Beaucoup d'information

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.