skip to main |
skip to sidebar
(I am very tired and very sad)
It's true, I'm very sad about leaving Tours. It's Friday afternoon and I leave here tomorrow morning at 7:30 to go to Paris. I just now finished my paper-it ended up being close to 9 pages, and I still had time to go out everynight this week!! Speaking of, I have only gotten four hours of sleep each night this week, and I feel like I might just crash walking down the street! Complete and total exhaustion, but I'm having a great time.
Last night was La Fête de la Musique-- a national music festival that takes place all over France on the day of the summer solstice, because the sun is out the longest on those days. So here there were thousands of people out on the streets dancing and singing and bands were playing everywhere. If I have time I'll put some pictures up here in a minute. I went to the festival with Roberto and we met up later with Mandy and Jacob, her husband who arrived yesterday from Memphis. He stayed here in Tours yesterday and will go with us to Paris and fly home with us next week. Then later last night we met up again with Yves (reference previous posts if you don't know who these people are) and went to Place Plumereau- the giant square downtown. They had a huge stage set up and a DJ played euro-pop/techno music and everyone was going crazy. It was sooo much fun!!
The night before, Mandy and I went to a cafe with Massi and had a great time. We talked about the differences between Europe and the States. For example, a Hummer limousine is inconceivable in Europe! So if/when Massi comes to visit, I told him we could all rent one and go for a ride. Also, he said he got a BigMac at McDonald's and it had a cucumber on it, but it didn't taste like a cucumber. We figured out he was talking about a pickle, and then we had to explain what a pickle is. Now if you ask Massi, he will say, "A peekle eez sumfing that was borrrn a coo-cum-bear but eez now sumfing dee-ferr-ente, and eet goz on a beeg-mac." Great fun! After that we walked Mandy home and Massi and I met up with Roberto and Yves to go to a Mexican party at a bar. Haha I know, craziness--Catherine with an Italian and two Belgians at a Mexican bar party. Let's just say... I was a little bit in heaven! :)
Tonight, who knows? It's my last night and there are a few people who are very upset that I'm leaving. It's very possible that I won't sleep tonight. I have to go out on the town, pack my bags, and be at the bus at 7:30 in the morning. When my average time to go to bed is 3 am, that doesn't leave much time for sleep. I've just had an incredible time and I really don't want to see this trip end. I miss everyone at home, but I'm sorry-I don't want to come back yet. Forgive me when I have my France withdrawals. It would help if when I return you could all bring me giant loaves of bread, take the ice out of my diet coke, kiss me twice on the cheeks instead of hugging me, and find me a recipe for pain au chocolat. France is home now and I think I'm going to start saving for another trip back here asap. Anyone who wants to join me is welcome to come!
I don't know my status of internet availability for the rest of the trip, because we'll be in Paris and limited to Internet cafes. I will try to post at least once after today, but so you all know, I am returning to the States on Wednesday June 27. I'll get to Atlanta around 5 pm, and then to Memphis later around 9-ish. And then hopefully I'll sleep for the first time in three weeks.
Bisous,
Catherine
(One more week)This is really crazy to believe I only have one more week in France, and only two more days left in Tours! We head to Paris early, early on Saturday morning, and spend a few days there before heading home. I don't even want to go to Paris. I want to stay in Tours and not come home! I'm sorry to all of you--I really love you and miss you so much, but I love it here and there's a good chance a week or two of depression will set in as soon as I hit the ground in the States. I'm working on my paper right now, or I'm supposed to be at least. I've got about 2 1/2 pages of an 8 minimum... say your prayers for me to finish! Classes are winding down and I'm exhausted-- got another four hours of sleep last night, but I'm still awake nonetheless. Tonight, Mandy and I are heading out for a drink with Massi! :) I haven't really hung out with him much outside of class so it should be fun. My mom is in Malta right now and her phone doesn't work and we're both very upset about it! I want to be able to talk to her! Sad... My phone, however, is working great, and that fact was very evident when I checked my bill yesterday... ouch! Oh well, at least my French social life has been helped by the fact I have a phone with me. I have to let you go for today, and I will put up some pics and a longer post just as soon as I finish my paper.
Bonne journee,
Catherine
(I'm sorry!)I really am sorry about the lack of weekend update, but I'm trying to use most of my time on the computer to write my paper. I have two pages written and I need at least six more by Friday!! Roberto let me borrow his laptop while I'm at school so that's making things a little bit easier, but still I don't have much time. I will tell you briefly about the weekend--it involved going out both nights, market shopping, eating, lots of hanging out with boys, and very little sleep. Last night was four hours of sleep--I've decided fun overrules sleep. I can rest when I get home next week. So I might not be awake until next Saturday, even though I get home Wednesday! :) Love you all- pray for me and my mom to be safe, and I'll update you more just as soon as I can!Catherine
(I am seriously tired)
So, the above pictures are of the guys I hung out with last night! I had soooo much fun. The guy with me is Roberto of course, and the other two are Yves, who is one of Roberto's Belgian friends and Gerart, who is a friend of theirs from Russia. Yes, I spent the night hanging with foreign boys! We went to a pub downtown to hang out and had a great time. Roberto always speaks English with me, but we all spoke in French the whole night. It was awesome! I've been needing to do that for pratice because lately I speak English all the time when I'm with my American friends, and I really just speak French with my host family. But speaking French with two Belgians and a Russian in a pub was very different and very fun! They are all so nice and I hope I get to hang out with them again soon.
I'm finished with school for today so that is exciting. I'm so exhausted from going out this week--every night! I'm living it up for my last two weeks here! In a little while I think Mandy and I are going to walk down Rue Nationale- the big main street with lots of shops and stores- and do some shopping, but tonight I don't know what to do. Massi is getting people from our class to go see "Shrek le troisième" (the third) but I don't know if I'm going to do that. While it would be cool to watch the movie in French, I think I should go out and not sit in a movie theater in France on a Friday night. As for the rest of the weekend-- je ne sais pas! We will see. There will definitely be some sleeping taking place sometime soon. I want you all to feel very sorry for me, because I have to write a paper, on Madame Bovary, 8-10 pages, en français, by next Saturday when we get on the bus to go to Paris at 7:30 in the morning. Yep. One week to write the paper, on a computer in the internet room full of other students. Oh, FYI, European computer paper is longer in length than the USA paper- soooo not fair. Blah! Guess I'll have to squeeze that into my busy schedule of school and going out. :) Remember- no internet on the weekends, so I'll be back Monday with a full report. Miss you all!
Il ne reste que 12 jours....
Catherine
Nothing exciting to write today, but I did want to send you all this picture--it's Massi!
I had my camera with me today at school and he was wearing the lace-up shirt again so I had to get a picture. Now you can see my Italian friend! Try not to look at the right side of the picture, I'm not exactly looking my best haha. Hope everyone is having a good Thursday! It's rainy here and I'm tired... so I'm heading home.
Amour et bisous,
Catherine
(Two weeks!)
Yes, you heard that right--two weeks left! This whole trip I've been having a good time but still looking forward to coming home to see my friends and family. However, it finally hit me this week--my trip is coming to a close and I don't want it to! Doesn't that always happen? This coming weekend is my last weekend to spend in Tours, because next weekend we go to Paris. It's crazy how fast this trip has gone, but while it was going I thought it was so slow. I have made some good friends, become confident in my French-speaking abilities, and realized again that I can tackle pretty much anything if I just make up my mind to do it. Galavanting (sp?) in Europe really gives me a sense of capability and confidence. Many times in my life I have been scared to do things, to get lost, to ask for help, to try new things--but in Europe something changes inside me and I just do it all because I know I have to. I can't wait to come back over here again and conquer a new city, a new country, a new language. Who wants to join me?
Anyway, I thought I would give you all a little glimpse of what I do during the days since I haven't talked much about school. It has turned out very different than how I thought it would be, which is not bad/good just different. I get to school (L'Institut de Touraine) everyday at 9:00 in the morning. I go to different classes each day, most of them which are "Langue Francaise." The institute is a language school to teach French to non-speakers. So anyone, at any level, from any country could come here to learn French--you don't have to be in college. I, however, am getting graduate credit for my classes and I'm taking a supplementary class to the ones offered by the Institut. So in addition to my Institut classes of French language, oral expression, phonetics lab, civilisation, etc-- I am taking a literature class on Madame Bovary taught by a professor from the U of West Georgia (which is the group I came with to participate in this program--all confusing, I know) We are in class from 9-12:10 in the mornings and then I get an hour and twenty minutes to go eat lunch. Lunch is not a fast thing in France. In the States we are so used to grabbing fast food and eating in the car, but that is something totally foreign here (literally, ha). So we've been walking down the street to a sandwich stand and getting food to sit outside and eat before class again. Tuesdays and Thursdays are really long for me, but I make it through!! Fridays are the best because we get out of class at noon and I just go walking around the city looking at shops and different things. So, that's a glimpse into the french days of Catherine...
Ok, let's get something straight. You all pester me about liking some boy for no reason, and the day that I tell you I actually went out with a foreign boy you don't even comment on it. I'm shocked! Haha well I guess if you don't ask questions then I don't have to give answers. :) I miss everybody so so so much and I can't believe I only have two weeks left. FYI to everyone who is not in my family--my Mom leaves for another one of her People2People trips on Saturday! She is traveling along the Mediterranean to visit Malta, Italy, Monaco, and France... unfortunately she gets to France after I have headed home. I won't get to see her until she gets back July 5 (right, mom?) so everyone keep us in your prayers that our traveling goes well and that we stay safe and happy until we get to see each other again! Aww I know, we're sweet haha. Ok, hope this post today wasn't too boring--can't wait to hear from you all and see you in a few short weeks.
Commençez à planifier les fêtes!
Catherine
(I don't have a lot of time)
Ok, I've had a huuuge day of class and I'm not finished with it yet. I've still got some homework left to do, and then one more class! But, I thought I would update you all a bit anyway. Yesterday was good, a bit cloudy, but then the afternoon was sunny again! The weather is crazy here. A week and a half ago I was going to bed freezing wearing two pairs of pants, two tshirts, a sweatshirt, and socks. Last night I slept in a tank top and shorts and I was still hot. These people don't really do heating or AC-- they just deal. Haha so I am learning to 'just deal' as well.
My new friend Roberto (see previous post) asked me to go have a drink after class so I did that yesterday afternoon and it was really fun. We went to this cafe out on the street of the middle of the biggest intersection in the city so it was great for people watching. But anyway, in case you were wondering, I had a Pepsi-Max. :) We sat there and talked for a few hours and I met some of his Belgian friends and had a really good time. So I think we might be doing that again sometime... we'll see! You know I love making new foreign friends. Speaking of, I had lunch today with the usual group + Massi and it was fun. I listened to some Italian music on his ipod and then we put on Bruce Springsteen and he started singing "Born in the USA." Love it.
Oh and last night I had the duck again with the vegetables, that I discovered were turnips. I think they look a bit different than our version of turnips, but American or French, I don't like them.
A few responses to your messages:
Dana-- You were very close with your picture of Massi. He is about 5'8" and very slender, but he has short dark hair, not long.
Brit: You would have enjoyed the mass, and probably would have gotten more out of it than I did, because while I speak french, I am def not Catholic. :)
Laura: Don't worry about me turning down the champagne, because I was placed in the perfect house!! The mother doesn't drink a thing, and so when I said no wine for me, they said "Ah you are just like Evelyne" and it was fine! :) I take after my host mom.
Mom: Take no offense to the above comment. Haha. Lovie!
sorry if I missed someone but those were most recent. Love you all!!
Catherine
It was a big weekend and I have lots to tell, so get ready to read....First off, I have already added lots of pics from this weekend, so they are below-- go look at them after you read.Ok, Friday night I went home and went to bed, because Saturday morning I woke up at 5:15 to get ready to catch the bus for my day trip. I headed out the door to walk to meet two buses waiting on a road near the school. Luckily, Mandy and I got to sit together on the bus-- two whole buses were full of students who signed up to go to visit Mont Saint-Michel and the town of Saint Malo. The bus ride was four hours long so I talked to Mandy for a long time, and made some friends from a couple of other groups. We got to Mont Saint-Michel, and it was gooorgeous. The day was cloudy, but the temperature was perfect. I'm sure you've all seen pictures of it before, but Mont Saint-Michel is a small, steep island with a giant abbey at the top of the mont, and it is the midpoint between the regions of Normandie and Bretagne. Anyway, you have to park really far away because the tide comes in at different times of the day and can wash away your car. We also were told not to walk in the sand because depending on where the water is, you can get sucked down into it like quicksand! So we headed up the trek towards the mountainous island, and walked around the backside where we found some rocky cliffs that looked out over the water--it was beautiful there and there weren't many people so we decided to stop and sit and have a picnic. (We= me, Mandy, Sam, Rachel) Then we walked up the singular, steep, very narrow road that leads to the abbey. It was sooo crowded with people buying crepes and souvenirs that we could barely squeeze through. But we made it and we toured the abbey with the entire group from the Institut (that's my school here in Tours if you didn't know-- L'Institut de Touraine) I made a new foreign friend while we were at the abbey. His name is Roberto and he is from Belgium and he is doing an internship at the Institut. So I walked around with him for awhile and talked and that was fun. (See picture) We all quickly headed back down the mountain to get to the bus and drive to the town of Saint Malo which is on the coast in Bretagne. We didn't have much time there so we walked along the water at the port and found a creperie where we ate dinner, and headed back to the bus for the four hour long ride home. We were lucky to be on our bus, because the other one broke down and those students didn't get back to Tours until almost 4 in the morning--miserable. Anyway, so we got back around midnight and I walked home exhausted and went to bed....Then Sunday, I woke up early to get ready for church! It was the catholic confirmation day at the giant cathedral here in Tours, and my two host twins were getting confirmed!! I was absolutely exhausted, but I just felt like I couldn't miss it-- going to a Catholic mass, in French, in a French cathedral, on the day my host twins were confirmed--major important day for me! So I went, I understood a good deal of what went on, I tried not to fall asleep, and I had a good time. I was extremely surprised by how casual they dressed for this event. (see pictures) Yes, I actually, finally have pictures of my host family!! There is a pic of me with the twins, a pic of me with the mother, and a pic of the whole group with them--that includes the famous grand-mere, a flirty male cousin of the mother, and the two marrains which are the girls' godmothers/sponsors for confirmation. So after confirmation at the cathedral, we all headed back to the house to have a giant celebration lunch. A four hour long lunch. Not even kidding. 1pm-5pm. Lunch. It started out in the garden where they had champagne and appetizers--slices of baguette with meats and cheeses on top. Then we went inside to the dining room and had some other kind of appetizer--a seafood stuffed salmon ball thing, with bread. Then we had the main course--duck and pasta, with some unidentifiable vegetable, with bread. The next round was cheese-- a giant tray of six different kinds of cheeses that we all ate, with bread. And finally we went back out to the garden for dessert--a fruity cake with chocolate and citrus drizzle, and also a plain cake that was kind of like sweet bread. Notice any repetition?? Bread, bread, bread. I can't eat anymore bread!!!! It was the longest day of my life. Picture me, after little sleep, at a table with seven people speaking rapid french, trying to stuff five loaves of bread in my mouth and not pass out and hit my head on the table. They would seriously speak for like thirty minutes straight, then turn and say, "Catherine, qu'est-ce que vous pensez?" (Catherine, what do you think?) At which point, I would have to make something up because I had completely tuned out about twenty minutes before. It was something I really wanted to enjoy, but it was just the most exhausting day I've ever had. Then I tried to go lay down and do some homework, and well, we all know how that turned out. So I'm going to have to get on that here in a little bit... So I guess that's all for now. I'll write more tomorrow, but enjoy the pictures and send me some comments. I miss y'all and I'll be home in just a few short weeks! Bisous,Catherine
P.S. Apparently I've succeeded in becoming foreigner-like. Someone asked me today if I was Brasilien. Now, I'm not sure how that happened, but I thought it was funny.
(I am at the middle of the trip)
Meaning... I have been here just about two and a half weeks and I have about two and a half weeks left until I come home!
I'm still loving reading all of your comments. They make me smile! Ok, let's see what we have for today. I am finished with class for the week- so I only have two more weeks of class to go. These first two weeks flew by, so I'm guessing the rest will go by even faster. Tomorrow I go on the school trip to Mont St Michel and St Malo-- two places around the northwest coast of France. We leave at 7 in the morning and don't return until near midnight. The bus ride is long, but I've heard these two places are gorgeous. I will be sure to give you some pictures next week!
Speaking of pictures, as you can see I added some above of last night's soiree, out at Sherlock Holmes again. It was a really fun night. I decided to join the group and go out last night, since tonight I will be going to sleep early in preparation for tomorrow's early departure time! The bar was packed full of Americans from my school, so I wasn't exactly getting the international experience haha. I hung out with some of the girls a while but mostly talked to Harry for the night--he's one of the guys from my group and he is from Buffalo, NY. Before you all start getting any ideas-- this kid is 18 and just finished his first year of college. So no, there is no interest! But he's really smart and very nice so we talked a long time about really random, but really deep stuff. We had a long conversation about creation vs. evolution and haha I'm not sure how/why we got onto that in the middle of the bar, but it was fun! We also had a small photo shoot of ourselves as you can see. Anyway, I'm running on very little sleep today but enjoying my Friday lots! I hope you enjoy yours!
Update!! I made progress with one of the twins last night! I had a dinner with the mere, grand-mere, and twins, and as usual, the twins left to run upstairs as soon as they finished their food. They didn't really talk much, just rolled their eyes at the funny stuff their mother said, etc. After I sat and talked to mere, grand-mere, and Alto for a little bit, the mother yelled upstairs to tell the girls that they needed to finish and check their English homework. They've both been studying English for four years. Anyway, they both kinda whined and said ok. I think maybe they don't get along with their mother very well- they are very much in the typical 14-yr-old stage of life. I told Evelyne that I would be happy to help them with their English homework if they ever wanted me to check it or something, and she said (I'm translating here) "Well, you better tell them that yourself because if I suggest it they will definitely not want to do it. We can all offer all the help in the world but they have a hard time accepting it." So... when I left dinner to go upstairs, Agnes- the one in room next to me- came out of the bathroom and said, "Catherine, look at my new pants I bought today! Do you like them?" And I told her yes I liked them, and then I told her I could help with English, if she wanted. She immediately said, "Did my mother tell you to say that??" I laughed and said no no it's just me, and then she said YES and pulled me into her room. So for just about ten minutes I went over a worksheet she had already done and helped her answer the next few questions. It was awesome! I told her to let me know anytime she wanted help b/c I love doing stuff like that and she asked if I was sure it didn't bother me. I told her no it's great, and I can help Aldona as well, and she said "Ok I'll tell her! Merci!" It was a very simple ten minutes but it was huge for me because she slowed down her French speaking for me, and I slowed down the English homework for her and well, it just made me happy. So I just thought you all would like to know that, as I complained yesterday about not getting much talk time with the girls. Sunday is their confirmation into the Catholic church, so there is going to be a huge family lunch at the house afterwards. I don't know that I am invited to the confirmation, but I think that would be cool to go to, and the lunch is going to be crazy--all women (family and friends of Evelyne) and one male cousin. The mom continually tells me that if I came to France to meet men that I was put into the wrong house! But I love it, and I wouldn't trade them for any other family situation here.
Again, I won't have the internet on Saturday and Sunday, so I will be doing big updates on Monday!! Definitely should have some pictures then... I hope everyone has a super great Friday and weekend! I'll be back on here later today so send me some comments!
A bientot,
Catherine
(Hello/goodmorning beautiful blonde)
So I have some bad/good news-- I didn't go to the party! :( Like I said, my host "grandmother" was coming in town and we ended up having a big dinner for her that lasted until around 10 last night, and so I was not able to go hang out with the foreign people. I was actually pretty happy about not going when I crawled into bed at 10:45 or so to go to sleep, because I was so tired, and had I gone to the party I would have been walking back across the city later than that, in the dark, by myself. So, in the end I guess it was for the best. And I did get a talk from Massi today about how he missed me haha so I guess that's good.
Anyway, today the sun has gone away again and it's pretty chilly outside. Luckily this weekend I made the purchse of a new jacket so the cold is feeling good. I'm even ok with walking in the rain, as long as it's not an orage (downpour.) Dinner with the three generations of French girls was pretty fun last night. One of the twins decided to cut her own bangs so that was an interesting topic of conversation. Evelyne (host mom) was teasing her about how she had too much hair in her face and how she didn't cut them very straight and Aldona (twinw/badbangs) spouted off some retort in her 90mph slang francais. Then host mom made a comment to host grandmom about how "fortunately, Aldona speaks very very fast, and Catherine can't understand a word she says! If she could understand her, she would think I raised an animal." I thought I had played it off well enough that I couldn't ever understand the daughters... haha but I guess not! They are so hard to talk to, and I wish we could manage it better because I want to be their friends, but I don't know that it will happen. As for now, I'm completely content talking with the mother. She is very helpful explaining things that I don't understand and she's pretty fun as well. I found out the other night that she is 52- so that's an age range for you all to put with this woman. Sorry still no pictures. Maybe I can get some pics of everyone before the grand-mere leaves. Grand-mere brought her small dog, Alto, along for the trip. You all know I don't know dog breeds so I can't tell you what kind, but it's rather small (not tiny, but small) and it has tons of poil blanc (white fur- I learned the word for fur last night.) It's just a little furball and it's so cute. In the middle of dinner the grandmother just gets up and says, "I think Alto is crying." And then the mother says, "Maman, the dog is not crying. Catherine--my mother is like Joan of Arc. Have you heard of her before? She heard voices, just like my mother." HA! I loved it- it was my favorite comment of the night.
Oh, before I go let me explain the title of this post. Yesterday morning on the way to school I passed a little old man just coming back from the grocery store. As we crossed on the sidewalk he muttered something really quietly in French and I didn't know what he said, but I got the feeling it was a bit... flirty? maybe? Je ne sais pas... anyway, this morning I passed him, again. I was thinking hm, I wonder what he'll say today. So as we crossed each other I heard him say distinctly, "bonjour belle blonde." Now, if a smile is an invitation, then someone tell me what that phrase is supposed to mean. Maybe he was just being sweet. Haha. I might cross on the other side of the street tomorrow if I see him coming. Ah, the joys of walking the streets of France.
Ok, no grosses bises anymore. I get it--you all don't want my big kisses. I'll just leave you with
Vous me manquez
and you can look up what that means.
Catherine
(Nothing of importance)
Yeah, nothing overly exciting to report, but I figured I would keep entertaining you a bit by posting a few things. I'm finished with class for the day, and I walked down a few blocks to the big FNAC store to buy a book. I finished reading "The Mermaid Chair" and for those of you (girls) who haven't read it yet--do it! Fab-u-lo-so. I just bought the book "Love" by Toni Morrison. Don't know if anyone has read it, but I hope it's good. The store didn't have a huge variety of English language books. But I needed something else "fun" to fill my free time, since internet and tv are non-existent at my host home. Speaking of the homefront, my host grandmother is coming in town today, so I will meet yet another woman of this family! She is going to stay with us until Monday of next week, so this should be exciting, I guess. I'm preparing myself to not be able to understand her... a little nervous. Oh and then tonight-- (Grandanny close your eyes!) --I'm going to a party! The Italian guy from our class invited me and Mandy to a big party at the house where he is staying with a couple of French guys. He said if we want to meet French people, which we do, that we should come to this party. Ok, he has an Italian accent, he was wearing one of those loose shirts that lace up the front, he is 24, and his name is Massimilliano.... how could I not go?? We're not planning on staying all night, but I will update tomorrow so everyone can know that I am alive and safe, ok?! :) I miss you all and will write more again soon. I love reading your comments, so before I go I will answer a few of your questions.
Dana--yes, I try to take as much as I can up the stairs in one trip, because I do NOT like going up or down more than necessary.
Ryan-- Grosses bises means big kisses, silly!
Grandma--I know onions might be good for me, but a little bit does hurt! I can't eat them! haha
Natalie--Sounds like the boys had a very interesting time... they are so weird. No offense to your husband, of course. :)
Laura--I missed being at Lydia's wedding! I can't wait to see pictures. Don't think I have room for the blue dresser in my luggage.
Sorry to anyone I left out. Except Mom, because you get your own emails.
Hugs and Kisses from France,
Catherine
(A long day)
I appreciate everyone's concern for my potential romantic interests, but there are NONE here as of yet! Haha. I sit here and write all of the cool places I'm going and things I'm doing and all you say is to tell you about the boys. If you read closely you will see that I hang out with Mandy the most, thankyouverymuch! :) (Not sooo surprised at the comments, it is me you're talking to afterall. Just trust me--I'll tell you if there is anything to tell. But there's not.)
Tuesdays and Thursdays are my long days at school. I am here from 9 in the morning until 6:30 at night. I have an hour break for lunch and a two hour break in between classes in the afternoon, which is where I am right now. I really hate sitting in this computer room, because random people sitting next to me read the things I write on the screen. So, hopefully I never have anything too personal to write!
Last night I had a nice long dinner with just my host mom and it was so fun to just sit and talk to her about random things. We have very differing views on lots of life choices, but it's so interesting for us to hear the other person's foreign point of view. I like her a lot--I want to get a picture for y'all, but I might not be able to do that until closer to the end of my trip.
I don't have any exciting updates today, so I'll give you another update on the food I've been eating. Laura, I don't think you would be able to handle some of this stuff. Let's just say.... I've eaten a few meals of unidentifiable foods; foods that I still could not identify after asking what they were or after eating them. Yum. I have eaten some kind of cucumber salad 2 nights in a row (I hate cucumbers.) Last night I ate some kind of couscous with a vegetable stew kind of topping. A few days ago I ate something in a bowl that resembled rice with an extra ingredient that I thought was onion, but that's not possible b/c she said she won't cook with onions since I don't like them. I have also somehow incorporated an entire loaf of bread daily into my diet. Not sure how I do it, but apparently it's the French way of eating. I don't know how it's possible to injest a loaf of bread each day and still be as skinny as these people are. Ok, so I don't actually eat a whole loaf everyday. It might be two. I have also learned the French art of conservation. I know, that without a doubt, if I don't finish some part of the meal tonight, it is going to be on the table again tomorrow. Even if there are only two bites left. You finish it now or you finish it later. Not gonna throw it away. Ever. You eat it. All. So my choices are-- either eat this unidentifiable food that I don't like right now, or eat it again tomorrow. Awesome.... However, I am still enjoying the occasional pain au chocolat that I have stored away in my room. It's become an obsession. So when I return to the States you all should probably search for them in my luggage and take them away. Haha. Well I hope this was entertaining enough, as I don't have much news. I want to keep writing each day when I can to give you something to read, but it won't always be very exciting. Ok-that's all for today.
Grosses bises,
Catherine
(A good weekend but work starts again)
http://memphis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003812&l=70342&id=103400049
If you can get that link to work, or copy it into your browser thing, that is my facebook photo album of france pictures, and apparently you can follow that link to look at it even if you don't have facebook. Give it a try and let me know if it doesn't work! It's just easier to put a lot of pics on there and not as easy to put them all on here.
I had a pretty fun weekend but unfortunately didn't speak much French! Friday I got out of class at noon and ate lunch with Mandy and Sam. Then Sam and I headed out to walk around town for a while. We ate some crepes in La Place Plumereau, which is the big plaza/square area in the older section of Tours. Then, we walked down towards the river and found a fountain that is supposedly "American territory," so I guess in a way we were home for a few minutes! After walking around the city and exploring some stores we headed to our separate homes for dinner with our host families. Later on that night I met up with Sam again and we headed towards La Place to hang out with some of the other people from our group. We went to the Sherlock Holmes pub, and I'm pretty sure our group was obnoxiously American. Not that we can help it anyway--I think we all have USA stamped on our foreheads, or for me- my smile. I was unaware, but apparently the French never smile like we do. I smile all the time (in case you all haven't noticed) and in the States I think we all consider it polite to smile at strangers on the street. I have been told here that smiling at a man that I do not know on the street is an "invitation." Needless to say I am now walking to school staring straight ahead and trying my best to be a forlorn frenchie. Haha.
Saturday I met up with Mandy and Sam and we had lunch at a small cafe near La Place Plumereau--it was great: sandwich, drink, fries, dessert crepe for only 5€50. I think we will go there again. Then we conquered the French bus system. We got the right bus (on the first try) to head south of town to Carrefour- an 'hypermarche' greatly resembling our Walmart, but with a kind of mall circled around it. It was great fun. I bought some clothes at H&M and we picked up some random stuff at Carrefour before heading back on the bus. We stopped at a briocherie for my first try of chocolate brioche--loved it, of course. We sat on a bench in the middle of a huge pedestrian intersection and ate our brioche and I could have sat there forever just watching the people on our first sunny day in a week. My teacher said today "En France, c'est possible d'avoir quatre saisons dans une seule journee" (In France, it's possible to have four seasons in a single day.) That night Sam, Mandy, Mandy's roommate Danny, and I went to an Irish pub to watch the football (soccer) match between France and Ukraine. That was pretty fun as well.
Yesterday (Sunday) I stayed at my house all day and read books. Fun, I know. Now I'm off to read some more for class tomorrow. Hope everyone had a good weekend!
Je vous aime,
Catherine
(The end of the week)
Yes I have finished class for the week and I made it out alive! :) It wasn't so bad, kinda fun actually. I enjoy going to classes because it passes the days faster and I learn so much just from being around all the French speaking. We have kinda done most of the big fun things to do around here so I'm trying to enjoy the little things like talking to foreign people, eating dinner and having conversations with my host family, trying to keep warm, etc. It's been so cold here! The weather changes about 8 times each day. Yesterday it was cloudy in the morning, then it warmed up a little with some sun, and then in the middle of the afternoon there was a downpour, and when I went to bed at 10 pm, the sun was still shining. The sun doesn't go down until around 10:30 here, so it's pretty strange. I feel like it's not bedtime yet. Laura, the time difference between you and me is 7 hours. I am 7 hours ahead, so when it is 9:30 in the morning and you are at work it is 4:30 here in the afternoon and I am usually at the computer, in class, or on my walk home! When I wake up at 7 am, it is only midnight back in Memphis! It took me a whole week to get over the jet lag.
I'm going to post some pictures of my room and the infamous staircase here in a minute. I didn't get pictures of the rest of the house b/c the family was home and I thought they might think I was weird walking around with my camera in their kitchen, etc. so I will save those pics for another day. I'll also try to get some pics some day of the school soon. I'm loving reading all of your comments and I miss everybody soooo much! I probably won't be able to check my email all weekend because the school internet room is only open during the week. There is an off chance that I'll pay to use an internet cafe... but we'll have to see! Don't really know what the plans are for the weekend. Miss you all tons and I'll put up some pics now!
Vous me manquez,
Catherine
Pictures are all out of order... but here goes.
