On Routine Part I

Arguably the most important part of establishing a routine is having a place to call home and be cozy. Behold - my room!

Cooking delicious meals with Margaret is another important part of routine, both specifically to me but also I think to life in France in general.

It feels nice to say that after almost five months here, I can confidently say I have a routine. To be fair, moving three times would cause a disrupt in that routine easily.

We went to a small gathering last weekend and they had two seafood platters, which felt kind of random. Accepting these random instances is just part of my routine.

This pup only had two legs but he looked happier than ever. Since it's less normal to pet dogs here, I just take creepy pictures from afar.

But since I feel less like writing and more like showing photos, I figured I’d make this a two-part post with the first part being photos of my day to day.

I guess since donuts aren't a huge thing here, cops have to eat baguettes? I really enjoyed the contradiction between the pastries and his gun. But again, part of my routine is getting bread very frequently (and trying new bakeries when I can).

I love L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and seeing the beauty in it is also part of my daily routine.

I am also on vacation for the next two weeks! It’s crazy because when it comes down to it, I’m in France for seven months but only teaching for 21 of those.

I was going for a run on a gorgeous day and even though I had walked through this park before, I never noticed the stained glass window and church remnants. France is so gorgeous.

Our apartment is in the building with the seafoam windows, and the building leans quite a bit. According to our landlord, this is because it's built on the original city walls.

While I’m bummed to not be going home for this break, I am grateful that I get to go to Paris for a few days! I love Avignon but the thought of going to a big city (and not just any big city) is super exciting.

Roommates (or colocs, in French slang) with matching scrunchies! That we bought from a female owned small business.

Most days I go into this grocery store in L'Isle while I wait for the bus. This guy is usually outside with his dog playing the violin. The other day he was playing a hauntingly beautiful rendition of Hallelujah while it was raining and it was insane.

Plus, it’s pretty wild that I’ve been in France for five months and this is the first time I’ll be going to Paris, which is the reason I fell in love with France in the first place.

In middle school, we learned the word for seal in French was phoque, which sounds a lot like a curse word that us 12-year-olds were too scared to say. So we thought we were pretty cool saying it in French.

I went to get my haircut and all of the tables were made out of old sewing machines. I guess part of my routine is finding the beauty in normally ordinary things.

Anyway, here are some pictures from my day-to-day. I definitely think I have more of a tendency to take photos here because I try and notice everything. Hopefully it’s a habit I’ll continue with.

Also routine - the kids I teach being adorable. They gave each other compliments in English for Valentine's day. And included me in the fun!

One of the parks near our apartment that I often eat lunch in on my days off. I like buying a meal from somewhere new (to support the restaurants!) and sitting in the park. Me and all the high schoolers. No, but it's actually quite nice.