Travel Mindfulness

I have so many things to post and so many stories to tell, but I only have so much time! It's my last week here in Mont de Marsan, and I really cannot believe it. In between packing, wrapping up my classes, putting together travel plans and trying to say the dreaded goodbye's, I am also trying to reflect some on how this year has effected me.

Already, 8 months of my life in France have passed. Although I feel like a much different person now then I was then, 8 months is really not a long time. September feels like yesterday! It's amazing how much a person can change or experience within a time frame that doesn't feel long at all. I read this awesome article called "Why We Travel" and it just reminded me that among the many reasons I love to travel, one of the biggest reasons is being a part of the travel community. Alas, understanding and also practicing a life-long quest of learning and experiencing new things, constantly trying to self-improve and learn, and really, just the shear love of being enlightened, this, this draws "us",travelers, all together.

For now, I am going to get some sleep. But soon, very soon, I will share with you my photos and adventures in Scandinavia!

ciao mes potes!

My Birthday

Oh man, the weather yesterday was so great. I think this has been the best weather in all of the 25 years, or 15, let's be honest, that I can remember.



Then, I bought myself macaroons and ate them all under a tree. The flavors include cafe, citron, pistache, vanille et coquelicot (poppie).



A certain special someone made me a cake and sang me happy birthday via Skype. And, he has frozen me a piece of cake when I get back to Chicago! Thanks Jackson, you're the bomb!


Then I looked at some pretty nature



Then I went to a soiree with some friends where I met a bearded woman.





All in all a classy French birthday!

Dress You Up in my Love

Wouldn't it be great to have this bush growing up the side of your balcony? This photo was taken in St. Jean de Luz this past weekend. It's such a beautiful tiny beach town, the green mountains in the background. Tomorrow is my birthday I will be sure to post photos of the MURDER MYSTERY party I am going to. Now, I will drink tea and watch bad French TV. Adieu mes amies!

Some Good Dancin'

I really like the dancing in this video. Hope you do too!

Cherry Blossom Girl

Spring! I couldn't help myself to take a picture of this beautiful tree on my way to the thrift store. Vraiment belle, n'est pas? The weather is going to be around 80 degrees F or 28 Celcius this weekend! I am so stoked, and believe you me, I will be at the beach soaking up some vitamin D, having a picnic and thinking about how hard and stressful my life is right now :)

Enjoy your weekend by spending it outside with friends and citrus fruits (if you have a cold like me)

Jah Mon

I Dream of Summer Beaches

I've made it a point to visit as many beaches as possible since I've been in France. The sad thing is, because I came to Europe at the end of September, I haven't actually been able to SWIM in said beaches. Either way, here are some photos of beaches that I have nonetheless enjoyed despite not being able to swim in them! I think midwesterners will appreciate these!

I actually have loads more, but I don't want to overwhelm you. More later. Until then, think summer, think sand, think water, repeat.

The Bike Trip

After this weekend's 80 kilometer (that's 50 miles, that's right)bike trip, I think it is my destiny to live in the French countryside in a house like this:





or this:



I have officially fallen in love with the French countryside and biking in France. I had the idea about a month ago to bike from the Mont de Marsan to St. Jean de Luz. It really isn't that difficult to do, but I couldn't convince anyone to go with me! My friend Shalane, afraid I would do it alone and always up for a challenge, decided to go with me. Shalane's pretty fit herself and bikes, swims and runs religiously,not to mention she is from Newfoundland so she's pretty comfortable in the outdoors, so it all worked out really well. Our actual trajectory was MDM-Dax, Dax-Saubion, Saubion-Capreton, Capreton-St. Jean de Luz. We saw fields of flowers, amazing old homes, farms, horses, beaches, beach towns, mountains, surfers and amazing spring sunsets.














Then, on Sunday, we crossed the boarder to Spain and went to San Sebastien for a three hour trip to get the essentials tapas, churros, and a hike up the mountain to see the HUGE Jesus statue that is both amazing and extremely eerie.

Check out where we rode on this map!

Weekend Plans

Enjoying the weather, challenging myself and exploring more of France! The photo above was taken in Anglet, which will be one of our stopovers on Saturday afternoon. This song is sort of perfect for the weekend I hope to have. What are you doing this weekend?

Never Gunna Get It

Who is this saucy lady? It's Coco Chanel, that's who. I just saw the film Coco Avant Chanel and I have to say it was pretty good. It was awesome to see a lady of her time cut her hair short and make masculine clothing popular for women. Also, she never got married, which I find super cool. Has anyone seen the film? What do you think about her life?

Ride shares

So there is this really great site in France called covoiturage. Here's the concept: if you have a car you post your trajectory, and the carless, like me, search for someone who can take you from point A to point B. It's a really great way to move around, converse and save some green. I was looking for a ride for a friend and me this weekend, take a look at this great conversation:

Bonjour

Je ne suis pas anglaise, mais je parle anglais. Je viens d'Etats Unis, comment t'as devine? Alors, je pense que nous doinvons prendre le bus parce que c'est necissaire, les velos! Merci pour l'offre et si tu trouver une voiture plus grande dit-moi!

bon soiree,

joanna

Aujourd'hui à 19:09 De Jeffrey

all right where do you come from the states?
my car isn't has big has the one in the states
you live in mont de maesan? hope we can meet each other maybe and take a drink near the beach
jeff

Les Dimanches en France

Before I came to France this time around, I didn't fully realize how traditional the country really is. What I mean, is that the last time I was in France I was studying for 4 months as a university student in Paris, and many things that I experienced there in terms of French culture, have been drastically different then being here in the South West. Obviously you have the comparison between city/small town life, but one very drastic difference is Sundays. While many things would be closed on Sundays in Paris, you could still go out and find people on the streets and things to do. In Mont-de-Marsan, you'd be hard pressed to find many people walking on the streets or even grocery stores that are open (this is the worst for a non-planner like myself!). Literally, there is very very little activity happening in the town at all. And thankfully, it's not because France is in any way religious, but the way I interpret it is French people are very traditional and more family centric then I realized. Sunday is a day to relax before going back to work on Monday (well, that is if you don't own a store... in MDM non-chain stores are closed on Mondays, too!) and spend some time with a long meal and conversation that can span, in my Sunday experiences with French people, from 12:00-20:00 sometimes! It's actually quite nice, and it does do a positive number on your mental organization and general enjoyment of life.

I think the whole thing about traveling or living in another country for an extended period is that you HAVE embrace the way of life. Otherwise, you will constantly feel torn between where you are at the present and where you are in your head (home culture). I think that can be really isolating and put in you in a sort of cultural purgatory. So to that effect, I have tried to embrace life here as fully as possible and enjoy the people and scenery around me! Lire un bon livre, le piste cyclable, SPECULOOS et la foret des Landes, , So bring it on, boring Sundays!

Listening to- Daydream, Beach Fossils

Motivation, and the Like

So.... I've been in France since the end of September. I've done a sub-par job at keeping in touch with friends, and a worse job at keeping in touch with my family. Also, my pal Heather just launched a blog which motivated to get a move on and start documenting my time! So, here's me being 'motivated and the like'


First, let me mention that I am teaching English at a lycee (high school) and a college (primary school) in a small town in the south west of France called Mont de Marsan. These photos above gives you an idea what the town looks like. Voila! First, the Midouze river, a confluence of two other rivers, connecting at this point in the center of town. Second, another view of the river in the center of town. Third, Parc Jean Rameau.

This year has so far been full of a lot of surprises, noteably, teaching English without teaching experience! But, suprisingly enough, it's been great and I have had some really amazing students. Also, I've really got to put some awesome mind games into play. Such as, intimidation, answering questions I can't answer with questions they can't answer, and simply, when all else fails, I just speak really fast in English and no one can understand, thus giving me the upper hand :) Oh, the mind is a wonderful thing to mess with....