Voilà!

I'm not usually a big believer in fate, but it's beginning to seem to me this trip was just meant to be. In France, everything seems to just fall into place...like one big voilà! First of all, you know I'm dedicated to a language when I manage to drag my ass out of bed for it at 8 am, 5 mornings in a row, and after three hours of sleep. This week was the beginning of our 4-week intensive language classes (M-F 9am-1pm and T 9am-1pm; 2-4pm), but it was also my first week working at my new job! Job = super fun. Hours = I'm a zombie. But ah well... two weeks in and voilà! I'm bartending at 20 years old...in France! Jealous?? Maybe not, but as hard it is to find a job in the States (let alone bartending), it's a pretty exciting thing.

Believe it or not, I am not working at the Wohoo (see Flannel), but another bar/club geared towards international students that's a little bigger and more dance club-ish, called IPN. The bars are actually rivals, so "shh" on that one :) The irony of it all is that I've spent weeks searching for every job and any job in California when I was actually in dire need of a job, and found nothing. I'm in France for two weeks, and not only have I found a job, but I didn't lift a finger, an application, or an interview to get it. All I did was dance around on stage and ask the DJ to change the song a couple times. And... voilà! I love France.

I, along with two other girls from the CSU program, began working Tuesday night. It's definitely a blast and we make about 60 euros a night between tips and under-the-table pay. As fast as the hours fly by, however, they are definitely not student-friendly. I was scheduled for three nights this week, working from 10 pm to 4 am, and then had class every morning at 9 am. I did actually get work off last night, but multiple weeknights in a row is defnitely not something I'll be able to pull off more than once. I explained this to my manager (who is actually a month younger than me! France continues to amaze me), and he promised to only give me Friday and Saturday nights if he can, deserving another... voilà! Anyway, it isn't a necessity that I have job here right away, so if I can't quite handle it, then I can't handle it; but I'm definitely gonna try and make it work. Having a job will allow me a little more travel money, and our first break just happens to be over the week of Oktoberfest... ;)

My Aunt Gillian and Uncle Alan were in Aix this week, whom I hadn't seen in five years! I enjoyed a couple very pleasant, very delicious, and very free (thanks again guys!) dinners throughout the week. Not only that, but my Aunt Gillian suceeded in finding me a cute French boy, fed my Nutella addiction, and made me pull my dress down :) heehee. I'm joking, she only suggested it. Most importantly, I was presented last night with a very sentimental birthday gift that I'm very honored to have received: my deceased grandma's Italien designed LBD from the 40's! I absolutely love it and can't wait until I have an excuse to wear it. It was great to have family in town, and have the chance to show them my apartment and how my French life has been coming along. Last night we celebrated my birthday, and their last night in France, at the very elegant Hotel Aquabella, before I had to rush off to work -- only to find they'd scheduled too many girls on one night and didn't have to work afterall! Voilà! The plan was to go home and get some sleep, but as I was already all done-up and cute...I figured it'd be a shame to go home to bed. Somehow the prospect didn't seem quite so shameful in class the next morning.

It's been a great week so far as I continue to make a life for myself here in France. I recently opted for a pre-paid cell phone, of which I only text with as I have unlimited texting; I bought a curling iron today, made out pretty well at a student auction held at the CSU office yesterday, and a bank account is next on the list, as well as looking into the dance studio that is so conveniently on the other side of the wall from my house. I think you all can guess what interjection comes next.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and I've decided that instead of celebrating turning 20, I'm going to celebrate being one year away from 21. So, in 6 hours and 2 minutes in France, and in 15 hours and 2 minutes in the States, I will be exactly 12 months from my 21st birthday. I can't decide which midnight is the significant midnight, so I think I'll just celebrate twice. All together now: voilà!

Love you all and I'll write again soon.

The End!
-T-