Wake Me Up When September Ends

Hallelujah! October is the best alarm clock ever.

Marc and I with my cousin, David,
and our new cousin, his wife, Any!

September was nothing short of insane. We had a lot of fun, but not a lot of time! All of our coaching started, we both got sick, my newly married cousins passed through, met up with a friend from college, matches began, and I picked up a new field of expertise...tutoring English. It turns out American English is a hot and happening skill to have, and I've got a convenient lifetime of knowledge.

What's not to love? Seriously.
Happiest place on earth. Sorry, D-Land.

France rearranged some of their volleyball league policies, so now we have league AND cup matches: the only thing to know is this simply equates to like zero free weekends. And while that may put a damper on my weekend adventures, it does continue to enhance Paris as our choice destination! As if the Eiffel Tower ever gets old (it doesn't, it won't, it can't).

This limited weekend availability also encouraged me to find other work, so it hasn't been all bad. We had way too much free time last year (as some of our visitors can attest to), and it feels good to have a more normal schedule again. But don't get me wrong; I still only have to wake up early once a week, and I love having the morning to take my time.

Extra work also means extra money, and better justifies the epic Spain trip I'm planning for 2014. I can work happier knowing the money is going toward something fabulous, of course.

Marc and I have also taken up writing articles for some websites (his is basketball, mine is health and wellness) to make some American dollars on the side. Of course, our lack of reliable internet has not been friendly to this cause, but we hold onto to the hope that someday the technician will come to our apartment and install our phone, cable, and wifi...someday in the next three months maybe?

(Author's Note: Until the man with the power of the world wide web arrives, this also means we cannot Skype well at all. We are not avoiding you. Not all the time, anyway.)

My team won our first cup match, but lost our first league match in a bitter 5-set where we had the 2 set lead. But we bounced back with a 3-0 victory in our second match. We have added some great new French teammates, both older and younger, and we are working to find our identity as a team. It is extremely awesome to be a returner finally, and to have the foundation of last year to build upon - as a player and a coach. I am really enjoying coaching my 14's team, and everything is way easier the second time around.

I'm number 5 this year, by the way. Why not?!

October is my favorite month of the year, what with the cooling temperatures, changing colors, and volleyball! I won't get to "celebrate" Halloween this year because I have practice that night, but maybe I will still dress up for it. Okay, probably.

Everyday is still an experiment in language and ambassadorship, and we are excited to share another year of our journey with the world!

The Next Really Big Thing...

Christmas in Rome.

Plus all the other fun stuff we will do until then! À bientôt!