Bookstores

Waking up was easy today. I woke up half an hour before my alarm so I decided to just get up and take my time getting ready. I took a shower and shaved which is a bit awkward to do because I have to use bath water and it is awkward and weird. After that I got dressed and had some breakfast and played stare down with Beebow. I made a PB&J for lunch and then packed some pretzels and a Special K bar. I also found a Dr. Pepper in the fridge that I had forgot I had bought! I packed up my stuff and headed out to class. I get there early usually but it is nice so that I can use the internet or finish up homework. Today I looked at tours for the Dachau camp, though now that I think about it I should have looked at things to do in Paris because that happens first… Oops!

But then Cassandra came in and we talked. Apparently she had a dream about me last night about me opening a package from my mom and it was full of the most random things. I laughed. She probably got that from me saying that yesterday. (Sorry Mom...) I love you sending me things though, especially the heating pad. I will be VERY happy to get that. But we were chilling and then Patrick and his pose came in and we started talking to them. Then class started and we started talking about Charles X and how he was kind of stupid for thinking he could change back to an absolute monarchy after the Revolution just happened to prevent that… So obviously there was another revolution. I was sitting there and I whispered to Cassandra that Patrick and this other girl should totally date and she looked at me and was like, “You just want to play match maker!” Yeah I do.

After class Cassandra was done until 3:30 because she is a lucky duck and her class this week was cancelled. She also paid me for Lyon and an extra thirty so I can pay George for Monaco tomorrow for her. I just thought paid was spelled payed because the French verb is payer I genuinely couldn’t figure out why it was wrong... English is hard. So I feel pretty rich but I am just going to turn around and pay for Barcelona with it. Woot!

So ileft Cassandra and went toward the other building to go to my next class. There was some kind of live guitar music/talk show going on in the block so I stopped to listen and then saw a girl I knew named Darcy sitting on some steps nearby. I went and joined her and ate my lunch. I was very happy to have my soda. Pretty soon it got towards class time so we headed that way. Ran into Patrick on the way and we started talking about places we are going and the bizarre same page reading packets. We had class and during we talked about the idea of if there was a train coming and it was heading towards a track with 6 people on it and you had the power to flip the switch and have it go on another track with only one person on it if you would do it. Everyone said that if you let it hit the six people you were selfish. But I kind of look at it as if you are stupid enough to be walking on the train track when there is a train coming on it, you are pretty stupid so it is kind of your fault. I wouldn’t want to hit the innocent guy who wasn’t being AS stupid. But I said that and everyone told me that I was missing the point. And I did get the point that should you kill 6 if you could just kill one idea but I mean. If it’s your number it’s your number whether its at the same time as 6 other people or not. But I kind of got scolded for trying to make a point. So that was a bit disheartening. Then later when we were talking about the endings of Tolstoys The Devil I said that I thought that neither ending was the best ending and that it should have ended where the two others began because it would have been a more interesting end. Everyone shot me down without hearing my side of the story which made me sad again. I wasn’t in the best mood when class was done. I left the class and then ran into Cassandra and Kelan who asked me why I was sad and I told them that I feel like I don’t really fit in here, which is true I feel like I don’t a lot of the time.

But I feel like I have this problem a lot in my life. I didn’t fit in at Linfield. I really didn’t have a solid group in Middle school that I fit in with or all the way through elementary school because all my best friends ended up moving every year. I feel like it is a really common thing for me like I know I have great friends but I feel like a lot of times in my life I haven’t really fit in. And that makes me kind of sad. But also makes me really glad for the friends that I do have, and especially glad that Spencer and Megan were at WOU to help me find fit in easily because I think that it would have been the same deal at WOU if it wasn’t for them. I dunno maybe it wouldn’t have, but I feel like there is just something in my personality that makes me hard to fit in? I am good at being really good friends with few people but when it comes to a group it is a lot harder for me; which is why I mostly hang out with Cassandra because she and I are similar in that way. Kelan and she reassured me that I do but eh… What else are you supposed to say when someone says that? Maybe I am homesick. I don’t know.

After that I said bye to them and then went to Orange to try and see about internet. After waiting a bit longer to talk to the guy who speaks English there I learned that to get internet through them I have to buy like a box thing to plug into my computer for 50 Euros and then pay to fill it with points or whatever for how much data I use. I said but wait I did this thing through Orange online for internet for 20 Euros without buying stuff. He said oh, so you paid to connect to a hotspot. You can do that too but the internet is pretty bad. And I said yeah it is pretty bad but it is way cheaper and only for a month so I can deal until Jean-Claude gets his internet installed. So I decided to do that.

I went back to school to wait until Cassandra got done with class so we could go get a crepe and decided to sit in the library and Facebook. Pretty soon a girl came in and we sat in silence for a while until she asked what I knew about the George trips. I told her and we talked about them for a bit and then the conversation died. I started reading an article about the government stop or whatever it is called and I asked her what she knew about it. She knew nothing so I emailed her the article and then we talked about it a while. She is from Washington I learned but goes to school in Montana. Her dad is a financial advisor and she said he saw this coming from a mile away. We talked about that for a while and then she called her parents (international calling plan. I was only very jealous.) and got their opinion. We talked after that and then got to how California’s prisons are so full of prisoners that they are letting people go so we talked about that. We talked about some heated stuff and then she told me a story of a family friend of theirs who they found out was raping 14 year old girls and went to prison. We talked about the… Oh man. I forget what it is called but where you can get killed if you did bad crimes? Like legally they like kill you? I forget. But we talked about that too. We probably talked a good hour and pretty soon Cassandra got done with class so I had to leave but we quickly introduced ourselves before we left. Quite a talk for not even knowing each other’s names, but it was pretty cool. I enjoyed it and it made me feel better.

Cassandra, Patrick, and I went to the other building and Cassandra ran up to her locker. On the white board was the sign up for the wine tasting on Friday (free) that I had signed up for but Cassandra couldn’t get in because her email wasn’t working. But luckily some girls had crossed off their names so I signed her up. Then a class in the main hall got out so I played sales girl to try to get people to fill the empty spots. Cassandra and Patrick found it very funny and Sophie who told me to cross her off because she had made better plans thought I was bizarre. (Another not fitting in…) But it was fun and some people did sign up. So you’re welcome. After that we went to Crepes a gogo for a lemon and sugar crepe. They were super busy but we were in no hurry so we waited. After that we went to Book in Bar which is an American bookstore where you can buy books in English (they do have game of thrones but like some of the books have larger font and are split into two books because of it. Weird but kind of cool. ) Cassandra was mildly looking for an Amsterdam guide book but her Uncle lives there and is going to show her around so I don’t really understand why she needs it but maybe she wants some pre-knowledge of it? Who knows. We walked around a bit and looked at their café menu and said we should come here some time. But they don’t have wifi… :-/ Books only. Which is cool but also not… But I think I will send Cassidy there when she comes and I have class because she would like it. It’s pretty chouette. Lots of chouette histories too frère. ;-) Though I think the slang should actually be mec. Eh.

After that Patrick wanted to show us a bookstore he knew that sold Mangas. So we went there. It was pretty cool. It was like Barnes and Noble but like a bit smaller but with lots of books like a real book store not like most of the stores in Aix which are like little dinky things. It was pretty cool and we spent a good amount of time there. I found a copy of my history book there for 20 Euros and every time I use it Madame comments on how nice it is. So I think I will buy a copy for her before I leave. That seems like a nice gift and she doesn’t have it already, or any other books on Provence or Aix.

After that we parted ways and then I came home and did my Provencal history for tomorrow. It was pretty easy. We are going to be talking about the Roman amphitheaters, and I guess there is one here in Aix. So that is chouette. Madame came home and we had chicken and Ratatouille for dinner. We talked about the internet and I gave her back a ten since it was cheaper than anticipated. After we talked about poachers killing elephants because it was on the news, and also about the Marseille soccer team (who lost tonight 3-0). I showed her some of the pictures on my computer of the wedding and of my graduation and things like that as well as a picture of Cassidy, (She thinks you are very beautiful by the way.) and I told her a bit about her. We talked about all the family relations and who is passed away and how well I knew them. I felt a bit touchy about it because both her parents died when she was young so… it was sad. Then we had ice cream bars for dessert, and to my surprise when I bit into it, it was chocolate instead of vanilla. She pulled a fast one on me!

We watched TV for a while as per normal, tonight was the Mentalist. It was a bit bizarre.  She complained that there were too many commercials and I told her there were at least twice as many as in the US, and that when you watch a movie on TV you get 2 hours of movie and an hour and a half of commercials. She didn’t like that idea too much. After that we both got tired and went to bed. 

Evidently, it is very heavy. Imagine carrying your house on your back...

But it is practical at the same time, when I take a walk I am in my house...

But first a bed time story:

The shell of the turtle

Me, I have a shell...

I look a little like a car but I do not go as fast...

In winter I am never cold, I put my head and feet back inside



But if on puts me on my back, I cannot turn over.

I seem a little harsh like this but don't hesitate to cuddle me...

Because under my shell, I am a very sensitive.

Goodnight!

 

Internet is the Worst

Today I was not happy to wake up. Mondays are the hardest and it took a lot of work to send Matt my sound file for his radio show. I had to put it in a Youtube video and then upload it and by then it was midnight and I was really tired. Too quickly it was seven thirty and I was up. I ate some bread and had some fruit and then grudgingly went back to my room to get ready to go. Thad wasn’t on this morning but luckily Kristen was! I hadn’t talked to her since I got here so that was pretty exciting! Too quickly though I had to go to class.

Today we talked about some sites in Glanum which is an Oppidum gauloise. It was pretty cool but also a bit confusing. I had trouble concentrating.

After class I went downstairs to try and see if the library wasn’t in a state a chaos because of the moving. It wasn’t and I found Cassandra. We sat together and I worked on and finished one of my papers and she did her homework. We talked a bit about possible places we could go for our remaining two free weekends. Once I finished a considerable amount of homework I started playing around on the web looking at ideas. I looked up Mont Saint Michel where I want to go sometime and unfortunately the two free weekends that we have there isn’t a high tide. Wah wah. So I struck that one off of the list.  If I am going to go there I want to see the tides! So we fooled around and then Cassandra went off to her noon class. I headed over to the other building to use the microwave to cook some rice. I tried to get a juice but the crappy vending machine ate my euro. Last time I use that stupid thing! Then I talked with Patrick a bit while I ate and then I did some more homework and messing around online. 

I was talking and LaSia told me that she has been reading my blog! Weird but I don’t mind. I do write it to be read! She asked me about the big grocery store and whether it was very hard to get to. I told her that I would take her sometime if she wanted. I did some research onle and by the time Cassandra came and found me she was starving. We decided to go get crepes in one more minute after we looked up one more place. I have wanted to go to Germany to do a Concentration Camp tour but she had ruled it out because she is going to Germany for Fall break to see a friend of hers. But she caved and we looked anyways and found that there is the Dachau camp really close to Munich! So we looked it up and it really wasn’t too bad! So we said alright let’s do it and booked it. I think I am even going to get AA advantage points from it because there was a spot to put it (I didn’t have it so I woke up mom to get it for me. Thanks Mom!). Cassandra doesn’t have one so I took her miles too. So we found a hotel cheap there and are excited to be getting there around 2 on Friday the 15^th November and then we leave at like noon on Sunday. I wish we could stay longer but the flights were far more expensive later in the day and we both have class Monday. For some reason I can’t shake my good student attitude and miss class… Boo me.

So after that we were starving and went to get crepes. I got Nutella and Banana. It was okay but I should have gotten the lemon and sugar one because that’s the one that I really wanted and now I have a craving! Ah! Maybe tomorrow… We stopped in at the SFR store so I could try to buy more internet or new internet from them since mine expires tonight, but the lady was very unhelpful like all phone store people I feel like so I got frustrated and gave up. I will probably go and do another month of Orange even though it is less good I feel like. But that at least I can figure out. 

Cassandra and I parted ways and I went and bought myself a juice from a non-vending machine and drank it. I was feeling pretty down and frustrated and felt like I was hitting the language barrier wall a little too hard today. I went upstairs and took my aggressions out with some plants against some zombies and then waited for class to start.

I wasn’t very active in class but I did respond and do everything well but I just didn’t have the “Oh yay this is great” attitude more of the “I miss home where everything is easy to understand” attitude. I listened and was studious but I know the professor could see I wasn’t on top of it today. But I am sure they are used to students having off days here. I did get my yellow package from mom but it was pretty disappointing because none of it was for me… So it was like “Yay a package! Awww…” sooo… that was a bit disappointing. Also I don’t know what I am supposed to do with a cupcake towel? Like… what? Who am I supposed to give that to? 

I went back home and did some more homework and then got tired of so much history today and switched to Literature. We were supposed to read The Angel Esmerelda. And I read the first page, and the second, and then the third was the same as the second, and so was the fourth, and so was the rest of the packet… Sooo that was short lived! Hopefully everyone else’s is like that too. I think the syllabus for that isn’t until Thursday so… I will find out tomorrow! 

After that Madame came up and started making dinner. We had gratin with spinach and spinach branch and some kind of chop. I think it was beef. It was okay at first but there was just a lot of it. The taste was okay the texture weird and I couldn’t finish it because she gave me so much I got really full. (Though the crepe probably didn’t help…) I forwent dessert and cheese tonight. And then went and Skyped Thad while I had the chance. After that I went out to do my journal and approached Madame about the possibility of doing a trip together. That was kind of shot down a bit because she can’t leave Beebow alone without food or something and then she watches Paul on the weekends… I told her we could bring Paul and she laughed. She told me that she would think about what we could do though and talk to me about it tomorrow.  So I guess we will see. But I think if we do something it will be more local. 

After that we talked about Germany and WW2 and why I want to go to the camp. Oh also I got emails about my financial aid and they conveniently spread out my missing $9464 over the other two terms of the year so that’s why it was missing. So now it should be fixed by Wednesday/ Thursday my time. And then CIS said yeah you still owe us about $15,000 so they obviously haven’t been paid yet… But the good news is maybe that I should be getting some money… Which would be nice… 

I don’t have a lot of pictures today because my iPod has been mostly dead all day. But oh well. You just have to look at some of my old ones I guess. I am looking forward to some good sleeping tonight!

Oh boy! Like Lion King!

Today I woke up around 9:40 and took a shower. It was really stormy out with lots of rain and thunder and lightning. Beebow was a bits scared. Madame had left a loaf of bread on the table so I tried it. It was like brioche with sugar on top. It was pretty good. I wasn’t feeling too hungry so I just had some bread and apple sauce. After that I started working on my History paper but then got bored and started doing my English paper. When I started really getting productive Paul came in and started being very unproductive… Pretty soon I had to stop working. Madame came up and Paul asked her if we could have a pillow fight. She said sure so that ended up happening. It was kind of fun but also like try to not hurt Paul while he climbs all over me.

After that Paul went downstairs and Madame insisted that I eat lunch with her. We had bread and ham and pepperoni like sausage but thicker and drier and then 5 different kinds of cheese. I tried them all and really only liked 2 of them. I forget what they all were but the Brie was my favorite. After lunch I started trying to work on my papers again but I felt like I wasn’t in a good head space. I wrote two pages for a one page paper but it was all crap. So then I wrote an outline and wrote another page and it was just crap too so I finally just gave up. 

I started trying to read some Game of Thrones but Madame would talk to me about what was on the TV. Madame was cutting vegetable to make Ratatouille for dinner. We talked about the different vegetables and if I had tried them before. After a while she ran downstairs and came up with some curtains that needed to be sewn for some reason. Pretty soon Laurence came up and talked to Madame and then asked if I wanted to go for a walk in the country to see something. I didn’t understand so she started singing Hakuna Matata from Lion King. I got the picture then. I said sure and then went and changed my clothes to something more presentable than sweats. I threw on my tennis shoes and went downstairs to get in the car. We drove for like twenty minutes and then arrived in the country side. Paul told me about all the sites that we passed while we were driving.

We got there and it was finally a nice day and a bit hot. Paul rode/ had Jean-Claude push his bike once he got bored on the route. It was interesting because it was like a random path next to a house and I gues it was public but it really didn’t look it. We started walking and the route wasn’t too bad. Pretty soon we came upon the beginning of the fence where the Warthogs live. The area is like a preservation place so they just like live there in this probably a mile long fence area that I couldn’t see the back of. Laurence brought some stiff baguettes and we started hitting the fence trying to get the warthogs to come out and say hi. We saw one big one on the way down but he was too shy to come forward any. It was pretty cool. On our way back we were complaining about how there weren’t any more nd how usually there are a bunch who come when you feed them. We tried again on the way back and this time four came out! It was pretty sweet and they got really close! Laurence said usually they will come right up to the fence which they didn’t do but it was still really cool. Paul liked to scare them away… -.-‘ 

I took some video and a bunch of pictures. I had never seen live warthogs before so I was pretty pumped. After that we drove back home and tried to clean out shoes from the mud before getting into the car. When we got back Laurence asked if I wanted a crepe which I should have taken her up on because it sounded really good. But I knew that Madame was making Ratatouille and that it takes a long time to make so I should be ready to eat a lot of it. Ratatouille is like a vegetable stew with zuccinni, Eggplant, Red peppers, green peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and onion, and spinach. It was pretty good. We ate it with Chicken. I had two helpings of Ratatouille. I did some homework for my class tomorrow that I had forgotten about and then Skyped my parents. Paul came in and they showed him our cat and two dogs since Kirby was outside. He liked that. Then he started playing on my iPod until Madame realized where he was and made him leave. The talk was pretty spoiled at the end when we had to try and figure out what is going on with my financial aid and where money is and is going to. I can’t get a hold of anyone there at home and they won’t talk to my parents so it is really a big freakin’ pain in the butt to figure anything out. We think that we maybe figured out why I am missing a ton of money so Dad is going to try again to figure it out. I would love to help but really I don’t think I can from here because my phone doesn’t make international calls… 

I Skyped thad a bit and then remembered that my friend Matt from OC had asked me to record a blurb for his radio show which apparently is at 5 Pacific time today so I quickly did that in one shot without really knowing what I should say. 

I had a good day and did fun things but I am getting frustrated with myself for not getting homework done well. I try and it is just a lot harder to do here because I am not in a good head space so whenever I try to work it just isn’t good. I also feel like I don’t really ever have space here because I am constantly around someone. I feel like I need a bit of me time…

Gorge du Verdon and Other GORGEous Places

I woke up to the lovely song of Come on Get Higher by Matt Nathanson playing on my iPod. I discovered how to tell it to use a song to wake you up. It was lovely but came way too quickly. I would have loved a few more hours of sleep... Madame was already up and had breakfast on the table when I got up. I had my little bread and a banana and a pudding cup size of Apple sauce which Madame bought when she learned I like it. Now I have 12 to go through but I love apple sauce so I am not complaining! We talked a bit about how it wasn't too bad out weather wise and then I made a PB&J to take with me on the bus.

I headed out after deciding to wear my swimsuit even though I thought it was too cold for swimming. I had no trouble finding the meeting place this time (because I went the route I knew) and got there a little early so on time. We loaded the buses and went on our way. I chose to sit closer to the front of the bus this time to see if it would help my motion sickness at all and it did a little. I still wish I had motion sickness pills. That would have been really smart to bring.

We didn't stay on the auto route very long and instead drove through a few small towns. George the tour guide would tell us a bit about them. Above picture is the Chateau d'Allemagne de Provence.  Finally we stopped in one called Riez. It was a small village that happened to be having a market that day. We stopped and I bought a ficelle which is like a baguette but smaller and skinnier as well as an apple and banana. I put them in my bag for later. We explored the non food part of the market and I bought a couple Christmas gifts. I figure if I spread them out it will be better than trying to buy a bunch of things last minute.  After that Cassandra and I went and took a few pictures of some Roman ruins which just casually were in the center of town. After that we ate for a bit before getting back on the bus to go to the Lake Sainte Croix.

The lake is artificial because there was a dam built but it was really beautiful.  The water was gorgeous as was the geology around it. That's code for rocks and mountains and stuff. The stone was really interesting color of grey and orange and looked almost like it had been painted together and the paint had dripped. It was really pretty.
 

They had paddle boats there so Cassandra and I rented one for the hour and went into the canyon. It was really pretty but definitely a leg work out going against the current. I have a fear of small boats the beginning I was pretty freaked but I got used to it. We stopped the boat when we went as far as we dared without being in a rush to get the boat back in time and let the current carry us back while we ate our lunch. There was a waterfall and a couple people were stupid enough to jump in the water even though it was really cold. They all immediately regretted their decision and climbed back into their boats.

We got the boat back and then went and sat and took in the view. Cassandra talked about how she thinks it's weird when people are here and only talk about thing from back home. Then the rest of our time at the lake she talked about home. I didn't mind but I did find it funny.

After that we got back on the bus and went up to the top of the mountains to get some cool pictures of the Lake and the Canyon. It was pretty cool.

Next we went to the town of Moustiers Sainte-Marie which is named the most beautiful city in France. And it was very clear why! The village is very small and quaint with lots of flower pots. It’s situated between two mountains and has a chapel built into the side of the mountain. In the olden days children who had lost their parents would come here and climb all the stairs to be received in the chapel. Though it is very small so I don’t know where they would go after that! But it is also a very difficult climb! I decided to take my time and go for it and people were already coming down when I reached the top. It was wearing flip flops, not ideal climbing shoes and the stairs were very steep. Luckily, there was a good hand rail. It took me about half an hour. But I decided better to go slow and not risk it. I got to the top and explored the chapel. It was very dark which I found really cool because it was almost like a metaphor with your eyes. When you first come in it is really hard to see anything even though you know things are there. You can only see the windows. Then slowly over time you gain vision of the chapel itself and the things inside it. I kind of view this as like my relationship with Christ. I was standing in the dark for a long time knowing he was there and not being able to see. But I knew so I just kept waiting and trying to see and eventually I gained some sight. I kind of view it like that. The altar was pretty cool all gold.

 I eventually walked (slipped) my way back down. The rocks were very slick so I kept two hands on the hand rail the whole time. I stopped at a shop and bought a gift. Then went to the next store and found the same type of gift but one I liked a lot more… Oh. This town is known for their hand painted pottery ceramic things. There were a lot of really cool plates and cups and things that were really pretty to look at but are all very expensive because they require a lot of work (My first one was not as very expensive). I walked around the stores with Cassandra looking for this type of gift to check prices and eventually knew that if I didn’t buy the one I liked better that I was going to beat myself up over it forever. So I went back and bought it. Now I don’t know how I will get it home but it seemed important to buy here and I can gift the other one to someone else. It’s not like the first was/is bad just not exactly what I intended for this person. But it will be fine! All is good!

After that we walked around a bit more before getting back on the bus to come home. When we did get home Cassandra and I came back to my house to drop off my gifts before going to dinner. I had her wait downstairs in the entry way because I had been told by the institute not to bring friends home because the home is like more private. On my way back down I ran into Madame who had talked to Cassandra and scolded me for not bringing her up. I explained that the university had said not to and she was like oh well I don’t care as long as it’s not like 15 people. So I said oh okay well now I know.

We met up with two girls named Valerie and Danielle and then headed off to an English (UK) Restaurant called the Bulldogge. Cassandra and Valerie had each won a free meal from the scavenger hunt that they went and claimed. My very slow team won nothing. But that’s okay. We walked there and then had a very delicious hamburger with salad and French fries all for 10 Euros. Pretty good deal!  Our waiter was pretty cool too. He came by and gave us a free menthe alcohol shot (not me I said no thanks because I don’t like mint). He was pretty cool. I tried tiramisu for the first time! It was delicious!!!

After we paid we all went home. I walked half way home with Danielle who I sort of know from my Literature class. She is pretty cool. It was a fun night and a fun day.

It was about 9:30 when I got home and Madame was surprised to see me so soon. I don’t know why but she thinks that I am going to be out until all hours of the night. But not really… I am usually too tired and especially after the day that I had today! I showed Madame my pictures from the day and talked with her about them and then we started watching Fort Boyard my favorite French show. Madame started to fall asleep and I would wake her up with my involuntary and annoying coughs. Eventually she went to bed and now so will I.

Goodnight! P.S. Madame changed my sheets/duvet again!

Carrefour

Today I woke up and read a bunch. I had some cereal and discovered that milk here has a very different taste to it. I have also noticed (today) that it isn’t in the refrigerated section of grocery stores. I did some research and figured out why this is and found this:

Most milk in France does not require refrigeration because it is sterilised and not pasteurized. Despite having been the first country to "discover" and widely use pasteurization for dairy products, they now use what is called UHT steralization, another heating process that kills bacteria.

The shelf life of sterilized milk is 6-9 months when unopened, hence it's reason for being popular. This is why French milk tastes different. Other European countries like Spain, Portugal, and Belgium also use this method.

Apparently UHT milk has been introduced in the US, but Americans, as they are with all change, were no open to trying unrefrigerated milk that tastes like merde. Evidement.

I found that really helpful and surprising as well. I totally agree with the American view of the milk here though it is very weird and different! I think the best way to describe it is that it doesn’t taste refreshing? Once you open the milk you put it in the fridge but it still isn’t very like fresh feeling? It is hard to describe so you will just have to come here and try it ;-)

I read my book for a while and got almost done with my outline for a paper due on Monday when I decided I didn’t want to have a sit at home day today when I know that Sunday the weather is going to be bad and I won’t be able to walk around much. So I texted my friend Cassandra and asked if she wanted to go on an adventure with me to find the big supermarché or big grocery store that is outside of town. She agreed and we made plans to meet.

The best form of transportation here is public because to get a license you have to pass a test and go to driving school. It is also very expensive to get a license (over 1,000 Euros, that’s over $1,350!) and if you don’t pass the tests you have to retake them and pay the money to try all over again! Not to mention that but cars are also pretty expensive here and there isn’t a lot of space to park them. So because of this if you want to go somewhere over a mile away you need to take public transportation to get there. We ended up needing to take the bus. I had a bit of trouble figuring out which line we needed to take to get us there and the bus routes aren’t very clear. I finally found a website that you could tell it where you wanted to go and it would tell you the best route to take. What a life saver! I met Cassandra and we headed out. I had looked at how moany stops the bus would make before we needed to get off so that we would be sure not to miss it but the bus stopped a lot more often than the route made it seem. I was not recognizing the bus stop names and was getting worried but then we soon passed the grocery store and stopped close by. We hopped off and began our adventure.

The store is called Carrefour and the best way that I could describe it is that it is like a Safeway and a Walmart and Half of a Fred Meyers. It is BIG. I guess it could be compared to Costco but things aren’t in bulk they is just a lot of stuff!

We went in and I had some Mac Do. I wanted a taste of home and to be able to say that I had. It was difficult to order because they don’t really do things in the same way. They do single things and not really meals. I learned later that they have machines there that you can order from and put them in different languages. This makes a lot of sense because I bet that they have the language barrier problem a lot here! It tasted pretty different as everything here does even if you think it will taste familiar. I mostly just needed to eat something or else I was going to start getting grumpy.

We started walking around looking at things. There were a lot of interesting things and a lot of things that I looked at and said “Hey so and so would like this” but then I said how in the world would I get this back to them… I also found suit cases for not a lot of Euros, only like fifty so that is a good thing to remember. I took a lot of pictures of the store. THey have these cool things where you take a scanner with you and scan your fods while you shop and then you just give the scanner to the checkout lady. This is really cool because it saves everyone time waiting in line behind people with lots of stuff and it shows sort of that the store trusts you not to lie to them which I think is why we don't have them in the states.There were a lot of aisles that were dedicated to just one thing. There were three wine aisles, a cheese aisle, a yogurt aisle, a French fry aisle, and an ice cream isle. I think that they have so many choices for one thing because those are REALLY popular food staples here, everyone eats cheese and drinks wine and has desserts. I think that it was a really cool experience to go to a French grocery store. I could easily have spent hours wandering and looking at all of the things that they had. Fortunately for Cassandra, I only took three and a half.

When I got home Madame made dinner and we had a very delicious Chicken and Rice with Zuccinni. The chicken she had soaked in honey, lemon, and thyme. It was sooooo good. I will HAVE to get the recipe. After that I Skyped or tried really with my crummy internet to Skype Thad before he had to go to Lunch.  

After that Madame and I started watching Master Chef which is a really cool cooking show. There was a trivia question tonight which was how many desserts are traditionally at the table for Christmas in the South of France. Madame was quick to say thirteen. After one of the people on the show said three and was kicked off, I asked her what they were. She listed off a few nuts, figs, nougat, Yule Log, fruit, etc. and she got to about 7 before she got stuck and couldn’t think of any others. So we decided to Google it and in doing so found out why!

The thirteen desserts of Christmas, or Les Treize Desserts de Noël, are enjoyed after Gros Souper in Provence. The thirteen desserts are in reference to Jesus and his twelve apostles at the Last Supper. As tradition goes, there must be at least thirteen sweet available, they are all served at once, and each guest must have at least a small bit of each dessert.

Fougasse or pompe à l'Huile, an olive oil flatbread, is eaten with grape jam made during the last harvest season. The tradition is to break the bread into individual servings with the fingers, rather than cut the bread with a knife. Legend goes that this protects one's wealth from bankruptcy in the coming year.

The "four beggars" portion of lez treize stands for four monastic communities: Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, and Franciscans. Walnuts stand for the Augustinians, almonds for the Carmelites, raisins for the Dominicans, and figs for the Franciscans. A platter of fresh fruit usually counts as one dessert, and is always served after Gros Souper. It can be a selection of oranges, apples, pears, and grapes. Any combination of seasonal fruit is welcome, and fresh berries rarely make the list, although they would be considered acceptable, as well.
Source: http://frenchfood.about.com/od/festivalsandholidays/tp/13-Desserts-Of-Christmas.htm

I found that really interesting and I wish that I was going to be here for Christmas to experience that. But also at the same time I am very happy that I will be home for Christmas with my family. J



French Pokemon Spelling Game. Who knew?

Tomorrow I have my trip to Gorges du Verdon and Riez, Le Lac de Sainte Croix, and Moustier Sainte Marie. For those of you keeping a map ;-) Mom.

Sore Throat :-(

Today I woke up with a sore throat. It pretty much has hurt all day. Dad says that it is because my ear is starting to drain so all the bacteria is ending up in my throat? But that’s pretty gross to think about and my ear isn’t feeling any better… I woke up and did normal morning stuff and then started playing Plants vs. Zombies 2 on my iPod. Pretty soon it was time to go to class so I headed out.

I had a lot of trouble concentrating in class because even though I slept really well I felt exhausted. I think I must have a cold or am getting sick or something. After class I went to my next class and talked about Tolstoys The Devil. I learned that it had two endings and I didn’t know that so I was a bit lost part of the tie until I figured that out. It was interesting though. I liked the story. 

After that I just decided to go home because I really wasn’t feeling up to much. So I came home and started reading my book when Madame came home. I told her my throat hurt and she made me a cup of tea with honey and half a lemon. It tasted not super great but it helped a bit. Then she went to the store and I took a little nap and then she came home and we went downstairs. Paul did his homework and Madame gave him a shower and then he started trying to play Plants v.s. Zombies. He didn’t really get it, but whatever. I had to stop watching because it was one of those things where he was doing it al wrong and it was painful to watch. But really it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t win. Laurence came home and we had wine and cracker stuff. Madame made these like bread with meat on them things but the meat looked and smelled like wet cat food and I really couldn’t do it. We talked about the states and stuff and it was fun. Paul was too busy trying to do PvZ to be too rowdy, which was nice. 

After that we came back upstairs and had salad and left over pizza. She also gave me two types of ham to try. The first one was fine but jambon cru I did not like. It was ham that was flavored in some way and then had lots of fat on it. I tried to eat it but I could tell I wasn’t going to be able to swallow it so I conveniently had to go to my room to take a pill and then promptly spit it out in my trashcan. I feel bad but I really have issues with my gag reflex… Then we watched Men in Black 2 which Madame liked. She thought it was funny. 

I don’t really have much to write today because I just tried to have a pretty calm day. I don’t feel great so there just isn’t much to say because I didn’t do much. I had a good day but just not very eventful.