This blog is not really in time. I started it about a week ago but never posted it because it wasn’t finished. Now all the dates I am talking about are a bit wrong, but you’ll hopefully understand.

what did the chicken say to the librarian?
"book, book, book".

I’ve been back at school a week and a day, and it’s fallen into a slightly different pattern then what it was before the holidays. This is because I now read during class which is a good thing short term as it passes the day quickly, but a bad thing long term because I am probably not going to develop my French as quickly. This all started while shopping solo the other day. I ventured into a book store looking for something that would help me progress with my language and also an English version on the text “Candide” that we are studying in French (this is because my French teacher is the only one who cares that I sit there and learn nothing). So, in this bookshop works a really handsome guy and I asked for his help (and when I say really handsome, he actually wasn’t REALLY handsome, but he was my cup of tea you know?)! I walked up to him and in my slight hesitation to start trying to speak French, I drew in a quick breath through closed teeth making an interesting slurp noise. This he also did in a mocking gesture – oh those Frenchmen, so romantic. I started by asking “parlez-vous Anglais? (Do you speak English)”, and his reply was “a petit peu (a little bit) ”. He sounded slightly disappointed that I was going to speak English so in an awkward and drawn out manner I tried to ask for what I was looking for in French! “avez-vous (have you )... une livre (a book)... pour moi (for me) ... a parle francais (to speak french)”. Re-cap: “ have you a book for me to speak French”. It wasn’t the greatest sentence of all time but with a laugh he looked up and said “what?”  I then explained my need in English and he assisted me to the language section where a new woman took over and attended to my needs. With a look over my shoulder I gave him a broad smile and a double thumbs up. Again he mocked me and did it back again. The ‘English’ section consisted of only 2 book cases within the whole book shop (I was a little disappointed with this limited selection). One had learning books which were all jumbled in with French ones too, and another book case with popular English books.  They had series such as twilight (Danika pulls a repulsive face), the millennium trilogy (i.e. the girl with the dragon tattoo) but I have already read these, and they had Harry Potter! In Australia I only ever got to number 3 (the prisoner of Azkaban), but I lost is somewhere halfway through. Unfortunately it was an Alstonville high school book and to this day and I am still not officially signed out of school because I never replaced it.  Mum, you might have to chase that up... love you.

So here in Aix, on a warm Sunday afternoon, I purchased number 3 and 4 or the potter collection so I could once again continue on the magic and dangerous journey of Harry Potter and his friends. Actually let me get the sequence of events in their proper order. The first time I went into the book shop and got helped by the babe, he showed me to the English section specialising in learning French. And in the presence of him I completely forgot to look for a book to read just for pleasure. I ended up not getting any learning book because they were expensive and I couldn’t make up my mind, and five steps outside the shop it hit me that I needed to go back in. Hmmm. Danika always cripples at the knees (metaphorically) in these slightly challenging situations her brain over-thinks tiny things, thus ridiculous decisions are reached.. That is her weakness and other then that Danika is perfect, obviously. So I went and got lunch at my new favourite shop called ‘simply food’ which sells wonderfully weird salads, pastas, curries, wraps, toasties, yoghurt and muesli and just lots healthy stuff. The girls at the counter are starting to treat me like a regular, too. After that I braved it and returned to the bookshop, but without being seen by him which was both a good thing and a bad. I got the harry potter books and left; again without being seen (I decided it was now a bad thing now).

Can I just say, I have become a really fast reader ... or just sadly have too much time on my hands... because I have finished both the HP books! It makes lessons at school actually fly by – pretty amazing. Maybe Harry’s working some of his magic for me. My French teacher has been the only one to comment on it out of all the teachers by saying “ahh Danika, what is it you read? Harry Potter? That’s for little kids isn’t it?” ouch Madame! But yes, yes it is.

I bravely returned to the book shop yesterday YET AGAIN when I was shopping with my friend Sam but the guy wasn’t there.  I bought some more books which were Possibly a little more advanced. I got “My Year in Provence” by Peter Mayle and also “My Life in France” by Julia Child. It is this book that got rewritten and turned into a movie called “Julie and Julia” which I love! So they will be fun to read. And speaking of cooking, I made dinner the other night for only Julie, Jean and myself because Anne and Charles were at Pourcieux (the other country house).  I made a cheese, bacon and tomato quiche but had enough egg and cream liquid to throw together a frittata thing afterwards with more bacon, carrot and peas. I was kind of freaking out that they wouldn’t like it, but they did so it was all good!

Tragedy of the week: ..........

Jean broke his nose during a football match in Lyon on Sunday a week ago. Not just the cartilage, but the whole damn thing – bone and all. He had to get a big plaster cast over his face leaving holes for his eyes, and things inserted up his nostrils to keep everything straight. He has gotten that removed now and is back at school !

poor Jean...

                                                                                                                                                                               I think it is becoming a bit of a ritual for me to spend Wednesday afternoon with Sam in Aix. We hang out and do a bit of shopping and we found this really cute little Mexican place called “la Boca Loca” and the food they sell is tex-mex, which is the Texan equivalent of Mexican cuisine. Both sam’s parents are Mexican so she has a very superior knowledge of what Mexican food is, and she thinks this attempt is worthy of eating! It really is delicious. I had a burrito with beans, guacamole, rice, chicken, cheese and a little bice of spicy-spicy! then we went to H & M, a huge clothing store with cheap and fashionable clothes. I thought I had to be back home by six because we were going to meet my 2^nd host family. But when I got there and was wondering why we weren’t going, Anne said that it was on Friday. Grrr, this is one example of how information changes when you swap it from one language to the next. This was a bit of an impact on my weekend plans for my birthday!

this is a mexican card came that was in th tex-mex shop!

roses from my lovelies. you truely made my day very special indeed!

As most of you know it was my 18^th birthday on the 17^th of March (Saturday) and it was also Saint Patrick’s Day. My birthday proved to be a day of mixed emotions for me, as not everything was running smoothly here. I won’t go into details, but the love sent my way from Australia by family and friends really helped to make my day special for me. I got roses for my auntie Dan, Uncle Mick and the Kids which were of all different colours, and some lovely red roses from my beautiful friend Hannah and her equally beautiful family. Over the last week I got two parcels too! One from Kat, which had vegemite <3 and CD’s, and the other was sent from my mumzy. I wasn’t allowed to open it until my birthday so I hid it under my bed to forget the temptation. On Thursday night I skyped with mum and we agreed it would be a clever idea to open my parcel in the company or her and my step dad Jeffy! It had some bunting made by the ladies from the Rous mill hall crew, A book called “tarab – travels with my guitar” and also a beautiful stone necklace. Unfortunately I haven’t even worn the necklace yet because when I took it out to put it on, the metal connecter has decided to go walk about... and I have no idea where it has fallen off. This is a crying shame, but I will fix it as soon as I can. I’ve been told by people that more parcels are on the way, but I am worried that I haven’t been giving people the whole address. I live in an apartment block and so I’ve been thinking that you’d have to include my name first, and then mention M. et Mme. Mazel so the post man could get the right apartment... I don’t know if this is the case. Or, what if I’m not at home? What does the postman do with the parcel because he can’t leave it there! Someone tell me everything is going to be ok!

So your all wondering what I did for my birthday right?! Well, about 5 days before my birthday I asked permission from my family to go out on Friday night to celebrate with my friend Sam. We organised for Sam to stay the night and everything was looking good. Then unfortunately the day of meeting my second family was swapped to the same night. We agreed that I could go out after the meeting, because it wasn’t meant to go for too long. Sam ended up coming with us to meet the family which was good because she’s like my translator haha. my family are really awesome and so is their house and their GIANT DOG! i honestly am so excited to take a picture and show you. they have 2 dogs, a cat and a rabbit. So when we got home we went out and got some Mexican and met up with a couple of other American girls who are also studying here in Aix and they are really lovely. I initially met Darrien in the stairwell of my apartment thinking she was the American girl living up stairs. She wasn’t and it was pure coincidence that she was American too! Anyway I got her number and that’s how that happened!  

Kim and the girls at La boca loca!

And then Saturday on my actually birthday, I awoke at 8 with Sam on a matrass on the floor beside me. I turned on my computer and did a lot of skyping for the next hour or two with my family and friends in Australia. First I skyped with my daddddddy, then with Giselle and then with my Auntie Danielle and the kids.  At about 10:30 Sam and I headed out for something to eat but Julie and Jean didn’t want to come L ahh well. So I got a waffle because my cousin Monty told me I HAD to try it. He described it with chocolate sauce and ice-cream but those luxuries weren’t available at this little stand, so I got nutella! Then we sat on a park bench and talk while eating. After we had finished we went shopping at H & M before Sam had to catch her bus home at noon. In the stop two hands grabbed me by the shoulder and squealed “happy birthday” with a glorious American accent in my ear. It was Kim and her girls!! I was so happy to see them and seeing as I didn’t have any plans for the rest of the day, she invited me out to lunch! We called around to check if that was ok with my family, and guess where she said she was talking me... “so, I know this great little ‘tex-mex’ place just down the street if you feel like Mexican?” honestly, I could eat that stuff for breakfast lunch and tea. Even though the food was great, we were sitting outside at a tiny little terrace table on the street and I am pretty sure there was a dead something-or-rather down the drain... it was subtle enough that we didn’t bother moving, but if the gentle breeze stopped a-blowin’, it was gross. Then a DJ randomly set up outside a shop so Kim dared me to go dance. I said I would if she did to. So, while her daughter was recording on Kim’s iphone we went and made complete fools of ourselves (which Kim said later was something that the French NEVER do). Then we went shopping in a huge shopping complex out of town and got a mcflurry (2^nd McDonalds experience here) AND THEY DON’T HAVE OREO! They have caramel (called daimes or something) and some a nut mixture, and they had m&m’s with nuts which was the closest thing to home. YUM! Kim and Terri were already coming to the BBq for my birthday that night, so I stayed with Kim and went with her and the girls because it worked out easier for everyone. I wore my new outfit that I bought that day (cool top and a bloody denim jacket – I say ‘bloody’ out of frustration because I have one in Australia and I didn’t BLOODY bring it. Or my awesome leather jacket - I am a fool). I showered and dressed at Kim’s which was probably more fun than it should have been. We had music blaring through the house and all the girls and I were dancing like monkeys! And off we went in their huge 4x4 jeep.

i love these kids! singing into a giant champaigne bottle is class!

 The whole way in the car we were rocking out to some music I guess never an influence to me as a youngin’. We were listening to the rolling stones, Fleetwood Mac, Dixie chicks, the eagle’s etc, but I was surprised at how many I did manage to know. Mum raised me with Carol king, Tracy Chapman, Diana Ross etc, but they so great too that I m definitely not complaining.  I was always under the impression that the rolling stones was the equivalent of Metallica or kiss, but that ARE AWESOME! Now that I have lots of time to think here, I have decided to make a mental list of my living conditions when I move back to Australia and live in my own house. It’s going to be so good. It’s all about ambiance and mood and creating a feel within the space you dwell. Thus, I plan to have music from all era’s playing so I can be always dancing. I am going to eat so much fruit!! Fruit all day and night, bebeh. And I’m going to buy that fruit from the city markets (I plan to live in a city – hopefully Melbourne). So there we are so far.  The dinner was really... delicious, along with the assortment of beverages. We started with belinies (I have no idea how to spell it but they are little miniature pancakes) that went with a seafood dipping sauce that Charles made. There was also cut up baguette to go with this ridiculously fatty pig spread that is probably catastrophic for your heart but delicious for your taste buds.  Jean, Julie and tom were in charge of the BBq and when I went out there to see how it was going, the wind was sparying sparks everywhere from the over-crowded fire. After a few minutes the kindling had dwindled and the coals were red hot. A Metal crate sat over top and you could adjust the high to suit the cooking temperature you wanted. It was pretty clever. So on went the sausages and then off they came (a little black I’d say. I’ve been reading that Julia child book and she is teaching me to be a little more critical of what I am putting in my mouth). But they were heaps yummy haha. Somewhere in between cooking and actually eating, we had a toast with some champers and then we tucked in.

For desert there was an ice cream cake with pear in it and sponge and it had my name on top “joyeux anniversarie Danika” as well as a pipe thing stuck in the centre that shot a stream of sparks up 2 feet into the air! T’was super cool. I tried to snap a photo but we’d already half cut it up by the time I thought of it! Oh well, next time I turn 18! Oh wait...... that only happens once!!! L

 

Sunday was a bludge days of just chilling out in my room and playing a bit of guitar. I finally fixed my guitar so I am really happy about that. I took it to a music shop in Aix and the man re-positioned the neck for only 20 euro. He had my guitar for a week though so that was a bit difficult! I also checked out the possibility of getting a loop pedal so I can do harmonies on the spot! How cool would that be. And the shop has a few to choose from. They’re probably overly expensive so I’ll do a bit of ‘investigationing’ (new word by Danika) online to see if I can find a better deal.

So, tonight is the 20/03/2012 and it’s all happening here in France. I went to another rotary meeting because A) I get to be more involved in rotary and B) I get to eat some classy-arsed cuisine like a real lady. I actually love rotary. It’s so funny to go and just observe (as I don’t understand anything really). While the chairman Madame Morrell was doing the introductory speech to the club, a very old man at my table was tapping his cutlery together; obviously unaware that is was extremely loud and distracting. Then the old man next to him starts tapping his knife against the base of his wine glass! I met my councillor tonight, too. He’s actually completely opposite to what I pictured. He’s a young Italian lawyer born and raised in Marseille and he speaks very good English. I sat next to him at dinner and I’m going to go with him to Marseille to get pizza because it’s apparently letter then any pizza I will find in Aix. His girlfriend was there too and she is also really lovely. They live in a house only 5 minutes walk from the Mediterranean and he said I can call/email/visit whenever I want! For dinner we had a starter of ... I can’t remember the French name but it was cheese (im guessing goats cheese because I’m an expert and all now) on little square pieces of toast with ham and a petit salade vertre (little green salad). It was simple but delicious as the cheese was warm and gooey and really flavoursome. Then the main meal was grilled salmon and blieu (I think – which is a white flesh fish) with polenta aux oliviers (polenta with olives). YUMMY! I know its not the best meal “La Pigonnet” has produced but I sure as hell liked it. This book I am reading about Julia child is opening my eyes to how to taste a meal. It’s such a great book as she is talking about the place I live (Provence), what she did with her time, and what she was cooking. I wither want to buy her cook book and also start taking French cooking lessons here. Mum found me a site that lists all the tourism and there is a wine tasting course, a cooking course...there are so many things to do! I’m going to get a French tutor to help me with my language because I have birthday money!!

On the 24^th of this month I am going to a party with my 2^nd host sister which is exciting! And on the 29^th I am heading to Annecy, a beautiful French town on the east boarder of France to a large rotary conference with all the other French exchange students for 2 days. I am really excited about this because I get to meet up with friends I made on the trip here and also students from my club at home! I am going to catch the train there. Then on the first of April I am changing families.  

I am very tired and it’s off to school tomorrow! I am going to move up a level soon to premier which is the equivalent of year 11 in Australia and I am also going out for lunch with my 2^nd host sister and her friend.

lots of love xxx

Danika

Hey folks!

This blog is going to be a lot less exciting than the one all about my ski trip, because since then I have been taking a big ol’ break! I have been just chilling around the apartment in aix, which has been really nice as I have been thinking heaps and getting back into a rhythm of sorts with my brain. Every day I have gone to the main shopping area in Aix, be it just for a walk or to get lunch, or something like that – usually by myself, but I think this is good as it is making me more independent and confident about interacting with French people. I was really bored the other day (yes, I know using the ‘B’ word is criminal when I am in such an amazing place – sorry), and I was on facebook talking to my mate, and I remembered how I always used to tell him about the different kinds of muffins I was making. SOOO, I decided to make muffins! Thanks facebook, you really are helpful <3.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have a god damn muffin tray at the apartment.  I’m sure there’d be one or several at the house in Pourcieux.... shame. So I planned to go and by a muffin tray along with the ingredients of my favourite muffin mix which I used to make all the time in Australia.

................. Damn it I COULDN’T REMEMBER THE RECIPE! I know it has 2 eggs... or is it 3? And milk, but how much?  There is definitely ¾ cup of out and 1 ½ cup of sugar. And I have no idea how much flour. So, this plan of creativity wasn’t going to work. I emailed mum asking for the recipe along with some other recipes for future creative times, and that’s all I could do for the time being (p.s i love you mum - probably can't tell you that enough)... I was hungry anyway (and there was literally no food in the house except biscuits and breadsticks because no one had been shopping since we got back from Italy and Anne and Charled were staying at Pourcieux). I went for a walk to Aix looking specifically for a healthy food shop because it has become apparent to me that there are lots of shops selling pizza, kebabs and pastries and then there are restaurants which I’m sure would have a salad or something, but I wanted 'easy and fast' for a loner like myself to just slip in, buy something healthy and slip out again unseen. I bought a slice of pizza anyway (triple cheese of course), and then I stumbled upon the most perfect shop! It had everything I wanted – salads, wraps, fruit salad, sandwiches, yoghurt, and it was all really cheap! So this is going to be my new spot if ever I am hungry and walking around.

I just realised that I am completely rambling about stuff that is totally not interesting for you. this is  because while I am writing this plog I am also watching bear grills (in French.. grr) so I’m not concentrating completely. (I’m mostly looking at how god damn attractive he is – even when he is eating a raw fish that he has just smashed the head of. Ohhhh... those back muscles).

RIGHT, what to talk about next? Ahh, how about the fact that today I was standing only 1 foot from one of Vincent Van Gogh’s artworks “bouquet de fluers” at the Art Gallery in Aix. There were also many by Picasso, and one my Monet. I had learn’t about all these artists in school, and I can’t believe that I was so close to something so amazing (Ifelt like i was in an episode of Doctor who)! The famous artist Paul Cezanne actually came from Aix, and usually his paintings are shown in this gallery, but I think they were off being shown around the world somewhere, so his exhibition was closed today. But that is ok. I know where the gallery is now and it is only 4 euro to get in so I am very happy to wait and return.

Errrmm what else? Jean had a friend over last night called Tom (although I kept calling him Alex – poor kid), and he spoke impeccable English, so we got on rather well. And today we went out for lunch together (Jean, Julie, Tom, and Moi!) and we got pasta at another quick and easy place! We ate-in, and you couldn't help but notice the really cute gay couple sitting behind us. Two guys holding hands over a plate of pasta not worried about what others thought – that’s how it should be!

Yesterday I went to the Post office to get some stamps for my postcards (that i wrote 5 weeks ago - god I'm lazy)! I have found a pattern when interacting with people in shops - I walk in and they say ”Bon jour”. I say “bonjour, parlez-vous Anglais?” at which point they usually say “yes, a little bit”. I say “good!” and off we go! So I went to the post office and followed the pattern but when it got to the line where she says “a little bit” she instead said “no” with a bit too much attitude and she started talking to me in French. I said “yo bitch, I don’t understand!” aha I joke, I joke”. But I did say "I don’t understand (in French)” and then she rolled her eyes at me! After what seemed like a really long awkward silence with a  lot of intimidating staring on her part, I said “merci” and ... walked out! So I don’t have any stamps L and that was my first encounter of a rude French person.  

What are your thoughts on all this Kony shenanigans? When I first watched the video I had the classic rush of enthusiasm at what seemed like an amazing opportunity to “change the world”. Then I did the classic change of my profile picture and posted stuff like the rest of them.  All my passion kind of flew out the window when I read the opposing opinions which put it in a different light, and now I don’t know. I’m pretty terrible in that regard. If I hear something that sounds wonderful, it doesn’t even cross my mind that it might not be, and I throw my heart into it (wow that sounds so dramatic). When the cracks appear I feel cheated and confused and I lose my enthusiasm for it. So basically I’m over the Kony stuff and I don’t trust it and it’s sad because it sounded so inspirational.

moving on.

I had a lovely Skype with my girl-friends Camille and shanny who have moved to Brisbane together this year to start university and the rest of their lives. They too are feeling the grips of homesickness, but they are lucky because it only takes a couple hours drive to be back in their parents loving embrace! Hmm, I’m not sure why I’m sounding so Poetic and dramatic this fine and marvellous evening.  I think it is because I read the blog’s of some other exchange students today and I feel like I need to step-up!

So my language is totally getting better. After forcing my family to speak to me in French (ok, they're forcing me), I am learning so much! Also getting them to repeat stuff, my vocab is getting bigger every day!!

Well that’s all folks! I have managed to squeeze 1,200 words out of what I thought was a few days of doing nothing at all! Love you all lots and until next time xx

Danika

I warn you, this blog is super long with lots of photos to make up for all the days I have missed.

Floc the snowman! with feet!

 

I am writing this in the past on the 27^th of February, because where I am staying at the ski lodge there is no internet, and I have forbidden myself to go to an internet cafe because surely I can go a week without internet? I have departed with the rest of the family to Italy to do some skiing. Not just my family of five though, as we are also meeting up with Anne’s twin sisters’ family at the lodge.  Her name is Isabelle, her husband is Lloyd, and they have three kids, Thomas 11, Mathew 9, and Chloe 7. These kids are incredible to me because they are all trilingual. They speak English, French and now German. Isabelle also speaks Italian and another language I can’t remember.  Lloyd is American and met Isabelle in grad school and all the kids were born in America. Then they lived in France for 4 years, and 2 and a half years ago they moved to Germany. 

THE EXTENDED FAMILY!

(in order: Charles, Isabelle, Lloyd, Chloe, Me, Mathew, Jean, Julie, Thomas, Anne)

Where we are staying is incredible! And the drive here was also incredible. It took about 8 hours and in that time we travelled along the south east coast overlooking the Mediterranean ocean and across the border into Italy. The landscape was spectacular as we headed into the mountains (the Alps). They were towering up on either side because we were driving through a valley and there were castles built on the top of some smaller mountains so they could look out over everything. There were towns on the side of the hills with vineyards growing on such a steep angle.

I thought I would be snowboarding with jean, but I am very happy that I am actually skiing, because after my first day on skis it’s pretty evident that I’m not very good in comparison to all these euro peeps that started skiing when they were four... I’ll continue this blog in the morning because I am about to go to bed and I feel kind of sick.

THE VIEW

Good morning, it’s the 28^th back in time!?!?!? This morning was a bit confusing. I didn’t realise the shutter on my window was closed so when I woke up and it was still dark, I assumed it was still super early. I couldn’t sleep though so I got up while being careful not to wake jean and Julie who were sleeping in the same room as me. I went to the bathroom and turn the light on after I had closed the door so I wouldn’t blind them. When I opened the door I forgot to turn the light off only to see that their beds were empty.... and when I got to the kitchen, the sun was pouring in every window and they were sitting around munching on their special k bars and muesli! Silly me.

So, today I’m off for my third day of skiing. My body is aching all over, but I’m still very excited! I’m feeling slightly crappy but once you get up there you forget all your troubles and focus on not hitting a tree and killing yourself. This place is just incredible. I feel like I have stepped inside a post card.  I have to go skiing now but I will continue my blog when I get home. 

THE FAMILY

I am home!! Sorry this is a very disjointed blog. I possible just had the best skiing day yet. You have to catch the gondalow/lift-thing/egg/cabine that takes you up to the top on the mountain and over to the other side. Isabelle and Anne both suffer from vertigo and poor Isabella had her head in her hands with eyes clenched closed so I broke out into song about 1/3 of the way up to try and distract them... “Why do birds suddenly appear.... every time you are near? Just like me, they want to be close to you”. That got them going!

TAKEN FROM THE GONDALOW :)

 (that is the town we stayed in called ortesei)

We reached the top intact and went for a couple of runs down the mountain before our lesson at 2. Charles and Jean had ventured off on an epic journey through all the mountains to discover new tracks because they are already pro and all the 3 littlies had lessons of their own that went all day. That meant it was just Isabelle, Lloyd, Anne, Julie and myself in the lesson that we had booked. There was debate over whether I would be at a high enough ski skill level to join in – we all had to be at the same level to do a lesson together, and we wanted to do a lesson together because we got a really good deal. Lloyd described me to the instructor as a “more-advanced beginner” and the rest were intermediate. I had worried about this, but the day before I had improved because of some tips that both Lloyd and Charles had given me. Anyway, by the end of the 2 hour lesson, the instructor said I was the best at the technique she was teaching us and that it was surprising I had only ever skied twice. So now Danika is a very happy, more in control skier who has less chance of hitting a tree!! And I am falling over less now too - I only fell over once today.

HMMM. THAT LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THE EASIER RUNS.

(i did a few blacks!!)

The amount of walking and skiing I am doing is amazing, but the food I am eating is meaning that nothing is changing body-wise... unfortunately, when walking in the ski boots it is really painful. The first day I hired the equipment, I got the same skis as jean because we are the same height and weight... lol... the ski rental guy (who happened to be a very attractive Italian guy who as good at making conversation) asked me what kind of skis I wanted and I said “ones like Jean... good ones”. So today at the lesson the ski instructor told me “they are very good skis that make you go fast but they are heavier than regular skies – but that’s ok because your big and strong”. I don’t know about everyone else but I think only guys like to be called “big and strong”.

MALE FASHION OF TODAY IS SO POPULAR (AND REDICULOUS)

... THAT THEY MADE A STATUE FOR YOU

I am loving spending this holiday with everyone, including Anne’s sisters family. They are really warm and welcoming and the kids are great. They are similar ages to my cousins back in Australia so it’s really nice to have little guys around again. It’s actually the 29^th today. I stopped my blog suddenly yesterday because we had to go upstairs to Isabelle and Lloyds flat to have dinner (we had spaghetti cabonara) and we watched some slapstick French comedy about skiing which I didn’t understand but I’m used to that now. I was feeling quite sick again so I went to bed BEFORE DESSERT (which was crepes)! And now here we are - Its breakfast and I just had muesli and yoghurt. Isabelle rocked up with some crepes filled with nutella or sugar and lemon, so I had a nutella one of course! Now I am getting ready to go skiing again. The only thing that hurts today is my calf muscles.

crepe's with nutella....

It is Jeans 16^th birthday tomorrow, so that is pretty exciting, and it is my 18^th on the 17^th of March and It is my step-dad Jeff’s birthday on the 15^th. So Happy birthday everyone!

I miss home. But I love it here. Home sickness has officially knocked on my door, but it’s ok because it just wants a cup of tea and then it will be on its way. I made some new friends on impulse in Aix last week. I can’t remember if I blogged about it and I can’t check due to the lack of internet but I saw them busking and so I went up to them and introduced myself, and that I would love to have a jam sesh one day. They gave me their number and we were texting that night (I had to use google translate to understand and then respond which worked rather well) and we organised to meet after school the next day at the same place where they were busking previously. They were late and I contemplated leaving because I thought they had set me up haha. But they came! And I had the best afternoon! They sang really well and we were doing on-the-spot harmonies and they sounded sick and we weren’t even really busking but we pulled a little crowd and got a few euro. Then we went and found some sun and we ran into a whole bunch of their friends on the walk. They started singing and harmonising in French while we were walking through the crowds of people who were watching and smiling. it is helpful that they sing mostly English songs by artists that I know. They know Ben Harper and jack Johnson and this one boy asked to use my guitar and I was like “aww sorry, it’s left handed” and turns out he was left handed too! I got home at 6 that evening.

this is actually my friend Sam who is an american exchange student living in a town 15 minutes away.

out to lunch with Sam and yes... i am dipping some wort of chewy donut into nutella.

Ok back to the holiday topic! Yesterday the 31^st of March, I went skiing only with Jean, Charles and Thomas because I was now ‘turtley’ enough to be in the turtle club. I was able to keep up and face the black runs with only minimal fear, because I was considerably more progressed after my lesson. However, during the day the temperature reached something idiotic like 18 degrees, and the snow on the hills facing the sun was beginning to turn soft and sticky. We had 40 minutes to get home and were therefore in a bit of trouble because all the chair lifts were closing at 4:30 and we still had many more to catch to get back to our village, so we had to get moving or as Charles joked “we’ll have to sleep under one of those trees”. At the top of one mountain after getting of a chair lift, we realised that a guy had just proposed to his girlfriend at one of the most splendid views in the whole range.  The sun was setting so it cast a beautiful orange glow over all the white ice... my description of this is probably not that accurate because my goggles have orange lenses so for the last 5 days I have been skiing in a world of Fanta. But anyway, he was a pretty classy fella to Propose at such a smashing location.

AND HERE THEY ARE!

its a hard life getting stranded here.

Unfortunately, disaster struck! Going down the same run as where the couple got engaged, I tripped on my own ski and did a dramatic face-plant-rolly-polly and twisted my knee. Thomas was behind me so he saw it, but jean and Charles were ahead but 40m. Jean stopped, but Charles was around the bend and out of sight. I know the problem was that my boots were too loose, but I have had the same thing every day. If I tighten them so that they don’t wobble, eventually the blood stops going to my foot and I get a bad case of pins and needles which means I can’t feel how much weight I am putting on that foot or anything – it’s terrible! So I have been skiing on relatively unstable footing because it’s the only way. My knee was ok, but it was loose and painful and I couldn’t put all my weight on it, so skiing to the bottom was a very slow process. And then we caught the next chair lift and went down the next run, one step closer to home. The place where the track split in two, we went right when we should have gone left, so we had to go back to the top and do the run again, all the while I was trying to ski on an imperfect knee and we were running out of time (the sun was setting and there was literally no other people on the snow fields except for operators). When we got to the bottom, the inevitable happened. The operator said “sorry this lift is closed”. ... That was it; we were stuck miles from home in a land of snow. You won’t believe it though, of all the places we could have been stranded, we were standing right next to the most adorable motel/restaurant.

 I was dying of dehydration so I went and bought a big coke for everyone and a beer for Charles, and we got some hot chips. Eventually Anne and Lloyd came and got us. It was a 25km drive up a mountain and through snow, so they weren’t too pleased, but the drive was beautiful anyway and I got to watch the sun set over the distant Alps.

here are some shots from the drive home:

  i was trying to take a photo of our city when we were driving down the mountain...

 and it did not work, but i like it.

Every night since we have been here, the kids and I have gone to the local pool which has a spa, a sauna, a donut-shaped pool which has jets of water to make it go around, a slide, and a regular 25m lapping pool. It also has too kids pools with a playground in one of them. Not to mention the donut pool is outside and it is heated so all the hot water vapour rises into the cold air. You enter it inside and swim under a flap and then you are outside! So cool. We had to walk there last night, and then Charles would pick us up at 8. I literally packed a towel and wore my swimmers underneath my jeans with some extra undies for after we got out, but we got a call from Charles when we were already there letting us know that we were having dinner in the restaurant above the pool at 8. Therefore I looked like a wet dog with only a sports jacket over a bra and some jeans in a family restaurant with no makeup on, not to mention the gigantic bootys I have been using to get to and from the ski hire store before and after skiing... not my finest moment.

After some fabulous pizza we went and watched a ski show put on by all the ski instructors in this town we are staying in. When we got there I took out my camera to record all the tricks and stuff they were doing and one of the Italian supervisors took me to the front of everything so I could get a better shot – I was literally on the snowfield in front of the protective fence. And that meant that all the other kids and stuff came up with me too. This is all thanks to my great looks you know - here is some footage.
i tried to upload some footage but it didn't work :(

Today is the 1^st of March and it is Jeans 16^th birthday. We all went skiing up in the other side of a completely different mountain and of course I FORGOT MY CAMERA AGAIN! We were looking at some of the most beautiful views because we were so high up but I didn’t capture any one them. I totally forgot that my phone in my pocket had a pretty decent camera but I didn’t have my head screwed on. Skiing was a little painful today and I am particularly tired, so I considered leaving the others and finding my own way home again to just chill out on the couch and eat chocolate and watch TV or something. I felt like bludging, and honestly I had lost my confidence after my fall yesterday so I wasn’t going as fast. My family persuaded me to stay because we were going to have lunch and then we would all go home after. We were meant to me with Lloyd and Isabelle too, but the cable car we came up in at the beginning of the day proved too much for Isabelle’s vertigo. Even I thought I was a touch dodgy. It was one big cart held by only one cable which carried 46 people or 4700kg and you could just see it getting lower and lower in loading bay as the people were getting on, then they had to squeeze the doors closed around everyone. It looked like a Japanese subway. We ended up skiing until 4:30 anyway because that is how long it took to ski back to our starting point. The last run we did was so long that it took us 40 minutes to get from the top of the mountain to the bottom. There was a choice of taking the cable car but we all decided to ski. I wish I could calculate how many km I have done each day. Now after a lovely bath, we are all going out for Jeans birthday dinner.

I am definitely getting closer with Julie. We are understanding each other better now, and laughing about stuff so it feels good. Tomorrow there is no skiing we’ve decided, and instead we are going tobogganing! Hopefully I’ll get the camera out and film some “on the go” footage. I wanted to do that while I was skiing but it just got to difficult.

It’s the morning of the 2^nd and I’ve just had my muesli and am watching the French news. Dinner last night was really interesting. We went to a restaurant suggested by Lloyd because he knew the chef. It was a restaurant where we didn’t order anything and instead the chef cooked us what he felt like cooking. Our first meal was an entree with a mixture of hand-made pasta. There was ravioli, gnocchi, and the third one looked like little nuggets of already chewed chewing gum. However, it was all delicious... actually, I have just realised that if it is edible for me, then it’s delicious.  The next meal was a soup which was really hearty and had oats in it. It was a warm comforting grandma soup. Next course was pork which had been slow cooked with potatoes and the final course was an apple strudel which the waitress brought out with candles on top to celebrate not only jeans birthday but mine and Chloe’s too. So we all blew out the candles together, and then they brought out some presents. Jean got an iphone 4s from Anne and Charles and I can’t remember what he got from Isa and Lloyd, and Chloe got a selection of French books that looked really cool, and then they gave me some presents! I got a really nice handbag from Anne and Charles so I would have something to take to school (because that is the fashion over here – you take handbags to school) and I got a pair of local hand-made slippers from the village we are staying in from Isa and Lloyd which I am wearing as I write this. I have decided not to go skiing today.  I think 6 days of skiing is enough, and I am going to spend the day with Anne, Charles, Isa and Lloyd. Julie has also decided not to go skiing. Instead we are going to watch all the three littlies compete in their end of ski school competition. See you later!

It’s later.... so guess what!! All of the kids got within top 3 of their class in each race they did and there are 10 kids within each class. Thomas got gold and Chloe and Mathew both got bronze, so that was really cool for them.



sexy....

Thomas going for gold!

Mathew with Bronze

and Chloe with bronze too!!

 Anne, Isa and I went shopping after the medal ceremony and I was on the prowl for a pin or two to stick on my rotary jacket to remind me of this holiday. I ended up buying three. One was a wood carved love heart with another love heart inside painted with the Italian flag.  The second was a bit stupid because It said “official ski/sex instructor”. I think this is a necessary reminder that ski instructors are so good looking!! the third was one of the iconic native flower.

SUPER-CUTE MINI MOON BOOTS

Then we went to an INTERNET CAFE for lunch so I got to check my facebook, hotmail etc, and there was an email from APRA telling me I had got my first royalty payment!! So I checked my accounts and I had a payment of almost $200, so I’m pretty happy with that! Not sure what I was expecting in terms of quantity, but to me it’s free money. I also got to tell mum how much I miss her along with everyone else. The truth is, I had a moment today.... just the slightest thing triggered me to feel on the edge of tears all afternoon. Chloe was finished with her pasta so Jean and Julie were stealing bits from her plate and when went to, too, she said “no”, and I was shocked. I realised that I am missing my own family and the closeness we had which I still don’t have here yet because it takes time. It wasn’t her fault for my reaction, I just am vulnerable to that sort of stuff because I feel isolated for a fes reasons... the language, . Especially with the language too.i feel like I have no idea what is going on because I don’t understand what is being planned, so I am sort of just going with itmy afternoon has been pretty flat since then. Chloe, Jean, Julie and I went to the pool and I didn’t feel like playing any games or even swimming, so I kind of just laid there or went and sat in the sauna. Then I wanted to go home, but I didn’t want to rush the others. I went and showered and changed and was going to go back into the pool area and sit on a deck chair to wait, but when I got out there the pool guy said no because I had to be in swimmers... I don’t even feel like blogging because I am whinging and whining and it must be unpleasant for you to read. So I’m going to stop, go to sleep and wake up fresh in the morning.

I miss my mum and all my family back in Australia. Crap, just typing that sentence and I am crying haha. Night and I love you all xx

P.S tomorrow we are leaving Italy to go back to France at 10am, so this should be posted by tomorrow evening along with lots of photos.

So this morning we went to a cute Italian restaurant for breakfast and they brought to our table baskets of bread and plates of butter and marmalade and honey. Then they brought out literally trays of salami ham, and another covered in all different types of cheese like brie etc. And that was breakfast along with some coffee and guava juice.

Then we hit the road and I watched “Wayne’s world” number 1 and 2 and played cards all the way home. My went back to Pourceiux which is where our other house it and stayed overnight – we had takeaway pizza for dinner. I stayed up till about 1.30 getting back in touch with the world. The next day Kim and Terri came over and they are friends of Anne and Charles. They have two daughters so speak English and French because Kim is American. They ended up staying for dinner two which I was very pleased about. Then this morning we headed back to Aix and here I am! Finally my blog is finished and you are reading it. It has been a working progress for the last week or more. Lots of love and until next time! Catcha. Also I have another week of holidays before I have to go back to school! Yay.

Danika xx

Sorry, it’s been a whole 6 days since you heard from me.
Everything is still going well here. I've been trying to write some songs but failing. I’ve got a few cool guitar riffs but the fact that I am somewhat limited in my guitar skills is getting on my nerves. And then there comes the problem of what to write about. I’m considering changing my style, but the sound I want I can’t just create in my bedroom. I want a band. I'm really tired too... I'm out if energy because I had a really late night last at a rotary dinner with Anne. The Dinner was at a beautiful venue called La Pigonnet, and it was super classy. There was a doorman and everything was old school and there were mirrors everywhere. Frustratingly I forgot to take my camera and we got there first so I would have had heaps of time to take some snaps of the setting - I’m silly like that.
Anne though it would be a good idea if I wore my rotary Jacket, and yes, it did impressed the Rotarians a lot! of course, the food was awesome... we had a starter of a roast vegetable and fromage (cheese) bake with some sort of cured ham called Daniel, and then for mains we had fish on a bed of risotto, white wine and almonds.
There were three speeches over the evening. The first was made before dinner by the chairman of the club, Madam Morel, and I understood only the part where she talked about me, where I lived in Australia, etc, etc. Then another speech in between courses was madeby a woman advertising a rotary supported screening of "La source de Femmes" at the local old cinema. This movie is to raise money for violence against woman. The final speech was after dinner and went for over an hour until almost 11 p.m. (at which point my beloved "rotary smile" was beginning to crack). I listened hard and began to get a little curious as to what he was talking about. This is what I heard throughout: bible, catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, Scientology, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Cult (and I witnessed lots of head shaking, gasping laughing under ones breath and so on). I turned to the young lad sitting next to me and saw that he had an awkward look on his face. I asked” what is he talking about?” And with some hesitation he relied “he’s talking about... when you are... doing a poo...” At this point I laughed probably a little too loud and said “don’t worry”.

The man doing the speech also handed around 2 books. One was a Magazine with a serpent coiled around a cross and bearing its fangs in an aggressive manner, and the other one I can’t remember... I had/ still have no idea what was going on.

I made a new you tube too. Although it hasn’t got that many views, so please make my day and go watch it ... 10 times... and then share it. Thanks! It’s called Blood.

On Saturday Charles, Anne, Jean and I headed out to Hyeres on the coast of the Mediterranean to have lunch with the 4x4 enthusiasts that Charles is involved in (they’re heading to the north of Africa in April to do some off-road driving). It was a really nice restaurant on the marina looking out over all the grand yachts and boats. I ate too much J

Just then I skyped with a rotary girl (Sam) who I am meeting tomorrow, and she is so great. And she is 18 too! Well, im almost 18...

Lots of love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some photos from Saturday:

A mountain!

Another Mountain

the Mediterranean...

yeh it was a bit hazey and i forgot about zoom.

sorry.

who's that sexy Devil!?!

oh, it's just me.

the sunset on the drive home.

Guys!

My French is definitely getting better. I’m able to string sentences together and people can understand. Of course, I repeat the same collection of words a lot, but every day, I fill in gaps where I used to say English words, with new French words.  I am also pleased to tell you that my French-English dictionary is getting an indicative workout. The pages are getting grubbier and they don’t sit together perfectly like they did. I have been using it a lot this week during class to find verbs. Since Sally and Colleen told me about verbs and all the rules, I have kind of become a little obsessed about understanding how they work so I can use them in sentences. There are 4 types of regular verbs the ones that end in ER, IR, and RE and... I can’t remember the last one...

So these regular verbs e.g. “manger” (to eat) are altered in 6 different ways to suit 6 different contexts. I eat (je mange), you eat (tu manges), he/she eats (il/elle mange), we eat (nous mangeons), you (plural) eat (vous mongez), and they eat (mangent). We just stick ‘eat’ at the end of them all but they don’t... the complicate everything! So these endings apply to all the other regular ER verbs, but that is all I have focused on so far. I don’t know if the other regular IR an RE verbs are altered the same way... if not, then I have to learn 4 different sets of 6 different endings...

 And then there are the irregular verbs that.... don’t get me started.  But I feel like I am definitely progressing.

So last time I wrote to you I can’t remember if it was before or after dinner on Saturday night, but just to remind you I was at my host grandparents house and it was definitely before breakfast or lunch the next day. Their names are Maurice and jenee. So the English equivalents are Morris and Jenny. I think I ate more in that 2 days then I have all week! You already know about the 4 awesome flavoured gigantic pizzas and then the apple pie and ice cream, but because Julie and Jean and I were still awake at 12... We went back for more pizza. Breakfast was croissants and raisin de pains, and lunch was a huge selection of cured meats (salami prosciutto etc), 4 different varieties of olives, bread, salad and cheese. Yummy.  That was simply delicious and I was proud of myself because I didn’t gorge it all down... Oh wait, here comes Jenee with a large tray with roast meat (pork? I can’t remember), gravy, and some oven baked potatoes with cream. Ok, I guess I can squeeze it in... 20 minutes later, I am struggling to walk up the stairs. Not to mention that this house has 5 separate levels:

1.       There is downstairs on the ground floor with kitchen no. 1 and a dining room. I didn’t go through the whole house I don’t know what else is down there.

2.       Level 2 is the second kitchen, smaller dining room and main lounge room with the TV. The back was is completely glass so you can look out on the back garden. There is also a toilet, the main entry room, front door etc.

3.       Level 3 is their bedroom and im guessing other rooms too? Again, I didn’t explore!

4.        Then there in the 4^th floor which is where i slept. There was an on-suite off my room. And then a bathroom next to that too. Then the room at the end is this big open space with again, a glass wall to look at the garden... from above.

5.        Only the next day did i realise there is a nifty step-ladder leading to the loft which is another classy bedroom.

So yes, there you have it... the grandparents crib. However something had to connect all these floors up and that would be the nifty staircase..(see below)

Sorry I am not done talking about the food. By the time we had gotten back up to level two and settled into our electric devices in the lounge room (with marble floors) – Julie and i on our laptop and Jean on His play-station – Jenee arrives with a Pavlova with hardened toffee drizzled over the top, literally floating on a sea of vanilla syrup/custard/stuff (it’s name translated to floating... something)... how could I not squeeze this in also? It would have been rude right!? Yeh, that’s my excuse... and it, was delicious.

Schools had been good as always! yada yada. I’m going out for sushi with a girl is my class – Chloe. She’s so lovely.

I went shopping yesterday afternoon too... again. I kind of had an epiphany. In Australia, some of you know how I liked to dress – a little eccentric. Anyway, before I came to France I thought, “I will dress the way the French dress!” and abandoned my current fashion. Everything I decided to bring I’d either never wore before or it was so plain and boring that a pot-plant could wear it and no one would blink an eyelid. Not to mention I bought a pair of thermal tights for$160 which a literally as warm as a regular pair of tight.... actually, there are quite a few packing regrets that I have so I’ll make a list to put it into perspective for me and you.

Danikas packing regrets:

1.       Bought a pair of $160 tights before I left that are not worth $160 DOLLARS. WHAT WAS I THINKING (mum should definitely cop some blame though... love you mum xx).  

2.       Bought a pair of black Levi’s for $120 before I left... and now I don’t like them coz they’re to loose and don’t make me look very attractive (I HATE IMPULE PURCHASES)...

3.       Packed clothes I got as a hand-me-down a week before I left and had never worn them out.

4.       Didn’t pack my favourite clothes.

5.       Didn’t back a leather or denim jacket.

6.       I rock up to France and decide to go shopping before i observed the current fashion properly.

7.       Spent $300... And am stoked for a day! Until I regret it ( can i just say that i went mad and bought everything because I actually just wanted to get out of the shop. I was scared. People were talking to me and I didn’t understand. “You like?”... “Um, yes...” “You take?” (AHHHH) “Ok”... And now I have lots of clothes I’m not sure about.... for a woman, I can’t shop to well. Don’t get me wrong, some items are great and I love them. But yew, not my finest moment.

So anyway, all this tragedy had got me feeling pretty low, and then I realised (the epiphany I mentioned earlier) that I miss dressing the way I do in Australia, so I went out shopping yesterday determined to only buy cloths I loved, and that were super-cheap. And now I’m happy. I’d still love it if mum posted over my denim and leather jacket (mum? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge :P).  

There’s a carnival in town just down the road so Julie jean and I and julie’s friend went to it last night. Not sure why, but we went on the dodge ‘em cars 5 times and we got smashed... I got a cut in my shit where I hit the front if the frame of the car, and a bruise on my right knee (I honestly don’t bruise easily). And my thigh muscle is reacting so badly that my leg gave way twice today. T’was a little embarrassing.

I’m exhausted just writing this blog, so that is all. Love everyone lots! X

Now for the photos:

The glorious staircase in my host grandparents house.

just an indicater of how cold it really is. it has warmed up a bit now thank god!

the view from one of the theme-park rides.

 

IN THE TUNNEL OF DOOM! ok, i made that up..

whats up bro?!

what a diva.

i wanted to add more but my computer is having an argument with the internet.

WHY CANT THEY JUST BE FRIENDS

definitely over tired... night x