The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~ Burton Hillis

The following is a letter to the ones I love and never showed it enough.  You know who you are.

Dearest friends,

There is no such thing anymore as an “original thought”.  So though I may seek to astound you with profound insight upon the subject of Christmas, I know the best I may accomplish is to put into words what is true in my heart and hope that they will touch you.

From the time we were small children, we have learned from Charlie Brown and the Grinch (who stole Christmas) what Christmas is really about.  It’s not the presents or the tree; the lights or the songs; it’s not even getting extra time off of school/work to sleep in.  Christmas is about sharing with those dear to you the joy of having remained united as family and friends in this crazy painful beautiful life for yet another year.  It is a celebration of relationships and the bonds that hold them together.  

And it is for this reason why today did not feel like Christmas.

To clarify, I am not trying to amass a pity party for myself with this statement - in all honesty I feel happy as I write this post.  But the fact remains that Christmas is not simply a date marked on a calendar - It is a state of being.  Of being with the friends that have seen you through the various obstacles of life and who did their best to soften it’s blows.  I have met some fantastic people here in France, and I feel our relationships will last long after I return in the summer.  But they are not you.  And that makes all the difference.

This year I was presented the fantastic opportunity to experience Christmas from an outsider’s point of view, and because of this I value the specialness of the event and what elements make it so in a way I never have before.  I am truly grateful that you make up a part of my life, and I have realized that all I want for Christmas is, to quote Juno, “be an interesting piece of furniture in your weird life.”

So yeah, that’s my awful mushy gushing of the year over with.  Merry Christmas everyone, best wishes and charms for the upcoming year, and take care of yourselves till I get back and we can hang. :)

"If you don't think every day is a great day, try going without one" ~ Jim Evans

A day comprised of dancing, sketching and copious amounts of chocolate are rarely any less than awesome for me.  Last friday:  No exception.  The day just started out feeling good.  Granted, I was running a little late due to the coffee machine taking forever to get going, but this only seemed to get the adrenaline going for the day ahead.  That, combined with the fact that it was the last school day of 2011 and I was wearing a dress for the occasion, had me pretty pumped.

We had regular classes in the morning, but my teachers were more willing than usual to let me do what I wanted, so I spent the morning filling in what little space I had left in my sketchbook.  Not wanting to blow my own horn (that’s a lie, I do), but my classmates were pretty impressed by my Totoro sketches!



At lunchtime a group of my friends had organized a Secret Santa gift-exchange; I gave a notebook and received a glow-in-the-dark keychain bear!  Thanks to Bérénice, I will never again have to worry about losing my backpack in the dark!  (Because naturally, this has been a pressing concern of mine...)


Mid-day there was this school-wide spectacle where various parts of the student body would preform a skit/song/choreographed dance involving pom-poms and vibrant green tights while the rest of us watched from our stadium seats in the rented gymnasium.  It was entertaining, but the best was yet to be :)


Because  the rest of the day was spent at my friend Marie’s, along with Cassandra and Alessandro.  After about two minutes debate about what we should do, we had laptop and speakers set up in the living room and I proceeded to
dance wildly for the following two hours in the small space provided between the couch and the dining room table.  There is quite an embarrassing video of this somewhere on Sandro’s phone, but he’s promised to never let it go public, so as to spare us all 2 minutes 47 seconds of humiliation.  Nevertheless it was a really great way to kick off the Christmas break!!

Top Ten Reasons Why, If My Brother Was Not My Brother, I Would Want Him To Be (In Ascending Order)

If you know me personally, you may know that a) I have a thing for writing lists, and b) today is my little brother's birthday - he's turning fifteen.  So, in celebration of these two points, I have comprised a list of reasons why I consider myself pretty lucky to have Simon as a brother (even though I'd never be able to say them to his face - it's a sibling thing :P)


NUMBER 10!!  THE FRIENDLY COMPETITION!!
My brother is one of those kids that does not have to study at all and still earns straight As.  I am one of those kids that also gets straight As, but has to work really, really hard for 'em.  For this reason, Simon's educational success has always acted as a little extra motivation for me.  He sets a high bar that I have always felt the need to meet or surpass.


NUMBER 9!!  THE TIME WHEN I WAS EIGHT AND HE NEARLY KNOCKED MY TWO FRONT TEETH OUT WITH A BASEBALL!!
Yeah, odd subject to include on this list.  Upon reflection, however, I've discovered the service this accident and the events following has done me.  I used to have a gap between my two front teeth that would probably still be there if the dentist had not straightened them out while re-inserting them into my gums.  Also, I believe my large pain threshold and the fact that I am not afraid of needles spawned from the long recovery process following the incident.  Yeah, it hurt, but thanks anyway, bro.


NUMBER 8!!  THE LIFE LESSONS!!
One of the reasons I think "only children" often grow up a little bratty is due to the lack of siblings.  Especially if they are close in age (as I am with my brother) siblings do so much to teach one another about patience, sharing, compromise, understanding, compassion, companionship...  The list goes on.  These are lessons that can not be taught better than from a brother or sister.


NUMBER 7!!  THE DISPOSITION!!
Simon has this eternal sunniness about him that can be detected within seconds of meeting him - it's one of the first things you notice.  He's one of those people that just exudes happiness, and it's difficult to be down around him.


NUMBER 6!!  THE HONESTY!!
My brother wears his heart on his sleeve, a trait that is becoming increasingly rare in this day and age, particularly among the male half of humanity.  He's not afraid to coo over a kitten, dress up for halloween or spend a lunchhour here and there in the library.  Is it "geeky"?  Yes.  Is it 3 bajillion times better than pretending to be someone you're not in fear of appearing "uncool"?  Yes.  Simon's a geek, I'm a geek, hater's will hate, and if anyone gives him a tough time about it I will hop on a plane and personally... Ask you politely but firmly to stop, because that isn't very nice.


NUMBER 5!!  THE HEART!!
Simon is a caring individual and he'd be friends with anyone.  I've known him exactly 15 years now and so can say with authority that never once has he done anything mean-spirited or cold.  And he loves animals, and he does his best at everything and... I dunno, he's just a good guy!


NUMBER 4!!  THE TRAVEL COMPANION!!
Living in a separated family with our extended family stationed throughout both South Africa and the US makes for lot of traveling.  And may I add that, be it spending a Wednesday night at our Dad's, a week in Hood River, or a month in South Africa, travelling is not the same without my little brother.  We've seen and experienced a lot together, and on the whole, it's been a blast.  And I look very much forward to the voyages awaiting us.


NUMBER 3!!  THE PERSEVERANCE!!
There are a lot of jerks in the world right now.  I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but it appears that presently, good people go through a hard time simply because they stay true to who they are and do what they believe is right.  There is a lot of pressure, particularly on boys, to act and think in a certain way, and it takes a person with a lot of courage and commitment to swim against the current when it's not flowing in the direction they want it to.  With pride I say that my brother is is one of these people.  He does his best to be the bigger man and stands up for what he believes in... Even if that means that occasionally, he must stand alone. 


NUMBER 2!!  THE SHARED SENSE OF HUMOUR!!
This is a huge point for me because so much of the relationship Simon and I share rides on what we find funny.  The Youtube videos that make most people go O.o have us in tears; we laugh at the same gags in comic books; we have conversations that are entirely comprised of reciting dialogue from a favourite movie.  There's a saying that goes: "Nothing shows one’s character better than what one laughs at".  I don't know what our sense of humour has to say about us, only that we match perfectly.


NUMBER 1!!  THE FRIENDSHIP!!
Man... Simon's just a cool kid to be with.  He's funny and intelligent; he cares about other people; he's well-read and polite...  I've always considered the words "friend" and "family" basically synonymous.  If you don't love your family as friends, they're not family at all - if you truly love your friends, they're as good as family.  I'm happy to say Simon's the best of both.

Bro, you're the Scott to my Stacey, which is pretty damn sweet.  Have a great birthday, and be seein' you soon.

With love, Sarah B

"Enjoy the little things in life. For one day you will look back and realize that they were the big things." ~ Anonymous

I was on a bit of a retreat last week.  A good friend of my host-mom, Marie, offered to take Cassandra and I into her home for a week for a change of scenery...  And to get us out of our host-family's hair for  a little while.  :)  So Sunday before last, I was unpacking my suitcase for a week's stay in my new home.

Living at Marie's... was like having a hotel, all to myself.  My bedroom were equipped with it's own bathroom and television, laundry was done for me every day, and I enjoyed full access to the most expansive tea collection I've ever come across. (Orange Infusion was surprisingly tasty.)  And our hosts were so much fun; they love to tell stories.  Dinner was a near two-hour affair every night, with Marie, Carlos, Cassandra and I sitting around the table talking long after we finished eating.  

So yeah, basically living it up in the lap of luxury for a week.

But here's the thing: despite having had an AWESOME week, I was not at all disappointed to be returning to my regular host-family.  But it was only when I got back that I realized how much I love being here.  I love the Sunday mornings when there's always fresh bread and we all eat breakfast together.  I love my room, especially the compactness of it - my room at Marie's was beautiful, but too big.  I love riding home on the back of Marcello's scooter after school and the intense Wii sessions with Alessandro (we finally completed Super Mario Smash Bros. Brawl at 11pm evening before last.)

We've all heard the sayings "Live each day as if it's your last", and "Savour the small things in life".  But it was not until I came to France that I really understood the importance of these words.  With only 10 months to live the adventure of one's young life, one cannot help but live in the moment and enjoy it to the fullest, or else risk waking up one day and wondering where the time has gone.

And it is with this mindset that something miraculous has happened: I have started finding everything worthy of celebration.  Enjoying a coffee with a friend at school became as much a highlight as touring Mt St Michel for the first time; a single shell on the beach became as breathtakingly beautiful as the sun setting over the ocean before it. 

In the end, life is not about saying you've been to the top of the Eiffel tower.  It's about enjoying the climb.

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food." ~ George Bernard Shaw

Yesterday was a very simple day, made up of simple things that made me, simply, happy.  I really like days like that.

So there's this adorable crêperie just on the other side of my host-family's restaurant, called Le chat botté.  And when Cassandra told me she hadn't eaten there yet, we set up a date.  At 12:30 yesterday afternoon we met up in front of the restaurant, hungry for galettes and crêpes.




To minimize humiliation in front of our french waitress, Cassandra and I selected the same entree with the most easily-pronounced name:  L'ogre.  Obviously, the english for this is literally "The Ogre"...  Not the most appealing culinary title, I admit, but the dish itself was awesome: cheese, ham, and mushrooms folded into a galette and topped with a fried egg *drooling just remembering*.  Yummy, but of course we would not be satisfied without dessert! Again, we went with the same thing, crêpe au caramel salé, a Brittany speciality.

Finally full, Cassandra and I took a walk around Dinan while we digested, but it was a Sunday afternoon and the town was pretty much dead - all the stores were closed up; there were few people and even less cars.  After about 20 minutes of aimless meandering we called it quits and I went home.

And that was pretty much it for the day except on the was home there was THIS DRESS:

I'm really not a fashion-person, anyone who knows me can back me up on this.  I dislike shopping and mostly regard clothes as a practicality, not a statement or source of pleasure.  But I'm still a girl.  And this is still a cute (uber-cute!) a-liner!  Yes, the 145€ price-tag was a bit of a put-off... but the photo I got for free <3

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." ~ Steve Martin

This morning I woke up to find a gorgeous fine mist hanging over town - however, not ideal for my plans for the day!  I was going to visit La Chateau Fort de Lehon with my schoolfriend, Jeanne*. I'm still blown away from the fact that I live within walking-distance of a castle!


Thankfully the weather co-operated; as I set out later that day on my excursion, there was even a little sunshine!  I met up with Jeanne at the base of the hill on which the Chateau is situated, and together we made our way to the top.


The ascent was steep and included more steps than I cared for; we were both a little breathless upon reaching the peak.  But the climb was worth it.  The castle, built in the early 1300s, retained it's outer walls, but inside it has become a grass field. There was a well and and a small religious monument up there also, but the best part was the view.  To one side we could see all the way back to Dinan's ramparts, on the other, la fleuve de la Rance winds it's way through ancient countryside.  

































Spotting a path that run's along the Rance's edge, Jeanne and I headed down to the riverbank and spent the next hour or so trekking through autumn leaves, taking pictures and chatting.  I think my french must be improving - I wasn't able to hold a conversation for that long when I got here!



At 4pm I said good-bye to my friend and started off home.  The sun has been going down ridiculously early recently; around 4:30 in the afternoon!  It's unfortunate that the school days are so long, for the sun tends to rise and set while we're in class.  I was tired from all the walking that day, but I also felt more animated than I have all week.  It's astounding what a little vitamin D  does for you!


As we slip into this colder quarter of   the year, please take advantage of any sunny days that come to you - Grab a sweater, call up a friend and go take a walk in the autumn air!

*name changed upon request

"Insert cunning and relevant quote here" - Someone Smart

For the past eleven days I have been enjoying "Toussaint".  Officially, it is a holiday that falls on the first of November, also known as All Saints' Day.  But for us French students, it serves as a well-deserved break from the long school days.

October 22

My host-sister's birthday!!   Happy seventeenth, Marina!!  From me, she gets a Canadian cap and tank-top (even though it's too cold for either at the moment) and a Telus bag. 

                                                            

October 23

Visited a castle on the sea with my host-brother and -father.  Not Mt St Michel; this one was much smaller and a LOT less crowded... but I actually preferred the view!  It overlooks the sea to one side and is flanked by country on the other.  So...yes.  Very Pretty.   Afterwards we had coffee and dark chocolate outside a cafe, and later that evening Carlos, the other chef that works at Capriccio, came over and we all had a wonderful dinner in honor of Marina's birthday.

October 24

Second month in France!

October 27

Went to Normandy with M. Berthoux and Cassandra.  We visited two cemeteries dedicated to the men who fought and died on the beaches of Normandy  in 1944.  One of them was especially for Canadians; France had even given the land in which the soldiers had been buried to Canada in honour of what their men had done.  So technically I was back in Canada that day.  It was bittersweet walking between the tombstones of all those young men; most of them were not older than 23.  But there was so much pride and respect put into that cemetery; every tombstone had a unique epitaph and was decorated with a cross, and between the rows maple trees had been planted.  I was sad, but 

very proud to be Canadian that day.

October 31

Halloween!!! So, let's say it started with a bit of a mix-up.  Initially, the plan was for Cassandra and I to dress up as Canada and America and go to the movies at 5:30 to watch "Un Monstre a Paris".  But I double-checked the online schedule and it looked like our movie would be showing at 3 instead.  Deciding this was too early to be waltzing around in costumes, we met up in normal dress at the theatres - 2:15.  When we got to the ticket-lady, however, she informed us that our movie was not playing.  Disappointed, Cassandra and I stumbled out of the cinema like the confused foreigners we were and proceeded to "eat our emotions" (read: the candy we were going to sneak into the movies) in a park across the street.   Soon sick of sugar but not ready to go home, we then headed to a bargain store and partook in a little retail therapy, which included the purchase of some very fuzzy socks and a book that translated insults into 5 different languages (french, english, spanish, german and arabic).  Leaving the store in a  considerably better mood, we went back to the theatre and found out that the movie really WAS showing at 5:30, so we walked back to Dinan, meandered about for a bit (that's a sweet word, "meandered"), bought more candy, and watched our movie.  (It was cute, though I really wanted the flea to have more screen time.  Please just look up the trailer online.)  So after that, Alessandro and I had an all-or-nothing Mario Kart showdown to decide who is true Champion of the Game... He won.  By one.  Damaged pride aside, it was a great day and awesome way to wrap up the break.  My Canada costume is going to have to wait until July 1, though.

November 1

Nothing special happened today, except the third instalment of Uncharted is out on the shelves.  Anyone who has ever come into contact with the previous two will understand my excitement.

And that was Toussaint.  Almost (almost!) ready for school tomorrow. 

Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. ~Sandra Boynton

Readers, mug cake.  Mug cake, readers.

Now that we all know each other, I'm going to tell you a little bit more about your new favourite dessert: The Mug Cake.  

If you have ever experienced this cake before, you know what I mean when I say that it is THE tastiest treat you will ever make in under 8 minutes.


The recipe in a nutshell:  You take your ingredients, mix 'em around in a large coffee mug until they reach cake-batter consistency, and then nuke for about 3 minutes 30 seconds.


For those of you who now wish to try it for yourself,
here's the recipe (and for those of you who
don't, I highly suggest you go see a therapist)

Nutella Mug Cake

Ingredients

4 tablespoons self rising flour
4 tablespoons white granulated sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons Nutella
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a large coffee mug. Whisk well with a fork until smooth. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 – 3 minutes. (Time depends on microwave wattage. Mine took 1 /2 minutes.) 

2. Top with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Enjoy!

Note: Depending on the wattage of your microwave, you may have to increase cooking time.

Makes 1 very large serving.

You can eat it straight out of the mug or dump it onto a plate for sharing.  (Cause when it says "large serving" it mean "large serving"!) Please let me know what you think after you try it out!


Ciao for now!

"Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of." ~Charles Richard

Yesterday caught me a bit by surprise - it was beautiful out!!  Being one of the last days of it's kind this year, 

I "carpe diem"-ed and got out my camera!

Another charming Dinan restaurant.
My dad's been here!

Place Duclos - this is where I catch
the bus if I want to leave town

Up on the ramparts with
with Cassandra

Overlooking Dinan's harbor -
check out that blue sky!!

A typical view from the town walls

"The English Garden"
My favorite place to spend a sunny day!!

Last Weekend

Last weekend Rotary organized a “two-day field-trip” for around 150 Exchange Students to Mt St Michel.  For a less-than-48-hour excursion, we really packed it in, so I’m just going to illustrate the highlights.

Highlight #1:  Quicksand!!

For those who don’t know, quicksand occurs when you’ve got water flowing beneath a layer of mud.  There happens to be an abundance of the stuff behind  Mt St Michel, and it has become something of a tourist attraction to walk across it.  Yes, it is somewhat dangerous, because if you break through the surface the water below can suck you under.   But the sensation of running across fluid ground was totally worth any risk the experience presented; it felt like walking on water itself!

Highlight #2:  National Anthems!!

That evening we were asked that every country present sing their anthems at dinner.  Despite the fact that were was something like 3 bajillion different anthems to get through, this was by far my favorite part of the trip.  Everyone was so fired up to be representing their countries through song and they were all so beautiful.  While "Oh Canada" was obviously my anthem of choice (I love how you can really let loose and BELT OUT the lyrics), close favorites were that of Japan, New Zealand, and Germany.  But really, everyone showed such great spirit and a shout-out to Tosh from Norway as he was the ONLY one from his country and therefore went solo for the singing of his anthem.  Kudos!

Highlight #3:  Dancing!!

At 11pm the tables are pushed away, the DJ sets up and all 150 of us are on the dance-floor for the next 4 hours!!  I danced like a TOTAL freak the whole time, and it felt good!  They also had playing the most diverse music-mix I’ve ever heard, the song selection featured at least 4 different languages, and included the Macarena!  And then about half-way through a song comes on that is apparently very popular in Brazil because the Brazilian kids just take over the floor and never MIND the girls - the boys can shake so well it made all us white girls wanna cry...  No way should ANY male be able to move their hips like that! 

Anyway, the Rotarians finally had us “evacuate” at 2pm, no-one was in bed before 3, and it was up at 6 again if anyone wanted breakfast!!  So I’m gonna say that day 2 was a lot more low-key, just sort of hung out around the castle and chatted.

And that basically sums up Last Weekend!  I promise to be more punctual with my updates in the future, so a big THANK-YOU to everyone who’s still following this blog!  I really appreciate it and I wish you all a great week!

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. ~G.B. Stern

So, anyone who’e been paying attention to this blog may have noticed that last Saturday was my OFFICIAL One-Month Anniversary here in Dinan, France.  That’s correct, folks, I have survived one full month on my own in a foreign continent with no loss of life or limb; give it up!!

Alright, self-praise aside, I admit that the phrase “on my own” is not totally true.  Therefore I dedicate this post to paying my dues to the people who made this trip happen, as well as those who’re making it happen still.

Thank-you, first and foremost: Mom and Pappa.  For shelling out the big bucks for the plane ticket after devoting 16 years of your lives shaping me into Exchange Student material, and for possessing the great courage and love to let me go.

Chris and Corrina:  You’re two of the wisest and funnest people I’ve ever met.  Corrina, I wear your necklace often.  Chris, I love the book.  Thank-you both for knowing me so well.

Brothers:  Thanks for the laughs, I hold them close.  Can’t wait to return, set up the Wii, and kick all your @$$es at Super Smash Bros Brawl.  It will be epic.

Friends:  We’ve shared so much: stories about stupid classes, aimless walks through Chilliwack, cupcake-decorating parties, hilarious Youtube vids (Avenue Q comes to mind) and awful movies (Vampires Suck comes to mind) that were only worth the ticket price cause they brought us together.  Thanks for sticking with me and being the kind I people I love to be stuck on!!

Rotary:  Thanks for giving me the chance of a lifetime. I’m doing my best to make you proud.

Host Families (present and future): It takes guts to allow a stranger into you house and lives.  Thanks for having ‘em.  I wouldn’t be here without you.

The makers of Skype, Hotmail and Facebook:  I shake you all warmly by the metaphorical hand.  You’ve made the world a closer place; I thank you for that.

Have you ever stopped to wonder what makes you who you are;  what elements evolve you from day to day?  Me, I am a firm believer in the concept that every human interaction one makes influences one’s character.  So thanks to everyone I love for making me who I am today.  I don’t know where I’d be without you. (I really don’t!!)

Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! - Albus Dumbledore

My first day of school at Les Cordeliers had me relating to Mr Harry Potter and his first entering Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Les Cordeliers was once a monastery built in the 1200s, and it still retains many castle-like features: stone walls, spiral staircases, courtyards and towers, ect, ect...

This magic-school setting is enhanced by the characters present; the teachers are called “professors” here, and command a lot more respect from the students than the ones back home, I’m finding.  I’m just waiting for a grumpy janitor to turn up with a cat!

And then there is of course the sensation of having stepped into a different world; a hidden realm, if you will.  Everyone is speaking a foreign language, wearing different clothes, and they all seem to have an internal GPS installed to navigate around the baffling school grounds (while I stand with my mouth open and totally lost until someone takes pity on me and leads me to class *merci, Jean-Baptiste!*  Seriously, how did anyone make it to class on time in the HP books?!?)  Even the atmosphere seems changed, as if the very air is charged with some alien energy!

I know most of it is all in my head.  I really don’t care, cause starting my new year of school here is such a rush and this is going to be great!  And when Marina told me I could leave school for the village during lunch hour, my newly-formed Hogwarts half was squealing “Hogsmead trip. Every.  Day.”

"All the windows of my heart, I open to the day!" -John Greenleaf Whittier

One of the reasons I like to wake up early here is due to the spectacular sky-views from my bedroom window.  My host-family finds it odd that I sleep with my blinds open at night, but to wake up to a sight like this...  

or this...

and especially this..!

I wouldn't miss it for the world!

Mont St Michel - Sept 1

 I love the sea.  There’s something about it; the way it looks, the way it smells, the way the wind feels coming off the waves; that has always appeared magical to me.  Understandably, Mont St Michel, the ancient fairytale castle on the ocean, ranked very high on my Wish List of Things to See and Do in France.  I got the chance to visit this 1000-year-old landmark last Wednesday, along with fellow ES (exchange student) Cassandra, her host sister Stephanie, and my host brother Alessandro.

I will say this: the view did not disappoint.  From within the castle walls, it was difficult to tell where the ocean ended and the sky began; everything was just breathtakingly blue.  The gardens within the Mont St Michel, bursting full of flowers, statues and fountains that looked like they hadn’t been touched since the castle was built in the 700’s, were also very beautiful.

However, it sharing the experience with Stephanie, Cassandra and Alessandro that really made the trip for me.  We visited a busy morning market together, sampled various cheeses and meats, shot goofy pictures of one another and bought galettes et saucisses ( sausages wrapped up in a kind of black-flour crepe; they are delicious) for lunch.  And despite the 2 and a half hour car ride there and back, I was never bored - we passed the time laughing at the language gap between us and singing loudly (and largely off-key) to Lady Gaga and Britney Spears.  (“Pokerface” has been playing on repeat in my head since then.)

It was a great day, but it was not so much the event as it was the people I shared it with that made it special.  It doesn’t really matter upon the setting - for a good time, all you really need is good company!  

First Impressions

It’s Day 4 of my year here in France, so here are the things I found surprising/notable upon entering into the country and it’s culture, before I get all used to it and it’s not surprising/notable anymore.

No, you can not see the Eiffel Tower from everywhere in Paris.  The radios here play the same hits as they did back home, only sometimes they’ll redo a chorus in French.  No-one has heard of peanut butter, but thank goodness there is Nutella.  Grass really does appear greener on this side of the globe.  And the trees are bigger.  MacDonald’s exists.  As does Burger King.  There are baguettes and cheese at every meal.  The cows are white.

And I think I like it here very much.

Au revoir!

I'm writing up this post on my second plane to France.  For those who don't know, there is no Wi-Fi fifty-billion miles above the surface of the Earth (not on this plane, anyway) so I'll be posting it on the blog later.


I’m not the first to say it: goodbyes suck.  They’re often awkward and always painful. Last Saturday I said goodbye to my friends, last tuesday, to my family, in preparation for my departure to France for the next 11 months. 

No doubt goodbye is the hardest part of any journey.  However, there is a part of me that likes goodbyes, because with them comes a promise of something new to begin.  Goodbyes are the both the acknowledgement of a journey to be taken, and the promise to take it; it’s the resolution to move forward.

And so, even though I will miss what I’ve left behind, I resolve not to waste my time missing.  I’m set to embark on the adventure of my life; may as well enjoy it!!

written on the plane, sometime between August 23 and 24

A very short introduction

Hi!  I'm Sarah, and I've decided to start a blog about my year in Dinan, France as an exchange student.   You should read it!