The Sky is Falling - Tara bought HOOKER BOOTS!

That is correct I am the proud owner of a brqnd new pair of hooker boots that go up past my (and can be folded down under the knee). I know it's crazy, but it's true! I still haven't loaded my haircut pics to send, but I will try to soon. France is till great. I'm on my break now, but i'm not taking off until wednesday - so essays here I come! I know it sounds boring, and it is....
I gotta go - It's laudry day!
Tara

I GOT A HAIR CUT

I really did, and it's sort of pointless that i'm telling ya'll this because I can't even show it to you. So I will describe it: side bangs, layers etc. and maybe next time i'll have a pic to post, but for now I got nothing! Except for this beautiful picture of me and my host mummy. DON'T WORRY MOM SHE WILL NEVER REPLACE YOU. But she is very sweet and kind, except I look kinda SPECIAL in this pic! In fact i'm regretting having posted it, but am too lazy to do anything about it.

Anyways, all is good here in France, i'm trying to watch my carbs and stay away from cheese which is next to impossible to do in France! Last night I didn't do either, because I ate galettes and crepes on a boat! Me and the girls went for a stroll and found a little floating creperie on the river, so we thought eh, why not have an authentic french experience - so I ordered the galette Nantais (named after the city I live in) with was a form of a crepe with cheese, onions and sausage and with Muscadet the prized wine of the region. and for dessert to keep with the whole french thing, and being as cultured as I am I ordered La Canadienne - you guessed it, the canadian with maple syrup, toasted almonds etc. It was fantastic (although I am dissapointed in myself for having something I could easily get at home, or make for myself. I also had a double shot of expresso at about 8pm which kept me up half the night for my homework! Canadian coffee is going to suck when I get home.

Anyhow, enough random babbling, I have places to go, and people to do!
till we meet again,
Tara

I never get on the internet!!!

Turns out, Internet is not at all a big part of my life!!!! I thought I would want to get online everyday, but really I have been damn lazy. Too much effort to carry laptop to school....cannot do it captain, I don't have the power.
Well, I bought the bestest thing ever yesterday.....it is a French cultural dictionnaire (think encyclopedia and dictionnary all in one) in 4 volumes. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the only problem, it weighs 12.86kg, more than half the wieght I am allowed in my suitcase....OOOOPPPPSS! Besides that I have bought like 20 other new books, and still have a reading list from one of my profs that I want to buy while i'm here. I AM SCREWED.....Why do I have to be such a geek!!!
Anywho, aside from that, I had a very interesting night at the bar on saturday....Apparently Tara thinks she can dance, especially after much beer and shots....Tara even thinks she can dance well enough to hop up on little stages! I suck....The good news is, when I ran out of Euro's a lovely couple at the bar who found out I was canadian were kind enough to supply me beer, which in turn kept me dancing.
NOTE: EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO SALSA DANCE WITH STRANGE FRENCH MEN - if you catch yourself in this situation DO NOT PANIC - when your dance partner decides to try and spin you - keep spinning until you find Doug - our amrican boyfriend who comes out dancing with us.
Also to note at the bar:
The bartenders here unlike in Canada will offer you volume deals on shots - so buying ten rather than six means excellent deals and more drunkeness for you!
OH YEAH - I forgot, this is a complete side note, but there are lizards here
gotta go .....ahhhh class - and no i'm not drunk right now
bissous,
Tara

This one's for you Jaime!

Well I really don't feel like I have much to say. Today it is rainy as usual, mind you yesterday it was nice and sunny. I have class in 30min, and a presentation to prep for Friday!
I still don't feel like I have settled into a routine here (not in a bad way). Everyday is different.
Here is what I have learned so far in France:
If anyone asks you "Where is Brian?" you are to respond that he is in the kitchen.
things aren't cool here, they are hyper cool (imagine it with a french accent Heapère cooool)
I apparently have a problem with public transportation (mini anxiety!)
French bus drivers attempt to finish their route in the quickest amount of time possible so they can have a smoke before starting again!
When random boys tell you that there is a bus at 4am outside the after hours bar THEY ARE LYING!!!!! so be prepared for a long walk
If you don't specify that you want a shot of vodka, you will get a glass full of it.
French university residence are not used, nor ready for rowdy Canadians who know how to drink!
No matter how hard you try to hide it, your non smoking next door neighbour will catch you smoking in your room!
Cleaning ladies in France don't actually clean, they just sit in the hallway and smoke
It is a good idea to get fully dressed before leaving the shower, to avoid the cat calls of your french, african and spanish neighbours.
Rosé is not considered real wine
anytime you would normally say shit in english, replace it with Vache!
Always say Bonjour when walking into a shop and aurevoir, whether or not you buy anything.
Drinking is permitted everywhere: at school, on the tram, on the bus, in the shower etc. etc.
I'm sure I will have many more lessons to share with ya'll later on!
Until then, love you, miss you
Tara

le Perk!

Well I meant to post this the other day....ok i'm lying, i've been too lazy to put my pics onto my computer, so I stole this one from my facebook page!
This is about half of the group here with me in Nantes. The 6 girls in the front of the pic including me are the girls who live in my building. We all knew each other before this year since we all go to UW.
On a funny note, we are actually at a cafe called le Perk in this picture - the reason why this is funny is that the 'quote' of our trip this year so far has been "Je m'appelle Claude", "Blu, bla, ble, blu" - from friends - ok so it doesn't seem as funny written down, but those of you friends fans I know will find it funny! ANYWAYS... the cafe called le perk - relates to central perk on friends.
And here ends another one of my useless stories!

Cafe Flesselles

I have found my french cafe! I always pictured myself finding a cafe where I could become a 'regular' at least for the year, and I have found it! The waiter Loic is the nicest man ever. The first day he met us he gave us all gifts. Now I am pretty much here all the time. The added bonus: FREE WIRELESS!!!!!!!

I am happy to report that France is still fantastic. I have started my classes and they are pretty good. It is amazing how much free time we have this year. We have about 7 weeks off during the school year to do whatever we choose! I think my first week off will be spent in Corsica and I am debating going to Paris for the weekend! I can already see that it is going to be hard to remind myself that I am also here to do school! There is just so much to do and see. I could spend a whole year simply exploring this region.

Nantes is a great city - kind of like Guelph on a larger scale in that it is a city with a small town feel except for when their are fights on the tram and pervs at the bar who understand everything in english except for the word NO. (Don't worry I'm a tough girl I can handle myself!)

I must admit I thought I would get on this more often to post - but the days seem to go by so fast here! After all it is still the beginning.

I am at a crossroads right now - I don't know if I want to teach english anymore while I am here - don't get me wrong it would be a great experience ... but I now have a host family that I want to spend time with - and those 7 weeks off might come into jeapordy if I have to teach everyweek. I have a meeting today - and I guess I'll have to make my decision, but right now I think its a no.

Back to the host family - I love them! My host family is an older couple, who are retired, that have been a part of the france-canada association forever. They have been hosting students for years (since the 70's I've seen pics!) They used to live in canada, their son was born in Montreal. I am looking forward to spending time with them, we have already gone to an exposition and had it not been raining we would have gone to see one of the local castles! It also must be said that they are fabulous cooks, I had a wonderful lunch with them.

Anyway - I think at this point i'm rambling - so till next time,

Tara