Random little happy things!

So I haven't posted in a while, which is completely contrary to my goal when I created this blog.  However, I have been compiling little funny/happy/interesting things that I come across day to day, with the intent of posting them. So...here ve go!

In french, the word for paperclip is trombone...and paperclips look like trombones!!! This makes me chuckle every time I remember that.

I taught my host father the verb 'to bro out', and the usage of it. He then invited me to watch a rugby game that weekend at the house with some of his friends, and said we would 'bro out'.  Success.  Also, I taught him the word 'darty' and the phrase 'sorry for partying'.  He seemed genuinely interested. Love that man.

I made Thanksgiving dinner (sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie), as well as thanksgiving cards for everyone in the program, with Chrissy.  We drew little 'hand turkeys' on the back of cardstock and decorated them for each person.  On the other side we wrote notes to them, thanking them for what they each individually bring to the program.

I also made a pumpkin pie for my host family, and they loved it!  I made them the delicious potato/onion/cheese/sour cream/garlic soup that I made with Amelia, and they all seemed to agree that it was delicious!

At church, I saw in the hymnal that they have the 'other' tune for O Little Town of Bethlehem.  That is to say, they have the tune that most people in England recognize as the 'traditional' tune.  Its called "Forest Green" and is a folktune.  It's pretty, but I prefer the tune that I'm used to- I like the key it's in better.

First 'major' snow, where it actually stuck a bit! 

Snow/the house I tutor at (at the end of the road)

Looks like Christmas lights are universal! This is a display outside an apartment complex in Suresnes, the town I babysit in. 

I made some snowflakes for my window, to bring some winter/Christmas cheer!

In the past week or so, I've been listening to practically non-stop Christmas music (thankyou thankyou WROR for broadcasting online).  It has been so awesome to hear all the familiar songs, it makes me feel a little bit closer to home.  That and the fact that today was the second Sunday of Advent, and just like last Sunday, I went to church at the American Church of Paris, which was soooo awesome.  We sang familiar hymns, the sermon was really interesting, and everyone spoke in English!!! I might join the choir if I have time next semester, or at least try and join the Young Adult group to meet people and make friends.

I made a little Christmas tree for myself today while Chrissy and I watched The Sound of Music and made more decorations for the Tufts-in-Paris office.  It's hard to see in this picture, but it's a 3D tree...

Things are going wonderfully with the babysitting/tutoring- yesterday I had a 'breakthrough' with one of the boys I tutor! Usually, he is the least motivated student I have ever seen...truthfully.  He just doesn't seem to be interested at all in learning English. However, this time, I decided to give him a 'head start' and start the lesson that he was going to be learning next week in school.  It was about prepositional phrases like 'on the bed', 'in the closet', 'on the floor', etc...he suggested that we play a game where we'd pick objects in the room and guess them based on those phrases (and colors, etc...like I spy!). It was so much fun, and not before long we were laughing and having a great time!  We played for an entire half-hour, and his mom even commented that she was happy we found a way to make English more 'animated'.  I was really proud of him for coming up with the idea, and of myself for helping to bring him to that point where he could get excited about English.  I also tutored the older sister (my guess is she's the age of a high school freshman/sophomore ) and she was a fantastic student.  She asked questions whenever she didn't understand something, and tried really hard to make sure that she completely understood the concepts behind grammar rules, etc.  We even exchanged bbm (Blackberry messenger, like instant messager for blackberry owners) PINs so that she could ask me questions about english whenever she needed/wanted to (and vise versa-I'm still learning French!)

The snow has definitely helped pull me out of the mopey mood I had been in lately, and listening to Christmas music has contributed to that, as well.  I'm so looking forward to going home still...I wouldn't say I'm homesick necessarily, but I had been feeling very lonely here and I'm really really excited to see my best friends and my family.  My cousin (who I only see once every 1 or 2 years) is coming up to visit the weekend I get home!!! It's great cause we don't even talk that much, but we're practically best friends whenever we see each other; it's like no time has passed at all.  

Happy second Sunday of Advent, everyone!  Take the time today to do something nice for someone, even if that someone is yourself!