im moving to the south of france. permanently.

seriously, after one weekend, i dont see how anyone could ever be unhappy in that region.  my city is like an hour and a half away from Nice.  Holy cow, pictures dont do it justice.  even in the end of winter with overcast clouds, it was the most beautiful sight ive ever seen. i cant wait to go back!

okay, warning, this is going to be a long post, but theres so much i want to document.

first of all, friday night was terrible.  my host mom has been sick this past week, just a tough cough and a cold. well she took some mixed medications, and after dinner, i was sitting on the sofa with Alexandra and we were watching dawsons creek, aka their favorite show, and our host mom was sitting on the chair and she looked especially rough, and before i can even process whats happening, she is crashing to the tile floor and unconscious.  seriously, the thoughts that ran through my mind, omg, panic, total terror, thankfully her husband was able to make her come to. alex and i did all that we could, ice and cold water, while they called EMS.  the french health system is MUCH different than in the US, mainly because its wonderful and free.  so 3 very attractive respondents arrived and they were great.  they asked me if i had posioned her. and it certainly lightened the mood. thankfully she ended up being okay and she came home the next day.

however, we left at 8am for the Cote d'Azur and all its wonder. I'll start with Nice

its not as luxurious in the winter, but hey, can you really complain when youre in the riviera? no. we had a nice day walking around and visiting beautiful baroque architectural sights. my pictures do not do it justice. but we had an enjoyable time in Nice, and left in the afternoon and went to the perfumerie .. in the world capital for perfume production .. personally i didnt enjoy the overwhelming scents but i did learn something cool.  in order to work for a company that makes perfume and cologne .. you are whats called Le Nez .. literally french for the nose .. stipulations? you study for 3 years then do an apprenticeship for 7 .. can only work for 2 hours a day .. get paid more than Obama and have to be able to recognize over 250 different compounds. interesting. but anyways, we left there and went to this fabulous hostel-esque place-- we were the only ones there- and they had a dining hall setting with beautiful morals where they served us dinner .. then we got to get all glamorous for our trip to the fabulous monte carlo casino! ten euros to get in .. and like 15 euros for drinks.. ridiculous. no gambling for me. im not trying to go broke before february. but it was an experience of a lifetime to say the least.

we only got to stay an hour.. which was probably best for most of the kids.. and we went back to our hotel place and discotheque'd the night away. there was even a disco ball and happy new years signs for us to enjoy! these 3 german boys were our hired help for the night and they were very, friendly and attractive.  it was such a blast just having a dance party with all the kids in my program! 

when we woke up in the morning we were treated to a beautiful breakfast and another bus trip to Cannes.  We spent the day roaming around the same streets that all the famous film stars flock to during the film festival in may (i really want to return for it) and instead of spending like 10$ on lunch .. we grabbed 2 bottles of champagne, 3 baguettes, 2 different types of cheese and some delicious pastries and went and sat on the giant rocky coast of the mediterranean sea and had a great time.

needless to say, im exhausted, my batteries are dead in all my appliances .. and in my body too! and i still cannot believe its only been a week.