Une nouvelle année, une nouvelle maison

A new year, a new home.

I've been in our new apartment for just over 3 weeks now and am loving it more and more each day. It's been such a different (but better) experience living with a good friend - and lucky for us we haven't killed each other yet. Our place is centrally located with everything we'd ever need - a metro station a few steps away, a supermarket, two fruit & veggie grocers, two boulangeries/ patisseries and a butcher's (for Tennie of course) - all just under our building. We're in the 3rd arrondisement, part of the popular Marais district & Paris' gay centre which means everything is very hip & trendy.

After all this time though, I'm still getting used to the apartment-style living. People in the apartments opposite our building tend not to like using their curtains/shutters, and at night this means we can see ev-er-y-thing. I find this kinda weird. But hey, each to their own.

I'm also back at French school but this time only 3 days a week and taking afternoon classes as I could never wake up for 9am starts. 9am just sounds way too early these days. I realise how far I've come to understanding this language when I watch tv and don't really notice whether things are on in French or English. Because now things finally make sense and now I no longer need to let it 'translate' with a 5 second delay in my head. Speaking skills however are still a different story - and although I know it could be a lot better - I'm happy with what I've been able to accomplish.

It hits me everyday how little time I actually have left in Paris and I wonder - how has 10 months flown by so quickly?? So as part of making the most of our time here as possible, Tennie and I have started a new tradition where we make a point of visiting a new museum or place of interest every Sunday, topped off with trying a yummy new pastry. I feel oh-so-cultured.

Our lounge, with left-over decorations from our Australia Day Housewarming Party :)

Still full from Christmas

Joyeux Noël tout le monde!

I hope everyone had a very happy Christmas this year coz I sure did :) It was so much fun! We cooked, we ate, we laughed, we danced, we sang, we ate some more. And as it should be on Christmas Day, we made about 3 times as much food than required so the good thing now is that I won't need to cook for the next few days. Oh the joy.

Bon appetit!

Yummy home-made gingerbread cookies by Tennie & I (well, I helped stir...lol)

Tennie & I have also found our new apartment! After all that searching and hoping we finally put our deposit down on Christmas Eve - what a great Christmas present. Can't wait to move in next month. Already thinking about our housewarming party.

Yes I do want to work...(maybe)

So I finally got off my butt and finished my French CV this week. I even applied for a couple of jobs. I think working could be interesting and provide a different perspective to life in Paris, though I have been saying this to myself for 7 months... I did end up getting a call back today for an interview but I had to tell the man I couldn't come in because I'll be on holidays for the next couple of weeks. Hmm probably not the best first impression. Oh well, he told me to call him when I get back so hopefully the job is still available. But then it'll be so close to Christmas and New Years...who wants to work during Christmas and New Years??? Umm...maybe January, I promise, January!

Apartment hunting has also been keeping me busy over the last week. We have our eye on a perfect one so fingers crossed that it'll all work out!

Really looking forward to going to Berlin tomorrow and then a few other cities around Germany. I just hope the snow doesn't cause too many delays or worse still, cancellations! One of the most inconvenient things about living by yourself and going away must be what to do with all the food that's going to go off while you're away. I've literally spent the last 3 hours trying to eat everything out of the fridge so that I don't have to throw out too much before I go. My belly is very, very full right now!

The end is nigh

Third update in four days...whoa! I am on a roll. Perhaps it's post-hiatus guilt for being MIA so long but I just felt like posting again. OK so the title is a little dramatic but what I meant to say is... I now have my plane ticket home. I'll be leaving Paris in March next year :( It's funny because suddenly now that I know the end date is set I'm totally regretting all the extra hours I slept in and the nanna naps I took when I could have been out walking around or doing something slightly more productive. But, but... all is not lost. I still have a precious 3 1/2 months to go. (Wonder how many pain au chocolats I can stuff in in that time...)

For those of you who were wondering I've stopped doing those Conversation Exchange thing-ys (well, with new people at least). I just started to find it so tiring and the last person I met up with really creeped me out. I swear he had just got out of bed and come to meet me without brushing his hair, teeth...anything. Wonder if he even changed clothes. What's more he just sat there hardly saying anything and I had to try and make all the conversation. In the back of my head I was just counting down the minutes to when it would seem like an 'acceptable' time to call it a day. And finally when I did, he then asked if I wanted a ride around Paris on his scooter. What the? And prolong this pain with you? I don't think so. I feel bad for my last remaining convo buddy though as he said I'm really helpful and he likes meeting up, except for the fact I'm hardly ever in Paris. Hah...my bad.

Oh and I forgot to mention in my previous post about the pretty intimidating experience I had at the airport before flying to NYC. Before check in, I was asked so many questions and even though I have nothing to hide I started getting really flustered! The security guy asked me what I was doing in Paris for a year and I just said 'traveling'. He asked if I worked or studied and I said not at the moment. It's kinda hard explaining to somebody that what I do for a living is just going on holidays. I think he thought it was suss and kept asking me all these other questions and also switched to French - perhaps to test if I had really gone to school at the start of the year. This carried on for about 15-20 minutes including him looking through every page of my passport...and the weirdest thing was when he asked what I did for money or how I survived (to which I said 'savings') and he replied "Well you'll need to get a job right? Because if you have no money to live then soon you'll just...die." Umm yes... thank you. I guess one could die in that circumstance and how nice of you to point it out. Strangest response everrrr. He said it so seriously too. Anyways, obviously they let me through but it was such an unsettling experience. Do I really look that shifty???

First day of snow!!

It snowed today! For the first time this winter. It was very light and quite brief but oh so beautiful. I've never actually seen snow fall before or feel it falling on my skin, I loved it! Can't wait to see the gardens covered with the white stuff.

Looking out from my window