Bonne Année

Bonjour tout le monde!

Spent a wonderful two weeks with my parents for the holidays. We met up in Paris on Christmas eve, spent a few days there, headed to London where we spent New Year's Eve, and then came back to Tours so I could give them a little taste of la vie touraine.

Tomorrow it's back to school for me. I would complain, but let's be real - we don't really have to work that hard!

In other news, I'm nearly halfway through my teaching contract. I can hardly believe that I've already been here for 4 months! It seems like just yesterday that I arrived fresh-faced and ready to take on la France. My contract runs out at the end of April, and though I had originally planned to do some hardcore traveling at the end, the recent realization that I have absolutely no money has hit hard. But, of course I will travel for as long as I can possibly afford to, which at this rate should be about a week or two. So that means that in about 4 months I'll be home in Georgia, or as one of my students so affectionately called it, the "bitch" state. She meant to say peach. I don't even know anymore. Grad school apps are in and I should find out about it around the time I go back home! While I am excited to go back, my feelings are a little mixed. Of course it will be good to see everyone again, but in a way I sort of feel like by going back to Georgia I'm resigning myself to never get out. I just dunno. But then again, I guess I've already broken the whole never getting out thing, because here I am, right? Though I did know going into this job that I was on a temporary contract. And while I originally thought that maybe I could eventually find a full-time real teaching (not teaching assistant) job here, the recent realization that you have to be a French citizen to teach here has that shattered. But, we'll see. My plan is to just play things by ear comme toujours (like always)!

Some photos from the holidays...

 Christmas display at the Galleries Lafayette in Paris. Think Harrod's or a really, really swanky Macy's.

Hmm, at second glance it sort of looks photoshopped, but I swear it's not! Paris (obvs) with my parents on Christmas eve.

Mom & Dad crossing Abbey Road.

Mom & I at the Tower of London.

Mom & Dad at the Château de Chenonceau near Tours. It's actually built directly on the river. Definitely the coolest château that I've ever been to!


Bonne année (happy new year) tout le monde!