Wow, two posts in just one day, this must be juicy! Only four short hours ago I was sitting at a Starbuck’s (don’t hate) wondering why I hadn’t brought my jacket with me to Chicago, with a big smile on my face in honor of La Journée de la Joie. While waiting for my 5:15 […]
The first time we moved to the South of France was about fifteen years ago. François and I had just gotten married, and I had a BA in French and was about halfway through an MA in French, so I thought I would be fine. And now, everyone who has lived through a similar experience […]
I’m going to love living in France, but I’ll sure miss Crawfish Season. As it is now, I have to drive 12 hours to get the good ones from Louisiana. I guess when you think about it like that, it would only take about twelve hours by plane (all said and done).
What is more tempting to all of your human senses than just walking down the street in Paris? These particular memories stem from my spending a decent amount of time every summer in the 15th arrondissement, where my husband grew up, and where his parents still live. It’s a very residential district, and one of […]
Since I am not renewing my teaching contract this year, and since we are moving to the South of France in June, I’ve been spending the last six months or so really focusing on what to do about my professional life. I see this as a real opportunity to do something different and exciting, keeping […]
This is a picture of me, my sister, and my mom. Don’t we all look alike? Let’s take a leap back in time about 14 years to 1998, and that was the first time that I lived in Béziers. I had just gotten married (three times, all to the same man), and we were living […]
January-March: Limoux: Carnaval de Limoux Approximately ten weeks of festival, this is one of the longest running carnivals in the world. Masks, costumes, music, pranks, King Carnival burned at the stake, swapping of roles, and it’s all done in the Occitan language. March: Nîmes: Féria de Primavera This is the pre-Lenten carnaval , and the first of […]
As many readers will know from my previous posts, I’m a high school French teacher. I’ve been doing this for fifteen years, and teaching is my calling. I love it. I work at an awesome high school where all of the students are amazingly motivated and the parents are supportive, my colleagues are my friends. […]
Just before leaving for my very first trip to Paris back in 1992, my French teacher told me to go and see the legendary bookstore “Shakespeare and Company”. That’s what I did, and since then I’ve had a bit of an obsession with the history of this legendary English bookstore and all of those who […]
I’m so ready for spring to get here. Yesterday it was snowing up a storm, so we may have to wait a little while before seeing some nice weather. With the arrival of spring, the countdown to summer gets shorter and shorter every day. I figured out that we only have about seven more full […]
