i get sad when i see dogs that look like me.

that is my latest french blunder. we were learning emotions and we went around saying what makes us happy, sad, angry, etc. and i said i am sad when i see dogs that look like me. i meant to say i am sad when i see dogs that look like mine. -_- my teacher was confused by what i meant and i told her and then she explained what i was saying...oh the joys of learning a new language.

here's a handy dandy list because these are the things that have been on my mind recently.

things i miss in america:
my family
especially my nephews
my doggie wyatt
my best friend kai
my other best friends
usu
mountain dew
24 hour stores, mainly walmart
1$ large drinks at mcdonalds
1$ menu at mcdonalds (it's so expensive here)
driving
a microwave
knowing what's going on

things i like about france:
easy to walk everywhere
the public transportation
people take their dogs everywhere (even if i don't pet them because i don't know how to ask in french)
it's really pretty
crepes
the shopping
leaves everywhere
not worrying about when will the first snow be and hoping it won't snow on my bday
easier and cheaper to travel

friends, dog obsession, and ridiculousness

look at all my friends!

lol.

America, Latvia, Scotland, Spain, Germany, England, Columbia, Ukraine, Ireland, Denmark, Ethiopia, and Phillipines. 

(or is it the phillipines...?)

those are all countries where my friends are from. how crazy. most are from my French class, others are they just heard me and my scottish friend jillian tlaking English and talked to us. insane though. everyone is so nice. i practice my spanish with these two girls from spain in my class and they don't mind that i'm probably messing everything up and not making sense, they just tell me and others that i'm really good at spanish.

i would hope 7 years did something...

but everyone i have met is so nice and welcoming of other cultures and people trying. in school i was always afraid of speaking spanish because i didn't want to look stupid or make mistakes but that's how you learn and i have so much respect for those who aren't as comfortable in english and struggle for words sometimes but they just do it. they don't even ask, oh do you speak german? do you speak spanish? and it may be because they know that no, we all are most comfortable in english, but it's great that they put themselves out there and just do it. so that's what i've been trying to do with my spanish with the girls from spain and same with my french. however the little french i know is trying to sneak into my spanish and i do not like it. like i was telling this girl that i was two boys 9 and 7 in spanish, but i couldn'tremember the number 9 in spanish, but i knew it in french! -_- come on brain.

but holla for international friends!!! :) 

scottish, american, new zealander. :)

in my french class my teacher picked up on my obsession with dogs...we were learning some irregular verbs and one was to hold, and i guess when they talk about someone really important to them they say i hold...(family, boyfriend, etc) so she was asking what we "hold" the most i guess, and i said mon chien...et mes neveux (my dog...and my nephews don't worry family i still love you too unless you don't read this then maybe things have changed.) but they laughed but i was like well it's 100% true...wyatt is my number 1. then we were learning i want, and what did i say i want? a dog. of course. i only speak the truth. and my teacher said "you have an obsession with dogs don't you?" heeheehee. #sorrynotsorry and i asked how to ask can i pet your dog and it sounds like can i caress your dog. weird. i haven't tried it out yet because i feel weird and french people are sometimes mean. i just want to touch the puppy. nothing else. 

i miss my little nugget head.

other than finally finding friends that make france a bit better, life hasn't been too bad. i'll admit it, i had some days where i was like yeah screw this i want to go home, go back to school, and chalk it up as experience. but then i have days where i'm like this is so fun, i'm having such fun opportunities and meeting so many cool people. life isn't all that bad. i just hate getting stuck in a rut that's my thing. i haven't left nantes since i've been here, and it's just the same ol same ol. 

this weekend jillian and i went to find a karaoke bar, so we took the bus to this place called "hangar a bananes" i call it hangar a bananas. it's just easier. it's just this long stretch of clubs and bars but we couldn't find the karaoke place. we asked one of the security guard guys and he didn't know what we were talking about so we showed him the address and he told us it was right around the corner, the second floor of another club. so we went and asked that security guard and he said that you have to call for a reservation and not enough people called to reserve it for friday night. we just busted up laughing like what?! so i guess one day we will make a reservation...we just want the world to know of our talents that's all. so after that we headed back to her apartment and i stay the night at her place on fridays because we get back late so it's best to be safe...even though i know how to fend for myself. i just don't want to have to prove it to everyone. ;) 

on saturday mornings jillian normally teaches english but the kids were out of town this weekend so we were thinking let's go somewhere! only problem: the weather is sucking in france right now. rain on rain on rain. literally. so the only places nearby were the country side, not really any cities with anything fun to do, and the beach. but who goes to the beach in the rain? so we were looking at where to go, and she has a car so somewhere we could just drive to so she suggested we go to this store that's super cheap. oh. my. gosh. it was so great. we weren't too sure about it because it's so cheap the quality could be really bad and there could be nothing cute but geez louise. i found so much i loved. and it was all so cheap. like when i would see something cute and it was 15 euros i was like ok that's way too expensive. i can't even think of a store like it in the states. because it wasn't rejected stuff or extra stuff from other stores like ross or tj maxx, it wasn't used like di/goodwill, and it wasn't crappy like walmart (although i've found a few really great things at walmart) so it was fun to go shopping and i (of course) found some things i liked. and some things i was like yeah i wouldn't buy this the quality is awful then other things i was like really? it's this cheap?! so it was awesome! fun to get out of nantes. then we went on the hunt for food because shopping creates hunger. well we were in this little town, and apparently the french don't believe in having things open on a SATURDAY during the day! we were there at like 2-4 and were looking for food and couldn't find anything. i saw a dominoes that said open 7/7 so we got excited and stopped...nope. it closed from 3-6. -_- we eventually found a bakery and got food thank goodness. jillian has become one of my best friends here. she was the previous au pair for the family so she knows how the boys are and stuff so it's nice having someone who was once in my shoes exactly. she is so sweet and hilarious which brings me to a new section i'm calling...

real life ridiculousness with corinne and jillian.

1. she's telling me how she has all these things for safety like pepper spray, but she's never used it and she leaves it on her dresser so it's pretty much useless. and the one time she had it in her purse it accidentally sprayed and she got some on her hands without her realizing it...and yup she touched her eyes. well fast forward, she's saying how there's a safety cap on it and she wonders if she can spray it through the safety cap so she decides to test it out the window. it works. about a minute later she's freaking out saying she got pepper spray in her mouth and nose because the wind blew it back in hahahahaha. i was dying laughing at her pain. but so was she. so once again, she learned pepper spray works.

2. next safety demonstration....i was in the kitchen pouring myself some juice and she says "corinne, what are you doing?" i say i'm pouring myself a drink. then i hear this piercing sound and flip out. she has a little alarm thing hahahaha once again, she's never used it or brought it with her anywhere. but don't worry, we have all the tools for safety, just not bringing them with us.

3. this last one for right now i'll let the pictures do the talking....

 she got her glasses stuck in her hair. hahahahhahahaha

 i was looking out the window and hear "uhhh..." and turn around and see this hahahahaha

so keep updated to see more real life ridiculousness of corinne and jillian. 

so this is france right now. i'm really starting to live by work hard play hard. keeping up with two boys is not easy all the time. but i'm in france, i'm going to london in two weeks, i'm making friends from all over the world. 

i'm missing my two favorite boys birthdays this week and next week but they're my number ones and they're birthdays are not forgotten to me in france.

 so, 

au revoir, 

adios,

bye, 

toodles,

 happy october, 

it's national pitbull awareness month so be aware that pitbulls are not the monsters everyone thinks they are, that's like stereotyping a group of people or ethnicity. just because some are bad doesn't mean they all are.

also...french aren't festive at all. no halloween decor anywhere. or even fall decor. like come on guys. it's halloween time.

here's some pics from this week.

love

it's so weird, the sky is gray but the clouds in the water...where you come from?!

i wanted to hop on one and row away. but i didn't. they were chained to the dock. so i took a picture instead.

leaves though. 

rainy days in france

gros bisou...
corinne

ONE MONTH (and a few days)

i have survived one month! 

holler at corinne. ten to go. but i'm trying not to count down. anyways, life in france is good, there are some days that are harder than others but c'est la vie. (it is life) i decided that to keep my spirits up that i'm going to start writing down three positive things that happened that day because honestly some days i just want to pack up, go back to america, land of i know what everyone is saying and there's mountain dew. living as an "etranger" (foreigner, but it sounds like stranger which sounds meaner than foreigner.) is difficult. especially not knowing the language. i don't go into stores unless there are other people in them so the sales people hopefully don't talk to me. i've figured out how to order food, (they say i take instead of i'll have or i would like)  but when they ask me questions i still get lost and just say non. somehow though i went to this fast food place only wanting a hamburger and i got fries and a drink also. oh well. the guy at my favorite crepe place recognizes me so he just knows to speak english to me when i go in. such a kind kind person. if sales associates do start to talk to me i just say ça va (i'm fine) hoping that gets me by...most of the time it does. 

being an au pair isn't all that easy either, it's a lot more work than expected. (props to stay at home moms who really do have to do everything) it's difficult entering another persons home and finding my place in the family and their rules and such, i'm sure if someone came into my home back in utah they'd wonder what the heck this family is psycho (i'm sure megan can think of plenty of things we do that are crazy) i think that's how it'd be with any family. and it's a different culture and how they do things is obviously different than how we do some things in america. the kids have their days where i get frustrated out of my mind, but other days they just crack me up. like one day i told the older boy, i'll call him H, to pull up his pants and the younger brother, C, ran up to him and just pulled up his pants for him. i don't know why but it made me laugh so hard. they got each others backs. or butts. heehee see what i did there. but it's all part of the learning experience and thank goodness for modern technology and the ability to text my parents or elise when times get rough and i need a pick me up. but boo on the time difference...salt lake being 8 hours behind makes communication hard. #beingacrosstheworldprobs

other than all that, FRANCE IS PRETTY. it's starting to be fall time now, and there are trees with leaves falling everywhere so that means my favorite thing...crunchy leaves everywhere! no matter what when i'm walking if i see a crunchy leaf then i go out of my way to step on it. 

the crunching leaf sound is probably my favorite sound ever. 

one day the boys and i were walking home from school and they asked "why are you walking like that?" and i said "like what?" and they imitated me walking cause i was taking big strides all over the sidewalk and i said "oh, it's cause i want to step on all the leaves!" so they started doing it. i'm teaching them the little joys in life. fall in france brings rain though. i need rainboots. and a little umbrella. i don't understand why umbrellas are so expensive. they hardly last. -_- but i've been told about an elusive 2 euro store so one day i need to find it and hope they have a cheap umbrella for me. 

anyways, here's some pictures because i'm a picture taking addict and france is a nice place for some nice photos. :)

fall in france. this is my favorite wall.

i just liked the way this looked. could've

done better with rule of thirds and such ja feel? (movie reference)

this is my life. i go to my fave crepe place and do homework. trés bon.

this is nantes.

i went to the top of the tallest building in nantes and they had an outlook thing that said all the places nantes offers.

france

nantes

trés jolie.

le nid. they have a random bird thing going around the whole place, the layout of the place is pretty crappy. a lot of wasted space and it's awkward. 

le nid. again.

#instapost #selfiesinfrance

i was just thinking if i fell how badly i'd get injured. i didn't fall. fear not.

Anyways, that's france so far. it is my favorite month now, so it's gonna be good. it's my fave weather (despite the rain. i don't like the rain.) my birthday is on the 26th, it's my favorite little boys' birthdays (even though i won't be with them for their bdays...first time since they've been born. NOW I AM SAD. :( ) anddddd...I'M GOING TO LONDON!!!!! how long have i wanted to go to london? all my life. and the 2012 olympics amplified that desire. and now i'm going and staying with my friend from pa who is studying abroad there. #lifeisperfect i'm staying a whole week and celebrating my birthday there! hollaaaaa. i'm planning everything and i'm just so excited. i have like seven lists of things i want to do while there. on the top of the list: shopping (duh, corinne is snynonymous with shopping) the olympic park (hello, go where the fierce five were and i love the olympics and GAH) and the tourist sites of course. :) I AM JUST SO EXCITED. it's a good thing i got the biggest memory card because i'm going to go picture crazyyyyy while i'm there. i sometimes want to cry i'm so excited. #isthatnormal who cares. anyways, that's my french life. three positive things for today: i saw a rainbow this morning from my window, i finally found a converter that works (and it was on sale. my favorite 4 letter s-word) and C actually practiced his piano songs today. (most days it's a struggle and a half.) oh and one for good measure, i made some new friends on the bus. they're girls from the intermediate french class at the school i go to and they're from ukraine, germany, columbia, and england. they were so sweet and nice. so now i'm going to start riding the bus so i can start hanging out with them on the weekends and stuff. :) look at me being social. anyways, that's all for today. 

au revoir, buenos noches, ttyl.

corinne 

(i did my name like the french flag. cause i'm in france. and i jazzed up the post with colors and bolds cause why not)