Change of venue

So, after a very chaotic summer, I'm back! And I have news. I have decided to continue the blog, due to popular demand. However, it won't be posting here anymore. I'm switching over to a different platform that I like better. Since this blog won't be Paris-related exactly, there's a new address and really a new theme for the blog posts. You can find it here: www.that-flightytemptressadventure.tumblr.com

That blog is still slightly under construction, not all the pages are up and running, but feel free to take a look around. If you have any questions, of course feel free to ask me!

Since this is the last post on this blog, I don't really have anything to say... Except that this past year was a wonderful experience and now I'm excited to be starting my senior year in college! I hope you'll keep reading!

It's almost time to say goodbye.

This will probably be my penultimate post; I'm heading back to the States on Thursday. I plan to write a debrief sort of post sometime after I get back to the States and re-acclimated to the culture. I've had an eventful last week or so, what with finals and my parents coming to visit for a few days. Eventful, but honestly not all that interesting, other than my Dad cracking me up with some of his attempts to speak French. There are some pictures over on Facebook, if you're interested. They were only here for about 3 days, so we mostly just did the rounds on all the museums. They had a museum pass, and my student I.D. gets me into most Paris museums for free, so we had a really nice time observing a lot of art and history. But that's not really what I want to talk about in this post. A couple of days ago, a friend from the States asked me a question that really fits in well with what I'm feeling this week.

So I went to Disneyland. In Paris.

So, before you read any further, you should know that this post will be full of me basically being a little 10-year-old girl on her first ever trip to a Disney park. I'm serious. Don't say I didn't warn you... During my 2-week break from school at the beginning of May, I went to Disneyland Paris. And it was awesome. And utterly exhausting. But basically the best thing I've done in the last couple of months. I went with my dear friend Lindsey. She's American too, but she's been living in Paris for the last 5 years or so, and teaches 5th grade at a French school in the area. We have a mutual love for all things French, Disney, and fairy-tale related. And it was her birthday. I mean, seriously. Who doesn't want to spend their 28th birthday at Disneyland? So we had a slumber party at her house two nights in a row, drove to Disney together (with accompanying Disney music playing, of course) spent about fourteen hours in the park, and had a fabulous time.

France, I'm so PROUD of you!

So, in case you all on the other side of the pond haven't heard, France passed a law legalizing gay marriage and adoption about a week ago. It's a really amazing thing. I even got to go down to the Assemblé Nationale and stand outside when they announce the successful passage of the law. Unfortunately, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing I decided to do on my way home from class, so I didn't have my camera with me. Here's what I'll say, though: the screams of delight, expressions of love, and general jubilation far outweighed the boos and shouts of disgust from the right-wing protestors. After I got home that night, I had a very interesting conversation with my host Mom which got me thinking about French culture and how this new law works within the French social construct.

What have I been up to lately?

Well, as the title suggests, this is going to be general mash-up of just stuff I've been doing lately. I know I haven't been posting as much this semester, but with my internship and classes and homework and regular life stuff, I've been busy and have had a hard time making the time. If we're facebook friends, you're probably aware that I went to Versailles last weekend. I've also been hanging out with new and different people this semester, so I'm going to tell you a bit about them. I also had a really interesting experience involving a Stephen King book this week. So it's been an interesting couple of weeks, to say the least.

Kind, respectful teenagers? I must be joking!

I'm really busy with schoolwork and getting ready for the end of my stay here in France, but I really wanted to tell you all about my internship at a French high school that I'm doing this semester. It's been one of the absolute best things I've done during the last eight months. I love the kids, I love my fellow teachers, and I love the course material. It's made me so excited to graduate in a year and actually get to do this for real and get paid for it. I've been at the school for a while now, and have some really great stories and observations and things to share with you all.

Provence

This past weekend, I got to spend a couple of days in Provence. For those of you who don't know, Provence is located in the Southeastern tip of France. It's known for its distinctive landscape and historical landmarks for the most part. It touches the Mediterranean Sea, but unfortunately we didn't get to see the coastal areas.  Take a little look at this nifty little map I've provided for you. France is roughly the same size as Texas, so you can see that Provence is quite a trip from Paris. On the TGV(that's the high-speed train), it was between three and four hours each way.  In a car, it would have taken a little less than twice that time. Our trip centered around three main events: Avignon, best known as the Pope's home during the Great Schism during the 11th century (more on that later); then Arles, known both as Vincent Van Gogh's home and for its historical landmarks (particularly from Roman and Medieval times; and the small town of Uzès, near the Pont du Gard.