Long Time, No Write!

I'm so sorry to have taken such a long break! Lots and lots has happened so I'll try and give a summary of the past couple weeks.

Since my last post, I have been able to go on two ISA (my study abroad program) trips-to the Loire Valley and to Normandy. Both were absolutely amazing trips and I got to see beautiful castles, the gorgeous countryside, a wine tasting, an apple cider tasting, and visit the beaches where so many men gave their lives in service to our country. Below are a few pics from these two trips.

Chateaux in Loire Valley!

Chateau Chemanceau

And the most magnificent... Chateau Chambord

And then moving on over to Normandy. We got to visit a war museum, walk along the beaches of Normandy, walk through the American cemetery, see the cliffs, and visit Mont St. Michel. So glad that I got to see those sites! Something I never thought I would be able to see in person.

And then they surprised us with a trip to an apple cider factory! We learned all about apple cider and how its made. And we ended it with a delicious tasting, trying 5 different levels of cider.

And here are a few from Mont St. Michel. Absolutely stunning view. And there are actually a population of about 200 people who live there! We went on a sunday, so when we passed through the church at the top, mass was going on. 

Sorry for the really quick summary and long line of pictures to explain the weekend trips! I took wayyy too many pictures and am still working on even getting them edited and on facebook. They were both lovely trips and jam packed with toursim, pretty sights, good food, and lots of photos!

Two other things I wanted to comment on for fun....

French Fashion

In the two months of my living and shopping in Paris, I think I have had a good amount of exposure to the true phrase "Oh, that's SO Parisian!" . I have come to the conclusion that most french fashion boils down to these three important elements. 

1. some element of BLACK (shoes, jacket, scarf, shirt, pants, any or all of the above
2. a SCARF (because you're actually cold OR because it's just cute, for men and women alike)
3. a BLAZER (any color, always necessary)

     To have all of the three, you are very parisian. Especially if your scarf doesn't really match the outfit... and especially if the blazer is either black or navy. Should you have two, you could pass for parisian but one of the two must be wearing black. And if it's only one.. You clearly didn't spend enough time getting dressed for the day.
     Of course there are other elements to french fashion, such as stripes, a hat, beige and/or earthy colors, sweaters, lipstick, but I have found, thus far, that these three are the key elements to passing as Parisian on a daily basis.

Daily Routines

Something else that people have been asking me a lot lately, is what does my day to day schedule look like. So I figured I would summarize what a week kinda, sorta looks like. Honestly, no two weeks have really looked the same, with random last minute things that come up and are cancelled, and the traveling that I have been blessed to do, but here's a basic and broad summary. 

Classes here in France are all only once a week for three hours. And let me tell you, it's a little difficult at times. It's one thing to have three classes in a day, each for an hour, and another to have the same class- same teacher, same people, same room, same subject, for three hours! And A/C is not a thing here so it's always warmish to stifling hot. When you add in the time it takes to commute to class, a three hour class takes up a large portion of the day. So to the one day that I only have a night class, I save all my errands, grocery shopping, school work "catching up"/studying, random little things, for that morning/afternoon. So while those days are usually pretty open, they fill up very quickly with all the little things I need to do that I didn't get to do over the weekend (normally because I was out of town, I promise!) Then, two times a week I babysit my precious Nadjet:

She's quite the handful at times, but she is a lot of fun and I love that I get to see her twice a week. So before class I make sure there's no homework I forgot about and then make the trek to school and have just enough time to eat a little lunch, and skype my sweet brother for about 20 minutes after class, before going to pick Nadjet up from school. And if you're wondering how Parisian my eating diet has become ( :D ), I have a piece of toasted bread with goat cheese and "saucisson" for lunch with fruit and yogurt. Yumm. And then I always have one day that I reserve for "explore Paris day". My good friend, Kelsey and I, we pick a new place each week to go take pictures of or just explore because we haven't yet! So after I finish class and eat my lunch, her and I meet up and enjoy the afternoon walking around a new part of Paris together. Out of all my days in the week, my Friday's are what change the most. Depending on my weekend plans, my Friday afternoons are sometimes spent practicing music, coffee with a friend, homework I need to do so I don't have to over the weekend, or many other things. And for the rest of this semester I only have two more weekends in Paris!

It's crazy how fast time is flying by and that I've already been here for a little over two months! I'm looking forward to continuing exploring Paris, improving my french, and learning more and more about the world :)

His love never fails.