My Heart Beats For Love

Bonsoir, tout le monde! Désolée que je n'ai pas écrit. J'étais très occupée.
To start off, je suis très fatiguée. I am beyond EXHAUSTED, thanks to the lovely Lilly Poullian. She woke me up at four because she wanted somebody to watch the royal wedding with her. Um, yeah. Half of the girls were up. She didn't need me! I value my sleep time.
Anyway, the royal wedding...je m'en fous. Seriously. I don't care, and I don't get the fuss. I've never really been phased by the British. I, however, do LOVE Monaco's royalty, but I'm not sure I'd want to be Princesse Sabine de Monaco.
Speaking of Monaco, this movie looks like it will be great:

Oui, I hate Selena Gomez. She is one of my sworn enemies, but still. Why would I avoid this film just because of her? I mean, these girls go to Paris and Monte Carlo. I never miss American films that somehow involve France (and Monaco). This won't be an exception. I'm too in love with cities on the Côte d'Azure! I thought Ratatouille was, however, dumb, but that was maybe due to the fact that Miley didn't provide the voice for any of the characters. I forgive Disney. They let her voice in Bolt. :)

The royal wedding made me think about my own wedding. Chrissa wants to get married under the Eiffel Tower (shocker), but I yearn to do something less stereotypical. I'd love to get married on the rocky shores of Nice...or outside of my beloved Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille. I'm just dreaming of the day I get to marry my beloved Julien (or Gérard), and I will be wearing a strapless white dress. To some, I'm too young to consider my future, but I just love to daydream...

While I am all gushy and lovesick, I might as well say I have a beautiful heart. Or so, my grandfather told me and my necklace continues to tell me.

It was a gift from my maternal grandparents before I came to America. The day it was given to me will always remain unforgotten; it was the last time I saw my grand-père before he passed away. I was going through a tremendously difficult time when I was given the necklace, and he told me it served as a reminder of how beautiful my heart was. Cheesy, but hey, what are grand-pères for? I miss him so much, and it reminds me of him every single day. It also reminds me to keep my cool in unpleasant situations. So, obviously, it is completely special to me. It even comes before my Miley Cyrus CD collection on the "my special things" list!

Enough of that...I'll have more to share tomorrow. The Teen Dance is tonight at 10, so I should be getting ready...

Sabine

An interlude in E minor

Salut, tout le monde!
The teen dance has unfortunately (definite sarcasm) been rescheduled for next Friday because the people who are hosting it weren't aware that this Friday is Good Friday.
So in the interim, I am learning how to play the flute. And guess who's teaching me?
Oui. Melanie.
To be honest, I never knew that Melanie played the flute and piccolo until yesterday when I heard her hit an octave that most normal people can't reach. After hearing her, a super brilliant idea popped into my head- I bet I could play Miley Cyrus songs with the flute! I've always wanted to play an instrument, but I didn't have the motivation when I was little. Mère once hired a private piano teacher for me, but she said that I was hopeless and she quit on me!
The good thing is, Melanie seriously promotes music education like it's going out of style, so I begged and pleaded with her to teach me how to play the flute, and she said she would. She is also a fabulous pianist, too...maybe she can teach me how to play that, too, since I never really got the chance to learn...? Two of my favorite Miley songs ("I Hope You Find It" and "When I Look At You") EVER have the best piano music in them.
So, Melanie taught me the B flat major scale, and it went OK. I then looked through her folder of sheet music because I was so impressed with my scale, and guess what I found? "WHEN I LOOK AT YOU"!!! Yeah. She said it was written for piano, but could be easily rewritten for flute. I'm not sure how that would be easy, but I'll take her word for it! She also said it was in E minor and that I didn't even know all my major scales yet, so I wouldn't be able to play it until I learned.
I basically know nothing about music. Like, what do "major" and "minor" mean? I, however, did learn some Italian, for example, poco più mosso and vivace. Next time I go to Italy and encounter a slow walker, I will so use the term poco più mosso with them. Just kidding. ;)
Sabine

Let's Dance!

Bonsoir, tout le monde!
Well...I have a somewhat interesting story to share. It's not really a story, but you get the idea. ;) I think the title of this post (which is also a Miley Cyrus song) is perfect.
As Lilly and I were walking around campus, we saw numerous posters advertising a "Teen Dance" that is to be hosted by the recreational center. I think it sounds like a great way to meet new people, even some guys, but I heard those dances were lame.
Let me explain.
Apparently, they only play the popular music, like Lady Gaga and Ke$ha. I, for one, gag whenever I hear them singing! The people who sponsor these dances don't realize that some people listen to Miley Cyrus and French pop. Since Americans like making everyone happy, they need to take this into account.

With that aside, I've never been to one, so I think I may go. Lilly wants to go, too, so it won't be that bad. Maybe we can even convince Melanie to come? Who knows? Maybe it won't be too lame?

I think that people must feel bad for middle schoolers because high school students have their prom, so this might be some dumb way to make up for potential jealousy. This is totally casual, though, so je ne sais pas. Isn't prom in the spring? This is in the spring, so I only made up one excuse.

Josefina and Samantha were trying to tell me that these dances were "inappropriate" because the music has swear words and innuendos. Well, um, I don't like that music, but I don't care about swearing and stuff. I'm French. My whole culture would be inappropriate to those two. Anyway, they were talking about how they may go because they wanted to be "wild". Um...excusez-moi? Wild? Josefina Esperanza Montoya and Samantha Rose Parkington? To them, "wild" is playing games on Webkinz, whatever that is. I'm sure it's popular with the elementary school crowd...the crowd we aren't and shouldn't associate ourselves with!

So oui, I had fun poking fun at them...I have no shame in doing this, as they don't take me seriously, anyway. They think I'm a "bad influence" on people because I drink wine. Yeah, shows how much Americans know about other cultures...

Sabine

Hey, Micki!

Day 6- A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere
"Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. Crois-moi, with some of the girls I go to school with make life a party in the USA...

On a side (and happy note), I'm getting new clothes soon. I hate to say this, but it's about time. I'm so sick of the things I have. One thing will make the perfect outfit for my trip to DC this summer.
Yeah. Micki and I are taking DC. Be prepared.

Before anybody says anything, oui, I actually like Micki. She basically is Nicki-Vicki, but she has a normal side to her. She can behave like a narcissist or a normal human being depending. Part of me feels like she is seriously insecure deep inside. Like Melanie, I don't know about her. Micki is anything but quiet, but she won't talk about her insecurities. She talks about them with Nicki and Vicki, and I confess to pleading with the twins for answers. They don't say anything except for, "all you need to know is that she a beautiful Sun Queen now."

Étrange. Très, très étrange...
Maybe I should put Lilly on the case? She can find out anything by means of the Internet.

Sabine

Day 5- A Song That Reminds You of Someone

"Can't Be Tamed" by Miley Cyrus. It reminds me of my twin, Sandrine. "For those who don't know me I can get a bit crazy/Have to get my way/Yup/24 hours a day/Because I'm hot like that". Oui. Those lyrics (and the rest of the song) fit Sandrine perfectly.

Day 4- A Song That Makes You Sad

"I Miss You" by Miley Cyrus wins this award. She wrote it about her grandfather's death, and I can't help but relate it to my grandfather's death, too. Like Miley, my grandfather was a very influential person in my life, and I think about him everyday. I miss my grand-père so much! I also think of my immediate family whenever I hear this song. Yeah, they're alive, but they are an ocean away.

Mademoiselle Melanie L'étrange

Before I get into the important stuff, days two and three of the 30 Day Song challenge.

Day 2- Least favorite song
Too many contenders. Anything by Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, or whoever else the Americans adore top my list. "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga tops this at the moment.

Day 3- A song that makes me feel happy 
"Fifty-Sixty" by Alizée is my feel good song. The music is so catchy, as are the lyrics. The music video is very animated (not "animated" as in "lively"- "animated" as in fun, pop art-inspired cartoons). I always want to sing along to this song whenever I hear it. I particularly love the lyrics, "Rêve de gloire et de fortune/Chic en Chanel/L'amour sera toujours glamoureux". I somehow feel like those lines describe my life, too. I dream of fame, fortune, and glory in that area. I have a small Chanel bag and some perfume, but I adore the clothes (especially the coats) and I can't wait until the day I can afford them. Oh, and love will always be glamorous.

Now, onto the subject of Miss Melanie Christine Holland...

Melanie (whom I occasionally call Mélanie because it always sounds better in French) est un peu étrange. It's not that she's strange in a bad way, but she is just different. She is somewhat avoidant...wait. Bad word choice. She's extremely introverted. She doesn't want to talk to Lilly or me. In fact, she doesn't even talk to Taylor and Amanda that much anymore. At lunch, she hurriedly eats her bacon, egg, and Mozzarella cheese sandwich and leaves us. We have no idea where she goes. We ask, but she never answers.
At first, I thought she was just a genius when it came to Spanish, algebra, and English, but according to Ava, she's like this in almost every other class.
The worst part about Spanish class is constantly being degraded by the teacher. Senora believes that Melanie is the only one who will have a successful future. She doesn't seem to like any other student, even Malorie who is just as precocious AND Spanish Club president to boot! This happens in algebra and English, too. My English teacher is OBSESSED with Melanie. She is always like, "why can't you guys be quiet like Melanie?" or "why can't you write like Melanie?"
Melanie doesn't talk to anyone, even those like me who try to talk to her. For the most part, nobody talks to her. Nobody wants to talk to her. They ignore her existence. A few people (Kailey, Kaya, Kirsten, and Hayley) call her terrible names and say the worst things about her. I can't help but feel bad...

Sabine

Day 1- Favorite Song

Bonsoir, tout le monde!
In addition to all my random ramblings, I'll be doing a "song a day for thirty days" challenge in which I'll post about a song every day for, um, 30 days.
As the title says, today is Day 1, and I will be talking about my favorite song...

This a hard question, actually. I have too many favorites. At the moment, I choose "I Hope You Find It" by Miley Cyrus. Here is some in-depth analysis of how it relates to my life.
Piano solo: Beautiful. There's no other words I could use to describe it. Melanie can play it (and the rest of the song) on piano and flute. I need to learn. I'm obsessed.
Now, onto the lyrics.
"These clouds are going nowhere, baby. The rain keeps coming down." As you have come to know, I'm from Lille, where the skies are always gray and dreary and rain falls incessantly.
"And I hope that you get this message that I'm leaving for you/I hate that you left without hearing the words that I needed you to..." One word: Marcelle. Long story. I don't want to get into details since it's nothing I want to share or relive, but yeah. Before I left for the US, she wanted to talk to me about what she and some friends, um, did.
"I hope you find it/what you're looking for/and I hope it's everything you dreamed your life could be and so much more/And I hope you're happy wherever you are..." Where do I even begin? This, in a nutshell, describes my move to the US. Enough said.

Sabine

Des cadeaux de Paris

Bonsoir, tout le monde! Je ne pense pas que je vous vois ses photos! 
I don't think I have ever posted photos on my blog of what we got from Paris. I thought of this when I opened my bottom clothing drawer and saw my little notepad. We got these things in the summer of 2009, so I think I am a little late sharing photos. I took new pictures, since I can't find the old ones. Enjoy!

Up first is a photo of me with my notepad. If you're lucky, you may get a letter/autograph from me (written on one of these sticky notes) someday. ;)

 Christelle got one, too. Sadly, the store was out of Sandrines, but Sandrine got earrings, which makes up for this.

This Eiffel Tower figure makes the most perfect room accessory:

I also got this set of drawers for my room...for TWO EUROS. Awesome deal!

Alyson got a purse...

...and an Eiffel Tower statuette thingy. It is the perfect addition to the glass candy, which was gifted to Alyson from somebody who lived in Italy, so it's authentic Italian blown glass.

Yeah, I know this post isn't overly exciting, but it needed to be done. It should have been done almost two years ago, but I forgot. Désolée. I promise I'll get on to bigger, better, and more exciting things next time.

Sabine
PS- I was reading my older blog entries (from 2008-2009), and I realized how much my English has improved! I'm completely impressed with myself.

Stalk Lilly!

Because she probably stalks you. :P
Kidding, she's my best friend. Bien sûr, I would promote her new blog. The stalking thing is kind-of our inside joke. She has a bad habit of searching for people on the Internet...
CLICK HERE to check out her blog. Leave her a comment, say "hi", and totally annoy her. I give you full permission to do that.

Sabine

La Vie en Noir

Salut, tout le monde! 
Hopefully, you know what this is a photo of. It's blurry because somebody was scared the rain would destroy her camera.

Quelqu'un est allé à la ville de New York...
...and somebody didn't buy anything for me. Apparently, AGPNY doesn't open until 10, and she was only on 5th Avenue before ten. NICE GOING. All I wanted was the shirt from the Recital Outfit. Is that really too much to ask? It's not like I want all the brightly colored items that most of the Americans here die for. One little shirt. That was all I wanted.
I hate to say this, but Chrissa could have taken the pants from that outfit. They'd work for her jazz class. Seriously, if you don't wear them for a dance recital (which is what they look like they're for...hence the term "recital" in the outfit's title), they are basically a fashion fail.

I spent this morning reading some magazines that Mère sent me. I really miss getting to read and buy French magazines all the time. They are so much more informative than American magazines, plus they feature the cutest clothes!

Julie is very similar to American Girl magazine. Let's put it this way: I don't really like Julie as much as I like other French magazines. I mean, the girls that read this actually have crushes on Justin Bieber and Rob Pattinson. Um, EW! How about the cute guys like Jérémy Kapone or Éric Greff (better known by his stage name Helmut Fritz)? Bien sûr, I have crushes on guys who aren't celebrities, but even they are way cuter than Justin or Rob.
Just saying. These girls clearly don't know what "cute" means. Maybe it's because I'm kind-of past Julie's target audience and I don't buy into American media too easily? The oldest girl in there was 12, I think. There are some American things I like, but I do think more highly of French movies and stuff.

This magazine, Jeune et Jolie, is more my thing. Plus, the outfits featured are awesome. I'd love to own most of the things featured. The articles are more of an interest to me.

 Apparently, Chrissa loves J et J, too! Kidding- I doubt she knew what it was before she saw me reading it. She came up behind me and shouted at the top of her lungs, nonetheless, "SABS! AWESOME FRENCH MAGAZINE!"

She startled me for numerous reasons...

Reason #1: ses vêtements. Everybody should know who and what she is trying to dress like. I'm going to take the time and explain a few things:

1. Son béret- bérets do not make you look French. They are just...ugh...so stereotypical! Don't ask me why Christelle wears them. I think she is trying to fit the stereotype or something.
2. Son écharpe- yeah, French people do wear scarves, but then again, the stereotypical thing can also come into play here. Take caution while wearing one- it can go both ways. The French can think you look cute, or they can think that you're a walking stereotype. You've been warned.
3. Son tee-shirt- I will ridicule this to no end. D'accord, what is with the giant logo, the stars, and the sequins? How does wearing this make you look French, especially since the words AMERICAN GIRL PLACE: NEW YORK are plastered on the front? Oh, Chrissa...
4. Son pantalons- she wears those to dance class. Enough said.

The thing that annoys me about this is that she tries so hard to dress "French". Black does not equal French. For some reason, I feel like because I wear black and am French, she needs to do the same. I don't get it. Yeah, black and other neutrals are common in France, but people wear clothes in other colors, too. I don't wear black because I'm French; I wear black because I'm a redhead and don't look great in a lot of colors.
Which, by the way, leads me to my second point. There is no particular way to dress "French". The French that I know (and I know quite a few...:P) dress in clothes that fit their bodies, styles, and personalities. They wear what looks good on them in colors that suite them. I repeat, neutrals are the most common, but people do wear other colors! Obviously, some things do scream American...like 99.99% of Lilly's wardrobe...but wearing black doesn't instantly make you French. Sorry, Chrissa.
Black really doesn't suit her...or her personality.

Oh, more Chrissa talk. This involves her boyfriend. Lilly and I discovered Chrissa talking to him on the phone, so we eavesdropped and laughed. It is such a cliche teen relationship that it's not funny! I highly doubt that they "love" each other. Lilly determined that this guy MUST be very tolerant, though, because let's face it: he could do so much better. How does he tolerate her?

Anyway, we are predicting that this relationship will end very soon. First of all, he is from her hometown in Iowa and they have been dating since sixth grade. Chrissa came to PPBS in the spring of that school year. There is no way that such a long-distance relationship will last, especially one like this. I bet he has already "cheated" on her or something...

Chrissa: you can't live with her; you can't live without her. Without that girl, my life in America wouldn't be too exciting...

Oh, I was tagged by The Green Girls, so I will list "7 Things" (Miley Cyrus pun!) about myself that you may or may not know:
1. I consider myself to be a secretive person. There is more to me than what I reveal.
2. I love traveling, especially around Europe.
3. I don't really try to dress "fashionable"; I actually effortlessly put together my outfits. But I do love clothes...
4. I do not like to wear my hair up. I prefer wearing it down or wearing it a half-ponytail.
5. Aurélie really needs to come to America. She needs to stop being so indecisive about it and just do it. I need one of my best friends here with me...long story...
6. I would never be caught dead in sneakers, hoodies, or sweatpants.
7. When I go to college, I plan on majoring in sociology, thanks to the Americans. ;)

If anybody else wants to do this, they can. I tag anybody who wants to do this.

Sabine

Fermez-la!

Salut!
Have your parents ever totally annoyed you to the point that you want to scream "FERMEZ LA BOUCHE" at the top of your lungs?
My mother. What an evil person.

She has never complimented me (or Sabine, but Sabine doesn't matter here, duh!) before. She has never called me pretty or told me what a talented and magnificent dancer I am. All she does at yell at me. Like I'm going to listen to that. She tells me that I need to do better at school and blah blah blah. She tells me to treat others with respect. Um, I DO do that?! It's not like I'm mean to people or anything. They just aren't respectful of me or my views.

Yeah, and I can't help that. I can't help a lot of things, but whatever. Nobody needs to know anything. Sabine doesn't need to spread family secrets around the "anonymous" Interwebs. She needs to stay out of my business, just like Mère.

Well, anyway, my visa has expired. I better get that little situation checked out and fixed before Mère decides to nag on me further.

Bises!
Sandrine <3