Don't you wish you had a montage playing while you went about you're everyday business? I do. Hrm, I guess I will have to work on it. Anyways....
Most of this week has been really boring. It includes the following (not in order): waking up early and hitting the snooze, watching NCIS, getting sick Wednesday morning so I didn't go to my morning class, getting lots of homework/exams for the week after vacation, going to school, eating at le Contraste, sleeping, doing homework, procrastinating on said homework, talking on skype, getting packed for Italy, being homealone, blowing the internet so now I have to go to the park for internet, getting homesick, showering when I have time, hitting the snooze on my third alarm clock, and keeping the furnace off in my room because it is already super warm in there no matter how cold it is outside.
Anyways, the highlight of my week was packing a single backpack (because I'm too cheap to pay 22 euros per flight (3 flights) for an extra bag) full of supplies for 9 days: think clothes, laptop, purse, tolitries, everything. Yea that's pretty loaded. All the same I'm really excited for going to Italy, spending Halloween with one of my friends from K and a bunch of other Kalamazoo students who are all meeting up in Rome. So Rome, Naples, Palermo, and Venice here I come!
30 October 2010
29 October 2010
Chateau-ing: Definition below.
Chateau-ing: The act of going through the Loire Valley in France with a bunch of Kalamazoo College Students and visiting Chateaus.
Saturday - Started off by getting up early, finishing packing (because the night before I went drinking with some German students), and going to the ESC to meet the rest of the K kids and our program director Joelle. When I got to school there were some others there and by 9 all of us were there except Jenn who overslept. So we all climbed into the van and drove to Jenn's house and picked her up. Then we drove a couple of hours to the Loire valley. On the way there we stopped at a rest stop which was interesting because they had loads of Auvergnat stuff there (like loads of wine and knives). Also on the way there Lauren and I played the cow game. This is a game that Lauren taught us and it goes like this: whenever you see a heard of cows you yell "My cows!" then you get a point. The object of the game is to get the most points. But beware! If someone sees a power plant or a cemetery then they can kill one heard of cows from whoever they want. Also the land looked alot like Ohio where it was alot of flat, fertile, land.
Anyways, finally we got to our first of three chateaus - Chenonceau. Now I have already visited this chateau before, but that didn't stop me from having alot of fun or taking crap loads of pictures. Anyways, it was a little bit different because there was a cool art exhibit. Also it was nice to see again because it is a super cool chateau - it goes right over the water! FYI there are a few things that interests me alot when inside a chateau (and that you will see alot of in my pics): (1) the fireplaces - they look so cool and all of them are so different. (2) the walls - usually they are bare stone with huge tapestries or ugly looking wallpaper. (3) the ceilings - sometimes they have cool architecture like exposed beams or cool molding type stuff. Once we were done exploring the inside of the chateau we decided to go out into the rain and go through the maze. This was something I had not done the last time I was there and was super fun (even though we had to jump over huge mud puddles and it was pouring)! Then we all went to the designated spot to wait, but Sam wasn't there. Jenn went and found him and then we finally left.
After a fairly short ride we got to the city/town of Amboise. Once there we went to the hotel which was pretty nice. Jenn, Lauren, and I shared a huge three bed room. After half an hour we all left to go to the Chateau du Clos Luce (aka Leonardo de Vinci's house) except for Jenn because she wanted to shower and nap. So we hopped in the cab and just when we were about to get there we hear this huge noise. I thought we just went over a huge bump, Jake thought the car backfired, and most of the group didn't know what to think until this old lady started banging on our window a few seconds later yelling "Le pneu, le pneu! (The tire, the tire!)" The driver was like "Je sais! (I know!)" and we continued up the little hill until we got to a flat spot and got out. The tire was completely flat but we were at our destination so Joelle told our driver that we were going to go in and he could go fix the tire. So we went to go get tickets to go in except the lady at the counter told Joelle that they were closing soon. Joelle asked if we could see the gardens and see the house tomorrow but she was told we couldn't, we just had to come back tomorrow. So we all walked to this little bar that looked like it was carved out of a cave and got drinks (I got hot chocolate).
After a short while of talking, listening to American music (the restaurant owners changed it to that as soon as they heard us speaking English), and relaxing, the driver came in and after he had a beer we all left. We rode back to the Hotel and then went inside, freshened up and went down for dinner. Dinner was really good, and really big. It started with an appetizer (I had a seafood salad), entree (some sort of fish in this sauce that I really didn't like), cheese (duh!), and dessert (this was DELICIOUS - puff pastries with hot chocolate sauce). After dinner we all went out to a bar to hear music. When we got there we went in and got a large area all to ourselves. We all got drinks and Jenn and I decided to split one. This turned out to be a really good idea because the drinks were HUGE! Seriously I think their drinks used flower vases as glasses. Anyways, it was pretty good but there was no music so we were a little disappointed. After awhile we went back, went upstairs and I took a shower and was off to bed because it had been a long day.
Sunday - Started off waking up, getting around, going down for a good breakfast and going to the chateau on foot. It was a nice walk and a beautiful day (not rainy like the one before). We got to the Amboise chateau (another one I have already seen) and got in. We saw the little chapel where De Vinci is buried, amazing views of the area around the castle, the chateau itself, and the grounds and gardens. It was alot of fun until my camera had the battery light turn on. So I had to monitor how many pictures I took after that. Here's a video of the view:
Anyways, after we left we went to the market which was pretty cool. It was like a mixture of an Art Show, Shipshewana, and a Farmer's Market all combined and put on crack. It was really cool and had everything from butchers to cheese stands, clothes to shoes, lingerie stands to cowboy clothes (no joke, they even had Confederate flags for sale!), roast chickens to Middle Eastern food and everything imaginable in between. When we were done looking around there (and Lauren had bought her scarf) we left and went to lunch.
Lunch was good, we had a huge meal starting with appetizer (salad), entree (BIGGEST bowl of pasta I have ever attempted to eat by myself - it was fettuccine with seafood), and dessert (creme brulee). During lunch Sam told us that the day before, when the tire blew and the lady was screaming "Le pneu, le pneu!" He thought she was saying "Le canard, le canard! (The duck, the duck!" Which means that he thought we somehow blew up a duck. So for the rest of the trip, whenever someone would hear somthing incorrectly we would say "le canard?" as an inside joke. After lunch we piled into the van and went off to the Chateau du Clos Luce.
When we got there there wasn't alot of people so we got right in. It was really neat to go inside the house and see everything. There were lots of quotes on the walls and we got to see the kitchen and in the basement we saw alot of his inventions. After a while we went outside in the garden where the real fun was. There were remakes of his inventions everywhere, and best part was - you can play with them! It was alot of fun and would really recommend it to anyone going to Amboise. After playing and wandering around for over an hour, we left to go see our third and final chateau before going back to Clermont. We drove the 15-20 minutes to Chateau Chaumont.
This chateau was really interesting a different because (a) I haven't seen it before and (b) it was in a more Italian style. We went inside and there were alot of different artistic displays and exhibitions. It was alot of fun and they even had a billiard room which reminded me of playing pool back at school with my friends or at home against my dad and brother. Anyways it was pretty neat and then when we were out on the grounds we were given a choice to go to go back to the car or see the Dog Cemetery first. What did I choose? Dog Cemetery of course! It was really cool and they even had an elephant grave! No joke, they had a pet elephant and when it died they had a whole grave for it. Anyways, once we were done we booked it back to the van because it started to rain. Then we had a short 3 hour drive back and then we got dropped off at our houses, had dinner and I went to bed (after putting up pictures of course!).
Saturday - Started off by getting up early, finishing packing (because the night before I went drinking with some German students), and going to the ESC to meet the rest of the K kids and our program director Joelle. When I got to school there were some others there and by 9 all of us were there except Jenn who overslept. So we all climbed into the van and drove to Jenn's house and picked her up. Then we drove a couple of hours to the Loire valley. On the way there we stopped at a rest stop which was interesting because they had loads of Auvergnat stuff there (like loads of wine and knives). Also on the way there Lauren and I played the cow game. This is a game that Lauren taught us and it goes like this: whenever you see a heard of cows you yell "My cows!" then you get a point. The object of the game is to get the most points. But beware! If someone sees a power plant or a cemetery then they can kill one heard of cows from whoever they want. Also the land looked alot like Ohio where it was alot of flat, fertile, land.
Anyways, finally we got to our first of three chateaus - Chenonceau. Now I have already visited this chateau before, but that didn't stop me from having alot of fun or taking crap loads of pictures. Anyways, it was a little bit different because there was a cool art exhibit. Also it was nice to see again because it is a super cool chateau - it goes right over the water! FYI there are a few things that interests me alot when inside a chateau (and that you will see alot of in my pics): (1) the fireplaces - they look so cool and all of them are so different. (2) the walls - usually they are bare stone with huge tapestries or ugly looking wallpaper. (3) the ceilings - sometimes they have cool architecture like exposed beams or cool molding type stuff. Once we were done exploring the inside of the chateau we decided to go out into the rain and go through the maze. This was something I had not done the last time I was there and was super fun (even though we had to jump over huge mud puddles and it was pouring)! Then we all went to the designated spot to wait, but Sam wasn't there. Jenn went and found him and then we finally left.
After a fairly short ride we got to the city/town of Amboise. Once there we went to the hotel which was pretty nice. Jenn, Lauren, and I shared a huge three bed room. After half an hour we all left to go to the Chateau du Clos Luce (aka Leonardo de Vinci's house) except for Jenn because she wanted to shower and nap. So we hopped in the cab and just when we were about to get there we hear this huge noise. I thought we just went over a huge bump, Jake thought the car backfired, and most of the group didn't know what to think until this old lady started banging on our window a few seconds later yelling "Le pneu, le pneu! (The tire, the tire!)" The driver was like "Je sais! (I know!)" and we continued up the little hill until we got to a flat spot and got out. The tire was completely flat but we were at our destination so Joelle told our driver that we were going to go in and he could go fix the tire. So we went to go get tickets to go in except the lady at the counter told Joelle that they were closing soon. Joelle asked if we could see the gardens and see the house tomorrow but she was told we couldn't, we just had to come back tomorrow. So we all walked to this little bar that looked like it was carved out of a cave and got drinks (I got hot chocolate).
After a short while of talking, listening to American music (the restaurant owners changed it to that as soon as they heard us speaking English), and relaxing, the driver came in and after he had a beer we all left. We rode back to the Hotel and then went inside, freshened up and went down for dinner. Dinner was really good, and really big. It started with an appetizer (I had a seafood salad), entree (some sort of fish in this sauce that I really didn't like), cheese (duh!), and dessert (this was DELICIOUS - puff pastries with hot chocolate sauce). After dinner we all went out to a bar to hear music. When we got there we went in and got a large area all to ourselves. We all got drinks and Jenn and I decided to split one. This turned out to be a really good idea because the drinks were HUGE! Seriously I think their drinks used flower vases as glasses. Anyways, it was pretty good but there was no music so we were a little disappointed. After awhile we went back, went upstairs and I took a shower and was off to bed because it had been a long day.
Sunday - Started off waking up, getting around, going down for a good breakfast and going to the chateau on foot. It was a nice walk and a beautiful day (not rainy like the one before). We got to the Amboise chateau (another one I have already seen) and got in. We saw the little chapel where De Vinci is buried, amazing views of the area around the castle, the chateau itself, and the grounds and gardens. It was alot of fun until my camera had the battery light turn on. So I had to monitor how many pictures I took after that. Here's a video of the view:
Anyways, after we left we went to the market which was pretty cool. It was like a mixture of an Art Show, Shipshewana, and a Farmer's Market all combined and put on crack. It was really cool and had everything from butchers to cheese stands, clothes to shoes, lingerie stands to cowboy clothes (no joke, they even had Confederate flags for sale!), roast chickens to Middle Eastern food and everything imaginable in between. When we were done looking around there (and Lauren had bought her scarf) we left and went to lunch.
Lunch was good, we had a huge meal starting with appetizer (salad), entree (BIGGEST bowl of pasta I have ever attempted to eat by myself - it was fettuccine with seafood), and dessert (creme brulee). During lunch Sam told us that the day before, when the tire blew and the lady was screaming "Le pneu, le pneu!" He thought she was saying "Le canard, le canard! (The duck, the duck!" Which means that he thought we somehow blew up a duck. So for the rest of the trip, whenever someone would hear somthing incorrectly we would say "le canard?" as an inside joke. After lunch we piled into the van and went off to the Chateau du Clos Luce.
When we got there there wasn't alot of people so we got right in. It was really neat to go inside the house and see everything. There were lots of quotes on the walls and we got to see the kitchen and in the basement we saw alot of his inventions. After a while we went outside in the garden where the real fun was. There were remakes of his inventions everywhere, and best part was - you can play with them! It was alot of fun and would really recommend it to anyone going to Amboise. After playing and wandering around for over an hour, we left to go see our third and final chateau before going back to Clermont. We drove the 15-20 minutes to Chateau Chaumont.
This chateau was really interesting a different because (a) I haven't seen it before and (b) it was in a more Italian style. We went inside and there were alot of different artistic displays and exhibitions. It was alot of fun and they even had a billiard room which reminded me of playing pool back at school with my friends or at home against my dad and brother. Anyways it was pretty neat and then when we were out on the grounds we were given a choice to go to go back to the car or see the Dog Cemetery first. What did I choose? Dog Cemetery of course! It was really cool and they even had an elephant grave! No joke, they had a pet elephant and when it died they had a whole grave for it. Anyways, once we were done we booked it back to the van because it started to rain. Then we had a short 3 hour drive back and then we got dropped off at our houses, had dinner and I went to bed (after putting up pictures of course!).
24 October 2010
Does anyone really know what time it is? - Chicago
Phew, time travels fast - I've already been here for 49 days and have about 99 left (as of Friday the 22nd)! I keep getting all the days mixed up and confused. At times it feels as if I have been here forever and at times it feels like I will never leave and at times it feels like I am just on a vacation and will be going back in a day or two. It's quite a strange feeling as the days pass and things happen but it doesn't really seem to register. Strange but anyways...
Saturday - Didn't do much, mostly watched American TV and relaxed.
Sunday - Went on a trip to Volcania and le Volcan a Lemptegy. Sadly there was snow on the ground, rain in the air, super cold, and lots of fog. Regardless, I still had lots of fun. It started out with a cold walk half way across town to get the bus. Then on the bus I met Angel who I hung out with most of the day. She is from Cameroon and speaks both French and English which was nice so I didn't have to speak exclusively in French all day. At Volcania we went on some rides that I havn't been on before and we had alot of fun.
Monday - Started with waking up late and did a bunch of homework. After meeting some of the crew for lunch, I went back to school and did some more work. For my Pepiniere class I didn't have much to do and throughout the entire meeting they were talking so fast that I didn't really understand what's going on. Then I had Russian which went ok. I need to study alot more though! Although class is going super slow since we only have it once a week - we're still on the alphabet! Then I went home and after dinner I worked on my project for the next day. I didn't realize how much I was doing and when I looked at the clock it said 3am! OOps!
Tuesday - Well the extra time I put into my presentation paid off because it went really well. After that class I got pizza and then booked it to the school for my ICRP. FYI there was "la greve" aka strikes that day so all of the trams and busses were shut down. I had to walk (at a super fast pace) on a full stomach for 25 minutes there and then I had to walk back later. All in all class went really well except the kids I was placed next to were super easily distracted (but I guess that's why she placed me next to them to keep them on task). Then after that school I booked it back to MY school where we listened to a presentation and then watched a movie. Then went home and chilled and worked on some stuff.
Wednesday - Started out with French Language where she asked us some vocab and no one knew the answers...so guess who has a quiz on those next week, that should be super fun. Then we went over our reports and did some other in class work. Then I had a quick lunch and worked on some homework for most of the break and finally went to Marketing. Once again knew hardly anything about what was going on and my group didn't include me alot so it was kinda boring. Then went to my final class where we finished the movie. It was called Europa (1991) and was set in 1945 and is about an American who comes to Germany to find work. It's a really dark movie but really interesting because it's a commentary on all of Europe and transcends time. Then after a quick dinner with my host brother (my host parents and Eliana went to some concert or something) I chilled and went to bed.
Thursday - Started with FLE where we went over food the whole time (which just made me super hungry). The strikes were still going on and we could hear the bull horns in the streets and saw people marching, it was very distracting. Then I ate a tuna panini, bought Eliana's Birthday present (a little thing of chocolates), and went to the school. School went well again. I was placed in the same group as last time but this time they were a little bit better. Then I went back (I got to take the tram instead of walk 45 min) and did some homework so that I could go out later. Then we celebrated Eliana's birthday and ate lots of sushi. After that I went "Salsa" Dancing with the Cameroon girl and her 25 year old sister. It was really fun except I didn't know how to dance that style really well because I havn't danced it in two years. But once I explained it this one guy taught me alot. I also learned the Rock and Roll style dancing which I had NEVER seen before. It was really cool. Then at 1:15 we left and the sister gave me a ride home so I didn't have to walk in the cold.
Friday - Started with French Lit which wasn't super bad. We had started a new book which is kinda difficult but still pretty interesting. After class I had a quick pizza and went home to sleep. I ended up sleeping for 4 hours because I wasn't feeling very well. After I felt fine so I did some homework and got packed for tomorrow. That night I went out with German students and other internationals for drinks. I only had one beer but it was nice to chill and talk to some of the students that I haven't seen in a while. I went home kinda early (12:30) and went to bed because I knew I had to get up early to go Chateau-ing the next day!
Saturday - Didn't do much, mostly watched American TV and relaxed.
Sunday - Went on a trip to Volcania and le Volcan a Lemptegy. Sadly there was snow on the ground, rain in the air, super cold, and lots of fog. Regardless, I still had lots of fun. It started out with a cold walk half way across town to get the bus. Then on the bus I met Angel who I hung out with most of the day. She is from Cameroon and speaks both French and English which was nice so I didn't have to speak exclusively in French all day. At Volcania we went on some rides that I havn't been on before and we had alot of fun.
Monday - Started with waking up late and did a bunch of homework. After meeting some of the crew for lunch, I went back to school and did some more work. For my Pepiniere class I didn't have much to do and throughout the entire meeting they were talking so fast that I didn't really understand what's going on. Then I had Russian which went ok. I need to study alot more though! Although class is going super slow since we only have it once a week - we're still on the alphabet! Then I went home and after dinner I worked on my project for the next day. I didn't realize how much I was doing and when I looked at the clock it said 3am! OOps!
Tuesday - Well the extra time I put into my presentation paid off because it went really well. After that class I got pizza and then booked it to the school for my ICRP. FYI there was "la greve" aka strikes that day so all of the trams and busses were shut down. I had to walk (at a super fast pace) on a full stomach for 25 minutes there and then I had to walk back later. All in all class went really well except the kids I was placed next to were super easily distracted (but I guess that's why she placed me next to them to keep them on task). Then after that school I booked it back to MY school where we listened to a presentation and then watched a movie. Then went home and chilled and worked on some stuff.
Wednesday - Started out with French Language where she asked us some vocab and no one knew the answers...so guess who has a quiz on those next week, that should be super fun. Then we went over our reports and did some other in class work. Then I had a quick lunch and worked on some homework for most of the break and finally went to Marketing. Once again knew hardly anything about what was going on and my group didn't include me alot so it was kinda boring. Then went to my final class where we finished the movie. It was called Europa (1991) and was set in 1945 and is about an American who comes to Germany to find work. It's a really dark movie but really interesting because it's a commentary on all of Europe and transcends time. Then after a quick dinner with my host brother (my host parents and Eliana went to some concert or something) I chilled and went to bed.
Thursday - Started with FLE where we went over food the whole time (which just made me super hungry). The strikes were still going on and we could hear the bull horns in the streets and saw people marching, it was very distracting. Then I ate a tuna panini, bought Eliana's Birthday present (a little thing of chocolates), and went to the school. School went well again. I was placed in the same group as last time but this time they were a little bit better. Then I went back (I got to take the tram instead of walk 45 min) and did some homework so that I could go out later. Then we celebrated Eliana's birthday and ate lots of sushi. After that I went "Salsa" Dancing with the Cameroon girl and her 25 year old sister. It was really fun except I didn't know how to dance that style really well because I havn't danced it in two years. But once I explained it this one guy taught me alot. I also learned the Rock and Roll style dancing which I had NEVER seen before. It was really cool. Then at 1:15 we left and the sister gave me a ride home so I didn't have to walk in the cold.
Friday - Started with French Lit which wasn't super bad. We had started a new book which is kinda difficult but still pretty interesting. After class I had a quick pizza and went home to sleep. I ended up sleeping for 4 hours because I wasn't feeling very well. After I felt fine so I did some homework and got packed for tomorrow. That night I went out with German students and other internationals for drinks. I only had one beer but it was nice to chill and talk to some of the students that I haven't seen in a while. I went home kinda early (12:30) and went to bed because I knew I had to get up early to go Chateau-ing the next day!
16 October 2010
"One Week" - Barenaked Ladies - Part 4
Wednesday – Wednesday was a super long day. Started with French Language which was just ok however, due to an error, we didn’t have our class after the break because another class needed it so we had free time for an hour and a half. So we relaxed and went to lunch early. Then we came back and went to the English speaking time. There were only 5 K students and 3-4 French students this time which was kind of nice, however our room was locked so we had to find another one which was fun. After that we had Marketing which was pretty boring…still. We had a quiz and I didn’t do very well at all on it. Then we split off into groups to do an in class assignment. 2 out of the 5 of us worked on it and rest of us (me and 2 guys) basically discussed French and American differences the entire time. Then our group had to present, so the 2 who did the work presented and I think it went pretty well. Then it was time for European Civilization and for Jenn and I to present. The presentation went well overall but my section was on history and I had a brain fart and had huge problems saying the numbers for dates and such, oops! Anyways, after that I just went home, finished my work the next day, and collapsed in my bed.
Thursday – Started out pretty well since I got a lot of sleep the night before. I got all of my stuff around for the day and went off to school. French Language wasn’t too bad except I couldn’t speak as much as I wanted to during the debate so I think Isabelle didn’t think that I was prepared. Then I had FLE where we talked about food the entire time (because it’s the “Semaine de gout” aka Week of Tasting, making me really hungry. Finally that was done and we went and had pizza at Pizza Planet. After that I left to go on my first day at my ICRP site. I took the tram and really like where the school is situated because it’s super accessible by tram.
So anyways, I go inside Franc Rosier and see the teacher immediately and she takes me out to the playground because everyone else is outside playing. So then she claps her hands several times and everyone comes running. They all line up holding the shoulders of the next person in two different lines, one for boys and one for girls. Then we all go inside and all sit in a semi circle with me and the teacher in the middle. Then the teacher asks them what questions they want to ask their guest. So first they ask my name and as soon as I tell them they ask if I speak English. I thought it was really funny that my accent is so pronounced that even 5 year olds could figure it out. Anyways, I answered yes and then they tried to figure out where I was from. First they thought Africa, then Portugul, Spain, England, South America and finally North America. Then we do a bunch of different stuff, we sing a song and the students return to their desks and work on stuff. I sat at a desk in one of the groups and helped the kids write the number 4.
Later we have a pie since it’s one of the boys birthdays. Everyone sings Happy Birthday (in French) and then the teacher has me lead Happy Birthday in English. Then we all eat and the teacher gets out a box with a bunch of plastic cups and hands them out to everyone. Apparently they have a plastic cup that they keep at the school on a normal basis. My two favorite cups had Scooby-Doo and Cars (from the movie) on it. Then it’s time for activity time, relaxation time and finally recess. After that it’s time to go home so I leave while the parents come and pick up the kids.
After my tram ride home (I was going to walk but it was cold), I make myself some mac and cheese and do my homework for Friday. Then I take a nap and get up in time to check my emails before dinner. I was super excited because I got an email from my college telling me that the State of Michigan is FINALLY releasing part of my financial aid/merit which I really appreciate. Dinner was good and then I went back to my room and found some international friends to go to the club tonight with. So I get ready and leave. First I meet Lauren at the bar and have some cheap shots, then we walk over and meet up with the two Mexican girls and we catch the taxi and go to the club. (Lauren didn’t come because she was tired and didn’t feel like it.) So we get there and get in and I’m glad because it’s pretty reasonably priced. That place is so huge! It was really cool. First we got shots which tasted like bubble gum, it was super tasty. Then we go and find a spot and start dancing. Later we see some of the Georgians and hang out with them. At 3 the Georgians and I leave to go back on the bus. The bus was late and we had to find it and when we did it was already packed so we had to stand, but it worked and I was at home and in bed before 4.
Friday -Wake up at 7 tired but no hangover since I didn't drink very much the night before. I get up and shower and when I go in to eat breakfast my host family asks me why I'm up. I explain that I have class at 8:30. They then ask whether I went out the night before and what time I came back. After I tell them I see the look on their faces as they are shocked, apparently they didn't think that I would go to school early the next morning after a party. Anyways, had breakfast and got to school. Class wasn't too bad and then we went to lunch at Subway which was good and reminded me of home. Then I came back and watched NCIS with Spencer. After that I took a super long nap and woke up later that after noon and watched Glee which was pretty good. Then I watched Simpsons with my host family, had dinner, and returned to my room. After a bit I go out and see what everyone's up to. I end up watching the end of Percy the last Olympian with my host brothers and after that I go to bed since it's pretty late.
"One Week" - Barenaked Ladies - Part 3
Monday - International Student Rally - Woke up early and got ready because I needed to go to school to work on a project before the rally. When I got there I waited for the rest of my group. Finally they all got there at 15 minutes after we were supposed to start. So we went to the Library and started working on our Marketing project. They didn't really have much for me to do so I basically sat there and helped when I could. About half an hour into the project there was an alarm that went off. It was the fire drill alarm so we all went outside which I thought was really funny because it reminded me of drills back home, the only difference was when everyone went outside the majority of people used it as a smoke break (ironic no?). Anyways, then we went back in and started working again but after a little bit I told them that I had to go and I left for the rally.
It was a much shorter walk to the rally than anticipated so I chilled with Jake and read some of my book for class. Then we got in and were separated into groups with other international students. I was in a group with a Russian guy and girl, a guy from Moldova, and a girl from Italy. We talked and ate lunch and then went into the auditorium where the same director from the Volcania trip had people come up and dance and stuff. It was alot of fun and at one point all of the girls from the Kzoo group went up with a bunch of other people.
Then my group was called so my group left, got our directions, and started on our scavenger hunt. The hunt was all over the city and we got lost several times but still managed to do really well and find all the answers to our questions. Also some of the spots were stops where we had to do something. One of them was to take an original photo in front of this fountain so we climbed up on the side of it and all took a drink of water and took the picture squirting water out of our mouth. It was pretty funny and I'm really bummed I don't have a photo of it :(
Anyways, when we finally finished I started hanging out with Lauren (the rest of the Kzoo kids went to class) and we saw the funniest band. It made us miss Marching Band and Pep Band and fun stuff like that. Here's a video of them :
And another one:
Then we walked in a mob with the band playing through the streets to the Mayor's place.
At the Mayor's we got prizes and champagne. My group won so next Sunday I get to go back to Volcania and also to a Volcano. During the mayor's Lauren and I decided to go meet up with Jenn and go to dinner because the rest of the international students were going to a club that was far away and we wouldn't have a ride back until after midnight! So we went and met up with Jenn and had Indian food. This was the second time I had ever had Indian food and it was really good. Then we all went home because it had been a long day. However, I was presently surprised because I got my package from my family with my clothes and long awaited glasses!!!
It was a much shorter walk to the rally than anticipated so I chilled with Jake and read some of my book for class. Then we got in and were separated into groups with other international students. I was in a group with a Russian guy and girl, a guy from Moldova, and a girl from Italy. We talked and ate lunch and then went into the auditorium where the same director from the Volcania trip had people come up and dance and stuff. It was alot of fun and at one point all of the girls from the Kzoo group went up with a bunch of other people.
Then my group was called so my group left, got our directions, and started on our scavenger hunt. The hunt was all over the city and we got lost several times but still managed to do really well and find all the answers to our questions. Also some of the spots were stops where we had to do something. One of them was to take an original photo in front of this fountain so we climbed up on the side of it and all took a drink of water and took the picture squirting water out of our mouth. It was pretty funny and I'm really bummed I don't have a photo of it :(
Anyways, when we finally finished I started hanging out with Lauren (the rest of the Kzoo kids went to class) and we saw the funniest band. It made us miss Marching Band and Pep Band and fun stuff like that. Here's a video of them :
And another one:
Then we walked in a mob with the band playing through the streets to the Mayor's place.
At the Mayor's we got prizes and champagne. My group won so next Sunday I get to go back to Volcania and also to a Volcano. During the mayor's Lauren and I decided to go meet up with Jenn and go to dinner because the rest of the international students were going to a club that was far away and we wouldn't have a ride back until after midnight! So we went and met up with Jenn and had Indian food. This was the second time I had ever had Indian food and it was really good. Then we all went home because it had been a long day. However, I was presently surprised because I got my package from my family with my clothes and long awaited glasses!!!
Tuesday - Vendages - Vendages means picking grapes as in for wine, which is what we did for the better part of the day. My day started off with waking up early and working on my project for European Civilization class which wasn't quite finished so I brought my laptop with me so I could work on it on the way to the vineyard. When I got to the meeting spot (at 8 am!) so that we could go, Angela and Sam weren’t there so we waited for 10 minutes before they got there and we finally left. On the way there were people striking so it was hard to get around, but we finally got away from them and to the vineyard. It was really cold and my fingers were freezing, there was fog everywhere and lots of dew both on the ground and the grapes. We were given a pair of scissors and a bucket and told to go with one of the locals who does this all the time. I went with Amelie who was really nice and had a dog that followed us the entire time. It was such a cute dog and the dog’s son was there too. We cut the bunches of grapes with one person on each side of the row and would move down the rows like that. It was more fun than I thought and went by pretty quickly.
Before I knew it it was 10 and it was time for the break/snack. Our break consisted of drinking wine (yes, at 10 in the morning!), eating salami (which was SSOOOO GOOOOOD!), and eating bread and cheese (of course). Then we went back to cutting the grapes until about 2 when we had finished and went to lunch. During this time it got quite hot so I changed from my jacket and sweater into my oversized shirt from the day before. Before lunch we went into the winery and saw the big barrels of wine and tasted some wine that hadn’t matured very much yet which had a very different flavor. Anyways, lunch was really good. It started out with a salad that I thought was just ok. It was mostly this weird meat and tomatoes in this heavy sauce and Lauren ended up eating half of mine. Then our main dish was potatoes that were really buttery and meat cooked like pot roast. It was super yummy. We also had lots of bread, cheese, and lots of wine. However, my favorite part of the meal wasn’t the food, but the two dogs under the table patrolling for scraps of food. They kept coming up to me and putting their heads on my lap, it was adorable. After the main meal we relaxed and got ready for dessert.
All of a sudden, I turn to see Joelle coming out with the dessert, a pie with candles on it, and she and everyone else starts singing Happy Birthday to me. I was really surprised but excited and blew out all of the candles in one breath. Then we at the pie and all of the K students went and got our stuff out of the car so that when the taxi comes we can be ready to go since we have a class soon. By the time the taxi finally came though we had less than an hour until our class and when Jenn and I were dropped off at school (everyone else had to go back and get their stuff because we were under the impression that we would have enough time to go back home and then to school) it was 5 minutes after class. Jenn and I went to the library to work on our project a little bit more and wait for the others to arrive. When it was 25 minutes after class had started we looked for our class but they weren’t there. A few minutes later Jake, Sam, and Angela arrived and we found the teacher in her office and talked to her and explained why we weren’t there. She said that’s what she guessed and didn’t blame us for it. So then we all left and I went home, ate dinner, got my homework done for the next day, talked to Spencer, and slept some.
"One Week" - Barenaked Ladies - Part 2
Here's my long weekend:
Thursday - Birthday! - When I woke up I was a little tired since I had stayed up until midnight so that I could read my cards from my parents and both sets of grandparents. I was very grateful for them and it made my day. It made me miss everyone back home but this is probably the one time I will ever get to celebrate my birthday in France and I will be back before Feburary so I didn't get too homesick.Back to the morning... since it was my birthday I decided to have some fun and wear a dress. I got alot of compliments on it throughout the day. First class was French Language which went ok. After FLE I had lunch with my teacher at Le Contraste (a restaurant across the street from school). Then since we weren't quite done with corrections we went back and had some coffee and finished them up. Then I went back across the street and hung out with Louise, Jake, Jenn and Lauren some as we wandered around town and then went back to our respective homes. After a nap, some easy mac, talking to my bother on skype, and doing my homework for the next day, it was time for dinner.
We started out with aperitifs (champagne and caffeine free coke for the kids) and little pastry things and I got a card from Eliana and a CD from my host parents. Sadly the CD won't play in my laptop so I'm gonna download it to their computer and put it on my flashdrive. Anyways, dinner was good, started with soup and then had not chicken but some other type of bird. Once we were done with the entree my host mom kept running around looking for something. She was looking for candles that she bought special for my birthday cake - a 2 and an 0. She never did find them but used some blue candles instead. So then I got my cake (chocolate) and everyone sang to me (in French, English and Spanish). After we ate the cake I went to my room, changed, and left to meet my friends.
When I got to the bar, Louise was there talking to her mom. So I waited until she was done and then we talked for a minute before she got a text saying to go to the Place de Jaude and bring a knife. She told me this and then was like oh, I don't think I was supposed to tell you that last part, pretend you never heard that. So we walked to the Place de Jaude and halfway there she cut out (no pun intended) so she could go get the knife for my birthday cake. When we finally got to the place no one was there so we called Jenn who told us to meet back at the bar. So we walked all the way to the bar and when we got there, Jenn and Lauren were sitting on the second floor with a cake and candles. It was super sweet and the cake was delicious! So they sang Happy Birthday and we ate and got drinks and chilled. It was a nice relaxing birthday and very appreciated.
Friday - Went to class and we talked about the book that we were reading which is really kinda difficult because our teacher talks about it really philosophically. Also, a couple of the philosophers she is discussing I had previously studied in my 19th Century Philosophy class and could not understand in English! Anyways, lunch was fun, then Lauren and I wandered around town because I had an appointment later for my ICRP. After having some ice cream I decided to go home for a bit and take a nap before my appointment. On the way home I noticed a huge sidewalk sale going on and was wandering throughout it for a while. At one point a guy stopped me and asked (in french) if I spoke English. I replied yes and he asked me to translate for his customer. The customer wanted to buy a scarf but it was kinda fraying and in bad condition so she had me ask him if he had any other ones and if she could get a discount or anything. It was a kinda weird situation but it made me feel good about my french abilities.
Anyways, then I went home and took a quick nap and left for my appointment. So finally I got on the tram and went to the school where I am going to be assisting. When I got there Joelle wasn't there yet and I didn't know the name of the lady I was supposed to meet with so I just awkwardly wandered around a little for 10 minutes. Then I decided to call Sam and I got the name of the teacher (the person I'm supposed to meet with is his host mom) and I started asking people where I could find her. The second person I asked took me to the office where the assistant called her and had her come down. Then I met the teacher I am working with and we went to her room and discussed what all I am going to be doing. For my ICRP I will be meeting every Tuesday and Thursday for three hours in the afternoon and helping and observing and doing little mini lessons every now and again. The students are about 5 years old so kindergarten age. I left feeling excited about the ICRP. When I got back I relaxed for a bit, had dinner, talked on skype some, watched tv, and went to bed.
Saturday - Volcania! - Woke up and got everything around to go to the Volcano Theme Park (think the Air Zoo but with Volcanoes). However, I forgot to get a lunch packed so I purchased a baguette, an apple, and a fruit juice type drink. We were supposed to meet in a parking lot behind the railroad station so when I finally got to the station I looked around. Just when I had found it Lauren gave me a call and so we met up there. Then we all boarded two buses and headed out. We didn't know very many people there except some of the german students (Ines, Silke, Daniel...) so we mostly hung out with them. The bus ride wasn't very long and then we were there. When we got there the director of the program had some of the different nationalities present themselves and sing a song. Here is the German song (This is when it was sung on Monday but they sang this exact same song at Volcania. FYI It's a drinking song for Oktoberfest, lol.)
Then finally we went in and ate our lunches (however they made us eat inside which made most of the people mad, myself included, because it was gorgeous out). Anyways so more people present ourselves and the Americans (only three of us: Lauren, me, and this girl from a different university) and sing a song. Lauren and I had already thought of doing something fun like a Lady Gaga song but instead they had us sing Old McDonald Had A Farm. At first I was like you have got to be kidding me, but then everyone joined in so it was pretty fun. After lunch we were released but not into the actual park just yet so we hung around, took fun pictures and Lauren and I played on the jungle gym. Finally we all got tickets which assigned us to groups and we went in.
First thing we did was go on some of the rides. They were 4-D fun rides and we went on the Dragon Ride, Movie Theater type ride (which had different scenarios if one of the volcanoes exploded today - my favorite one included airlifting cattle to safety, lol), and a couple of others. Then we got to explore some of the exhibits and went up to meet a guide. Then we had a guided tour which was interesting, but overall pretty boring. Most of us were itching just to go do what we wanted instead of being shepherded everywhere and our group kept dwindling as people would leave. Finally we got to do what we wanted and looked at the shops and wandered around for a while. Overall, the rides were clearly the best part and some of the interactive exhibits were cool too. Finally we all met up and got on the buses and left. When we got back, Lauren and I walked towards town and got some drinks for the party later that night. Then we parted and after I went home, relaxed, ate dinner, and changed, I left. After meeting Jenn, Lauren and Joanne at the Place de Jaude, Jenn and I went to the party since Lauren and Joanne had to go do something. The party was a house party and pretty fun. I got to talk to alot of different people but at 1 Jenn and I decided we were too tired to wait for Lauren and Joanne anymore so we went back home and to bed.
Sunday - Woke up with a bad hangover. After taking a shower and eating I decided to relax and watch TV on my laptop. My host family had something going on and was gone most of the day so I didn't do much except eat, sleep, watch tv, do some homework, and relax.
Thursday - Birthday! - When I woke up I was a little tired since I had stayed up until midnight so that I could read my cards from my parents and both sets of grandparents. I was very grateful for them and it made my day. It made me miss everyone back home but this is probably the one time I will ever get to celebrate my birthday in France and I will be back before Feburary so I didn't get too homesick.Back to the morning... since it was my birthday I decided to have some fun and wear a dress. I got alot of compliments on it throughout the day. First class was French Language which went ok. After FLE I had lunch with my teacher at Le Contraste (a restaurant across the street from school). Then since we weren't quite done with corrections we went back and had some coffee and finished them up. Then I went back across the street and hung out with Louise, Jake, Jenn and Lauren some as we wandered around town and then went back to our respective homes. After a nap, some easy mac, talking to my bother on skype, and doing my homework for the next day, it was time for dinner.
We started out with aperitifs (champagne and caffeine free coke for the kids) and little pastry things and I got a card from Eliana and a CD from my host parents. Sadly the CD won't play in my laptop so I'm gonna download it to their computer and put it on my flashdrive. Anyways, dinner was good, started with soup and then had not chicken but some other type of bird. Once we were done with the entree my host mom kept running around looking for something. She was looking for candles that she bought special for my birthday cake - a 2 and an 0. She never did find them but used some blue candles instead. So then I got my cake (chocolate) and everyone sang to me (in French, English and Spanish). After we ate the cake I went to my room, changed, and left to meet my friends.
When I got to the bar, Louise was there talking to her mom. So I waited until she was done and then we talked for a minute before she got a text saying to go to the Place de Jaude and bring a knife. She told me this and then was like oh, I don't think I was supposed to tell you that last part, pretend you never heard that. So we walked to the Place de Jaude and halfway there she cut out (no pun intended) so she could go get the knife for my birthday cake. When we finally got to the place no one was there so we called Jenn who told us to meet back at the bar. So we walked all the way to the bar and when we got there, Jenn and Lauren were sitting on the second floor with a cake and candles. It was super sweet and the cake was delicious! So they sang Happy Birthday and we ate and got drinks and chilled. It was a nice relaxing birthday and very appreciated.
Friday - Went to class and we talked about the book that we were reading which is really kinda difficult because our teacher talks about it really philosophically. Also, a couple of the philosophers she is discussing I had previously studied in my 19th Century Philosophy class and could not understand in English! Anyways, lunch was fun, then Lauren and I wandered around town because I had an appointment later for my ICRP. After having some ice cream I decided to go home for a bit and take a nap before my appointment. On the way home I noticed a huge sidewalk sale going on and was wandering throughout it for a while. At one point a guy stopped me and asked (in french) if I spoke English. I replied yes and he asked me to translate for his customer. The customer wanted to buy a scarf but it was kinda fraying and in bad condition so she had me ask him if he had any other ones and if she could get a discount or anything. It was a kinda weird situation but it made me feel good about my french abilities.
Anyways, then I went home and took a quick nap and left for my appointment. So finally I got on the tram and went to the school where I am going to be assisting. When I got there Joelle wasn't there yet and I didn't know the name of the lady I was supposed to meet with so I just awkwardly wandered around a little for 10 minutes. Then I decided to call Sam and I got the name of the teacher (the person I'm supposed to meet with is his host mom) and I started asking people where I could find her. The second person I asked took me to the office where the assistant called her and had her come down. Then I met the teacher I am working with and we went to her room and discussed what all I am going to be doing. For my ICRP I will be meeting every Tuesday and Thursday for three hours in the afternoon and helping and observing and doing little mini lessons every now and again. The students are about 5 years old so kindergarten age. I left feeling excited about the ICRP. When I got back I relaxed for a bit, had dinner, talked on skype some, watched tv, and went to bed.
Saturday - Volcania! - Woke up and got everything around to go to the Volcano Theme Park (think the Air Zoo but with Volcanoes). However, I forgot to get a lunch packed so I purchased a baguette, an apple, and a fruit juice type drink. We were supposed to meet in a parking lot behind the railroad station so when I finally got to the station I looked around. Just when I had found it Lauren gave me a call and so we met up there. Then we all boarded two buses and headed out. We didn't know very many people there except some of the german students (Ines, Silke, Daniel...) so we mostly hung out with them. The bus ride wasn't very long and then we were there. When we got there the director of the program had some of the different nationalities present themselves and sing a song. Here is the German song (This is when it was sung on Monday but they sang this exact same song at Volcania. FYI It's a drinking song for Oktoberfest, lol.)
Then finally we went in and ate our lunches (however they made us eat inside which made most of the people mad, myself included, because it was gorgeous out). Anyways so more people present ourselves and the Americans (only three of us: Lauren, me, and this girl from a different university) and sing a song. Lauren and I had already thought of doing something fun like a Lady Gaga song but instead they had us sing Old McDonald Had A Farm. At first I was like you have got to be kidding me, but then everyone joined in so it was pretty fun. After lunch we were released but not into the actual park just yet so we hung around, took fun pictures and Lauren and I played on the jungle gym. Finally we all got tickets which assigned us to groups and we went in.
First thing we did was go on some of the rides. They were 4-D fun rides and we went on the Dragon Ride, Movie Theater type ride (which had different scenarios if one of the volcanoes exploded today - my favorite one included airlifting cattle to safety, lol), and a couple of others. Then we got to explore some of the exhibits and went up to meet a guide. Then we had a guided tour which was interesting, but overall pretty boring. Most of us were itching just to go do what we wanted instead of being shepherded everywhere and our group kept dwindling as people would leave. Finally we got to do what we wanted and looked at the shops and wandered around for a while. Overall, the rides were clearly the best part and some of the interactive exhibits were cool too. Finally we all met up and got on the buses and left. When we got back, Lauren and I walked towards town and got some drinks for the party later that night. Then we parted and after I went home, relaxed, ate dinner, and changed, I left. After meeting Jenn, Lauren and Joanne at the Place de Jaude, Jenn and I went to the party since Lauren and Joanne had to go do something. The party was a house party and pretty fun. I got to talk to alot of different people but at 1 Jenn and I decided we were too tired to wait for Lauren and Joanne anymore so we went back home and to bed.
Sunday - Woke up with a bad hangover. After taking a shower and eating I decided to relax and watch TV on my laptop. My host family had something going on and was gone most of the day so I didn't do much except eat, sleep, watch tv, do some homework, and relax.
"One Week" - Barenaked Ladies - Part 1
It's been.. one week since you looked at me. "One Week" by the Barenaked ladies. What a fun song, and a good way to sum up my lazieness since this is the first post I have posted in over a week, lol enjoy!
Saturday - In the afternoon I went and met up with Joanne, Jake, Julien, Olivier, and a bunch of other people and we walked to the stadium. It was a beautiful day and the walk wasn't that long (even though some of the guys in our group got in a scuffle with some tram strikers). When we got there we took our places standing by the fence near the middle of the field. The game was lots of fun, I think I am starting to like Rugby alot more than Football (American football) because it doesn't stop after every thirty seconds. We ended up winning the game and after we went back and went out separate ways. Once I got home, I took a nap and after eating dinner with the family and their guests went to the Place de Jaude to meet Joanne, Jake and Sam as we took a cab to a suburb of Clermont to meet Joelle (the head of our program) and do some traditional Auvergne dancing. It was lots of fun and the music was really interesting. We listened to two groups, one with a singer, drummer, flutist (like wood flutes that I don't know how to play), and accordion and one with an accordion and instrument that I don't know the name. It was alot a great night to end a fun day.
Sunday - Didn't do much today. Mostly booked some of my vacation stuff to Italy. I'm super excited because I am going to be going to Rome, Naples, Palermo, and Venice! Then, in the afternoon, Eliana and I decided to go to a museum since they are free the first Sunday of the month. So we went to the Henry LeCoq science museum. The museum was fun except we arrived 25 minutes before it closed, oops. After the museum we walked around and decided to get a coffee and dessert. I got molleaux au chocolate which is absolutely amazing. Imagine a cupcake about 20 times richer with a yummy vanilla cream sauce and hot gooey chocolate filling. It was super good. Eliana had gonfle avec Nutella which is a waffle with Nutella. After that we came back, had some dinner, did some homework and the day was done.
Monday - Mondays are nice because I don't have anything in the mornings so I slept in and then went out and bought my book for Marketing. It was 64€ ew. Then I met up with some friends and we had lunch. My first class was Pepiniere which kinda sucked because I didn't understand half of what was going on. Also we were trying to figure out a time to meet and work on our project but I was always busy when they weren't so we just decided to scrap it. Then I had Russian wasn't all that good, I got picked on to go up to the board and write while she dictated, it kinda ended badly. Anways, finally it was time to go home, eat some meal that i didn't really like (pureed soup, it made me miss having meat for diner) and go to bed.
Tuesday - Woke up super tired and got around for classes... having to wake up at 7 to shower, eat and walk to school is getting old. Classes were boring anyways. Started with French Civilization which wasn't that bad but still was mostly sitting and listening to lecture. After class I went to lunch w/ Lauren, Joanne and we stopped Louise and had lunch w/ her too. We grabbed sandwiches and went to Jardin le coq because it was nice. Then had our other classes which were not super fun but w/e. The best part of the day was coming home and seeing a present waiting for me outside my door! It was my birthday present from Spencer and it was awesome (I got a watch, NCIS, easy mac and more). After dinner I caught up with one of my favorite shows, Chuck, then it was time for bed because Wednesdays are the worst.
Wednesday - I'm really glad I put my alarm clock across my room because otherwise I would totally just have turned it off and rolled back over and gone back to sleep today. Anways, classes were eh. Started with French Language with the teacher that I don't really like. I didn't do good on this paper and keep making the same mistakes so we set up to meet tomorrow to work on it. After grabbing a sandwich we had our english conversation table. It was pretty fun even though there were 8 of us english speakers and only 3 actual french students. Then Marketing was boring and we got assigned alot of work. Then finally we had our last class (where we got assigned MORE work). All day I was getting excited about tomorrow being my birthday. That night I watched Glee, loving it but not as much as the Brittany episode.
Saturday - In the afternoon I went and met up with Joanne, Jake, Julien, Olivier, and a bunch of other people and we walked to the stadium. It was a beautiful day and the walk wasn't that long (even though some of the guys in our group got in a scuffle with some tram strikers). When we got there we took our places standing by the fence near the middle of the field. The game was lots of fun, I think I am starting to like Rugby alot more than Football (American football) because it doesn't stop after every thirty seconds. We ended up winning the game and after we went back and went out separate ways. Once I got home, I took a nap and after eating dinner with the family and their guests went to the Place de Jaude to meet Joanne, Jake and Sam as we took a cab to a suburb of Clermont to meet Joelle (the head of our program) and do some traditional Auvergne dancing. It was lots of fun and the music was really interesting. We listened to two groups, one with a singer, drummer, flutist (like wood flutes that I don't know how to play), and accordion and one with an accordion and instrument that I don't know the name. It was alot a great night to end a fun day.
Sunday - Didn't do much today. Mostly booked some of my vacation stuff to Italy. I'm super excited because I am going to be going to Rome, Naples, Palermo, and Venice! Then, in the afternoon, Eliana and I decided to go to a museum since they are free the first Sunday of the month. So we went to the Henry LeCoq science museum. The museum was fun except we arrived 25 minutes before it closed, oops. After the museum we walked around and decided to get a coffee and dessert. I got molleaux au chocolate which is absolutely amazing. Imagine a cupcake about 20 times richer with a yummy vanilla cream sauce and hot gooey chocolate filling. It was super good. Eliana had gonfle avec Nutella which is a waffle with Nutella. After that we came back, had some dinner, did some homework and the day was done.
Monday - Mondays are nice because I don't have anything in the mornings so I slept in and then went out and bought my book for Marketing. It was 64€ ew. Then I met up with some friends and we had lunch. My first class was Pepiniere which kinda sucked because I didn't understand half of what was going on. Also we were trying to figure out a time to meet and work on our project but I was always busy when they weren't so we just decided to scrap it. Then I had Russian wasn't all that good, I got picked on to go up to the board and write while she dictated, it kinda ended badly. Anways, finally it was time to go home, eat some meal that i didn't really like (pureed soup, it made me miss having meat for diner) and go to bed.
Tuesday - Woke up super tired and got around for classes... having to wake up at 7 to shower, eat and walk to school is getting old. Classes were boring anyways. Started with French Civilization which wasn't that bad but still was mostly sitting and listening to lecture. After class I went to lunch w/ Lauren, Joanne and we stopped Louise and had lunch w/ her too. We grabbed sandwiches and went to Jardin le coq because it was nice. Then had our other classes which were not super fun but w/e. The best part of the day was coming home and seeing a present waiting for me outside my door! It was my birthday present from Spencer and it was awesome (I got a watch, NCIS, easy mac and more). After dinner I caught up with one of my favorite shows, Chuck, then it was time for bed because Wednesdays are the worst.
Wednesday - I'm really glad I put my alarm clock across my room because otherwise I would totally just have turned it off and rolled back over and gone back to sleep today. Anways, classes were eh. Started with French Language with the teacher that I don't really like. I didn't do good on this paper and keep making the same mistakes so we set up to meet tomorrow to work on it. After grabbing a sandwich we had our english conversation table. It was pretty fun even though there were 8 of us english speakers and only 3 actual french students. Then Marketing was boring and we got assigned alot of work. Then finally we had our last class (where we got assigned MORE work). All day I was getting excited about tomorrow being my birthday. That night I watched Glee, loving it but not as much as the Brittany episode.
02 October 2010
Let's play some catch up...
Wednesday - Classes ALL DAY LONG, uurg. Ok so started out with French Language which is kind of an annoying class because the teacher keeps telling me to not get discouraged and that soon I will be doing much better. Weird thing is I wasn't even worried before she said that. Anyways so that class is from 8:30 to 12 with a half hour break at 10. Then after our hour and a half lunch break it was time for Marketing (1:30-4:45 with a 15 min break). I have never taken a Marketing class before and it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be. Some parts were actually interesting (because they pertained to psychology type stuff) and for the most part it was easy to understand what was going on with the slide print outs. Then we broke off into groups and worked on a project which also wasn't that bad. It was kind of funny though because people kept staring at me because I'm a foreigner.
After Marketing, I had European Civilization with Melissa. Throughout the whole hour and a half long class (5-6:30) we took notes on power point slides. My hands hurt really badly after. When class was over we decided to meet up later to go to a movie. Then we all went home and after dinner I met Lauren, Louise, Jenn, and Jake at the theater. We were going to see The Town but it wasn't playing at that time so we watched Le Bruit des Glaçons. It was a french film that was... interesting. It was about a couple who both had cancer which resulted in hallucinations of their past. It was really strange but pretty amusing at times.
Thursday - Slept in a little bit because I didn't have class until 10:30. When I did get up I did some homework, showered and went to class. It was FLE which is SOOO BORING! I spend most of the class either taking notes over stuff that I have learned at least 3 times and helping the girl next to me who is from Mexico. When that was finally done (at noon) we went and had pizza at Pizza Planet. After that we went around looking at different stores and buying some small things (i.e. socks) since we didn't have any classes (Thursday afternoon is reserved for sports but since I don't want to pay 60€ I just get the day off). Then I met up with Eliana at the fountain at 3:15 and went shopping. First we went to a store so that she could get a winter coat and then we went looking in some other stores. We had quite a bit of fun and I am starting to think of Eliana as the little sister I never had. After that we went to FNAC (aka french version of Best Buy) and got a double CD of Santana for our host dad for his birthday today. Then we went to the bookstore and got paper to make him a card. Finally we went home.When we got home we wrapped the present and made the card and signed it. Then after I took a nap we gathered in the Living Room for aperitifs.
We started out with Champagne (to celebrate) and garlic bread which was really good. Then we had this Brazilian rum drink with limes that was really good but quite strong. During the aperitifs we gave our host dad our gift which he proceeded to put in the CD player so we could listen to it. It made me think of my dad listening to Santana as we would drive around town and made me happy yet sad because I miss that. Anyways, Guilain (his godson) gave him his present and so did Claire (my host mom). Then we had dinner which was really good. It started out with soup with salmon in it and white wine. Then we had trout (which was DELICIOUS!) and salad and potatoes and cabbage. Then we had cheese and bread (of course) with red wine. After that we had dessert - easily one of the best desserts I think I have ever had. It was this chocolate cake with molten chocolate inside and carmel on top. It was super rich but I still finished it all. After everyone was done eating and everything I got to take to my mom and grandma and boyfriend on skype. Then, instead of going out for the night, I decided to go to bed because I had quite a bit to drink earlier.
Friday - Woke up early because we had class from 8:30-12 (once again with a half hour break). It was French Lit with Melissa and was kind of a boring class. We discussed the sections that we read and wrote a short paper thing and got our homework for next week. After class we got baguette sandwiches and Joanne and I ate in the park with Lauren. Then (since Lauren, Louise, Jenn, and most of my friends) are going to Paris for the weekend Joanne and I decided to take the tram to the old part of town and look around for fun. It was pretty interesting, we saw an old cometary which was really cool (pictures will be up soon) and a really neat old church. Then we went back and decided to meet at 5 so that we could get tickets for the rugby game. After going back to the apartment, I watched Glee which was super good. Then I went back and we met up with Julien and some other guys and got tickets. Then after a quick beer it was time to go back for dinner. Dinner was pretty low key and after we ate I went back to my room and watched White Collar. Then I went to bed.
Saturday - Start of my day has been pretty uneventful... mostly just relaxing, checking out flights and stuff, and getting excited for the rugby game. Aideu for now.
After Marketing, I had European Civilization with Melissa. Throughout the whole hour and a half long class (5-6:30) we took notes on power point slides. My hands hurt really badly after. When class was over we decided to meet up later to go to a movie. Then we all went home and after dinner I met Lauren, Louise, Jenn, and Jake at the theater. We were going to see The Town but it wasn't playing at that time so we watched Le Bruit des Glaçons. It was a french film that was... interesting. It was about a couple who both had cancer which resulted in hallucinations of their past. It was really strange but pretty amusing at times.
Thursday - Slept in a little bit because I didn't have class until 10:30. When I did get up I did some homework, showered and went to class. It was FLE which is SOOO BORING! I spend most of the class either taking notes over stuff that I have learned at least 3 times and helping the girl next to me who is from Mexico. When that was finally done (at noon) we went and had pizza at Pizza Planet. After that we went around looking at different stores and buying some small things (i.e. socks) since we didn't have any classes (Thursday afternoon is reserved for sports but since I don't want to pay 60€ I just get the day off). Then I met up with Eliana at the fountain at 3:15 and went shopping. First we went to a store so that she could get a winter coat and then we went looking in some other stores. We had quite a bit of fun and I am starting to think of Eliana as the little sister I never had. After that we went to FNAC (aka french version of Best Buy) and got a double CD of Santana for our host dad for his birthday today. Then we went to the bookstore and got paper to make him a card. Finally we went home.When we got home we wrapped the present and made the card and signed it. Then after I took a nap we gathered in the Living Room for aperitifs.
We started out with Champagne (to celebrate) and garlic bread which was really good. Then we had this Brazilian rum drink with limes that was really good but quite strong. During the aperitifs we gave our host dad our gift which he proceeded to put in the CD player so we could listen to it. It made me think of my dad listening to Santana as we would drive around town and made me happy yet sad because I miss that. Anyways, Guilain (his godson) gave him his present and so did Claire (my host mom). Then we had dinner which was really good. It started out with soup with salmon in it and white wine. Then we had trout (which was DELICIOUS!) and salad and potatoes and cabbage. Then we had cheese and bread (of course) with red wine. After that we had dessert - easily one of the best desserts I think I have ever had. It was this chocolate cake with molten chocolate inside and carmel on top. It was super rich but I still finished it all. After everyone was done eating and everything I got to take to my mom and grandma and boyfriend on skype. Then, instead of going out for the night, I decided to go to bed because I had quite a bit to drink earlier.
Friday - Woke up early because we had class from 8:30-12 (once again with a half hour break). It was French Lit with Melissa and was kind of a boring class. We discussed the sections that we read and wrote a short paper thing and got our homework for next week. After class we got baguette sandwiches and Joanne and I ate in the park with Lauren. Then (since Lauren, Louise, Jenn, and most of my friends) are going to Paris for the weekend Joanne and I decided to take the tram to the old part of town and look around for fun. It was pretty interesting, we saw an old cometary which was really cool (pictures will be up soon) and a really neat old church. Then we went back and decided to meet at 5 so that we could get tickets for the rugby game. After going back to the apartment, I watched Glee which was super good. Then I went back and we met up with Julien and some other guys and got tickets. Then after a quick beer it was time to go back for dinner. Dinner was pretty low key and after we ate I went back to my room and watched White Collar. Then I went to bed.
Saturday - Start of my day has been pretty uneventful... mostly just relaxing, checking out flights and stuff, and getting excited for the rugby game. Aideu for now.
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