latest

A friend of mine asked me if I've been updating my blog, which I haven't as regularly as I should be, so Aliya, this post is for you! I am here in my lycée, and have just finished up a Thanksgiving activity for my English club tomorrow. It consists of reading a small text about Thanksgiving and then completing a crossword puzzle. Hopefully, it'll be a hit! We are starting to get some regulars who come to the club, so now there is extra pressure to prepare cool and exciting activities!

Today, I had my first tutoring session with a 10 year old. It went well. He was well-behaved, thank goodness, and his English wasn't half bad. I am sure the sessions will keep going well, and it's a good way for me to earn pocket money (as my Grandpa would have put it).

I also had my dad on the phone this evening, which made me happy, and my mom on the phone last night, which also made me happy! I quite enjoy getting phone calls from home! I know that it's expensive to call, but it makes me oh-so-happy. I also get very happy when I receive mail, so a special shootout to Kim, who has been very diligent about writing me letters. I also received a card from my mom's best friend yesterday, which was really nice. It was great to know that people back home still have not forgotten me.

Today, I was talking to one of the teachers I work with about differences between France and America, and during the convo, I began to wonder how the heck I am going to get used to living in America after this year is over. I haven't had too bad of a culture shock here; because I am surrounded by Anglophones all the time, I don't really feel like I left home in a lot of ways. Yet in certain ways, it is obvious that I am not at home anymore - the train strikes remind me of that fact each day. However, I know that when (if?) I go home, I know that it will be quite a rude awakening as we say in America.

I take my GRE for the second time in two weeks. Not really looking forward to it, especially since the train strike may still be on that point. Blah. I am going to continue preparing nonetheless and just hope that I can make it up to Paris to take the exam. And if I can't, well, I will deal with that when it happens. Other than that, apps for grad school are going alright; I need to write a personal statement, but at the moment cannot come up with anything. I still have 1.5 months to do it, so I am not that worried.

We will be having our little Thanksgiving feast here in Chalon on Saturday night. We couldn't get a real turkey, so turkey breast and cuisses have to suffice. Blah. At least we will have real stuffing and all of the other goodies.

Oh, one last thing: happy Turkey day to all of the Americans reading this blog!