The leaves are falling...

As you already know, autumn started yesterday, September 22nd!



You have no idea how happy I am to be able to wear my sweaters again, and little boots, my scarf...
Autumn has to be my favorite season, doesn't matter if my birthday is in the summer, I love autumn! The orange/red leaves, the little breeze coming back, the cold nights (sometimes)... I just love this season and no, not for the holidays! I don't do thanksgiving, it's not European, and Halloween, well I've recently started to like it a bit, but not entirely yet!


To me, autumn is the best season and there are reasons for it, don't try to change my mind, I won't!

Little One... Look at the trees, for once and enjoy the colors that this amazing season gave you! The pretty orange, red, yellow, green colors and tell me what you truly think of it! Isn't it beautiful? And that morning light, it's golden, such a gift! 

Little Two... The leaves fall down, you kick them, you jump in these piles of red leaves, what a childhood memory!



Little Three... Sweater Weather is coming around each year, starting in autumn! Being able to come to work without sweating is a real pleasure. Welcome back big sweaters!


Little Four... Cuddle dates never go wrong! In my opinion, autumn is the season of love. It's chilly outside, you are walking around and all you can do is hold on to the one you love!


Autumn makes me think of hot beverages in the corner of a coffee shop with a good book. It makes me think of the sound the steamer makes after a coffee, the rain (maybe not in California, *sad face*) tapping against the windows. It seems like everyone is happy, people smile it's a new beginning, a start of something great! Anything can happen in the fall, especially love! Autumn is, in fact, a romantic season... Us women look a bit more shy with our light sweaters, little boots, our scarf... It makes us look more mysterious, more untouchable. 

Little Five... The TV shows that you missed all summer are back and running, but so does NFL, sports are on! I get to watch Serie A again! That's my little delight! 

Little Six... No more bathing suits, no more shaving all the time, and there is No Shave November! Less time consumed with taking care of the shaving part.


Little Seven... Pumpkin Spice Latte is back, but so are pumpkin pies! Even being European, I got used to drinking and eating these! I miss it during spring and summer! 

Little Eight... Christmas is on its way, there I said it! Winter is next and the beautiful holiday as well! Can't deny how wonderful Christmas is... 

Despite having Christmas soon, Thanksgiving and Halloween are coming sooner! Indeed, thanksgiving is very American, but we can enjoy the good food in autumn, it's cooler so the hot food has returned to us! You may be saying goodbye to the summer tan and welcoming more clothes on your body, but you can't deny how amazing autumn is! I won't let you believe autumn is boring...



"Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they're falling like they're falling in love with the ground." - Andrea Gibson.

~Bella

Let's go teams!

Another football/soccer post, annoying yes, but I can't help it! I've been asked these questions more than 8 times already and I'm tired of repeating the answer!
Who are your teams? Who do you support? How come you go them?

After a good amount of reflexion time, I decided to share the teams I support. Don't judge, if you don't like them, it's alright, but I have reasons to like them even though some reasons are just random and idiotic!

Before I can start with the teams I follow, I'll talk about formations and if you don't know or understand them, here's a little quick note that helped me visualize when I watch my teams play. 
A formation describes how the players in a team are positioned on the field. Some are more attacking or defensive soccer style. They say that if you want to be good at football you must be able to ay in all possible formations... No one can rely on one single formation so it's quite a game! 
Example:  4-4-2 is a formation with 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 2 forwards, it's the most common formation today. 
The 4-3-3 is a classic one that was taken by great teams, actually, Germany won the World Cup of 1974 with that formation! F.C Barcelona adopted this formation quite well... 
The 3-4-3 is an offensive formation with little defense thinking and it mostly focuses on attacking. It's not a formation that is used quite often, rather rare to see a coach use it. 
The 4-3-3 with a triangular midfield puts a holding central midfielder above the four defenders with two offensive midfielders behind the center forward and two wingers. I've seen Italy use this one often! 

So there you have a few ideas on how to view formations, it's only positions and how they affect the game! 

Let's start off with my first team I ever supported and it has to be Liverpool F.C. from Liverpool, England. The Reds! 
This team was the very first team I really loved watching mostly because the Spanish player, Torres even though I don't like Spanish teams or players much. I know most of my teams are based on the players... And the club's anthem is "You'll Never Walk Alone". I always thought it was a good one! They had amazing players like Suarez from Uruguay, Steven Gerrard from England ... I mean the team had some really good players and still to this day! Balotelli, Italian, arrogant player but still wonderful in his own way... 
The formation that I saw worked was 3-5-2, 4-2-1-3 or a 4-3-3 depending on how Rodgers wants to dictate the game. They made me happy by winning against Arsenal on Sunday 14th of August! You should watch them, they deserve some support! 

The second team I absolutely loved was and still Manchester United F.C, well obviously from Manchester, England. Also known as The Red Devils. The first game I watched them, they were playing against Southampton, another British team. Then I realized they had Rooney, the captain! At the time I don't think it was him, but I started to love them! I mean each game, they gave everything they had. Now, they also have Matteo Darmian and Italian defender who I absolutely love... And they are getting Paul Pogba which used to be on my favorite team, Juventus. Manchester United has to be one lucky team to have him in the squad! It's going to be a game changer! To be fair for the formation they do 4-2-2-2 and I don't know... Not really what I wanted to see... 

Chelsea F.C, London, England... The Blue Lions, or The Blues... 
Their current manager, Antonio Conte is Italian... I was happy about that! He is really good, they got lucky on that one! At the moment, the team has amazing players counting, Oscar, a Brazilian, Hazard, a German and a lot more players! I got interested in the team when a friend of mine wanted to watch them in my presence, I didn't oppose as they looked amazing on the field. At the time, Lampard was playing... Then Drogba, Mata...Anyways, the team definitely has great players. The formation has to be 4-2-3-1...

More recent team and my FAVORITE team, JUVENTUS from Torino (Italy). 
I didn't start liking them because they were good! At the beginning, I actually had no idea how good they were. A few years ago, I was watching a game on TV.  As a matter of fact, my favorite player, Claudio Marchisio is a midfielder for the team, so I watched a whole lot of Juventus game, followed them, got into the history, the formations... Everything! Juventus is an amazing team with wonderful players. They have one the best goalie out there, Buffon is incredible. They know how to really play and be a team, family. I'm number one fan, I mean I have jerseys, a scarf, a little blanket, a jacket... I'm just in love with the team. For the formation, I'm a bit lost at the moment, Marchisio went out because of an injury, and Pobga left for Manchester United, so I'm rather lost on how it's going to play out. They do have Dybala as a striker, center forward, so I'm pretty convinced that they have a chance of doing something good! 

A.C Milan from Milano, Italy... Il Diavolo (The Devil)! 
I follow them slightly before Juventus but it's around the same time. I was watching the Serie A, it's like the Premier League but in Italy. They aren't that amazing, but they had something that caught my eye, plus they have cute players like Mattia De Sciglio who is a defender, Manuel Locatelli, younger than me, but Santa Cleopatra, so cute, a midfielder, and Andrea Poli, midfielder as well... 4-3-3 might have to be the best formation they could use. I honestly don't know much about the style, all I know is I started following them for the players, the cute ones. Please do not judge! 

The last team I support is Leeds United F.C from Leeds, England. The Peacocks! 
Just a few months ago after watching my favorite YouTuber, miniminter, I decided to watch the team he goes for, Leeds! Now, I barely ever saw them play, only against Liverpool and Manchester United, so I never really watched how they do play. But I was open-minded to watching and I was surprised. I mean it's far from the best team out there, they are nothing like Chelsea or another great team! It's new so I'm learning the history, how the coach works, the each player style of play, and so much more. Can't talk much about them! 

Hope this long post will help you realize that even if I will always go for Juventus, I love and support other teams! I'm very open-minded when it comes to either Irish, Scottish, British and Italian teams. I ain't a fan of Spanish teams at all, neither Germans or French! Even though there's a lot of good teams! I have a few more that I do follow but I needed to stop the post at some point, you have much more to do on this Monday than reading some blog! 


If you want to learn more about football, let me know in the comments below or via social media! 

"Anyone who thinks sunshine is happiness has never played football in the rain."

~Bella

Does this change?

A couple of nights ago, I was unable to sleep due to stomach pain. No, this isn't going to be about being sick or feeling drained... Don't get me wrong, I wish I could complain to you, but it won't be this time!

While I was in bed, watching YouTube, listening to music, I went on Facebook. My news feed was filled with posts about Trump, Hillary, shootings from Americans, and arguments about football (soccer) from Europeans. If you didn't know, the Euros ended on Sunday with Portugal winning against France. My brother and I were supporting Portugal. No, we don't have Portuguese blood in us, but we prefer them over the French team. I was happy, but when I was reading these insulting posts about Portugal cheating, not deserving anything, being treated like complete garbage, I felt even sicker.
I posted something about football and being happy for Portugal as it was a miracle for them to win, one of my cousins from France commented asking if I had forgotten where I came from. It made me pissed off. I don't need to be for my birth country for a sport. It doesn't make you less of a patriotic person. I ain't going to cheer up for arrogant players that don't even play for the game itself but just for the money.
Then, later on, I read a post from another French person, a young girl, a year older than me, insulting Portugal, making a scene, having other French people comment, telling her to pretty much shut it up. To her, if you were French you were supposed to be for France and if you weren't you technically were a loser. It's a sport, indeed it's in our culture, blood, but just because you don't want to side with your country's team doesn't mean you are a loser who doesn't deserve to be that nationality. Just because I live in California doesn't make me an American, I'm still French. It's the same for football or any sports. It doesn't mean I won't fight for my country if a war broke out.
People disgusted me, I was in shock. I can't believe my own family would be as ignorant and so close minded than this. Asking me if I had forgotten where I came from? What does that make me? A traitor to my country? Just because I won't side for France in football? It's shocking!
I spent two hours battling the idea that this young woman would be closed minded to the idea of other people teaming up for other countries...
Facebook is a place where you can write anything you want, but expect others to comment and be against you. Not everyone will comprehend and side for your opinion. I stand tall against people that can't see beyond their nose. I can't stand people accusing others of not being patriotic enough... What makes you think you are patriotic? Because you go for your country at a sport? But will you go and fight for your country if it's needed? I don't think so!

I had my mother on the phone that night as well, and I couldn't keep it all to myself, I had to tell her what I saw, what I read. She was in shock herself, not understanding why people can be so mean to each other, why they have to be so closed minded. I asked her how was France, if it changed much since I last went, and she couldn't deny the fact that France itself as a country had in fact changed. Everything I hear is true, what I saw four years ago was true.
When you travel and live in another country, your view about life becomes bigger than most people. You tend to look at things differently than people from your own country.
Last time I came back to France, I didn't feel at home at all, not that I feel entirely at home in California either. It's an odd feeling to look lost in your country, around people who can't be open minded about a sport, about people in general.
My conversation with my mother helped me understand how and why this young woman insulted Portugal and other countries before. She helped me realize how French people are... And it made me feel better about myself... If you know me, you'll know that I do love to complain, but imagine it twice as much. My mum actually laughed when she told me that she heard them complain about the economy, the way of living... In France, it's free to give birth, you have help from the government after you have more than 2 kids living under your roof, you have everything handed to you. It's insane how much they have while we are in America where everything is costly. In California, to have surgery, you pay more than $1,000, in France, it's barely anything. And they still complain! Like come on now, wake up, get out of France, go look around, live in another country, you'll see how lucky you are!

To come back to the point of the Facebook post, I have to admit, most people should just keep things to themselves instead of posting it on social media! People should be like this kid in the video...

I'm still very sad to have read all these insults, comments, and beliefs. I mean it's a sport, you got for the players you like not for the country. If that was the case, players like Eder (Italian ) but born in Brazil wouldn't be playing in Italy at all, and we would lose a great forward player... That doesn't make him a traitor at all! He wanted to play for Italy, he got his citizenship and got to play. No one is insulting him for choosing Italy over Brazil! It should be the same for people. I wanted to side with Ireland, Britain, and Italy because I love the players... I won't side with a whole country when that one is just a disappointment! 

Yes, I'm disappointed in my country, what it has become, and what the people have been doing! It's a shame! I'm just disappointed to hear my own family telling me I ain't French anymore because I live in a different country and because I side with different countries for football... People have to stop being so cruel to one another. 

"Patriotism demands the ability to feel shame as much as to feel pride."- Anne-Marie Slaughter

~Bella