinging went away pretty fast, but then the areas that had contact started to tingle and go numb kind of like laying on your arm until it falls asleep. And my skin turned red with little white dots that looked like blisters. Sophie's mom just kept laughing and saying, "Ahh, oui! Ça pique!" Translation, yes, it stings. At least I knew I wasn't going to die...

And now we move onto my trip to Biarritz. Biarritz is famous for surfing. The beaches, and the water, are absolutely stunning! I was hoping for sunshine, but Mr. Sun never showed up. However, I still enjoyed my time in Biarritz.

I only love this picture because it reminds me of a picture with Winnie the Pooh... And yes, I realize that I am a little old for Pooh Bear.

I can't remember if I have mentioned that my bathroom is finished! At first, there was only a sink, so if nature called during the night, I had to walk to the main house and sneak around quietly inside until I found the bathroom. I was always afraid I would wake someone up. I admit that I seriously considered going outside. Hey, I am just trying to be honest.

For two weeks, my flat was under construction. Well, my future bathroom was. Now, I have a toilet, shower, and a sink. So luxurious! That tiny five-sided figure to the left is my shower. My bathroom is teensy weensy, but I love it. I will post the 'after' images on my next post.

And this is Minette. The cat. When my bathroom was under construction, the workers left the doors open. So of course Minette would sneak into my flat and have a little snooze in my bed. The little booger. I did love her company though. She kept me warm, and she was something I could cuddle with. That is the good thing about cats, they keep themselves pretty clean and are calm. Dogs can be so filthy and spazzy. I'm still a dog person though. Unfortunately, I discovered that Minette had tapeworm... Bleh. It's gone now, but I am still grossed out. Minette hasn't been allowed in my flat since. I miss my cuddle buddy.

Piha and I take walks everyday. Twice a day. Well, except if the weather is bad. But lately it has been sunny. I have already worn out one pair of jeans. They were a few years old, but they were so comfortable! They were more high waisted than other jeans, so I never had to worry about plumber's crack. I wore them on Thanksgiving because I could stuff myself silly and still be comfortable without having to unbutton my pants. And now, thanks to what I not so fondly call 'chub rub' (from chubby thighs rubbing together), there is a hole in the inner thigh area. R.I.P. Annalise's most comfortable pair of jeans. You will be missed.

Our town has plenty of dogs. Pretty much every household owns at least one dog. Usually, there are multiple. And almost all of the dogs look mangy. These two dogs are our walking buddies. They are allowed to roam free, and are very very dirty. I nicknamed them Shaggy and Scrappy. They like to bark and boss other dogs around, and chase cars. Scrappy, the little one, loves chasing cows too. It is so mean, but it is hilarious. He is a little dog, but he frightens huge cows. I don't understand why the cow doesn't just charge, but they just bow their head and back away. Scrappy keeps me entertained. But I hate when Shaggy and Scrappy decided to fight other dogs. It scares me, and it scares Piha.

So there are a few pictures of Piha, and one of Sarah. As you can see, Piha loves Silly Band bracelets. She spends 10 minutes everyday putting them on one by one. If you try to take them off, she freaks out. The only time to get them off is when she sleeps. She also loves putting on hats. She will put it on, take it off, put it on, and so on.

Lately, I have been missing Arizonan sunsets. I love the purples, and pinks, and oranges. Sunsets here are rarely colorful, but there were a few days with sunsets! The first one was just yellow, but I got so excited when I saw it! And then as the week went on, the sunsets got more colorful. I still miss Arizona. Oh, and I took a picture of the moon.

Piha absolutely LOVES Hello Kitty. You can see her Kitty phone, Kitty backpack, Kitty toothbrush. And she will soon have a Kitty bedroom. Piha also loves Teletubbies. I have introduced her to Baby Einstein, but she still prefers Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Lala, and Po. She does this thing, we call it faire du ventre, when she goes on her toes and sticks out her belly. If you have ever watched Teletubbies, they do the same thing when they are getting ready to watch TV on their bellies.

I have never seen birds migrate before. All the birds here are either starting to migrate, or getting ready to. I would have thought it was beautiful the first time, but since they were flying right over my head, I was only worried about them pooping on me.

And this final picture is of my friend, Samuel the Salamander. He scared me half to death the first night I saw him. He is a little longer than my own hand. I am pretty sure he is poisonous. And he keeps nasty critters like frogs and bugs out of my house. I think he is pretty cool.

Now I am caught up. Yay! In honor of Thanksgiving, which I haven't celebrated, I would like to share what I am thankful for. I am extremely thankful for my family and friends. Without your love and support, I would never have come to France. And without your love and support, I would have already left France. I am thankful for how much I have been given in my life. It took me a while to understand how awesome it is to: be able to get an education, have a comfortable home, have what I need, etc. But ever since I have discovered how fortunate I am, I will forever be grateful. I am thankful for my beliefs in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am thankful for God! He blesses my life in so many ways. He has given me so much. And although I am far from perfect, He loves me no matter what. I am thankful for family traditions. No matter how silly or embarrassing they can be, participating in them gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling. I hope everyone is enjoying Turkey Day for me. I sure will miss stuffing, and pie.