WE'RE GOING TO THE CHAPEL AND WE'RE GONNA GET MARRIED!!

Yes that's right. On Christmas Day in snowy Vilnius, Lithuania, Dazza asked me to marry him! Actually he kind of threw a ring at me and said "say it, say it". Of course I started crying and Amy, our friend who is staying with us, started taking photos (as always, I was the last to know!). I am amazingly happy, I never thought this would make me this happy. My ring is perfect, I completely utterly love it, and that Dazza picked it for me makes me love it even more. Its a South African diamond, brilliant cut, set into a rose gold ring. A perfect Christmas!

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARIS!

Today is one year exactly since Daz and I arrived in Paris. Freaking out, not knowing anyone (or the language)... I can't believe it. It feels both like years since we arrived, and yet, about 2 weeks. Every day I am reminded that we don't really belong here. But every day the most mundane things are so much more fun that at home.

Surprisingly, I don't miss living in Australia. Hardly. Ok, it would be nice to sit in people's backyards, cooking the barbie and basking in the warm sun. But here, you just do things differently. You go on picnics, you cycle around the city, and everywhere you go you see something amazing.

And its amazing how quickly you build a new life. Work, somewhere to live, new friends. And yes, it takes a lot of work, but its worth it. But still, simple things at home, such as going to the doctor, are a lot more hassle here. I think the hardest thing is trying to fit in with a new culture (I think I am pretty much the opposite to most Frenchies!) without changing yourself to blend in more. I know i've ruffled many feathers, but on the other hand, I know lots of people appreciate the differences in me, and my Aussie friends here. They love how we are so friendly and outspoken because it means they can experience a little of what it would be like if they went somewhere else (French people really don't travel much), and it makes them appreciate what they have.
So what don't I like about living here? Well, I don't like how things are run. Bureaucracy. Its bullshit. There are so many redundant hoops you have to jump through its crazy. The way the lab is (not) run. That I don't have many results at work. That I still don't know French very well (my fault). That simple things become difficult. That I can't read the paper properly. That I am excluded from pop culture. The tiny apartments. That I don't have my doggie. That it rained all summer.

And what do I love? The attitude that you work to live, not live to work. Taking long lunches is expected. The food (the cheese, foie gras, duck). The architecture. The availability of different cultures, meeting lots of people from everywhere. Riding bikes everywhere. My rediscovered love for live - not being in a rut, which I think lots of my friends (myself included) at home are/were in. My friends. The wine. The renewal of Daz and my love affair. That its really cold, so you can wear big boots and jackets a lot. Meeting people from all over. The tiny country towns that are postcard perfect. The autumn colours. Picnics. Being able to have (simple) conversations in French. Being really really happy and proud that I have built a life here.

I don't care what they say: WINTER IS HERE

Winter is here. I don't care what any of these Euros say, it had arrived. And yes, I realise that according to our European counterparts, the seasons are governed by the solstice, but I am a proud Aussie, and I have proof that winter has arrived in Paris, because The Age (big newspaper in Oz) declared yesterday that summer has started in Australia. Hence, due to the whole northern/southern hemisphere thing, winter has started in Europe.

Being a researcher, I also have several lines of evidence indicating that winter has started.

1. Its bloody cold. And wet. You can see for yourself at my favourite weather site... it has images, graphs and cute little descriptions... I check it about a million times a day.
http://www.meteo-paris.com/ile-de-france/previsions.php
According to my man Guillaume (the guy posting the site), you can see that its going to rain nearly every day this week, last week we had temperatures at night around 1 degrees, and that last week, the average maximum was 11 degrees, and on Wednesday we only had a max. temperature of 7 degrees. And this is nothing new... all of November and half of October was like this too.

2. Its dark. The sun rose at 08h23 and is setting at 16h56 today. That is currently only 8.5 hours of daylight. That means that when I get up early to go swimming, its only after I have finished swimming for 45 minutes, got changed and walked to the metro that the sun is officially up. Pretty pathetic if its supposed to be only spring don't you think???

3. Solstice issues. Europeans say that their seasons depend on the solstice. Now I can agree with that - up to a point. But this means that winter officially starts on the 22nd December. The darkest, shortest day of the year. This is stupid. Totally illogical. Why would the height of darkness be the start of winter? Surely it makes more sense for it to be lodged somewhere in the middle of winter, where you can work your way up to it, knowing that, well its expected because its winter? And conversely, on the other side of the solstice, you are partly through winter and the whole getting lighter thing coincides with the move towards spring.

4. Leaves on trees. There are none. They are all gone. Everybody know that leaves fall off in autumn, say off in winter, and grow back in spring. Hang on - maybe someone should have a word with all the trees in Europe and tell them that they have to wait a few more weeks until all the leaves are dropped.

Nice try. I don't care what everyone says, I think the Aussies have got it right. Winter is here.