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Hello all, your Frenchie here.
OK so I'm gonna have to be a cheap-skate here and recycle my email that got sent out for this month (due to lack of time...sorry!), so if you haven't already read it (or even if you have, and suffer from short term memory loss)...please enjoy this fine piece of literature worthy of an award of two. (bahaha, as if.) I promise to do better next month!
Xox
S
Normally, I hate February...for me it has always been just another cold, boring month that takes up time before Spring. But, NOT THIS YEAR!
Firstly, I feel I should share with you a holiday that rivals christmas. Chandleure is on February 2nd, I'm not sure why it's called that, but it's an excuse to eat crèpes for breakfast, lunch and dinner if you want to...because it's the National Crèpe Holiday here in France!!! Yes, what better way to start the month then with crèpes.
(Oh, I was kidding about the rivalling Christmas bit, by the way. But it's still pretty good)
Anyway, because French students usually have school until 6pm twice a week, which is unnecessary and unusual torture in my opinion, there are two weeks of holidays in February too (Not bad considering I just had Christmas holidays.)
My first week was definitely cool. I was on set Filming Alice in Wonderland almost everyday. I got to help out with the lighting and sound when I wasn't acting, and learned a whole bunch about the different parts of film production and stuff. The only downer was the scene where I had to run into a tree, because every time, either the angle was off, or the sound was messed up, and in the end, I had run into the tree about 12 times before we got the right shot. Everyone seemed to think it was funny, well, everyone apart from me, obviously. ;p
After some intense filming, my host family and I drove down to the Southern French Alps, where they had rented an apartment. Now, I had never really skied before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But whatever I was hoping for...it was a million times better!!!!! I had sooo much fun!
On my first day, I bailed into the toddler sledding zone (no one was killed) and the second day into some innocent snowboarder. Luckily for me, the innocent snowboarder was a very nice boy from Paris who ended up helping my host sister teach me how to ski, or at least avoid small children and buildings for the rest of the week.
From then on, I only aimed my speedy skis at the people wearing Neon-90's-One-Piece-Snow-Suits (hehe)
By Friday, they had me going down red runs (as in the second hardest runs on the mountain)... Except, I only found that out after I had gotten to the bottom, thinking it was a blue. But the best part was, I only fell once, and that one fall was a beauuuty.
I don't know what the best part of the week was, between tanning every afternoon on the balcony (yes, in February!!! That's how sunny it was), learning to ski in the Alps, the "Aprés-Ski"'s in the Sauna to recuperate a couple times, (which was loverrrly and well deserved) and learning how to skate backwards on the skating rink. (Finally!!! I have always wanted to know how!)
I feel ridiculously lucky, and a little like I'm bragging. But, honestly that's just how great it was! I can't think of one thing I didn't LOVE. Oh wait, yes. The windy road on the way up. (Now you have a reason not to be jealous.)
After a great week one the slopes, we stopped by Lyon which is the second biggest city in France (after Paris), for a tour.
It's a very cool city that is filled with contrast. The city dates back to medieval times, and has loads of little secret passages (Called Traboules) throughout the older part of town that were used to transport silk way back when, and that helped hide French troops during the Second World War, but just around the corner there are streets filled with ultra-modern bars and restaurants with Ferraris parked out front. I have never seen any place like it. I especially loved the older part, it was like a little time warp, you'd actually expect a knight to come walking down the street...
(Lyon also gets points for having a Starbucks, it's the only one outside of Paris in ALL of France, needless to say, I hunted it down and got my fix to tie me over until June.)
Well, I'm back in Nancy. I'm in one piece, a very sore and slightly bruised piece, but one piece none the less...and I headed back to school today and was greeted by a lovely pop quiz in spanish. Goody!
This next month will be filled with more Alice in Wonderland filming, school, and who knows what else.
I'll be sure to keep you all posted.
PS. Let the countdown begin, I only have March, April and May left, then I head back to dear old Vancouver.
XOX
Sarah
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