Plans de déménagement...and ramen

Bonjour à tous et à tous!

It's been a while, but I thought I'd provide a little update on this fine Sunday morning. In the last couple of weeks, I studied, took, and did very well on my final exams. That being said, the semester continues until the end of next week. I've still been going to class, which isn't so bad I suppose because I'm still learning and there's no more pressure for finals. And a few days ago we registered for next semester's classes. I'll sticking with the 9 hours a week for the general French course, plus 3 hours each a week for a written French class, and a Tourisme and Gastronomie class.

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In other news...I'm moving! Not 100% sure where or even when yet, but I've given it much thought, and I really am paying way too much just to live here. I've given my notice to the landlord, so I will be out of here by the end of February at the latest. I'm currently looking for a place-and possibly a roommate- in the suburbs as most of my friends live in that area, it's cheaper, and as long as it's near the RER B, it won't take me that long to get to class.

Annnyways, that's pretty much it for now, though because I'm the new Betty Crocker now, here's some pics of the dishes I've made recently..Enjoy!

Cajun chicken pasta, mmmm, spicy!:

French-style apple pie:

(Almost) Papa's Man Spaghetti..no chorizo, but ground beef and ham with plenty of spices, so still good:

Finally, a few days ago, I decided to try and make my own Japanese ramen after having had it out for lunch. Little did I know that it's a dish that's notorious in Japan for being difficult to make despite being so simple looking. Well, after 4 hours of watching and re-watching the tricky steps on Youtube, I managed a fiiiiiiine bowl of ramen, if I do say so myself. And it tasted very authentic, too :)

That's all for now, love you all!

Rachael

The missing of English literature

Bonne année à tous!

Hope that everyone enjoyed a safe and fun New Year's! :) This year, Theo's roommate Guilluame hosted a party at his home outside of Paris--waaaay outside of Paris, actually. But Theo, me, William, and PH carpooled the 60 kilometers to Guillaume freakin' castle of a house. Really though, it's more like an estate because not only do they have what appeared to be a tower from the Renaissance era in the field that was their backyard, but walking into the house itself felt like walking through the chambers of Versailles, complete with rose-colored paneling and ornate chandeliers. It would've been cool to take a few pictures, but that might have been a little weird...

(I was gonna insert a slightly dramatic picture of a castle, but when I Googled for an image, this one came up, and it's actually not far from what the house looked like...just minus the sunny weather.)

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Anywho, so a lot of people came, there was a DJ, great music, great food (and a lot of it), drinks, dancing, and just an all around good time. I kind of hit my energy limit at around 3am and so went up to the giant loft where all the inflatable beds were to stake a claim, even if very few others had turned in at that point. But you know what? Everyone else probably wished they had done the same when around 5am, no more beds were to be had. Booyah.

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On another note, an e-mail from Amazon.com today advertising all the new books in the US made me a little nostalgic for the times when all I had to do was then log into Spl.org, place a hold on dozens of said advertised books, and wait a few days to get one (or more.) But no more..there's a fee to be a member of the American library here in Paris, and I'm too broke to go out and be spending money on fiction books like I used to. I did briefly have hope when I realized that the SPL has a few electronic 'books' you can borrow online, but had that glimmer stomped on when it said I was currently barred from checking out because of my slightly-over-the-limit fee balance. Tear.

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So to feed my seemingly evolving masochistic nature, I went to Gibert Jeune, (the Barnes & Noble of Paris) to peruse through their English books. Once I'd rubbed enough salt into that wound, I actually realized that I had enough money to buy a much-needed French verb and conjugation book. It was the last copy in what looked like had been a large stack, so I felt pretty good about snagging the last one. It even came with a CD! Win. (Yes, I realized how easily pleased I am of late..^^;) But hey, it's to further my studies, and it's a book. Good enough.

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Well, school tomorrow. Not entirely thrilled to be going back, but just gotta sit through a couple more weeks, and then it's another 3-week break :) Have I mentioned I love Paris?

Love y'all,

Rachael