I am Changing

Tonight was an emotional night for me. Maybe the bottle of Bordeaux we had with diner has a bit to do with it, but I realized I am changing.

I spent the first couple of days here in Noyon freezing cold, exhausted, and depressed. I felt the lonliest I've ever felt in my life, completely isolated from my friends, family, and all that was familiar to me. My head was clouded with thoughts about the past, and feelings of regret. I spent so much time agonizing over a past relationship, and panicing about the fact that I had several months left of this journey with no way of escape because it was too late to turn back. I was like a prisoner of my own mind. A lot of others tell me that they battled with the same feelings in the beginning, so I guess it's normal.

But thats over now. And I'm so grateful!

Since then I've made friends, gotten to know my roommates, grown to appriciate my new hometown, and most importantly, TRAVELED! I haven't even been here a whole month and I have already been to Amiens, Albert, and PARIS!! And tomorrow I'll be boarding a flight to Madrid, Spain! It will be my first time there so I'm super excied!! I'm going to visit a friend so it should be a lot of fun.

One of the beautiful things about living here in Europe is that I live closer to one of my very best friends, Federica. She has spent the last week with me, and its been so wonderful having her around. It's like being with family, which I really needed. We explored and partied in Paris together, and spent a couple of chill days here in Noyon. Today was her last day in France before heading back home to Italy, and we spent the morning at the open air market and the evening making diner and talking. This is when I got emotional. I told her about how I'm beginning to feel a bit like my old self again, but in a completely different way. I confided my feelings to her and analyzed them. It was helpful because I'm really in transition right now, and I'm just starting to process everything.

After Spain I head back to my boulot (job) of teaching classes to my eager pupils. I'm trying to organize some lessons now because I know all be too exhausted when I get home to try to make some. I promise I'll update more soon! For now, here are a couple of pics of my new home:

My day feels incomplete if I do not have at least one pastry or baguette. Seriously!

Before it started POURING out of nowhere

The houses here are so cute

They remind me of Mr Rogers Neighborhood!

Or a storybook

Or pleasantville

J'adore la France!



Hasta Luego! (gotta get ready for Spain haha)

<3 Francesca

Celebrity Life

I feel like a local celebrity at school

so my job is to basically speak englihs and play games with a bunch of kids. At orientation they told us that we are like a present for them, and I think its right. When i first entered the classrooms the kids all looked at me like a shiney new toy they couldnt wait to play with. I had varied reactions from my 13 classes on my first days of work. some classes gave me a round of applause, some stood up as I entered the room, and some all shouted "HELLO!" at the top of their lungs lol.

A little update on my life!

My new home!

I know, I've been living here in France for two weeks now (WOW), and not a single peep. But I have a good excuse! I am proud to reveal that up until yesterday I have been living a completely disconnected life, with no cell phone and no internet connection at home. I've been able to sneak a few minutes here and there at the library or at the schools I work at but I never have enough time to write something!

So now that I have a reliable internet connection at home, I can update this blog and My Peace Love & Travel! I don't have enough time to write too much tonight because I have to prepare for my classes tomorrow and go to bed lol. But I'll tell you what my day was like today:

*Woke up at (around) 6:30am
*Got the bus to school at around 7:45am, greeted the bus driver "bonjour" and got dropped off at school about 30min before classtime.
*Walked in with the directrice (the principal) and immediately felt like I was in an icebox because it was FREEZING in the builing. Smiled and nodded my head in indimidation as she said somethings to me in French at a rapid speed. I understood about %5 of what she said, and didn't have the courage to ask her to repeat it lol
*Spent the day teaching eager French kids the "Trick or Treat Song" (including the smell my underwear part lol) and Halloween vocabulary. It was rediculously cute.
*Took the bus home, and on the way stopped at the boulangrie to get a half baguette for my lunch tomorrow and then Monoprix, kind of like a cross between CVS and Albertsons, to get some food.
*Walked home and did routine things like laundry and dishes.

I live in an apartment with two roomates. This is the first time I've moved out of the house and lived on my own or with other people so mundane things like laundry, dishes, and cooking for myself are kind of a big deal! haha

I promise I'll update more and post pictures when I get a chance! Hopefully this week!

<3
Bisous!
Francesca

Just Around the Riverbend!

LESS THAN 24 HOURS UNTIL I CHUNK UP THE DUCES!

This is my Facebook status right now, and I can't believe the time has almost come! I'm almost headed off for France! Forget the fact that I still have to work on my packing situation. I will most likely be bringing two 50lb suitcases, a backpack and a carry-on. These items total weight just about as much, if not more than I do, so I'm preparing for struggles and lots of stares from people wondering if I'm crazy lol.

So a post or two ago I said how I always related to Ariel, and how she wanted to be "part of that world." Well, now I feel more like Pocahontas, which is better anyway because she was strong, wise, independent, and a real risk-taker. Something really exciting is just around the corner for me, and it may not be the smoothest or most steady course, but it's mine and I'm ready for it!



See you in France!

<3
Francesca

Mon Pere est Sage

So I also wanted to write about a conversation I had with my dad yesterday.

I was talking to him about something unrelated to me leaving, but I don't remember what it was! Somehow he got into a little speech about how you have to live life fast, and take every opportunity because most of them only come once. He also told me that you only get to live this life one time, and it goes by so quickly so you have to do all you can now, while you can. I thought this was very wise, and excellent advice! Especially for someone like me who is indecisive, and wastes a lot of time mulling over the details of something rather than just doing it! Thank God it didn't get in the way of me going to France, but I want to really take heed to everything he told me!

Live your life and be free!

<3
Francesca

Almost Gone!

It's really late, I'm sleepy, and I haven't started packing yet so I am going to go to sleep ASAP so I can wake up at a decent hour tomorrow, but I just wanted to pop in with a quick update. I wanted to write more frequently leading up to my departure, but time is going by so quickly!

So I only have 6 DAYS LEFT!!!!!!!!!

It's starting to hit me.

I've felt like a crazy person at times over these last couple of days because I have so many emotions that keep coming up. I either break out into a spontaneous dance start screaming out of pure excitement, or burst into tears, or just start getting short of breath, when I think about the move. Lol I guess I am kinda crazy, huh? This is such an amazing opportunity, and such a blessing to be moving to France! It really is my dream come true, and I can't believe it's real! And it will also be so amazing to be on my own for the first time! It's going to be so cool! I'm glad it's an apartment and not a dorm or something.

Over the weekend I celebrated my going away by salsa dancing thursday, country dancing friday, and having diner and going to a bar with music after on saturday. The most touching was saturday, because it was spent with my best friends. Going away has really made me stop and appreciate what I have here, and how fortunate I am to have great people in my life who love and care about me. It's one of the lovely side effects I guess.

So I also did something crazy today and GOT A TATTOO! It was really painful, but also a beautiful moment for me because it's such a major decision and my mom and sisters were there for me and encouraging me to suck it up and do it! :-) My tattoo says "faith" and is something that will really be meaningful to me in this experience!

La vie est trop bonne!

<3
Francesca

And the countdown continues...

Il y a 13 jours restant!

I leave in 13 days! I feel like I'm on an emotional rollercoaster. Well actually, I am. But such is normal for someone experience all that I am right now.

It's really an unbelievable thing, to be going so far away for such a long period of time. And for me it's complex (as everything seems to be) because I'm used to travelling, and the idea of "leaving" is nothing new for me. But my brain is just now starting to register that this is not just the average vacation. In fact, it's not a vacation at all! I'm going to live there. Create a life there. Grow and change as a person there. It's crazy!

But I'm so happy, and excited, and thankful that it's France. Of all the places in the world I could end up, it's a blessing to be placed in France, a place that makes me truly happy.

I was reading through my old journal from the first time I ended up there, and how sad I was when I left. I was so heartbroken, and so desperate to make a way back one day. I had so many hopes because of that. To learn French, to stay longer. Now look at me! God is good.



I remember listening to this song so much when I came back, and feeling just like she does. I know it's corny, but it's true! I love listening to it now and not being sad, but knowing that my dreams are coming true instead. :)


<3

Francesca

Thinking about the Kids

Today I was reading the Assistants in France Forum, and going through some of the posts about teaching Primary school. They were exchanging advice about which books to read, sing-along songs and what keeps the kids interested or what helps them really learn. I started picturing myself in front of a classroom of children, and the transfer of knowledge that will take place. I'm really going to help someone learn something! It's so special to me that I have the opportunity to help them. I really hope I can be a teacher that they remember, and appreciate, and learn from. Even if it's something as simple as colors or the alphabet, I really want to help spark their interest in English and encourage them to continue with it in the future!

I'm going to go to a used bookstore and try to find some good books to bring. I'm also going to bring a couple of Dr Seuss books I have left from my childhood. I'm assisting, and they'll probably tell me what to do so I won't get too crazy bringing my own things. But I'm looking forward to it! It's times like these where I really wish my grandma was still alive so I could tell her about it, and get her advice (she was an elementery school teacher). She would have been so proud of me...

<3
Francesca


P.S: 22 Days left!!!!!

J'ai reçu mon visa!!!!!

I got my visa in the mail today! It was such a joyous occasion.


Last night some major drama went down at my house. It involved a lot of screaming and shouting and was downright exhausting. What happened has nothing to do with my trip to France (thank God), so it has no place in this blog and therefore I won't go into detail about it.

This morning it was difficult to stay asleep (the LA heat probably has something to do with that though), and I spent hours tossing and turning until the afternoon. When I woke up, I stumbled into the kitchen to get some Ben and Jerry's to comfort myself, and on the way I spotted a large envelope on the diner table. It was the envelope I had brought to my visa appointment! I tore through the enveolope and opened my passport to see a page with a photo of myself and a visa to work in FRANCE! Soooooo freakin exciting! It really lifted my spirits and was just what I needed. So there you have it! I'm almost ready to go! All I have to do is pack, and in 23 days I'm off!

Fact for all you future assistants: it took 9 days for mine to arrive in the mail
<3
Francesca


*Side Note: Sorry it's blurry, but I don't don't think it's safe to have all that info out on the internet! But at least you get the picture. ;)

Pourquoi avez-vous peur, gens de peu de foi?

"Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith?"

I went to church this morning. It was the first time in a couple of weeks, (which is a long time for me!) and it was the first sunday of the month so we took communion. I was really late, because I attempted to make the 8am service this morning since I was going to lunch with my grandma.

The message was inspiring, and he spoke about avoiding sin because it so often ruins lives, and fixing our hearts on Jesus and God's will.

Afterwards, I went to the prayer room and asked one of the "mama's" to pray for my trip to France, and my family as I go. In her prayer she said that everything would be great, and that everything that comes from God is good, and asked Him to help me be a teacher that He would be proud of. Afterwards I told her I was hoping for the best, and she looked at me like I was crazy! lol! I fumbled a little bit, and said "I'm believing it will turn out okay." ERRRRR, wrong answer. Then I stuttered "I know everything will be great." This seemed to satisfy her, because she said okay and hugged me.

After that I realized, I really need to work on my faith! I know God is sending me on this journey to France, and that He has a purpose for me there and that He will never leave me or let me fall. The purpose of my faith and the reason I follow Him is because of all the great things He's already done in my life, and because I know that I can trust Him. So why do I worry all the time? To be honest... I'm not even sure what I'm so uncertain about! I have no real reason to fear, and so I always give myself dumb things to worry about just so I don't "have my hopes up." This in itself is against my religion, because we are instructed to operate in hope, faith and love. I think it might be some sort of control issue, like I want to be in control of how sad I feel, or how dissapointed I get, by being prepared for the worst. But it just makes me fearful for nothing, and I waste precious time that could be spent happy and living in the moment!

So I declare it right now, MY MOVE TO FRANCE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL, I WILL BE HAPPY, I WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE AS A TEACHER IN FRANCE!


This I claim in Jesus name,

<3
Francesca

La Réussite

J'ai des bonnes nouvelles!

My appointment with the consulat général de france was a success! By the grace of God I managed to wake up early, get out of the house (later than I planned, but it all worked out so it doesn't matter), go to CVS and print passport size photos, go to the FedEx office and get the necessary envelopes, and make it to my appointment only five minutes late! I would have been right on time if my GPS hadn't told me it was on the opposite side of the street!

What goes on at an appointment with the French Consolate:

So it sounds a lot more intimidating than it is. Even the security guard seemed more intimidating than he was. At first I didn't like him because he seemed mean. He barked at me to come inside through the speaker, and upon entry demanded that he "wants that phone off," and shortly after ordered me to go outside and throw away my yogurt container. But somehow we ended up talking about my roots (I love this about Francophones, they always ask or try to guess my heritage, because everyone HAS to know where their roots are) and about his in Africa, and by the end of my appointment I was his "little sis" lol.

This was the process of my visa appointment:
1. Sit and wait for my name to be called
2. Walk up to the counter and hand over the required paperwork, which should already be filled out and photocopied as stated on the website. Easy!
3. Take fingerprints
4. Fill out FedEx envelope so they can send your passport back in the mail
5. Say "au revoir" and go wait for your visa to arrive!

Et voila, there you have it! It was really simple, and fairly quick. No interview, no millions of forms, no real hassle. So now all I have left to do is wait to hear from the teachers at my school so I can start preparing lessons for my students! I'm so excited. I genuinely hope the teachers like me, and that the students love me!

<3
Francesca


Oh yeah, I do have a peice of advice! For passport photos, a really cheap route is to take your own photo with a white background (mine was against the living room wall) and go to CVS and print them out as four wallet size prints. It only costs .29 cents, as opposed to paying 9.99 for passport photos! A passport photo is 2x2, and wallet size is 2x3 so all you have to do is trim the edges and you have the same exact thing for wayyyyyy less! I was so happy when I discovered this that I could have (and probably would have if he wasn't my neighborhood CVS guy) kissed man who helped me with the prints!

Bonne nuit mes poupettes! :)

Quelque Chose en Plus

J'ai oublie dire, mais:


IL Y A CINQ SEMAINES JUSQU'A MON DEPART POUR LA FRANCE!!!!!!


C'est IN.CROY.ABLE!!!!


Bon,

Bonne nuit a tous :)

Demain

Tomorrow is the big day!

Or...one of the big days. I have my appointment to get my visa for the French Consolate!

And being the procrastinator that I am, I have a checklist of things to complete before my appointment. And get this... my appointment is at 9:30 a.m.!! Did I mention that I'm not a morning person? Did I also mention that it's currently 1:21 a.m.?

I still have to:

-Purchase a FedEx Envelope stamped and ready to send
-Fill out about 10 sheets of paperwork
-Photocopy my passport
-Print 3 passport size photos

Comment dit-on "YIKES" en Francais?

I'll let you know how it all goes tomorrow! I used to think of myself as a superwoman when I was in college because I was involved in a million different projects and still managed to keep good grades. Well... looks like it's time to don the cape and "S" on my chest once again.

Bonne nuit!

J'ai Acheté Mon Billet!

Bonsoir!

Or I should really say "bonjour" because it's 3.a.m. right now! I couldn't sleep, so I'm on the internet reading through my e-mails from my contacts in France and my future flatmate.

Reading through these e-mails makes me wish I had started blogging sooner so I could share the joys of discovering new information bit by bit, because it really was (and still is!) like decoding the grand mystery that is my future in France. From randomly just deciding to call the academy all the way in France at midnight to find out which city I would be placed in, to discovering which schools I would be at, to making my first contact with the person who will be in charge of taking care of the assistants in france to my first contact with my roommate. All these small milestones are a part of the experience!

But I do have this recent news to share: I BOUGHT MY PLANE TICKET TO FRANCE! After realizing that waiting less than two months until departure wasn't such a smart idea, I became frantic and obsessed (just ask my friend Federica who's been staying at my house, I stayed up until about 3am and woke up the next afternoon and continued searching like some kind of fiend) about searching for the perfect flight within my budget.

So I ended up booking a flight with STA Travel for about 1,122. From LAX>CDG and returning CDG>Rome(layover)>NYC where I will chill for a bit and then do a one way back to LAX (have to purchase that one still!)

I am a Delta Skymiles member so I had to make sure this flight would count so I could rack up enough miles to cover my next flight to Europe!

The best advice I could give is not to wait too late to buy your ticket. Holding out for a sale is a good idea if your booking more than two months in advance, but any sooner than that is cutting it wayyyyy close! The price went up about 200$ when I did that! Yikes!

Until next time,

<3

Aidez-Moi!

Okay, so I have stumbled upon my first roadblock on the road to France.

FLIGHTS ARE SO FREAKIN EXPENSIVE.

So being the indecisive little girl that I so often am... I waited to buy a flight in hopes that I would catch some kind of miracle sale that covers a 74 day period with a return in the middle of December, a peak holiday month.

When I looked about a week or two, a flight from LAX to CDG (paris) was about 1,286. Now its almost 1,400! Yes, it's less than $200 more expensive, but that's a lot for an unemployed college grad!!! And so now I am at a crossroads. Do I continue to wait (um...) or do I just go for it? It's hard because I have limited credit and I'm cheap so big financial leaps like this take forever but I might just do it. I've been searching every possible option to save money. From one way flights, to flying out of a different state, to flying into a different country. No luck!

I'll keep you posted.

Qu'est que je fais?

Bonjoouurrrrr mes amis!

I don't know if anyone reads this, but I will be keeping this blog partly for personal purposes (I get pretty nostalgic and love looking back and reading my own opinions and descriptions of the things I've done), partly so my family and friends can keep tabs on me (on second thought...maybe that's not such a good idea, hehe), and partly (hopefully!) to help other future assistants, expats in France, and people looking to live in France one day make the big leap!

This is going to be such a big experience, and I can't wait to share it with you all! I will be writing in both French and English, so get ready to use google translate if you aren't familiar with the language! I'm hoping that I'll write better and better, and evenutally more frequently in French!

Je suis la petite papillonne

Oui, c'est moi! La petite papillonne. Je voyage tout le monde, et je cherche pour une place où je peux rester pour une moment.

A cette moment, l'endroit prochaine est.... LA FRANCE!!!!!

Je retournerai a la France pour travailler comme une assistant d'anglais á deux écoles primaires. J'habiterai á Noyon. C'est une petite ville prés de Paris. Je suis très excitée pour cet aventure, et je suis plus heureuse parce que je vais partager mes expériences avec vous!

Gros bisous!