our diets start tomorrow

i thought of about five millions things i could title this last post; i considered calling it the day i ate three lunches (traveling back in time means you get to eat the same meal over and over), or something sappy like, my last adventure, or the end of it all. but instead i decided to go with another one of our daily mottos, one that we said to ourselves every day, and therefore could always eat whatever we wanted. however, this motto is one that now needs to be put in practice. for reals. no excuses. my diet starts tomorrow. 

i am at home. it is nice. it is weird to be back in a place where the only language i hear is english. but it is so fun to be back with my family. i just passed out all my silly and fun gifts. i loved sharing little bits of my adventure with my dear fam. it has been such an adventure, it really has. i want to say merci bien to all of you, thank you so much for reading. thanks to those who checked every day, thanks for those who read just once! thank you for your comments. thank you for caring. thank you, merci encore, for following my adventure, and for being a part. you made this daily blogging worth it!

and now, 

ten things i already miss and i know i am going to have a hard time living without.

1. pastries.

the millefeuille has to be in the top three. the pastries and the bakeries on every corner will be sorely missed. (although the lack of them will help this motto.)

2. the metro

i haven't driven in three months. woah. i will definitely miss this convenient transportation. and i'll miss using my navigo too. love that navigo.

(navigo)

3. le ves

i lived in a fairytale land, how could i not miss it?

4. bread and cheese

before i came everyone warned me that i better get used to eating lots of bread and cheese. get used to? i think the appropriate word choice would be welcome every opportunity to eat bread and cheese. and by bread, i mean baguettes. there is just nothing like it here. 

5. le parc

especially sunshine naps in the parc. i will just miss the paris parc mentality. 

6. sitting on my bed with emily

i will miss em lots and lots. especially all those times when we just sat on my bed while i blogged and she did french homework, or something like that. and shared tunes. and also i will miss my fire safety blanket, i might as well throw that in.

7. the language

i am having a hard time with this already. i miss french. i love french. i, madeline bodine, speak french. and i miss it. if you speak it, call me or something so we can talk. i miss reading the daily news in french too. and i miss speaking franglais as well. 

8. la tour eiffel

and every other major monument that is just a daily reminder that you live in france.

except, i don't anymore. sad, huh?

 9. nannick

the dearest, most darling old woman i know. she has such joie de vivre, and is so full of life. she is also a great cook and just an all around great lady. i just love nannick. miss her wanna-be-whistling already.

 10. the people

these girls became some of my dearest friends. everyone in the program i hold dear to my heart. and not only the people in the program, but the friends i made in the ward, nannick's family members that i got to meet, the people of paris, the gypsies on the rer, our ward hobo. i will miss them all.

i miss it already. but i can now say that i have lived in france. lived and loved. this adventure has come to a close, but i know there are so many more to come. i had an adventure every day, i came home big, and officially, my diet starts tomorrow. 

p.s. is it just me, or can anyone else just not get enough of this? --->

grosses bisous,

mads in france.