Shopping in France can sometimes be....well expensive to say the least. Fortunately the shopping gods are shinning below because get this, in France there is over a month worth of deals. Yes, that's right folks! Compared to our usual black-friday deals, France has two big sales throughout the year. The first sale of the year, known as the winter soldes, is currently taking place at the closest shopping mall near you. From January 11th the February 21st you can take advantage of some awesome steals (and deals) are sure to be one for the books. But don't wait too long! The next sales don't start until the 28th of June. So get ready, get set, and go shopping!

Yours truly,

You might have been noticing invitations pop up for a march tomorrow on your Facebook feed. Here is some information (directly taken from the founders themselves via www.womensmarch.com) in order to understand why it's important to make a stance. This is by no means a post advertising the activity. This is merely something that I am passionate about and wanted you guys to know what is happening tomorrow around the world :)

What is it? : 
 * This is directly taken from https://www.womensmarch.com/mission/ *

Where?: 
There will be marches taking place around the world tomorrow. An estimated 616 marches will be taking places in the United States (not including the largest at Washington DC) with 1,364  sister marches around the world. In order to see if there is a march near you check https://www.womensmarch.com/sisters for times and locations.

Why should I join?: 

At the end of the day, the decision is up to you. If you feel uncomfortable with the remarks made by President Elect Trump on woman and minorities this is your time to stand up and show that you are not okay with how he treats us woman. It's simply unacceptable, and it needs to be stopped.


For more information please feel free to check www.womensmarch.com. If you're nervous for any reason going alone, ask a friend to join along! This is a great activity to practice your rights in a saf

    Dear President Obama,

Like many other Americans, I would like to take the time today to thank you and your Administration for your service. For the past eight years you and your team have helped create a better America. As someone who is constantly traveling, I was proud to call myself an American because of you. No matter how far away I was from America, when I told others of my nationality a smile would automatically appear on their face. "Barack Obama is your President", they would tell me in delight. The fact of the matter is, Mr President, you created change not only in America but throughout the world. You influenced people's decision making and created hope for everyone regardless of their race, age, or creed. I remember when I was traveling around the Caribbean
during Christmas of 2008 how excited people were for you to become President of the United States. Just weeks before your inauguration, the people of these islands were already impressed with the hurdles you had overcome. Posters of your face could be seen on billboards celebrating your election and at one island, there was even a hospital being built in your name.

 Eight years later, I, and others, have become more impressed by your work. If I could pinpoint one lesson that I learned from your Presidency as an American citizen it would be that you inspired so many  of us to believe in change. You made us believe that no matter what, we could make a positive difference in this world. There was something about your discourse that made me believe that anything was possible, even at some of our (the American people's) lowest and saddest times in history. Throughout the many tragedies the American people faced during your Presidency, you continued to remind us that there was hope in a better tomorrow.

The time has come again for long winter nights cozied up in our favorite blankets and early winter morning commutes to work in our favorite big scarves. As a fashionista, it can sometimes be hard to be functional and fashionable at the same time during the blistering weather. Here are just a few inspirational photos to help you decide what you should wear when the cold weather comes rushing your way.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)Lilly Collins

Award season is in full swing! Here are just a few of my favorite looks from last week's 2017 Golden Globes award. Comment below and let me know what your favorite look was!

Getty images

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Wire image

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(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

As promised, here is yet another lesson plan  that you can use within the classroom as a foreign language teacher. I actually used to watch this series in one of my high school Spanish classes. You can find this series in different languages (French, English, Spanish, and German) relevant to the language that you teach. Produced by Discovery Channel, this series is made specifically for students learning a foreign language. The episodes are about 20 minutes, and extra lesson plan sheets can be found on the internet to engage more with students in order to test their language comprehension.

As the holidays wind down to a stop, it's time to reflect on my time living in France as a teacher abroad. It's crazy to believe that the program is half way done (eek!- time to find a real job !!).  Throughout the three months that I have lived abroad in Montpellier, France I have been able to learn a lot about myself, the world, and others around me. Here are just a few lessons that I have learned as a teacher within the classroom, and as a 'student' in the real world (after all, we are never done learning lessons are we).

1. Be grateful for your experience abroad : As we get into our daily routines here in France, I sometimes find myself taking France for granted. Montpellier has become my home. The honey moon phase is over, and I find myself becoming 'oh-so-French' and complaining about trivial things such as money, schoolwork, and the French bureaucracy more than one probably should. Sure, at times living abroad can have it's downsides, but overall coming back and living in France has allowed for me to grow as an adult. I find myself constantly having to remind myself of how lucky I am to live here. I might be out of the honey moon phase, but that doesn't mean that I haven't fallen out of love with Montpellier (or France). I'm living in sunny southern France away from the Minnesota cold, what really could be better than that?
2.  The importance of friendships:  Living abroad can be difficult at times because of how far away you are  from your friends and family back at home. Know that at first it will be awkward and hard to branch out and talk to new people. It will get better, and you will make friends. You don't have to like everyone you meet (that's life) but if you allow yourself to open up and be willing to meet new people, you can find some pretty awesome friends along the way.  You can never really predict how/if/or when you are going to become friends with someone abroad, but somehow magically it seems to happen, and the friendships you create abroad can be some (if not the) most rewarding and strongest ones yet. 

   Some friends and I enjoying Barcelona, Spain

3. The importance of family: Missing birthdays, holidays, and important events can take a toll. At times you might even feel guilty for moving abroad and not spending those momentous occasions right by their side. I won't sugar coat it and say that it's possible not to miss your family while living abroad. It's going to happen, and some days it will be hard not missing them. Know that it will get better and  that there is always another fellow traveler friend that understands exactly what you are going through. If you are lucky enough to have your family over (like I was) know that it can sometimes get overwhelming, but that's the joy of having family around, and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. At the end of the day, you know that there is someone miles away, doors open, waiting for your arrival. It honestly can't get any better than that. 

   The family

4. Try new things: There comes a time where you might begin to consider yourself to be an expert in certain new areas and fields (such as navigation, language, etc). As terrible as trying new things such as eating alone at a restaurant, asking for directions from a real-live person, or traveling alone can be, they can help you become a stronger and better person. I'm not an expert by any means of having the confidence of trying everything out, but thanks to some wise words from my dad during the holidays, I'm trying to remember that every day is another opportunity to learn something new. 
5. Travel: Take this opportunity while living abroad to travel as much as possible. This is your time to see as many different parts of France, and the world so do as the French do and 'profitez'! 

2016 has been a year full of travel and many interesting memories. Luckily with the age of technology, I have had the ability to easily record my memories while traveling abroad. Though I admit that I'm not the best at creating videos, I found it fun to reminisce about 2016 and remember the good times I had this year with both new and old friends. Hopefully this tradition can continue next year and I can continue practicing how to film (on one consistent angle maybe) for next years review video. Until then, you'll just have to watch this video and let me know what you think :)

2016 will probably go down as one of the years that I traveled the most.  With my new job as a language assistant in France and cruising with my beloved family I was fortunate enough to see a lot of different places around Europe. Mind you choosing only ten destinations was a bit of a struggle because there have been great places that I have visited throughout the year. Here are just a few of my top destinations that I visited this year.

Which one is your favorite? Comment below and let me know!

#10) Valencia, Spain

#9) Kofur, Greece