More from Mari!

If you love to online shop, then you'll absolutely appreciate the info I'm about to share. Twice a year, France's government mandates that EVERY STORE IN THE COUNTRY sell their merchandise at a discounted rate for about a month! They refer to this mass discounting sesh as "Soldes," and the first round is currently going on! I haven't had the opportunity to visit many stores in the mall yet, but it turns out (as I discovered searching the web one day) that the Soldes can be found at some online stores, too! For those of you interested in getting quality clothing at super cheap rates, here are several links to sites that do worldwide shipping. Hope you enjoy! 

http://www.fashionunion.com/clearance/icat/springsale/

http://www.monki.com/

http://www.sarenza.com/

I'll let you in on a secret… one of my favorite hobbies is writing songs and poetry. It allows me to express myself earnestly and creatively more than talking normally. Since coming to France, I've written a bunch of songs and poems, some of which I'd like to share publicly (and this is mega rare, so you should feel special)! I hope you enjoy and that these representations of my life abroad allow you a sense of what I've been feeling. 

Untitled (poem)

J’ai vu les mèches d’or

Aux dehors d’une fenêtre

J’ai senti l’espoir d’un nouveau jour

Aux mes épaules, comme les ailes d’un oiseau

J’ai entendu les voix du matin

Qui m’ont appelées délicatement

Et, en regardant le ciel bleu clair

J’étais content

Même si toute est changée

Toute reste constante 

(Translation)

Beams of gold shone

Outside the window

I felt the hope of a new

Day on my shoulders,

Like the wings of a bird

I heard the morning voices

Greet me delicately

And while watching the light blue sky

I was happy

While everything has changed

Everything remains the same 

Paris Song (yes, I personified the city then wrote about it. No shame.) 

This is cliché

But I've never felt this way

I'm completely in love with your charms

I'm totally engrossed, wrapped in your arms

I never want to leave

Know you've got a million tricks up your sleeve

Wanna experience it all

From here, I never want to fall

Because the sun's soft ray just brushed my cheek

And when I'm here, life's not so bleak

You pull me away from what I was

And I'm who I should be now because

You're the one thing I've always desired 

Around you, I feel so inspired

You used to be a distant dream

But now you're a reality

(all I've got so far)

In my free time (such an odd concept for a W&M student), I've been looking up LOTS of YouTube vids and trying to broaden my musical horizons — I feel it keeps with the idea of broadening cultural horizons. Anyway, I've found a lot of cool songs/artists I didn't know existed AND discovered that I have quite a soft spot for BritPop (which is totally making a comeback if you weren't aware). For other music lovers, check some of these links out: 

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJOhDrgPPQo (this song is actually a remix of a famous French song called "Ce Jeu" by Yelle. Both songs are pretty sick) 

2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_TzlSPbYt8 (in sticking with the Chiddy Bang theme) 

3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxPR13Vhe6k (I've been playing this on repeat for the past day) 

4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3THA7HN6wh 

5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8cADX87-2I (if you've magically managed to escape the pull of Ed Sheeran's voice to date, this video will absolutely draw you in) 

Wanna learn some French cooking secrets? Try out some of these ridiculously rad recipes :)

1. Gateau d’oranges (Orange Cake) - Une recette originale de Madame Catherine Duplan !

Ingredients 

5 oranges, well-washed

i egg

yeast (1/2 packet)

flour (1 ½ cups)

sugar (2/3 cup)

butter (1/2 stick, melted)

Materials

Cheese grater

Mixing bowl

Electric mixer/spoon

Baking mold

Juicer

Saucepan

Instructions

  - Combine flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and butter in large mixing bowl
 - Use the cheese grater to shave the skin off of 2 oranges and add to mixture

  - Once stirred, add batter to baking mold and put in the oven on 350 degrees for 30 minutes
 - While the cake is baking, use the juicer to juice the remaing oranges and pour into a small saucepan. Add a bit of sugar and allow to boil. Set aside to cool after syrup-like consistency is reached
 - Once cake is finished and cooled, use a blunt knife to cut several slits all around the surface
 - Drizzle the syrupy topping onto the cake, ensuring that it gets into the crevices made with the kniffe
 - Cut yourself a slice of cake and enjoy !