Lyon, fête de lumières

Sorry to inundate you with two posts at once, but I'm finally getting caught up!

This one is going to be mostly pictures. Yesterday I went with Kaycee to Lyon for the annual fête de lumières (Light Festival). The festival is every year near december 8, to thank Mary, mother of Jesus, for saving the city from the Plague back in the middle ages.

We got there in the early afternoon, and walked all around the city. I saw the Cathedral, the Roman Ruins, and the Basilica- my favorite. It got dark around 5, and at 6 the festival started. They had these incredible displays up on many of the official buildings, and we had a blast. It was packed with people. We had to fight our way to each monument to see the 5-10 minute light shows, but they were so worth it! I think the pictures will say more than I ever could:

First off: the city during the day. Keep an eye out for these same sights at night :)




okay, now some night photos:

Les Marchés de Noël

Salut tout le monde!

So I'm back again after quite a long break. Since the last time I wrote, lots of awesome things have happened, including the Grenoble Swing Dance Festival and a trip to Alsace. I'm still having a really good time here, but am very much ready to come home for Christmas. I think that getting in a break, and seeing friends and family will be a good recharge so that I can come back next semester refreshed, and ready to learn some more french!

Okay, I'll start with GSDF. It was actually a birthday present that I found out that I was no longer on the waiting list for GSDF, but could actually attend the classes. I was ecstatic, to say the least :) The event started off with a dance Friday night, followed by classes in the morning, and a dance at night on both Saturday and Sunday. It was such a cool experience for me, to be one of a few americans, and to get to dance with awesome dancers from all over Europe. The best ones were from Toulouse, Montpellier, Barcelona, and Berlin, and I'm probably leaving out a ton of places. Suffice it to say that it was an awesomely international event!

The classes were taught mostly by american profs, and in English, because that has become the universal language of Lindy Hop. I felt like the class sizes were nice- not too big, or too small. The material taught was good too, and I appreciated being able to meet a bunch of the dancers in my classes who came from all over. The dances were also really fun, they had live bands every single night. While they weren't the best I've heard, they were decent, and I had no cause to complain. Thankfully none of them were in that Buddy's Big Band habit of playing 6 minute songs that are hardly danceable :P

The only downside to the weekend was that earlier in the week, my bike got a flat tire (turns out I ran over a nail or something) and so it was unusable. Instead, I borrowed Priscilla's bike to get to and from the dances. The problem is that I'm 5'3" and Priscilla has got to be at least 6'! It was quite amusing/painful getting on and off the bike, and thankfully I didn't break any bones!

The next week I was quite exhausted from the inevitable sleep deprivation that always accompanies dance workshop weekends. Needless to say, I took lots of naps! The next weekend was quiet and relaxing, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous on Saturday, so I went for a hike with my swedish friend Louise.

The Thursday after that was Thanksgiving, and oh, how I love Thanksgiving! Our group of Americans had a traditional meal together, pot-luck style. I signed up to make Pecan Pie, because that's my favorite part, and so I got our family recipe from Memaw. (Thanks so much by the way!) I was nervous about making the pies, because a) I've never made a pecan pie and b) the ingredients were hard to find, and I had to get a bit creative. Corn Syrup flat out does not exist in France (all of their sodas are made with real sugar, and go figure- they taste better!) The recipe called for Corn syrup but I found online that you can substitute Maple instead. The only problem is that Maple syrup is ridiculously expensive here (well, everything is ridiculously expensive here) so I decided to make imitation Maple syrup. I was so worried the pies wouldn't turn out, but they came out perfectly, and were worth every minute I spent hunting down pecans (which are also very hard to find here). All in all, it was a very successful Thanksgiving.

The next morning, we left for our trip to the region of Alsace. The history of Alsace is a very interesting one, as it has changed hands between the French and the Germans 5 times over the past few hundred years. You can really tell, because the cities display both french and german influences. Many of the houses are in half-timbered style, and just oozing with charm. We spent Friday and Saturday nights in Strasbourg, and got to visit the Marchés de Noël (Christmas Markets) The whole city was covered in lights and Christmas decorations, and we all got really into the spirit. We also ate a TON! I had bratwurst with choucroute (sauerkraut) and flemmekeuche (a thin pizza-like thing with cream and onions and ham and cheese), and Vin chaud too. (It's like wassail, only with real wine)

We took a tour of historic Strasbourg, made some purchases at the Christmas markets, and also got a tour of the Kronenbourg beer facilities, and got to learn about how they make beer. It was very interesting, and at the end, we got to try out some of the beers. I tried a Christmas beer, and it was really good. I used to think I didn't like beers at all, but of the few I've had here, I've discovered they can be quite good. I think it's just American beer that I find disgusting. Oh, I almost forgot- on our way up to Alsace, we stopped in the Jura mountains to have a tour of a Comté making plant.

Sunday morning on our way back to Grenoble, we stopped for about 3 hours in the cutest little town that ever existed in the world. seriously. Colmar took up about 15 pages in my Rick Steves guide book, so I knew it would be good. I read up ahead of time, because I knew we wouldn't have much time to explore, and I made a list of what I wanted to see. Katie and I conquered the town in 3 hours, though I wish I'd had a couple of days :P We saw the Isenheim altarpiece, which is as famous for the Germans as the Mona Lisa is for the Americans. (Which reminds me- there were more German tourists in Alsace than Americans, a nice change) Then we saw the Dominican church, the other church, the canals, and then house after house of pure cuteness. I think now I can only leave you with some pictures!
cute cute Colmar:


yep, the whole town looked like this!


we saw a Stork in Strasbourg!


Went Ice skating! That's me and Becca in the middle spinning


at the Kronenbourg tasting... yum!


vieux Strasbourg


And me with my pecan pie, thanks Memaw!

Provence, halloween, and my birthday!

I'm sorry about not posting in forever, I just never seem to get around to it!

So lots of awesome things have happened since the last time I posted, I'll try to recount them in chronological order, as best I can!

Let's see, the weekend of October 24 was the start of Toussaint holiday for the French. They have so many holidays, it's ridiculous! I was kinda jealous, because everybody but the CUEF (where I go to school) was on vacation. So anyways, at least our program did get to take an excursion that weekend. We left early Saturday morning for Provence, and after a week of miserable rain and cold, I finally got some good weather! We went first to Aix en Provence, and it was so incredibly charming there! The buildings were all made from this gorgeous yellowy golden stone that comes from a nearby quarry, and the color contrasted perfectly with the beautiful blue sky. Listen to me, I'm going all poetic on you, just thinking about it!

We took a tour of Aix, and then went to Cezanne's studio (actually quite boring- they don't have any of his actual artwork on display) and then we had the afternoon and evening free. At first, we were sooooo tired, so we went back to the hotel with the intentions of taking a quick nap. But then when we got there, we discovered a tv, so we watched French game shows for an hour or so! They are so funny! It just cracked me up how each time a new player would come on the show, or each time somebody would win, they would "faire la bise" with everybody.

After resting a bit, we went out to get dinner. We walked all over town, looking for a place to eat, and in the meantime, got another view of the city at night. Aix is very much a college town, and you can tell! There were tons of bars and pubs, and tons of students dressed up in Halloween costumes! We could never decide if the french just don't understand the concept of Halloween (they were a week too early) or if they just really like dressing up. I still don't know the answer to that one :)

The next morning, we went off to Avignon. It was only about an hour drive away, and I spent the whole time looking out the window of the bus at the beautiful provençal countryside. I can definitely better understand all of the impressionist paintings I've seen of it now. It had this magical quality about it.

In Avignon, we only had about half a day, but we did a complete tour of the Papal Palace, and then walked around a bunch, picking up food to go from street vendors. The Palais des Papes was super cool. Most people don't know this, but back in the 14th century, the Pope no longer felt safe in Rome (civil war was going on there) so for a little over a hundred years, the whole Pope entourage picked up and moved to Avignon. Even after the Pope moved back to Rome, there were still 4 (I think) Anti Popes who ruled from Avignon.

It was really cool though, because it's the largest Gothic palace in the world, and I love Gothic architecture! It also had the benefit of being almost completely devoid of furniture. I know for some people, that might be boring, but for me, it was a better chance to check out the structure! (I know, go ahead and say it- I'm a nerd!)

After walking around and then getting lunch, we all got back on the bus to go to a wine tasting. We drove another half hour or so, and then got to one of the vineyards for Chateauneuf du Pape. We got a tour of the vineyards, of the caves where they store the wine as it is being made, and then got to taste the wine. We tried 3 different types: A white and a red of Chateauneuf du Pape, and a red Cotes du Rhone. The white one was my favorite, but I really enjoyed the whole event. I learned how to look at wines, smell them, taste them, guess how long they will be good for, and so many other things! It was really cool to see the whole process of the wine making too.

Okay, so the next week, my host family was out of town for the Toussaint week, so I was by myself for a few days. It was kind of nice though, because I was starting to get a little homesick, and one night I invited a few friends over for "America Night". We made pancakes, scrambled eggs, popcorn, and then ate ice cream while watching a movie. I'm still craving Chipotle though! We also decreed that we would only speak english. It was so nice to speak in a language that you don't have to think about!

The night before Halloween, my friend from my class, Carla, was hosting a Mexican Halloween party (she's from Mexico). It was so much fun! There were fajitas and guacamole and Salsa dancing. Almost everyone from my class was there, and then Carla had invited a ton of people too, so we all just ate and talked and danced- oh yeah, and there was a piñata!

The next week was my birthday week, and it rocked. It was probably one of the best birthdays I've had! Tuesday night, I went dancing like normal, and thoroughly enjoyed it, and then Wednesday night my host family made me a special dinner of raclette, and it was so good! I just love my family, they rock. They're super nice and thoughtful, and just lots of fun to be with. Thursday night I went out with friends to celebrate, and so I ended up having 3 nights of birthday awesomeness!

This past weekend was a weekend retreat with FEU. We went to this place called Camp des Cimes, it's near the Ecrins mountains, near the ski resorts of Alpe d'Huez and Les Deux Alpes (two of the biggest resorts in the area). We played a lot of games, sang praise songs, and had bible study together. I had so much fun, and I feel like my french improved so much. I also really got to know a lot of the people a lot better, and just had an all around good time.

Today is Armistice Day, yet another vacation day for the French! Luckily, I don't have school either, so I'm just having a nice slow day, and later on for lunch, I'm going with my host family to a Thanksgiving meal at another american family's house. It's about 2 weeks early, but I think they're doing it today because it's a day off. I'm super excited about sweet potatoes and turkey and hopefully pumpkin and pecan pies!

To those of you who made it to the end of the post- sorry it was so long! I'm going to try to post more often. Here are some pictures to entertain you :)

It's snowing in the mountains now! (this is the view from my bedroom window)


in the wine cellar....no I didn't drink all of that!


The provençal countryside-just gorgeous!


sur le pont d'Avignon, on y danse tout en rond!


The Palais des Papes- don't even ask how many pictures I took of the architecture!

Baby it's FREEZING outside!

So this little Texan is experiencing the shock of her life. I've never really lived through a real winter, and let me tell you: brrrrrrr! It is so dang cold here! I thought I was prepared for the cold, and I thought that I loved winter, but now I think I'm a cold wimp. It's only Autumn here, and I'm already wondering how on earth I'll stand it if it gets any colder! I've been told that it got cold abnormally fast, and will probably be warmer next week, but still, fall here is like winter in Texas!

So my mission tomorrow is to buy a new (very warm) jacket, some thicker sweaters (all I packed are long sleeved t-shirts), and some boots (my poor feet). I really want to go to a market here called St Bruno, but it's really best on the weekends, and my weekends are packed. This weekend I went on a super long hike on Saturday, and next weekend I'm going to Provence. It doesn't help that we have midterms coming up. We're supposed to be studying, but it's so hard to make myself study!

The hike Saturday was really awesome. I went with the CUEF (Centre Universitaire d'Etudes Francaises) and there were about 30 students, with 3 guides. We took a bus into the Vercors, and then started hiking! I had a blast. It was so cold though! I saw snow, well I should say I got snowed on- a lot! I also wore my brand new hiking boots, and today my ankles/heels hurt really bad.... at least the shoes are broken in now! I had planned on doing another hike today, but I just couldn't, because I'm so exhausted.

Instead, I went with a friend to her church. I've been wanting to try out the different churches before I decide on one to stay in, so I was pleased that she invited me to come. It was a "charismatique" church- that is to say it was very lively, people spoke in tongues, and all that sort of thing. It was my first time to experience a church like that, and it was very interesting. I did find the worship style very odd though, and ce n'était pas ma tasse de thé. (10 points to whoever translates correctly first!) I don't think I'll be going back, but I'm glad that I went and got that experience.

Pictures:
The village we went to was one of the sponsoring villages near grenoble for the olympics in '68

At the top, looking out over Grenoble

SNOW!!!!!

Me, Natalie, and Isabelle before the hike

Le Retour des Alpages

Salut tout le monde!

Sorry, it's been a long time since I last posted, but I've been super busy, which is good! I've really gotten into a good routine here, and I like it a lot! Just a quick note to everyone who reads this- I love getting comments. So if you want more, show some love and comment!

Okay, some cool things that have happened to me....

I found the swing dancing here, and I go every tuesday night! The DJ is kinda lame, he plays the same dang music every week, but I'm just so happy to be able to dance, that I don't really care :) The dances are at this place called the Shag Cafe, and it's on the far west side of Grenoble, so it takes like 30 minutes for me to get there by tram. And since the buses don't run at night, I have to ride my bike to the tram stop, and then take two different trams to get there! It's totally worth it though, and the dancers here are really nice. They don't seem to mind my bad french at all!

I also started going to a bible study here, and though I've started with the English one, I'm also going to try the french one. It's every monday night, and so far I really like it. There are even some french students who come to it, so they can work on their english skills. It's so nice sometimes to be able to speak in English, but I feel like I've been speaking too much English. I'm going to try something new, starting this week: I'm going to designate Wednesdays to be French only days, and I'm going to try very hard to avoid all things english on Wednesdays for the rest of the semester (including the internet!) I think this will be a good exercise for me, and help me to stop reverting to english when speaking french gets too hard.

Some more cool news: I got a little job! Starting this thursday, I'm going to be giving English lessons to a french boy who is in his last year of high school. They're going to pay too, which is nice!

As far as big activities, since last time I wrote, I've been to Chamonix and Annecy, and I also went paragliding! Chamonix was a charming town, quite kitschy, but still very enjoyable because there weren't too many tourists. Mont Blanc was awe-inspiring, even with all of the clouds! Thankfully it didn't rain on us that day, though it did threaten! We took the téléphérique up to Aiguille du Midi, and got some really great views, and then spent the rest of the day just wandering around Chamonix, and pausing to grab a coffee in a café. I do really want to go back to Chamonix for ski season though, that would be so cool to ski Mont Blanc!

Paragliding was a phenomenal experience, and just an absolute blast! I went with 5 other girls from my program, and we went into the Belledonne range, in tandem with instructors. They controlled the Parapentes, and we just got to sit in the air, enjoying the view! It was sooooo cool! I want to go again, but it's super expensive.... I'll just have to make friends with the people who own the company or something!

Saturday, we went to Annecy for the Retour des Alpages. It's the one day of the year when the people who live up in the Alps bring down their artisanal crafts and food and animals, and there is a huge parade! It was a lot of fun, even though it did rain, but that was only in the morning. When we arrived, we were supposed to have a guided tour of the city, but the guide must have cancelled on us because of the rain, so we went on a boat ride instead. The lake of Annecy is the 3rd largest lake in France, and one of the cleanest too- cool! After the boat ride, we walked around the city looking at the different stalls, and eating LOTS! I had this thing called tartiflette, it's a specialty of this region. It's made with potatoes, reblochon cheese (another specialty) and sausage all mushed together. It was divine! At 2:30, the parade started, and there were all these people dressed in traditional alpine clothes, and lots of animals too! The St. Bernards were especially cute, as were the geese!

Okay, some photos:
Chamonix-Mont Blanc


Me and Olivier, after paragliding


Up in the Sky!!!


Me, Katie, and Catherine had a picnic at Vizille one day!


On the Lac d'Annecy with Kaycee and Delaney

How not to get La Grippe A

So the title doesn't really mean anything other than that we've been inundated with info at school on staying healthy, and not getting the swine flu. (Grippe A) As you will read, I am perfectly well, and have 0 symptoms- so you can stop worrying now Papaw! Wow, it hasn't been that long since I last posted, but it feels like forever! I've been keeping pretty busy with everything here. I guess I'll just start from where I left off last time.

Last Friday, our API group took an excursion to the chateau Vizille. It's about 30 minutes from Grenoble, and played an important role in the French Revolution. Vizille was cool, smaller than I expected, but still big :) There was a museum all about the Revolution, which was very cool. I learned all about the assassin of Marat by Charlotte Corday. Apparently Marat was a big player in the Reign of Terror, and Corday was against him. She killed him, and three days later died by the guillotine. At the time, all of France hated her. It's funny though, because 50 years later, she began to be portrayed as the new Joan of Arc, a martyr for the French Revolution. I find it odd how history can change, and how someone who is hated in their life, can later be revered.

Then, last Saturday, I got a french bank account. It was super easy to do, but I didn't really understand everything the lady was telling me. I should get out of the habit of acting like I know what's going on when I really don't.... Anyways, I think at one point she tried to offer me mutual benefits, but I don't even know what those really are in English, so I just said no. My french credit card should be arriving soon! After that, I hiked up the Bastille with my friends Katie and Catherine. I was sad that it was cloudy, because apparently on clear days, you can see Mont Blanc. It was really cool though, and a great workout!

This week, I had classes, which have been going pretty good. History of Art was boring, but I think that was just because the prof wasn't talking much about actual works of art, he was introducing the subject of Impressionism by giving us a long history of the movement. Once we get to the Art itself, I think I'll enjoy it better. Literature was fantastic, we're going to be covering 20th century writers, and the teacher seemed really intelligent and passionate about the subject. Translation is going to kick my butt. The prof is really nice, but she moves so quickly! I think I'm going to learn a lot from her though. History is still good, this past week we covered the year 1789 (The Revolution). My language classes are challenging, but I really like the prof, and I love the fact that there's only 14 people in my class. So all in all, good.

Yesterday, I went camping with the group from FEU (the christian student organization). We went hiking in the Belledonne, and stayed in a little refuge in the mountains. There were even mattresses! (They were old, but comfortable) This morning, we continued hiking to a lake, where we had a great view of the Ecrens Mountains. It was so beautiful, but very very cold! Also, the clouds came in and spoiled the view after awhile. I really loved the whole experience. It's great, because FEU has introduced me to so many french kids my age, and they are all super nice. I get to practice my french a lot, though it is exhausting. Sometimes I just have to tune out the conversation, if it's too hard to follow :)

I think my english is getting worse, living here. I have trouble finding the right word a lot of times, and often what I want to say, I can only think of it in french! I suppose that's a good thing, until I get back! Anyways, some pictures to amuse you:
The Stairs to the Bastille (only some of them!)

duh.

Catherine, Me and Katie

Grenoble, seen from the Bastille

Vizille

Me and the mountains!

More pretty mountains, in the Belledonne

our little refuge