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)