So, this is just a quick note to let you all know that I'm actually not coming back to Texas after I finish in France. Instead, I've decided that I'm going to take another couple of years, and go live in Iraq. I think I will have a good time there! Papaw, no need to worry: I've heard that it's actually quite a lovely place to live, and very safe.
NOT!!!
haha, April fools! Or as you say in France, "Poisson d'avril!" (this translates directly as april fish). In fact, the tradition of April Fool's started in France in 1564, when Charles IX decided to change the date of the new year from April 1 to January 1. People joked around with this though, and used the day to give out fake gifts to each other. Also, in April, you're not allowed to fish (they're reproducing) but in the middle ages, people thought it would be funny to throw fake fish in the rivers to taunt the fishermen. These days, french children use the day to try and stick a paper fish on other peoples' backs (especially their teachers'!)
I hope you're all doing well, and have a happy April Fool's!
Love,
Em
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Glassigt! (and a haircut)
Salut!
I thought I would share my thoughts on my favorite expression ever- Glassigt!
I learned it from my swedish friends (I have a lot now!) Translated into english, it means Ice cream-ish, but basically it implies everything that is going right in your life. That has definitely been the case for me this week. The weather has been perfect, I haven't had too much homework, and I discovered a new ice cream place downtown that makes incredible home-made ice cream. They have all of the traditional flavors, along with things like Cucumber, curry, Sake, and any other weird flavor you could imagine. For some reason, I always end up trying the weirdest mixes. Last weekend I had Cassis (black currant) with Speculos (a yummy cookie) and yesterday I had Mango with Caramel.... They were weird together, but separately very good! I'm going to have to start limiting myself to two times a week :P
So this is just a short post on how wonderful life is right now. I also got a haircut today (for free!) My friend Inga (she's swedish) has been saying for weeks that she would cut it for me, and we finally made it happen. Just maybe an inch or two, so you can't really tell, but that really took off some of the weight, which will be nice with the coming hot weather.
Plans for this weekend: going on a Scouting trip! I'm not exactly sure what that will entail, so more details later.
Well Thursdays are the start of the weekend for me, so bon week-end tout le monde!
A plus!
Emily
I thought I would share my thoughts on my favorite expression ever- Glassigt!
I learned it from my swedish friends (I have a lot now!) Translated into english, it means Ice cream-ish, but basically it implies everything that is going right in your life. That has definitely been the case for me this week. The weather has been perfect, I haven't had too much homework, and I discovered a new ice cream place downtown that makes incredible home-made ice cream. They have all of the traditional flavors, along with things like Cucumber, curry, Sake, and any other weird flavor you could imagine. For some reason, I always end up trying the weirdest mixes. Last weekend I had Cassis (black currant) with Speculos (a yummy cookie) and yesterday I had Mango with Caramel.... They were weird together, but separately very good! I'm going to have to start limiting myself to two times a week :P
So this is just a short post on how wonderful life is right now. I also got a haircut today (for free!) My friend Inga (she's swedish) has been saying for weeks that she would cut it for me, and we finally made it happen. Just maybe an inch or two, so you can't really tell, but that really took off some of the weight, which will be nice with the coming hot weather.
Plans for this weekend: going on a Scouting trip! I'm not exactly sure what that will entail, so more details later.
Well Thursdays are the start of the weekend for me, so bon week-end tout le monde!
A plus!
Emily
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Still Alive
Hey there Everybody!
So the last time I wrote a post was the first week of the semester! I realized that my problem is that every time I write, I feel like I have to write a novel or something, and so then I keep putting off writing, until it got almost overwhelming. So I'm going to kind of change my format, and start writing little posts with interesting things that happen to me, or with general observations about my time here. To start off, I'll give y'all a recap on these past few months :)
January was spent skiing, a lot! I really improved a ton. Once I took a private lesson, and actually got some decent technique tips. After that I was able to start doing reds (in between blue and black here) quite easily. The alps are just awesome.
February we had a week vacation, and I went with my friend Christine, and we went to Bretagne (Brittany) for 1 week. We went to Nantes, and then met up with Mianda and Delaney, two friends. Then with Delaney, we rented a car and drove up to the Emerald Coast, and saw Saint Malo (the most amazing resort town ever!), and Mont St. Michel (checked off my life list). Bretagne was one of the best vacations I've ever had, and we even had the benefit of perfect weather (a rarity in Brittany). Also in Feb, I went to Toulouse with all of the Grenoble swing dancers for the Crazy Rhythm Challenge. I had a blast, and got to meet dancers from all over!
March started off with me visiting CERN and Geneva, and then a weekend trip to Dijon and Beaune in the Bourgogne (Burgundy) region. We had a wine tasting of 5 different wines and 2 liquors (that was a fun bus trip back!) and I learned how to be even more of a wine snob. Too bad I can't afford good wines anyways :)
So anyways, that was a 2 month update that's been needing to get finished. I'm going to start posting at least once a week now, with shorter posts. Also, I've been loading all of my photos onto my picassa account, and you can see all of them (there are lots, you have been warned) HERE! In other news, school has been moving along nicely, and I'm starting to prepare for my exams in May. I'm going to be taking the DALF C1 test, and if I pass, then I have proof for life that I have a fluent level of French. Basically, it means that I have to study, a lot! But that's not stopping me from enjoying our lovely weather and going on 2 hour bike rides by the river (did that friday).
Ok, à la prochaine!
Emily
So the last time I wrote a post was the first week of the semester! I realized that my problem is that every time I write, I feel like I have to write a novel or something, and so then I keep putting off writing, until it got almost overwhelming. So I'm going to kind of change my format, and start writing little posts with interesting things that happen to me, or with general observations about my time here. To start off, I'll give y'all a recap on these past few months :)
January was spent skiing, a lot! I really improved a ton. Once I took a private lesson, and actually got some decent technique tips. After that I was able to start doing reds (in between blue and black here) quite easily. The alps are just awesome.
February we had a week vacation, and I went with my friend Christine, and we went to Bretagne (Brittany) for 1 week. We went to Nantes, and then met up with Mianda and Delaney, two friends. Then with Delaney, we rented a car and drove up to the Emerald Coast, and saw Saint Malo (the most amazing resort town ever!), and Mont St. Michel (checked off my life list). Bretagne was one of the best vacations I've ever had, and we even had the benefit of perfect weather (a rarity in Brittany). Also in Feb, I went to Toulouse with all of the Grenoble swing dancers for the Crazy Rhythm Challenge. I had a blast, and got to meet dancers from all over!
March started off with me visiting CERN and Geneva, and then a weekend trip to Dijon and Beaune in the Bourgogne (Burgundy) region. We had a wine tasting of 5 different wines and 2 liquors (that was a fun bus trip back!) and I learned how to be even more of a wine snob. Too bad I can't afford good wines anyways :)
So anyways, that was a 2 month update that's been needing to get finished. I'm going to start posting at least once a week now, with shorter posts. Also, I've been loading all of my photos onto my picassa account, and you can see all of them (there are lots, you have been warned) HERE! In other news, school has been moving along nicely, and I'm starting to prepare for my exams in May. I'm going to be taking the DALF C1 test, and if I pass, then I have proof for life that I have a fluent level of French. Basically, it means that I have to study, a lot! But that's not stopping me from enjoying our lovely weather and going on 2 hour bike rides by the river (did that friday).
Ok, à la prochaine!
Emily
Friday, January 15, 2010
Coming Back
So, a couple of things to start off with:
1. I changed the name of the blog, because I finally found out how to say sweet-tooth in french, and that's Gourmande. It also means that you're a good eater, both of which I am.
2.Europe is awesome, but transatlantic flights suck. seriously. I just can't ever get comfortable enough to sleep, and then i have stupid connecting flights and so I end up being awake for more than 24 hours.... not enough sleep makes Emily NOT a happy camper!
3. I'm finally back here in Grenoble, so I thought I'd catch up on stuff. The last time I posted, I wrote about the Lyon fête de lumières, which was AWESOME!!!! But that was right before I left, and so I got super busy and didn't have time to blog again. so here goes:
Christmas break was fantastic. Getting back home was not! I have definitely learned my lesson with flights: no matter the cost, make your trip as close to one-stop as you can. Thinking I would save some money, I booked my flight home going Grenoble-London-Atlanta-DFW. By the end, I seriously thought I would scream if I had to spend another moment in an airport. But getting back to break... I got home, and my awesome fam was there to greet me, and Mags even made me a welcome home sign! We spent one night at home, before heading to Tennessee to have christmas with my grandparents. I was really really really really really wishing for snow, but instead, I missed probably the only white christmas that I would have ever seen in Fort Worth! (The last time that happened was in the 1920's or something!)
After christmas, me, my mom, and maggie all went to Lindy Focus for New Year's (Hey-Oooo!) I was so impressed with how smoothly that went, and I had a blast! After that, we drove home (all in one day- impressed?? You should be, because that's a 17 hour drive.) Then I had a week and a half at home in F-dub, and it was crazy packed! I got to see a bunch of people, but with most of them I didn't get as much time as I'd have liked. It was a right amount of time away though, because I was SO ready to get back to Grenoble. I missed hearing french all the time, and I missed my host family too, and I missed using mass transit, and I missed the oh-so-yummy pastries that I stuff my face with, and so many other things. I feel like I finally really live in France, like this is my city, the one I belong too.
Some things here are different- for one, there is snow EVERYWHERE!!!! I was super excited about it until I soaked my jeans AND my shoes and then my feet got cold. But still, it's such a neat experience for me. I mean, snow, in winter! What a concept. Also something new is the group of Americans that I'm part of. Only 4 of us out of 56 are year students. Everyone else went on the Paris trip together, and they are all friends, but us oldies don't really fit in. It's ok, because I'm not really looking for lots of American friends (does that sound snobbish?) because I'm here to practice my french anyways. But it is weird because there is a different group dynamic now....
By the next time I blog, I should have photos up of me and the Alps!!! Because Monday afternoon I'm renting skis, and by the end of next weekend, I will have gone skiing! WHOOP!!!! But since I don't have any pretty alp pictures to entertain you, here's some left-overs from last semester, when I went on a picture-taking trip of Grenoble. I tried (as best I could) to capture "ma vie quotidienne" (or my daily life, for all you non french speakers :P
The sun setting over the Alps- a daily view
My Bus stop, Jules Flandrin
The Statue of Les Trois Ordres, or the 3 orders of classes that existed before the revolution: The Clergy, The Nobility, and The Commoners. This is at Place Notre Dame.
The Tram B leaving campus.
Where I go to school, the University Stendhal.
It's snowing!!
Snowing at the tram stop Notre Dame-Musée. I love the snow!!!
1. I changed the name of the blog, because I finally found out how to say sweet-tooth in french, and that's Gourmande. It also means that you're a good eater, both of which I am.
2.Europe is awesome, but transatlantic flights suck. seriously. I just can't ever get comfortable enough to sleep, and then i have stupid connecting flights and so I end up being awake for more than 24 hours.... not enough sleep makes Emily NOT a happy camper!
3. I'm finally back here in Grenoble, so I thought I'd catch up on stuff. The last time I posted, I wrote about the Lyon fête de lumières, which was AWESOME!!!! But that was right before I left, and so I got super busy and didn't have time to blog again. so here goes:
Christmas break was fantastic. Getting back home was not! I have definitely learned my lesson with flights: no matter the cost, make your trip as close to one-stop as you can. Thinking I would save some money, I booked my flight home going Grenoble-London-Atlanta-DFW. By the end, I seriously thought I would scream if I had to spend another moment in an airport. But getting back to break... I got home, and my awesome fam was there to greet me, and Mags even made me a welcome home sign! We spent one night at home, before heading to Tennessee to have christmas with my grandparents. I was really really really really really wishing for snow, but instead, I missed probably the only white christmas that I would have ever seen in Fort Worth! (The last time that happened was in the 1920's or something!)
After christmas, me, my mom, and maggie all went to Lindy Focus for New Year's (Hey-Oooo!) I was so impressed with how smoothly that went, and I had a blast! After that, we drove home (all in one day- impressed?? You should be, because that's a 17 hour drive.) Then I had a week and a half at home in F-dub, and it was crazy packed! I got to see a bunch of people, but with most of them I didn't get as much time as I'd have liked. It was a right amount of time away though, because I was SO ready to get back to Grenoble. I missed hearing french all the time, and I missed my host family too, and I missed using mass transit, and I missed the oh-so-yummy pastries that I stuff my face with, and so many other things. I feel like I finally really live in France, like this is my city, the one I belong too.
Some things here are different- for one, there is snow EVERYWHERE!!!! I was super excited about it until I soaked my jeans AND my shoes and then my feet got cold. But still, it's such a neat experience for me. I mean, snow, in winter! What a concept. Also something new is the group of Americans that I'm part of. Only 4 of us out of 56 are year students. Everyone else went on the Paris trip together, and they are all friends, but us oldies don't really fit in. It's ok, because I'm not really looking for lots of American friends (does that sound snobbish?) because I'm here to practice my french anyways. But it is weird because there is a different group dynamic now....
By the next time I blog, I should have photos up of me and the Alps!!! Because Monday afternoon I'm renting skis, and by the end of next weekend, I will have gone skiing! WHOOP!!!! But since I don't have any pretty alp pictures to entertain you, here's some left-overs from last semester, when I went on a picture-taking trip of Grenoble. I tried (as best I could) to capture "ma vie quotidienne" (or my daily life, for all you non french speakers :P
The sun setting over the Alps- a daily view
My Bus stop, Jules Flandrin
The Statue of Les Trois Ordres, or the 3 orders of classes that existed before the revolution: The Clergy, The Nobility, and The Commoners. This is at Place Notre Dame.
The Tram B leaving campus.
Where I go to school, the University Stendhal.
It's snowing!!
Snowing at the tram stop Notre Dame-Musée. I love the snow!!!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
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:



















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:
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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!
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!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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!
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!
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