it's late...

note: i have been here for 4 months, not 5 (thanks mom, even though it FEELS like 5 ok?)

just wanted to share a MAGNIFIQUE movie with you all...
http://www.panslabyrinth.com/

very, very, well done!
ok, i am off to bed because i have an important mission at the market tomorrow morning... presents!! yes, that's right. so if you don't get one, it's because a) i slept in and forgot or b) i don't really like you that much.

haha have a great day!

a zombie's anniversary rant

so, i am supposed to be studying but i don't feel like it.
the last time i looked at this material, our last class to date was march 28. it is now may 10... i don't even remember what my prof looked like, let alone remember what Popelard says about the interactive nature of contemporary art... such a long break in between class and finals is very hard to deal with. the break feels like the end, but then you have to get right back into it again! i think i like the canadian system much better...

one week until my parentals come! can you believe it? i have been here for 5 months exactly TODAY. it's like... my anniversary with france! how sweet.... we're like going steady now. le sigh
my parents will be a nice anniversary present... that is a kind of creepy statement if taken out of context, no?

ok, now i am just rambling so that i don't have to focus on this crap. so i will get back to it....

salut pour maintenant,

a zombie with bangs (i cut them myself!)

p.s. I love lucy!! i have been watching the show with lee lately and i laugh out loud constantly! so that is my recommendation for the weekend - go rent some seasons and be ready for some old-fashioned belly action http://www.tv.com/i-love-lucy/show/1038/summary.html

whOA - K

A few interesting facts about france:

1. chi chi = churro A.K.A deep fried sticks of goodness covered in sugar and don't come as a singular churro like in edmonton, no, you get like 9 at once!

2. dog poo + shoe = an uncomfortable picnic experience

3. it is perfectly acceptable to portray naked woman on the side of rides at the carnival... especially if the ride has anything do with with America

let's see....

I had a wonderful dinner with some fellow canadians (+ Malika who is an honorary canadian haha) on Saturday night. We went to Ian's apartment, a guy from Montreal who we met at Vimy. The coolest part was this cafe we went to post-dinner that was in Old Lille, hence it was an old building. They put tealights in all the holes in the brick walls...there was also live trombone music and peanuts. Also, there was a giant hole in the floor covered by blue plate glass, it lookes down into some kind of cellar. I think I am officially turning french because I ordered one of their impossibly small coffees and was actually satisfied, drinking it in more than 15 seconds!

Sunday was picnic day. Ian, Julie, Katie, Jake (her bf), Raelene and Malika and myself all stopped at the market for some goodies and went for a little picnic. As we sat, the smell of poo kept wafting by, hindering the enjoyment of my black pepper goat cheese and fig semolina bread. Well, at least I wasn't crazy - there was a nice little pile smushed into my shoe! Sigh... after that little emergency, we carried on successfully! Next to our spot was an exhibit housed in a greenhouse that compiled all the floats left over from Lille's India parade in January... there was an elephant like 20 metres high! We also checked out the Fine Arts museum because it was free... but not so fine as I had imagined! The layout was difficult and distracting, and the "artifacts" area hadn't been renovated in a while... So on to the carnival... it is something to see! There are true carneys there and all the rides have naked women on them? Great influence for the kiddies...We shared some deep-fried-sugar-goodness at the park next door for dinner. (SHH I KNOW)

And... it has rained non stop since then!

new obsessions

i feel like one cool and interesting thing is happening right after the next here right now... i am really loving lille! my new obsessions:

*hawaian pizza made with tomato sauce AND cream sauce, oh those french!

*blackberry beer, plus all the other flavors they offer: coconut, vanilla, strawberry, violets, raspberry, peach, orange, cinnamon... le sigh. yeah

*Cafe des Six Roses: great vintage cafe just down the road, how did i not know about this before? they play vinyl only, the bartender is constantly changing records. the walls are lined with art books, comics, board games, dictionaries et al which are there for perusal. PLUS you get snacks for free!

*Valentine's Day: no not the day, the band! Lillois and relatively new, they kick ass!
www.myspace.com/valentinesdaymusic

Lee and I went to their concert on Thursday night at Le Drugstore, gotta love that fringlish! Not only did we watch them play for 2 and a half hours, we met the band and their families! We exchanged e-mails and might be able to get a copy of their music (not released). Probably one of the best nights so far...

*Large Item pick-up: the French have good junk! Items recently acquired off the side of the street? A wicker bedside table, a new book, Harry Potter trading cards and a painting.

witch's familiar spotted while strolling through the park thursday afternoon

spanish flood

the title says it all....

crazy partying spanish neighbour + party + 2 am

= broken radiator and complete flooding of my room

i was so kindly told by a girl whose friend got a phone call from a girl at the party next to my room... so that i could rescue my clothes, laptop charger etc.

sigh

Marseille? Marsun! ahhh bad joke...

Wow! So my internet is once again the crappiest thing on the planet...

I got back from my little trip to the south of France on Saturday, but because of no internet and holidays (everything is closed) this is the first time that I have been able to post anything!

My trip was FANTASTIC! I got a tan, some relaxation and a little sight seeing in as well... it was a great way to end the two week marathon spring break! I 'm really looking forward to finishing classes and exams (my first test in on Friday) and getting on with the summer!

We got in Tuesday afternoon and just hung out on the beach for the evening. Two of our friends, Lee and Amy, were already there so we met up with them! They were already quite burned from the sun so I was nervous for the fate of my skin! We got these amazing ice cream sundaes that were HUGE and came with all the toppings...sooo much chocolate!

Wednesday was designated tourist day. Raelene and I got up and left for town early on the bus and then we walked down to the Old Port. We were fortunate (not sure if that is the right word!) to catch the opening of the fish market – they’d just chop the heads off before the fish were even dead! We really just had one purpose that day: to go to the Chateau d’If, the site of the real Monte Cristo!! We took a boat to the island which was nice because we got a mini harbour tour. The chateau itself was really cool, it was a military base and prison. The had a history of the building as well as info about the novel and its influences. The actual tunnel dug between the two cells is still there! We stayed on the island for lunch (it is really small) and ate lunches that we had bought from the grocery store including mini bottles of wine. Probably the cutest alcohol I’ve ever seen haha. When we got back, we went to visit the Basilica Lady of the Guard which sits on the highest hill in Marseille. The walk was LONG and STEEP but the view was worth it! The church itself wasn’t as cool as I’d thought it would be, but you cool see for miles! We stayed in the city for a while longer, just wandering around. We got free samples of smoothies and cake and then, like 10 minutes later we got free samples from the Body Shop! We still wanted to get in some beach time so we split a strawberry tart and hung out at the beach with some people from the hostel. That night, Raelene and I went out for an actual dinner: Mussels and Fries! Finally! And some beer…we ate right on the beach so we watched the sunset. There was a mother and daughter staying in our room and they shared some cookies with us before bed. I was really full!

Thursday and Friday I hung out on the beach by myself, everyone else left in the morning to other destinations. The beach there is little pebbles but it's actually quite comfortable! I also visited the botanical gardens which had turtles in the pond! That was my favorite part for sure. I just read magazines and tried to get a tan.. I did burn a little! I met a girl who went to Lille two years ago and was staying in my room, we ate dinner together of thursday night and reminisced, it was nice!

My only other crazy adventure was trying to get home! My train was late and so I had even less time to transfer in Paris than the hour I originally had... and I had lost all my change! I had to bum money off people until I had enough to take the metro to the other train station... sigh. But I made it home finally at midnight....life is never dull!

I posted my pics on my online album : http://picasaweb.google.com/leahskinner8
go see go see!