I'm getting way to used to taking naps in the afternoon!!!!!!

So what's new in the life of Amanda the Frenchie?

Well, for one, it almost vacation!!! YAY! I just have my private tutor lesson tomorrow and then two classes on Thursday and them I'M FREE for two whole weeks! On Friday, I leave for Spain. San Sebastian, Spain to be specific. I am meeting my friend, Barbara there. She was the exchange student who stayed with my family in Australia after I did. She is from Austria and is studying in Spain for a month, so I'm going to visit her :). I met her for the first time when I went to Australia last January to go to Phil (my host dad) and Carol's (my "step" host mom, i guess?? haha) wedding. Barbara is awesome and I can't wait to spend sometime with her, specially in SPAIN! Even though I am so close to Spain (only a 4 hour train ride) I didn't think I would have time to make it, but now I am, so it makes it all the better. I am in Spain from Friday the 20th till Monday the 23rd. After that, I am going to Nirot to spend a few days with Melissa and then we will both head back to La Rochelle on the 25th-ish to get ready to head to LONDON! I'm so excited. I talked with Amanda (my roommate from last year in Mankato, who is now living in London) last night and she gave me some great advise on what we should plan to see, so I feel like we have a jump on things knowing them in advance. We will be staying with her and will be in London for 6 days. So, we should be able to see a lot of things. We may even take a couple days to head up to Scotland??? But not sure, I'll let you know :)

Work has been going good. I'm finally at the point where I really enjoy going. Only took five months! Haha. But better late than never, I guess! The kids are finally getting used to me and know what is expected when I come in. It's nice.

Last weekend, Melissa, Donald, Jamie, Donald's friend Brandi (who is an assistant in Brittany, which is in northwestern France) and I took a trip out to Fort Boyard. It's just off the coast of La Rochelle and is this really old Fort. They built it as an impenetrable fort, because it's located in the ocean and is very difficult to get in. It's really interesting, because it's literally a lot of cement plopped right in the middle of the ocean. The next sentence I was going to have here was, "See the photos to get a better idea," but our internet is running slow and I can't upload them! Ah! Sorry :( I'll try to get some up soon, but in the mean time google "Fort Boyard" for some photos. We weren't able to go in, because they don't let people and it's actually now used for a game show (crazy, huh?) but it was really awesome to see and definitely worth it. It was a bit expensive, but if I wouldn't have done it, I would have regretted it.

AGAIN, my next sentence what going to be, "Here are some photos from my weekends in Niort," but again, I can't upload any. Sorry :( I'll try to get some up as soon as possible. Niort is very different from La Rochelle, because it's very hilly! I love it! It's a very beautiful city and Melissa and I have had many fun times there :)

Anyways, just wanted to let you know I'm still kicking :) And I'll have some amazing stories in the next couple weeks!

P.S. Count down: 2 months 3 weeks :D It's going soooo fast! I like that it's going fast, but I'm kind of nervous at the same time! AH!!! I can't win! Hahahaha.

P.P.S. I remembered something cute that happened today in one of my classes. It was my last class of the day and right before I left, one of the kids said, "Amanda, can you say something in English? Say a really long sentence in English!" In this class, the teacher speaks pretty good English, honestly, I'm not sure why I'm there, because, even though she has an accent, she speaks really well, so I usually end up just assisting her in saying words, etc, where as in the other classes, I'm the English teacher, I do my own thing away from the teacher. So, these kids in this class really don't hear me speak as much as the other. So, my really "long" sentence was, "I hope you all have a fun vacation. I hope the weather is beautiful and that you are all safe." Their reaction was great. They were all like, "Ahh! Wow!!!!!" Hahaha. So cute. Then I said it again really slow and they understood "vacation" and "fun" so they understood what I was getting at.

Oh! Another really funny thing that happened last week. I was teaching clothes to my older kids, ages 10-11, and I came to the "boots" flashcard. When I introduce new vocab, I always have them repeat the word three or four times. So, I held up the flashcard of the boots and said, "Boots" and this one kid, I think he may have ADD or something, he's always being really loud and seems agitated all the time, said REALLY loud, "BOOBS." I said, "No! No! BooTs. BooTTTTs!" Hahahahaha. I couldn't help, but have a really big smile on my face and giggle a bit. Obviously, he doesn't know what "boobs" mean, just mispronounced. It makes me wonder how many times I do that in French and they hold back a laugh :) Hahaha, not many I hope!!!!