Contente.

Walking home today from a beautiful countryside dinner to celebrate my friend Ellyn's birthday, I couldn't help but think of the word 'contente.' In French, it's a way to say that you're happy, so I've been reminding myself to add it into the vocabulary as an alternative to always saying 'heureuse.'

I always forget to use this word because, to me, coming from English, it means something else. To be content with something in English is to be satisfied, at peace, and unbothered by everything that's around you. That is exactly how I feel, exactly 2 weeks after leaving on a jetplane for Europe.

Whether it's because I simply just ate the best meal of my life (I'm starting to feel a bit like my Nana, who frequently names her latest the best __ dish she's ever had!)

or because I'm taking the time to enjoy the French speed of life,

I can say that my favorite feeling being here is being content. (Please note that yes, I do realize I look like a US Open ball girl/a for-sure American tourist. I am, in fact, neither, but wore it with American pride–and a Lacoste hat!)

I have a weekend full of a class field trip to a local village, a language-partner exchange, and a end-of-the-summer-season beach trip (the Mediterranean, no big deal) ahead of me and another week of happiness and inspiration just behind me. The good thing is, I know neither of those two things are going away.

Before I wrap things up for the night, I should mention a few things:
1) I went to see Inception yesterday, en français. I do not recommend it for the native English speakers, seeing how it's hard to grasp in English, but if you have good company, it may be worth it.
2) I did laundry for the first time and made a bright-colored display of my underwear and workout gear to air-dry my clothes, very Provençal.
3) The French equivalent of the "Jersey Shore"-coined term GTL (Gym, Tan, Laundry) is PVF (Pain, Vin, Fromage). Hats off to Ali for noting that the French daily essentials are eating bread, wine, and cheese. This is a generalization though, as both myself and the French devour many more varieties of delicious food daily.
4) The French equivalent of Pigs-In-A-Blanket (pictured above), Americano Complet from the truck parked on a nearby sidewalk (thank you, Sage), and sweet tea from a mason jar (also pictured above) were my biggest food discoveries the past few days. Fingers crossed that I keep stumbling upon more.

Nighty night!
XOXO, c

La Rotonde, Aix-en-Provence, France