fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la

Christmas time! My favorite time of the year, even if it is awfully cold. Speaking of awfully cold, we had our first snowfall of the year last week (okay, more like a week and a half ago). Pictures are up on Facebook. Apparently snow is rare here, but we got several inches. It was beautiful and the perfect excuse for sitting inside drinking my Christmas tea (Thé de Noël).

Snow! With medieval towers! And cathedrals! And ocean! What else could I possibly need?



Of ourse, desserts you say. Yes, I would also need desserts. So here we go with the past few weeks of sweets. In order, we have a petite buche de Noël, grand marnier flavored; an apple tart with custard in the middle; a meringue shell dipped in dark chocolate; and a chocolate and orange mousse cup with fruit on top. They were all delicious, in many different ways. Not too sweet, not too much sugar, lots of variety in flavors and textures. It will really be a miracle if I've lost any weight at all being here. I might even lose weight at home for lack of patisseries.




And for lack of good bread. I swear, I've eaten more bread in the past few months than most people eat in a lifetime (and by people, I mean not French people, obviously, because they eat a lot of bread).

I've been exceptionally busy now that I'm back from the Il de Ré schools. My schedule is more predictable and I've been doing extra tutoring as well, not to mention spending time doing social things (but not too many. We all know I suck at having a social life). I definitely think I'm in over my head with this teaching thing. I have no idea what to do to help students who don't understand, and I struggle every day to figure out what to do with the kids and how to get them to talk. Not to mention what to talk to them about. I have so little in common with them. They've asked me my favorite movies, songs, singers, books, etc. and they've never heard of any of them. It kind of frightens me, actually.

I've also been struggling with the usual Christmas shopping of the season. I only have a handful of people to shop for, but that might make it all the more difficult. Anyway, I have presents I got in Angers for my brothers and their respective spouses (or spouses-to-be). I also knew immediately what to get my mom and dad. Everyone else? I have no clue. So I winged it. Hope y'all enjoy regardless. I fail at shopping for other people (at least when I'm having to buy things that will fit in my suitcase, not break, and won't push the weight over the limit of 50 lbs. And when I can't get everyone the exact same thing).

My suitcase sits out in my living room, half-packed. A week from today, I'll have already left La Rochelle for Paris, spending the night in a hotel so I can catch an early flight. I'll only be in the states for ten days, so if you want to see me (and aren't already going to be seeing a lot of me, i.e. family), let me know. My schedule involves not getting too adjusted to the timezone, lazing around, and eating my way through my list of foods I've missed. Bojangles, for one, sushi, chinese food, a burrito, a real margarita, etc. The trick is not getting fat while I'm at it. And yes, I'm aware of my unhealthy obsession with my weight. I'm working on it.

The future terrifies me more than I can possibly express. Thinking beyond April makes my heart race (not in a good way) and my lungs literally jump into my throat. I don't know if I'm going to grad school (I'm not in the states, anyway, although I'm looking into going to a school here in France), and I don't know if I'll get renewed for the assistanceship. I'm not even sure I want to, because if I do another year of this, it's another year behind everyone else. I like the idea of getting a degree here, but living in France isn't easy. I know it sounds great, and it is, but it takes a lot of being lonely and a lot of being confused and scared. The question isn't whether or not I can do it (I can), it's whether or not I want to. My parents like to point out that I always make my life more difficult than it has to be, and I know I do. Is it worth it, though?

The road less traveled and all that.

I'm watching Rachel Maddow made a yummy cocktail online. I can't wait to get home and make yummy Christmas cocktails, like eggnog and rum and some peppermint one that I found online. Oh holidays. I love thee.

The French kids all think "Deck the Halls" is hilarious. They burst into laughter every time they hear "Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la". For some reason, that just amuses them beyond belief. (I've been teaching them American Christmas carols.) Now it's stuck in my head.