L'avenir

So I was just thinking about writing this post and what I would call it when I realized what the word "avenir" (for those who don't know French, it means the future) is actually composed of: à + venir (and for the non-francophones, it's like saying "to come" like, what's to come.). 

Isn't that an awesome way to say the future?

Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about mon avenir and what I hope to do/how I see my life being in a lot of different ways. Since this post is going to be dense, I'll add random pictures throughout to keep you entertained!

We actually did a bit of rock climbing at St. Malo :p I cut my thumb! The rocks were super slippery because they get covered by ocean water at high tide.

It started with how my house will be run since I was thrown into a new home with new rules and customs, some that I like and some that I don't.

Things I'll try to keep from my French life:

drinking espresso, not crappy watered-down Starbucks

eating breakfast every day...

using cloth napkins, not paper ones

conserving heat by sleeping with thick blankets and wearing slippers

conserving water by showering for less time (however, I won't be shutting off the water when I shampoo like I have to hear...ugh)

not using the dryer, but hang-drying my clothes

early to bed, early to rise (although some might say that 7:15 is not early...)

having music playing (jazz, foreign) while I eat/work in my house

composting 

recycling as much as possible

eating quality cheese/meats/bread

drinking herbal tea (loose leaf) before bed

decorating my house with things from all over the world in lots of earth tones

having dessert right after dinner with everyone at the table

making sure I have an adventure every day, even a little one (today I walked around town by myself for an hour or so and discovered a bunch of new things!)

drinking wine with big meals

Lord of the Rings moment...that's a FIREPLACE. And there were two in the same room!

Things I won't be keeping from my French life:

a regimented lifestyle

any sort of house rules in general that aren't very very important (although I know this may change as time goes on)

talking about politics

only watching the news/classical music/educational programming

the Sunday ritual of staying in the house all...day...long...

showering at night (aka NEVER being able to find a good time to exercise)

living with a bunch of people (this probably stems from the fact that I usually live with 2 other people, if any at all, and now I live with 4 or 5 others...)

What this all seems to boil down to is: conserving energy, eating/drinking well, having a tranquil and flexible routine, and doing relaxing things, often. 

Do I want kids? No. Not at this point. (They would completely ruin my plans...) In fact, I can't even imagine children having any sort of role in my life over the next ten years and that's perfectly fine since I want to adopt/foster parent anyway.

My latest plan with school is: finish my French major (check), get a social work minor and an English lit major, then do the MAT at Pitt (a 1-year masters degree in education). From there, I'm not 100% sure what will happen. I could find a job teaching in the USA and live incredibly meagerly to make an attempt to pay off a good chunk of my loans for a few years (and in the summers travel throughout the world volunteering/teaching English), I could move abroad and teach English as a second language right away, or I could move abroad and just...stay there. Forever.

I was talking to one of the program coordinators yesterday and she was telling me about the year she spent in Syria (before the war) teaching French. She wants to go abroad again but for now she's doing this because it was a good opportunity. Her degrees are in teaching French as a second language and teaching English, but since she's French she didn't really have any loans....

My life might end up being like that though; different jobs every few years that will eventually add up to something.

Yay for legalized gay marriage in France! Et vive La Bretagne!

The thing about living abroad (and Charlotte, the program coordinator, confirmed this for me) is that you don't really want to do it alone. It's lonely and less safe. I have a friend who wants to teach English abroad as well, so maybe we'll do that together. And there's always Darren, I know he's going to end up abroad at some point!

Things I love about living in Europe:

You can eat this for dinner and it's so cheap, so satisfying, so delicious. It's perfect. A lot of picnic dinners like this...that's what I see in my future.

Le Mont Saint Michel et Saint Malo

Today we had an excursion with our program. Mt. St. Michel is an abbey from the middle ages...it was very overcast and rainy today and I'm too lazy to edit my photos (as per usual) so the pictures are dark. 

Mt. St. Michel is actually an island though, and during certain parts of the year it's completely surrounded by the sea. The Bretons (people of Brittany) and Normands (people of Normandy) both claim it's part of their region, but my host dad told me to say that I was in Normandy. So...there you go!

Another awesome thing is that Mt. St. Michel was actually what inspired the design for the city Minas Thrith in the Lord of the Rings! And if you know me, you know I was geeking out about it. 

On the left is the LOTR city, the right the one that I visited today (not my photo, of course). But that's the coolest thing ever right?!

We also visited St. Malo, which is an awesome beach and it's only an hour away from Rennes!

And here's a picture of my friends and I all together. Tanya on the left, Amanda on the top right, and Kelsey bottom right.

It's so awesome to walk around medieval towns, I really did feel like I was in the Lord of the Rings at certain points. There were also all kinds of little shops and cafes throughout.

Bad news though: I'm becoming  a 2 cup-a-day addict...of ESPRESSO. Oh well, c'est la vie!