Goodies vs. Baddies

Not only am I learning French, but I'm also learning some Australian slang as well. Did you know that robbers, thieves, and all around mean people are called baddies? Yup, they are. Oh, and just a little comment on how Australians/New Zealandars say oui. Ugh, it's like dragging a fork across a plate. They do this nasely wayyy noise that's really obnoxious.

Anyway, Thursday was AM's birthday, so the kids and I put our collective energies to the task of making her a cake, card and filling the whole living room with balloons. The cake tasted great; the frosting could have used a bit more planning and the kids did a great job on the card. I let them stay up late until Anne-Marie came home and then they surprised her with it. It was really great. Friday was Pablo's birthday and he had a party yesterday, but I wasn't around for it because I went to Versailles with some German friends that I met through class.

Versailles was alright. It was a really rainy, cold day and there was a lot of restoration construction going on. None of us wanted to pay the entrance fee, so we just walked around the gardens. It was a bit disappointing, but I will go back again when the weather is better and their are more flowers.

It has been harder to meet people here than I thought it would be. I mean, I've "met" several people in my classes, through ultimate, etc, but 1) it's hard to make plans because I babysit in the evenings and 2) people just aren't as willing to just go for rally people for get togethers it seems. Last night I went out with the German girls (the ones I went to Versailles with) and some others who organized a pub crawl around St. Michel. Ah, it was so fun to just cut loose a bit and to have everyone speak English too! I was surprised at how organized the pub crawl was; everyone got a name tag and we all stayed together the whole night. Though, now that I think about it, I think we only went to two bars. Hmm, not that's not really a crawl is it? Or maybe it's more like a lope. Anyway, it was fun hanging with such an international group (Australia, Germany, India, Ireland, Costa Rica, England) and everyone spoke English. Good times.

Speaking of good times, I haven't really written about going to Italy yet. I think it's because I'm having a really hard time getting my shit together about the trip. I have my plane ticket to Milan for Thursday and my train ticket to Rimini and that's about as far as I've gotten. As far as I know, the tournament is supplying the housing (at cost of course), but I will find out details when I arrive. I don't know who my teammates are and will also find out upon arrival. Yes, I do know which team I'm playing for. I didn't reserve a return ticket yet cause I don't know when I'm coming back, but I don't think it will be too hard to do last minute (knock on wood). There is a guy on my team whose family lives around Lake Como. He offered to let anyone stay there after the tournament and I think I will take him up on it. After that, I might try to stay in Florence for the weekend, but we will have to see. If you want to know more about the tournament, go to www.paganello.com. Cheers!