PARIS....

Ok, so after having lived in France for 4 years, I kinda know what to expect by now. However, nothing could have prepared me for a 5th floor bedroom that's smaller than my bathroom, no toilet and having to run down 5 flights of stairs to shower and go to the bathroom... not exactly what i had anticipated.
so i changed rooms and now have a toilet, no door - just a toilet. a friend stopped by on his way to Spain and stopped up said toilet... fun times on new year's eve...
Once we found a plunger and realized that we could not defeat the beast, we headed out to Sacre-Coeur / Mont Martre to stand on the steps at the highest point in Paris and check out the city on New Years Eve. Needless to say, it was beautiful! We had a blast checking out the fireworks across the city and making friends from all over the world. After recovering from the champagne overdose, we went to Clermont-Ferrand to hang out with my friends for a few days. Emily and Jason went skiing in Super Besse and had a great time. My friends in Clermont were amazing and greeted my USC friends with copious bottles of champagne and home-cooked 5-course french meals! They loved it - and I love those frenchies!

I had a moment of stress when I felt as though people were taking advantage of my generosity and expecting me to help and do whatever they said... I enjoy helping others, but "please" and "thank you" are much appreciated. Also, don't tell me how to speak French.... especially if you can't speak it!

We start school on Wednesday so i'll let you know how it goes.