I apologize for not writing lately, things have been super crazy!

We ended up going to Breakfast in America for dinner and it was AMAZING! I had chicken nuggets and french fries and new york style cheesecake for desert. My friend Mary had real pancakes which looked heavenly, and Christine and TJ both had burgers. It was nice being in a diner -like setting and having a menu that was in English and a waiter who spoke to us in English (the fact that he was a very handsome British man helped too)! The restaurant itself is quite small and we were lucky enough to get the last open table - apparently there is a larger version of the restaurant elsewhere in Paris but the one we went to (on metro stop St. Paul) was very cozy.

Last week we went to the Cirque d'hiver Bouglione, a very popular- and one of the most famous- French circuses. We had a great time! There were acrobats, clowns, dancers, a lion trainer (the lions were HUGE), llamas (which made me think of Erica so I took a bazillion pictures of them), and even two young children who are part of the family that owns the circus who had trained pet goats. There was also a segment with white horses that entered the arena in dim lighting and with smoke/fog - it was really enchanting! Everyone had a wonderful time, including Lidia- Anne-Marie's two year old daughter- who was almost as entertaining as the circus itself!!

After the circus Evie, TJ, their friend Claire, Mary, TJ's friend Lauren, and I went to by far the most amazing restaurant in the entire world. It is a small, traditional french restaurant located off of the Port d'Italie metro stop. We had to wait over two hours to get a table (and there is no place to wait inside the restaurant so we were outside in the cold) but it was totally worth it! I had a veal dish that was layered with melted cheese, fried-like potatoes, bacon, and a mushroom sauce (served with bread of course). Absolutely amazing - my description does not do it justice! The best part is that the restaurant itself is not expensive for what you are getting, around 13 euro for the best food that you will ever put in your mouth. When my family comes in April I am defiantly taking them!!

The last few weekends my friends and I have been going to the Latin Quarter where there is a great bar called l'Antidote. There is no cover charge to get in and in the basement there is a dance floor. The bar plays great music - a lot of old school American pop classics which is priceless- and the drinks are good but expensive. We tend to go here after we have had a few drinks at the Hideout or another bar with good happy hour prices. I am currently trying to convince myself that I like beer (as beer is cheap and cocktails are very expensive) but I am not having a lot of luck.

The last two weeks have been very interesting with school...

I decided to drop my 20th century history class, it was a hard decision but I think in the long run I will be a lot less stressed which at this point in my life is an important thing. I am still taking my socio-histoire class which has proved to be interesting- in a this is a difficult and bizarre class kind of way- thus far. The only good thing is that it is a six week class and tomorrow is the halfway point.

I am having a really good time in my cinema class and I found out that it will count for French credit which is really exciting- now I am guaranteed to have a minor in French by the time I leave, and will have the option of finishing up a major- we'll see how that goes.

I have finally been assigned my teaching internship!! However, leading up to my initial meeting was extremely stressful! I first received a voice mail from the principal of the school on Monday morning when I was in the shower. After listening thoroughly to the message and practicing the anticipated phone discussion for a while ( I really did this) I finally got the nerve to call the school. A very unpleasant french man picked up the phone and started yelling so I hung up, assuming that I had dialed the wrong number. When I called back about an hour later - after I worked up more courage- another man answered the phone. We had trouble understanding each other but eventually he took down my name and phone number and told me that she (the principal) would call me back when she got in from lunch. The rest of the afternoon I was glued to my phone- but no one called. The next morning I had my RD cooking class and during the break tried calling back- this time I was passed on to a woman who told me that she had no idea who I was and asked me not to call back. Needless to say this made me panic and I went and talked to Melissa and she offered to help me out. She listened to the initial message and called the school and left a message on my behalf. The next morning I received a call from the school while on the metro -just my luck- so I had to wait to call back during my break for sociology. Finally I talked to the school secretary who was very pleasant and we set up a rendez-vous (meeting) with me and the principle (Madame Quelquejeu) for Friday. I was so nervous to go to the meeting- but Madame was so nice and very, very pleasant. She asked me some questions and explained why she liked having American students come and teach and we created my schedule for the semester. I will be working on Monday afternoons from 3:45 until 4:15, and then on Fridays from 10h-11 and then from 1 until 4 in the afternoon. I'm sad that I have to give up my four day weekends, but very excited about the internship! My first day was yesterday and the class I met with was great! The teacher was very nice and the students (who are from age 8-10) told me their names in English and anything else that they could say in English. One girl in the class is completely bi-lingual and helps when there is a mis- communication between myself and the teacher or if one of us has problems finding a word to describe something important. Next week the teacher asked me to bring in a poem or something to share with the class, any ideas? On Friday I will be working in small groups and I figure that I will talk to the students and see what they are interested in and go from there.

On Thursday night, Uncle Todd is coming! I am very excited to see him and to hang out with family from home. We want to go on a day trip to Chartres amongst other things. Whatever we do I know that we will have a lot of fun together! I feel badly that my internship is cutting into our time together but know that it will all work out in the end.

Missing you all,

Sarah