Day 31: or The Day I Almost Got The Rice Right

Trying not to hibernate is a daily fight around here. Today was the coldest day so far. But I bought a new hat this weekend, so I was able to manage without my ears freezing off.

I taught the Kid Uno today. It's a little simple being that there's only two players, and I kinda know all his cards, but he seemed to enjoy it. It also kept him from begging for a movie. He's not supposed to watch them everyday, so everyday is fight about what after school activity we're going to do. And then I feel bad because when I have to start cooking, it would be much simpler to let him watch a bit, but rules are rules. 

Speaking of dinner, I tried rice for the third time. Pain in the butt. I didn't over cook it, but I still feel like I'm doing something wrong. We were having lentils, so she didn't want sticky rice, which is apparently my default setting. I didn't get any comments, so who know. At least I'm getting closer. 

After dinner, I started research on my trip to Spain in April. I have no idea what we're going to do, but I plan on making the most of my week there, and they say preparation helps. 

French Word of The Day

Étoilé.


Starry. There is a Metro stop named Charles de Gaulle - Étoilé. I always liked the sound of it.

Day 30: or The Day I Tried French Fast Food

I woke up at a decent hour this morning and headed into Paris for some shopping. This was necessary shopping for my trip to the Alps in two weeks, but I also wanted to check out the area around the mall. La Défense is the business district of Paris and it has skyscrapers and glass buildings and  is very un-Paris. But it does have the Grande Arche, which is absolutely massive. I forgot my camera,so I will add pictures next time, but this thing is impressive. The pictures don't even do it justice. Pretty cool.


While shopping, we decided to grab a bite and chose Quick Burger. Now, it's not like I'm eating at McDonald's, and I wasn't on the streets of Paris, so I feel like this was an acceptable meal. I was in a mall food court, there wasn't that many gourmet options. And I just wanted to see how they fared. They weren't bad. It was just your normal fast food burger, and I ate the fries with mayonnaise. Well, I tried the the mayonnaise, it's different here than in the states, so it's not what you'd expect.


After shopping, we went into Paris Center and walked around the Louvre. We didn't have time to go in, so we just looked at the building itself. It's really quite amazing. I've been there before, and I know it's a Palace, but when you're walking through the courtyard, the size is overwhelming. 


We made it home in time for dinner. It was a shorter day, but a good one. 

French Word of The Day

Je suis du Texas.


Ok, so it's more of a phrase than a word, but it means "I'm from Texas". I say it a great deal here. At the bar on Friday, everyone would ask where everyone else was from and the answers were Sweden, Ireland, Britain, the U.S., and Texas. I wasn't trying to be obnoxious, but when people ask where are you from, I say Texas. I'm trying to break the habit, but so far, it's been a decent conversation starter.

Day 29: or The Day I Had Lovely Conversation

I spent today at home, avoiding the cold and catching up on much needed sleep. The family was having a small dinner party, so I holed up in my room. Then I got the delightful surprise of a Skype call from a friend. I am able to keep in touch so easily over her but I love actually speaking to people. Instant messaging, facebook, and email are great and convenient, but I feel like talking is the medium I work best in. And with Skype, I don't even really feel home sick. Yes I miss everyone, and yes I would love to be in two places at once. But I think it really helps make me feel closer to home. So, thanks for the call, it made my day.

French Word of The Day

Donc.


So. As in the word that Americans always say instead of um. My French teacher informed me that when we Americans are learning French, our place holder is always "so".  I find it slightly amusing because I don't feel I say it all that often when speaking English, but I know she's right because since she pointed it out to me I am unable to stop myself.

Day 28: or The Day I Think it Snowed

Ok, so it wasn't real snow, but it definitely wasn't rain. It's been hovering around freezing for a couple of days now, but because of the lack of sun, today seemed to drop another 10'. I had planned on going out for lunch, but the warmth of my room wouldn't let me leave. Plus, I was going out tonight, so I needed to rest up and save money.

For dinner I made a chicken and mushroom cream sauce with pasta and we had carrot and zucchini soup that I had made earlier in the day. I didn't exactly have a recipe for the sauce, but I'm pretty sure it was one of my best dishes to date. One of the girls was making fun of me for using garlic again. To me this is a silly, silly position to take on garlic. Garlic makes everything better. If i'm sautéing vegetables, garlic, and usually onion, are going to be added. Just like using salt and pepper. But seeing how they our views differ about that too, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. And as much as she made fun of me, she still enjoyed my food. So I guess I win.

I went out in Paris again, and am beginning to think I'm too old for this. We leave the house around 10:00 but the last train home is at 12:45. Because of this you end up taking the first train home at 4:45. This is not ideal for me. I would much rather be in bed hours before this, but because I am bound to the person who drove me to the station, I'm stuck. Lovely. I always have a good time and I like the people I've been meeting, but I feel like my weekends just start off on the wrong foot and I end up a little too worn out. All in all it was a good night and I met some new au pairs. I also decided to dress a little more for comfort and it was well worth it. My feet weren't frozen which boosted my enjoyment factor immensely.