Lovin' Life

Another ridiculously awesome week has come and gone.  Life is FAAAABULOUS!

Nothing that exciting or spectacular happened this week, but since my family move I've noticed I've been soooo much busier!

Soccer is still going good, and I'm finally getting the hang of the basics which is always a positive when you're playing any sport.  I've been running lots too which feels sososo good! On Wednesday afternoon I went into Lille to meet friends and ended up hanging out most of the afternoon with David and Ty.  We explored Vieux Lille and found some of the coolest shops, and then went to my all time favourite clothing store in Lille called Tilt Vintage.  It's like a vintage/thrift store but French version, so it's awesome.

Ty found this hilarious jacket with a some United States/Canada unity.  Awesome.

On Friday it rained hard (on Wednesday and Thursday too... always a joy when one has to ride a bike to and from school - it's the one downside!) and the heating in the house stopped working, so when I came home after school soaking wet I put on my warmest clothes, made some tea, and popped a squat by the fire with Valentine to warm up.  Coziness to the max!

My socks are totally not distracting.  FUN FACT: I'm wearing the sweater my real Mum knit for me, and a scarf Valentine knit for me for Christmas.  Go knitters! 

On Friday I went and saw a movie called Jamais Le Premier Soir with a girl I met last week who's the daughter of family friends of my host family.  Her name's Eva, she just finished studying fashion at university in France and is potentially looking for work in Canada which is cool and exciting! It was fun to get to talk to a French person who wasn't planning on either doing engineering or medicine, because, no joke, almost everyone I meet here is going into one or the other.  It can be a little overwhelming for the Canadian girl who's interests and goals lie within the artistic area of work, so talking with Eva was really refreshing! The movie was great too.  It was basically a French chick flick and was quite funny.  There's something so realistic about French films that makes you relate to the characters and their lives, I don't know how to explain it, but I definitely understand the culture better now and know that I wouldn't have seen the movie in the same light had I watched it 6 months ago back home.  Not to mention that I UNDERSTOOD IT WOOHOO! Pat on the back for me.

Waking up for school Saturday after my late night on Friday was a rough go, but I managed to survive the dreadful 4 hours of classes without falling flat on my face with fatigue.  After a delicious lunch back at the house, I went rock climbing with Louise and 3 of her school friends! In French high school, they have final exams called the BAC, which is basically what their lives revolve around for their entire grade 12 year.  They have a BAC for every subject, even gym class, and since Louise and her friends are doing rock climbing right now in gym, they're going to have to pass a rock climbing BAC.  Kind of cool but weird to have a rock climbing exam... Anyway her friends wanted to get in some extra practice and I tagged along.  It was so much fun!! There's this really great rock climbing gym in the area, and they give you a harness and basically let you roam free.  We spent a good hour and a half climbing and man did it ever make me want to start doing it regularly.  Maybe I can fit it into my schedule ha.

We got home and within 10 minutes were changed and ready to go for a run.  Four of Louise's friends who were at the party last weekend and who live nearby were going running and we went to tag along.  It was awesome, there were 3 boys and 3 girls and we went off with our little clan.  They wanted to run this route where we could pass by a castle, but since it was dark and it had rained during the week, the path was muddy, swampy, and wet and we couldn't see a SINGLE thing.  We may or may not have gotten a tad lost.  We did eventually make it out though, and the group split up so we could head back to each of our houses.  We had mud up to our thighs from the run, and I was just DEAD.  But oh wait the night doesn't end there...!

Louise and her friends participate in these things called Rallies, which are pretty much organized parties that were established originally for dancing what they call "Le Rock."  They're student organized and happen once a month and often have some sort of theme.  Very cool.  Anyway we had to be at Louise's friends house to be ready to go within a mere 45 minutes after getting back from the run, so it was a little bit of a mad dash to shower and get ready.  There wasn't a theme for the Rally, it was more along the lines of Parisienne chic, so we had to look gooooood.

Busted out some high heels for once in my life! (Moi et Louise)

It ended up being loads of fun.  I got to see and spend time with the kids I met last week who are all super friendly and cool.  And I learned (or tried to learn) how to dance like the Frenchies... can't say I was all that great but it was still a blast.  It's so cool that they have these Rallies for the sake of learning the Rock and then spending the night dancing.  That's something Canada is missing.  Dancing like a hooligan (my forte) is one thing, but actually having a partner, getting spun around the dance floor, and knowing what your doing is on a whole other level of awesome. Great people and good times.