When life gives you lemons, opt for the wine.

Being in Poitiers has so far been one of the best experiences I've ever had. Everyone has asked me "Are you having fun?", "Yes, yes indeed I am." Some (KP) would argue I'm having too much fun and I need a little bit of stress in my life. Well as of right now, I couldn't disagree more. I work on average a max of 10 hrs a week. Say that again? Yes 10 hours. Most would wonder what I do with my time... well I write a lot, I reflect but mostly I spend a lot of time walking around Poitiers, meeting friends for coffee, shopping, laundry. Whichever. It's quite nice for your only stress to be a 30 minute lesson plan that has the sole goal of making people speak. Now one of my favorite things about France is my ability to be spontaneous. Just last weekend I had been driving around Poitiers with my girlfriends here looking for a place to go shopping, when out of the blue Jess says: " Hey! we should drive to Tours!" So that is exactly what we did. Up through the Loire Valley amongst all they greatest Chateaux, right into the city of Tours. We had a late lunch, spent our time wandering around the beautiful city of Tours and headed back to Poitiers for a night on the town. So far, this has been how my week repeats... I teach for a few hours Monday, Tuesday an Wednesday, spend Thursday hanging out with friends, going for runs, coffee, cleaning and drinks then pick a destination and head there. This past weekend, La Rochelle was picked from our hat. Lauren and I woke up Saturday morning, went for coffee and decided during coffee that we'd like to see the ocean. We picked up a bottle of wine and some peanuts and headed off to la gare. We got there just in time, there was a train leaving in 2 minutes for La Rochelle, so we sped to get our tickets and ran to the train. Needless to say La Rochelle is beautiful, even when it is getting cold in France. It was nice to be able to walk in the ocean, something I've never been able to do in Canada, and to see all the sailboats, kitesurfers and kayakers out at sunset. The best part of it, is there is always something going on in France- on this particular day was a jazz concert close to the marina where we spent a few hours sitting outside with our drinks enjoying life. There's nothing like having no cares in the world and being able to do exactly what it is you please. It's liberating to know you've always got control of your decisions, and right now I am infinitely thankful I've made the decision to come to France.