barrrrrrcelona

today we are in barcelona! it´s ben quite non stop since we left lucerne. we arrived in paris around 11 and then went out to the bars there. it was really fun but nearly exactly like going out in america except good music was easier to find and fewer people were speaking english. we stayed out til around 230 and then slept in a bit. then we got an all day metro pass and went around paris seeing the sights. i saw the eiffel tower again, the champs elysees, the hotel d´invalides, and other inportant stuff. i missed speaking french. it felt so good to be back. me and brady proabbly walked about a thousand miles. oh i forgot to mention our lunch!!!! it was DANKKKKKKKK. we went to this little hole in the wall that was super cheap and had super amazing food. i got a crepe and it was unbelievable. whoa. so then we got on our night train. night trains are dumb. the hallways are big enough for a half of a personh and you can´t walk a straight line...therefore you´re constantly bumping into a wall and looking like a drunkie. brady and i had separate rooms and so we were siting together in the seat area (tip: dont waste money on a bed....the seats are a lot better because you can sit by who you want and they lean back far) but then we got kicked out because we sdidn´t have seats in that cart. so we went to the back of the train and sat on the ground. we were pitiful. haha it was great.

we got in barcelona t 8:30 found a hotel (hotsel) went to the beach, walked around, got lunch, showered, and flooded the bathroom,which led to flooding the entire room. it was crazY! there was water all the way to the beds and all our luggage was wet. we were freaking out. i think the shower has a leak. mmk i have one minute left of internet, so im going!
ill be back in america thurs!!!
woooo!

lion lyon lion

hello!
it is 8:11 here in lyon, france. i've been up since about 5:50. why you ask? well our hotel room doesn't have air conditioning and that's not so conducive to sleep in the summertime. brady's not having any problems. i went out for a nice run and then went to the bakery and fruit stand, so im munchin on some bread. mmmmMM. today's france's national holiday. me and brady were originally planning on heading to lucerne today, but how cool would it be to be in france for their national holiday?! plus, lyon is absolutely gorgeous. it is very under-the-radar. we got here, and everyone was so friendly. i'm not sure if it's easier for me to see the friendliness in people because i have brady here or if it's because they're nicer. yeah, so we got out the train station in lyon and then took the metro, then we went looking for a hotel. every street was a mini masterpiece. so gorgeous. we happened upon this bar that had electro djs and they drew us a map and everything for how to get to a hotel. the hotel they had in mind doesn't exist anymore, but the thought was nice and we went back last night to see the djs! it was so fun.

hyeres was AMAZING. i could live there. everyone loved me and brady and after walking around the first night, everyone recognized us the second! we went to this bar to watch the world cup game and i was rooting for spain and the whole bar was too, except brady. and then spain won, so the guy gave brady his drink free as a sympathy gift! at the suggestion of the front desk people at our hotel (run by the family...either the wife or the husband is at the front desk, the cat prances around, and the little boy hangs out there too), we went to the neighboring island called portoquelles (something like that). it was AMAZING. we packed a picnic lunch and went to the beach and it was so relaxing. hahah except when we were in the water and a seagull attacked our food and brady ran out the water to chase it away and the people next to us were just watching and taking pictures. the little birdie ate our bread and got salad dressing all over the towel. it was funny. we walked around the little town and heard some more of the jazz musicians (there was a jazz festival there). it was greeeaaaat. oooh but when we got back to the hotel we had to explain that the key broke (we left out the detail that it was when we were trying to use it to open the wine bottle....we can't afford a wine opener. haha) it wasn't a big deal and they were really nice. oooh and also in hyeres, brady saw a record shop so we went in and the owner lived in the shop and they were having a birthday party for his friend and they were already drunk so they gave us 2 free records! and we just chilled and talked to them for a while and listened to music and tried their moonshine and we took pictures with their american flag. haha that was great. alright well instead of writing about my adventures im gonna go initiate another!
a bientot!
chelsea

i DID IT

brady's here! o my. it was such a relief to see someone that knows you and could give me a real hug. i forgot that i haven't been hugged by someone that loves me in so long. it was so great. i can't wait for a mom and pop hug. mmmmmm it's amazing how you forget how important those little things are. i had someone to tell my stupid jokes to and to share my bread with and to tell me that i smelled when i farted.

i also feel like brady coming is like my trophy for having done this. i did it. i lived in a foreign country in an itty bitty town with a family i'd never met that speaks a language that is not my native and took care of their kids. i did groceries in this foreign place, took yoga, travelled, and took painting lessons. i made friends without having known a single soul. i tried new foods and wines and adopted new customs (brady says i eat more proper now! mom....can you BELIEVE IT?!) i listened to real opinions of americans, regardless of if i agreed with them or not. i saw local news and learned the history of this place that's not my own. i learned how to navigate the bus and train systems, and after being fined 35 euros, learned that it is never okay to get on a train without a ticket. my french is at a point where i can communicate and joke with people on the street and the person that taught me all of this is now my friend. i did it! in two months! don't think it was easy. i missed my mom, my dad, my DOG, walmart, my jeep, my loud family who says what they want and does what they want at our meals. i missed english, i missed my friends, my family, brady, food that was artificially colored, splenda, everything being open at every hour, but too bad. that was two months without it. i can look back and know i did it. YEAH!

so after brady wakes up from napping, im gonna show him around the town. last night we ate awesome indian food and listened to live music for a bit. today, we did a bit of shopping, and being the savy consumers we are, we opted for pizza from the bakery next door to the pizzeria instead of eating at the pricier pizzeria. and we took our 2,80 euro bakery pizza and ate in a park and it was delicious. then brady met perrine, my french tutor friend, and now we're here!

alright. keep it cool kiddies.
chelsea

the end of this road

helllllllo!
brady will be here in 2 hours and 15 minutes if all goes well. i am soooo excited.

yesterday was a good day leading up to today. another au pair contacted me to meet up, so i suggested we have a picnic. she's from germany, and she's been here since april. im sorry. i couldn't concentrate. maybe it was just me being unable to concentrate because i knew that the next day i'd be free, but i just kept staring at my watch. she hates being here, and i felt really bad for her. i tried to give her some good advice and really listen because i'd want someone to do the same and she needed comforting. she's really nice but just really shy, so i know being an au pair must be really difficult for her because you really have no comfort zone. i did really like talking to her though because we could relate on a lot of things.

then i packed more! and talked to the cleaning lady. she's awesome. i'm gonna miss her. then at night i went to the waxing lady's house for aperitifs (pre-dinner drinks and snacks) and it was so fun. god that's a family i wish i was working for. they reminded me of my family and mr. brian's. on a whim, they would just invite people over for beers (NOT wine!) out of the BOTTLE( i can here my au pair people gasping) and appetizers. and we just laughed and talked about everything...from dogs to eyguieres to cheese to marseille. everything. the kids were so cute and just so fun. it was such a warm atmosphere. i wish i would have met them sooner. we went on google earth and i showed them around new orleans. i felt so special that someone was so interested in where i came from. the family never asked me anything like that. yeah these were really great people.

alright. again the excitement is kicking in. i need to return library books but i don't wanna. blahhhhhh that'll keep me busy for a bit though.
later gators!
chelsea

fleaaaaa market

today was kinda like a holiday would be if i had grandparents that lived in france and i was visiting them. it was a very local, non-touristy sort of day. i went to the flea market in the morning (it was GLORIOUS...all the markets i'd been to were farmer's because the flea is on wednesdays and i had the kiddies) and then i went shopping (70% off La Halle dress? um YES), then i ate the lunch i packed and did laps at the local pool, then i went to the Nostramus museum for FREE because i'm under 25. it was splendid. i also talked to the hotel that me and brady are staying at to tell them what time we'd be there. they're so great. got home, cooked some veggies packed a little and planned the upcoming vacation a bit too. i just can't wait until brady gets here. god. tomorrow's my last day as the only american! tomorrow im going to eat lunch with a german au pair who called me. ok i can't write anymore. im too excited for friday
chels

van gogh gogh gogh!

today was cool. i was thinking that because i did a lot of stuff all weekend and monday too that i'd sleep really late, so i set an alarm for 11. um i woke up at 8:55. what?! haha so i had a nice little breakfast outside and then worked out and then got stuff to pack a lunch for me because i wanted to go to arles. i did go to arles and it was super cool. i bought a walking tour map from the office of tourism and saw so much. it was definitely worth the 1 euro. all these things that i wouldn't have been able to figure out their historical significance were explained and mapped. i went to the hospital where van gogh was hospitalized and painted some of his most amazing pieces! i walked the garden that he painted and then bought a postcard of the painting. i saw the ursuline convent from the 1400s and the jesuit college! i saw the gladiator arenas, the square where van gogh painted "cafe under a stary night." i also had a really great coffee. it was a great day, but i walked so muchhhhhh. im sleeeeepy! i think i;ll watch a movie or an itunes tv show. tomorrow i want to go to the flea market in salon and then maybe the museum there, but i don't really want to wake up early for anything (not that im really capable of sleeping late it seems), so i'll just decide when i wake up.

i'm gonna van gogh now. hahahahaah
chels

ni forchette ni couteau

life is so funny. let me illustrate this for you:

sunday evening.
me and lauren are sitting at a cafe listening to a band called "the nashville cats" sing blues and country, drinking the local aperatifs.
here are the stipulations:
1. this cafe is in salon de provence, a place where neither of us have been before this summer but has become quite familiar territory for me
2. it's me and lauren, who met through our friend rebecca and the first time we had a legit conversation was when i went all the way to maryland to stay with her
3. the local apperatifs are cassis and kin vin blanc...things local to the region
4. the band is singing blues and country, which is local to new orleans, but we're in france, listening to our region's music being sung by french people


what a strange combination. it was so great. this whole weekend was so fun. me and lauren were just so relaxed and had a lot of fun. being with lauren is good. she's a lot shier than me, so when i picked her up from the train station, i noticed me talking double time. i do that around people that don't talk as much as me. i talk to make up for their lack of talking, but then i was like "yo chels...chill" and after that, it was so great. i blew out the electricity and internet on the first floor and lauren broke their wine glass! hahah this probably didn't help america's reputation. sorry! i loved our dinners because they were so simple and delicious and enjoyable. i didn't have to worry about eating correctly or anything and our mix was just so great. jambalaya served with provencal haricots verts with lentils and a side of olives? um of course that's the winning combination!

so lauren left today and i went for a run, a swim, did some groceries ( i felt like it was necessary for me to replace a tomato because we ate half of their tomatos....2), finished my wax (the wax lady invited me over for an aperitif thursday! she, my friend, is so awesome), had a french lesson (i am getting gooooood!), and got back to the hizzouse. i left a note saying not to wait for me for dinner. i didn't want them to be held up, but they thought i'd eaten so they set the table for 2 and i was like um...can i eat with yall? a bit awkward. also i haven't gotten my salary for the week, which is a touchy issue because i asked if i'd be paid this week a while ago when we were talking money and i think they said yes, but i don't know and i'd feel super dumb to ask again. grrrr money and language barriers are not so fun.

my momma told me about the 4th of july and she celebrated it with my real favorite babies: josie and mia. if it was that family and those kids, i'd be loving every second of this. when i was walking the street with lauren yesterday i was telling her " god i bet everyone in america is bbq-ing big slabs of meat and eating copious amounts of food, with improper etiquette, standing up. i'm so jealous." my mom confirmed this.

anyway america, i hope you enjoyed yourself. tomorrow i think i'm going to arles to look around. i hope my money's on the shelf in the morning.

si l'argent n'etait pas la, je ne serai tres contente! qu'est-ce que je ferrai?! je mangerai avec ni fourchette ni couteau.
(if the money isn't there, i won't be happy. what will i do? i'll eat without a fork and knife!)
HAHA

Chels

vomit vomit everywhere!

hello!
i didn't realize until i was half-asleep last night that i haven't written in two days! i've been summoning all my reserve to push through the end of my work with the kids which was yesterday!

ooh let me fill you in on what's occurred since then. well thursday was non-stop, which i like because it keeps me from missing home and stuff like that. i was really excited to get the kids because i had packed them really awesome snacks for the park. when i got to the boys school, though, the teacher approached me with the little boy and i was like "great. he's never been in trouble but the teacher has a 'this kid was bad' look and with my luck he would wait til i'm almost done to be bad."i think i would have rather her tell me he was bad because instead she told me he was really sick, and he proceeded to sit down on the curb and barf at our feet. so then i was trying to ask him if he thought he could ride his bike home (that was really our only option) and the teacher was like no and he was like no. so im freaking out because i don't know how im going to get him home and in the mean time all theparents are swarming and trying to tell me how to take care of him when i get back to the house. i turned to the teacher and was like "we don't have a car. i don't see any of the parents i know. riding our bikes is the only option we have." finally some mom was like where do you live and i explained it to her, and she was like i'll take him and meet you by the big lake. that's when i was freaking out a bit. i didn't know this mom, the kid was throwing up, i had the little girl to look after too, theparents are all watching me. it was a very "new-mom-i-have-no-idea-what-to-do" situation. oh and this was occuring ALL IN FRENCH, as in a foreign language. so i decided that because the little village is really safe and teh teacher seemed to be fine with the parent that the little boy would be safe with her. this kind lady gave him a bag to barf into. wow. letting a barfing kid into your car? she was really nice.

so me and the little girl ride to meet them to show her where the house is and of course iris is biking at the speed of a snail. then she falls off her bike (OF ALL DAYS!) and is bawling. finally we get back to the house and the little boy is vommitting in a bag that i'm holding (i don't know where the french think it's okay to barf, so i thought it'd be best in a bag that i could throw away) . the little girl is insisting that we do a craft right NOW, and i have to make sure the boy is drinking and when i gave him a bite of bread, he immediately threw it up. GREAT. it was so intense. finally the parents came home and i nearly collapsed from exhaustion. i did not want to talk to anyone. i just sat and read and then i was like hmmmm what if the parents think im a bad sitter because once they came home i did my own thing? and then i was like screw it. this afternoon was the hardest thing ever. who cares what they think.

then friday he was so much better and i was so happy because iplayed a part in that. i made him drink water and gave him medicine and cold rags and played doctor and mom all at once. then yesterday i stayed busy and i finally realized that 38degrees celsius (that's about the average temp right now) is the equivelant of 100 degrees farenheit, so yeah i probably am battling a bit of heat exhaustion considering im outside for around a minimum of 2 hours a day. right now i'm eating breakfast/brunch and then im gonna go for a walk and the wash all the chlorine out my hair (there's quite a bit...but that's summer, right?!) and then i'll go meet lauren! and the fun weekend can commence.

oh and yesterday i had like a 50 minute long conversation with the lady who was doing my wax and she said i speak "a good french!" i was SO happy.

america, i'll see you in 19 days.
uncle sam...get ready for a big hug and walmart....get ready for an epic visit
chels

i never thought you'd be a junkie because heroine is so passe

um i love this song by the dandy warhols. im currently listening to it. it's funny and catchy and has this edge...like an "oh-yeah-i-did-just-say-that" kind of way. today was a great day. i seriously think i could kick martha stewarts ass if we had tv shows at the same time. i woke up this morning before the kids (what?!) and then at 9, no one had climbed into my bed, so i got kinda worried. i set the table for breakfast (yeah, i know...suzy homemaker here), then i went upstairs, but i COULDN'T FIND THE GIRL! i was freaking out, but then i found her playing in the other room. i was thinking about how difficult it would be to look for her when i'd have to explain all her details in french. haha

then we ate breakfast and decided on what crafts we'd do. we decided on the beads from modeling dough (that we made ourselves: flour, salt, and water). then we used the sun to bake them, then we painted them, and tomorrow we'll have our own home-made dough, beaded bracelets. take that martha. i don't even need to go to jail to have this edge. then i made them lunch (pizza from the fridge), but the veggies were fresh: grated carrots and zucchini. uh yeah. we also cut fresh lavander and flowers and made beautiful bouquets and we put the flowers in the tomato sauce cans. so earth-friendly. then the kiddies went to get their vaccinations for peru, i chilled, and i got really tired for some reason. then they came back adn we went swimming. it was a great day. my bike-riding friend emailed me from her appartment in paris. she's such righteous soul. lauren went to the train station today to buy her tickets, so i hope it all worked out! mmk tomorrow i hope i get to go to yoga. i need to buy coffee and milk chocolate and book a tennis court.

readddyyyy.....breAK!
hut hut hut
chels

rawrrrrr

today has ended exactly as i hoped it would. i asked the parents if my friend lauren could come visit and they said yes! not only can she visit, but her friend can come too! wahooooo! im super stoked. also a german au pair in a little neighboring village messaged me and wants to meet up, so i want to do that too.

today was great. the grandparents left and the little girl didn't even hug them bye. i was like BURN! hahah i'm so happy they're gone. the grandma changed clothes for the first time this morning...when she was leaving. why? is it just to spite me?! haha then i got the kiddies from school and made them lunch. i love making them lunch. i love cooking and i love cooking for others and then we get to eat it all together! plus it gives me such a motherly and necessary role in their lives. they can't cook their own food and they have to eat, so that makes me crucial. today the kiddies had leftover mystery meat, along with lentils that i made (um lentils, where have you been all my life?! why haven't i been making you?!), a salad with a dressing that i made, leftover rice that i cooked (not minute rice), and shredded carrots that i shredded by hand! god im so domestic. i light the stove, set the table, pour their water. lunch is probably my favorite time of the day because i have a job that i love doing.

then i dropped the kids off, painted a picture of a local building, went to the library, went for a swim, got my kiddies and came back to the house and drew with them. i got them a book each from the library and a movie and they loved the books. the parents never talk to me about hwat i've given the kids and today they asked me where i got the books. WHOAAHH! it was great. so now i think i may watch a little of a french film or read or i dunno.

later robin hood
chels

hemingway is a hunk

hello.
today i woke up with the kiddies and the grandparents to get the breakfast ready. the grandmom kills me. god. they've been here since friday and haven't changed clothes ONCE. it's monday. that's friday, saturday, sunday, AND monday in the heat of the summer with the same clothes. i think they smell like dead people. they're beyond body odor. i went on a nice run this morning, which always raises my spirits. i think it does a better job in improving mood than alcohol! really! everyone should run (to good music....that's crucial). then i showered and road my bike to yoga which i was really looking forward to, but unfortunately, no one was there. instead i went to the post office, adn for some reason, that's always a nice thing for me to do because one of the ladies there is really nice. then on my way back from there, i saw one of the guys from the bar who was really cool and is in a band, so i stopped and talked with him a bit. i was happy to see him.

then i went to the house and did my own relaxation and yoga because i've been super anxious lately. i decided i'd go out to eat with the grandparents even though they really bother me because
a. i havent eaten at a restaurant in eyguieres yet (i've actually only gone to 2 restaurants since i've been here)
b. if i didn't eat with them i'd prob have to find my own food
c. making them pay for a meal is revenge for them being bitches to america.

i think my yoga helped because i was able to enjoy the meal. mmm i had SUCH AMAZING cauliflower. i saw some guy had it, so i asked the waitress about it and she brought me a plate. the grandma was like "no i think that's just what the manager made for himself" and i was like "ok. ok." and then i asked and then i received. WHAM.

the gma kept looking at me when i was eating (which i absolutely HATE), so i kept looking back at her and giving her this pleasant smile that really meant "if my eyes could be lazers and blind you, they would."

i didn't want to go back in the car with the gparents because it was too small of a space to contain their odor, so i walked back to the house. it was a nice little promenade. then the kids came back and i went to the lake to chill and draw, but i couldn't find anything i really wanted to draw, so then on my way back to the house, i saw a beautiful gate, so i drew that.

then i went swimming with the kids and i forgot how much fun it was to swim with kids. i was their dolphin and it was great. then we ate dinner. and now im here. i read the kids a chapter of a book, and even tho the gparents are here they still like me a lot.

i invited my friend lauren to come visit me this weekend and i hope i hope with all my heart that she does. i visited her in maryland and she's so chill and i know we could do anything and have a good time. i also told her she could bring a friend, but there's a trick in french because when you say elle (she) and elles (they, as in two or more girls) it sounds the same, so i can ask if elles (2 girls) can come and because my pronunciation's not so good it's not my fault if the parents don't understand!

in my hemingway book, i've read 52 of the 70 short stories. yeeehaw. i love him. he's such a genius. alright. tomorrow's "get me through the day" activities are:
a. new workout
b. painting
c. library
d. pool?
e. park with kiddies
f. showing iris my secret garden
g. hopefully finishing plans with lauren

bye bye birdies!
chels

e hasn't been the first letter in my titles, so today's its day

today was a great day until the family came back to the house.
i woke up super early, ate a quick breakfast ( i think the grandmom was like....god stupid american) and then i met my new friend to ride our bikes to the city center. we road about 20 km total and it was so fun. when we got to salon, she showed me the local st vincent de paul so i can go thrifting. then we went to the market and we bought things for lunch. she bought a melon and i bought cheese. we road back, and god it was so great. we talked about everything: life, love, culture, french v american, religion. she spoke in english and i in french. when we were unsure about a word, we just asked "hey how do you say this in french" and we corrected each other when necessary. it was just such a beautiful experience.

then we got back to her house, went for a quick swim (it was SUPER hot), then we went back to the house and made lunch. lunch was such a sharing experience. she had lettuce and rice, i had cheese. i cut rosemary from her garden, she assembled the salads while i cut the melons. i felt so natural in her presence. we talked from 945 in the morning til 400 in the afternoon. as open minded as we both are, i could still sense the strong dislike of american culture in france. i guessi always thought it was a myth, especially because people have been fairly kind to me when i say i'm american, but once i've talked with people that will open up to me and frankly tell me what the french think of americans, i've realized that they really think we suck. like really are messed up. "america has a lot of loonies, huh?" that's an exact quote.

i'm near my wits end with defending america. if you don't like america, why are you obsessed with our celebrities? why do you let mcdonald's enter your precious, bistr0-ligned streets? why do you swoon over our music and movies? why are jeeps riding in your streets, almost as commonly as your citroens?

here are some cliches i've had people ask me about or just simply tell me about american culture (because i mean, they obviously know more about my culture. of course! im just a stupid american!)

1. americans eat at mcdonalds all the time
2. americans eat alone, all the time, standing up, and not in a proper fashion
3. americans are fat
4. americans are dramatic
5. americans are loud
6. america is a dictatorship
7. we study for 5 years at university ( i tried to explain that it's typically 4, but the grandpa exclaimed, "i don't understand!" and i just wanted to tell him listen to me and maybe you will)
8. american coffee is horrible
9. because america chose george bush as president, we are all horrible people.

honestly, numbers 2-9 are ones that have arrived between yesterday and today, so that's saying that there are a lot others that i've forgotten.

the grandparents are here and the grandma is killing my spirit for sure. i miss my grandma so much. i wish i could see my grandma and spirit killer in the same room because i would just die laughing. my gma would kick her butt.

the next weekend i was going to go with the family to drop the kids off in antibbes, but im not sure i can tolerate much of the family's shenanigans. at dinner, the dad was pouring everyone wine ( i had noticed that he had poured me the smallest amount both times) and on the last round, he filled up the gma, the gpa, and ooops he seemed to have run out right before me. the gpa was like what about chelsea and the dad was just like no. i tried to be dignified and was like no thank you, but there was nothing to reject. there was no more wine. i could stay here in the house alone, but i dunno. i hope colleen or lauren comes visit me.

alright petit poulet,
chels

uncle sam....hold on to your hat

today was a good day. i woke up, but i felt sick at the stomach, so i chilled for a bit. i told the momma that i wanted to spend the day with them because the grandparents were here, but after around 1:30 and they hadn;t left the house i was like OH NO! I'M PEACING. so i left with the dad and the son to go to the city. they dropped me off and i got into 2 museums FREE because im under 25. i learned all about the provincal history, which was super cool because it reminded me of cajun history because it's very respected by the people who live it but other people don't really get it. it was cool to understand the region where i've been staying. i wore this little ipod thing around my neck and it narrated the history to me. before that i went to the emperi castle, which was so fascinating, and i kept thinking how my dad would LOVE to have been there with me because it was all about the history of the french army and the french wars. i liked it, but i would have liked it better if i was with my pops. it was cool, though, because the castle that i was exploring was the same one that the LOUIES of france lived in nd napoleon visited. it's super cool to be a part of all this history. then i had my french lesson, which was great. the bus didn't pick me up, so i stayed with perrine for a little bit and watched some french tv. that was super fun. then she brought me back and im here now. i can't wait til brady gets here and when i get in america. ooooh the good ole USA. uncle sam...watch out!
chels

g-ma...this one goes out to you

hello.
today was and continues to be a glorious day. i woke up, brought the kiddies to school, ran, toook a shower and then got on the bus to go play tennis with my new friend! before i left, though, the dad asked me when i'd be back because his parents were arriving today and he has work. so by process of inference, i realized that meant i had to be their host until the mom arrived. so i guess in the job description of au pair, there must be some clause that says it is part of my job to greet the parents of my boss in the house of my boss, which happens to be in another continent than my house, and entertain them for the evening. i was a bit nervous, but they turned out to be cool, and also, when i changed my perspective and realized that it's a bit of an honor that the dad would allow me to greet his parents upon their arrival, it was a lot better.

so tennis. yeah. it was great. i miss it so much. i played really well and me and perrine had a deep convo, which i have learned to really love because they're rare for me because oftentimes it's hard to connect with the language barrier. but it's also cool when i have those opportunities because it seems like growing up and things like love, family, and money are universal obstacles to overcome, so it was cool to talk to her. yeah so i played well and i wanna keep playing, so i think we'll do it again soon. i won 6-1, 6-2. yeahhhh it was cute to hear her cursing in french. i tried, but it jsut wasn't natural.

then i got an ice cream cone at mc donalds! and i'm so cheezy that i brought a can of white beans and whole grain bread to eat for my meal inside of mcd's because i wasn't about to eat their food. i ate my beans right outta that can. they were DANK. then i reserved the hotel for me and brady for when he comes and i was so happy to finally be making tangible strides toward his arrival.

because it was a BEAUTIFUL day and i discovered the local pool, i decided to go and swim a little and lay out. it was in a word: PERFECT

then i came back, played hostess, walked with the g-parents to and from the kids' schools (45minutes after all that tennis and running....im DEAD), and now im watching a movie in french. im excited.

oooh i forgot to mention 2 important things. i'll do it in the order in which they occured.
i bought this thing called savon noir or black soap in salon, and it's this GOOP that you put on your skin, leave for 10 minutes, and then wash off and it's supposed to make your skin super soft. so i bought some and they guy who sold it to me said he uses it too (i'd like to hear him say that in front of his friends) and so i've used it twice and i must say it's amazing. so i applied my savon noir and then called my gma and that was another highlight of my day. i'd love to be her when i grow up because she's accomplished all the things that i cherish in life: good wife, great mother, amazing cook, loyal friend, family lady, volunteer, dog lover, concerned neighbor, and if i can do that too, i know everything else will fall into place. so this post is dedicated to the GMAMMA

peace hommies
chels

yaba daba doooo!

today was great. it got hard having the boy all day because he's perfectly happy doing things like puzzles and reading, and me, i need a change of pace. i was like "let's go to the park! let's go swimming!" and he's like "not yet." such a schedule for everything. park and swimming only in the afternoon. snack at 4:30. come on kiddies! live a little!

anyway, we went to the round-about and cut a ton of lavender and made lots of bouquets. it was great. there's so much lavender here! i love to bike past it because i get a nice whiff.

yeah, so me and the boy had a good time today. he requested my pommes frites (french fries) that i make him and the little girl. they think they're in heaven. im happy they like my american cooking because i know the french are a bit haughty about cuisine. i sauted onions in balsamic vinegar and we grubbed hard. i have gas as a result.

then the dad came home, opened the pool for us, and i laid out and the boy swam. it was nice. the sun was soooo strong. i colored and wrote a letter and drew. then the dad went to bring the little boy to judo, so i wanted some fresh air and went for a bike ride. twas great. then my girlie came home and we played a matching game (i lOVE matching games) and i painted her toe nails. she loved it. it was only the 5th time she'd had her nails painted. she's five! what?! that's such a thing you do when you're little. anyway, she was so happy after. so yep. im here. im playing tennis with my french lesson giver tomorrow and sunday im going on an adventure with the lady from the library. i went from having nothing to do to having stuff to do! YAY!!!!

im a happy camper.
chels

these mussels i do not like

hello!
today was a good day. around lunch, i got really anxious for some reason, but after that i was fine. i was so proud of myself for keeping the kiddies occupied all the morning because they didn't have anything to do til the afternoon, so in the morning, we made cookies (eggless...but still very good) and went for a walk around the lake. we caught froggies and we even had the neighbors join us, which made me happy because im not sure how much the neighbors get to play with my kids. i talked to their mom and tomorrow they may have a playdate too. i really like that family, so i was happy to talk with the momma. and i got to pet their rabbit! it's so cute!

the kids were so happy because they each got to make their own separate batch of cookies because the boy didn't want to put honey in his, so i had to find another recipe for him. but i was like, what the heck?, it's fine with me if they make their own cookies. they were so excited. they're been behaving really well lately, and ive been telling them that. it makes me so happy. they're my little kiddies now. this morning, the little boy woke me up with like 30,000taps on my door, and i was not close to ready to wake up, so he climbed in my bed. i felt a bit like michael jackson, but he stayed on his side and i got to sleep more. the little girl came too, so that was sweet. the little girl has been so good lately too! it was so cute: today at the park, she wanted to show someone a trick we do together, and she was like "that's my au pair!". haha and this little boy kept calling me madame, and i was like...call me chelsea! he wanted to show me all his little tricks. so cute.

anyway, i found out at dinner that i do not like mussels, but i do like octopus. i thought it would be the inverse, but you don't know til you try it, right? im going to finish my movie: the life aquatic and then sleep.

gnite escargots
chels

jambalaya, crawfish pie, filet gumbo!

before i begin, readers, i must apologize for my usage of curse-words yesterday. my dad brought to my attention that this is very unclassy, so i'm sorry. i was very very mad, and i think i used a lot of willpower to not drop the f-bomb every sentence.

today was a good day, which was nice because yesterday ended on such a horrible note. i woke up tired and when i was upset yesterday, i picked off my giant blisters so my feet were sore and i couldn't go run. so i came back to the house and went back to sleep. then i woke up and did my dance workout with the youtube videos. god how i love them. i have so much fun with them. i wish i wouldn't have picked my blisters though because they hurt really badly.

the dad was home all day today which was fine. he went in the afternoon to watch the little girl's singing concert and he was like you can stay here if you want...instead of inviting me to go with him. sometimes the etiquette of the family is just so strange. anyway, he also went to pick up the little boy after, so i basically had a bit of the afternoon off. i think he thought he was giving me a break because i have to work all day thursday, but if i had planned on working and you tell me i don't need to and im in bumshit egypt....you're not really cutting me that big of a break mister.

so after lunch i started making GUMBO! i made dinner tonight, and my roux was so great. i cut all the vegetables really small and i think i made the best roux i've made yet. it smelled so nutty and was thick and my grandma would have been so proud. it felt great to bring my family's favorite foods to another continent! i've brought it all over the US...from pittsburgh to miami to st. louis, so im just spreading our family's love! the little boy LOVED it and it made me so happy. in my opinion it wasn't half as good as my gma's but they insisted that i use less pepper than last time. here are some pictures of my gumbo journey.

here is my roux with the holy trinity of cajun cooking: green pepper, onion, and celery

here is the kitchen. the stove is the type that you have to light a match and i almost burned my hand. i had to keep relighting it. that's my computer on top of the espresso machine (we have 2) because i was jammin to some music while i cooked. the door on the right is to the backyard.

this is me with the sausage! i actually more sausage than chicken because the chicken had bones and in france, it's illegal to use hormones in your meat so i felt okay eating some sausage.

this is me taking control of the kitchen!

mmk so that's that. i just talked to the mom and she liked it a lot, so i think i may make shrimp etouffee before i leave. i've never made that before, but my pops sent me the mix, so maybe now's the time. nanny or mom or grandma....can you give me basic instructions on how to do that? alright! tomorrow's wednesday which means kids all day, and the same for thursday. send me some positive energy!

chels

je deteste l'argent

hi.
i miss home so fucking much right now. i just had a conversation about money with the parents that made me feel so stupid and mortified because it's difficult talking about something as touchy as money when you speak the same language, but add that to a language barrier and i w;anted to die. the kid's school is on strike thursday so that's 10 extra hours he's with me and i wanted to know if id be paid for those hours, and it's no because there are some weeks where im under my weekly agreed upon hours and some that im over, so this just figures in that. and i understand, but i guess it was the combination of absolute terror in talking money in FRENCH with a family that im not a part of but just live with, homesickness, and homesickness.

today was so good besides that. the kids were so good, which made me happy because i was super worried about how'd they be when i got back. i ran and worked out in front of the boy's school and all the moms were looking at me. "americans" they were probably thinking. then i went to yoga and iw as so much more tranquil and able to listen and that was great. then i made the kiddies lunch and then napped (im lacking on restful sleep after this weekend) and then went to the park with them. we peed in the public toilets and the girl pooped and we didn't have toilet paper for her. oops. don't poop before you check for paper, babydoll.

then we had cheese and bread for dinner and i was so happy because i love both of those things!

mmk ill talk about some of the things i did this weekend, but i just want to devote a whole post to it, and im not in a place to do that now. but it was so great, minus the 35 euros i got fined for getting on a train without a ticket. but the trains rides were still great because there were 3 strangers who were so kind to me. after i got fined and was crying, this old lady gave me candy to make me feel better. i was like god. what a beautiful person. then the snack cart came by and when i heard the price of coffee, i told him no thank you, but the old couple across from me insisted that htey'd treat me. it was so nice. god they were great. i want to be old and married like them. they shared dinner and held hands and mmmm. they were beautiful. then i had my french lesson and ooooowwwweeee im getting better. and the girl is super cool too.

the cat that i mentioned is adrien's cat and it is the sweetest cat i've ever met and so beautiful and if i get a cat, i hope she's as nice as this cat. aww it was great.

the gay parade and the library book i want to talk about later because it was just so beautiful. but, you know people, all love is love. and in a world where things are really fucked up, who are we to say that your love isn't right? we need all the love we can get. if a man wants to love another, go for it. im down. ok actually ill talk more about the parade. it was so great. there were gay people all over the place with their loves and just so happy to be out and about. and there were no counter-protesters which made me so happy. i feel like in america, there'd be some right wing people freaking out and tellin these people they're doing to hell. not here. it was just fine. and it was so funny becuase there was a traditional (man and woman, white dress/tuxedo) wedding that processed right into the square where the gay parade was. the juxtapostion was great. so beautiful. and the library book. the little girl picked out a book that was called "what color will the baby be?" and it was a cute book about a black guy and a white woman who got married and their nieces where speculating what color the baby would be
"striped like a zebra?" "gray like an elephant?" "black head and white body or vice versa?"
so they finally asked their aunt and uncle and they replied that the baby would be the color of love, and i thought that was the most beautiful color in the world, and i was so happy that a book had been made that said that. if your baby was made with love, why does her color matter? if black and white weren't supposed to mix, don't you think their puzzle pieces wouldn't fit? oh but those pieces fit just fine.

alright. yeah so that's a little taste of this weekend. hopefully i'll get to talk baout it more later. one other thing i loved was being in adrien's house. i was a part of his family and treated differently then i am here. if i wanted to help, i was being nice, not doing my job. god the parents were so sweet and just so loving, and it felt so great because i felt like they were taking care of me, which is such a foreign concept for me lately because ive had to do everything for myself AND the kids. the mom gave me a coat and shoes to wear and fed us, and aww was just a great mom.

mmk im going to bed in 19 minutes.
gnight. HOOT HOOT owls
chels

the lesson that cost 35 euro

mmk chickens. i don't feel like describing my whole weekend right now because this week ill have plenty of time to do that, so ill write a list of things i want to talk about in another postand if i forget to elaborate on any, you can let me know.

a. the gay parade and foam
b. the nightclub
c. the university party
d. mcdonalds
e. blisters and train lessons
f. love in all forms
g. the comic book in the library
h. the baby kitty
i. la maison
j. the band
k. etc.

k good night. im sleeeeeepy, so im gonna floss my teeth. that cures fatigue, right?
chels

soy crisps and water balloons

today was good. nothing too exciting. i woke up and went to the bathroom as usual, and the little boy was waiting for me as i exited and jumped out from hiding to scare me. i was so pissed off. it's 7:15 in the morning, kid. i don't want to deal with you.

then i did the normal morning stuff, including my laundry on the line. then i got the kids and brought them back and did afternoon stuff.

ooh i meant to write about this yesterday. when i was going to get the boy from school, i saw these hoodlums filling up water balloons at the local fountain and they through one so it splashed on an old lady. i was so mad, but i didn't know what to say in french! so i just gave them an ugly look, but after i just couldn't get over the fact that i didn't do anything. it was so frustrating.

when i got back to the house, the other au pair was there visiting from germany. she's really nice. it was kinda awkward because i didn't know what i should do. should i invite her into my room? should i ask her to go get drinks? that was all solved because she went to her room to sleep right after dinner. but tomorrow i think i'm going with her to visit a friend? im not sure. i didn't really understand, but im down to go somewhere. the place i'm most down to go tomorrow is the TRAIN STATION at 1:19 to leave for TOULOUSE! wahhhhhh! im just nervous about all the trains and stuff. i checked the schedules like 30 times and planned everything out, but still.

i think the other au pair visiting when im the current au pair gave me a taste of what it's like when both sets of grandparents visit kids. what do you do? it's weird because you know that the other set of gparents has special things that they do, but so do you, so it's just weird. but i didn't care that much because if she wanted to take the kids over from me, power to you.

yeah. sorry this isn't too exciting. today i was just a local in a little village.

when i was brushing my teeth, i realized i would KILL(that's a figure of speech....you know how things on the internet can get well you know, silly) for a bag of glenny's ranch soy crisps. GOD. i want them so badly. or bbq soy crisps or garlic and onion soycrisps. GLENNY's COME TO FRANCE! i need youuuuu.

good night soy crisps
chels

microwave lamb? o yes i did.

no art party for me tonight. they were meeting for some wine and snacks from 6-8 at the latest, and i told them if the mom got back before 7, i'd come. the momma's still not home and it's 7:01. :( but it's not so bad because im super tired for some reason. i went to bed late-ish last night. i think i work a bit more than i get paid for. if you want to be an au pair for the money, DON'T DO IT. if you want to do it so that you can become IMMERSED in another country, go for it. i'm used to bisous (kisses upon nearly EVERY greeting), excessive utensil use, non-changing of clothes for days at a time, sacred meal-times and never eating out, the impossibility of finding a store open between the hours of 12 and 2, among many other culture differences. but i've always said that work shouldn't be about the money because work should be valuable for others things like enriching your life, expanding your worldview, improving the well-being of others, having a positive impact on the world, being enjoyable, etc. there are more than enough opportunities for soul-sucking work later on, so this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

i've noticed that i'm pretty cranky in the morning, and i guess insight is the first step to change. but dealing with kids that are also cranky and whiny at 7:30....i'm not sure if that is capable of change in a one month period. but as the day progresses, we have a lot more fun. i just got finished playing with play doh, which is one of my favorite things in the world, and this morning we drew forever. then while the girl was at music, me and the little boy climbed this hill and you could see for miles and miles. it was awesome. then i made them lunch. ooooh lunch. hahah that was a funny episode. well, we had about 50 minutes to cook, eat, and ride our bikes to pottery, and the mom wanted me to put lamb kebabs in the oven, which just wasn't gonna cook in 50 minutes, soooo being the domestic goddess that i am....i microwaved the kebabs! and then i put them in the oven to broil for like 5 minutes. i also made elby. what is that you ask? why i asked the same thing too! it's like barley or a similar type of grain. but yea, i followed those directions in french. WHAT?! hahah

then i did my butts n guts workout. so great. and got the kiddies from pottery, went to the library, picked some cds out, and went to the park. the kids love listening to music at the library. it's so cute, except when they yell when they're wearing the headphones because they don't realize that the music isn't in everyone's ears. i've been doing some pretty intense french studying, so that's been good. i hope ill improve a lot. my writing's good; it's just that when you have to respond to someone so quickly, it's difficult to think plus-que-parfait or future?! i just want to answer!

yeah, so im just hanging out now. the mom is nearly an hour late.......but they're letting me leave early friday, so you scratch my back, i scratch yours.

i got a letter from my momma today and i was soooo happy! 7 letters in 3 days! yayayayayay! yall are the best.

mmk chickens. i rented "the life aquatic" so maybe i'll watch some of that, but it's a bit strange, so im not sure.

keep that blood pumpin through those arteries!
chels

today deserves an A!

heyyy!
i just saw that i've written 30 posts, which means i've been here a while! wow. i really have. i know my way around town back and front, am more than familiar with the bus schedules, and i'm friends with the grocery man, the vegetable lady, and the bartender! i've got my little nook here. sorta.

today it rained so after we ate breakfast, the dad drove the kids to school! so i got to go back to bed because it was that rain that made the sky dark like the night! voila! then i got my package from my family and it was so loud when i moved it, but when i opened it, i realized why....there were red beans all over the place! i also got fiber one, beef jerkey (thank you jesus), wax strips, newspaper clippings, all kinds of seasoning and mixes (yummmmm) . i wa so happy. then i booked my ticket to toulouse and then i danced for a long time. i was just so happy and home all alone, so i found all these dance workouts online and went crazy. they were all choreographed by buff guys and everytime they were like "are YOU ready?" i'd yell "YEAHHHH!" it was so fun. i was just laughing out of joy and also because iw as imagining what the family would think if they walked in as i was popping it. hahah

then i showered and made lunch and went to painting. i love painting. i finished my piece that i've been working on for a long time and started another. after we were all done painting, we sat around drinking tea and talking about the differences i've noticed between france and here. it was so cool. they asked me all kinds of questions and i asked them. i wrote the painting teacher a letter to say thank you, and i hope i acurately described to her how much it meant to be in that class.

then i got a ride home with one of the painting people because it was raining so badly, then walked back to the school with three umbrellas to get the kids and then we came home. i ate dinner with the kiddies (it was soo good: green beans, tomatoes, peppers, olives, a bit of olive oil, and CANNED tuna tossed) i was really skeptical about canned tuna, but it was so good. it didn't look or smell like american tuna, so i don't know what the french did to it, but they rocked it.

i'm so excited to go to toulouse this weekend. i just think that getting away after i've been here so long will be the perfect timing for a break because it has been kinda hard from time to time with home-sickness, so this will be much needed comfort. i hope i can do for others what adrien has done for me because he's been so welcoming.

mmmmk well i'm not that tired right now, but i've got some podcasts i can watch and some reading i can do. i give this day an A!
stay classy, america!
chels

SUPER COUPONER!

last night i woke up around 1:30 and couldn't get to sleep for a while. i thought about calling my momma and my poppa or brady, but i know i talk so loud that i'd wake the house up. thus, i tossed and turned. they don't sell tylenol pm here as far as i know. actually, i can't find a pill form of anything: aspirin, tylenol, excedrin, etc. it's in powders that make my eyes look funny, so i guess i'll just have to endure it. hopefully no more nights like that. im pooped today.

last night i also watched two podcasts: one about three men that think they're jesus and another about pdiddy. equally fascinating. the jesus one was funny because of the three men, one of them had no followers and this little girl was like "do you think you're jesus?" and he was like "i am jesus" and she was like "no you're not! you're stupid!" hahahahaahahha and then there was this guy in the philipines who believed that the multimillion dollar home that he had as a result of the tithes of his followers was bestowed upon him by god. apparently, if we were destined to have a multimillion dollar home, god will give it do us.

hey god....forgot about me???

i'm currently downloading the podcast about super shoppers. it's called SUPER COUPONERS. i cannot wait. maybe one day i'll be featured on nightline!

today i went to salon and bought a bus stop and figured out the train station and looked for a hotel for when brady comes! that part was super fun. one place said HOTEL on the front, but i couldn't open the door, so i went into the bar to ask and they were so nice! the lady grabbed a key and brought me up to see the rooms! it's a cute little room across from the park and the main street with a balcony! and it's local. perfection. when i was at the train station, i saw some americans, so i talked to them for a bit. they seemed a bit confused and couldn't speak any french, and so when they talked to the ticket guy at the train station, he looked at ME to TRANSLATE!!!! i was so flattered and so happy to help. they were super nice. they gave me a hotel recomendation but apparently the concierge wasn't so nice, so no thank you. we can take our business elsewhere.

then i had a delicious picnic in the park and worked on my french in my book. i also drew a bit and when to MCDONALDS for an ICE CREAM CONE!!!! pure bliss. that brings my count for ice cream to 2 in the past month. that is insanity for me.

then i went to the park with the chillun and they like me. i call the little girl mon "bebe singe" b (baby monkey) and the boy my cowboy. they love it.

i realized that because i'm always outside here, my eyes and face and ears get so much dirtier. i've realized that i need to change my contacts every two weeks and wash my face before bed. i ride in a car a MAXIMUM of 1 time per week (bus....about 2 times), so all my bike riding puts me in a lot of contact with atmospheric dirt.

in all the rush of leaving miami, i didn't get to say a proper goodbye to my buddy, and he's called me four times in the past month. i left a detailed message, but i think the time difference is hard for him to comprehend. i feel really bad because his other buddies haven't come through for him, so i told him to leave me his address in a message. i hope he does.

i miss my dog. i pet a dog today, but it didn't try to lick me. such manners. i think i drove the dad crazy at dinber because i kept cutting off the white parts of my slice of serano ham and using my fingers randomly, but my table manners don't reflect an upbringing he's responsible for! plus, i used my fork and knife as many times as i could, so there! i used my fork to eat canteloupe and bread. WHAT?

no tickets yet for toulouse, but i know it's gonna happen. im sure there are blood banks here that want platelets. everyone wants blood!

alright. OH WAIT! my garden has a sprout! the first time in my life i've ever grown a seed to a flower. france is doing big things for me. big things. I'm so EXCITED! i think it's my impatiens which is great because i've been more than patient with them.

alright. til later gators.
chels

on saturday i wasn't sad and on sunday, i had a fun day!

this weekend was just simple joy. i watched all of little miss sunshine over the course of three days, which is still a really big deal for me because i'm not so good at watching movies. and i must tell you this movie is powerful. i feel like it's a cliche-d (kleeeeychayed) indie movie because it shuffled independent movies more into the mainstream, but honestly, this movie is amazing. god i love it so much. one part really resonatedi with me. it's the scene where the son and the uncle are at the beach and the uncle's just like, " you know....all those years of suffering made us who we are. all those years of happiness...how did they change you? it's the suffering that made you who you are." and i think that's so true. suffering a lot made me who i am. i think people look at who i am and think my life's been easy because i get to do cool things, but i dion't think they see the part about me working my ass off to get them and never being handed anything. i've had a job since i was freaking 13 years old. i'm 20. that's 7 years in the workforce. i know people the same age as me who have never secured a job and have seemingly great lives, but without suffering, how can you relate? i feel like you are most able to connect to people when you've both had a time that hasn't been so great. so suffer, children! not for long, it will pass, but know that the suffering you're enduring will shape you later. i've had a lot of suffering, a lot self-imposed and a lot nature imposed and a lot completely out of my control, but i like who i am today and i think it's because i preserved.

mmk that wasn't supposed to be such a deep post, but i guess that's what mr. zepellin is doing to me at this time.

yesterday i went to aix and saw this amazing art exhibit and talked english with fellow americans and it was great. i was really inspired by the artist, and for the first time in my life, i really appreciated the work of those amazing artists from the 1500s who kicked ass in making pictures look so alive. kudos.

today i woke up and watched the rest of little ms. sunshine with a cup of espresso and hearty bread. it was bliss. then i went for a walk to the atm and got me some bills. came back, ate croque monsieurs with the fam, and chilled with them. and i was happy i stayed with them on a sunday. sundays are love days here. love your family, love your city, love your kids, love your wife, love your husband, love your hobby. so it was nice. then i had a 2 hour french lesson and geezam my brain is bursting.

this weekend coming up, i hope with all my heart i;ll go to toulouse. actually, i don't hope. i'm going regardless of if i can't spend any money for the next 2 weeks so that i can afford to go. i need to see people i know. it is crucial to my survival.

mmk i wanted this post to originally be of all the cool things i've seen in shops lately. i think it's cool to take note of french fashions ebcause obviously no one in the states will have them! and also, if you like m y style, i can be your personal shopper here!!!! because im doing a lot of looking and no buying. :)

paul and joe

this stuff is so great. i don't think i'd wear a lot of it, but i know that if i saw someone wearing it, i'd think they're super cool. i do, however, like the personages. i think i could possibly brave them. i think this designer screams blaise.

morganne bello

i like his/her stuff. very simple and elegant, but also with a "i just bought this out of the 25 cent machine" whimsicallness. i don't know. im not sure how to wear it, but i like it. i think this is very adair and rebecca, but i'd like it too. the bracelets.

loupidou

this designer is perfect. i think it is able to take rustic, obtainable bracelets and refine them into a piece of fine jewlery. i love them.

ice watches

um i'm not a fan of watches that aren't digital, but the size and power and color of these watches is AMAZING. this screams bob and david goodwillie. i think they look man-ly, but i think it' super feminine to have a super manly watch on a dainty wrist. i love them so much. i think this would be a great watch for brady...like a day to day constant pop of color on the wrist.

longchamp

god, i've loved them for a while now. and being a bargain shopper, i thought that going to their home country would save me a hefty dollar. no way, no how. here's the kate moss line, that i think momma would like. in the store, they had them without the chunky buckles which was a lot better.

i can't really think of other specific things i've seen. otherwise, i think french fashion is over-rated. actually, i think any generalization of a fashion is over-rated. your own style is either cool or not, but something cookie-cut from a store always sucks. in my opinion.

other big fashions here:

having body odor

high top converses ( i love the white ones!)

smoking (gross)

guys walking around with no shirts on (no, thank you)

short pants with elastics at the bottom, so it's kind of a balloon effect. i like it on some people, but it's not for me.

other things i've liked here that are french:

smoked duck pieces

small doses of outrageously good espresso

favorite read wine: bordeaux

favorite white wine: reisling

favorite cheeses: compte and bonnedanser. OH MY!

favorite bread: pain des cereals (bread with a lot of grain in it) or pain complete (whole wheat, tear your teeth out bread) or pain campagne (white bread, tear your teeth out)

dark choco: poulin....MMM

open air markets and the french's love of eating local and fresh....good job kiddies!

the french's love of eating as a communal act....we eat what is on the table, together, at the same speed. (that is a sometimes love, sometimes awkward thing for me because if you're eating veal, i want nothing to do with it....i want canned beans) however i think this practice fosters a respectful relationship with food and deters unhealthy things like overeating or undereating, but sometimes i just get annoyed. sometimes i want to stand up and eat my food with no utensils, alone, okay?! haha but no, i think that's a special thing they have

being outside. every lunch and dinner we eat outside, and i think that's beautiful.

that's all i can think of for now. don't think i don't love american customs like mcdonalds ice cream at crazy hours or giant coffees, but you know, if you can't beat them, join em. :)

chels

dear watch: i love you

so i was going to go to the bar to watch the world cup game, but it was rainy and cold, and even through the rain cleared up, i realized i had no desire to go to that bar. so here i am drinking some tea and waiting for my podcast to download! and you know what? i am more than happy doing that tonight. that girl that i met here in eyguieres who is near my age....i see her all the time, but we make eye contact and i smile, yet she looks away. i think i've realized that the people taht are my age in this town really don't have much in common with me besides the fact that they live in the same little place. a lot of people i've met or have made impressions on me are super happy to settle here with people they've known for a while and not venture outside of that, while me, i'm happy to be here, but i know there's a lot more out there.

tomorrow, i think i'm going to an art exhibit in aix which makes me happy because i knew i wanted to return to look at the art there. there are so many museums! and my french lesson friend may come with me too!

today was great. again i felt like a car had rolled over me 5000 times, but i didn't have a fever. i think i'm just tired. the kids were good. we timed ourselves home and made it in 11 minutes from the park. they LOVE the timer on my watch. it works miracles for me: i use it to time table setting, teeth brushing, shoe putting-on, park biking....everything. amazing. also, the kids love to choose cds to put in the stereo whcih makes me happy because i think i'm having a positive influence on their music taste.

another breakthrough is i feel like me and the kids are a clan, and that's cool because they're my little groupies. i think i'm more stable for them than their parents because my only job is them, and they're beginning to appreciate that presence. oooh me and the girlie clipped pictures from a magazine and decoupaged them, and i love what she did. i hope she becomes a little artist because of me!

bye. thanks for caring. i'd love some comments if you're reading. :)
chels

boobie-licious

my homepage for the blog (where i sign in and such) is in dutch, which always makes me smile because no matter where i turn here, it seems like i'm always out of the loop.

ughh my hair is still damp from 10:15 am, as in 11 hours ago. My hair is getting super long and is soo thick. i'm almost done the conditioner i brought with me from america, so today i went to buy conditioner at the grocery store. not just any conditioner, the cheapest. i'm on a budget. i realized that if i only took this job for the salary, i'd have to be really dumb. even the housekeeper told me i don't get paid enough. me and the housekeeper chatted for a while today. i really like her. i gave her some of the cookies that we made. that's one thing about this family: they don't seem to give much to others. like at the park, the kids are always mooching off of the others, but when i suggested that we bring some of our cookies to the park to share with the people that always share with them, they were like WHAT?! and also their relationship with others. they seem to really keep to themselves. the housekeeper (her name's fleury, so i'll call her that) was asking me all sorts of questions about the family. she didn't even know where they were from! if i had a housekeeper, i'd give her food and talk to her and be her friend. it was so funny. she asked me what they do at night because they don't have a tv and she said that that's super weird. and they also don't have air conditioning. i made her a coffee because she had to leave the house early. she's from romania, like all the good gymnasts. i was happy to talk with her: we're kinda in the same boat. we both have these elaborate histories that the family really knows nothing about, but we do a lot for them and we're really interested in their lives. yeah, i was sad all week because she hadn't come to clean, and i was worried that they fired her, but then she walked in the house and i was so happy.

i started my other piece of art today and talked to my poppa and made the kids lunch. today was day 2 of having them completely in my care from 7 am in the morning til 7 am at night. NO PARENTS! the mom made chicken yesterday, but it had a bone in it and i don't even know what body part it was, so i refrained from eating that and let the kids have 1.5 pieces of identifiable chicken, while i had turkey and beans. i also made them french fries in the oven which made them ever so happy.

then i got the kids and got the girl and she carried one of my bags home because i had two backpacks that were super heavy ( i had to take the boy's bag when he went to judo). so i told her that if she did it, i'd give her a piece of candy when we got back. she was so happy, and she promised that it was just between us two, but that didn't keep her from telling everyone that she wasn't going to tell them what awesome thing she did with me. i was like great. fml. whatever, if the parents are worried about their kids' candy intake, then maybe they should cut back on their oil and meat consumption. just a suggestion.

i watched a movie with the girl in french and it was pretty cool. i understood a fair share of it. tomorrow is the first match of the world cup, so i think ill go to the bar to watch it because france is playing!

ooooh and dinner was so good. we had green beans with these little morsels of something that was the same color as beef jerkey. after i tried it and liked it, i learned it was smoked duck. well quack me over, it was DANK. i liked my duck. and baby potatoes (like smaller than a quarter...no lie) and peppers. oh so many vegetables. i was in heaven. and it was the dad's bday, so we gave him the cookies. and he got 2 cds and a comic book, which i saw a boobie in, so im not sure what kinda comic book that it. hahah no, i mean the french are more boobie-licious than we are, so im sure it's just fine.

bonne nuit!
chels

obama cookies

today was great, but it didn't start out that way. i woke up to the kids knocking on my door because their dad's work schedule was different than i thought, so i thought he would be there for the day to keep the kids in line and wake them up, but he was at work. and i kinda got really nervous. but it was good that i had set a back up alarm to wake me up. what if we didn't get up that day?! haha

so then the boy had his music exam and then i was just like god, what are we going to do until pottery? so i decided we could go on a walk around the lake and they LOVED that. then we went back to the house and made cookies, but not just any cookies....OBAMA cookies. let me tell you about these cookies. the original plan was to make choco chip cookies, but then the little boy started talking about obaaaaaamaaaa cookies and about some cookbook that the other american au pair had. so he pulls out the recipe for these cookies that are actually called obama cookies and they're chocolate cookies with chocolate chips. i was half amused/ half disturbed that they were under the care of someone who ignored 50% of the president's genetic makeup! anywho, so we made them, and it was really fun. i had to do a bit of improvising because they didn;t have enough butter or any brown sugar, so i used sunflower oil and honey as replacements. and the kids LOVED them. wow.

yeah, so once i reframed my thoughts from the morning from panic to satisfaction that the parents would trust me without reminding me about any of the kids' plans and what to do about lunch (that's a big step....meals are sacred), i felt great. lunch was nice. i didn't force them to do any of the formal dinner manners that their parents do, so it was so much more relaxed. it the boy wanted to do yoga aat the table, cool. their parents are sticklets for table utensil etiquette, so if they miss a meal or two with me, no big. their parents will more than make up for it. yeah, it was cool just going with the flow. a lot of times, what the kids want doesn't really crash with what i want. they wanted to stay at the park a while longer after i said lets go, but then i thought about it and was like...why not? so we stayed and i went from "chelsea the cool" to "chelsea the kick ass". the kids on the playground love me, especially the babies. maybe they can smell the foreigner, fresh scent on me and are attracted. hahah

yeah so im tired. i figured out that i have a mini-bug or cold or fever or something, so that's why i've been tired and achy. im happy it's something outside of me because i think i've been taking care of myself, so that's reassuring. i guess when the kids don't cover their mouths, germs spread, no matter how many times i snap "COUVRE LA BOUCHE!" (cover your mouth!)

alright all you different types of cookies,
good night
chelsea (the cookie that's a bit nutty)

if i could be a cookie i would desert the cookie part and be the chocolate morsel within it. or a truffle, even though both of those are not cookies.

mardi mince (it's the opposite of fat tuesday....skinny tuesday!)

i think one really good thing about being in france is that the fact that i'm so far away makes it easier for people to tell me really deep things and for me to tell people really deep things too. too much is lost in a email if you don't say exactly what is on your mind. hearing people tell me that they're proud of me feels so good, especially when i never get to hear it from them, but because i'm so far away, i think it's easier. but i guess that's a choice we all made. you can choose to open up to people when you're away or you can choose to shut down. you can choose to get hung up on petty details like so and so hasn't called/emailed in a while or you can just think, hey, the world didn't stop working because i'm not there. no time for me to be petty. i need my fellow americans at my side!

today was good. actually great. i rested my ankle after i ran on it (i know, but when i was running, i decided that whoever created me made my head with like 5 extra layers of cranial bone, soo that may explain my stubbbornness)and then i did my french grammar exercises and went to the market and the post office and at the hissouse i made veggies charties style and this time i put in onion and green beans and it was delightful. if you get a whiff of a malodorous fragrance, my apologies.

painting was great. im really proud of this painting im doing. it's completely original. it's based on a tree in the neighborhood, but the colors im using for it are really vibrant and purples and pinks and oranges and it's cool. so far, i think i've banked about 6-8 hours on it. i know! where did this patience come from?!

the kiddies were cool. o my god. except for this. i was hanging in my room and they were finishing showering, and the little girl was already in my room, on my bed, which i've come to accept that the kids are clean: they shower everyday. it's fine if they're on my bed....but you must not put your bare butt on my bed. that rule was created today. i thought that was a universsal rule, but no. i flipped out at them both because mr nakie comes running in my room NAKED asking me to unknot his pjs. he then proceeds to sit on my bed NAKED while he waits!!!! i don't know the french word for naked, so i start making all these wild noises and covering my eyes and yelling in french about butts on my bed and how they're not allowed!!!! hahah they were very alarmed. but i gotta lay down that law. but it's cute. im glad i let them in my room more. they just wanna chill with me, and it's not like anyone else is calling.

yesterday two kids road home from school on their horses. WHAT?! i thought my bike was earth-friendly....but horses...you can't compete with that.

alright. im going to go floss and brush my teeth and watch more dateline. I LOVE BEING INFORMED! last night i learned about a deadly disorder in which a person cannot sleep. fascinating. then i watched a feature on paparrazi and celebrity kids.

what? i hear the momma cutting my bread to put in the freezer for tartines. well, i guess if you can't share your food, then you can't really enjoy it. so eat up kiddies...this bread will make all your teeth fall out. it's SOOO good. i love that at the market i can tell the people exactly how much bread i want. the other day i bought two slices. i just wanted slices of bread and they did it for me! and i got to move the knife where i wanted it! fascinating. france, show america what is UP in the bread department. america, import some sucralose to france!

alright for real. tant pis (too bad) if you want more.
demain est un autre jour. jus'qu a la!
(tomorrow is another day. until then!)
chels

today is four weeks out of AMERICA

another weird thing i noticed about french fashion is that it's acceptable for boys to wear headbands, like legitimate hard headbands, not the elastic ones that tennis players might wear. well this was only one boy i saw, but still.

i hope im not losing competency in english because i barely use it in the course of a day except to write emails or letters, but english is kinda important for me, as it's my language.

this morning was good. the kiddies were fine and after i dropped them off i was going to do some exercises with my resistance band, but i didn't think my brain could handle it after yesterday, so i just went for a run. it was great, all through the alpilles and off-roading. whenever i run here, i feel like a poster for a kashi commercial. however, i was so off-road that it was really rocky and uneven and something popped in my ankle but it didn't start hurting till the afternoon after i napped. i guess the fact that i feel pretty worn down and my ankle is throbbing is a sign to slow down, but im not so good at abiding by signs.

we ate dinner early, which was nice. i tried smoked salmon (lox) but it grossed me out. after dinner i talked to the mom about the BP crisis in new orleans. grr ive talked about it like 3 times already today. it makes me really sad and uncertain about the future of my city and thats so scary. how will i be able to convince anyone to live there with me and settle down? everyone thinks we're a big joke. :(

the kids go to cantine tomorrow, so i have most of the day free. i have painting!!!! im excited. i want to make them choco chip cookies, and i think i will. i love grocery shopping on my days off for veggies, so i think i'll do that if my ankle is feeling better. i also need to go to the post office.

today is 4 weeks i've been here. that's the longest time i've been out of the USA. quite a milestone, but i have 6 more weeks til im on american soil. phew. alright. that's a bit much to think about. baby steps. mini-milestones: wednesday is one month til brady comes, one month that i've been out the country. in a week, i should get the package that my family sent. in 2 weeks, um. i dunno. i guess ill have to look for some more things. :)

mmk bye cats. send my ankle some love.
chels

damned-manche (dimanche)

today was one of those days that you wish would happen to your worst enemy. except it happened to you, so therefore it sucked. i'm just going to list how it went because this already got deleted once, soo here's the short version:

actually, i don't feel like doing this now. i just want to wake up and it be tomorrow because it will be better tomorrow i know.

basically, the bus that drove me an hour away to the beach( that doesn't exist ) didn't pick me back up. so i was deserted an hour away from the house and i called the dad to pick me up because his work is near, but he was super busy and i had to wait a really long time and i just kept crying and crying. then i got home and ate dinner and almost fell out of my chair, which would have been the icing on the cake. and blah blah blah blah blah. tomorrow will be better.

i''ve never been so happy to see the kids or this house in my life.
good night kiddies.
send me all the vibes you got for tomorrow.
chels

mouries is....

cou cou!
i finally figured out that that means something along the lines of peek a boo or hey there! it's cool when you can figure out words that don't have a real translation. we had guests over last night for dinner, but i didn't really want to deal with anymore stangers because j'ai eu les cafards (i was down in the dumps) but i put on a bra and a dress and a cardigan and out i went, and i'm so glad i did because they were super cool. and the meal was delicious. it was all kinds of raw veggies with this dip that was made of chickpeas and olive oil. oh i was so full of veggies. MMmmmMM. and i talked to the guests a lot, adn they were such beautiful people. maybe not everyone would agree with me, but they were so full of life and vivacity and i just felt really good around them. and the kids loved me too last night. i think it's becoming the standard, not the exception!!! i love when they come up to me and are like.....shelsea? tu veux.... it's so cute.

this morning i woke up and made my veggie salad that i discovered yesterday. it's amazing. you must try it:

1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1 cucumber
1 or 2 tomatoes (depending on the size....if they're steroidal, then 1. if they're french, then 2)
a carrot (like a legitimate carrot with green stuff growing out the top....that's how they really are)
balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper

cut up the veggies into shapes that you like (small). add yogurt and balsamic and salt and pepper and DEVOUR.

i guess i underestimated how much time i had and thought i had to rush, but i didn't. the family removed my place setting because i think i told them i had to leave for the bus and i did't want to make it awkward, so i ate in the other room, and it was good. a little later, after watering my garden, folding my laundry, trying to call nick, i biked to the bus stop, only to read that the bus stopped stopping at my STOP. what the hell? so i frantically biked back because the mom told me that they were going to get the son a haircut, and i hoped that i was in salon, and it was! so she gave me a ride! and i was so nervous waiting for my french lesson person because i was afraid i wouldn't remember what she looked like.

oh my french lesson was so great. after an hour and a half, i thought my brain was going to explode with knowledge. the girl is studying literature at uni and wants to be a french teacher, so it was perfect that i found her. she was great. i worked on all sorts of things. we went to her flat and she gave me a glass of water and we went to town. oh im so lucky. then she drove me back to the bus station and i took the bus to mouries. and it was really small, but i only had 2 hours there, so i walked around the entire town, bought yogurt, cheese, and a pear because i was famished and chilled. it was cool. i also bought a new sort of tea and it turns the water perriwinkle. i let the kids rtry it and they HATED the equal i put in it. they prefered it "sans sucre"....oooh my little frechies.

then i got the bus back to eyguieres....that is, after some creeper offered me a ride back to wherever i was going. what a coincidence that he happened to be going in every same direction as me?! anyway, i just kept saying, no i'll wait for the bus. no i'll wait. NO I"LL WAIT. and i did and the same lady that took the bus with me to mouries took it back to eyguieres. she had a cute little puppy that sat in a seat all by himself. the bus driver was super nice and dropped me off wherever i wanted. it's funny because i thought eyguieres was really small, but when i see the other places, it's pretty big. haha

then i came back and chilled with the chillun. we're so tight. like spandex on a butt. like you don't even KNOW. haha then i showered and the mom cooked for us (that's the first time since i've been here! it's usually the pops) and instead of going to the bar, i went to the backyard. we had yummy food and good wine. i already went to the bars and they were fine when i was there, but i don't feel like going there now. that's another thing about being here: i have to be in tune to the moment. in this moment, being in a bar, trying to talk to people who are 1.5 my age would suck. so im talking to you. and i like it.

and tomorrow there's a flea market! so ill go to that and then after, im headed to the beach in martigues. mmmHMMMM. i can't wait. i have to wake up early, but i can nap during the week if i need to . i only have one day off this week (not really off, but when the kiddies go to cantine), but that's the same day i have painting, so ill just have to chill here. but im fine with that.

alrighty chococats,
ciao
chels

take that lance armstrong!

hello.
today was different. for those ardent followers of my blog, you might think, because i said so yesterday, that i went to a nice little market in fontveille. oh quite the contrary, quails. i woke up with the kiddies who are really starting to like me and be nice and want to hold my hand and listen to me, and dropped them at school. i did all my stuff i needed to do so i could get the bus at 11:10. i've noticed that in france i ahvent been late for anything and i think it's because i'm at the mercy of everyone else's schedules: the bus, the kids, the family, and i actually don't mind waiting that much. i get to read and think and sort stuff out. so here i am at the bus stop, getting anxious as usual because i always think the bus line changed and they did't put it on the website. oops that happened today! so i was all frantic because i didn't want to stay in eyguieres where there was nothing, but the buses all left, so i decided to talke matters into my own hands. i hopped on my bike and biked 8 km to what i thought would be a cute little village. 8 kilometers is about 4.5 miles...just there...with the wind and the hills! so i see the sign for the town, aureille and turn down the road. the dirt road. and i see a church, and i tell myself that that's a good sign because the church is always where the center of the village is. so i head there and there's nothing. correction: there's 1 tabac, 1 grocery (the size of my dorm room and bathroom at UM), 1 bar, and 2 restaurants. that's it! i circled the whole town, so confused. where were the shops? then i saw some clothing hanging out, so i thought it was a sale rack and sped up on my bike, but it was only someone's laundry hanging out to dry. grrrr. so i checked the bus schedule for the way back, thinking that maybe i could convince the driver to let me put my bike on, but it wasn't coming for a while. so i had a glass of red wine, an orange, and hopped on my bike. and drove 8 km back. i was like "chelsea, you're gonna go get a kebab at the kebab place that just opened after all that biking." i could taste the boneless chicken breast, the tzakiki, the pita bread, but when i walked in, there was no pita, no boneless chicken, nothing i wanted. i was so sad. so i left and now im back, eating bread and cheese and veggies, which is good enough for me.

i set up my french lesson for tomorrow. im pretty excited. and tonight, i don't think i feel like going to the bar. i dunno. maybe, but my legs are probably going to be throbbing. oh lordie. oh and on the bike ride, i must have inhaled/swallowed at least 5 insects, and after my shower i found one stuck to me.

anyway, i just wanted to get that out there for you. i may write again later today. we'll see.

coo coo cachooo
chels

chicken boobies? can't buy that stuff here!

hello children of the earth.
today was phenomenal. i woke up and brought the kiddies to school and then went for a nice, pensive run, and then i went to the grocery and got veggies because we all know that on the days that the kids eat at cantine, i have a VEGGIE FEAST! i got eggplant, carrots, zucchini, and red pepper. yummmmmmm. i also got yogurt and these really cute shoes. mmm im excited. the little girl already told me they were pretty.

so i got back to the hizzouse and chatted with the housekeeper a bit. i like her. she's really nice. then i showered and napped. then i pulled out my old friend dianna ross and she joined me while i steamed my veggies in soy sauce,..charties style. oh it was bliss. then i hopped on my bike to join my fellow painters to go to van gogh's museum.

i was so happy to be in a car with people i could talk too instead of a bus. all the people complimented me on my french, which was such a compliment because i've really been working hard at it. (ps i have my first french lesson saturday! weeee!) i talked the whole way to st. remy with the people in the car with barely any problems. then we got to the van gogh museum and one of the ladies handed me a ticket. she had bought it for me. i was sooo thankful. that was the nicest thing anyone's done for me here. oh i don't think she realized how much it meant to me. i wanted to give her a big hug, but instead i said thank you a bunch of times. oh it still makes me so happy that someone did that for me.

the artist that was featured was from the provence regions, his name was something esteves. it was such beautiful stuff. i was inspired, so i bought a postcard and tried to do a piece of his art. then after that museum, we went to another, except the owner was a crazy man. the painting teacher rang the bell to the museum, and she was so excited to go to this exhibition because she LOVES the artist. this old guy comes out with a saw in his hand and is like "do you wanna come in?" and she's like yes, we'd like a visit. well basically it would have cost us 12 euro each, when it was advertised for free. so he walked away, with his saw, and the painting lady (kady) is really disheartened, so the other people are asking her what she thinks, what we should do, etc. the old saw man comes back all rough and bothered and gets in her face and is like what's the problem? tell me if you have a problem. meanwhile im hanging back because this crazy guy has a saw. why? i have not the slightest idea. so he is going off on all the people, and all the old people are like, come on, let's go. and they made sure i left because they didn't want me to get yelled at by thec crazy man. and one of the people stayed back and argued. the oldies (old people) were like, "that's a mean frenchman, not the normal. he's rare." aww then we walked away, and i looked at kady, and she was crying. it was so shocking to see. she just wanted to share the beauty of the art with us, and when this guy was so mean, it just crushed her. it was so refreshing to see such a raw expression of emotion. and it was fine. there was no awjwardness. she was sad, so she cried. done.

then we went to a cafe and sat all together, and two of the people in the group got my phone number to invite me over for dinner!!!!! i was so happy! they wanted to buy me something at the cafe, but i was fine. the people in the painting group are amazing. they've adopted me as a little lady! they tell me where to go, what to see, the history, and they compliment me too! i sincerely think that going to painting has been the best decision i've made since i've been here. it's such a testiment to the power of art.

one painting person told me that they rent their house out during the summer, so if you're interested, hollur because he's pretty legit, and he speaks okay english.

then i got my kiddies, got home, and chillaxed. for dinner, we had some kind of meat, and i tried a piece, but there was a bone and i couldn't cut it and when i ate a piece i kept either getting a bone or fat. i think they must hate serving me meat because they know they're wasting their time. i tried looking for chicken breasts at the grocery today, but no such thing exists here. oooh quelle dommage. however, they do have nearly every type of sausage imaginable (except chicken and turkey.....i checked thoroughly). but you know what, you wanna be like the locals, you gotta eat and drink like them. or at least try what they are eating. i've tried everything once!

alright, tomorrow's friday! im going to fontveille. i just picked it because there's a market tomorrow and because it seems cool and there's a direct bus that leaves and comes back with my schedule. yeah!

ciao chickens!
chels