The Happiest Place on Earth...

Okay, yes. I went to EuroDisney last weekend. And yes, it was pretty happy. But also sort of teeny compared to the behemoth that is the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. But I still liked it. It is so cleeeeean! And there are princesses walking around. I always wanted to be Cinderella...she had pretty shoes. (Though on a side note, today one of the people in my French class told us that in the original version of Cinderella her slippers were made out of squirrels, and that when they translated the story they got the word wrong and wrote glass. Squirrel shoes? Ick.)

But the Happiest Place I am talking about is not Disneyland Paris, but the Barcelona Girona Airport tomorrow.

I will be landing there for my first visit to Spain...actually, Catalunya. I've been informed that although the region of Catalunya is technically part of Spain, the people in this area (whose capital is Barcelona), maintain a strong cultural sensibility, have their own government and police force, and speak their own language, which actually resembles French more than Spanish, it seems.

I'm flying to Barcelona to rendez-vous with one of my best friends from school (the P.E. teacher who has been in many of my photos), who left Berlin for good in June to go back to his hometown. He was actually in Barcelona for one day, called me the next and asked my thoughts on him returning to Berlin in the fall...and on him coming to Paris the following weekend...and the rest, as they say folks...is history. It was terribly romantic, if I do say so myself. And something I really didn't see coming. I'm pretty dumb about this stuff, actually. Clueless.

Unfortunately, we have this whole summer apart which is a bit brutal, even for an independent gal like myself. Even though we had developed a great friendship over the school year, now that things have "changed" I admit, I really, really, really miss him.

What has happened to me? I'm turning into a sappy romantic! Blech.

But I have kissed a lot of frogs in this life...it's about time I found my prince.

Yay!

Bastille Day, Disneyland, and The Cheesiest...

It was a very full weekend. I am too tired to write about it right now. I literally spent 16 hours at Disneyland yesterday. And it was just as awesome as I thought it would be!

My week should settle down after tomorrow, and I will have a chance to upload my photos and give you a full visual experience. Because you can't write a post about Eurodisney without some eye candy...

Right now I have to write out the directions for a recipe from my native country. We are working on using the imperative form, and this our assignment. I will be giving the directions on how to make Kraft Mac 'n Cheese.

I can't think of anything more American than that!

Or yummy.

I can read!!!

I've taught the little guys for while now, and by far, my most favorite thing to witness is when they finally make the jump from stringing individual sounds together to make words, into reading full sentences fluently and with understanding.

Basically when they stop sounding like creepy little robots.

More than once, I've seen a six-year-old look up from a book and say: "I can read!"

I like that.

Yesterday, in an attempt to further my dismal French skills, I bought a couple of Magic Treehouse books at a French bookstore. These books are favorites of my English-reading students, as they are adventurous, interesting, and appear to be quite funny. I often catch the kids chuckling as they read along. (They're about a brother and sister who go up in this treehouse which magically transports them to different places in time. Which would actually be pretty cool.)

This evening I sat down with the first book: "La Cabane Magique: La vallée des dinosaures." It's not bad...and I've learned loads of new words we haven't covered in my French course. I would prefer to take the book to a park and enjoy it outdoors in the beauty that is Paris, however it has pretty much not stopped raining since I got here three weeks ago...and to build my fluency - I read out loud. That may earn me some bizarre looks from the Parisians enjoying a picnic lunch in the gardens.

Yes, I read my Magic Treehouse books aloud like I am back in the reading circle of Mrs. Klump's second grade class. Except since I am alone in the apartment, there is no one exchanging smirks as I mangle the words.

Sorry Poonsock (kid in my CCD class), that I laughed at you when you had to read out loud about John the Baptist hiding out in that cave. Trying to read aloud in a foreign language is no easy task, man. My apologies, wherever you are.

To improve our pronunciation in class we sang this song yesterday. I never thought I would say this...but pronouncing German is lots easier...

But of course, it sounds like this...

Maybe I should try this language instead?

Si. Per el amor meu, jo intentaré!

Happy Anniversary to me...

One year ago today, I left the United States to start a new life in Germany. I have learned a lot, lived a lot, and per usual, fallen down a few times along the way. But I've always managed to get back up, throw on a band-aid or two, and keep on truckin'.

(For those of you who think this is a pretty metaphor for encountering difficulties, and going on...I'm sorry to say you are mistaken. I actually do trip over things rather frequently and currently sport a skinned knee, ankle, and elbow. And I do this mostly while sober. Though sometimes not.)

The point is...I am still convinced I made the right decision. Sure, in speaking with my family for two hours last night I had pangs of guilt that I wasn't there to see how my nieces and nephew have grown, and I really wanted to figure out some way my mother could send a nice ear of lightly buttered and salted Indiana sweet corn my way, but I am happy here.

And I did manage to score some corn for dinner.

Somehow, though, it just wasn't quite the same...

La vie à Paris...

Okay. It is different here. A lot different. I like it. But Parisians are nothing like the Berliners I am accustomed to. Except for the fact that they apparently also prefer to go the more natural route as far as body odor. But for this post I will focus on the positive!

1. The Paris Metro rocks! Yeah, it is hot and sort of stinky, and you are likely to encounter a fair share of public urination, but...you only have to wait three minutes max for a train. And it is super-cheap! It only cost me 53 Euro for my monthly pass...and I even got a nifty photo ID along with it. Of course, the photo is from a frizzy hair day, but what can you do?

2. People really do walk down the street gnawing on baguettes. The bread is seriously way better than anywhere else. I am not sure what they put in the stuff, but I like it. I chew on my baguette just like everyone else...except I opt for the whole-grain version. Empty calories? Merci, non! I needs my fiber.

3. It is expensive. Really expensive. Really, really, really expensive. I spend literally four times as much at the grocery here than in Berlin. The positive? They have about 8 billion different kinds of plain yogurt to choose from. I eat a lot of yogurt. This is exciting for me. My favorite is this one that comes in cute little plastic bowls. I feel very French as I eat it with my petite cuillière. (My little spoon.)

4. The Frenchies do not wait for the green man to light up before crossing the street. They practically thumb their noses at oncoming cars. Since I am used to the Germanic way of doing things, which requires one to stand statue-like at the traffic light until the red man blinks off and the green man appears, the French people think I am a safety dork. Which is pretty much true...

5. I can see the Eiffel Tower from my flat. Seriously. It sparkles at night and is super-pretty. I know that doesn't have anything to do with the eccentricities of life here in Paris, but I just wanted to make you all jealous.

Vive la France!