Long ago...

I wrote this ages ago... i.e., at least four days ago but couldn't post it until now. Oh Internet, it's nice to see/have you again! Albeit, briefly.

2009-11-23
C’est bizarre... je sais que la fin s’approchera. Je partirai mon appartement. Lundi, j’ai lave mes vêtements en préparation pour les mettre à un sac. Encore.

Jeudi je parts pour Irlande du Nord pour visiter Kathleen ! Puis je voyagerai a l’Ecosse (par bateau !) et la je resterai avec Shannon a Edinburgh.

C’est presque la fin de mon aventure française ! C’est le sentiment dans ma tête. En réalité, ce n’est pas la fin. Apres jouer a l’Ecosse, je retournerai ici, a Aix. J’ai huit jours pour « finir ». Mon vol partira de Paris, alors j’irai la pour le week-end ou je visiterai ma sœur de Disney (aka ma coloc.) ! La dernière fois que j’ai vu elle était, je crois, juillet de 2006. Franchement, je suis excitée :P Pendant ce voyage j’avais visite deux amies de Disney, et je crois que j’aurai vu deux autres avant que retourner au Canada. Puis, au Canada, je visiterai deux plusieurs ( !) avant que je ferai le dernière voyage a mon petit ile.

Aujourd’hui, j’ai porte les shorts. Les autres croient que je sois folle, mais j’adore le soleil ici.

Je commence d’écouter à la radio. Je n’ai pas fait beaucoup avant cette semaine parce que j’étais stupide. Pas stupide comme « je ne comprends pas ! », mais stupide comme « il n’y avait pas une bonne raison pour pas écouter a la radio et c’est une bonne façon d’améliorer mon français. » La prochaine fois que je veux apprendre une langue je vais regarder la télé trop, et écouter a la radio tous les minutes que je ne regarde pas la télé. Oh, mais un problème avec la radio.. Mon station préféré est lequel en español. Et il y a trop des chansons anglaises à la radio. La première station que j’ai trouve hier soir a eu Elton John qui chante « Can you feel the love tonight » de « The Lion King ». Oui, c’est une bonne chanson, et j’ai chante avec Elton. Il m’aide améliorer mon accent faux d’un anglais homosexuel :P

Je lis une romaine en français maintenant. C’est plus difficile que ma dernière romaine (Princess Diaries 10 ! – en français) parce que ce n’était pas écrit pour les jeunesses. Mais, ce n’est pas trop difficile ! Regarde ma, j’apprends le français ! C’était sur une liste donnait a moi par mon professeur, les romains pour mon niveau de français (B2 !)

Noel a commence vendredi. Les lumières a la fontaine au milieu de la Rotonde de C.de Gaulle sont allumes (ouverts ?), il y a les attractions (rides ? I coudn’t find what I deem an appropriate word in French) à la fin de la Cours Mirabeau et beaucoup des kiosks qui vend les produits de noël des artisanes, et les bonbons, le vin chaud ( ?!), la barbe de papa, les gaufres (je n’ai pas encore manger un gaufre ici – quel dommage !), les pretzels (salée ou sucre), et plusieurs choses qui vont détruire mon estomac. Yum ! En revanche, il y a un problème : je n’ai pas assez d’espace dans mes bagages pour acheter les cadeaux de noël ici. Quand je suis partie le Canada j’ai pris un sac vide, mais je crois que ca va être rempli avec les choses que j’ai acheté déjà… pour moi. Oops. Je vais savoir mercredi comme je dois faire mes bagages la. J’achetais les livres ici (ils ne sont pas grands, mais ils prennent d’espace) des vetements, et des boots. Et j’aime mon casque du vélo et je voudrais le prendre au Canada. Il y a une lumière rouge sur le fond du casque ! Et c’est ROUGE.

Ici je suis sur Equipe Rouge pour faire de vélo. Mon vélo est rouge. Mon casque est rouge. Mon chemise à manches longues est rouge. Lequel avec les manches court est rouge. Mes chaussettes préférées sont rouges. Vas-y Equipe Rouge ! (Pas vraiment un équipe, c’est seulement moi.)

Quand je suis arrivée à Aix j’ai acheté un carnet de dix billets pour l’autobus. J’ai encore quatre billets. Les trois premières fois au autobus j’ai mit la billette dans la machine à la façon incorrect. Quelque fois la machine ne fonctionnait pas. Alors, je n’ai pas dépensé beaucoup d’argent pour transportation !

**************************** Google translate...

It's weird ... I know that the end will approach. I leave my apartment. On Monday, I wash my clothes in preparation for putting them in a bag. Again.

Thursday I went to Northern Ireland to visit Kathleen! Al'Ecosse Can I travel (by boat!) And I will stay with Shannon Edinburgh.

It's almost the end of my French adventure! It is the feeling in my head. In reality, this is not the end. Al'Ecosse after play, I will return here in Aix. I have eight days to "finish". My flight from Paris, then go for the weekend or I visit my sister to Disney (aka my roommate). " The last time I saw it was, I think, July of 2006. Frankly, I'm excited: P During this trip I visited two friends from Disney, and I think I saw two others before returning to Canada. Then, in Canada, I will be visiting two more (!) Before I make the last trip my little island.

Today, I wore shorts. Others think I'm crazy, but I love the sun here.

I began to listen to the radio. I have not done much until this week because I was stupid. Not stupid like "I do not understand! , But stupid as "there was not a good reason to not listen on the radio and it's a good way to improve my French. The next time I want to learn a language I'll watch TV too much, and listen to the radio every minute that I do not watch TV. Oh, but a problem with the radio .. My favorite station is where en español. And there are too many English songs on the radio. The first station that I found last night was Elton John singing "Can you feel the love tonight" from "The Lion King." Yes, it's a good song and I sang with Elton. It helps me improve my accent fake an English homosexual: P

I read a French Roman now. It is more difficult than my last Roman (Princess Diaries 10! - In French) (roman is supposed to = novel... ha) because it was not written for youths. But this is not too difficult! Look ma, I'm learning French! It was on a list given to me by my teacher, the Romans for my level of French (B2!)

Noel begins Friday. Lights at the fountain in the middle of the Rotunda are on C.de Gaulle (open?), There are attractions (rides? I coudn't find what I deem an appropriate word in French) at the end of the Cours Mirabeau and many kiosks selling Christmas products of artisans and sweets, mulled wine (?!), beard papa, waffles (I did not eat a waffle here - what a pity!), the pretzels (salt or sugar), and several things that will destroy my stomach. Yum! However, there is a problem: I do not have enough space in my luggage to buy Christmas gifts here. When I left Canada I took an empty bag, but I think it will be filled with things I already bought for me .... Oops. I'm going on Wednesday as I ought to pack it. I bought books here (they are not great, but they take space) of clothes, and boots. And I love my bike helmet and I would take him to Canada. There is a red light on the bottom of the helmet! And it's RED.

Here I am on Team Red to bike. My bike is red. My helmet is red. My long-sleeved shirt is red. Which with short sleeves is red. My favorite socks are red. Go Team Red! (Not really a team, it's just me.)

When I arrived in Aix I bought a carnet of ten tickets for the bus. I still have four tickets. The first three times I took the bus tickets in the machine the wrong way. Sometimes the machine does not work. So I have not spent much money on transportation!

Culture Chow-down

Brief list (in English, no less!) of things that cause me to nod in approval a la France:

• Markets - so much food, all so colourful
• Biking - drivers don't freak out when there are cyclists on the road. Just, "Bonjour, Cycliste, nous partagons la rue. Nous ne sommes pas les amies, mais je ne vais pas te frapper avec mon voiture." That being said... I would love to find some flat land for biking. I don't mind hills, but sometimes one just wishes for an easy ride. I also miss my black bike for when I'm feeling not so racerish.. and the seat on my bike here is merde. Putain!
  
• Cereal - Carrefour Fruit and Fibre? You rock my cereal world. ROWR.
• Shutters - I realised, after a month of being in my flat, the reason I don't have curtains on my window is because I have shutters. I just never noticed. Jen n'est pas intelligente. Non, serieuse, mon IQ trouvait un niveau trop bas quand je suis arrivee a la France.
• Durante la journee, c'est assez chaud pour porter les shorts. For me. Biking in my late summer gear au milieu de decembre? Pas mal.
• Bears - there are no bears here, to my knowledge. This helps me feel safe.
• Funny translations- It's none of our business -> "Ce n'est pas nos oignons." HA!
• Swearing - but not really. Putain!
• H1N1 - Ils ne s'inquiete pas. Le gov't achetait 94 million des vacinations. There are only 64 million people in France. They have 30 million extra vaccines, provided one dose per person is adequate. Canada has about 33 million people, and about six viles of the vaccine. And people really aren't freaking out here trying to get into clincis. I just don't think they care.
• Food - everything here tastes good. I'm a bit concerned as before leaving Canada I got rid of all clothing which was too big.
• le Geant Casino - it intrigues me. It's so large. And between my home to there, the road is quite flat. Plus one point.
• The Carrefour logo, which I now understand.
• The good looking news and weather people.
• Orange eyeshadow - I bought some. Clearly, if it's in France, it must be very fashionable. The official couleur is "orange pearle".
• Height - I'm not short here! Not to generalize, but people here are not very tall. I feel like such an equal.
  

Things I slightly miss in Canada/PEI (omitting people):

• Carpet.. useful for laying on when reading the newspaper
• Being witty/charming/hilarious... here I am merely ditzy
• Bicyclette no. 1... bicyclette no. 2 not so much as I have her nearly identical twin here
• Beer Club
• Being in closer timezones to friends who are away... so I don't need to stay up to 1am to chatter with them.
• The Weather Network.
• My socks. Apparently when packing to move I felt the need to pack, oh, like five pairs of socks, four of which are wooly hiking/biking socks.
• Peanut sauce.
• The ability to explain how you want your hair cut, in English. Me hair be getting a wee bit shaggy.
  

That's it.

November 11 - the holiday I wish weren't

November 11th is a very bittersweet holiday. Everyone enjoys a day off - a day free of commitments. (Although the status of Remembrance Day being a stat holiday varies across the country, and even within the same cities.)

Remembrance Day always makes me a bit sad. It makes me sad that we need to have this holiday. That we needed to send people young and old, male and female, English and French (and other), off to a foreign land to protect us, and protect citizens of other countries. That being said, it is also amazing that we have the freedom to honour them on this day. The fact that we can have Remembrance Day is a testament of their mission being successful, and them protecting our country's ability to be.

I went to a museum over the weekend past about the occupation in France during WWII, and the resistance movement. Today was a holiday in France, specifically for WWI (apparently there are separate holidays for other wars?). Had D-Day been unsuccessful in France in 1944, and any subsequent attempt to rid France of the Germans, le 11 novembre, comme jour ferie (accents on the e's - holiday) would not exist. Were the Nazis still in rule of this country, the French would not be celebrating their invalides aujourd'hui.

Were Canada to participate in a war today, on the same large scale effort of WWI or WWII, I honestly can't say I would enlist. I am not brave enough to potentially sacrifice myself for the good of my country. I cannot even begin to imagine what that life would be like. I've read the history, heard the stories, have seen the footage, but I cannot envision myself in uniform, boarding a boat or plane, being sent to fight a battle. To put myself in a dangerous situation. I think I could help in other ways, but I'm much too much of a baby to ever be found on the front lines. I'm happy to have citizenship in a country where military service is not mandatory, and where conscription is a thought almost a century old (believe it was last enforced during WWI?).

I focus somewhat on WWII, as it's the war I know the most about, and I believe we are taught more about it in school due to the ancestry of many Islanders. For me, this war seems a lifetime ago - well before my time. But to put it in perspective, this war ended only ten years before my father was born. There are still many people alive who can give first-hand accounts of their involvement. There are statues in London that still have slight signs of damage from the blitz. The Berlin Wall, a result of the, well, result of WWII fell only ten years ago this week.

There is the remains of a Concentration Camp within a very easy bike ride from my home. Actually, I can't quite figure out if it was a concentration camp, or a "holding bin" of sorts. Prior to German occupation of France, the French held Germans and Austrians there. This changed when 1940 hit (German occupation of Northern France and the Atlantic coast), and then again in 1942 as Germany moved into the free region of France (generally, the south). Jewish residents and others were collected and put at this camp. They were then transferred to Auschwitz, via Camps Drancy and Rivesaults.

Remembrance Day is not only about the great wars (WWI, WWII). I believe the focus tends to fall on them, but there were wars elsewhere, and there are still wars now. There are peace keeping missions, and there are the battles in which we will fight in the future.

Poppies are not worn in France, so I had no poppy to wear today. But I would wear my poppy to thank, remember, love and respect those who served in the past, who are serving now, and who will serve in the future.



A picture I took in Ypres, Belgium, editted, of a war graveyard. I suppose it will be my virtual poppy this year.

"Je veux etre un arc-en-ciel!"

Aujourd'hui, un mur me frappe. Umm, non. Peut-être ca c'est un phrase qu'on n'utilise pas en français? "Today I hit a wall."

Je manque le couleur brun. Ici, j’ai trop des vêtements gris, noir, et violet. Je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais c’est une erreur. Je faisais des boutiques un petit peu, mais trop des vêtements aux magasins sont… noir, gris, bleu (foncé), et violet. En revanche, ce soir, j’ai acheté des vêtements VERT, ROSE… et violet. Mais la jupe violète coute seulement 5 EUR alors je me permis de l’acheter. Ahh, les couleurs, je vous adore. Demain, et tous les jours après, je serai un arc-en-ciel. Sauf les boots – ils sont noirs.

L’automne commence ici, pour la deuxième fois. Il y a beaucoup des feuilles sur les rues. Quand j’ai fait une promenade ce soir, ca m’a amuse beaucoup de marcher aux feuilles. Toutes les feuilles ici sont orange/brun. Pas de rouge.

J’ai dormi pendant deux heures cette après-midi. J’avais besoin d’un nap.. Mais ugh. Je n’aime pas dormir trop pendant la journée. Mais je n’ai pas dormi beaucoup pendants les cinq soirées passées.

Ma classe est petite cette semaine : seulement quatre étudiants. Mais je l’aime, il y a beaucoup de temps pour parler et pratiquer, et c’est plus facile de demander les questions. C’est mon dernière semaine de classes… Bizarre. Je ne sais pas ce que je ferai pour les prochaines semaines. Je dois travailler beaucoup, mais je suis un peu stresse. Je ne veux pas retourner au Canada et les penses que j’ais travaille trop, et je n’ais pas eu une vraie expérience français.

Alors, c’est minuit. Je dois faire une petite présentation pour ma classe demain. Ce n’est pas tres long, mais quelque chose sur lequel nous allons parle pour 20 minutes, comme un classe, pas juste moi.

***********************************

Today, I hit a wall. Umm, no. Maybe that's a sentence that does not in French? "Today I hit a wall."

I miss the color brown. Here, I too clothes gray, black, and purple. I do not know why, but it is a mistake. I was shopping a little, but too many clothes shops are ... black, gray, blue (dark), and purple. But tonight, I bought clothes GREEN, PINK ... and purple. But the purple skirt cost only 5 EUR so I allowed myself to buy it. Ahh, the colors, I adore you. Tomorrow and every day after, I'll be a rainbow sky. Except the boots - they're black.

Autumn begins here, for the second time. There are a lot of leaves on the streets. When I went for a walk tonight, ca amuses me to walk to the leaves. All the leaves here are orange / brown. No red.

I slept for two hours this afternoon. I needed a nap .. But ugh. I do not like sleeping too much during the day. But I did not sleep much during the past five nights.

My class is small this week, only four students. But I like it a lot of time to talk and practice, and it's easier to ask questions. This is my last week of classes ... Bizarre. I do not know what I do for the next few weeks. I have a lot of work to do, and I'm a bit stressed. I do not want to return to Canada and think that I worked to much, and I had didn't have a true French experience.

So it's midnight. I must make a small presentation for my class tomorrow. Not very long, but something on which we will speak for 20 minutes, as a class, not just me.

Annnnd... zonked -_-

Les devoirs d'orsinage - - homework, harvesting sea urchins

Plusieurs fois, au Canada, je dirais aux mes parents, "Des fois ca reste bizarre quand je ne fais pas les devoirs dimanche soir."

Aujourd'hui est dimanche. J'ai les devoirs. Il a 23h09 et j'ai pas encore fait mes devoirs. Alors, avant que je me permets d'ecrire ce poste, je vais faire mes devoirs. Avec vous. En general je les fais avant cette heure tard, mais j'ai travaille sur un raport pour mon travail pour quelques heures deja. le sigh.

Devoir: ecrire les phrases avec certain mots!

BIEN QUE:
(1) Bien que mes voisins aient un jardin, ils vont a la supermarche presque chaque jour.
(2) Bien que l'eau de robinet soit bonne, on achete les bouteilles de l'eau.

EN REVANTE (ou) PAR CONTRE
(1) Mon ami avait une bonne education, en revanche il est au chômage et il habite chez ces parents.
(2) Il y a beaucoup des voitures dans la ville, par contre les rues sont trop petits pour stationer l'auto.

PORTANT (ou cependant, toutefois, neanmoins)
(1) Elle est tres petite. Pourtant, elle mange trop de chocolat.
(2) My chambre est froid. Cependant, la fenetre est ferme.

OR
(1) Je trouve que c'est difficil de faire les phrases avec "or". Or, je dois etudier plus fort ce soir.

Oui, j'ecris comme un petit eleve. Non, je n'utilise pas les mots avec plus que, oh, six lettres. Sauf quand j'ecris mon nom: Jennifer. Oh la la, huit lettres!

Alors... Aujoud'hui!

Hier soir j'ai decide, a la derniere minute avec l'aide de Ms. Shan a msn, que je serais allee a la plage ce matin pour faire d'orsinade (ou orsinade, je ne sais pas si la "faire" est necessaire?). J'ai voyage par autobus a Marseille, et puis quelqu'un m'a retrouve dans sa voiture. Puis nous conduirons vers la plage, plus l'ouest de la ville. Nous etions une group de six avec trois personnes qui ont les vetements et outils pour chercher des orsins dans l'eau. Je marchais dans l'eau un petit peu, mais c'etait un petit peu froid pour moi, et il n'y a pas de sable a la plage, seulement les roches. C'est difficil de marcher a la plage et entrer/sortir de l'eau sans les chaussures pour l'eau.

Pour manger les orsins, on les coupe en deux. Dans l'interior il y a un espece vide (je ne veux pas chercher pour mon dictionnaire pour trouver la mot correcte). J'ai pense qu'ils auraient ete comme les moules et on aurait mange un petit boule d'orsin, mais non...



Cinq petits morceaus de la choses rouge? C'est un repas?! (Pas vraiment. Quelqu'un m'a dit que si on les mange a une restaurant comme plat, c'est avec plusieurs autre fruits de mer.)

Alors, on peut les manger en quelque facons. Avec une cuillère, et manger seule, ou place la viande sur le pain, ou utilise la pain pour enlever le viande de la croquille. Il a goute comme l'eau selee. Pour moi, c'est comme les moules: je veux manger, peut-etre, deux a six, mais pas plus. Apres quatre j'ai mange des raisons et quiche. (Parce que je suis francaise maintenant. Ha. Non.)

Et, la fin. Demain je travaillerai, etudierai, et trouverai un article pour se presenter a la classe a mardi. Et je ferai du velo. Mon velo me manque.

A bientot!

+++++***********+++++++++

Several times in Canada, I would say to my parents, "sometimes it is weird when I do not do homework on Sunday night."

Today is Sunday. I have homework. It was 23h09 and I have not done my homework. So, before I allow myself to write this post, I'll do my homework. With you. In general I'm doing before this hour late, but I'm working on a raport for my work for a few hours already. le sigh.

Assignment: Write sentences with certain words!

ALTHOUGH:
(1) Although my neighbors have a garden, they go to the supermarket almost every day.
(2) Although tap water is good, we bought bottles of water.

IN dreaming (or) HAND
(1) My friend had a good education, however he is unemployed and lives with his parents. "
(2) There are many cars in the city, street cons are too small to park the car.

ON (or however, but, nonetheless)
(1) It is very small. Yet she eats too much chocolate.
(2) My room is cold. However, the window is closed.

OR
(1) I find it difficult to make sentences with "gold". However, I must study harder tonight.

Yes, I write as a young student. No, I do not use words with more than, oh, six letters. Except when I write my name: Jennifer. Oh la la, eight letters!

So ... Nowadays!

Last night I decided, at the last minute with the assistance of Ms. Shan msn, I'd go to the beach this morning to make orsinade (or orsinade, I do not know if the "how" is needed?). I travel by bus in Marseille, and then someone found me in his car. Then we will drive to the beach, most west of the city. We were a group of six with three people who have clothes and tools to search for Orsini in the water. I walked in the water a bit, but it was a bit cold for me, and there is no sand beach, just rocks. It's hard to walk to the beach and enter / exit the water without water shoes.

To eat the sea urchins, they are cut in half. In the interior there is a gap species (I do not want to look for my dictionary to find the correct word). I think they would have been like mussels and we would eat a small ball of Orsini, but not ...

Five small strips the red things? It is a meal? " (Not really. Someone told me that if one eats them in a restaurant dish, it is with many other seafood)

So we can eat them in any way. With a spoon, and eat alone, or place the meat on bread, or use the bread to remove the meat from the shell. It was like water drop Sele. For me, it's like mussels, I want to eat, maybe, two to six, but no more. After I eat four reasons and quiche. (Because I'm French now. Ha. No.)

And the end. Tomorrow I work, study, and find an article to appear at the class on Tuesday. And I'll do the bike. I miss my bike.

A bientot!

English... quoi?

English below :) I spent all evening writing a large, large, LARGE report for work and need to turn my head French again.

*******************************
Aujourd'hui j'ai eu une conversation en anglais avec une autre etudiante. C'etait bizarre. En anglais, je peux parler aussi vite! Et je peux conjuger les verbes! Tellement bizarre.

C'etait le premier jour de classe pour la fille, une anglais. Je pense qu'elle etait un petit-peu accablée, la meme que moi deux semaines passees! Elle m'a demande si les etudiants sortaient ensemble apres la classe... j'ai dit pas vraiment. Malheureusement. Alors peut-etre nous aurions du fun. C'est difficil quand on entre un classe ou tous les autres etudiantes ont etudie ensemble pour plusieures semaines.

La fin de semaine passe je suis allee a une fete... Une fete avec les vrais francais! J'ai essaye de parler francais tout la soiree, mais apres cinq ou six heures avec trop de conversation en francais, me tete arretait de functione. Et j'ai parle en anglais un petit peu avec un quebecois, et le francais qui m'a conduit chez moi. Je m'amuse beaucoup quand les francophones parlent anglais avec leur accents adorable et francais. J'espere qu'ils se amusent quand je parle francais avec un accent... uh... "belle" et "adorable".

Demain j'irai a une classe de pasterie. Je vais creer quelque choses delicieux... avec l'aide de quelqu'un autre. Je veux aussi faire de velo avant la classe, mais j'ai de travail a faire pour UPEI. Apres la classe la soleil va se coucher. L'heure a change ici samedi soir/le matin de dimanche. Alors il y a seulement 4 heures en difference d'ici et l'I-P-E cette semaine.

J'ai porte les shorts samedi, dimanche, et aujourd'hui. C'est fantastique! Mais les autres ne portent pas les vetements d'ete. J'ai vu quelques autres qui portent les vetements froid, mais nous sommmes rares.

Aujourd'hui j'ai parle des elephants dans ma classe. C'etait un bon jour. Aussi, deux semaines passees, j'ai achete un collier avec un elephant.

Mecredi soir Kathleen arrivera en Aix pour quelques jours! Je suis heureuse de sa voyage. Il va etre bizarre d'avoir une visiteure - quelqu'un qui parle anglais, n'est pas suisse, et, en general, quelqu'un que je vois au Canada (et j'espere en Irlande du nord en novembre).

Mon reveil ici est sur l'horaire de 24 heure. Quand j'ai change l'horaire heir, j'ai mis la mauvaise heure. Maintenant mon reveil dit 11h58... pas 23h58. Whoops. Je me suis reveillee ce matin a... 20h50. Ma tete n'a pas compris comment j'ai dormi tout la nuit ET le jour... et pourquoi il y avait du soleil a la soiree.

Alors, je vais essayer de dormir. Trop difficil.

A bientot!

************************************************************
[with Google Translate, our most favourite website in the world]
Today I had a conversation in English with other students [google error: clearly I wrote this in singular. There was only one other student). It was strange. In English, I can talk so fast! And I can conjugate verbs! So weird.

It was the first day of school for the girl, one English. I think it was a small little overwhelmed, the same as me two weeks ago! She asked whether the students went out together after class ... I said not really. Malheursement. So maybe we'll have fun. It's tough when you enter a class or (where! I don't use accents and google does not like that) all the other students studied together for several weeks.

The weekend pass I went to a party ... A celebration with the real French! I tried to speak French all evening, but after five or six hours with too much conversation in French, my head stopped to function. And I spoke in English a little bit with a Quebecois, and French that led me home (non, google, a french person who drove me home!). It'sa lot of fun when the French speak English with their French accents and adorable. I hope they amuse themselves when I spoke French with an accent ... uh ... "beautiful" and "adorable."

Tomorrow I will go to a class of pasteries. I'll create something delicious ... with the help of someone else. I also want to make bike before class, but I have work to do for UPEI. Class after the sun goes to bed. Time has changed here Saturday night / Sunday morning. While there are only 4 hours difference between now and the ECI (not sure how that happened.. I wrote l'I-P-E) this week.

I wore shorts Saturday, Sunday and today. It's fantastic! But others do not wear summer clothes. I have seen some other clothes that are cold, but we are worried rare.

Today I talk of elephants in my class. It was a good day. Also, two weeks ago, I bought a necklace with an elephant.

Kathleen wednesday evening arrive in Aix for a few days! I am happy about her trip. It will be strange to have a visitor - someone who speaks English, is not Swiss, and, in general, someone I know in Canada (and I hope in Northern Ireland in November).

My awakening (ha, alarm clock!) here is on schedule to 24 hours. When I change the time yesterday, I put the wrong time. Now I wake said (my alarm clock reads)... 11:58 not 23h58. Whoops. I woke up this morning at. .. 20.50. My head did not understand how I slept all night and day ... and why there was the evening sun.

So I'll try to sleep. Too difficult.

A bientot!

France, at you I point my sexy eyes

Have I mentioned lately that I like it here?

No, seriously - I *really* like it here.

Also, it's hard to have a personality in another language. I feel so... boring and unenergetic. I'm not unenergetic, but I can't seem to throw as much excitement into speaking as I want to. I think the last part to come with language is being able to be yourself, and be absolutely hilarious without having to resort to physical humour.

My class is comprised of, this week, myself, an Aussie lady, a Norwegian lady, and five suisse. The Suisse appear to be taking over my school. Don't get me wrong, they are all lovely, but I thought there would be a bit more diversity. They said it was earlier in the fall, but lots of Suisse appear to be filtering into the school lately. I was thinking that the Suisse tend to be very serious, but then realised perhaps I come off as very serious in French. They also don't talk loudly. I feel Aussie lady and I have booming voices. Common-wealth = loud. Aussie lady (a recent retiree) is fantastic and I'll be sad to see her go. We're slightly on the same wave length and I think Australia and Canada actually has a bit of a similar culture. She was asked in an afternoon class about the Aussie process of having dinner guests. She told me the following day (we are in morning classes only together) that she said, "Well, people come over. We eat." And we both laughed at a lady dressed in a ridiculous leopard print long fur coat with a funny suitcase when we were having lunch yesterday.

Ahh, lunch. I am starting to experience the culinary world of Aix. Saturday night past I went to a Spanish tapas restaurant with a fellow hiker from that day. Yup, first restaurant in France was Spanish. But sooo good. Also had my first glass of wine that night. Yup, I was in France more than a week before finally sipping l'eau de la France. Yesterday I experienced with the Aussie mate a restaurant lunch sandwich. I order "la mixte" - jambon et fromage... quelque choses. Ham and a kind of cheese I now forget. I figured it would be a panini and have tomato and perhaps some other vegetable on it. Nope. Comes out on a 3/4-length baguette. Slice ham. Huge slices of delicious cheese. Cold.

Seriously?

I mean, it was good and all... but almost seemed like a pointless lunch. The type of lunch you eat when the only reason you are eating is to avoid starvation.

My lunch today, however.... yum. First French restaurant experience. Or at least I assume it was French cuisine. It was food. In French. From a kitchen. I had the entree + plat (appetizer and main) for 17,50EUR. To start was a small salad with yummy shrimp and a vinagrette oily yum dressing. On the side was minced veggies served in the shape of a cylinder. Very good.

Pour plat was lamb, potatoes, and olives, in some kind of sauce. The lamb was tender, delicious, and, of course, "yummy". I don't know why people eat cow when lamb is available. The pommes de terre were about the size and shape of small scallops and, shock, soo gooooood. The olives were fine. I ate a few of them to see if I like olives yet. I didn't gag or crinkle my nose, so it's a start. So while they don't make me want to die any longer, I still don't care for them and will not be purchasing any soon. My stomach and I were very happy after this meal. Sure, kind of pricey for lunch, but quality was fantastic and I haven't really eaten supper. So it was filling!

AND SO GOOD!

In non-food news... oh, who are we kidding? France is clearly all about food. And les manifestations (protests) et les greves (strikes).

Saturday I went hiking up Montagne Sainte-Victoire avec other students. Fantastic hike, ended up about 1000m up. I have pics on FB if anyone cares to see. Took about 4 hours, including "les pauses" when we ate lunch, and photo taking.

Sunday I went on a excursion with classmates, organized by the school. We went to three towns/villages. The first, l'Ile-sur-la-Sorgue (or something like that) has the second largest market in France. It was pretty, but I wasn't so interested. A market is a market.

Second stop was Rousillon - which was amazing. They have tonnes of ocre in the soil, making it a dramatic red/orange. They used the land to make their houses, so the houses are wonderful colours of yellow, orange, and red. We went to a parc with walking trails through the ocre.. umm.. site. I loved it - it felt like I had stepped into a prehistoric land.

Last stop was Gordes, officially one of the prettiest places in the world. It was high up, ridiculously windy, and, shock, alarmingly pretty.

Annnnnd huge flash of lightening. That means I hide because I hate storms. Le sigh.

Au revoir.

Et maintenant, Google Translate

English version below!

J'ai decide d'ecrire en francais aujourd'hui parce que nous parlons beaucoup dans nos classes, mais nous n'ecrivons pas beaucoup. Pour moi, ceci est bonne, parce que je peux ecrire en francais (avec beaucoup des erreurs), mais c'est plus difficil de parler la langue. Particulerement si je suis fatiguee. En ce cas, les mots qui tombent de ma bouche sont un melange bizarre de francais, anglais et un petit-peu d'espanol. Comme hier soir: j'ai dormi et je me suis reveillee pour quitter l'appartement j'ai voulu dire a ma colocataire "hier soir" (last night), mais j'ai dit "la noche passe". La noche = night in Spanish, et passe est un period de temps passe plus qu'un jour (je le pense).

Les chose ici sont beaucoup plus chere qu'au Canada. Le shampooing est a peut pres 3€50 pour un bouteille de peut-etre 275 mL. Mais ca inclurre le VTT (taxe), alors.. je ne sais pas. Peut etre c'est la difference d'acheter les chose a Wal-mart vs Shoppers Drug Mart. A SDM c'est generalment au moins que $1,50 plus cher. Les choses qui ne sont pas cheres (je cherchais "cheap" et "inexpensive" dans mon dictionnaire et c'a dit "pas cher" et "bon marche" - je n'aime pas ces mots, alors peut-etre je vais creer un mot nouveau?) sont les livres pour apprendre francais, ou specificment pour aider les gens avec leur francais. Par example, au Canada un bescherelle est entre $17-22, ici je l'ai trouve pour 7€50 ($11CAD). Et, meilleure, j'ai achete un bescherelle plus petit et un petit livre de grammaire, chacun etaient seulement 3€50. C'etait dans un grand magasin qui s'appelle "Geant Casino" (avec un accent sur le 'e'). Quand je l'ai vu, j'ai pense que c'etait un casino (le meme mot qu'en anglais). Mais j'ai vu les gens qui ont quitte la magasin avec la nourriture, les jouets, les sacs rempli des autre choses, alors non, ce n'etait pas un casino. ETTT, la meilleure chose - il y avait un toilet au centre commercial (Geant Casino n'etait pas la seule magasin - il y avait les autres avec les vetement que j'ai voulu desperetment acheter!).

Le bataille pour trouver les toilettes en Aix c'est terrible. Je ne trouve pas aucun toilette dans la ville, sauf a mon ecole et chez moi. En general, aux pays European, il y a les toilet aux grand magasins, comme Monoprix. Mais pas ici. Le sigh. Je n'ai jamais demande au restaurant. C'est aussi domage.

Aujourd'hui j'ai fait du velo a la campagne. Mon adventure etait a peu pres 40 - 45 km. Comme dimanche, c'a commence avec un grand colline. Pas grand comme plus raide (steep?), mais un petit raide pour beaucoup de kilometres. Si on divide l'effort entre la journee la, et la journee retourner, c'est 75% / 25%. Mais je l'aime comme ca. Je pense que j'aurais un adventure a la sud de la ville que c'a va etre l'oppose.

Aujourd'hui apres la classe je suis allee a la marche a plein-air pour la premiere fois. C'est beaucoup plus different que la marche a Charlottetown - les fruits et les legumes a chaque table. J'ai achete des fraises. Ils etaient.. okay. Pas mal, mais pas formidable, pour 3€50. A mardi il y a aussi les tables aux autres rues avec les vetement - beaucoup des boots! Je suis contente que j'ai pris en sac extra a France... j'ai besoin les boots et les chandails... Umm, parce qu'on ne vend pas ces choses au Canada, ne c'est pas? Uh oh.

Hier il y avait beaucoup de vent ici. On s'appelle "les mistrals". Je pense que la vitesse de vent etait entre 45-65 km/h. C'est comme l'I-P-E :P Je portais les shorts and short sleeves, et les personnes me concernaient. Aujourd'hui il a fait froid au matin, mais le soleil etait forte quand l'apres midi est arrivee. Les personnes ici portent les pantaloon, les boots, et les manteaus maintenant. Mais pas moi, c'est mon derniere chance de bronzee ma peau.

Pendant mon adventure de velo, j'ai vu des fiches d'arrets pour la permiere fois. Mais ils ont dit STOP, pas arrete. Il y a les feux ou les roundabouts aux autres carrefours. (Carrefour dont je le cherche dans mon dictionnaire. Cest aussi le nom d'un autre grand magasin ici - comme le Geant Casino!) Umm, je fais du velo au roundabouts. J'avais peur la premiere fois, mais ce n'est pas complique. Je pense (j'espere!) que les confucteurs sont... used to... les personnes aux velos sur les rues.

C'est apres minuit, et je suis un disastre chaque matin, alors je cherche mon lit maintanent.

Bonne nuit !
**************************

Regard! C'est anglais! -- Look, it's English!

I was lazy and just stuck this into Google Translate.

I decided to write in French today because we talk a lot in our classes, but we do not write much. To me, this is good because I can write in French (with many errors), but it's harder to speak the language. Particularly and if I'm tired. In this case, words that fall from my mouth are a strange mixture of French, English breakfast and a little Spanish. Like last night I slept and I woke to leave the apartment I wanted to tell my roommate yesterday evening (last night), but I said "la noche passe". La noche = night in Spanish and passe is a happening period of time passes more than a day (I think).

The thing here is much more expensive than in Canada. The shampoo is considered to be roughly 3€50 a bottle may be 275 mL. But ca inclurre mountain biking (fee) (note: VTT is value added tax, which I typed in French above.. but it's also mountina biking... I mean tax in this case :P) , then .. I do not know. Maybe the difference is to buy something at Wal-mart vs. Shoppers Drug Mart. A SDM is generalmente that at least $ 1.50 more expensive. Things that are not expensive (I was looking for "cheap" and "inexpensive" in my dictionary and there has said "pas chere" and "bien marche" - I do not like this, then maybe I'll create a new word?) are the books to learn French or specificment to help people with their French. For example, in Canada a Bescherelle is between $ 17-22, here I found for 7 € 50 ($ 11CAD). And better, I bought a Bescherelle smaller and a little grammar book, each were only 3 € 50. It was in a store called "Geant Casino" (with an emphasis [Note from Jen: accent!] on the 'e'). When I saw him I thought it was a casino (the same word in English). But I saw people who left the store with food, toys, bags full of other things, then no, it was not a casino. ETTT, the best thing - there was a toilet at the mall (Geant Casino was not the only store - there were others with the clothes I wanted desperetment buy!).

The battle to find the toilet in Aix is terrible. I can not find any toilet in the city, except at my school and home. In general, European countries, there are the toilet with large stores such as Monoprix. But not here. Le sigh. I never asked the restaurant. It's also a shame.

Today I had the bike in the countryside. My adventure was about 40 - 45 km. Since Sunday, It began with a large hill. Not much longer as steep (steep?), But a little steep for many kilometers. If we divide the effort between the day there, and the day return is 75% / 25%. But I like it like that. I think I had an adventure south of the city that this has will be the opposite.

Today after class I went to the march outdoors for the first time. It's much different than walking in Charlottetown - fruits and vegetables at each table. I bought strawberries. They were .. okay. Not bad but not great, for 3 € 50. On Tuesday there are tables to other streets with clothes - a lot of boots! I am glad that I took in a bag outside France ... I need the boots and sweaters ... Umm, because we do not sell these things in Canada, does not it? Uh oh.

Yesterday there was a lot of wind here. It is called "Mistral". I think the wind speed was between 45-65 km / h. It's like PEI: P I wore shorts and short sleeves, and people concerned me. Today it was cold in the morning but the sun was high when the noon is after arrival. The people here are the Pantaloon, the boots, and now manteaus. But not me, it's my last chance to Bronzee my skin.

During my adventure of cycling, I saw sheets stops for permiere time. But they said stop, no stops. There are lights or roundabouts to other intersections. (Carrefour which I look in my dictionary. Cest also the name of another department store here - as the Geant Casino!) Umm, I do the bike at roundabouts. I was scared the first time, but it's not complicated. I think (I hope!) That are confucteurs ... used to ... people with bicycles on the streets.

It's after midnight and I'm Disasters each morning, so I sought my bed maintanence.

[I read what Google decide I said - hilarious. Note to self to not rely on online translators without re-reading the output and applying common sense! I'm hoping it's mostly the programme and my French truly isn't that bad? Could aso be because I don't use accents - they take too much time.]

Good night!

Collines vs. Montagnes

Today velo (bicycle) and I went on an adventure together in the mountains. I called them hills, but my landlady said not to call them hills, people call them mountains. And indeed there were mountains around, but I guess it didn't feel like I was biking up a mountain, just one extremely large hill. I think it took me about a quarter of the time to get back to Aix then it did to get me to wherever it was I went. I probably went only about 35 km or so, but 85% of the effort was put forth going east. As I said, I pretty much sailed home.

Until my bike tire stopped working. I'm not sure how it happened, but after pedalling through the "mountains", downtown in search of a bank machine, and almost all the way home, my back tire shifted at the last intersection (about 10m from my house) and would no longer turn. After some fidgetting, I realised that the tire was rubbing against the chain stay. Not sure how that happened at all. So I bonked around and fixed it, and got a bit messy.

Last night I went to "Monoprix", which I had been to before in different French cities. This was different, however. First, it was massive. It put Super Wal-Mart to shame. Second, it was a freaking zoo. Slightly overwhelming for this Canadian lass. I kind of panicked and hopped off with not so much food, which was fine as it was getting dark. It had a huge grocery section with a bakery, butcher, fromagerie (I don't know if that's a word, but a cheese counter), frozen food, fresh produce, EVERYTHING. Although the entire complex was called Monoprix, it was almost like Monoprix was the anchor of a mall. There was some other smaller stores in hallways: Bata, McDonalds, another bakery type place, random shops.

So, I didn't really expect this, but Aix and environs are great for hiking-type people for short one-day trips. I biked to what I thought was... actually I had no idea what it was. But it turned out to be tonnes of hiking/mountain biking trails ! There was a MASSIVE dam there too, with incredibly blue water. This was when I realised that I was up much higher than I thought - looking down on the Earth below.

Two things I had a hunch would happen before leaving home: 1) Losing sunglasses, and 2) Being mistaken for an Italian. Both happened yesterday. Sunglasses are... somewhere. I think at Monoprix in the parking lot. Cute old man who was blabbering away to me in the line-up where I bought my bike asked if I was Italian. Nope, sorry sir.

Blah blah blah. I'm basically killing time waiting for my Facebook photos to upload.

First day of school tomorrow! Will anyone pack me a lunch?

VELO

I cheated in the subject above. There is supposed to be an accent on the 'e', but if you write in all caps you don't need to use accents. Thank you, "A Year in the Merde"!

Today was a bit surreal. I was wandering through the old part of Aix thinking, "This is grungy..." But it's been awhile since I've been in Europe and have been in areas more than, oh, 110 years old. It's actually not grungy, and the city is littered with fountains. Anyone who has travelled with me understands that I greatly appreciate a fountain.

The biggest one is in the middle of a large roundabout, so you can't actually walk up to it, nor are you supposed to.

I was going to go to a market to buy food but chose to sleep through the first half of the day. I slept about 12.5 hours, and had the most ridiculous dreams. I saw the market at about 1:30, and there was crap EVERYWHERE. Leftover food littering the square, vehicles in every available inch (people loading up their crop), cops trying to direct traffic. Intense!

The first hour was a bit intimidating. People everywhere. Speaking French. Oh la la.

When speaking to the man at the tourist office (thought I would have to go outside the city to buy a bike, and was concerned that the highways were the only way home) he said I had good French. Someone else said that too. Here's the tricky thing: I *can* speak decent, comprehensible French, which is misleading, as when you respond, I will have no idea what you are saying. I listen for very key words: oui, non, toilette, gauche, droit, etc. Sentences should be simple: subject, verb, preposition, noun. Adverbs and adjectives are useful for directions or instructions. Otherwise, if they are to make your story more amazing, I am not interested.

Now I shall play on VELO RUE ROUGE. (And here I thought I would be getting the French equivalent of the SuperCycle. Pas mal.)

Secret Thrills of YYZ

Allo mes amis!

Non non.

I have been writing so many emails in French that my brain is turning into mushy French blah blah blah. On the plus side, ecrire-ing many emails in the French has resulted in a temporary home for me.

Places to live are good.

Now I'm in the Toronto Airport, paying astronomical prices to access the vast, vast interweb, confirming my "chambre meublee" (furnished room).

I had a window seat descending into Toronto. It was actually pretty just outside of the city, the quilt of fields, and many trees sprouting (or losing, I suppose) leaves coloured of fire. I also enjoy flying over the ... sigh... not Queensway *thinks intensely* the 401. It's such a smattering of roads and concrete. Lanes of traffic everywhere, overpasses, merge lanes, it thrills the wee geek inside of me that so desperately wanted to be an engineer (specifically to design roller coasters).

I also like flying into Toronto because you can actually *see landmarks*. (At least when flying from the east.) You can see the CN Tower, Roger's Center/Skydome, tall buildings, Toronto Island, etc. It always disappointed me when flying into Orlando that you see... nothing. At least nothing of note considering how many interesting things are scattered throughout the former swamp.

Things of note in Ottawa: a bus "98" exists. Charlene and I rode on it. Had never seen it before. I bought a new camera (but still love my old, broken-zoom camera). I spoke French to Brother's Girlfriend's Mother. She appeared to understand what I was saying. I understood what she was saying [she was intentionally speaking slowly]. I was relieved as after eavesdropping on other French conversations I freaked out about understanding... nothing. Except prepositions. ("Oh, she is something something IN THE something something. How joyous!")

Goals for tomorrow: try not to make an ass out of myself (okay, maybe a little bit), don't miss my train, hope immigration loves me and gives me no hassle, purchase amazing map of Aix, learn ten new French words, AND REMEMBER THOSE FRENCH WORDS. Perhaps even use them in conversation at some point?

Goal for Saturday: purchase amazing bike and begin foray into French culture by biking while carrying a baguette and puppy dog. Not get too lost more than four times. Try not to cry when so lost that I wind up in Spain. (Just kidding! Who would EVER cry about being in SPAIN?)

I watched Big Fish w/ Charlene last night. It's so hard to describe how that movie makes me feel... special and wonderful. I think it should make everyone feel special and wonderful, and realise the love that exists in the world among family, friends, co-workers, EVERYONE.

So that's it folks. Au revoir Canada! Je voyagerai a la France en une heure. Time to write another chapter :)

Things You Write on Airplanes that Make No Sense

Once, a long time ago, I was on a plane. That plane departed at 6:00am (9:00am PEI time). I had started flying at 6:30 the previous night, had many flight changes due to weather, and had "slept" in an airport for a wee smidgen after arriving at, oh, 2:00am.

I was trying to stay awake on the morning flight, and among the gabs of absolute garbage I had wrote was this gem:

"Am melting now. Need Mr. Kool-Aid Man to save me. Or Sprite Dot. Hair makes neck warm. Jen turns into a puddle of mush and is mopped up and becomes one with a sink of dirty water. Air making nose feel funny. Dry. Want to stick moist baby carrots in each nostral."

And later...

"Need dairy/calcium. Teeth feel like they may fall out. Hope they don't - quite enjoy having all my teeth. Except wisdom teeth (may change name to Wizardon teeth for fun), never grew those, I guess."

And wrote about what people would write about me if I stood up, since I was making stories up about the people that were standing up.

Wow.

Also wrote about how I had missed out on free liquor on previous flight (flight was delayed, people felt bad, alcohol flowed) because I had fell asleep at had become confused since it was probably 1am PEI time.

Eventually I write, during another flight a few weeks later, how airplane air makes my brain a little kooky. Annnnd, understatement.

Coo Coo!

Biggest Regret EVER

I'm supposed to be cleaning up my room and packing but... *looks at tornado of stuff strewn across room*
... but I found old journals! So very distracting. And it must be said, I was streeeeessed in late January 2008. I come off like a nutter by what I wrote. Even I acknowledge that when February rolled in! Hee. Also, March 2008 rocked the body that rocked the party.

So, reoccurring themes that come up in my scrawlings:

1) Job is "fine", but PEI leaves me feeling empty. I was writing that in December 2007 - almost two years ago! Oh boy, talk about being too lazy to make the changes I wanted. Or too indecisive, more likely.

2) Saying yes can be hard, but is important. Saying no is too easy, but should be avoided. Still agree. (Exceptions being, "You should drive off that cliff." "Yes.")

3) Title line of blog post ... my biggest regret EVER:
Not seeing Beauty and the Beast on Broadway.

Can someone please put this production back on broadway? It would be ever so helpful in resolving my Peter Pan complex. And this time, as per point two, I will say yes.

Mini review of this weekend's "Wine and Hand-crafted Ale Festival".
1) WHERE DID THE BOOTHS GO??
Seriously, it was much smaller than last year, but the same price.

2) WHERE DID ALL THE LIQUOR GO??
Booths ran out of product much too early, some more than an hour before shut-down time. The event was only three hours long. Kind of pathetic. By about fifteen/twenty mins before closing, there was no liquor left in the whole place. Either that or all booths had decided to cut off my friends and I. (No.)

3) BUT I WANTED TO BUY IT!!
Unless I missed it COMPLETELY, there was no where to buy the product.

On much more positive notes:
1) Mini margaritas - my heart beat strongly for you that night.

2) Mini fajitas - my stomach so wanted to make out with them.

3) Social fun - My comrades and I had oodles of fun, I talked to strangers, rambled to people I knew distantly through others, etc.

4) Knowing the results of Wrestlemania VI can make you a rockstar. Thank you, Older Brother!

Also, I decided I'm giving up vending machines. Stat. The amount of money I pour into them out of boredom at work and, "But I just need a sugar rush to get through the next four hours!" is a bit pathetic. And, umm, apparently chocolate bars aren't good for you.

They don't sell chocolate bars in France, right? No bakeries either, I except. Maybe this will be the first time I move out of the country and *don't* come back 20-lbs heavier. Heeeeeeeeeeeh. *crosses fingers, knocks on wood, etc.*

Also, did I ever tell you speaking French terrifies me? ... this should be interesting.

*Jen spends the next two months communicating by overexagerated hand gestures*

Quoi?

I have managed to listen to the entire White Album, which was supposed to be some sort of clean-room time limit. Instead I got through the whole thing while writing this and reading old writings. Nice Jen, nice.

*rockstar

Sexy factor of bedroom: -4.

Stretching out Sunday

The sooner I go to bed, the sooner the weekend ends :(

I started sorting things in my room tonight for next week's departure. This resulted in the following finds:

- About 8,000 bobby pins. I can now give all of Charlottetown fancy up-dos!
- Pennies. Pennies EVERYWHERE.
- $5.00 bill
- Receipts. A kazillion of them.

Receipts are kind of fun, they are like a history book. As per usual when I look through receipts, I noted some trends: I go to Hunter's Ale House too much (though less frequent as of late) and appear to have a unique love of Nibs. I can also tell when I bought things for other people, or for sharing fun (nacho chips in mid August - someone else bought the walking nacho dip). I also found all my receipts from Hawai'i shoved into a random drawer. It made me heart long for the place where I clearly belong.

There are so many French words I don't know. I'm trying to get into the mindset of speaking a language in which I'm not so skilled, so I think to myself in French a lot. I present to you a short list of words for which I do not know the French equivalent:
- Bathing suit
- Leader
- Election
- Party (not fete, but like a governing party)
- Gravy
- The letters Y and Z
- Any body part that teachers would not want to teach a bunch of seventh graders
- Kangaroo
- Brakes
- Knife/fork
- Aisle (as in, "Aisle or window seat, pretty lady?")

And so very many more.

In one week from now I'll be freaking out in my bedroom, likely at my parents house depending on if I can successfully sublet my room.

Mongolia has been mentioned in conversations with two people recently. Is Mongolia the new hot spot? Or the new "standard place everyone knows of but knows nothing about it"? My general knowledge about Mongolia is from Long Way Round, and me drooling everytime Ewan McGregor scottishly said, "Road of bones."

"We're heading toward the Road of Bones."
*Jen giggles lightly*
"We're almost at the Road of Bones!"
*Jen fans self off*
"We just arrived at the Road of Bones."
*Jen makes-out with television screen*

These events may be slightly over-exagerated as the series was mostly watched with at-the-time boyfriend. Snogging the tv screen could had been inappropriate. I thought I was very clever. "I am renting a documentary about motorcycles and biking around the world." I made it sound so man-ish and non-chick-flick, thus becoming the best girlfriend ever (okay, faux-girlfriend, I'm a relationship-phobe due to my indecisive nature). And while the entire series would still be incredible regardless of the thumbs-up appearance of the leads/hosts, upping the sexy factor of any documentary-series is always a good idea.

Also a good idea: saying "Road of Bones" with Scottish accent. FYI.

Speaking of accents, the Massachusetts/Rhode Island (they are quite similar) accents made me smile while in New England. They also made me think because, ancestor wise, those who eventually populated PEI are from similar regions to those who initially popular the New England states. With that noted, why are our accents so remarkably different? I suspect the New England states were actually more English, and us more Irish and Scottish (hello Mac). So the folk in Boston and environs drop the R from words, and we over emphasize it (perhaps we want to sound like pirates?).

Bostonian: "I'm taking my caahh to the baahh.
Islander: "I'm taking my carrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr to the barrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."

And for the record, only FIVE people died in the Boston Massacre. But that's a tale for another day because I have to get up for work in 5.5 hrs.

Also, I blew the crap out of my tire Friday night. I ran over a nail. As it was dark, I didn't know what I hit, just sank. I noticed the next morning. It was wedged in perfectly, like someone was nailing pieces of wood together. I decided just to start fresh and toss the tube... It already had, like, four patch jobs. And I tossed another tube that had sadly split at the valve.

Yawn, et, la fin.

Kaboom!

Today has felt like a being trapped in an hourglass. I woke up, thrilled with life, actually got out of bed when I woke up (this is a big step compared to last week's mope-fest), and got to work at a real hour. It felt like I was in an hour glass , in the top part, and all the sand had finally flowed to the bottom, just like I wanted it to.

Then the phone rang and Person delivered bizarre, clearly ridiculous news, and it was like someone tipped the hour glass over again and all the sand fell on me again.

Now it's like the hourglass fell on its side and I'm straddling the middle part, wondering which way it'll eventually be sat up at. Oh my frazzled nerves.

On the plus side - wheels are in motion for France! Except the French class part. I was supposed to settle that this morning but was too busy freaking out in my office, then the 5-hour time change now dictates their offices are closed.

It's weird, because last night I had a dream that the person who called with WTF-news was at my house door late at night, and had gone mentally insane and I was worried he was going to try and kill and/or hurt me.

Foreshadowing for slaying bombshell of the day?

Anyway, France!

Soon!

I leave Mon, Oct 5. I come back Thu, Dec 17 with stopovers in Ottawa on each way. I was 100% confident in this decision yesterday, about 4% confident in it this post-phone call (seriously - WTF?), but am back up to a 95% confidence level.

In statistics, 95% confidence level is very good.

I'm going to Aix-en-Provence for at least four weeks and the rest of up in the air. I justify the expenses of the course (about 1200EUR or about $2000) by looking at it from the perspective of university courses. It's about 80 hours, which might be about... okay, I just did the math for this and taking French for the equivalent hours at uni would be cheaper... but anyway. maybe about half the price. But books are included here! Soo... uh...

*birds chirping*

I suppose I should work. Not so surprisingly, it has been an, umm, unproductive day. But I have work confirmed for while I'm gone, and yippy, etc.

I get to go biking in France soon. Your jealousy level? 84. I'm sure of it.

Moral of the Day: you are never nearly as special, wonderful, unique, or great as you think you are when you are having a good day. But on a bad day, you are much more amazing than you can even dream.

Blog for Ms Mac posted by Darlin' Charlin!

For some unknown reason Blogger’s website no longer loads on my laptop. Truly tragic, because I like writing when snuggled into bed.

In more exciting news, I think I have made plans for the next couple of months! Maybe. I’m indecisive and my heart tends to start beating in a bad pattern at the thought of spending excessive amounts of money.

So it turns out French classes in France are, well, super expensive. A four-week course would be about $3400CAD. That includes accommodation, but just seems insane considering that was almost a year’s tuition when I started uni. It’s quite a bit cheaper if you find your own accommodation, but I can’t seem to find actual apartment or room listings for the city I want to go to, just vacation apartment rentals which are meant for more than one person. It’s about 1000€ cheaper if I find my own place to live. Also, I should mention the accommodation by the school provides half board. You can save about 250€ by going for breakfast only, no supper. Realistically, were I cooking for myself, I would never spend 250€/month on groceries.

Ooh, I found some websites with rooms. This is actually quite exciting!

The plan is, and I even have flights picked out, I think, just haven’t booked them yet, is to fly to Ottawa in a couple of weeks on aeroplan points, then fly from Ottawa to Paris. Depending on what day I arrive, take the train to Aix-en-Provence where I will experience culture shock and start panicking on an extreme level. Then, in late mid-late December, fly back to Ottawa, and then back here.

Things to be concerned about now:
· Making sure there is space available in the school I chose.
· What to do with my room here – keep it, or give it up with the assumption I won’t be here long in 2010 and that my parents want me to live with them for 3-4 weeks?
· Decide whether I need to purchase the traditional “giant backpack” or use luggage instead.
· Somehow obtained a cheap version of Microsoft Office 2007 for Laptop so I can still work while awhile.
· Packing?!

Woo!

Unrelated to anything, but last night I went out with semi-straight hair and almost felt guilty for liking it. I like to encourage people to embrace the natural waves and curls in their hair. I almost felt like a traitor, but I had just let my hair dry when getting out of the shower without putting any hair goop in it, so it looked odd. The choice was either pull back into a knot, wet hair again and start from scratch, or slightly attack it with my broken hair straightener. I also realised when someone has straight hair and no fringe (mine was pulled back last night) you noticed one’s face more. Curly hair and fringe are distracting, and one tends to notice the hair rather than the face. Theory supported by my random discussions in the past, and crappy articles linked to on msn’s homepage.

Last night I had a weird dream that basically had two stories. The one that was more random involved the author of a blog I read. I was at his house, and woke up in the morning in his bed. I’m not why I was there, how I got there, what had happened, etc. I don’t think it was any sort of short-lived relationship, just needed a place to crash. But I was trying to sneak out as I didn’t want his kids to see, I thought that would be awkward.

Then my parents came to pick me up. Which signalled the start of the second dream. But in the first dream I had my bike, so it’s possible me and the blogger went biking. When I woke up this morning my brain was a series of giggles, and then I got a bit meeeeeh over the fact I had no one to bike with. But I also haven’t called anyone.. so… no right to complain, I suppose.

My brain has been polluted for the past week. I find coming home from vacation increases the likelihood of negative thoughts. Going to bed a bit cranky, waking up in a fowl mood, little annoyances seeming like massive mountains. Feeling like there wasn’t really something to look forward to (in a non-suicidal way).

And now I have something fantastic to look forward to! Wandering around in a strange country struggling to communicate! Seriously. There are some things you just know are going to be good. Hawaii was so obviously one of those. Florida was one. My pizza from last night filled my high expectations (hurrah Dominos!)

I’ve been to France before, and loved it. So now I’m going elsewhere in France, but expect to love it too. Also exciting is that I can visit folk I know in Northern Ireland and Scotland!

The sky is very blue, and I have a plan. I also realised that apparently I can plan only one thing at once. I have to wait until something is finished until I can start actually planning the next step. For example, had trouble with France when was still planning New England trip.

!
It’s a good Sunday.

Post.

While sitting in the back of Devin's car on a the long drive from Boston to Fredericton, I started writing notes about things that would be SO GOOD to blog about once I eventually reached a functioning computer. However, since said note scrawling (in the dark, I may add), I have lost my love for the notes I made. My notes are also not with me, so this is mostly going by memory, as I try to do them justice.

But first, I burnt myself on a toaster oven AGAIN. I'm so overly cautious and fearful of hot things, yet I always manage to forget the toaster oven door will be hot when you accidentally knick it with your finger. Sob.

The Sky.
I was looking out the back window of the car (much like a cat or a small child would - obviously I am very concerned about the relationship between body language and level of maturity) up at the stars. The stars were quite impressive given most of the day had been filled with clouds, much of it with rain.

I don't know very much about the sky, other than it's there. At what point does the sky actually begin? In theory, once the ground ends? I know there are different levels of atmosphere, but has sky been defined to start at a certain height? If my thought about "when the ground ends" is correct, then arguably we walk on the ground, but our head is in the sky. Wikipedia has not offered me much help, but at least showed this nice picture. I believe the quest for knowledge much go further.

The Stars.
>The sky was filled with stars, so Jen Brain went there next. Why are some stars brighter than others? I figured because they are either newer(?) or closer to Earth. Or perhaps larger. According to unreliable sources (the Internet), I am right with each three hypothesis. I also realised my source of "how stars get there" is from Greek mythology. For example, Heracles (aka Hercules in Roman mythology) killed the Nemean Lion as part of his 12 labours. When he presented the dead lion's skin to the person who gave him the labours (King Eurystheus), the King apparently put the remains (?) or something in the sky, and made the constellation Leo. He also gave the pelt to Heracles... so I'm not sure what went into the sky exactly. In mythology constellations were often made to honour someone, or the person/thing was put there for some reason.

Seeing the sky so deep pretty much convinces me there is life out there in another form. Not necessarily the weird green aliens portrayed in media, but at least some strain of bacteria. Funny, but the next night I ended up watching a Discovery Channel show on that. What caught me about the show was mostly how much the scientists seemed to love their work. Imagine that, loving work. Hmm.

1776
Boston was pretty much a flood of US history. I bought a wee book intended to be a guide to the Freedom Trail, but purchased it after we left Boston. When I was reading it on the Long Drive, I was thinking about the different paths Canada and the US took after the US was officially declared independent of Britain. If the revolutionary war never took place, would North America (less Mexico) still belong to the United Kingdom? Realistically, probably not. However, I can understand why Canadians, particularly Quebecois, were angry about fighting in WWI as Britain, and not Canada. What ties were truly left to the Head of State at that point? To my knowledge the governing system then was pretty much the same as the one we have now, just with more provinces/territories incorporated.

Well, I find this so boring I'm not even going to reread this for spelling/grammatical mistakes. It's almost the weekend, I want it now. My finger hurts. I wish I had a chocolate bar.

Etcetera. Which I don't even know how to spell. Etc.

Happy Dance

*puts on dancing shoes*

Reasons for happy dance today:

• Disgruntled laptop has become un-disgruntled and now functions again (thank yee, Papa, for being smarter than I).
• I fixed my GPS by noticing a missing screw and small piece of metal in the adapter. Flashback to finding curious small pieces of metal in my purse many, many days ago. That day I thought, "These look like they could be important. I will not throw them out. But I have no idea what they are from." I put two and two together last night, got four, and now my GPS works again.
• I'm going on holiday in about 53 hours.
• Flights from Ch'town to Paris-CDG are about $1400. Not so cheap. But flights from OTTAWA to CDG are only $800. More research and price shopping required.
• I think I picked an autumn home: Aix-en-Provence, France. French schools there are plentiful, but accommodation seems pricey. More research required. Classes start Oct 12. *giddy!*
  
• Hot water has returned to my home. Hair has been removed from legs. Sexy factor of showering: +6.
• New roommate noticed the dishwasher was full of clean dishes. New roommate EMPTIED dishwasher. New roommate = amazing (+2 gold stars).
• I brought a hotdog for lunch. You're jealous, I can feel it through the laptop screen. Mmm, ketchup.
• Noticed someone in Russia and someone in Aruba looked at my blog. I love you all!

Unrelated note, but I need to learn how to make money from writing/blogging. Dear Readers: please send me a dollar. Love Jen.

I've had two more flats since getting home last week. *throws bicycle in garbage* I have discussed with others the lifespan of a tire, and feel the life of my actual tire should not be over, but maybe it is. Thinning tires are more likely to not withstand shards of glass, which creep throught and puncture my tube. Over, and over, and over, and then over some more, again.

New tire = good excuse to go to bike shop and look at expensive shoes/pedals I'm too scared to buy.

Back to work. So much to do before holiday.
(Six Flags!!!!)

*removes dancing shoes and replaces with work-productivity shoes*

Les boisons

Last night I was at the Globe for a mini-dance fest with resident birthday girl, Keri. We were up in the loft area, which is pretty much 100 percent effective for people watching. As the night went on, we watched the drunk folk roll in. Then I wondered,

Does alcohol hinder our ability to have fun in "real life"?

When I was 19 (legal drinking age here) I used to work most Saturday nights until 12:15, and then go to the bars with co-workers afterwards; thus I got quite used to going out without alcohol, and *maybe* getting a drink at the bar. Point being, I was not introduced to bars as an alcohol-necessary zone. So when I randomly overhear people saying, "I can't go there if I'm not drunk," or "I wasn't drunk enough last night so it wasn't fun," I kind of feel bad for us in general.

I guess the point of alcohol, or any drug really, is to enhance real life -- or perhaps escape it, actually. But what about enjoying life for what it is?

At what point does fun come disappointing when not enhanced?

I don't know... I had this all thought out last night. Anyway, I did have fun danced muchly, saw many others having fun and being happy, and the Globe has good nachos (corn and black beans!).

I also thought about us studying other species: how they raise their youth, mating rituals, eating habits, habitats, etc.

What would other species think if they studied us? Would they be appalled at the clothes we wear and the food we eat? Would they be baffled how there are so many humans but we all look so different?

If someone were doing research on humans, but went only to the poorest regions in Africa, or went only to the richest areas of the hills in California, entirely different observations and conclusions would take place.

"For mating rituals, women put on very high shoes, reducing their ability to walk properly."

CONCLUSION: Males are drawn to females who cannot walk properly. (?)

*Jen breaks her foot in an effort to up sexy factor*

Anyway, leftovers of Tropical Storm Danny flew in last night. I like storms like that - particularly when there is no thunder and lightening. Just an intense ten hours or so of rain. It's efficient rain too. There was mild sprinkling and rain scattered throughout the afternoon and early evening yesterday, but then around 8:00 the rain started coming down like waterfalls. I like it. Efficient rain is good rain. I would much rather skit through deep puddles for one day than deal with teasing rain and storm clouds for three days. Rain on, rain off, rain on, rain off. That all being said, the heaviest of the rain took place after sun down (WHICH IS HAPPENING FAR TOO EARLY NOW), my tone would likely have been different if buckets of water had been pouring all afternoon long, hindering my ability to play on bicyclette.

Anyway, speaking of bicyclette, it and I are off to have fun now. Danny has left the building and the sun is breaking through!

(PS ~ I have a bit of a secret love for hurricaine season, you know, as long as no one gets hurt.)

la la la la laaaa... I will up the humour factor later.

Also, I'm convinced drinking a touch too much causes charlie horses, at least for me. We had a leaving do at work on Friday night for someone leaving, and alcohol was flowing. I woke up at about 7:00am in agonizing pain, trying not to scream over the muscle spasms in my legs. The right leg does happen ocassionally, but for both calves to seeze up at once is much more uncommon - RARE, in fact! I know charlie horses are often a sigh of dehydration... so more water for me, I guess. Also, you know the charliehorses are bad when you can still feel them in your legs close to 30 hours later. I know you are supposed to stretch the muscle and massage it when it happens, but mine always happen at night and the only thing I can ever manage to do is scream, bite my arm to muffle the screams, and thrash about wildly while half holding my leg and think about crying. Death by Charlie Horse would be an agonizing way to go... all the muscles seezing up at once... Aye.

Where are you?

I am sitting in the basement of a hostel in a secret location... No, not so much. Well, yes, actually. Because I *am* sitting the basement, at a hostel, at a location I am not revealing. I shall give hints: I can see the US from this city - a city that I'm convinced occurred after Las Vegas had a mad love affair with I-Drive [Orlando] and Sunset Blvd [LA] stopped in to get in on the action. Ashamed at what was produced, the mother quickly gave the offspring up for adoption, and Canada embraced the awkward child.

Niagara Falls was born. [Oops, gave away location. But by the time potential stalkers read this I'll be in Baby Echo ("Boyfriend") bombing towards the US.]

Shan and I stopped in a couple of wineries in Niagara-on-the-Lake today. Summer is not meant for wine. Perhaps beer has overtaken my taste buds in this delightful season, but 28C does not make me want to drink wine. I find it.. smacky. It makes me smack my lips in a bad way, wishing I had something more refreshing as I furrow my brows. Wine does not quench my thirst. It's like being hungry and someone saying, "Oh, don't worry, I have chewing tobacco you can have."

Yuck. What?

Unrelated: In the right column of my blog I have a wee map of the world that shows where readers are from based on their... oh crap... ISN, no, ISP.. I... something... number. Apparently the Brain does not comprehend acronyms after 1h30am local time. So the wee map brings me much amusement, and I get giddy as new dots appear on the image. The largest dot is over PEI, which is not surprising. My parents (Hi Mom! Hi Dad! I'm still alive and well in Upper Canada!) have my blog as their homepage, because they love me and find me to be a hilarious addition to their family, and I, also on PEI, sometimes go back and read my blog to laugh at myself. Other dots are also obvious: Ottawa/Kingston/Montreal and Toronto/Guelph/Kitchener/other (they kind of blur together and provincial/territorial boundaries are not shown) as I know many people in these regions who also love me... or love to laugh at me. Either or, the dots in these regions are bigger.

But then, there are mystery dots. People who I do not know at all. Once someone visited my blog from Brasil. Two hits from Malaysia. This excites me greatly. When I looked at the map this evening there was a new dot smack in the middle of the US. Without state boundaries being shown, I can't really tell exactly where it is... but I'm sure it's a lovely place! Also, I now have a dot in Australia!! This is extremely significant, as I now have dots in all continents except Antarctica, which isn't even on my map (though I doubt I would have a dot there anyway).

Change of subject: dressing up [I'm getting tired.. when proofreading this I could tell my brain was starting to shut down.]

Today I am wearing a dress. It's one of my favourite clothing pieces in the world, particularly on humid days. The thing about dresses is that you suddenly look "dressed up" if you are wearing them. This one isn't so bad though, which I like. But I kind of did look dressed up today because my hair looked 'up-doish' because I had it knotted on the top of my head due to the intense heat. I was also wearing a ring because I had purchased a new ring ($1.25! Rock on 10,000 villages) and felt the best way not to lose it was to wear it. (Success! Ring has yet to be lost 10 hours later. Sigh of relief.) So I looked dressed up. However, I will let you in on a secret: I was not dressed up. The dress was for air flow purposes in the warm car. It also has no straps. The less skin touching fabric, the better. The hair took .4 seconds to put up. Sneezing would take longer. The ring cost less then a jar of pasta sauce.

I ramble, and sound silly, but the point is, dresses are easy; wearing them is practically cheating. I like them because there is no need to match things. Put on dress. Put on shoes. Leave house. No worrying that shorts/shirt clash. If the dress is clean, the whole outfit is clean. No putting on one clothing item to realise the matching item has a giant blob of mystery goop.

Damn mystery goop!! *shakes fist*

It's a holiday at home on Friday/tomorrow/today.

Happy Gold Cup day! Happy long weekend to all, and to all, a good night.

1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9

My Papa sent me this in a forward ages ago... and now... it's the day!!! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 . On August 7 , 2009 an amazing occurrance of all digits from 1 to 9 take place. . . . At 12hr 34 minutes and 56 seconds on the 7th of August this year, the time and date will be 12:34:56 07/08/09 . This will never happen in your life again !!!