“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” Vincent van Gogh

Last night I didn't end up going out to dinner because plans changed, reservations were lost, and I was already on the tram going a way that would have taken me forever to get to the newly proposed restaurant... so I got off at the Porte des Alpes mall and just walked around in a bad mood. What else was going to happen.... no fun dinner, nothing to look forward to when I went home, I ate a crappy lasgna at a mall restaurant all by myself, the guy serving me commented on my English accent making me feel insecure about my French speaking capabilities.... UGH! It just wasn't my night!

But.... I came home and talked on the phone with my family and realized, all is not lost, I still have my family, I'm still very fortunate to have the opportunity to be here... I need to suck it up and roll with it. What would life be if we had no courage to try new experiences, new places, new people? I may not be in an ideal situation at the moment, but it's not the end of the world.

This morning I was met by the painter, who was very concerned that I was still in bed. Turned out that the electrician never finished the intercom thingy after disconnecting it yesterday, so I didn't hear him buzzing in. He asked if I like the color they were painting the apartment (a bright, but pale yellow). I said yes, it's great, my favorite color actually... And he was like, was this not your choice? I was like.... hah, not at all, none of this was my choice, but thankfully I like it:)

I went to school, knowing that today would be a little weird. The classes that I teach were having an all chorus sing along after the mid morning break, so I went around to all 5 classes to review our Christmas songs. The kids are so cute.... they're getting extremely excited for Christmas. One little girl made me a Christmas card in Franglish (French-English). To top it all off, it started to snow, so the kids were fit-to-be-tied!

After the break, we all crowded into the gymnase to sing songs with a special choral lady that comes once a week. They were fairly crazy up until they started singing- kids spinning around, pushing each other, sliding on their stomachs, etc. Once she had gotten their attention, they sang 4-5 songs with her that I'd never heard of.... and then, I got up in front of all the kids and had them sing Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. It was great! I was in shock that there wasn't mad chaos with 150 little bodies grouped together.

At lunch time, the teachers all commented on how well the kids did with the songs in English and how much they loved me (well... if that couldn't put me in a better mood, I don't know what else could!). The teachers I don't work with said they wished I could work with their kids too....

And then, the teacher who is hosting the dinner tonight told me that she did an internship right outside of Washington in a French immersion school. I was like, oh what was it called... she said Fairfax! What a small world! She lived with a family for one month, in Fairfax, Virginia. Hah.

For the moment, I'm feeling pretty good, considering I know that I eventually have to walk home from school in the cold snow and return to my paint fume-y apartment. My ipod is recharged and I have a ride to the party tonight:) Now, let's just hope that the snow stops soon so the party is still on for tonight!

Reste cool mes amis:)