life on this side of the atlantic lately...

Mont. St Michel

It's been too long since my last blog post. I really should start posting more often!! That is, if my English isn't deteriorating...

Apparently, my written English is on a decline since I write so little in said language. This has got to change. I should have known that being in a foreign country is detrimental to my English language skills. No regrets about living in France though!

In a delightful little village called Quinéville

Chateau de Chenonceau

In the past few weeks, I've been off traveling, strolling on the beaches of Normandy and waltzing down the corridor in a chateau. My friend rented a car to drive around these places. Thank God he did all the driving because I can't drive a manual car for the life of me (lessons on the way!). This has been quite relaxing since I work so much during the week. I spent some time in sunny Avignon and Aix-en-Provence and even managed a quick get-away trip to Annecy. Seeing the D-day beaches was definitely an eye-opener. After studying extensively on WWII, it felt surreal to see the beaches where thousands of soldiers died on that fateful day.

Fun fact about the chateau pictured above: This castle was actually the demarcation line between occupied France and Vichy France. Hence it was used for the resistance and used to smuggle people from and to the free zone of France.

Also, this happened:

Yes, I've just signed up for the half marathon in Lyon on 4 October. I guess I'll be spending three glorious summer months training for this. Who knew that I could get up so early now in the morning? This is definitely not the old me. Past me would have gone to sleep past midnight and on weekends, I'd sleep in until 9 or 10. Now I wake up everyday at 5h30 and the weekends at 6h30. Because I'm crazy enough to be out running before 6am during the weekdays. To whoever thinks that I'm insane for doing this, deal with it. Everyone has their own balance in life and for me, running happens to be a part of that.

More adventures are concocting and slowly brewing to reality. Today actually marks the one year and three months that I've been in France. It's had it's ups and downs and more joys than I can ever count. I have every reason to be grateful and I know that I have caught every curveball that life has thrown at me so far.

To conclude, here's a gem from the '90s:
Pinky: What are we going to do tonight?
Brain: Same thing we do every night! Try and take over the world!! 

Bon weekend et bonne semaine!