A++++++++

she do it again!

if you like the song, watch the video. c'est vraiment géniale!! oooo, except i hate that woof woof lady gaga! GET OUTTA HERE GOOGOO GAGA!

Beyoncé ft. Lady Gaga - Video Phone

♥

fotoz 4 u

hey kittens, i finally got my photos up on picasa! flickr didn't work out in the end. anywho, here's the link. and, oh hell, let me embed this little what-have-you that they gave me, too. ok great.

ENGLAND & FRANCE

i apologize that they are NOT in chronological order but eventually i will rearrange them and add some silly captions. BABY STEPS, BABY STEPS. maybe i'll even add some of the pics that nicole took, if she don't mind? in the meantime, if you have any questions about the photos, just leave a comment or email me! i plan on putting the new photos up on facebook once it will let me...*(#&$!@)^% that photo uploader tool!!

azúcar!

oh yah, i found this sweet video today of a song i love and wanted to share it witcha.

below is celia cruz's version. at first, i thought she was a crazy, old, eccentric cuban lady who sometimes appeared on sesame street that robert and i used to make fun of (see why). maaan, was i wrong! she da queen of salsa!!

Celia Cruz - Pa'la Paloma

lil' shortie

today i'm sick. BLAAAH! yesterday, too, but i couldn't go to the pharmacy because almost EVERYTHING is closed on sundays or closes before i venture out into the world. i almost never get sick *knocks on wood*. i think it's just a head cold, ya know, sore throat, nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezy, etc. but yesterday i had a little chest pain and today i feel a bit achy, warm and tired because i didn't sleep well last night. it's kinda hard to breathe through a stuffy nose and a sore throat, ya know? don't worry, though - i went to the pharmacy FIRST THING this morning and they gave me an armful of sprays, drops, tablets, lozenges and other goodies. i'm starting to feel a little better already and my appetite is back. finna heat some of these bad mothers up for lunch:

they're called 'pommes duchesse' and i got them from the frozen food store, picard. yes, there is a store here for JUST frozen foods. i love it! they taste like french fries on the outside and mashed potatoes on the inside. oh my YUM! gonna have some soup, too.

on friday, my roommate megan was kind enough to offer me an extra ticket to a viewing of tod browning's 'dracula' that she was taking some of her english students to see. the film was shown at a performance theatre as part of normandy's music, dance and theatre festival in autumn. they played the movie in its original english form but the theatre had also set up 2 monitors on either side of the stage which displayed the french subtitles so the rest of the audience could follow along. THEN, they had a small musical ensemble on stage who played the original score of the movie live throughout the whole thing. it was really cool! the movie was good, but in terms of classic horror films, i think the 1931 'frankenstein' is still my favorite. i was even the bride of frankenstein for halloween in 8th grade and won a prize in the costume contest at school...c'mon, let me have something!

thanks(?) to the private lessons i've been giving each week, i was able to join a gym here (sorry, eliot!). it's right by my apt. and has exercise and weight machines, free classes, a pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna, a steam room, a tanning bed (extra) and really killer techno beats playing during operation hours (freeeee!). so far i've only gone once (my membership started yesterday!) but i hope to get my butt over to the gym as much as my schedule will allow. i think it's going to be a good way to quit smoking and to balance all the delicious food i've been shamelessly enjoying! also, i think it'll be a good stress reliever because we all know how stressed out i was before leaving. it's definitely not as good as depaul's gym but it ain't bad! each week i'll post a photo of my abs to show you my progress. except that i'm busy this week. and i think i'm going to be busy next week, too. probably the week after that as well...

welp, c'est tout pour aujourd'hui. à la prochaine fois! -Lauryn

better days.

don't eat me!

lundi maniaque

COUCOOUUU! my boots came today!! this is AWESOME news and not just because it's nice to get new things or to receive packages. i've wanted these boots for a long time and waited an even longer time to get them due to some paypal confusion. EH! it's even more awesome-r because it rains kind of a LOT in rouen - did i happen to mention that already? - especially these days as the rainy season has seem to set in. imagine walking on uneven cobblestone sidewalks and streets in ballet flats or taking the shortcut through the park and being forced to make a choice every other day: walk through a giant puddle or walk in the mud. being in wet shoes is SO UNCOMFORTABLE...besides, it means death for your chaussures. and when it's pouring rain? just forget about it!! UNLESS YOU GOT ON THESE BAD BOYS:

yep, those are them. all the way from Scotland. the color is merloooooot. they're good for cold weather, too. i haven't tried 'em out yet but i can't wait to! i sort of hope it rains tomorrow...

there was a request from my dad an avid reader to know more about my day-to-day routine. since the only routine i have takes place more or less during the week, i thought i'd give you my class schedule + some details. 

monday through wednesday i teach next door at collège fontenelle.  

monday afternoons, i hold meetings for a stupid (pardon my FRENCH!) english club. then i have lesson planning with one of my profs référentes. mondays = fun days. so much fun.

tuesdays starting at 8h00, i teach 8th grade, then 9th grade, have a little break (some coffee, ya know, whatevah!!), then 7th grade - lunch, english club again?! - and end the day with 9th grade finishing at 15h20.

my day starts at 9h00 on wednesdays. i teach 7th grade, have a break, and then 9th grade accelerated english until 12h00. after that, i give 4 hours of private english lessons. i yi yi!! *there is no school on wednesday afternoons for most of france.*

thursdays and fridays i'm at collège jean de la varende in mont-saint-aignan, a well-to-do agglomeration of rouen about 30-45 mins. away by bus. i start at 13h15 with 9th grade, then i have a break, and then teach 8th grade followed by ANOTHER ENGLISH CLUB! that i have yet to start holding meetings for. i was told it would start on the 11th of nov.

fridays i begin bright and early at 8h00 with the 9th graders, followed by a 6th grade class which I LOVE because they're so innocent, cute and hilarious! and then i end the day with 7th grade at 11h10.

i don't teach on saturday although most schools do have classes. saturdays are different every weekend and sunday almost always involves a trip to the marché at place saint-marc for fresh fruit and vegetables for the week. everything else in france is pretty much closed on sundays.

other things: i realized blogspot is not the best vehicle with which to share pictures so i'm in the process (it takes me FOREVER to do anything!! gimme MORE TIME!) of setting up a new flickr account. that way, i can share photos with those who do not have a facebook account. i don't want to post all my pics on FB, anyway. so stay tuned for that! that's gonna be fun, huh? haha i know vacation/travel pics are boring but i feel as if i should put them up just in case folks are interested. so, they'll be there if you feel like perusing.

also, if anyone is interested in writing to me (or if you want to send me an email), contact me at: kardatzke.lauryn@gmail.com and i'll send you my mailing address. can't be posting my full name AND my address on the web! the last thing i need is lindsay lohan at my door!!!!!!!

i love letters!

alright, kids. that's about it for now. hope you're enjoying the blog thus far. feel free to leave comments or send emails if there's something i'm leaving out that you'd like to see or hear about!

cheers,

 Lauryn & flat eric

FRENCH FACT O' THE BLOG POST: french decks of cards don't have an ace but rather a '1' card, which plays the same role. makes sense, right? kings are rois, queens are dames, jacks are valets and the suits are coeurs ♥, carreaux ♦, trefles ♣ and piques ♠. i won a deck of cards at a HypraBlindtest Spécial at a bar this past saturday. a HypraBlindtest Spécial is, i think, basically a guessing game. this particular guessing game was top 50 hits from the 90's. it was fun! we didn't know a lot of the songs but we knew some and megan, kaylee and i all got prizes each round! we had A LITTLE help winning, though...

and p.s. did you know you can STOP the music that plays when my page loads? i placed a music console with a 'pause' button directly below the polaroid photo at the top of the page.

sidenote!

i also wanted to mention that i've started about 5 different drafts and i'll be publishing them as i get around to finishing them SO i apologize if my posts seem a little out of order at first but the information's still all good and relevant! hey, i'm new at this. thanx & BISOUS!
-the management