La Vie Bohème: HEY OCTOBER

Well October has gotten off to a great start, and that's exactly why I haven't posted in a little while. So much has been going on! Apologies in advance.. this is gonna be a long one!

First off this was the beauty view/sky I got to enjoy on my walk to school one morning last week:

who will believe me if I say there's no filter on this.....

So that was awesome.

Then on Wednesday my skate arrived!! YAYAYWEEEOOWWOOOYAAAWHAHOOOO!! It was so exciting (in case I haven't said it on the blog already... I ordered a stereo cruiser skate like 2 weeks ago because I loved Sixtine's so much). There I was, casually walking downstairs into the kitchen to say hi to Yann in the evening, with absolutely no expectations of seeing it for at least another two weeks and there was this giant package leaning up against the counter. I couldn't contain myself when Yann told me it was for me... I let out a few decent girly squeals and then continued to repeat "this is awesome" for the next 10 minutes of me opening it and proceeding to ride it around the kitchen. It was so cool it came with free stickers and sunglasses!

Yann gives it a try!

I'm still on a high from getting it. I'm pretty bad right now since I just started, but I was too excited about getting it not to give it a try the next morning. So my walk to school the next day was my first official run with the skate. I was absolutely terrible. The thought occurred to me that I have had more embarrassing and/or awkward moments since the start of my exchange than most people probably have had in their entire lives. It's kind of hilarious. So anyway there I am all pumped and excited and walking with a goofy spring in my step as I set up the skate for trial run numero uno. It was right outside my house where the sidewalk is pretty uneven, but my overly excited beginner's determination was blinding and it didn't occur to me that my plastic cruiser might not glide like butter over the hugely obvious cracks and uneven juts of the sidewalk until my first disaster. I forgot that it might take some actual concentration and skill to succeed at first using the skate, and I had a bunch of energy that let loose the minute I tried to start pushing with the skate thus making my body forget it ever once had co-ordination.. and the skate slipped out right from under me and scooted forward and onto the road making a huge deal of clatter and causing the guy walking on the other side of the street to turn around and glare with a look that said "what in god's name is going on?!" That's when I dived onto the ground beside a car to hide myself from view. Anyway once that catastrophe was over and I was reunited with the skate, I gave it another try. I actually was able to ride it for the next couple minutes without problem! Except it can't be ridden nonstop to and from school because, as I learned the hard way, it doesn't work so well over uneven sidewalk or large areas of cobbled street. So I make it without issue onto the main street in Roubaix with a lot of students walking to school, random Roubaix-ans chillin out, and overall just a decent amount of people going to and fro ready to start their day, and that was when I forgot my sense of balance.. and the skate slid right out from under me a second time leaving me stunned and sitting on my butt in the middle of the street. Go Siobhan go!! The entire endeavour was hilarious and actually really fun, but I was definitely glad when I finally made it to school with no more accidents. I even made it home at the end of the day problem free! The good news is it's been about a week and I've gotten much much better. Now I use it just to get places and it's so much fun to have.

This weekend was super busy for me. On Saturday I had school in the morning, then went to my friend Liz's house in Lille for lunch. Her host family has 4 daughters all younger than her, it was kind of cool to be at a meal with a big family, reminded me of home! Afterwards we went into Lille to meet a bunch of other exchange kids. We got galettes (kind of like a pita/panini/burrito mix) from this awesome little stall there where the two guys working had hilarious personalities. They were so pumped to learn all of us came from different nationalities, and when I busted out the camera the one guy couldn't get enough of it.

"Ehhh! Pho-to eh pho-to!!"

Then he wanted a photo with everyone

This guy is totally random. He lives in Lille and is always around the really busy areas and makes weird birdlike sounds with his mouth. He'll come by and pinch your sides and tweet like a bird and then keep walking like nothing happened. As soon as Annabel saw him she yelled "IT'S YOU!!" I guess she sees him all the time and she actually doesn't like him very much. The whole situation was kind of goofy, but he really wanted a photo so......!

The rest of the afternoon I spent with my friends, then I took the metro home because I had to get my stuff to go to a concert with Ana and then sleepover at her house! The photos I took there didn't really turn out unfortunately. It was pretty fun! The next day I went home in the morning, took a shower, and right away afterwards went with Yann to a friend's house for lunch. Theophane was already there, and I met 3 other French boys ranging in age from 14-17. One of them had done a month long exchange to Vancouver last year! I get way too excited when I meet people who have been to Canada, or are from Canada, or know it well enough to talk about it with me. Severine, my third host mom, then picked me up after we'd eaten so I could go with her, Lancelot (my adorable 10 year old third host brother), and Rika to Bruges! Honestly probably one of my new favorite places. There's probably chocolateries within 5 metres of you no matter where you stand in Bruges, and it was so beautiful! And did I mention there was a lot of chocolate?

mmm Haagen Dasz

just everywhere

Rika, me, Lancelot just before our boat tour of the Bruges canals!

this is the boat tour we went on

Because in Bruges when it's not chocolate that you're thinking about, it's beer

Three words: giant chocolate rhinocerous

mmm

mmmmmmmmmmm

MMMMMMMMMM

In his natural habitat

This photo is like one big metaphor for eating chocolate. It's like a stare down with all the weight that chocolate threatens to make you gain.

Omg my dream

Then as soon as Severine dropped me home after Bruges, Yann drove me to Marion's house for a sleepover before school Monday. That was a blast and a half. School Monday was pretty relaxed. Our French teacher didn't show up to teach, and instead of heading into Perm (study hall) we just sat in the hall and listened to music for an hour. It was awesome! And I had my camera on me yay!