It
always amazes me how fast time flies and yet seems to move so slowly at the
same time. Seriously how is it the end of May already? These past few months, yes
it’s been at least 3 months, have been busy with the end of my work contract
and the final holiday of the school year.
With
the end of my work at Lycée Pasteur nearing I spent my last 6 weeks at the
school working to help my Terminales (seniors) practice their orals for their
BAC exams and trying to engage my other students in their English practice. I’m
sitting here on a Tuesday afternoon still in shock that I don’t have to go into
school anymore. I really loved my time working with my students. Especially the
ones I saw on a regular basis. I really hope that their English improved, they
learned new things, and that they enjoyed their time with me. I know I learned
from them (i.e. cultural difference, more patience…) I am so grateful for the
experience I had working here in Paris; despite all the French bureaucracy and
red tape. Seriously this has been an amazing experience and if you speak French
and are finished with or close to finishing your BA , I definitely recommend
applying for the TAPIF program. Seriously do it.
Apart
from working at the Lycée, I’ve been continuing to work with Greg. I love that
kid. He is adorable, a hard worker, and I’m so grateful that I get to work with
this kid! I’ve also been spending time with friends here, and celebrated my
birthday (it was a pretty good weeklong event).
Pictures from the month of March through most of April:
Paris
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Paris
Swedish Meatballs from IKEA
Greg was studying about food chains in school; so we created a Star Wars themed food chain: Dark side edition.
One of the churches in Le Vesinet
One weekend I went hiking in the Fontainebleau Gardens with Cat, Christine, and Katie:view from the top.
Fountainebleu
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
The weather started to get really nice in March. I definitely do not mind waiting for the train in the sunshine.
One time Kayla and I decided to take random trams/metros and explore. This is Saint Cloud de Parc, a suburb of Paris.
My 8th grade students loved to draw so I had them create a diner and draw the building.
Menu for the diner: Big Georgette
I had my prep school kids take the isidewith.com quiz and create campaign ads for the person they sided with the most...can you tell it was Bernie Sanders?
Greg has been teaching me ping-pong. It is fun and I still stink at it.
Easter tart
Easter candy
General Conference!!
Enjoying spring in Paris at the tea room at the Mosque in Paris. These birds loved all the crumbs from our snacks.
Tea Room
Pantheon on a sunny day.
Spring cups at Starbucks
Saint Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Birthday stroll.
Birthday flowers from Greg's family. They were so pretty and I hated having to throw them away.
Birthday pizza at Pink Flamingo!
Birthday brownie cake made by Cat!
Paris!
Paris from Scare Coeur
More birthday flowers from Amanda!
My adorable 7th graders! I miss them already!
When it's raining a lot, you learn to appreciate the sunshine.
The Versailles Rive-Gauche train station. I love it.
Four of my 8th graders that showed up on my last day. I loved these girls so much, They made Fridays fun. I miss them too!
Their love note!
Goodbye Pasteur!
Here
is a rundown of my last holiday: The end of April and beginning of May was
spent having fun with my friend Sharice. I started the two week school holiday
out by heading to Switzerland (yes, again). I love her family. This time I took
a bus to Dijon, France where Sharice and her family picked me there and we
headed back to Switzerland. Sunday we slept in and then went to church. It was
a relaxing day. Monday we went for a drive around the lake in Biel, Switzerland
and then walked a bit around the village of Büren an der Aare. Of course it was
raining most of the day so I didn’t get many pictures. That night we went to a
restaurant in Grenchen for pizza. I love pizza!
Candle at the pizza place.
The church in Grenchen
Tuesday we dedicated as a day of just hanging
out at home. I’m pretty sure this is something that I love to do on my
vacations. Wednesday we went to the Verkehrshaus der Shweiz (transportation
museum) in Luzern, Switzerland. It was a pretty cool museum. They have trains,
cars, boats, and airplanes. We helped Sharice’s niece drive a train and had fun
playing with all the different activities they had there. We even went on a
Chocolate Adventure. It was a little ride where they tell you about the process
of making chocolate and how the Lindt Company makes their chocolate. We got
lots of chocolate at the end of the ride…so that was definitely a win. After
the museum we walked along the lake for a bit then took a drive home through
the Alps, which had some amazing views (sorry no pictures, I was too busy
enjoying the sights with my eyes).
My best-friend Ellie aka Sharice's niece.
The lake in Luzern.
I love the swans.
Luzern
Luzern
Luzern
Thursday
we went on a hike with Sharice’s brother and sister-in-law, Erik and Kari. The
hike started by a Swiss castle then wound its way through the forest/mountain,
included megalith rocks and beautiful views. We had a picnic on the hike which
involved yeast rolls (because I love yeasty breads), corn flake chicken, and
veggies with homemade ranch dip (Kari is amazing and made the chicken and ranch
from scratch). After the hike we headed home and played with the kids for a bit
before they all headed back to their house.
Swiss Castle
Swiss Castle
Hiking.
Hiking
Caveman cave
Hiking
Hiking
Hiking
Hiking - Turtle megalith
Hiking
Hiking
Hiking
Ellie and I with our matching kitty tattoos.
Friday we went to the Bern, Switzerland Temple.
I miss going to the temple on a regular basis and I am so grateful I had the
chance to go while in Switzerland. We even went on a French speaking day, which
made me happy. J After the temple we
went back to Sharice’s and then over to Erik and Kari’s where we joined them
for dinner. We had kebab (think gyro not meat on a stick), which is super
popular here in Europe. It was really yummy. While at their house we played
with the kids and played some WiiU; I was pretty excited about that, I miss my
WiiU! I started playing Zelda: Ocarina of Time It was a really great day
Saturday
we took a trip to Deutschland! We went to a village called Bad Säckingen, which
is right across the Swiss border. We walked around the village looked at the
old church there, ate a yummy donut thing with raspberry and cream filling, and
enjoyed some street art. There was some Renaissance Festival going on so we
didn’t get to go see the castle in town (it is usually free to see the gardens
etc. but the day we went it cost money, lame). Then we drove to Rheinfelden to
do a little grocery shopping (they get some things in Germany because they are
way cheaper). After we finished shopping we stopped at a McDonalds for some
lunch (I’ve now had McDonalds in France, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany…not
sure that is an accomplishment or not…but they all taste the same). After lunch
we headed back home to Switzerland.
Bad Säckingen
Bad Säckingen
Bad Säckingen
Bad Säckingen
Sunday
we slept in again and then headed to church. After church Sharice and I went
over to Erik and Kari’s for one last hangout before we the end of my week in
Switzerland. This time Kari made homemade corn dogs! I had said how much I
wanted one and so she made them! They were so good. I’m now convinced I need a
deep fryer so I can make homemade corn dogs…haha. We also got to play some more
Zelda. I was pretty excited about that. Is it sad that part of me is excited to
go back to the US just to play my Wii…probably?
Monday
was departure day. However, this time Sharice was coming with me. We set out
and took the scenic route to Dijon where Sharice and I would be getting on the
bus. It was a really beautiful drive that included a fresh blanket of snow. It
was the first time I saw snow that stuck to the ground since I’ve been here in
France. It was magical. Once in Dijon, Sharice and I had Subway while we waited
for the bus. Then we got on the bus back to Paris. It was a pretty uneventful
drive. Once we got back to Paris we stopped at Factory & Co in Bercy for
dinner. They have really good bagel sandwiches/burgers, cheese fries, and yummy
desserts. It is one of my favorite places to eat if I’m feeling like more
American-y food. Then we headed back to my house. It was a long day and we were
ready to go to bed.
Tuesday
I had to babysit Greg. So we headed over to the house and we played with him
for the day. We made a tower out of blocks, played hide-and-seek, played Lego
Avengers on the PlayStation, ate lunch, and played Monopoly. After we were done
with Greg, Sharice and I headed to La Défense for dinner (Chipotle) and some
grocery shopping. It was a pretty chill day.
Wednesday
we took Greg to Cité des Sciences (science museum). We went to the kids section
where they had different areas where you could experiment with different things
(body, water, communication, electricity/factory, a TV studio, and a garden
area). Greg was everywhere, he loved it. It was fun to watch him having a good
time with all the different things to do. He loved the TV studio where he got
to pretend to be a camera man, and in the body area where he got to run and
have it measure how fast he ran (he did this one several times – his highest
was 5.6 m/s). After we finished in the kid area, we headed to the IMAX Theater
to watch a movie (Titans of the Ice Age). The movie was all in French, I
followed along pretty well (I think Sharice fell asleep). After the movie we
stopped at Burger King for a snack (we were all hungry) then headed home. It
was a pretty fun day.
Greg loves Polar Bears so he had to get a picture with one!
Too cool for school.
Thursday
we were Greg free. So Sharice and I headed into her first full day of Paris
touristing. We started out be checking out Le Marais, unfortunately most things
were closed due to Passover. So we decided to stop and get some cheesecake at
Berko (I got key lime and Sharice got lemon meringue), then we walked by the
Pompidou Centre, past Hôtel de Ville, and Notre Dame. It is definitely tourist
season in Paris and the line to go into Notre Dame was super long, so we
decided to go find something else to eat. I remembered I had seen a Star Wars
themed café somewhere near there. So we went on a hunt for it and we were
successful. Sharice was in heaven. We both got a crêpe with Nutella and bananas
on it (it had some Star Wars name that I don’t remember). This was Sharice’s
first crêpe and she was hooked. After we finished our crêpes we made our way
out to St. Cyr so I could say goodbye to Amanda. We hung out at Amanda’s for
awhile then headed to dinner in St. Cyr. We went to another crêpe place,
Sharice enjoyed it. I’m really glad that I got to see Amanda one last time
before she left back to the US. She was my first friend here in Paris and am so
grateful for that friendship. So Amanda if you are reading this; thanks for
being my friend. Who knew that a love for IKEA and pizza is what builds a great
friendship. After dinner we headed back home and went to bed.
Friday
was my last full day with Greg. I started out the morning with working on his
homework for school. Then Sharice, Greg, one of his friends (Tatoin??), and I
headed to La Défense for lunch at McDonalds and Captain America: Civil War.
Captain America was awesome. I enjoy the Avengers movies and was glad we could
go see it. After the movie we went to Hagaan Daz for some ice cream. Then we
made our way home. I was exhausted after having to watch two boys and make sure
they didn’t annoy too many people while we were out, but it was a good day.
I found this painting in Le Marias...I think it is pretty funny.
Key Lime Cheesecake
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake.
Hotel de Ville
Notre Dame
The center of Paris.
Notre Dame
Star Wars Cafe!
Sharice's first crepe! Banana and nutella!
Bathroom door...haha
Notre Dame
Saturday
we dedicated to nothing. So we relaxed and watched Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
for most of the day (plus it was rainy and yucky). It was great. Sunday we
headed into Paris for a picnic with Cat, Kayla, and Christine (another American
friend) at les Jardins du Luxembourg. It was such a beautiful day. We sat in
the grass for a long time before wandering to the Pantheon and then we headed
down to les Jardins des Plantes (near where I used to live). It was seriously a
beautiful day.
Jardins des Plantes
Jardin du Luxembourg
A church near the Pantheon.
Monday
we went to the Louvre (only took my six and a half months to actually go inside
the building). We decided to explore the Egyptian exhibit. It was really cool.
It amazes me that their artifacts have survived for thousands of years. It
really blows my mind. My favorite part was the mummified cats…if you didn’t
already know, I’m a cat person. After the Louvre we headed back to Le Marais
for a falafel, at l’As du Falafel. Then we headed back home, since I had Greg.
Tuesday we stayed in and did laundry and then I had Greg that night.
The Louvre
The Louvre
The Louvre
The Louvre
The Louvre
The Louvre
The Louvre
The Louvre
The Louvre
The Louvre
Wednesday
we went to Disneyland!! I love going to Disney. We got there just as the parks
opened and we got the two park tickets; so we started in the Disney Studios. We
rode on the Hollywood Tower of Terror and then went on the Ratatouille ride.
After that we went to the other park. We started on Space Mountain 2 ride then
got lunch at a little quick service restaurant. After lunch we went on It’s a
Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indian Jones, and Phantom Manor. After
the Phantom Manor we had goûter at a restaurant that had curly fries (I was
really excited about the curly fries). Then we went on the Tea Cups followed by
the carousal, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Pinocchio. At this point we
were getting pretty tired. So we went to Disney Village to see if we wanted
anything to eat there, it was all too expensive. So we headed to La Défense to
McDonalds. Which was a good choice after a long day of walking; it was fast!
After we got home we were ready for bed.
Curly fries!! They were so yummy! Haha
I've named him Phillipe. He was a good horse.
Thursday
we went to Sacré Coeur and the Eiffel Tower. First we went to Sacré Coeur and
it became very apparent that tourist season has now begun in Paris, it was
packed. We walked through the church and then found a bench in some shade for a
picnic lunch. While we were sitting there we met a nice German lady, so Sharice
got practice her German. After our picnic we headed to the Eiffel Tower
(another jam packed tourist area) and walked around a bit. Then we headed home.
On our way home we walked along the canal and got to feed some ducks and pet
some kitties. All in all a great day!
Sacré Coeur
Eiffel Tower
Kitty on our walk home!
Sacré Coeur
Eiffel Tower
Friday
was Sharice’s birthday! So we went and got crêpes from crêperie in Paris. It
was really good, as all crêpes are. Then we headed to the Tuileries Gardens and
walked towards Place de la Concorde. We sat for awhile at fountain and
people/pigeon/duck watched while we waited for Cat and Kayla to join us. Then
we walked up the Champs Elysée to l’Arc de Triomphe. It was fun, but hot! Once
we made it to the Arc we hopped on the metro and went on a search for cupcakes.
Unfortunately once we got to the cupcake place we discovered it was closed! The
owners decided to return to the US. So we went to a pâtisserie near where Cat
lives. On the way to the shop we found some strawberries for so cheap, only 6€
for a kilogram, so of course we got some! Who can say no to delicious fresh strawberries??
Once we got to the shop we got some tarts. Cat and I got a lemon tart and
Sharice got a chocolate raspberry tart. I really liked mine! After our treat we
headed home so Sharice could pack to go back home.
Paris
Place de la Concorde
A mama and baby ducks at the fountain in Tuileries
They were so cute!
Arc de Triomphe
Fruit stand
Tuileries
One can never go wrong with tartes!
Saturday
morning I took Sharice to the bus and made sure she got on. Now I have my house
back to myself and will try to think of what to do with myself these last two
months here in Paris. I am hoping to start tutoring online…if I can ever get my
wifi to work consistently…
With
that long catch up, I have an announcement (I've made this on Facebook...so if you aren't friends with me on there, now you know). After much prayer, thought,
discussion, and doubting I’ve decided that I am going to move to Seattle,
Washington to help my parents. My dad is in need of new knees and will need the
help around the house as well as financially. So I decided that this is the
best option for me and for them (if I wasn’t their favorite daughter before, I
am now J). We do have a
gofundme set up for my dad, https://www.gofundme.com/2mnaghu4 to help raise money to help cover costs post
surgery; please consider donating and sharing to help us out! I don’t
have a job lined up yet, but am currently applying for teaching jobs. However,
if you are reading this and have any connections in the Seattle area please let
me know!!!
Thanks for reading all!!
P.s. I'll do another catch up post this week....I hope!
