je tombe toujours amoureuse d'une porte ouverte.

"The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love.
It may look paradoxical to you, but it is not.

It is an existential truth:
only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love,
of sharing, of going into the deepest core of the other person -
without possessing the other, without becoming dependent on the other,
without reducing the other to a thing, and without becoming addicted to the other.

They allow the other absolute freedom,
because they know that if the other leaves,
they will be as happy as they are now.
Their happiness cannot be taken by the other,
because it is not given by the other."

- Osho

le temps filait

This is the new addition to my flat -- I've named it Rowdy in honor of those who gave it to me (Kat and Tannie) and all of the Scrubs episodes that we watched while they stayed with me for a few days during their tour of Europe. Why didn't I have a cactus before now?!

Anyway. Aside from Rowdy, who is outside chillin' on the balcony (quite literally -- it became autumn overnight again here. Not unlike last year. Or the year before that....), there's not much to talk about... EXCEPT OH YEAH I'VE BEEN IN LIVING IN FRANCE FOR TWO BIG SCARY YEARS. I certainly felt the first six months of living here drag on endlessly, but after that, I'm seriously left wondering where 2010 went. And now most of 2011, including the summer. What the whaaaaat happened to June, July and August?

That's it. I've got some good ideas for future entries, but I just haven't thought of them yet. Sorry my blog kinda sucks now, but you're still reading it so I don't care.

Just kidding, I do. But only marginally.

:D

bisous

je vais au coiffure (de temps en temps)

Sometimes (meaning every six months) I go to the salon for my bi-annual haircut. I've really been trying to make an effort--I even cut it before Christina's wedding in May!--but even though I have noted "GET A HAIRCUT YOU LAZY BUTTHEAD" every week in my agenda, I always end up conveniently ignoring it and instead decide I don't have time that week. Besides, I've had pretty much only weird experiences at the French coiffure -- either they don't really listen to me or they don't listen to me and they spend the entire time ignoring me and sometimes even leaving me in the chair with the blonde dye burning my scalp.

But you guys, this time, I had a really good experience. I decided to go to a more upscale-y salon and had the most wonderful woman cutting my hair. She was bubbly and making jokes the whole time and not only that, but the woman actually listened to what I wanted! She found just the right shade of red-brown and the end result is, if I may say, awesome. I love her. And I love it.

I wanna shout it from the rooftops! I don't have any post-coiffure remorse for once!!! YAYYYY!!

j'ai la flemme. du coup, je vous presente encore de citations!

Me: So, you have a lot of vacation coming up!

Student: only three weeks.

Me: yeah. it's a lot, though.

Student: no, it's the minimum.

Me:  Well I guess there's a reason why the word for "vacation" in French is always plural, amirite?

Student: ...

Me: Just... Don't ever move to the U.S. for work, ok?


[listening to a dialog about iron deficiency with a student for TOEFL prep]
Student: I don't understand. She says there's a lack of... higher?
Me: Actually, she says there's a lack of iron.
Student: What is eye-run?
Me: It's a mineral... In French, it's le fer. 
Student: ... OH! It's like Eye-Run Man! (Iron Man)
- Seriously, I could fill the internet with moments I have like this.


Me: "So, tell me, what did you do this weekend?"

Student: "I visited the monkey forest. and then I went to the eagle dungeon. And then a vulture tapped my wife on the head! It was a very nice weekend."

Me: "....Were you playing a video game???"

Student: "No."

Student: What do you call the husband of the cow?

Me: Husband of the cow? Um... You mean a bull?

Student: Oh! Like Red Bull?!

And what kind of teacher would I be if I couldn't laugh at myself? So here's a conversation I had with a group of people in French (I've translated)...

Me: "Where we were staying in Spain, there were almost no Spanish people, just French and Germany--"
Friend 1: "Oh you mean, Germans."
Me: "Ah, yes, that's right, thanks."
Friend 2: "I can't believe you just corrected her in front of everyone, how embarrassing for her."
Me: "No, no, it's ok. Please, I want you to spank me when I'm wrong!"
Cut to everyone bursting out laughing and me wondering what the eff is going on... (apparently, "corrige-moi" would be our equivalent of saying "I've been a bad, baaaad girl...")




ca suffit pour l'instant!
xx