The start of something new: Grandma is tired

Oh lord, is it Monday already? I feel as though I haven’t slept in weeks and I’m about ready to start napping twice daily in order to catch up. “But why Sara?’ I hear you cry, ‘you’re so young, late nights should be easy for you!” I wish I was like other ‘normal’ twenty-somethings, able to drink and stay up late, but in reality everything I do makes me feel like a grandma. I’m quite content to be in bed at 9, how boring is that?

The first part of the week was quite uneventful. Kevin was ‘ill’ on Tuesday, so I was housebound for the whole day (yes, this was horrific and an experience I do NOT wish to repeat!) Luckily, he was back by Wednesday. I say luckily very loosely, as I had Marilie for the first half of the day and then Kevin came home early because he didn’t have football. Basically, I didn’t have a break until Thursday...fun times. I was forced to do this unicorn mandala kit with Marilie, which was horribly messy and didn’t even look remotely good.

I spent as much of Friday outside as I could. The weather finally warmed up and I seized the opportunity to soaked up as much sun as possible. In the morning, I walked around for a while before I had to collect Marilie for lunch.

After lunch, Krisztina and I mooched around Manor (because there is absolutely nothing else to do here). It’s kind of depressing that our only escape is a crappy, expensive shopping centre.
That evening, after filling my belly with copious amounts of homemade pizza, Krisztina and I headed to Paddy’s for a drink. We had no idea beforehand, but there was a live band playing, which was lovely. Kriszti and I agree that the music they play is far better than at Charly’s, where you can’t hear yourself think let alone talk to other people. We didn’t get back too late, because we’re both old ladies and it was past our curfew.

On Saturday morning, the bestie and I headed to Val Thoiry (another shopping trip, but without the Swiss prices). This trip was much more successful, as we both actually bought stuff. Even Krisztina! I had a slight ‘blip’ in Jennyfer, because I left my phone in the changing room. Thank god someone had handed it in! There are still some good people in the world. We munched on a couple of wraps from Migros, as last time I got ‘poisoned’ with mustard in a sandwich from a café there. I won’t lie, I also bought a pair of apple and cinnamon muffins that had gooey caramel in the middle. Yes, they were as good as they sound. And yes, I ate them both, but not in the same day...

By the afternoon, I was wondering what on earth i was going to do that evening. Kriszti and I met up with Jason and Brenda for a drink, in our usual café of choice. Afterwards, I went with Brenda and Isa to the Salon d’Auto in Geneva, which for you Anglophones is the Geneva Motor Show. Apparently, it's quite a prestigious event for the car companies and people travel from worldwide just to see all of the cars. We spent an hour or two wandering around and, although I know nothing about cars, I really did enjoy myself. The absolute highlight of my life was sitting in the drivers seat of a beautiful Range Rover that had a fridge. I REPEAT, A CAR WITH A FRIDGE. What more could you want from life? While I was doing that, Brenda was spending an eternity taking pictures of the new BMW M8 concept car.

BMW M8

We all got very VERY hungry, so headed off to Les Brasseurs for a drink with some French guys, before going to Ferney for food. Stupidly, we tried to go to an Irish pub on Saint Patrick's Day - big mistake! Eventually we ended up at Buffalo Grill for a late night burger, or five. Yet again, I was the only non-Spanish speaking member of the group. It's getting so bad that I'm hearing things in Spanish and replying in English. I'll be fluent before you know it!

The following day, a Spaniard, a Mexican, a Hungarian and a Brit went to FestiChoc in Versoix. Obviously we only went for the free chocolate because nobody bought anything, as it was far too expensive. The stalls were actually pretty generous with their samples, even though my host mum insisted that they don't give a lot. I felt pretty darn sick afterwards, especially seeing as I didn't eat breakfast - rookie mistake!

After speeding back to Divonne to drop Isa off, the three of us popped to Nyon for a quick walk around. There's not a lot to do on a Sunday as most things are shut, but we managed to catch the market before it packed up. Again, nobody bought anything because we're all cheapskates.

Brenda and I had a cheeky McDonald's, which seems to be where I eat every week (hello obesity). Never mind, you only live once I guess...
We headed back so that I could go to my tutoring session. One of David's brothers had a fever and, so that we didn't wake him up, we went on a frog hunt around the local area. It was going super well, although we didn't find any frogs or fish...or anything at all really. However, when we were almost back, David decided it would be a good idea to run around the stream, even after my objections. Before I knew it, he was knee-deep in the freezing cold water and trying desperately to climb out. Clearly, he was very grumpy when he got out and we had to wring out his socks. So as to not catch his death, I had to piggyback him back to his house, which was not fun because he insisted on carrying a huge stick and a flower. Luckily, I didn't get too strangled and we made it back to get him in some warm clothes. He got quite the telling off, but I don't think he'll be doing it again in a hurry anyway!

When I'd finished there, I headed back out to meet Kriszti and Brenda at Charly's. We had a quick drink there, then decided to grab a pizza and eat it at Brenda's house. When you live in such a bleak area, the simple things ( like eating a pizza in a small but warm studio apartment with friends) are some of the best moments you have.

Unfortunately, Monday brought my first THREE CONSECUTIVE HOURS of French. Unsurprisingly, it was hellish and I did not enjoy it at all. The first half (my normal A2 class) was fine and went quite quickly, but the second half (B1) made me want to sleep, particularly seeing as I barely slept on the weekend. When I finally got outside, it was like when Dobby was freed.
I ate a quick lunch, then went for a walk around the lake with Brenda. It was so refreshing to be outside with the sun shining, even if it's not quite warm enough yet to pack up my warm jumpers!