2013

As 2013 comes to a close, I'm taking a moment to remember everything that's happened.  It's been an especially big year for me, with many changes, twists, and turns.  One year ago, I couldn't even imagine where I'd be right now.  It's been an exciting, crazy, sometimes nerve-wracking and stressful year, but I am here, stronger and more confident, ready to see what awaits me next.

This year I have accomplished and experienced many things:

• Wrote a 42-page thesis on the state of multiculturalism in France
• Graduated from CSU with a double major, honors, and distinction
• Bought a one-way ticket to France
• Started a job in a foreign country
• Been betrayed
• Lost, then regained, my social life (thesis!)
• Lived with my best friend
• Went from Denver to LA and back in one day
• Discovered Barcelona, tapas, and cava
• Revisited a friend in Norway
• Spent Christmas with my mom abroad
• Had a heartache from missing family and friends while I've been abroad or they have
• Practiced foreign languages
• Started teaching English to 200 French kids
• Pretended that I knew how to teach English to elementary kids
• Went to Canada for the first time
• Stayed in a haunted brothel for a night
• Ate berries until I couldn't eat anymore
• Saw my first rugby match at a stadium
• Tasted the best chocolates in Perpignan
• Hiked my first Colorado 14er (Mount Elbert @ 14,433 ft)
• Hiked to an abbey in the mountains
• Relaxed on a sunny beach in October
• Walked across a huge suspension bridge through the woods
• Tasted some wine, and then tasted some more
• Played at the Boeing factory with my brother
• Went flying across a lake in Wisconsin on top of a tube
• Skied, hiked, and watched sunsets in beautiful Colorado
• Had deep conversations
• Had a mini reunion from my Norway days in Chicago
• Stood on plexiglass over Chicago from the top of the Sears Tower
• Soaked in hot springs
• Snuggled with my kitty
• Swam in Horsetooth resevoir
• Went to the drive-ins
• Took my camera out to take pictures, and then put it away to let me experience the moment
• Laughed and cried, lived and loved

I can't wait to see what 2014 brings... especially since I have no clue what I'll be doing... really no clue!

Chocolat Chaud

Hot chocolate.  Chocolat chaud.

Yes, that's right folks, this is a blog post about hot chocolate.

Now, I've had some tasty hot chocolates in my life, but I have to share about the one I had today.  After arriving at Le Petit Moka near la Place République in Perpignan this afternoon, I thought a nice chocolat chaud sounded tasty.  I went ahead and ordered it without even looking at the menu... deciding that chocolat noir (dark chocolate) sounded even better when the waiter told me about that option and sticking with the classique (rather than adding in holiday spices).  I've had a few chocolat chauds during my stay thus far, but none have compared to the one I got today.

Imagine a hot chocolate so thick it's more like pudding than a drink.  This "pudding" is made from not just chocolate, but a delicious dark chocolate.  And it's warm, which it wasn't a very cold day or anything, but warm drinks are always comforting anyways. A perfect drink for a perfect afternoon.

This chocolat chaud is almost indescribable... something to try for yourself.  So if you get the chance, go for it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there!
Thanksgiving is really a time of year to take stock of all the good in one's life.  For me, I am thankful especially for friends and family, the opportunities I've received, and the possibilities that are yet to come.  My family and friends are really a source of strength which I know is there for me whenever... for the good times and the bad.  The biggest opportunity that I am thankful for at the moment is teaching, living, and experiencing France.  As for the opportunities yet to come, I'll let you know as I figure them out!

So this past week was Thanksgiving.  As I couldn't be with my family in Colorado, I made up for missing out on spending time with family and eating too much by spending time with my new Perpignan family and eating too much!  After working all day Thursday, I came home to cook up some roasted veggies and baked cinnamon apples which I brought to a friend's potluck/ Thanksgiving get-together that evening.  There, around 30+ people from many different countries came together to share a meal and company.  It was very good!  And I ate way too much!  I loved trying all the dishes that people brought, and I also enjoyed sharing my traditions with others... for some of them, it was their first Thanksgiving.

After eating well on Thursday, I came home to Skype with some family who were sitting down to their own Thanksgiving meal.  For me it was past midnight, but it was worth it to join them for a bit.  We went around the table and shared what we are thankful for.  Even though I couldn't actually be there, this made me feel like home (I'm thankful for the technology that makes this possible! haha). 

Then I slept like a baby... until I had to wake up early for work!  It was a good day working... I taught numbers this week.  The kids really liked a song I brought in to help me, so everyone was happy.  I also got the cutest drawing from one of them.  I think it's supposed to be me... but I can't really tell for sure! Besides the drawing, I also had a little girl that wanted to bises me before she left (kiss on the cheek).

The next big event came on Saturday with a more intimate dinner among the language assistants (11 of us joined).  We had so much good food including turkey pot pie, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, fruit salad (my contribution), gluten-free pasta salad, green salad, apple pie and crumble, and more!  So fear not, I ate well this week despite not being in America to celebrate Thanksgiving!  With the family holiday, I was feeling a little homesick this week, but being able to talk with my family back home and hang out with my Perpignan family makes a world of difference.  I am so thankful for all of you in my life!

Drawing from one of my French kiddos.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Vacances de Toussaint

My first two days teaching were promptly followed by a two week break. . . Vacances de Toussaint. 

Collioure

During this break, I really took advantage of the time to get to know Perpignan and the surrounding area.

Boulangerie

The first week, I was lucky enough to have a friend visit who is doing the same teaching program in Castres (next to Toulouse).  We had a couple great day-excursions to Collioure and Villefranche-de Conflent.  Both of these places are only a 1 euro ride away.  Villefranche is a fortified, stone village resting at the base of Fort Libéria.  This fort was built after the division of Catalogne between France and Spain in the 1600s.  734 underground stairs link the fort and the village -- we hiked up the side of the hill (maybe mountain, but not really) and went down the stairs.  It was really interesting to see the fort and wind our way through the underground passages.  The passages were a bit creepy and cold - maybe I was just thinking too much of Halloween coming up!

Fort Libéria

Fort Libéria

View from Fort Libéria

We also received the opportunity to join another friend in Canet-en-Roussillon for a lovely dîner by the plage (beach).  I had a delicious tajine, which is a traditional Moroccan dish. . . yum yum.  After dinner, we stopped at an English pub quiz for the rest of the night.  It was busy there!

Sunset in Canet

The second week of vacation was full of afternoon café visits, delicious food and wine with friends, and sunny Perpignan.  It was also Halloween . . . I was convinced to watch scary movies (which are not my cup of tea - I may have screamed a couple times) and dressed up as the Spice Girls with some other assistants.  Fun!

Afternoons in cafés

What a life. . .

Visa Complete.

I'm legal! After being in France for over a month now, my visa process is finally complete!

Today, I was in the city of Montpellier for my final visa appointment.  At 8h22, I left Perpignan and took a beautiful train ride to Montpellier, which is where the immigration office is for the Académie de Montpellier.  Since my appointment wasn't until 14h30, a friend and I decided to explore the city a bit and enjoy an outdoor café.  I had a great chocolat chaud... 

Montpellier itself is really cute and French... winding roads, all the buildings in stone, some protest going on, etc.  We also stumbled upon an exposition in the Chamber of Commerce building that featured some random inventions.  After lunch and playing on the roof of a taller building with some great views, we went to our appointments at the Office Français de l'Immigration et de l'Integration.  This rendez-vous was technically a medical visit to make sure we were healthy enough to stay in France, but it was mostly a lot of waiting... check in, wait, get height and weight checked, wait, x-ray, wait, have the doc say everything's good, wait, give papers (proof of residence in France, paper saying I was exempt from the fee - thank goodness!, and a photo), get a sticker in my passport, and voilà I'm legal!!

While the appointment wasn't a big deal and everything went fine, I'm still glad to have it done and out of the way.  It was cool to get to check out another city too! I look forward to going back to Montpellier for a weekend sometime. 

Début

For the month of October, I taught a total of two days. Hard life...

Last Thursday and Friday, I started teaching French to elementary kids here in Perpignan.  It made me very excited for this year.  But of course it also made me nervous.  For one, it made me realize how little I know about what elementary kids do (or are supposed to) know.  For some of my classes, teachers want me to skip what the kids should already know to help expand their knowledge, but I find that difficult when I'm THE prof d'anglais for the year, meaning that most of my classes were waiting for me to start teaching English to the kids.  That also means that the students are at various levels within the same class.  As such, that will be a great learning experience to figure out how to keep classes interesting for those who are ahead, but still simple enough for those who are novices. 

Overall, I am really happy with my first days of teaching.  Of course, I loved when my students got really excited about what we were doing.  In this case, it was learning about me/ Colorado (so many oohs and ahhs over the photos I brought) and where in the world English is spoken.  It also melted my heart when two little girls in my last class on Friday told me "Tu es trop belle!" over and over.  Aww shucks, they think I'm beautiful!

For the remainder of the year, I'll be teaching every Thursday and Friday (followed by a five day weekend!) with a total of 15 classes and over 200 students. It's exciting, nerve-wracking, rewarding, and so much more, all at once.  I'm definitely thinking this was a fantastic choice for the year after graduation. 

But for now I'm on vacation!  Teach two days, and then have two weeks of vacation.  That sounds about right, doesn't it? I'll post more about what I've done and am doing over vacation in the next few days.

A bientôt!

Sunday Hike

Bonjour à tous!

Yesterday was the first time I experienced hiking in the Pyrenees mountains - that's the mountain chain along the Spanish-French border.  A group of 5 of us drove out towards one of the tallest mountains of the Pyrenees called the Canigou.  We parked in a small town, which happened to be celebrating the festival of chestnuts (fête des châtaignes).  The entire area was covered with chestnut trees, which if you've never seen a chestnut in the wild, they're pretty intense looking.  It is a large, spikey, green covering that you break open to find the brown chestnut inside. 

From that small town we walked up to the Abbaye Saint Martin du Canigou.  It's a small abbey sitting in a nook in the mountains.  We explored around the abbey for a little while (we joined a tour to get inside, but didn't stick around with the group since it was a tour in Catalan!) and found a beautiful lookout point a little further up to see the entirety of the abbey.  It's a quaint place, like a mini castle, which is still currently inhabited.  There's also a beautiful cloister surrounded by roses and stonework. 

From there, we descended the roadway for the abbey, and took another route from where the car was parked.  This route was more of any actual hike through the woods, and it followed a stream back into the mountains to a beautiful waterfall for about an hour and a half.  It was a beautiful hike with the sun shining and autumn leaves on the ground.  This was my first taste of the autumn that I know... with leaves and that distinctive autumn smell.  It was great to experience that as it's something that I've been missing.

 After the hike, we returned to the car, made a stop in a cute village called Villefranche (I'm definitely going back up there to spend some time and climb up to the fort) and returned to Perpignan.  It was a perfect day outdoors, getting some exercise, and meeting some really great people that are also living in Perpignan.

Collioure

Today I took a break from Perpignan (my new home) and went on a day excursion.  I, with two other English language assistants, ended up in a small coastal village called Collioure. 

Collioure is very picturesque with its old stone buildings, colorful streets, mini art galleries, clear water and rocky coast.  Our first stop was to find a delicious sandwich.  Mine was ham, lettuce, and butter on a baguette... yumm, and we sat for lunch on a bench looking across the water and village.  During this time, there were also some army guys doing training exercises in rafts and kayaks on the water.  After that, we spent a lot of time exploring the village.  Some of the highlights were the lookout point where a small, old church sat, the varying colors of houses with pink, blue, turquoise, and orange all mixed in, and browsing through tiny art galleries where the artists were painting and proud to show their work. 

Now back in Perpignan, I am looking forward to starting teaching next week.  We had a full day of lesson planning and school training a couple days ago, and I'm hoping that my 12 hours of teaching will go smoothly.  I'll be teaching in three schools, one which is in Perpignan.  The other two are in outlying villages called Baixas and Peyrestortes.  Baixas is a village of wine makers, and Peyrestortes is so small that the entire school is only 3 or 4 classes. I'll be able to do both of those schools in one day, and I am looking forward to getting to know my colleagues there!

While Perpignan doesn't yet quite feel like home, I'm really enjoying the people I've met and the experiences I've had.  And this is only the beginning!

Figuring Things Out

Perpignan is still new and unknown.


I'm learning about my new city bit by bit.  I now know that grilled snails are a specialty and there's an entire store dedicated to selling snails at the Place de la Republique.  I know there's a cute river running through the city... but that I can't get down to sit on the enticing grass.  I know that bedsheets cost me 20 euros, but a nice bottle of wine is 2.75.  I know that only places selling food are allowed to be open on Sunday, so that makes everything quieter. 

I'm getting settled in here and still have a lot more to learn and figure out.  But for now I'm content.  My first priority is complete as I've found an apartment to call home for the next 7 months.  It's a short walk to whatever I need as well as the center of town and the train station.  I have two roommates here, one from England, the other from South Korea.  I'm excited to get to know them better (especially since I don't yet know anyone else here). 

My orientation for my job is in two days, and I'm wondering what that'll be like.  The French seem very relaxed about doing things.  Only 1 of my 3 schools has returned an email to let me know when I can stop by to meet the teachers that I'll be working with as well as figure out my schedule for the year.  That school is in an outlying village called Baixas, which is made up of mostly winemakers.  Looks like a cute place to spend some afternoons!

Le Castillet

Anyways, everything is going well.  I still feel new to the city and I know I have a lot more to figure out before it becomes "home."  And that's the beauty of it ... this is quite the adventure.

The view from the terrace on my roof

To France Again!

Thus, it begins! The next adventure is underway.

Here's the deal. I've graduated and still don't know what I want to do with my life. So why not take a year and think things through from Europe? Ok!

I accepted a position for the 2013-14 school year to teach English to elementary kids (ages 7-11) in Perpignan in southern France.  I have been assigned 3 schools in which I'll be teaching a total of 12 hours.  Sounds like a hard life, right? Well, I also have 5 weeks of paid vacation.  Oh darn...

So yesterday I arrived here in Perpignan.  I took 3 planes and 2 trains, while traveling over 24 hours, to arrive in a city that I didn't know.  Not only am I not familiar with it, but I also don't have an apartment yet.  I also conveniently forgot to write down any address for a hotel I had picked out on the internet.  Nevertheless, after a little wondering (with my heavy suitcase), I found a good spot to rest for the next couple of nights. 

The next few days are all about situating myself in this new city.  My first priority is housing, and I have a few apartment showings to go to.  After that, I'll be looking into a phone and opening a bank account.  I also need to visit my schools to meet up with the people in charge and introduce myself.

My work contract officially starts on October 1st with an orientation that day.  Then, teaching officially starts on the 14th.

Wish me luck!

Almost Graduation!

Well this is certainly a busy semester!

With 18 credits, multiple major capstone courses, and a thesis, I have been keeping myself occupied.  I feel that I have put in a lot of hard work, and now I am excited to say that in less than 5 weeks I will be receiving my diploma!  I am proud to say that I will be graduating with a double degree in International Studies and French with a minor in business administration, honors, and Latin distinction (Magna Cum Laude). 

As far as the events around graduation, here are the major ones to look forward to:

Thesis Presentation - April 18th, 2013
     My thesis research concerns the nature of multiculturalism in France, especially concerning the "traditional" French and the Muslim "Other."  The presentation is a culmination of my experience (after having written a more than 40 page paper) and is open to the public.

Family Celebration - May 11th, 2013

Ice Cream Social and Thank You at the Sons of Norway Lodge - May 12th, 2013
    As a proud member of the Sons of Norway, I have been honored to receive scholarships to aid my undergraduate experiences at CSU and the Oslo International Summer School.  Now, my family would like to give back to the lodge with an open invitation to join us for ice cream on May 12th as a thank you.  This event is open to all lodge members (and really anyone with the slightest interest in Norway).  Please join!

Honors Graduation Ceremony - May 17th, 2013
     I will be honored at a special recognition ceremony for being an honors scholar at CSU.  As an honors scholar, I have gone above-and-beyond the core requirements with having taken extra classes (some of which were the most interesting at CSU!) and with writing my thesis.

Commencement Ceremony - May 18th, 2013
     This is the big one! I will be walking across the stage to the applause of my many fans on May 18th at the College of Liberal Arts ceremony. :)

I look forward to my family and friends joining me as I transition from one stage of my life to the beginning of the next.  For more detailed information concerning times and locations of events, you may contact me privately by message or email.  Thank you!

ISS Reunion in Chicago

A couple weeks ago I was in Chicago teaming back up with my friends from summer school in Norway.  It was like no time had passed... we seamlessly jumped back into talking, joking, and enjoying each others' company. As we shared new stories and experiences, it simply reminded me how much I love this group of people.  No matter where we go, I am thankful to have them in my life.

Friends at the Field Museum in Chicago.

Hanging out (literally!) at the Sears (Willis) Tower. 

If you ever have the chance to watch the sunset from the top, it's worth it.

Thank you for a wonderful tradition meal!