Elizabeth/Elizabet

Ending Entry

2010-07-14T04:56:00.001+02:00

Strange to think I’ve been home for about four days now. It is strange I think because I’ve just been gone for all this time. I’ve looked back at my old blog entries form back in January and I remember just how unsure I was about all of this.

I would have never predicted the countless ways that I have developed myself and on so many levels. I read my blog especially from France and I become very satisfied by this.

Okay, so I’ve fulfilled the fantasy; I’ve traveled to Europe. I now have to decide what I’m going to do about it. I could very well leave it all alone and move on to a life stuck in the states and be happy about it as so many others I know are happy about it. They are truly happy as well. There is no hollowness to the satisfaction they feel in having gone to Europe just the one time. I don’t think they should feel any hollowness either. However, could I experience their same satisfaction? The trouble is I just don’t think so.

Which brings me to my next mission. How am I going to get back? I love the States. They are my home. But Europe is like a really good friend. You don’t just leave friends and forget to keep in contact with them. So I’ll have to leave this entry with something of a cliffhanger, annoying as it may be. Maybe it is better this way though. Travels shouldn’t be just a story but a chapter of one’s life story. That’s at least what this feels like the ending of one chapter and the creaky beginning of another. I hope to one day show up with more chapters like this hoping that this chapter analogy isn’t so cheesy you’ll just give up on me. In the meantime, I hope to find many other travel blogs that can give me some inspiration.

Last Blog Entry from France

2010-06-06T08:59:00.005+02:00

Why yes that is a two-story mechanical elephant! Spent yesterday in Nantes for one last petite excursion before I left France. Went with now-former CIDEF classmate and still fellow American, Jess from Michigan who came up with the idea in the first place. She hear about this thing from AHA and we told ourselves that it was just bizarre enough that we had to see it for ourselves. It is a part of a machine museum, in translation called, Machine Island, where engineers have the funnest job in the world just creating and building big toys like this for adults and kids to enjoy. This is the most popular attraction as the rest of the machines are usually hold just one person and are just on display for the most part.

Not a bad last day out. Besides, how many people can claim to have ridden a mechanical elephant in France?

Today, I'm packing up my suitcases completely, going to mass the St. Maurice's Cathedral (host family found out my love of organ music), and I am leaving on a 5:30AM train tomorrow for Paris where I will take a plane to London and begin the second part of my time in Europe.

Wasn't it the beginning of February yesterday?

But there is no way that it was just February. I don't feel like the same person who first came to France. She was "fresh off the boat" (or plane) so to speak with no clue of where she really was and what sort of people she was going to meet. A dreamy sense came over me as the plane began to touch down at Charles De Gaulle. I look back and wonder how it was I didn't manage to get lost in that huge airport and actually grab a train for Angers at the minute it left. I wonder how on earth Monsieur was able to understand by hesitant, nervous, and badly pronounced French, saying who I was and, oh, head's up, I'm passing Le Mans but I have no clue what that means (means btw that I was an hour away via TGV) and, um, can you pick me up, complete stranger who I don't know.

Still, it happened. It all really happened and I got through it all- no- I succeeded through it all. This place feels like a different sort of home to me in the definition of a place where I keep my heart. Four months and over fifty blogs later, this is not the Elizabeth who began writing about her wishes, problems, and thoughts on France in late winter. It is the middle of spring and this Elizabeth, who also responds to Elizabet, is writing to you now. I can't imagine how to better express how happy I am that I came here. I can only say that, well, then, maybe you should try something like it as well. The most dangerous thing you can do is to walk out your front door as J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote. But it is worth it.

Speaking of changes, I have one last kind of fun list on this France entry to share specifically some things (mainly preferences of food and drinks) that have changed. Some may be relateable. Others? Well, just trust that my judgment is working soundly enough.

Things that will never be the same for me:

Coffee: I thought I knew strong coffee. I know better now. Thank you Italian influence on the rest of the continent to show me what a real wake up is like. I’m currently looking at a stovetop espresso maker on the Internet. Jessica introduced me to hers and I think I’m in love.

Bread: Here is yet another thing that the French just do well. Adkins dieters better beware France. They love their carbs but they have every reason to do so. A baguette is so cheap but so delicious with a dream-inspired crunchy texture on the outside and soft and spongy white goodness on the inside.

Dessert: Presque obligatoire, one must always end a meal with a little something sweet. Here, it never has to be a big thing— just good. From something simple as fresh strawberries with a touch of whipped cream to deck-out cakes, the French accept it all. Before, dessert for me had to be something like cake, ice cream, some sort of candy or any like it but not now. Now, a good dessert is something sweet, simple, and just plain bon.

Cheese: France has more than enough types of cheeses to have a different cheese for every day of the year— no joke and enough said.

Cereal: Thank you again Jessica for introducing me to Weetabix. I’m not sure how to classify this crazy British creation. It is like cereal but sometimes with the consistency of oatmeal? I don’t know. I just love it and I must find it back at home somehow.

Wine: I can confidently say now that I “know” French wine or at least how the classification system here works and how to spot a decent bottle that I’ve never tried before. The problem though? That’s only when I’m in France. The French sell and label wines in different ways than the Americans. First, a cheap wine doesn’t mean a bad wine. Now if you buy a Euro fifty wine, that might be really bad, but just about anything around three Euros should be fine. There are rouges, blancs, and rosés…and champagne (a whole other category on its own). Champagne only comes from the region of Champagne in France. Everything else is sparkling wine. That isn’t a bad thing to drink it, but just don’t dare call it champagne. Other wines are also categorized by region simply enough despite the color. A Bordeaux is not always a rouge in other words. However, the grand majority of French rouge wine comes from this region so chances are if you’ve got a Bordeaux, it is a rouge. From what I understand, the Americans categorize their wines differently. I’ll have to go down the liquor section when I get back to survey the new system have to learn and probably hit the Internet/library.

Beer: I finally had beer for the first time here within about a week and after I got over the surrealism of walking into a bar with the knowledge that I was “legal.” It was a Kronenbourg, a standard brand in France. It isn’t all that bad and it is about the cheapest thing to get. So, okay, beer has been made accessible to me for the first time, I’ve got a ways to go on my exploration. England couldn’t be too bad of a place to continue on to.

Cocktails: I had no clue that America is basically THE country for a good cocktail and that we invented them. The breakdown seems to be (in French eyes so there's the disclaimer) that France (and, okay, Italy) can claim a good wine. Germany, Ireland, and the UK are beer cultures. Russia may claim anything that is too hard for anyone but a Russian to swallow. HOWEVER, a good cocktail is always found with the Americans.

50th Post and Last Day at CIDEF

2010-06-04T06:55:00.007+02:00

This week has gone by so quickly! Between visiting Paris one last time and then Chartres and doing it all between finals, it has been a little crazy over here. I visited the Pompidou Center and the Pantheon while in Paris, both the last things on my "To-See" list in Paris.

With Pompidou, the Louvre, and the d'Orsay, I've covered the most general view of French Art History. Pompidou was very fun and sometimes confusing but there's modern art for you sometimes! For me it was fun to see THE classic Dada art piece, "La Foutain," by Duchamp (as seen below).

I didn't buy a thing at the museum but I vote the Pompidou gift shop as the most fun museum gift shop I've ever been to (no pics as they were forbidden- sad). It has wonderful prints of all prices and the housewares section gives all sorts of ideas to make your home, too, just like a modern art museum...that is to say you'd actually want that.

How do I describe Chartres? I can't really except when I walked in the South Entrance the first things I noticed were the echoes of my footsteps that seemed to bounce off in all direction and the only thing on my mind was, "This is what someone fantasizes about when they think of being inside a cathedral." It is one of the most huge and magnificent made-man sites I've ever seen. I tried going around and taking pictures to fully illustrate how gorgeous and gigantic this building is, but found that to be a near impossible task. Like so many other sites, this one is under restoration now, too! I think I've been following a theme throughout France.

There is a special shrine to many French Catholics called Our Lady of the Pillar. It is a statue from the Middle Ages that has been appealed to by French children in times of crisis in France. Madame charged me with two Euros to light a prayer candle at the cathedral for my safe leave of France and for her family and my own. It was an immense honor.

Off to review some more this morning! Oral Expression is this morning and Art History in the afternoon. I got quite a lot to do!

Last Day of Classes

2010-05-28T18:56:00.007+02:00

It is so very hard to believe this changed scene from when I was writing on this small blog during my first days in France. Darkness seemed to last longer than home. Over half the time I was tongue-tied and feeling culturally out of place. Now it is spring in both the literal and figurative sense for me. Daylight reigns from six in the morning to past ten at night and I’ve made the mental transition from being just a citizen of the United States to being a citizen of the world (aka not culturally ignorant in the middle of France).

This has been one busy week and next week will be even busier. Well, I can’t even say that. I’m already starting finals tomorrow. We had a class party in my General Language class. That is what the pictures are from save the ones with people on the stage. That is to be explained in a little bit. The "fête" was incredibly fun. I was trying all sorts of food like stir-fry, sushi, “rice made the correct way,” and quiche among other dishes.

My peanut butter cookies were very much appreciated by every one of the Asian cultures in my class, which was an honor. Many of the girls take cooking very seriously as was evident by their attention to their food that they brought and also how much food they brought. Much of their conversation between each other was on each other recipes and techniques. At least, that is what one Chinese classmate translated for me (Incredibly nice of him. He just started doing it when I expressed a curiosity about the Chinese language.).

We also got to exchange cultural information was well. Our Japanese classmate explained the fundamental rules of etiquette with chop sticks and our Taiwanese classmate explained that often women in her region will hold chopsticks in certain ways to show what sort of man they would be interested in marrying. It was a very multilingual scene, as those who spoke Chinese would sometimes have to converse with each other for translation help and then sometimes turn to Anglophones like me to ask what the French word was for some English words. Crazy, but fun.

Earlier this week I attended the International Soiree. One of the best activities I think that CIDEF offers, it is just necessary to go. It is not often one gets to live and study in such an international setting and have the chance to enjoy the cultural gifts of so many nationalities in one night.

After I post this, I’ll be returning to studying for my test tomorrow. I predict it to be the hardest so it is great to be able to get it over with from the start. After that, time is going to pass by very busy and very fast but I’m determined to write still. I need something to make me pause and reflect before I go crazy from stress.

Weekend at the Beach

2010-05-24T18:56:00.000+02:00

For the weekend before finals (aka: last stress-free extended period of time), I went to the beach with a couple of Anglophones from CIDEF. I almost wish I could say we did a whole lot of exciting things but both Saturday and Sunday basically went like this:

Mid-morning: Arrive at the train station and take train to beach

Close to noon: Arrive at beach and find a market and bakery for impromptu picnic goods

After noon: Pick spot on beach and eat

Later: Sleep

After That: Go into the ocean…a really cold ocean

A Little After That After That: Eat a little more and promptly take another nap

Over An Hour Till the Next Train: Walk around the streets with ice cream stands and pretty vacation homes

Late Afternoon: Leave for Angers on train

Late Evening: Get back and have a late dinner at respective residences

Day one took place at La Baule, a well-to-do- beach town, and the next day was at Les Sables d’Olonne, also a vacation town but more family-friendly.

Sadly enough I didn’t take any photos. I forgot my camera for La Baule and the next day I thought that I should limit my number of electronics at the beach anyway between wind and sand ruining them.

Definitely, I’m ready for tomorrow and the rest of this final week of classes. Just this afternoon I made dozens of peanut butter cookies, another hit with my host family! The rest I will be bringing to the end-of-the semester party in my general language class. Finals begin this Saturday afternoon for me but then I don’t have any exams on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. I predict using at least Monday and Wednesday for balancing between studying and traveling. My last Sunday will be for final preparation but Saturday is a mystery. Perhaps Paris? We’ll see how well my packing has gone along throughout the week!

Closing In On Time (and Money)

2010-05-21T19:22:00.001+02:00

Well it certainly feels like the closing of the semester! I have about two weeks left until I leave for England and I’m amazed that I’m getting so close to it. Next week is my actual last week of classes and then come the “lovely” final exams. Had an Irish classmate the other day mention she thought it was weird and funny that Americans call end-of-the-semester exams “finals.” Apparently the Irish just call them “exams.” “Finals” are the exams you take at the very end of your degree. I had no good response for a reason behind it. “Finals” I admit does have a dramatic sense of, well, finality to it and in that sense is kind of silly.

This weekend I plan on going to another seaside Atlantic town called La Baule. I’ll be going with Halifax-native, Mitchell, who convinced me to go with him just yesterday. Originally he wanted to go to Poitiers, as that is where his ancestors are from before they came to Canada, but he hadn’t realized before that Poitiers is a three-hour trip. La Baule on the other hand is less than an hour to get to. Hope I have something good to share later!

In the meantime with my time in France ending, slowly I’m creating a list of things I’m going to miss here. The coffee for one thing and the plethora of small businesses are the first two that come to mind. This is not to say I have a rosy view of Europe and certainly not France. I just appreciate this country that has become more and more familiar to me. I will certainly not miss the train strikes or the eighty-euro budget hotel rooms (breakfast costing extra). I’ll gladly leave those behind.

Actually, thinking of expensive hotel rooms, France in general I have to say is expensive. Perhaps a rule of thumb would be that Europe just gets more expensive the farther West and/or South you go. Italy from my CIDEF classmates can be worse than France. Spain isn’t so cheap either. Ireland makes France look not look so bad anymore. England (thanks to their rejection of the euro) can be just simply painful to the student’s budget.

It is funny how the end of the semester is putting personal budget dread on almost everyone. Suddenly spending one more night at the bars, an afternoon shopping, or a day trip with the train suddenly has lost spark with many. I’m doing the same as always but with more attention as I’m trying to avoid any more visits to the ATM. I’ve budgeted and set aside the rest of the money I owe my host family on extra rent meals, food not at the host family’s house, stamped postcards, treats for the folks back home, future TGV reservation fees (I would really like at least one last day trip to Paris!), Metro fees, extra Angers bus tickets for June and so on. I think I can do it but it shall indeed be close!

Of course one cannot but look back and wonder, “Okay, where was it where I would have done things differently or could have cut back earlier?” This is not to say I’m full of regret. I can’t change my past mistakes and it was them that taught me some very good lessons about France.

Things I wish I had known for my own financial benefit before coming to France:

Sundays and a plethora of holidays can really put a damper on your travel plans if you don’t know how to work with them. Know the system.

Speaking of knowing the system. ALWAYS and I do mean ALWAYS be on the alert for a train strike. France is known for them. The French tend to pay very close attention if they use the trains frequently. When traveling in France, it is advisable to pay just as much attention as them.

Bakeries but especially grocery stores are your best friends when it comes to getting cheap eats that doesn’t come with fries

Makeup and hygiene products with few exceptions such as hair removal products can kill the wallet with prices an American can never conceive of without seeing it for themselves. In Angers, very close to the Monoprix, I highly, highly recommend SAGA for such things if at all possible. They act as an outlet for multiple name brands makeup, cleansers, shampoos, etc. These are very good brands at that.

A hotel or hostel easily having just as good of a deal as back home for the price will probably not happen as long as you are in Western Europe. It is best to accept and grab one or more travel buddies to split the cost with you.

When buying a rail pass, go conservative. There will be times when you just want to chill in Angers. I overestimated how much I would be able to travel but can at least say that though I probably saved no money with my rail pass, I generally broke even. I can live that that….or at least I have to live with that. For the most flexibility, if I could do it all over, I’d forget getting a rail pass in the States and go with SNCF’s student card which takes 50% over any and all train tickets you buy from them. In the end, it is probably a better and certainly more flexible situation. I didn’t realize that my pass would limit me as much as it did.

La Rochelle

2010-05-16T17:18:00.006+02:00

So ends another lovely weekend.

I traveled to the well-loved town of La Rochelle for Friday and Saturday. It was rather perfect timing because there was an international cliff diving championship at the main port all weekend. Artists, farmers, and antique owners took advantage of the large number of people and I had many markets to peruse on both days.

I took this picture at one of the two food markets going on mainly for my mom who loves olives. Olive stands like this one are very personal with customers naturally and are always happy and proud to have their olives tasted before bought.
There was only one metal artist I found at the art fair. I loved the wine bottle holders with their very supple and improvised designs. At 25 euros each, they weren't too bad in price as well! Didn't buy one though. I really don't know what I'd do with a wine bottle holder upon returning home even with my new-found love of wine as when I come back I still have a bit of time til I'm of legal drinking age.

On Saturday I spent all morning at the Aquariam at La Rochelle. It is a wonderful and well-varied collection of fish from almost all over the world. I apparently came at the exact time and day that all the French families in La Rochelle had choosen to come as well. Children were EVERYWHERE. Both sometimes annoying but incredibly cute, they certainly were as fun to watch as the fish.

I've been really neglecting my collection themes of dogs and American things so here I have at least some more French dog pictures. My favorite was finding the Pomeranian in the comic book store.

Countdown, trying to keep my head, and Cointreau

2010-05-11T20:41:00.003+02:00

It is easy to say that it is countdown time at CIDEF. Yet, I don't know if I can say I'm feeling that things are getting any livelier around here. We have two and a half weeks until finals but this weekend is a four day weekend due to the Ascension and the next weekend is three days due to Pentecost. As a result, there is this mixed and confused sense of not having much time and yet a lot simultaneously. As a heads up, I'll been heading off on Friday to the seaside Atlantic town of La Rochelle. It isn't well known by the foreigners but it would seem to be a French favorite. I reason that if it inspires French sighs of envy when I mention going there, it has got to be worth my time. The forecast does call for rain which inspires no shock or sadness in me as the weather has been miserable for the past week and a half. The natives are as disappointed with the weather as the foreign students. This May has been exceptionally cold and wet. Thankfully La Rochelle is more than just the beach. It has one of France's best maritime museums and one of its largest aquariums. I don't swim all the great anyway and my skin's so pale I'd probably burn before I getting a decent tan.

Both of these future long weekends are French national holidays with obligatory paid vacation with they fall on a working day as with all others. These past two Saturdays were national holidays as well. Meaning? France is as closed down on those days as if it were Sunday. Needless to say perhaps, I didn't use the train yet again this past Saturday but my good luck landed me an invite to the Cointreau distillery with AHA (American Heritage Association in association with the University of Oregon. This whole time I've forgotten to explain that.)

Cointreau is a French hard liquor and is made only in Angers. The tour ended with a taste test and here myself and other female Americans who have gone to the French bars had a good comparison talk between of a French girl's and an American girl's attitude to hard liquor. For almost all of us, we found Cointreau to definitely be a hard liquor but an incredibly sweet and rather feminine in taste because of it. That is not to say that that is a bad thing. In fact, I fell in love with it. In contrast though to our reaction, while drunk by both sexes in France Cointreau has traditionally been more popular with French men than women. Currently, the Cointreau PR people have explained, they are studying the ad campaigns of American liquor companies to try and attract a more feminine group of buyers.

The building of the distillery itself is deceptive on the outside. It looks incredibly small for what it houses. Unfortunately, you'll have to either take my word for it or go to Angers yourself because photography the majority of the tour is forbidden. I still have the distillers themselves to put up!

Computer Issues and Food

2010-05-07T08:46:00.000+02:00

Well, if you have been following my statuses on Facebook you know that my life hasn’t been so boring as not to write about it. The stress of final exams is rising and the countdown probably started as soon as we all got back from spring vacation. Yesterday I was having an awful time trying to figure out what was wrong with my battery and/or power adapter for my Macbook. It kept on saying that the battery wouldn’t charge but the computer was using whatever energy the power adapter was giving. After some advice from a Macbook whiz friend from EIU via Facebook I realized that I would probably have to look into a new power adapter or at the very least a new two pronged extension for it. As many Macbook users probably know, a Macbook power adapter comes with two different prongs to attach to it, a two pronged short one as in it is like plugging the adapter itself into the wall and then a longer more “typical” looking three-pronged extension cord. It is the two pronged one that is in the worst shape. Monsieur and I discovered that until I return home and look into the two-pronged attachment, I can still use my three-prong with my two pronged European plug converter. I look on this paragraph and see how complicated it can be with computers.

During the day itself while trying to figure out my problem, I must have looked more upset than I was because Madame later said she was certain I was ready to cry any minute the morning I made the discovery. Later, I cursed up a storm at life itself in the AHA office only to stop myself and feel like an impolite idiot when Sue looked at me and said, “You realize of course that it isn’t the end of the world if you just don’t happen to have a computer with you? It isn’t like we’re not surrounded by computers and Internet already.”

Feeling rude and somewhat dejected I took up the offer of another American to walk and talk with her into downtown so she could get a set of headphones for Skype and we could both get lunch. Taking her up on the offer was the best decision I’ve made all week at least. I felt so much better and it reminded me of talking about my favorite places to grab lunch in Angers. While we didn’t go to any of these places, these are my regular places to go and some of them are very popular with other students, too.

Ali Baba

Ali Baba is one of the few havens a vegetarian can go to in Angers. It is also the most lusciously decorated place I’ve eaten at for just a sandwich. The ceilings are draped in lush yellow and blue oriental cloth. Intricate Lebanese artwork is all over the walls with Middle Eastern lamps flanking them. It is just incredibly nice looking for such a laid back eatery. Being a vegetarian (not to actually say I am one) in France and going out to restaurants isn’t always easy. At least that is so if one is outside of the larger cities like Paris. The French have a passion for meat that I believe could rival many Americans. So it is a good idea to be assertive in order to find food that isn’t only meatless but nutritional. As much as I love cheese, I doubt if I were a vegetarian I would want to eat cheese and tomato sandwiches almost every single day when going out. While Ali Baba may be the only one I’ve got one this list for being veg-friendly, I can add that vegetarians in France have their best bets going ethnic while dining in France. The Lebanese restaurants are a good bet as well as the Indian restaurants. Any basic Sushi establishment should have something and generally as long as you shoot for heritages with some sort of Buddhist influence, you’re good to go. Good luck in a traditional French restaurant. At least it should be interesting.

Go for: the best-priced falafels in Angers, handmade Lebanese bread, Lebanese fries, a decent vegetarian menu in general, a well-decorated room for a casual lunch, charming Lebanese cooks

Avoid it for: sometimes-drafty rooms, a sandwich no cheaper than 3.50 euros

Sidi Bou Said

They guys got me into their restaurant early on in the semester and I do believe my initial interest was their warmer than average kitchen in the middle of February. Enough said there. How this husband-wife duo kept me coming was their fries, the cheap sandwiches of which I can choose not to have mayo and/or cheese, and mint tea with everything I order. Their tea in particular is done in something of a Moroccan style.

The Albanians, the Moroccans, and the Lebanese all serve mint tea in their eateries in France but they all do it slightly differently. By my experience, the Moroccans serve a sweeter tea. The Albanians serve a stronger tea. The Lebanese serve it not too sweet, not too strong, but always with lots of fresh mint leaves pounded and placed in the cup before pouring the tea itself. I like them all for their little nuances.

The fries and the bread in this establishment are done “a la maison.” This is always a good sign on a menu because that means they make it themselves by hand. It is one of the few places that I can eat fries without too much guilt besides Ali Baba only because though I’m eating junk food, at least it is really good junk food.

Go for: some of the cheapest, hot sandwiches in town (2.20 euro for a ham and veggie sandwich that for once has NO cheese and NO mayo), the fries, tea that comes with every meal

Avoid it for: the preteens who crowd in here at noon time so it can be better to just get your sandwich to go

Asia Wok

This is a place that just opened this semester. I pick it for best place to go when you’re just sick of eating bread. This is a stir-fry establishment and also vegetarian friendly. Woks are ordered custom made with choices of rice, different noodles, veggies, sauces, and meat. If you’re looking for a spicy stir-fry in this French-tailored “Asian” eatery, you wont get it. I mean, yes, they do have “spicy” on the menu but it is impossible to find spicy amongst the French. I only find this an issue because spicy is my favorite taste. I’m not happy until I’m looking for a gallon of milk. I’ve just accepted that French cuisine, while rich and full of flavor will never be able to touch the world of spice. Thank heavens for the North African, Middle Eastern, and Asian immigration wave in France yet again.

Go for: the meat choices that include kangaroo, a meal guaranteed with no bread, the only place I’ve found in Angers where you can eat mung beans and soy noodles.

Avoid it for: lack of seating except the four-stool bar…stuck in a corner, sodium intake, crowds at noon

Grignotine (forgive me as I’ve probably misspelled it somewhat)

Might as well ignore those other sandwich-selling bakeries if you want to stretch your euro. For the price of just a sandwich at a bakeries, you can get a sandwich, a pastry, and a drink here.

Go for: a quick, well-priced lunch, a sandwich with whole grain bread, some of the cheapest pastries in town

Avoid it for: the inevitable, mayo (this is no “Have It Your Way” joint)

Resto-U

This is the University Restaurant but everyone calls it the Resto or Resto-U. This is where you will get the best meal at the lowest price possible. The food it typical French and is sometimes an adventure. If you won’t eat it if you can’t recognize and/ or pronounce it, I wouldn’t suggest ever coming here. If you want to eat what the French typically eat on a budget, come here as much as you can. There is also dishes here that you will not typically see in an American cafeteria simply enough. How often really can one pay just 2.90 euros for salmon served with a white wine cream sauce as the main dish? Not very often.

Go for: the best priced meal to be had for a student, trying new food

Avoid it for: really noisy setting, mysterious dishes

The Art of Doing Nothing for a Weekend

2010-05-01T08:38:00.003+02:00

I can't believe I'm doing this, but towards the end of the week I had to make the decision to not travel this weekend as today is France's version of Labor Day. That means that everything runs about as much as on Sunday so the country is on semi-shutdown for two days in a row.

At least I'm getting used to it.

It is four weeks until finals and five weeks until I go to England. I'm about halfway through my reading list now, having made myself just sit down and finish Wuthering Heights already.

This weekend is not to be completely wasted though. I've got a writing assignment for my general language class to do, Dracula to start, and my family finally requested White Chili for Sunday lunch. White chili sounds great I have to say for this weekend. Another good reason to not be traveling somewhere right now besides the lack of working things is the rainy forecast. All the wonderful, warm weather from this past week is gone unfortunately.

I'd say that is enough to keep me busy.

For the blog, I'm in the middle of coming up with two other lists. One concerns itself with my favorite "cheap" eats in Angers and the other is about what I will miss here. One of my Canadian classmates is right along with me and we spent all of dinner before Mardi Cafe talking about things we will be sorry to leave behind here. It is great that I've loved this place enough to have a list about it! It will also be something of an extension of an earlier post about 10 things in France I wish existed in the U.S.

Spring Vacation Review (part 3, Provence and goodies from the States)

2010-04-26T21:51:00.004+02:00

Because of my sudden train rescheduling, I stayed in Avignon just long enough to enjoy Le Palais des Papes but I’m not complaining. It is one of the more intriguing parts of Catholic history to learn about and the political and religious chaos it inspired. Loved of the artistic touches the popes of Avignon incorporated everywhere. There is so much Italian influence, one might get the feeling that Avignon was something of a copy of Vatican in Rome. To butcher an over-used phrase structure, you can take the Pope out of Italy but you can take Italy out of the Pope. The principal part of Avignon interestingly enough is still surrounded by fortifications. Upon arriving, it really does look like one is stepping into the Middle Ages while getting off the train and walking through centuries-old town gates and down twisting and narrow cobblestone streets.

I admit to spending most of my time either in a museum, cathedral, or café. In Aix I went to a café I remember first reading about in Mrs. Hester's French class at Routt, Les Deux Garçons. Simply enough it is famous for attracting many celebrities and politicians including several Hollywood elite, British Prime Ministers, and, my favorite, Edith Piaf. I had the best, probably most expensive cappuccino in my life.

Worth it? Oh, yes and I might have passed off for another French person again if I hadn't been all photo-happy. Instead as usual the waiter inquired if I was British. I have never had any European guess my real nationality unless I'm with other Americans. Funny.

Almost every other day there is a huge clothing market on the main street that starts "early" in the morning at 9:00. I woke by southern standards then on Thursday, got a café, and discussed the fabric of Provence with a stall owner who could have kept me entertained all day why working out deals on table clothes and various textile goods. Charm seems to come naturally for the French as it did for this stall owner. That is though when they wish to show it. When it does show, it is hard to not fall for it a little.

That same market is also perfect for souvenir shopping as the typical things one brings home like lavender sachets and soap are usually a euro cheaper than at a place like Monoprix or Carrefour (think tiny French Walmarts). They are about two euros cheaper than at the train station. A general seems to be that everything is more expensive at the train station. Lesson to be learned: always go local because you tend to get the best price.

And when I got home, my books for my studies in England! At this point from Friday, I've finished Pride and Prejudice and am half-way through Wuthering Heights. I want to be clear though that the only reason I'm going through very complex plots so quickly is because I've already read them several times before in my life, Wuthering Heights especially takes me back to my days at Routt and the months I had to study it under Mrs. Kirkpatrick.

Along with that was my Mom and Dad’s latest care package where Mom sent me two “American” t-shirts including the red one with Wonder Woman, Super Girl, and Bat Girl. For a twenty-year-old it may be cheesy state-side but my host family approved heartily as things like Marvel comics are among the “cool” things that come from the States. Wonder Woman, Europeans seem to get. Baseball t-shirts….not so much.

Dad, the wonderful man, sent me organic, very, very American things like water crackers, peanut butter, and chocolate chip granola bars. In addition, he tucked in some Kellogg blueberry cereal bars. Only Dad sends me ANYTHING blueberry-flavored, like a kind of signature meaning “Love, Dad.” Mom got some peanut butter Kashi bars in there as well. More Orbit gum came as well as real Honey Nut Cheerios. I’ve seen them in French Grocery stores once and that was in Aix-en-Provence. However it looked, well, just not like my Honey Nut Cheerios.

Dad, clever and lucky man, succeeded in sticking it to air mail regulations and got one more bottle of nail polish to me; Sally Hanson “Instra-Dri polish in “Wined Up.” It is the perfect dark color for hands with short nails and pale skin. It was hidden in a bundle of precious individualized Arizona Tea and Crystal Light drink packets. These instantly intrigued Madame as I got the impression that she had heard of these low-calorie, wonderful-tasting packets of joy so I’ll have to have her sample some. I have NEVER seen or heard of them at least in France. They’re missing out! I have quite a few but even so, I must ration out to keep it lasting. Does it at all seem that I kind of like these things? (Insert here sarcastic voice)

Spring Vacation Review (part 2, Strasbourg)

2010-04-25T09:46:00.006+02:00

Strasbourg made for an appropriate transition from German into French culture. It is a very European city. Not French, not German, not Belgium, not anything in particular, but it is European. Most likely this is due to the presence of one of the EU headquarters as well as the European Council (a completely different thing I’m told but I’ve yet to understand their necessity with the presence of the EU. Working on it.). During my day spent in Strasbourg, it was quite lively because the next day the EU was going to start another session. I went to la Cathedral Notre Dame de Strasbourg.

Once you see enough churches in person, you start picking out the little details that make each one different and interesting. What made this cathedral very interesting was the astronomical clock. It is a very complicated and sophisticated piece of machinery for its time of construction in the mid 16^th century. It was depended upon to calculate the date of Easter every year following the very complex Gregorian calendar. Implication being made here is that this ability is impressive.

It is also incredibly accurate in measuring the alignment of the planets and the zodiac. Yep, I said zodiac and it is in a church. However, considering the context of when the clock was built, it was during a time when every European court had its own court astrologist (or a team of them) and dates were evaluated and prioritized based on heavenly alignment. Today, I admit, it seems slightly bizarre.

Afterward, I visited the museums for local archeology, decorative objects, and fine arts. In Strasbourg it is incredibly easy to do so as all three reside in the same palace that was once built by a local and powerful cardinal.

Conveniently enough, the boat tours are right next to the palace so I was able to go there next. Rivers surround the central part of Strasbourg and so boat rides make for a practical and fun tour.

Yes, I did the tourist thing but it was at least not expensive and the French and Germans surrounded me and no Asians could be found so I deemed the experience authentic enough.

Not too many non-Europeans make it out to “that neck of the woods” in Europe. It is really too bad. It is a pleasant city with all the aesthetics of French life like the architecture and a public transportation system that must have been German-inspired being easy and efficient to use even for a complete stranger like me. It is the best of both worlds. For all Anglophones out there, head to the books stores in the center squares of the city. Most of them are English bookshops. That is just an FYI.

As an off side note, you know you’re missing the states when you get the urge to crank up some country music. Realizing some ways he is not really country, I’m finding myself listening to a lot of Johnny Cash lately. It is not that I didn’t like him before but I think I’ve fallen in love with him now.

Spring Vacation Review (part 1, Transportation, An Adventure in Inself)

2010-04-24T12:15:00.006+02:00

Oh, goodness. What a vacation. Both relaxing and sometimes high-pressured, out of nine individual trains three were canceled due to the strike still going on and that continued during the Iceland volcano chaos. The volcano never once affected my two weeks of vacation save giving something to watch on CNN and a reason for an Irishman on one of my trains to call me a “f**king yank.” In his defense he said it with a very Irish, very charming smile.
Thankfully when I did run into problems the ticket people of France are amongst the quickest working and creative of problem solvers I’ve come across. There was an estimation given to me by one in Nîmes that there’s some sort of strike every month. I think it could be assumed that they are used to working around this sort of thing. I remain glad that such a reputation stays in France all the same.

In the meantime, as my time traveling was nothing compared to the rest of the world I took photos. The appropriateness of it, I don't know but after being in train stations during times of clam and then suddenly those chaotic times, it was a wonder for me to observe all the lines and craziness.
Strasbourg was so full on the inside, people were even waiting outside of the train station so as not to be too crowded in.

Of course, I had to notice that humans weren't the only ones in the middle of the problems. Dogs had to be delayed form just getting home as well.

So really that covers it on the transportation side of things. Thank you all for thoughts, prayers, encouraging words, everything!.

Another List and leaving Avignon Today

2010-04-21T08:50:00.000+02:00

As I’m in the middle of going to Aix-en-Provence from Avignon this morning, I realize I have learned quite a bit about traveling in my short time in France. I’ve only used the public system to get around France and that can be…kinda chaotic for an American. You never know when the trains will strike or nature will interfere. You also never know the people you’ll meet along the way. My most recent episode was announced on my Facebook status. Thanks to the strike (that is still going on despite the Iceland volcano trouble), my overnight to Avignon last night was canceled. I had to be open enough to not only change my ticket that had me spend a good part of my day on the train on Tuesday but also find and book a hotel in the middle of the volcano crisis AND on the night before the EU returned to session. That equals expensive, hard-to-find rooms. Sometimes it helps playing the desperate-looking, young foreign female in France to the right people. I’m very certain I wasn’t suppose to pay close to what I did in Strasbourg’s current state but the Hotel Vendrome pulled through for me.
So with the various episodes I’ve been through, I’ve come up with a list of sorts of all the things on my part that I credit to having helped me out many a time.

Things that every traveler needs (but especially if you’re a twenty-something female traversing about France)

A good, all-weather coat: As you might have already noticed. I use a khaki London Fog trench coat. It is well made to put up with all sorts of abuse from hard wind and rain to being used as an impromptu picnic blanket. It also as two deep pockets that are only easy to access by the person wearing said coat. To cap it off, a trench is akin to a scarf in Europe: a must-have. Key wardrobe pieces like this that serve at least two purposes for the everyday are invaluable. Note that, for me, one good purpose is just fashionably blending in. Appearances, when you’re interacting with almost no one but strangers, are EVERYTHING.

A scarf that can go from winter/fall to spring/summer: Guys, this even includes you. Yes, shocking perhaps for American guys, but Europeans including guys use scarfs in their year-round wardrobe. It is a simple way to make your limited wardrobe suddenly very unlimited. They can also be double as half-blankets on cold trains.

A high quality bag(s): This is what I’ve got: one very large rolling suitcase, one Osprey brand Porter 40 that converts from backpack to carrying suitcase, one Incase laptop backpack, my small, turquoise HOBO purse, and my beloved Longchamp khaki patent leather purse. I admit that the two purses are MAYBE overkill but my excuse is that I’m what my mom refers to me as “a bag lady.” The indispensables are my suitcase and backpacks. The just SUPER, super, super nice-to-have’s are the purses. However, as a woman spending time in ridiculously feminie France, I’ll say that at least one purse is needed. I can’t imagine lugging around a backpack as an alternative.

An easy to care for, nice haircut: Again, I’m mentioning the “appearances” point. I know. I know. We’re taught from being very little “appearances aren’t everything.” I’ll just take you to the side and explain that in this situation, it is best to ignore that a little bit. When no one knows you, they need something to start off with to start trusting you. For me, I like an easy-to-care-for cut because if I’m getting up for a 6:10AM train, I will want as much sleep as I can get beforehand and that means I don’t have a bunch of time to look like a decent person. Decently looking equals decently helped, as I’ll continue to explain.

A credit card that works overseas: Refer to one of my previous entries on that one.

A sewing kit: Europe=Expensive and so it is wise to always have someway to not have to depend on buying replacements for clothing if it breaks, rips, etc. Actually, this rule could apply for a lot of other things that you own.

A first aid kit: May sound girl scout-ish (which I was by the way) but when you’re as clumsy as me or you walk as much as me, your little scraps and blisters will thank you for the extra protection as they’re trying to heal.

An amazing pair of walking shoes: Walking=blisters EXCEPT when you have a good pair of shoes. I think I’ve made only one bad shoe decision here (Jessica knows what I’m talking about as she helped me discover it). Lesson to be learned: buy wisely and very, very carefully. You will be walking miles everyday.

Enduring sense of awareness: The world isn’t evil but it’s no angel either. I have personally trained myself to place certain important items in certain places in my pocket/bag/money belt/etc. and then always be aware of them. I failed in doing this one time during March and I lost my wonderful red leather gloves to what was probably a pickpocket. The best thing about those gloves besides being in my favorite color was that they were actually small enough for my hands. Size 6 isn’t always easy to find.

An open mind and flexible attitude: Life is always changing and it always seems that when you start moving faster then it does, too. Be ready for it all and sometimes being creative about it. I had to give up my whole day in Avignon for just an evening thanks to the French strike. Earlier, on my way to Baden-Baden, I had to switch to an earlier train, missing class, in going to Paris to catch another train to get across the border. Crazy, it can just be crazy sometimes. Ah, well, I can at least claim that I know the French train system after this.

A sense of adventure: Again it is the nature of traveling. Don’t just be willing, but be excited to try out fois gras or escargot. Imagine being Anothony Bourdain or something. If a world-class chef isn’t afraid to try crazy stuff, and this goes for outside of food as well, shouldn’t we all take the same attitude? On top of that, is the likeliness to visit and experience all those great things you won’t find in the guidebooks. Be like a native you’ll come home with great stories. This I can guarantee.

A great smile: This could possibly be the most important thing to pack. No one will want to help you, approach you, or (most importantly) even play with the idea of doing a favor for you if you go around looking like a grump. A lot of situations I’ve gotten in, from canceled trains to just rather high museum ticket prices were made into much better experiences because people just found me to be worth it.

Here’s to hoping the rest of my transportation is blissfully boring!

Being in Strasbourg

2010-04-19T09:33:00.000+02:00

Well, it has been interesting for me in traveling recently with this Iceland volcano business going on. As the Internet that I’m able to get right now is really weak compared to what I’m used to, I’m a little hesitant in uploading pics of Baden-Baden at the moment. I want to be able to at least contact people via e-mail, Facebook, and all that good stuff so I’m currently holding off on trying anything that might tax it.

I arrived last night from Germany into Strasbourg, France. My train was over ten minutes late due to what I understand as Europe’s sudden influx of train travelers right now. I will be taking my very first overnight train tonight. Should be very interesting under the current circumstances.

For those of you who haven’t heard about the volcano exploding over in Iceland, I highly suggest looking into it. It has truly affected all of Europe and the rest of the world in many ways. Many project that this will slow the current economic recovery that Europe was just starting. Everyday, airlines lose millions in profit and any other business dependant on transportation is put on hold as well.

In the meantime, the people I am meeting on my travels have become more interesting. On the train back to France, I meet up with a group of travelers who kind of just banded together with the only commonality of trying to get to London. There was a Croatian, an Irishman, a Polish woman and her French Canadian husband. I introduced myself as I could have either creepily listened in on everything or just made myself open. They asked me where I was from and where I was going. I told them I came from the States but I’m not going back until July. The Irish guy shook his head and called me a Yank with a cursing adjective…okay, a couple of cursing adjectives. He was actually a charming person, just colorful.

I hope to take in a general view of Strasbourg today, continue reading the books I need for this coming summer session in England in seven weeks, maybe find a local brew. Jessica got me turned on to European micro-brews., particularly this one from her hometown called “Der Vogel.” I probably butchered that spelling and I hope the German speakers with forgive and correct me. The trick will just be getting a hold of the stuff in the States. In my exploration of beer in Europe, it is my favorite so far. I can’t drink Kronenbourg so contently ever again.

My sympathies and best of luck to all who are just trying to get home right now. As a fellow traveler, my heart is with you.

Friedrichsbad, something a little different

2010-04-15T15:13:00.000+02:00

How to know you’re in Europe is when you stop and notice that you’re twenty years old and drinking wine in public while writing a blog on your Mac about your nude spa day.

And this is where I stop everything and quickly and honestly assure all my good, American culture-raised friends and family that this is one of Europe’s most respected and repudiated spas. It is just that, well, it is German.

To explain, if I were to pin an adjective on the Germans it would be “clean.” I do not mean the germ phobic sort of clean. The atmosphere is too relaxed for that. I mean the sort of clean that specifically calls for separate and strict sets of dishrags and floor rags in the kitchen*. I mean the sort of clean that demands rigorous and law-enforced recycling everywhere. I also mean the sort of clean that calls for Friedrichsbad to be a nude spa because it is hard to imagine getting into a bath tub in a swimming suit and expecting to be as clean as if you just went in nude.

I also want to point out that Friedrichsbad is unique in being a nude spa as not all spas in Germany are like that but those same spas also have focuses away from cleanliness, A good example is the other major spa in Baden-Baden, Caracalla, that uses bathing suits and focuses more on a swimming pool-like experience. They rely on using jets and temperature rather than simple cleaning properties of the mountain mineral water. One must already be clean before entering the facilities of Caracalla.

I found no issue with being nude for a couple of reasons. First, as a nude spa every expects everyone to be...nude. Making a fuse can be more embarrassing than just sucking it up and going in. Second, just because people are nude doesn’t mean that only “the beautiful people” go there. To give an idea, the typical Baden-Baden dweller is either ancient, sick, or really, really passionate about their health. So regular people go to the spas here and they are of ALL ages (as long as they are over fourteen—spa rules) and ALL body types. Twenty somethings like me come. Eighty- and ninety- somethings come. From the skinniest man to the most round woman, EVERYONE is there and doing the same thing in the same facilities. No one cares if you have something like cellulite, a huge scar, a wart, or whatever is there. Everyone else has their own inperfections. Looking at it that way, it is almost freeing being in an environment like that. Don’t think I’ll be joining a nudist colony anytime soon though!

So how does this Friedrichsbad Spa “thing” work one might ask. That is a good question as I’m sure that there is nothing else like it in the world.

Entering the spa is something like entering a building that should be like a town hall, a museum, or some official public service building. Of course, one has to remember, this is Baden-Baden, roughly translated as “Bath-Bath.” Bathing here is a necessary service unto the public. This is why you come and this is why the spas in Baden-Baden are one of the few luxuries available not just to the rich few. For 31€ I chose not just the bath but also the optional brush-and-soap massage. Note that this is the most expensive option. Forgoing the massage, one pays 21€. After studying in not-so-cheap France for two months, this is an awesome deal.

The receptionist directs you to the changing rooms; boys on the left, girls on the right. Certain days of the week will allow you and your partner of the opposite sex go to the same changing room and bath side-by-side. Otherwise men and women are completely separate save for stages ten and eleven that are full bathes.

Walking into an open changing room, you simply undress, take a provided towel and put things like your clothes and all necessary cosmetics for after the bath in a locker. You are able to lock it with a special chip on your wrist like a watch that keeps with you throughout the visit. It is important to note that the only things you take with you now are your towel, your chip, and yourself.

An attendant will always be waiting outside the locker room to help you get started and direct as the experience can seem complicated the first time going through. “Bathing” is really done in steps. This particular spa was designed after the ancient Roman bathes and the experience is divided up into 17 stages. As I mentioned before, this is something very unique.

Stage one is the showers. Very straight forward, soap is provided and initial “dirtiness” is washed away.

Stage two and three are air bathes. They are just like saunas but with gorgeously decorated tiles, murals, and decorated ceilings. Chairs and lounges made of fragrant wood are provided to lie down or sit with a towel. The first room is 54° C (129.2° F), followed by the next room, which is 68°C (154.4°F).

Stage four brings you right back to the showers and the massage if you requested it. Then you continue on to stages five and six for the Thermal steam bath, the most unique part of the spa. Friedrichsbad is the only place in the world that has a Thermal steam room powered solely and uninhibitedly by the steam and heat of the earth. 45° C (154.4°F) is found at the bottom of the room. For 48°C (118.4°F) (and a higher concentration of the mineralized steam) you must sit on the stone platforms in the middle of the room. Because everyone is nude, mats are obligatory and given out for hygiene on the same used surface. I think it also makes sitting on rock a lot more comfortable, bathing suit or not.

Stages nine, ten, and eleven are one thermal bath after another. They are designed to slowly bring your body temperature down after the thermal bath with 36°C (96.8 °F), followed by 34°C(93.2 °F), and followed by 28°C(82.4 °F).

Then we’re off to the same showers again!

Stage thirteen is a cold water bath of just 18°C(64.4°F)! Touching it once, my face must have inspired the attendant some mercy as she asked me in halting English, “You prefer just warm towel dry off?” Why, yes, I think so.

The towels used at this, stage fourteen, are gigantic, warmed barely corn towels. They were so huge for my five foot, three body, I was glad for the attendant to help me navigate and get it wrapped around me.

One waits awhile in the toweling off area in order that no one feels crowded in stage fifteen, the cream service. The spa has its own line of soaps, lotions, and bathing brushes and it is at the cream service, that you get to try out the lotions for yourself. I used the amber scented one and have to give it credit as a good lotion that leaves one moisturized but not greasy.

Now it can be really tempting to try and be modest and not spend a lot of time with the cream station by just scantly rubbing yourself with lotion. Be sure that you make an effort to at least look like you mean to get all over your body as a guy next to me got “caught” by an attendant who said he needed to get all over to make it worth it…so she helped him. This is just a caution to lotion yourself or someone will do it for you. You decide what you’d prefer.

My favorite stage is stage sixteen, the relaxation room. They really should call it the cocoon room. An attendant walks you out of the cream service when you’re all clean and good smelling, and directs you to one of dozens of beds in a domed, tranquil room where the only light is what softly cracks through heavy drapes. Once on the bed, you’re wrapped in soft, warm purple blankets (hence, the cocoon feeling) and are left to drift off to sleep.

The seventeenth and final stage is enjoyable as well as when you are done napping, you can grab a fresh towel and head to the reading room with large windows giving natural light and there are dozen of well-known magazines in German, Russian, French, and, of course, English. I was able to get caught up on this weeks issue of ELLE (French version). The Crime and Punishment Expo at D’Orsay according to the issue is rather a success in Paris and I hope I get to go.

When you’re good and ready to go, you just head back to the locker room, get your things, and become set to walk the streets of Baden-Baden with the same relaxed look you had noticed on everyone else’s face. Only now, you know why.

*Credit to Jessica and her mother, Dorothy, for that statement

Baden-Baden in a little more detail

2010-04-13T17:21:00.004+02:00

There is a place where both common man and rich man can come and experience the best of well-being or bien-être as the French would describe it. The Germans have it and it is called Baden-Baden.

Okay, so perhaps that is a little dramatic but I think I’ve hit the best of good fortune having a cousin live in this amazing spa town.

Baden-Baden is a quiet but not dead place. While internationally friendly, it is obvious from looking around; this is a mainly German traveler destination. Only by the good nature of the German citizens here have I been able to traverse this mountain-tucked town without much problem in the language department. However, BECAUSE of this characteristic, Baden-Baden retains its regional charm, reasonable prices, and a lack of jadedness when it comes to foreigners. Hence, I love it here.

Baden-Baden is the town it is due to natural hot spring water from the mountains that surround it. In this part of Germany the “mountains” would be rather dwarfed for what an American is used to having been both east and west and seen the mountains there. However, these mountains have attracted Pagans, Romans, and everyone else for the high mineral content and healthful effects of the water found there.

There are two main spas here. I have so far only visited the bathing suit wearing one and it was unlike anything I can begin to wonder if the US has as well. I really, really doubt it. The place is a complexed yet organized network of hot tubs, pools, grottos, steam rooms, saunas, showers, and climate controlled lounges that one can move around in at their own leisure for however amount of time they are willing to pay for and I can say that every euro is worth it. Simply luxurious.
Probably going back or to the nude spa tomorrow. Hard to decide!

I’m not sure is this is all of Germany or just Baden-Baden, but I find here I certain degree of relaxedness I’ve never encountered before. No one is uptight that I’m American, let alone a foreigner who doesn’t speak the local language. The atmosphere is low key and earthy. Everyone here is to relax or, like Jessica, is in the business of relaxing. I’m surrounded by organic food, recycling receptacles, natural mineral hot springs, and women whose thighs for once do not resemble toothpicks. For someone like me, this is heaven.

I’ll make the confession on the language level that I have loved this “Liz’s English Week in Baden-Baden” as I’m calling it. Really, what I’ve learned about the French and France this semester is overwhelming to consider. My language skills have shot through the roof from where they started. I’ve gone from “I know a little French” to where I’m being introduced to Europeans by my host family and Jessica as, “This is Liz. She is an American who speaks English and French.”

All the same, being able to take a break and talk in one’s native tongue once in a while has been incredibly good. With an almost religious devotion, I’ve gone to the Anglophone Wednesday Café Meetings almost every week and talked to my Mom and whoever else (Dad, my youngest niece, Aunt Helen, etc.) on Sunday evenings.
The Anglophone Wednesday Café Meetings are mainly made up of Americans like me but we only call it Anglophone because though we only speak English there, more than just Americans come. We get Canadians, Swedes, Mexicans, etc. all of whom show that the general theme is those who are very comfortable speaking English amongst native speakers who, after a hard day’s work of French, crave throwing around a lot, and I do mean a lot, of English slang and word play.

Specifically for me, I just love using “to get.” It isn’t always easy to translate “to get” as it has many key uses in everyday English and allows a speaker to communicate many things with very few different words. Once you get “to get,” I say, the rest of English should be a walk in the park. The only French person I’ve met who understands what I’m saying with that statement has been Pauline, the assistant to AHA’s head coordinator Sue at CIDEF. Pauline is French but studies English and (God bless her) has actually bothered to visit not just easy-to-get-to England but the United States. Girl gets “to get” like no other French person gets it. She obviously had gotten a hold of a lot of English skill state-side as there is no way to even trip her up with very specific and new English (and specifically, American) vocabulary like “tramp stamp.”

Uh, that would be a long story that involves Pauline’s love for getting tattoos and my love to look and learn about them.

Going back to Baden-Baden from that detour.

Looking forward to see what future things await this week and looking for the best way to get to a local nunnery here. It is apparently a local pilgrimage site and I find the Christian presence here very unique as it blends almost seamlessly with the old pagan presence of Barbarian and Roman times. Example: there is a Catholic church here called (in translation) Church of the Three Oaks. Mythology buffs out there will put Northern Europe with three oaks and get the cult of Thor. Because of the mountain springs and hence the association of this place making a person physically well, every culture has also made Baden-Baden a place of spiritual left their mark in some way or another. It makes Baden-Baden an even more interesting place to spend a little vacation time in.

Last note: I've had my first German-made pretzal today at a local bakery where I just communicated for the woman to give me whatever she recommended. She handed me the special of the day, an organically made classic verizon of the dozens of varities. So I've achieved another neccessary bread-related cliche of Europe. Baguettes in France followed by pretzels in Germany.

Baden-Baden and Me

2010-04-12T16:32:00.003+02:00

"...So nice you have to say it twice." to quote Bill Clinton during a visit here.

This week I am staying at my cousin Jessica's place, taking something of a vaca during my spring break here. If I plan on writing long blog entries as I am used to, I realize that I will have to save them on my USB stick and then load them up before coming to the internet cafe. I feel like a true cheap American thinking, "WHAT! I have to pay to use a computer! Nothing at the library? McDonald's is no good either? What on earth!"

And so on.

However, this may be a good thing for me to lessen my internet time. It makes me sleep more, read more, watch International CNN on Jessica' satellite TV (it is the only channel we're aware of that I'll understand), meditate more, and in the case of today, explore and appreciate Baden-Baden more!

Tonight I'm going to seriously sit down and figure out the week because I know myself that if I don't set out a "To-Do" list, I will contently wittle my days away soaking in mineral spas and drinking lattes and beer at cafes. Realizing that this image is not all quite that aweful, I nevertheless only have a week to get to know this place that I now consider the German's best secret ever.

To be continued later with better planning and more euros for internet money.

Quick Update on the Teacher/Spring Break Thing

2010-04-07T18:40:00.002+02:00

Just to let those of you who might be curious for whatever reason, I talked to the 20th Century Literature professor today and her reaction was just the same as the Art History professor's.

Super calm and very unexciting. Just what one wants in a situation like this.

All for now.

Mardi Café

2010-04-07T08:40:00.004+02:00

Well, perhaps ironically I didn't go to Mardi Café last night and I'm still going to write about it this morning. Reasons are various and mainly have to do with my last presentation of the year today and an Art History exam (BTW- I have let my art history teacher know about my situation. She was just very pleased I was so open and hoped I would have a good visit with my cousin. Literature is later today). Also, I spent all my going out time in the sun in beautiful 19 degree Celsius weather.

All the same, Mardi Café is a really good experience for the CIDEF student. It is an activity to encourage the mixing and mingling of foreigners and locals to share culture and language over a pint of beer. Incredibly fun and you can expect jumping from one language to another at anytime making it a real exercise of the brain as well. I came up with a list of the bars that tend to be on the Mardi Café list and their different personalities as there is always a bar to suit your mood.

Snooker’s

Directly perpendicular to la gare this is also the Mardi Café bar where you’re most likely to meet non-student locals. It tends to be a favorite for male 20- and 30-somethings who love to watch sports on the huge flat screen TVs. A lively place, if you’re looking to spending quality time with the people with you then you’re best avoiding it. Game night (almost every night) doesn’t leave much room).

Best place to…watch the game with buds, get a Cointreaupolitan, play pool, meet locals

Worst place to…pay for cocktails (said Cointreaupolitan is usually 12 euros…ouch), bring a crowd

Falstaff

La Rue Bressiny’s interpretation of a British pub resembles a college bar but when you have so many American fans that leave tokens of their home universities behind, it is bound to happen. The bartenders obviously love it and also love speaking English. Make really good friends with them and they’ll play your favorite music as soon as they see you in the bar.

This could easily be called the party bar as it attracts the most Anglophones and probably hence the most noise. A good way to jump into a Falstaff evening is to first going to the Kebap, T’Chips, right next door where they exclusively sell “The Falstaff sandwich,” which usually tends to be on special every Tuesday conveniently enough.

Best place to…grab a beer and dance, leave your Alma Mater’s mark

Worst place…to exclusively drink all night because this can be the most expensive bar as well, expect hygiene

K' Lypso

This was the bar I went to for my first Mardi Café. It can be a more intimate atmosphere if you keep to the front. However, if you just want to party already, head to the back where there’s the dance floor. It is hard to choose between Falstaff and K’Lypso whether on or the other if better for dancing. Better to let that be a personal decision.

Again, the bartenders like Anglophones. The two main one is an older man and his much younger, Irish-accented, English speaking employee. Rumor has it that if the Irish-accented bartender likes you and you order in English, he’ll give you a price reduction on your drink. He really loves American girls. I’ll stop there. Here is where one can usually find a 2 euro pint of beer on Tuesdays. It is just too hard to find anything cheaper than that. If you’re a lightweight like me, that ought to be enough to get your cheeks toasty for the whole night and keep you smiling the whole time through. Unless you’re craving one bad, I’d stay away from the cocktail menu. It is just not this bars specialty and you pay more than what a mediocre cocktail is worth.

Best place to…dance, mingle, find some of the cheapest beer to be found in a bar, flirt with an Irish-accented French man

Worst place to…get a cocktail

Soft

I saved my favorite for last. There has been no intention for Soft to be dance-friendly or TV-friendly so be there to just drink and chat. There is no group size limit thanks to the probably non-intentional but ingenious layout of the place. The backroom can be dominated by just one group of dozens of people and throughout the bar are side rooms, an upstairs, booths, etc. to make the ideal place for a group or just two people.

Soft’s strength is their cocktails and they’re always coming up with new ones. It is the perfect place to start your cocktail experiences especially if you stick to keeping on the cheap side, as their most creative cocktails are almost always on Mardi Café special.

They also sell Pringles and sausages here, which can seem random…until you’ve had something to drink. Once, two of my CIDEF friends, Tyler, future Ex-Pat and French/Russian translator, and Mitchell, the angry Canadian, had two pints and soon started trying to convince me that what we all needed was some sausage and chips. It was actually pretty funny as they were incredibly confused as to why they wanted the sausage and chips to badly but there we go. Product placement? Something in the beer? Little bit of both? Ah, well.

Best place to…get a cocktail, get coffee in the afternoon on a rainy day (1 euro petit cafés!), bring a crowd, hide away in one of the many nooks and corners, find clean-ish bathrooms

Worst place to…Dance, “really party”

Le week-end de Pâques

2010-04-05T10:56:00.005+02:00

So I went back again to Paris on Saturday. This time it was guided by two CIDEF teachers, one of them my Art History teacher, Madame Rose Lecompte. As seen by this photo of her, she has a very easy-going, happy sort of personality and naturally because of that, she is a constant student favorite.

The purpose of going to Paris for the art history students like me was to visit le Musée D'Orsay. The focus of this museum is to generally pick up where the Louvre stops on the art history time-line. Beginning with some very, very late neo-classicism and romanticism, the Orsay continues until the rise of Dada, Surrealism, cubism, etc. To continue onward, a good general place to go would be Le Centre Pompidou. Growing up in America and going to American museums (specifically thinking about the Chicago Art Institute), the Impressionists are just a natural part of the experience. The late-19th and early-20th nouveau riche Americans LOVED the work and it was fairly cheap too and the French were completely disinterested in it...at the time. It should be good to note that I've always have had an Impressionist-bias. The whole "I paint what I feel." philosophy appeals to the romantic in me.

Concerning the Orsay, my limited exposure to world museums nevertheless tells me that their Manet and realist collections are second to none. One might be able to say the same as well for their Neo-Impressionist paintings. They also display Manet's L'Olympia and Le déjeuner sur l'herbe. With those two along with the other lesser-known paintings by Manet in the museum, one can see the essentials of the artist himself and his style. I leave myself open for argument to fellow art nerds out there.

Now the impressionists themselves?

Yes, they're there. I especially enjoyed seeing Monet's Les coquelicots and his series on the light effects of la cathédrale de Rouen. However, I'm sorry that I still have to say to get the biggest impression of the Impressionists, go to the New York Met or the Chicago Institute.

Still, so worth going to the Orsay all the same.

The other place I visited with the CIDEF students was L'Opéra Garnier. You know that you're in an expensive neighborhood when you're considering it very daring of you to venture a guess at real estate prices. That's what you get when you walk the Haussmann district though. Once we got to the theater though, I found it a lot more fun playing Phantom of the Opera scores in my head. The place begs for it from all who are like me.
Oh, and, yes, that is a "new" coat. AHA was having something of a mini clothing swap the other week and I got a swanky winter coat (at the very beginning of spring, I know.) and a pair of eccentrically bright purple socks. Thanks to Sue, the head coordinator of AHA, for hooking me up! That coat came just in time for the hockey game I mentioned earlier as well!

Finally got a picture of Monsieur's parents! For Easter/Pâques, we had a short but very pleasant visit with them and I have Le Gâteau de Pâques. Basically, it is a heavy cake done in the Breton region style, stuffed completely with prunes. Soooooooo goooooooood. And perfect with tea and/or coffee. Guess what I'm making for next Easter, guys!

After that, the family and I went to Madame's family's Easter gathering. It was very informal and "cool." The youngest cousin was even sporting jeans and a Franklin and Marshall hoodie. Now, there's an interesting Italian brand. The whole purpose was to bring the super, super casual style of American universities to Europe, specifically Italy. I find it to be rather cleaned up and too Europeanized to be really "American." The brand is still very popular in France and Italy at least and of course carries the most expensive hoodies I've ever laid eyes on.

After an amazing, several course dinner, we went exploring the local castle ruins of le Château Pathenay which encircles the original medieval town. It is always more interesting visiting anything with a native and Madame's mother was very pleased to show me all of the old town defenses and how it worked.

This is Monsieur on the left walking Chanel, the Jack Russell/Beagle mix of the Péaud's. One of Madame's brothers (who has traveled to Columbus, Ohio randomly enough) is on the right. Yes, the man is wearing All Star sneakers. They're navy to be exact. He thinks they're the most comfortable things out there.

Here is Monsieur again, keeping Chanel away from attacking a fellow dog. Sundays are jaunting days in France. After lunch, families just get up and talk a Sunday afternoon stroll. Naturally, très joli.

Parthenay unfortunately is yet another dying town in the French countryside due to large companies coming in and taking over the agricultural businesses and jobs moving to the cities like Lille, Lyon, Nice, and Paris.

To the American farmers back home, sound familiar?

Well, I'm going back to reserving hotel room in the Provence region of France. Will try to find ones with a promising WiFi connection. As always, the French WiFi system can disappoint. Chez Péaud is no problem. Just good luck in a supposed WiFi enabled McDonald's. Ugh.

Normandy and a lot of other things to tell

2010-04-01T18:16:00.005+02:00

Finally! I get to actually sit down and write stuff! I wasn't thinking I'd be doing so much this week when I said I'd write later. First it was the test and presentation on Monday but then I also studied all day Tuesday and went to the train station where I spent almost two hours working with my MAJOR lack of knowing that the 9th of April is also the start of spring vacation for a lot of French students. So I was extremely limited and forced to take off Friday afternoon and miss two classes, which thankfully do not have tests that day. I swore I'd never do it. Everyone around me was missing classes here and there in order to travel and I told myself, "No, you are way better than that. "

Uh, no, I'm not.

The only proper excuse is sickness according to the school's official rules and of course that isn't happening. I can assure all of you though that I am sick in a sense, darn it. I'm sick for the friendly and familiar face of family, aka, Jessica! However, I think it still may be in my best interest to be open with my teachers about my situation especially considering that if I was a secretary, I wouldn't buy it for a minute that a student was "sick" the Friday before Spring Break. Better to be honest in the beginning than getting caught at the end probably.

So naturally, I couldn’t just continue the serious business of studying into the night after that, so I went to Mardi Café. Mardi Café is one of the best ideas the people of CIDEF/UCO ever thought of. Invite a bunch of foreign and French students to just meet up at the bars and talk. English, French, Spanish, and Chinese are thrown about everywhere over pints of Kronenbourg and the occasional lesser known languages get their spotlight with impromptu tutoring lessons. I love it. Every bar has its own personality and they always have a special going on for Mardi Café. Take the 2 euro pint deals. They are very worth. Alcohol for that quantity doesn’t get much cheaper in that scene. I will very, very soon devote a whole entry just to Mardi Café because it is just necessary.

Wednesday, I took the big test in Social-Cultural and was so happy to get it done! I was even more happy to find out the Ducs (Anger’s Hockey team with the English translation of “owls”) were playing that evening and a bunch of people were going so that’s is where I was last night.

Les Ducs won 3-2. It was very fun though I found myself talking American politics and culture to this guy from Turkey who is interning here in France. This is not the first time I’ve been bombarded with questions about my home country. As an American, one becomes a natural target by all nationalities for political discussion and/or ridicule and it is absolutely necessary to be as diplomatic and non-aggressive as possible. Yet, at the same time, I have a pride issue about my nation I have learned since being here so I give myself the added challenge of not bowing down to every criticism that comes my way about the affaires of my country. I don’t agree with everything the government does. I don’t think we are the best, most perfect nation in the world. However, I know no other country is perfect either.

Being diplomatic just in general though is not always easy. A neutral statement in America is not always considered a neutral statement by another nationality. For example, another American can easily accept saying that one respects Hillary Clinton professionally but finds her personal actions confusing. This is not so for a Frenchman who will then passionately criticize our “ridiculous” concern over the personal lives of our leaders. Even France’s values and priorities can be vastly different than ours despite our shared occidental status.

To finish that story up, the Turkish guy found talking to me very satisfying and thought that I should go into international politics. Also, I apparently remind him of Hillary Clinton…All my conservative Republican friends, leave your "clever" comments for Facebook messaging. I'm talking to you, Ryan.

Maybe though it is my new haircut.

ANYWAY, back to Normandy!

I feel like such a broken record but I felt that this excursion was more than worth my time as an American and as someone who is interested in the culture of Europe. Normandy is a huge part of the culture of Europe and especially France. D-Day is proof that the French have very long, passionate memories, as it is an obvious honor to them to have perfect foreigners buried in their country. They make sure you know it, too, if they get the chance. This has been particularly true for my host family who is still bragging that their last American student that stayed with them is the granddaughter of a D-Day vet.

Words cannot justify the visit. Truly for me Normandy was a pilgrimage more than anything.

I also recommend visiting the German cemetery as well. It is a striking contrast to the American one. In comparison to the brilliant white crosses shining in contrast to the Normandy sky, the dark small one’s of the German cemetery seem to want to blend in. Both are sad but I think the German cemetery is the most somber of all but the strongest communicator of what is to be learned of World War II. I think it is too often forgotten that the German soldiers were men, too, and not Hitler clones. They did their duty for their family and their country and when one comes to their resting place, it is hard not to respect that.

I was actually “corrected” by a fellow American classmate that they shouldn’t be recognized like this with the present cemetery and shrine to peace that we visited, as they were all Nazis. I asked her why she considered them Nazis and she responded because they came from Nazi Germany. I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to an ignorant and (not to mention cruel) answer like that, labeling every German citizen of that time a Nazi. Perhaps because of this lack of understanding, it is just as important to recognize the German cemetery as the American one. War is many things but it is not black and white.

I end on an upbeat note! An very American thing (Obama) with a very French thing (Sarkozy) from a French newspaper. According to the paper, they were on their way to a conference. I take it they were pressed for time.

The day after Normandy

2010-03-28T14:56:00.004+02:00

Well, I owe you all be better update which I promise this week...after I get done with a paper and a presentation due on Monday! Curtsy of my classmate Mitchell, here's me and the very important ground of Omaha Beach. A real patriotic/international experience that I strongly recommend for Canadians, Americans, and British alike to have if they get the chance. Go!!!

Peanut Butter vs. the French. Oh, and International Day

2010-03-24T07:49:00.005+01:00

Had a fun but busy day yesterday "sharing" American culture with a bunch of other fellow Americans at UCO's semester-ly Journée Internationale. Curtesy of Heidi who didn't forget her camera that day, I actually do have photos.

The American booth contained a slide show of several hundred photos from all around the States, various red, white, and blue decorations (stars included), a U.S. map showing where we're all from....

And samples of PB & J

The French are intersting and just plain fun to watch as they encounter peanut butter. To them, it is this crazy, exotic American thing. I do not kid when I say that almost every French student that came up to us at first gave a strange look and then looked amazing and shocked when we explained it was peanut butter and strawberry "jelly." In France there is only really confiture which is jam in our vocabulary. The idea of other ways to preserve fruits like in the form of jelly and marmalade is rather nonexistant.

The typical French college student has almost never had peanut butter before and considers it incrediably American and fattening and therefore not cool to eat. This is according to my host family's daughter who is my same age. Though I didn't say this, I find it weird that something would be considered American and fattening and therefore not cool to eat in France when McDonald's is more popular here than back home, Lady Gaga is like the new Virgin Mary, and Nutella, which actually has more calories than peanut butter, is eaten by EVERYONE, including my host family's daughter. Yet, poor peanut butter is looked down upon nevertheless.

After several reassuances and a couple of sniffs, almost everyone who came to our booth tried the peanut butter and said usually something like, "Well, it is certainly different! Wow, it is strong." I can't imagine what they thought at the Mexican booth. They had Jalopenos to sample.

Food was everywhere and free so I had the best lunch I've had since coming here! Omlettes over in "Japan," cheese and chocolate in "France," yogurt in "Holland," and a lot of I-don'tknow-what-it-is-but-it-sure-tastes-good from Poland, Thailand, and Korea were all there and it was just simply so good!

The day ended with the Americans showing off "mad dancing skills" including the electirc slide and, to the French's delight, "Thriller." They really, really love Michael Jackson, too.

La Rafle

2010-03-21T18:31:00.002+01:00

Okay, this is a second, quick post. I saw my first French movie here finally with Madame and Monsieur. It is a well received native film called La Rafle which explores the round up and expulsion of several thousand Parisian Jews. Beautiful and well directed, I think it would be worth it for the U.S. to receive it at least in the art film cinema's. Yes, it is "yet another Holocaust film" but I found the interpretation and purpose french and non-cliché.

The official site: http://www.larafle-lefilm.com/

An English article about the film:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/09/la-rafle-film-france-war

Versailles: The Sun King's Domain

2010-03-21T09:18:00.011+01:00

I first have to apologize because I think that I've been slacking on the blog updates. Perhaps appropriately enough at about the middle of my sejour I've hit a wall for my motivation that just really came out of nowhere. I don't plan for that that last long. I've still got a little over two months in France! Then, after that, there's "Elizabeth/Elizabet, Part 2" in England where I'm going to go back to being plain, ol' Elizabeth again and not be able to hear that charming inability for the French accent to pronounce the letter "H" in my name.

Concerning Versailles, it is absolutely essential to reserve an entire day to it at the very least. Now for everything I experienced, I can only say it with confidence for the base season which ends with the beginning of April. That is when the fountains turn on and the real tourist masses move in. I had chosen this time because right now one can experience high season weather at Versailles with base season prices and crowds. The biggest downside is that the fountains are not on yet and the famous Versailles Riding Academy is not open until May. I was already planning on being busy enough in May and I was able to make myself forget the fountains and get down to the essentials and I'm very satisfied with my choice.

Now, even though it was the Base Season, I made sure to get to the chateau first thing in the morning because:

1) I didn't finish until 3:15 in the afternoon (I started at nine. So that will give you an idea.)

2) The ticket people weren't in a hurry and after looking at my passport and my UCO student ID card, they let me visit everything (the Château, the Châteaux de Trianon, and the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette) for free where the base season price is really 19,50€.

3) The lines later on are then avoided with an early start as demonstrated in the pic below. Do note that the line doesn't stop at the building but continues on inward.

Always carrying one's passport and student ID card (the French one, not the American one) on a side note is incredibly useful for at least two reasons that I have learned from other foreign students and my own experiences.

1)The French police have the right to ask to see your passport/visa if you are a foreigner. If you're unable to produce such, they also have the right to arrest you. Enough said. This tends to be done (so I've heard) in a raid-like style but usually only occurs in places where there is a large concentration of people and a good number are likely to be foreign such as at clubs and bars. As I don't hang out a clubs and the bars I frequent are low key and have a strong local vibe, I've not come across this situation at this point and I hope I won't ever despite my legit status in France.

2) As demonstrated with the price I paid at Versailles, nothing, this was possible ONLY because of the materials I produced. I was also able to do the same thing at the Louvre and also got in for free. If not for free, it may also give you an unofficial reduced price. Even if the tarif sign doesn't say it, quietly show your card, look polite and friendly, and ask in your best French possible. Save money, carry your passport/student card...and a charming smile.

Back to Versailles....

The Mirror Gallery cannot be done justice with photos. It is one of those "you-just-have-to-be-there" sort of places. Truly impressive and my only wish would be to have the chance to just for one time walk the gallery by myself. I can't imagine how awe-inspiring it would be then.

Another favorite of mine became the Domain of Marie-Antoinette which consists of the Petit Trianon and the hameau where she would play shepherdess in with her ladies-in-waiting. The hameau or hamlet is all original and a bit like walking through the fun but fake villages of an amusement park. That is probably very appropirate because this was essentially the amusement park of a queen.

It was very amusing to walk through and watch kids play with the animals who reside in the hameau and observe the grumpy bunnies of Versailles. I do not know why or if they really were actually grumpy but it was rather humorous all the same to see something so cute and furry with a very jaded and annoyed face. The brown one, I swear, raised a bunny eyebrow as I was taking his/her picture. As you can see, I had a lot of fun with animals on this excursion.

The gardens in Marie-Antoinette's Domain were incrediably romantic and magical. If you go, walk through them and you will be glad you did. It is just too beautiful to miss really and surprisingly isolated from the crowds, too, so it may be also good to have a romantic interest with you as I came across all sorts of hidden spots where....well you can see where I'm going with this.

Finally, I had noticed Ford cars around Europe but hadn't come across a dealership until recently! The European Ford cars in my humble opinion don't resemble "real" American ones at all but resemble something like from a Toyota factory interestingly enough.

In France they eat cornbread with a fork and knife

2010-03-15T22:09:00.005+01:00

Well, this was an interesting weekend as well! Saturday was very pleasant and uneventful which I think I need once in a while and Sunday was, well, a cross-cultural experience for certain.

My very thoughtful parents sent me a U.S. care package in which among various things included the basic dry ingredients for chili, a pancake mix, and Grape Nuts. The Grapes Nuts were perfect and I’ve been having them for breakfast almost everyday now and am going to have to go on an aggressive search for other super healthy, high-fiber cereals because I love the way they fill me up and I don’t feel like I’m about to roll away from the dinner table. Once you taste the good stuff again, it is really hard to go back to some bread and coffee in the morning. I am way too much of a breakfast/morning person. Yes, I’m one of those. Feel free to stare with annoyance at the computer screen now. I understand. My kind can be ridiculous to put up with.

This is where I found myself in the middle of my first cross culture experience. My host family looked at me with raised eyebrows when I smiled and showed them the Grape Nuts. I didn’t understand why someone as old as me liked eating cereal. Doesn’t the sugar upset my stomach? What sugar? It is Grape Nuts, nothing but rolled up barley. They just shook their heads until I opened up the package and showed them to their surprise the very non-child-friendly nature of Grape Nuts. It seems to me that only elderly people with iron stomachs and problem colons and I eat this stuff. Then, because I’m a nerdy amateur historian on American History, I proceeded to explain the origin of cereal in America and that it started out as solely a health food. Much later did the sugary cereal for kids make its debut. I further learned that most cereal found in France is the sugary, Frosted Flakes and Coco Puffs, kind. When the Grape Nuts are out, I may have to switch to muesli. They do have a lot of that here.

I have not cooked the pancakes yet though I think I’ll make the first batch this coming Sunday and we’ll see how that goes for reasons you will later see why, I think I’ll have to make it ridiculously clear that one eats pancakes with a fork and knife and not with one’s hands like their some sort of wannabe crepe. They’re not. We’ll see if I can help my host family see that. Pancakes are also a breakfast item but it doesn’t matter how many time I tell my host family this because they are always wondering whether we should have pancakes for after lunch or dinner for dessert. It is not a dessert. Pancakes are not like crepes like that. They are not like crepes besides that one makes them on a skillet and flips them over. The batter and cooked product are very different.

Maybe we can work on a compromise and have them for Sunday brunch.

In the meantime, I did cook a very basic meat-n-beans chili and cornbread lunch for them on Sunday. I had the chili going for hours and so it was at that wonderful thick stage where it is hard to distinguish meat from beans and traces or tomato have long gone away. Perfect. The cornbread was also incredible dense but soft with just enough sweetness to contradict the savory flavor of the chili just right. Gosh darn it, I can cook good ol’ American food even in France. It is a good feeling to have.

Then it was time to eat.

The parents exclaimed that I had forgotten the entrée (the first course). The poor girl it seemed like they felt had been so occupied with the main course. She forgot to have something with which to start off. I quickly tried to explain that one just only eats chili by itself. However, they insisted that, no, no, it must be that chili is served with an appetizer so everyone fills up more easily from the meal. That is why one has an entrée, of course, they explained to me.

Sure. Ignore the American who has been eating chili all her life.

Well, we had the entrée, me insisting on just having a bite, and it was time for the chili and cornbread. They began handing me their plates to have the chili served on them. I was very surprised and asked where the bowls were. They gave me a puzzled look and I said. Well, as I’ve been saying, chili has a similar nature to soup. It is thick but not served on a plate. Amazed, they got out the bowls where they all took a modest soupspoon sized portion eat, a slice of cornbread and some salad. Feeling a strange need, I quietly served myself with what I grew up as a real chili serving and cornbread, leaving the salad alone for the most part.

The mother suddenly looked up and observed that I was holding and eating my cornbread with my hands. Well, yes, I replied. After all, it is called corn bread and is to be treated like any other bread. It is just different from any bread one would find in France. I heard some silverware clinking and realized that up to that point the family had been eating the cornbread with a fork and knife! The daughter ignored the newly discovered fact and ate what she could of the chili and cornbread with her fork and knife. I guess adaptation to foreign customs comes at different times for us all.

I say she ate what she could because even the small serving the family had, made them all stuffed very quickly. They all wondered how I could be left with just a “satisfied feeling” in my stomach. I joked and replied that it shouldn’t be any mystery now how Americans have a reputation for being able to eat so much. So it ended rather well. Dessert was pineapple slices and ice cream. They were glad that I was very strong in saying that whatever the dessert was that it had to be light. It seemed to be a good experience for us all in the end I think.

Amboise was pleasant and, again, hugely uneventful. I totally missed Leonardo’s Da Vinci’s house, which I feel stupid about but I am content nevertheless to have visited his grave…surrounded by a dozen photo-happy people, but still it was a visit. I’m sure wherever he is, Leonardo wouldn’t really care whether people visit his remains in a quiet and respectful atmosphere or not.

I also met up with a bunch of CIDEF students again! They were on the last chateau tour offered by the university for the semester. It was a total accident and I enjoyed the company for a short while. This is Jamal on the right and Spencer on the left. Both of them are classmates and hail from Kansas University. They are standing in front of the chapel where Leonardo is buried currently.

The only stain on my day was the fact that I lost my dark red leather gloves en route back to Angers. I do not remember putting them anywhere other than my trench coat pocket and I honestly wonder if maybe it was the result of a pickpocket attempt. It is a thought that puts me ill at ease but incredibly thankful that it was only the gloves that disappeared and the stuff of real value like my passport, credit card, debit cards, etc. were more safely kept.

I’ll be working the rest of the week finalizing what I’m doing with my two-week spring break if I can and making plans for my one night stay in Versailles this weekend. I will leave Angers to arrive at Versailles in the evening and have all day until 5:00PM to explore the chateau and grounds the next day. It is the very end of the base season so the idea is that I’ll get to enjoy the high season weather at this point with base season prices. It is getting nicer and nicer out. Tomorrow it will be a pleasant 14 degrees Celsius.

So while I’m basking in the French spring sun, how’s the weather back in Illinois, everyone?

Feel free to stare at the screen in annoyance again and enjoy the two new dog photos I came across in Amboise. Take the pug in good humor if you will. I certainly did.

10 Things

2010-03-12T20:31:00.008+01:00

I think it is naturally after a little over a month in a different world to begin to really liking and disliking certain things in comparison to what is familiar back home. So I made a list! Well, really I made two. Specifically I have noticed things from France that would be wonderful to have in the U.S. and I have noticed things that are in American that France for its own sake should look into taking on. Almost every one of these things I wasn't expecting coming here and might be interesting to you. I've added hopefully delightful commentary as many of the things on these lists need explanation to be made clear.

10 things in France I wish existed in the U.S.

1) Boulangeries, patisseries, cafes, chocolateries EVERYWHERE. It is a magical scene passing them by on the streets for both the aesthetics and odors. Oh, dear, our obesity epidemic would probably go through the roof though…

2) Standard two-hour lunches (not like college students get those everyday though). I think enough is said right there. You all have jammed-packed and stressful days. You know what I mean.

3) Chevre, Brie, Camembert, etc. all being easily and more cheaply available. Cheese will never be the same for me again. I’m spoiled.

4) Dinners that regularly come in courses. Whether casual or formal every time to eat is something special. A starter is followed by the main dish and is followed by cheese and is finally followed by dessert every single night. America, land of the one-plate dinners, listen and maybe shake things up every one in awhile. I know I will when I get home! (Mom, Dad, and friends have been warned now.)

5) Menu Formulas at restaurants. They’re simple. They’re (usually) a good deal and you get to be served course by course which is just elegant for me coming from my background. I could do this every night if I could afford it.

6) Open air markets almost every day of the week and throughout the entire year. Yes, we have farmer’s markets but I see potential with the current organic and local movement for expansion. It is such a pleasurable experience carefully selecting and tasting fruit and cheese in partnership with the person who had an actually hand the creation of the product.

7) More Middle Eastern and African immigrants because that means the best Middle Eastern and African food I’ve ever eaten. In another blog I will have to explain that a “kebap” is but just trust me when I say a well-chosen kebap can mean the best, cheapest meal you’ll every have in France

8) More specialty shops being widely available. The independently own business still is going on here and I’m trying to take advantage of sales clerks who will always expertly know their products

9) Reasonable food portions. With the rare exception, the food portions in France are what they once were in the U.S. when my parents were growing up. It makes me feel better with every fatty and buttery thing I eat

10) The tradition of bringing a small gift like flowers, chocolate, or wine when visiting with friends and family. It is just incredibly thoughtful and seems a mystery to me why we don’t do that as well in the U.S.

11) I’m just going to also add French coffee which is some of the strongest, most robust stuff I’ve ever had and I think when I come back state side it will have to be an espresso or nothing in the morning because that is the closest we’ve got to a regular French cup of joe.

10 things in the U.S. I wish existed in France

1) Commercially alive Sundays! Darn it, people it is still the weekend and, guess what, I want to go out to a place that isn’t a chateau, museum, or market sometimes! In fact, I’d love to go shopping. I don’t care if it is a boutique or the mall. There are times I’d like to fulfill the female stereotype and just try on shoes all freaking afternoon! (And I’d like to get there with bus lines that aren’t shut down…)

2) Quality peanut butter. It is one thing to sigh and say, “Ouais, un chose très amèricain.” and meaning "Oh, that is such an American thing." *sigh* It is a totally different thing to do that AND try to sell this cheap disgusting stuff they call “peanut butter” in a way overpriced jar. Buck up and sell the good stuff like Jif if you’re going to be all snobby like that about it.

3) An embrace of sandwiches that don’t always have to have butter and/or mayo on them (yes, I mean it when I say “and”). There is a fat and carb concentration there that even my ironclad stomach can't handle let alone my colon.

4) An embrace of cereals as not being kid food. I just got my first care package from my parents and in it my dad sent me a box of Grape Nuts which I’ve yet to find over here. The Peaud’s just shook their heads and said that in France, cereal is a childhood thing! Grape Nuts is suddenly the equivalent to Lucky Charms or something? This morning at least when I opened the box finally, Monsieur was surprised to realize that, gasp, Grape Nuts have no sugar in them and it is made almost completely of BARLEY! He remains steadfast in his opinion though. I don’t care. I have my precious Grape Nuts.

5) An embrace on healthy eating in general like something as simple as using mustard instead of mayo in a sandwich. They have really, really good mustard over here, too. What I would give for a French vendor to hand me a sandwich slathered with hot and spicy Dijon mustard inside! I am going to sat again that I have never had such a high fat and carb content in my diet ever before. Thankfully, something they do have going on here is portion control (see previous list).
More reusable water bottles and other recession-friendly and green habits. I just went on an epic journey yesterday to find a reusable water bottle over here. I finally found a small but decent selection over at a sports store called Decathlon. It is a giant (1 liter!) but she’s a pretty white thing with soft and flowery print on her and I love it for that and the fact that I don’t have to constantly buy plastic water bottles like it is the beginning of the millennium when that first took off. I love doing what is ecological (and cheap).

6) Teachers who inform you of your faults in homework but don’t announce it in a loud voice in front of the entire class. This was the biggest culture shock I think for the other Americans and me. Yes, be honest. We’re not babies but must you announce it from the front of the class in great detail? I have now learned that this is a common practice among French teachers and have adapted fairly well to it as at least they announce the faults of everyone in the class. Maybe the advantage is that we can all be failures together?

7) Patriotism. It is almost nonexistent here. The French seem to care a lot about being culturally French but say “bof” to being politically French. The regional elections are coming up (that is like our state elections back home) and NOBODY CARES. In my socio-cultural class, the teacher explained that voter numbers are notoriously low and simply it is not a priority of the French to be particular about who is representing them in Paris. It is also a great controversy here whether they should bring the French flag back into public school classrooms or not. It makes me feel like a hard-core patriot in comparison and maybe I’m a hard-core patriot period (thank you, father). I have respect for our armed forces. I give my father the evil eye if he forgets to put up the flag. On the Fourth of July I’m one of those annoying people on Election Day who ask, “Did ya vote, yet? Well? If not, just know its whoever the new guy’s going to be who’s making the decisions about your life now! I hope you prefer *insert random party here*’s ideals!” etc. etc.

8) Clean bathrooms for students. I’m being serious when I say I trust a music festival’s port-a-potties as much as I trust the things they call toilets for students in France. They are barely maintained. There’s toilet paper strewn everywhere and some don’t even have those rims so one can sit properly. They should just save money and give us holes in the floor. It would be as well and probably more sanitary. What’s worse, Madame says students have bathroom like that from elementary on up. Scary.

9) Adaptation of fast-food restaurants that are not McDonalds. Really, they have several options from us, but they choose the one with the most infamous reputation in America. They have apparently never heard of “Super Size Me.” Though in McDonald’s defense, they have apparently cleaned up their act a little since then.

10) Not so many taxes. Forget currency exchange it is the tax included in everything from the restaurant to the boutique that kills my wallet. But thankfully I don't have to worry about oening a TV here yet as there is even a tax to have the right to own a TV. I might never complain about American taxes again. I put the "might" in there if I'm going to be honest though.

Tomorrow (just before midnight for you American night owls), I'll be going to Amboise but will be back in Angers by mid afternoon. I just want to get to that chateau already and I'm determined to do it. Also for this weekend, I'll be making chili for my host family on Sunday. I'll be starting them off on the super, super basic meat-n-beans type of chili and cornbread. Later I hope to be able to cook white chili to which at least I'm really looking forward.

And Sunday Night When I Got Back

2010-03-08T21:30:00.004+01:00

It felt neccessary to give this even its own post. When I returned to Angers, I had dinner with the Peauds. At dessert, Madame disappeared and returned with a chocolate Charlotte with twenty candles on it and everyone began singing Bon Anniversaire to me! It was one absolutely touching.

The Peauds even gave me another gift of a recipe book called Tante Marie. I had eariler expressed a wish to find a decent and basic French cookbook to start working with and exploring French cuisine. They told me that this book has been a part of French everyday cooking for decades and would be the best way to start. I even have an adorable cooking-themed French book mark for it.

Madame's mother who I had met two weeks ago for a very short visit sent a birthday card and a homemade travel sewing kit as she was very happy to meet a young mademoiselle who liked to work with her hands and since I seemed to be a true traveler to her, she felt something like this would serve me well.

Best 20th birthday ever. It would seem to be true that as the French say, this 20th year of my life is la belle âge.

Week-end à Paris pour mon anniversaire!

2010-03-07T20:24:00.012+01:00

Wow! So I had an amazing weekend. That is simply it. It was absolutely the best birthday a new twenty-year-old could ask for. I got two days in Paris, two fabulous people to bond with, and the grand finale of the kindest and most thoughtful host family in France.

I spent Friday night, all Saturday, and most of Sunday with my two new favorite traveling companions, Tyler Sohl and Chad Horne. Here they are at Monmartre at the Scare-Coeur which I have to say I loved because of the atmosphere and all the touristy artists everywhere. There was a grand allure about it.

This is the view from our hotel window on a street called Le Rue Cignecourt. It was out of the way but not too much so it was perfectly close to the sights but still only friendly for French speakers.

On Saturday, we actually spent most of our time at the massive Louvre. Hence most of my photos are from there.

I had the biggest blast finding all of these pieces of art I've studied in Art History. I basically turned into Miss Tour Guide and chatted Tyler and Chad's patient ears off as I rattled off about this movement and that techinique and kept on saying, "OH! OH! Take my picture at this one, too! OH! OH!"

Hmmm. I wonder what all this chaos is for.....

Yep. Saw her, too. (Felt so sorry for the only paintings around here. So obnoxiously ignored.)

Before heading back to the relaxed streets of French-only parts of Montmartre, Chad, Tyler, and I paid a visit at sunset to a must-see in Paris.

We discovered by the end of the day that Tyler is simply a foreigner magnet. He was getting German couples and droves of Japanese girls asking to take their pictures not just at the Eiffel Tower but everywhere we went. Most curious and entertaining! (Just not really for Tyler who was getting tired of it by the Eiffel Tower)

Sunday was very low-key. We checked out of the hotel and and took the metro to cross one of the bridges to explore the islands in the middle of the Seine. Just one tiny problem stood in our way...

It turns out that there was a huge charity marathon in Paris that day. We had to take the Metro to the middle of the bigger island where one can find Notre Dame and right after lunch we visited the famous Montparnasse cemetery. As I had a train to catch at three, our stroll was short and brisk. I still got to visit who I wanted to visit the most, two of my favorite philosophers to study and they are buried together as they lived together in life.

On the way to the cemetery, we stumbled onto a real Parisian outdoor art market which occurs in Montparnasse every week. I didn't get anything. It was all really expensive.

I'd like to end with new editions to my two collections of American Things in France and French Dogs. Paris, after all, has a lot of both.

McDonald's, the new world empire, is ridculously popular and chic in France. Tyler, Chad, and I shook our head in wonder and confusion and had a McCafe while doing it. Ha! Hypocrites, we are!

And now for the grand finale of French dogs!

Happy Day at Chenonceau

2010-03-02T16:42:00.019+01:00

Of course, it wasn't like the weekend was absolutely lost. Saturday was amazing and absolutely luxurious! Oh, I wouldn't trade discovering my favorite French chateau thus far for anything. I admit I got a little photo crazy.

First off, my hotel was wonderful. I stayed at the Relais, which isn't that much different than what else is offered in the villlage, but I felt I got a lot more for my money here than I could have anywhere else this time of year. Besides, the staff and the service was so great that that made every penny worth it.

My room was tiny but very cozy and comfortable. And as you can see, I got several things I was thankful for in Europe as a student....

1) A large, clean bed all to myself (emphasis on clean which I have heard doesn't always happen but I could be wrong)

2) I had an actual full-sized mirror to use for the first time in weeks (There's only one in my host family's home and it is in Madame's closet meaning only Madame uses it, of course.)

3) Cable TV all to myself and on César Night no less (That would be the France's Oscar Night)

4) I got a four course steak dinner and full breakfast included in my stay. (The fries were not an intentional order. I'm finding fries to be eaten here more than back home and we love fries. It is rather scary in that sense.)

5) There was a bathroom and it was just for me!

6)And it wasn't just a shower. And it had constant streaming hot water! That was heaven. The shower in my host family's house produces lukewarm at the hottest which for someone like me is like bathing in ice water. However, I have adapted a little to it.

The chateau is currently under restoration so not everything is as joli-looking as it usually is but I think you can appreciate it anyway. To me, it was the gardens and the rooms that really make up Chenonceau and not the fact that it is practically built on a bridge.

While I was over there I ran into a CIDEF tour of some of the chateaus and met up with Heidi! It was great to see one of my classmates so randomly like that.

One of the best parts about the chateau to me, besides its strong feminine history, is that fact that the staff takes great pride in the fresh flower displays in almost all the chambers. They are uniquely well known for this in the French chateau tourism business as the staff told me while I was visiting/ problem-solving with them on Sunday.

Of course, I can't help but leave you with a pic of one of my favorite historic women, Catherine de Medici, a feisty Italian gal who knew what she wanted and how to get it.

Wonderful day.

Chenonoceau and Xynthia

2010-03-01T08:50:00.004+01:00

I'm going to first add in a "blog entry" I wrote yesterday which I think pretty much describes how I spent all day Sunday.

"I find myself writing this much earlier than posting it because there is no Wi-fi in Chenonceau unless you’re staying in certain hotels.

I have learned that when a Frenchman warns of an oncoming tempête, he isn’t necessarily being charmingly dramatic as usual.

This tempête is what apparently happened last night while I couldn’t get sleep at 5AM. Every other year it seems according today’s local paper, France’s west coast gets a nasty cyclone from the sea and the wind sweeps into the inland and does major damage….like during the weekend I chose to visit Chenonceau and Amboise.

So to explain why I’m sitting in a Chenonceau bar, bored out of my mind, not in Amboise, with only half a battery life, and over 3 hours (or the whole night) to wait for a train to Tours on a Sunday is because of Xynthia. That’s right. They name the nasty things. That is how bad they are. On a very sad note, it was reported that three men died because of la tempête.

I feel particularly stupid because Monsieur mentioned it the other day that I should be careful. I though he was just talking about the wind in general which he ALWAYS refers to as tempêtes for that dramatic and fun attitude he and I share when we talk together. Well, apparently he wasn’t being dramatic this time.

Just lovely.

Normally, I’d say, “Well, let’s just visit the chateau again! I can do just the basic tour this time and easily spend the whole day just carefully soaking in each and every room. But that didn’t work thanks to Xynthia (dear lord, I hate that name now). The chateau was closed almost all day due to blown down trees. I’m not talking about the wimpy ones. Chenonceau doesn’t have those. I’m talking about the trees that are several decades, if not, then centuries, old having been blown down.

The French security guy was super nice to me. We ended up in small talk as many French people like to do and that is how I learned about this tree business and that he had also noticed no trains from either direction all morning.

“That means it was bad everywhere, “ he explained. He felt sorry about my bad luck and said that certainly I wasn’t the only one. Indeed, the bar has a couple of other students, French and foreign, who seem to also be bidding their time not being at the Chateau until the next train…at 17:58. It is only 14:30.

This battery better hold."

Well, about three hours later I went back to the train station and found the sign had that next rain canceled, too. As Chenonceau is such a tiny town, there is no proper train station with a proper person to ask about these things so I went to the chateau instead which was open by then.

The same French security guy I mentioned earlier recognized me (not too many French-speaking Americans to be found he later told me) and so did the ticket lady from my visit on Saturday. We all started talking and since they had the Internet connection I had been lacking for about two days, they found out that only very select cities in this part of France over to the ocean coast actually had trains running and even then about half of those trains were incredibly late or canceled as the French train system for the most part works on electricity and the vast majority of wires were down. I was about to have no choice but stay in Chenonceau another night.

However, a young woman who was a souvenir shop worker and who lived in Tours said that Tours was one of the train stations with working trains and that it would be no problem to drop me off. I was immensly grateful and told everyone this over and over. I wanted to pay the woman something for her kindness but she wouldn't take anything, saying that she just wanted to make sure on her part that my stay in France wasn't a complete disaster. "It is important that you understand the French people are far more kind than their weather," she said and I was more than touched.

So I got to the Tours train station and , oh goodness, was it a mad house. Hundreds of people ran in and out of the chaos. I can say at this point I have been at la gare at numerous moments and know the French train system better than I do the American one by now and believe me when I say that it had never been like it was last night ever before. Trains were half and hour late at minimum. Truly half of the trains I saw were empty as they have no where to go and the ticket office was exploding with anxious and desperate people. It was very clear no one had anticipated the level of damage from the storm.

I found a TGV destined for Nantes which would be passing by Angers at least and I asked the first conductor I say and asked, "Does this train ACTUALLY STOP in Angers?" When he replied yes but it is rather crowded, I replied with, "Thanks, sir, but I don't care. Good enough."

Indeed it had to have been over capacity. For TGV it is highly recommended that one gets a reservation before bordering which is only 8 euro with a rail pass like mine but 25 euro on the train if you don't. I couldn't have gotten thought he ticket office in time and I was just ready to pay the stupid 25 euro if the conductor actually bothered to check everyone's ticket (they didn't and I don't blame them). I ended up having to stand most of the way because of the lack of seats but I got to Angers, darn it!

I caught up with Monsieur in his car in the middle of the car traffic that rivaled the people traffic. I jumped in like lightening and we were off. He was actually in a good mood and said, "You sure can get out of some crazy situations can't you?" I sighed and replied, "I don't know Monsieur. Someone up there must like me because I think I operate on luck half the time." He was pleased I met so many wonderful French people working at the chateau and told me that the death toll from la tempête had climbed to over 50 and that every working train station except in the southeast part of France was backed up and overcrowded. I was incredibly lucky to have gotten back that night.

They had dinner ready for me and I realized how hungry I was. It was after 9PM but I had spent the last several hours thinking of things that were more important to me than eating. I ended up talking with Monsieur, Madame about the weather's after affects and laughed when they described to me J.B.'s reaction to la tempête when they called him to make sure he was okay. "Une Tempête? What? Did you get a bit of wind? It is sunny over here!" As he studies all the way down in Arles, he had no clue what had been going on and truly this storm was exceptional for French weather.

I must tell you though that Saturday was an ideal chateau visiting day and I'll come back with that. As Amboise was a no-go this time, I at least now know what I'm doing this weekend for my birthday!

Mandela and Vending Machines

2010-02-25T20:29:00.007+01:00

I'd like to start off saying that I think I just found my new motto.

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."

Nelson Mandela

(Thank you, Mom, who forwarded this to me via e-mail!)

By the way, isn't it cool that South Africa just got done celebrating the 20th anniversary of his liberation. Now they're getting ready for the World Cup being hosted in their country. It is just South Africa's year I think with one significant thing after another!

I wish I could say I have anything significant going on. Really, I'm just getting ready for my first two day trip this weekend. Day 1, I'll be in Chenonceaux, and Day 2, I'll be Amboise. I choose these two places because...

1) They have very significant chateaus and pretty ones at that. Chenonceaux was home to more grands dames than I can think of right now and Amboise is the resting place of Leonardo Da Vinci.

2) They are super, super easy to reach with just a train and a pair of feet. Also they rest in small towns that have a lot of charming stores, hotels, B&Bs, and restaurants.

I was considering adding the city of Tours to my list and use it as a headquarters because almost all chateaus have roads and/or tracks that lead to Tours. However, after consideration that there is way to much in Tours to fit in fairly during a weekend like this, I decided to ditch it and spend the night in Chenonceaux.

Let's hope it goes well.

Moving on to another subject, I've been collecting more and more American things in France. Some may be surprising, others not. For instance, these are the vending machines in the main lobby of the building where CIDEF is located.

To students like me outside of France, if you want the cheapest prices for soda, snacks, coffee, whatever, it would be at the school's vending machines. As a general rule, ANYTHING that is meant to be targeted to a student audience is cheaper. For instance, the cheapest, biggest meal you can get is with the university cafeterias doted around Angers. However, note that the reason it is the cheapest and the biggest is that it is governement subsidized. Truely, I have noted, government food is governement food whether in the U.S. or France. Go in ready for an adventure each time because it could be pretty good or a plain mystery. I haven't gotten sick yet though!

I found this in Le Point which is basically the French Newsweek or Time. This would be an ad for their Fillet-O-Fish or as they call it in France,....Fillet-O-Fish. (Insert laugh at my own joke here.) In case you're curious, this ad claims that all Fillet-O-Fish's in France are made with fish that is 100% wild caught.

This next photo is courtesy of the cute Thai boy I mentioned in one post. He says his name is just too complicated to anyone who isn't Thai so he has everyone call him A. You say is just like the English pronunciation of "A." Super, super easy. He has been studying the whole year so this is actually his second semester. He and his family live in downtown Bangkok where his parents own a top-of-the-line fashion store (I need to take a picture of him because he LOOKS like the kid of fashion store owners). Anyway, he says he is a Starbucks addict because they are everywhere back home and found this so of course had to get it. Can I call this an American thing from France and Thailand, then?

La Poste and American Things in France

2010-02-23T20:42:00.010+01:00

It is funny how we can anticipate something to be very easy and end up being harder than we thought (please refer to "The Epic Battle Between My U.S. Debit Card and The European 'Chip and Pin' system""). Then there are the times when we are so sure that something is going to be complicated and it isn't at all. Finally, I had an experience like that yesterday. (Yes, I did have time to write yesterday but I had caught the lazy bug and watched Les Jeux Olypiques with my host family instead and ogling lean-muscled, pretty French skier boy, Vincent Jay).

I had three post cards to send out and I was absolutely certain there would something different about the French postal system that I'd have to wrap my head around and maybe buy 20 euros worth of stamps if I was lucky to get these stupid pieces of paper state-side! I went up to the very stern face French postal worker and quietly explained I wanted to send these postcards to the U.S. and would like to know what stamps I needed to buy. "Trois cartes-postales? Trois Marianne's." he simple replied and asked for 2,55 euros for the three Marianne's what is apparently a postal nickname for a standard French 0,85 euro stamp with the allegory of France, a rugged-looking woman named Marianne. Joy! I hope my recipients get there post cards without problem!

Also I have taken to also occupying myself with "American Things in France" of which I notice many. I figure not everyone is as fascinated with dogs or food as I am but they may take an interest in the enormous American influence here in France. Before I came here, I had an idea that my side of the world had an influence on the world. However, I couldn't really comprehend to what extent until now. It is both fun and terribly bizarre. There are times other American students and I experience what I call the "Alice in Wonderland Effect." It is all so familiar and yet NOT. So here is the beginning of what I hope is another interesting theme. For now, we have a couple of books.

Yes, it is Twilight. Yes, those are titles like Tentation and Hésitation. If you ask me, the French make Twilight sexy....I'll be waiting for those responses like "What?!? You thought it wasn't already sexy?" In a word, no. But that is neither here nor there now because with words like that, how can't it have just a little bit of sexiness à la Française? Hmm?

Of course, my French family was quick to make sure when the subject of Dan Brown came up that I didn't actually believe everything he wrote in the story about the Catholic Church and France. I was happy to tell them I didn't at all.

I've noticed that this is a hugely popular cookbook in stores at the moment. It is still fascinating to me that is a point of curiousity to the French that American breakfasts are as large as they are. The idea of a complete breakfast here is a croissant or other pastry and a chocolat (think super thick, creamy hot chocolate drink) or café. Thankfully, my host family has some other (and I think healthier) options to eat. Inside the book there is are recipes for pumpkin pie that tries to pass off as a Halloween tradition, Thanksgiving turkey, gumbo, and chili con carne among many, many others. On the chili note, every French person I've talked food with so far has been certain that chili con carne is the only kind of chili in existence and were shocked to learn that there are really hundreds of varieties usually based on household and region in the States. Yes, North American food may not include snails or goose liver but it can be complicated to comprehend and goes beyond le hamburger thank you very much!

All for now. Will come back with more!

St. Malo and Mont St-Michel

2010-02-21T09:31:00.027+01:00

I'm so happy to present to you all another photo-filled post! It was a very nice adventure yesterday, the most tame I've taken so far because the whole trip was very scheduled and planned out for us. But I didn't care. I got to try mussels for the first time at St. Malo! That is where we'll start.

There were three bus loads of CIDEF students. I was on bus 1 which happened to be the one bus we borrowed from Angers local semi-professional Football team. Snazzy, no?

St. Malo happens to be a major French port and has been for centuries. It is now used primarily for British imports.

I hung out with Heidi all day and had a very good time as she is as willing to try different things as much as me, including storming the local chateau/museum. This is her!

Up the main tower of the chateau, we took great amusement with the tiny doors everywhere (shown here) and also the AMAZING views of the Atlantic and the town.

This would be the flag of St. Malo...

I continue "The French and Their Dogs" theme! I would show cats, too, but they just don't have the same constant presence of dogs.

And just before leaving, Heidi and I joined another American named James who is from Oregon for lunch at a place that was having a "Moules-Frites" special that day. Mussels are a new favorite of mine now! You might notice I also had a boule of Cidre de Bretagne. I find it very tasty and usually one can order the sweet or hard version, both being alcoholic though. I've had both and like the hard taste to compliment all my food and the sweet just by itself.

Next was Mont St-Michel and it touristy without any doubt. Bring a lot of money if you plan on purchasing ANYTHING, even a trip to the bathroom. The isle itself is fascinating to walk through with the high concentration of touristy goods and food. The monastery was breathtaking for me. Probably because of all the stairs but really it has a majesty and mystic quality I've almost never experienced before. You need to get to the monastery somehow and as Monsieur later told me, it is all a part of the pilgrimage experience. Too true.

No, I can't keep away from the dogs, especially not clever ones who can carry their own leashes. Dogs were everywhere at Mont St-Michel except at the monastery where they were forbidden.

The monastery was of course my focus and what a good focus to have. Despite the commercialism surrounding it, I wasn't at all disappointed with the legend that is THE Mont St-Michel.

Believe me, the pictures I have and the rooms and chapels there are exhaustive and there is not enough time to load all of them on this post. These are just some of my favorites. Before I finish, I leave you with one last Mon St-Michel dog.

Classes

2010-02-19T15:43:00.004+01:00

I just got out of classes for the day. I start Fridays at 8AM with oral expression which isn't bad but isn't stimulating either for me at this point in time as the pace of activites is rather slow. Our teacher is a young woman who is a French student at UCO, earning what is the French equivalent to a Master Degree in the Foreign Languages. She's only about three years older than me I believe. Her specialty is English which I have hear her speak. She's rather good. However, a young teacher is still a young teacher over here. Her lack of savvy shows as to the nature of students and especially students who are naturally timid to just talk in a second language. Still, I'm going to give the class time. We've still got over three months to liven things up!

I'm also taking, as you know, my general language class. Wow, it is interesting and I say that with a multitude of significations. First, plain and simple, I am getting the technical fine tuning in there that I've been craving for a while. Little rules with article usage, prepositions, etc. have always been a downfall for me but I've been developing them more and more. The teacher is very expereinced and has a very good idea about the nature and abilities of her students and what they need to move forward. I have not come across a single piece of homework or in class activity that hasn't had a progressive purpose. It is also an interesting class as the the under layer of activity. Ah, I hate to do it because I feel like I'm bashing my own country but the Americans! Of course, I'm ONLY talking about an exclusive group in my classes who will talk in class (in English), whisper to me and asking what the homework was (in English), and smack talk the teacher and calling her a bitch in the halls just outside the classroom (in English). One of them one time proudly announced that the only time she enjoyed going to the general language class was when she came in drunk. As I'm sure you imagine, they use no discretion about their opinion of the class or the teacher. The teacher, God love her, shows no reaction to their attitude and lets none of it interfere with her teaching.

This American group (almost exclusively made up of girls) and others similar to them I have found are well noticed by the other nationalities attending UCO. I was talking outside of class to a girl from California (but who goes to Boston, Mass. for school) named Heidi Wroblicky in French. One of the reasons I have taken to love hanging out with Heidi outside of class is because not only do we have our shared American background and similar reactions to French culture but she is actually happy to have a whole conversation in French with me. Suddenly, a cute Thai boy from Bangkok came up to us in the hall and asked in French if we were Americans because he was kind of confused and thought that we looked like the Americans but maybe not. I gave him a puzzled looked and said, "Um, ya, we're Americans. Why do you ask?" And he responded very straightforwardly, that we were actually talking in French and not English and ALL the Americans kids around here only talk in English outside of class. He was just surprised and kind of appreciated that we actually bothered.

I share this story if anything because I know the people of the bilingual world of the Illinois School for the Deaf would understand the meanings here completely.

My other three classes are just plain enjoyable, Cultural Studies/Economics, Art History, and Literature. The Culture teacher is the most bubbly and optimisitc Frenchwoman I've yet met and currently we are diccussing the make up of the French population and will dive into what is a French citizen next week, a very interesting topic as currently France has been experiencing immigrant waves from old colonies such as in Africa, changing the physical portrait of the typical French citizen. Also, many of these new citizens are Muslim as well, opening up another set of issues concerning Islamic verses French traditions.

When have just finished Neo-Classicim in Art History and have been looking at Romantisicim for a day and a half. The class is simple and easy compared to what I've studied back home but it is incredibly facinately all the same to see paintings I've laready studied intensly through American eyes now through French eyes. There's is certainly a difference. I am really looking forward to the rest up until our contemporary time.

Litterature is where I think my mind has to work the hardest. We have just finished skimming the surface of Alcool by Apollinaire. The man is, of course, one of the most beautiful poets I've ever read with his melancholic and bewitching verses. He is also a man of word play and is a master at it. I've had to look up a lot of comentary about his specific poems and use the dictionary with abandon but by the end of each examination I have this liberating and accomplished feeling that is just addictive. I must then read more. The other two major reads for the semester are Isabelle by André Gide and La Cantatrice chauvre by Eugène Ionesco.

For those of you who like order in their lives, I'd like to scare you a little with the idea of having a class schedule like mine. Enjoy! (Ah, and I should mention that the classes don't tend to meet in the same room all the time.)

Monday:
Language: 2:30-4:45PM
Oral Expression: 5:00-5:55PM

Tuesday:
Social Economics: 8:00-8:55AM
Art History: 10:15-11:15AM
Language: 1:30-3:30PM

Wednesday:
Social Economics: 10:15AM-12:15PM
Art History: 1:30- 2:25PM
Oral Expression: 2:30-3:30PM
Literature: 5:00-5:55PM

Thursday:
Literature: 1:30-3:30PM

Friday:
Oral Expression: 8:00-8:55AM
Language: 10:15AM-12:15PM
Art History: 1:30-2:45PM

The Epic Battle Between My U.S. Debit Card and The European "Chip and Pin" system

2010-02-18T20:32:00.003+01:00

Ever had a time when your card wasn't accepted because there was no more money in it? Well, ever had a time when your card wasn't accepted and there was still tons of money in it? They just honest-to-goodness don't like the way your card is set up? Yep, it happened to me. For almost a week now up until yesterday, I had been thinking to myself every other chance I had to figure out how to get more money or I should say more of MY money.

It is up to American in Europe to search not solely for an ATM, restaurant, or store to use a credit or debit card for that instance but to also search for one of these things to accept your American credit or debit card. I have had to learn in the challenging way how Europe's "more advanced and protected" "chip and pin system" works. Europeans no longer use a bar and signature system like we do and haven't since the late nineties, about the time the Euro came into being. A signature is no longer good enough to their eyes. To authenticate your ownership you MUST have your PIN at the ready as well as an encoded chip in the card. This thankfully isn't to say that the good ol' bar won't work here. American cards DO WORK HERE. Though it is rather like trying to download a PC program onto a Mac. Possible, but not without a little extra effort.

It is just a pain in the tuckus finding well-informed store owners/ bank-tellers who understand and know the differences and how to work with them. Pretty much all of them looked at me like they should call the insane asylum with all my strange talk of bars and "Ma carte a un bar. Est-ce qu'il y a un distributeur automatique qui peut traiter une carte avec un bar?!?!?!" They respond with "Bar? You mean like this? (shows a European card- the bar is on them by the way. I do not know why but only that the chip is what is important...and the pin number)" "Yes!" I respond, "But what I don't have is the chip!" Then they shrug their shoulders to which I can only say then, "Alors, merci, monsieur/madame. Bonne journée (walks out dejected leaving a very confused employee)."

This was until Madame asked about my day yesterday after I had got done with one of my hunts and I explained my situation to which she was also confused. Suddenly Jean-Bapiste launched in, saying, "Oh yeah, that's sounds about right. The U.S. system would definitely find some incompatibility with the European system." He then gave a lecture to his mother that I listened in on and later confirmed on the Internet about everything that I just explained essentially.

Later, Monsieur, who is an accountant and thus kind of knows a thing or two about banks to put it mildly, printed up a list of ATMs that should work for me and which so far have! So I had two miracles in one day (in case you haven't been paying attention). I can now get money with no problem and I could comprehend J.B. for once. I don't know if it was because he was speaking slower or I've been getting better. I'll go far enough to maybe say a little of both.

Food-Filled Valentine's Day: Part Deux

2010-02-16T16:21:00.003+01:00

Alas, I have to put a disclaimer here and admit there are no photos of this day. I thought it might be a little obnoxious and I was nervous as it was entering and eating in the homes of complete French strangers. In retrospect, I'm sure it wouldn't have been a big deal. So, sorry everyone!

Okay, so how do I describe the comparison between the country attitude of France as compared to the United States? Well, to start, my first impression of Monsieur's parents was not unlike meeting two more elderly members of my hometown. They were both incredibly warm and down-to-earth. Monsieur's mother kept an eagle's eye on the appetites of the children and me to make sure we had enough to eat. I have never said, "Oh, no, no, no. Thank you! But I've just had so much already! Well, if I don't want to be impolite.....why, yes!" so much in so many different ways ever before. Monsieur's father insisted, "Here, as far as you're concerned Mademoiselle, I'm called Papi. You got that?" and then he gave a smile that I'm sure covered 75% of his face. Between the honest, simple attitude and the lived-in feeling of their big comfortable home in the middle of nowhere, I'd say that country is country whether you're in France or the States.

At this point for dinner after a grandiose lunch, if I were back home, AT MOST I'd have a small veggie salad if anything. But here, that doesn't work .

First, everyone had a small glass of Papi's homemade wine as Monsieur's mother brought out a noodle and broth soup and had the little girls bring out the baguettes. Then there was a carrot salad...or I think it was salad. It was carrots julienne with a sort of homemade mayonnaise dressing, bordered on a platter with hard-boiled eggs. After that...more wine, but at this point I figured out that by then it was okay to decline the wine and just have water. Thank God. Don't get me wrong! It was great wine; interesting, really. It had a smoky and very sweet flavor. I'd never thought of wine ever having a smoky taste but there we go.

The main course was a goose meat paté and green beans in a marinara sauce. Like every french home meal it seems, we then had a huge variety of cheese to eat. Here is where I'd like to point out one of my first lessons here about eating in France. Bread isn't just important, it is as indispensable as silverware. One uses almost always the same plate for every course and bread is used to wipe up and eat one's plate clean. There's no room for finicky eaters here or you're asking for an awkward situation. As for the cheese course, you must ALWAYS eat your cheese on bread. Doing so without is just, well, weird. So have learned to conserve my dinner baguette in order to have as much chèvre as I please without stares and questions. I love chèvre which I'm sure put me in the good book with Monsieur who may love cheese more than anyone I know. The man would be a connoisseur in the States, but I'm coming to find that here he is pretty much the average French man. They love cheese that much.

Then, there was dessert. Dessert is a standard. Not just for dinner, it is also hard to think of a decent lunch without ending it with something sweet adn this dessert was a round after round after round of gaufres with jam and then also a gateau drenched in some type of alcohol served with as much crème anglaise as you could want! Would you prefer vanilla or chocolate crème, because Monsieur's mother saw to that everyone at least tried both.

Finally, I left my stomach to its marathon workout while I slipped mint tea and watch the Swiss and the French kick American butt during the ski events at the Vancouver Oylpimics. "Don't worry," Papi assured me. "This isn't your (meaning the American's) strength anyway. You will always get away with a lot of metals for ice skating and during the Summer Games. Your times of triumph will always be there. In the meantime.....Vive la France!" Honestly, that is how he said it. I couldn't help but laugh and join his cheering when another Frenchman toppled the top scoring American's time. It was just a wonderful and satisfying day and I hope to have more sans the headache and stomachache by bedtime. Oh, well.

Vive la France!

What a Food-Filled Valentine's Day!

2010-02-15T07:17:00.003+01:00

Ah, I just woke up after spending the whole day with the Peaud family as we visited Monsieur's entire family. In summary, my end-of-the-day reaction was a sore stomach and a sore head but in a good way.

We didn't start the day until 11:00 AM and first traveled to this little White Hall-equivalent French town, called Bressuire, deep in the Loire Valley French countryside. Like about any well-established town in the Loire Valley it would seem, this one, too, had its own chateau. It was interesting to look at as the exterior walls were obviously from the violent Middle Ages but tucked inside was a typical fancy Renaissance chateau built much later.

Living in Bressuire, is Monsieur's little brother, his brother's wife, and their three girls. The two oldest are in college. One is studying Chemistry and the other is studying Physics. Both parents are mathematical as well being both teachers in the Sciences and Maths. Dinner parties (or in this case, lunch parties) last hours at the table here truly. We sat down at 12:30 and didn't get up for a customary stroll though the town until about 5:00. About midway through my head was throbbing already. The way families communicate has proven to be the hardest for me to listen to and comprehend. Almost all grammar and especially vocabulary is in the familiar style. Then there is also the subject matter which can also be hard to follow even in an English setting thanks to the power of the inside joke.

I was apparently quite the pleasant and exotic presence at the table. I was exotique because I'm a foreigner and when I came to France, one of the first things I learned was that the French almost never step outside of their own country, even to go to Switzerland or Belgium. Hence, they find anything outside of their own world to be a big deal. I was pleasant (or at least I think I was pleasant) because I was one of the very few Americans they had met who was willing to only communicate in French. I was incredbly flattered when Monsieur introduced me as their American student this semester and that I prefer speaking French and do it rather well. I felt myself get red in the face and sputtered out a merci and disclaimer that I still had a ways to go in my French skills.

I have been slowly learning that the Americans and the British are known for their firm insistence on speaking English. This seems to be a point of insult to the French. Monsieur's brother and I discussed French chateaus during the post-lunch stroll and he explained the common trend for the British to buy French chateaus and stay their during their vacation time because to buy a house like that in England by comparison is ridiculously expensive. However, he said, they also only buy chateaus that are close to other British-owned chateaus so their are whole communities of British people throughout France but they have no wish to interact or participate in French life or with the French people.

Later, I asked why the French do not often travel outside of their country. I pointed out that I have traveled only in my country before just now but the United States in gigantic and it is common for Americans to also travel to Canada and Mexico as well. The idea of exploring only a country the size of Texas all my life strikes me as rather claustrophobic in comparison. They were very happy to respond, saying they France has many diverse regions to visit and also an incredibly rich culture with world-class museums and chateaus and made many suggestions as to where I should visit in the next few months which was very, very useful. They however also expressed sympathy for me in that the United States isn't so complex in its culture and all we have are the exceptional landforms and New York City. This was the only point of insult that I've so far experienced though I don't think it was intended to be insulting at all. Then they explained that there is also a language barrier to consider. EVERYWHERE, they emphasized, people speak English but not French. I can go anywhere they said and have no problem. As for them, they don't even like the idea of going to Switzerland, Quebec, or Belgium because even though they speak French, there are dialect differences.

As a side note for all the Germans out there, it amazes the French how much English the German people can speak and that it is so easy for them to communicate in it. I'm not sure what to think of that or what you think of that. I'd already let it slip earlier that I was related to some Germans.... so they looked to me for so sort of affirmation. I had to say of course that I did know some Germans who spoke amazing English. I felt too awkward with their incredibly confident opinion to mention that these same Germans are also dual citizens to Germany AND the United States. Yah, their English is superb. Having American mothers does that to a German kid.

But, hey, in summary it was truly a wonderful time. I will probably be back with part two of yesterday because my day wasn't done at all after that lunch. Next was round two with Monsieur's parents and sister where I got a taste of what is considered French rural life.

Guess where I was today!

2010-02-13T20:51:00.017+01:00

So I found out that I was mistaken and that the Peaud's are going to the father's brother's home on Sunday and not Saturday. In my defense, Monsieur originally gave the invitation specifying only that it was the weekend. For some reason I surmised it was on Saturday because he first asked if I had any plans Saturday. Huh. Oh, well. So last night I was talking with Monsieur and Madame and having realized Saturday was open, I asked myself aloud to them what I should do? Madame suggested that, well, since I had that train pass, maybe Paris might be fun for a quick trip. The thought hadn't occured to me since I figured that a day trip to Paris might be too advanced in my travel skills but they were so confident I'd be fine, I responded with a sure-why-not answer.

So that's where I just back from and you know what? I'd say that one should only wish winter in Paris on their enemies! The wind isn't anywhere near are forceful as home but, man, does it bite! Since I figure I'll be back more weekends to come (when it is warmer....), I only visited the Luxembourg gardens, Saint Sulpice, and Notre Dame. Though it was cold, the gardens were rather nice for Parisian people gawking. To all my friends out there who like to jog, if you want to jog during your Paris stay, do it at the Gardens. It is obvious as soon as you step foot in there, it is a jogger's domain. Naturally though, because it was so cold, I wasn't there long.

Next, I went to Saint Sulpice. A natural choice as it is a Parisian block away from the Gardens, it became my favorite to visit at the end of the day. I say a "Parisian" block away because as a native-born Midwesterner, it took some time to keep my head straight when it came to comprehending the begininng and ending of streets here. I'm used to streets that end at a 90 degree angle corner. French streets end at corners that are more like points...or half circles....or slight turns....it depends.

I'd love to pause and take the time here to say bravo to Paris for an easy to use Metro system. I used the famed le Métro today and it was great. It was especially great because it got me out of the cold periodically.

Before Notre Dame, I HAD to get lunch and a warm one at that. The French idea of lunch is more like my idea of a big dinner. it makes me glad I have to walk a lot or my health would be in major trouble over here. However, I cannot stress enough how cold it was in Paris today. My feet were numb and I liked them that way because when they weren't numb, the cold pierced them like I was walking in shoes made of knives. Not pleasant at all. This situation called for la soupe à l'oignon, which is a bit of a comfort food of mine. On the River Gauche, I took my chances at a rustic-looking restaurant in a alley-like street nearby Notre Dame called Le Chat Qui Pêche. It seemed to me that eating at a restaurant called "The Fishing Cat" would at the very least leave me with a half-good story to tell later rather than something called like The Quasimodo Café or something like that.

I ended up being very happy I when because I was so cold and tired, I could talk straight in French. The server gave me a charmed smile and we ended up in a Franglais conversation and I got my soup...and the restaurant's plat du jour which was (ha!) salmon with a mustard sauce. I was definitely sensing a theme.

Notre Dame was great and yet disappointing after visiting Saint Sulpice. Visiting a place like the later was became a meditative experience for me. It was quiet and reverent. Worshipers kneeled in their silent prayers, art enthusiasts took their sweet time soaking in the building's ecceltic architecture design. There was no flash photography, loud tourists, and overpriced souvenirs just outside the door like Notre Dame. Yet, it had a energy of its own and I can appreciate that. I was still incredibly happy to have finally made it to at least those two Parisian churches.

Coming back to Angers, I was greeted by the Peaud family who, at least for the French student Feburary vacation, now include all three children in the house. Mathilde is gone for the weekend having apparently some girlfriend time so that leaves me with the two boys. Jean-Bapiste is without any doubt the intellectual type. He is also the left-brained type as his attention to language is completely lacking. This isn't to say he is rude or tries to confuse me when I'm trying to communicate with him. This is to say he ALWAYS talks in the informal type of French and he does it rapidly leaving me in the dust of the converstation. Madame and Monsieur had to remind him throughout the evening to speak slowly and completely and at the same time were kind enough to stop the conversation about his recent trip to Morocco for a school project in order to explain vocabulary they thought I might not understand. I had a hard time convincing them that almost all of my slow comprehension was just fatigue from a whole day trip to Paris.

It is times like these were I become so frustrated with my limited communication skills. I desperately want to show that I'm not as simple as I talk or comprehend. I actually think things that are complicated, REALLY COMPLICATED. I mean complicated as in I think about more than just observations about the weather or my classes or the ridiculous number of pigeons in Paris. I analyze and then I make conclusions about these observations and I like getting into conversations about them and then I have the habit as an English major of using unique, different vocabulary to express these things. So far, talking in French, I've barely broken through communicating the analyzing part successfully.

At least I got to go to Paris.

First Big Girl French Book

2010-02-12T09:14:00.002+01:00

Quick Post! Just excited that we're starting with poetry by Apollinaire in his folio, Alcools. Very melancholic but beautiful. I'dh eard about him before but hadn't read any of his poetry in French. Of course, WAY BETTER in French though a challenge to read for someone at my level. My first poem to conquer this weekend is "Le Pont Mirabeau" which is about lost love. Really? Lost love as a theme to study over Valentine's Day weekend? Oh, well. Lost love can be beautiful in its own way, too, I suppose.

2010-02-11T08:55:00.011+01:00

Goodness, a lot has been on my mind this week. Good news! I read the school guidelines and Oral Expression classes have no minimum student requirements, just a maximum which I believe is in the 12 to 15 range. The last time I looked at the list yesterday we were at five which seems like a really good number to me. I have so many good choices but only the time and sanity for a limited amount. It turns out the French-English translation class professor is a friend of Monsieur Peaud. Darn, because it sounds like he would have been good. A Japanese student told me that the class was hard but worth it because of how much one has to learn. However, concerning my specific situation and place in my studies, I am content with my choices.

So....I'm taking Oral Expression, Social Economics of France, French Art History, French Literature of the 20th century, and finally my general language class. That's my final decision and there will definatley be work but I don't care. I'll do it all happily if it means I'll be learning more and more about French. Being among the French has really encouraged me to want to work my butt off to become fluent. One day....

Well, in the meantime, this Sunday is Valentine's Day or here as they call it, Le jour de la Saint-Valentin. I have absolutely NO IDEA what I'll be doing. Probably homework. The day before on Saturday I've been given the invitation by Monsieur Peaud to join the whole family for a visit to his brother's. I wasn't sure at the time but perhaps I think I should take advantage of the opportunity. Last Saturday when I was with them, I was so tired because of the intense French-only communication, but as I've told the Peaud's, it is a satisfied kind of tired. I just wonder how they are going to fit me and the three other Peaud kids in one of those compacts! That reminds me that the oldest, Jean-Bapitist, came back to France from Morocco where he was in the middle of a project for his engineering studies. He comes home tomorrow as well as Mathile, the middle child and only daughter. I could also visit another out-of-the-way chateau perhaps as well on Sunday. I don't know. I'll see what gets assigned today in Literature and tomorrow's classes as well.

I've been making you all read a lot and I know this. For your patience with me, I present to you the grounds of my university for the semester!

Below here is the University Palace. Basically it is the main and central building. It is home to various classes, the Humanities Library, and a tiny cafeteria. As a side note, this photo was taken during a rare sunny moment. The weather is so somber here in the winter! Illinois is downright sunny in comparison.

Close-up of the door there.

They are also in the middle of rennovating much of the campus so the entrance inside the University Palace is a little less than joli, but you get the idea.

And here is my home away from home specifically on campus. Of course, it is the library.

So bizarre to see one's mother tongue in the foreign language section.

Here is the building I take almost all of my classes and where most language classes in general take place.

Well, I guess that is it for now! Time for class!

Simple Update/ Second day of class

2010-02-09T21:18:00.002+01:00

Well, I'm in what is called Moyen deuxième degré (middle second level) and so am right in the middle (somewhat off centered to the advanced) group of French language students there. Not bad considering Monsieur Canfield of the EIU Foreign Language Department and I both figured me to be Moyen première degré (middle first level) material, the level just below deuxième degré. This means I have a little more choice in taking "fun" cultural classes and not just language classes. Parfait!

Finding out exactly how to sign up for classes and where to go for said classes was a exam in itself for not just myself but everyone else as well who wasn't French.Both Asian and North American students were incredibly nervous and stressed because we are used to these general bits of information made plain well ahead of the time students even set foot on campus for the first day of classes. It wasn't until just before our classes in general were about to start were we finally given our general language classroom and teacher assignments and course choices and when and where they would be.

We are all required to take a general French language class which is assigned to us. This class can take up anywhere from 12 of one's 18 credit hours at the introductory level to just 6 hours out of the 18 which starts at the Moyen deuxième degré. Any classes outside of that can either be restrictive such as at the beginning level or more flexible with more subjects to study within French. For example, in my case I can take up to nine hours of just culturally based classes and only have to take one more language classes. Almost all classes are chosen by students during the first week where we can attend as many classes as we want this week and we can decide whether to sign up for the course by the final class. Out of my choices that I've seen on paper, I found the one's that fit me best time-wise and academically are Social Economics of France, 20th century French Literature, and French Art History. I've already had Social Economics and Art History and I think they are perfect fits for me. We'll visit Literature and see how it goes. I really, really hope well.

My other language class outside of my general one I also hope will be Oral Expression but I won't find out where that will meet until they have a definite sign up list for that class. Oral-based classes are unique because the must be signed up for by the end of tomorrow and then they will calculate where the class will be if there is a class...last time I checked by mid-afternoon today, I was the only one signed up on my level. So I'm not sure if it stays that way whether they will cancel the class or I'll be it. Either option leaves a knot in my stomach.

If I had to give the French lifestyle a theme, it would be "All in good time. Patience." Let me tell you that patience is how things are run here from where I've been positioned. After having been raised in the comparively fast-paced, super organized world of the United States, I have found myself having to aquire patience and calmness like never before as if they were some survival tools. In the meantime, my other survival tools of being fast-paced and super driven have been put aside for now out of necessity for keeping my sanity.

Well, third day of classes tomorrow and the observation/decision week has yet to be over so this poule is off to bed. Bon nuit tout le monde.

Chateau Number 1

2010-02-07T20:21:00.019+01:00

Okay, so to get my feet wet (so to say) I took a day trip with my rail pass to a close-by village called, Langeais, home of Langeais Chateau built in the Middle Ages. I have truly learned how dead everything becomes in French culture on Sundays. I was lucky in that when I arrived to the town it was market day so I can present to you some photos of what French markets look like!

....Not exactly what one would always find at a farmer's market. Having gone to another French market like this yesterday with my host family, the French father explained that the French markets have a huge variety and by no means sell just food.

See! And the underwear was conveniently nestled between two sausage booths which I'm not sure was for enticement or what. I cannot make this up.

Mwah! Ha! Ha! Ha! The Food Porn returns!!!!!!!!!!

More to come on later market days in other places.

In the meantime I, of course, visited the chateau. I did this, well, mainly because it was open and I had to do something outside of Angers today. I'm glad I went. It is a self-guided kind of visit or visite-libre here and I highly recommend it for any traveler for numerous reasons.

First, for those who don't really know French, all the information there is multi-lingual with French, English, German, Italian, and other languages posted to guide you through the rooms. Second, for those (like me) who know a decent amount of French but retain the language skills of a little kid, this place is perfect because it is so geared towards educating children. Oh, on that note, it is the only chateau that I yet know of that has a playground on its grounds and one with a super cool treehouse to boot!

Third, it is highly overlooked as a chateau and so the crowds are not really ever an issue to deal with. Fourth, the place is only a five minute walk from the train station which makes seeing it incredibly convient. Actually, everything here was a five minute walk now that I think about it. This includes the cute village hotel with its own restaurant with a great looking prix fixe menu.

This one below is for those of you who are interested in minority studies like me; the portrayal of a black-skinned man in the Middle Ages.

Finally, there is a tea salon across the street from the chateau that is also a chocolate shop that makes their own sweets. The tea selection is very diverse and I think the best buy on the menu as far as drinks go.

I finished lunch today with an absoulutely fabulous "petit gateau" called gargantuan. It was like eating a chocolate cloud covered with chocolate shavings and served on a fluffy, equally cloud-like sweet biscuit. Ah! Heaven. For those interested, it is called Le Cafe Rabelais.

I end with another cute French dog picture from the market today. I see perhaps a theme developing here.

My Home for Four Monthes

2010-02-05T09:08:00.022+01:00

Well, since there is nothing in my schedule until Monday, today is a vacation day for me and it has been rather nice. Madame and Monsieur were right on it to make sure I would have things to occupy me today. They are both the natural parenting kind which is rather nice to a foreigner like me. It is the little things like leaving the TV guide at my table place at breakfast today that makes one's experience ridiculously nice. I'm feeling a little spoiled already! So I'll knit, read Le Petit Prince (which I have never read before so finally I've started it in the original French version), watch French DVDs, and head into town about noon for lunch.

IN THE MEANTIME.....finally, I have photos to show off. Today's theme is my home for four months.Below is my bedroom which is rather comfy and because the neighborhood is so nice and quiet, it is really easy to get a good night's sleep.

And here is the upstairs I share with the youngest son. The other two Peaud children are, of course, at school. Apparently Mathilde, the middle child and only girl, comes almost every weekend back home so I'll get to meet her soon.

The turquoise thing in the photo of the shower is my bathrobe for my stay from my host family. I even have a matching towel!

The toliet is kept in a different room that reminds me of something like a linen closet...but not like in a bad way or anything.

These photos below are the kitchen and living room. As you might imagine the house is nothing vast but it isn't in the least bit cramped.

Here's something different for me! Shoes are somewhat forbidden throughout the house. I keep mine with the family's in the laundry room. Instead, everyone wears slippers. These are the ones I get to wear while I'm here! Hey, they work for what they need to do. What do you all think?

I love how many dogs I've seen! I took this in the morning as the sun was coming up...in 9 in the morning! Illinois's winter looks sunny next to Anger's. I've quickly gotten used to it. I just thought this was cute as I was taking a picture of the house this morning.

Sigh. Just can't win..okay, maybe a little.

2010-02-04T18:48:00.004+01:00

Well, it would seem that while in France, Americans and I are not exactly compatible. Or at least that is my situation with the AHA group that I met yesterday. The more I am with them, the more I realize that practicing speaking French isn't a big interest for them. They prefer at this point to speak English with Americans and follow a very structured schedule provided for them by their organization which plans excursions, lunches, dinners, and other activities to fully guide them through Angers and UCO. I have enjoyed being in their company but today I found myself not as warmly welcomed to spend time with them as yesterday. An American student who is studying for her equivalent to a Master's degree in Arts Management at UCO shut me down as well when I was explaining that often the logic of the French confuses me (there is, of course, no logic to how things like buildings and addresses here are named and organized) and said that this was one thing I actually do wish was more like home. Then I added with a soft laugh that I hoped their confusing organization didn't make me miss class and fail (insert grin and laugh here...like I'd actually be serious about that. You'll see what I mean soon.). The girl stared at me and said that it was impossible to fail just because of the way they happen to do things of which there is nothing wrong at all. I will fail though if I don't bother to put any effort at all and that she could guarantee me. (I italicize the words she emphasized here.) My response was an honest-to-goodness straight response and I quote,"Well, that seems to make sense to me." I was stared at and became a pariah to the Americans for the rest of the day. Wow. Can ya feel the irony of not getting along with my own nationality? Actually, the French are fully aware of how illogical they are and I don't think they have taken any offense to my comments. I have pleasantly chatted about it with both the UCO administration office and my host family. C'est la vie as they say about it.

The semester hasn't really started yet and maybe I will find students to talk to next week.

As a result I'm kind of lonely socially as a student. I look at AHA with some envy. They have each other to hang out with. It is just me with me. I'm really lucky to have a host family that at least seems to like me and is patient and willing to let me practice my French with them. Oh yeah, and the rest of Angers is willing to have me practice, too.

A woman at a boulangerie I was having my daily petit cafe at said to me sympathetically,"Learning French. It can be difficult, no? But it can be done. By your small accent, you're at least very good at English." (Credit my new "petit accent" to my host family) I didn't know how to politically explain that it wasn't her words that were confusing me. It is these dang euros I was trying to pay her! Argh! Who needs a 2 euro coin? It is like handling a 2 dollar bill. It should only be used when you want to frustrate and tease the user of such currency and the E.U. must have it out for all of Europe to have created such a thing. Yet the French shopkeepers love those things. I keep on getting asked if I have coins instead of paper when I am in desperate need to break a 5 so I ironically do have coins to please all the other coin-loving stores in Angers. I love the bills though. America needs tomorrow from that part of the system seriously.

God must like me or something because even though I can't get along with some of the American students, I can get along with the French quite well and that truly makes me feel good. I am so thankful that I came here advanced enough in my language skills to talk to my host family about my situation. Actually the last American student that stayed with them had a similar problem with her American classmates.

I want to be clear here that I'm not trying to be a snob about wanting to speak French all the time. It is just I only have four months to spend in an only French-speaking atmosphere and I refuse to spend almost all that time speaking English. With this blog and communicating with all of you is of course different as writing this blog in French misses its whole purpose.

I hope for all of you as my readers that that will hopefully be enough drama for a bit, because I have so much fun stuff to write about. I won't bore you now but I shall return with pictures of where it is I'm living and more of what I'm eating. If there are two things that interest me most about French people they are the language and the food. I know those of you who have been in France are thinking about all the bread and, yes, I have truely NEVER eaten so much bread in my life. It must be filling up my blood veins by now and I shall return to the states as a baguette.

Complicated Day

2010-02-03T23:47:00.000+01:00

I had a good placement exam today I think. It is required of all CIDEF students (the foreign language department at UCO) to take an exam which is graded and presented not quite unlike the SATs. Every question was "fill-in-the-bubble" and a point was taken off for every wrong answer. I hate it when tests are graded like that. I just naturally want to take chances with answers for no particular reason and you just can't do that with such tests. Oh, well. I find out the results and my class choices this Monday.

I met a bunch of American students who were just great to hang out with. They are with a group called AHA which is an inter-university program that brings students over to study at CIDEF and guides them through life in France. I really enjoy the organizers because they are Americans who have lived in Angers for several years and have a very hybrid French-American flare to them. They also have given me some great tips and on handling everyday life and language as a person coming from America and wanting to adapt seamlessly to French culture.

The only somewhat bad thing was that the students' French was not that great so to communicate better with them, I spoke in English. Unfortunately, by evening my mind was suddenly in English mode but I hadn't realized it yet. I had my dinner at a French "Fast Food" place by myself so I could begin reading my French "Elle" magazine. I had told Monsieur Peaud this morning that I wanted to save up my dinners for the month and eat out instead this evening. (It was a super cheap 5 euro dinner to boot). Suddenly it was almost 8:00PM and I was too late to catch the last bus to my host family's home. They told me that in such a situation to call them and so I did. When I called I realized to my horror that I couldn't speak as fluently as I could this morning or comprehend Madame Peaud on the phone. I place blame though not only on falling into "English mode" but also being so embarrassed and hence unable to think straight. When she arrived, after several moments, where she was confused that suddenly I couldn't understand her as well as this morning or talk as well, I finally comprehended that Monsieur Peaud misunderstood me and they had wondered where I was at dinner. Monsieur Peaud made a specialty of his as well so I could try it!

Well, Madame was very kind, saying there will be another time to have a dinner like that but emphasized to me the importance of watching the time and not to make it a habit to be late for things. However, she also emphasized that just because of tonight I shouldn't think going out to dinner is forbidden and that it is perfectly natural for young people to want to hang out together and that is what they should do and both she and Monsieur Peaud were very agreeable when I told them I was going out again tomorrow evening by invitation of my new American friends.

But I just feel so rude and like a mental clutz for falling into the trap of using English when I was doing so well on my French track. It just- I don't know- I just feel so embarassed on many levels.
Thankfully I took that test this morning because I was still in French mode.

I admit, I've hit a block where a part of me wants to be home again, safe in the English-speaking walls of America and people, and places, and customs that not just I understand but understand me. At the same time, I have to remember, I've had a very good time up until this evening and have already learned so much.

I hope it will be better in the morning.

Second day in France

2010-02-02T17:42:00.004+01:00

Wow, what a day. It is actually taking some thought to write and think in English with which I am incredibly pleased. Today was exploration day. Yesterday wasn't much to miss except the miracle that I made it to the Peaud residence without a problem as I was almost certain my lack of language skills would make my experience not unlike some member of the Griswald family from the National Lampoon "Vacation" movies. To my surprise (though maybe I shouldn't be), almost everything was bilingual! I was hearing and reading so much English in the absence of French, it was more of a chore to switch into "French mode" when suddenly some official person started speaking to me in French.

The Peaud family has been very welcoming and patient with me. Already, I can feel more confident talking and comprehending them. No English here to distract me....well except this computer! It is most bizarre and fun liking in a house that is so compact and efficient with space to what I am used to. I use the word compact here and not small. There is not a feeling of claustrophobia, just a style of living that makes my American one seem excessive.

Exploring the city of Angers, I began by getting lost...very, very lost. BUT the good thing is that I ended up learning more about the city and can now navigate the main city quite well. It also gave a wonderful opportunity to talk to a lot of random French people who are not really rude at all in Angers. It must truly be an international city because they thought my communication was all the more charming when they learned I was a foreign student at UCO and a few wished me luck on my French studies.
Possibly the climax of my day was lunch. The French scedule has made it almost vacation-like to me. Almost nothing opens until 9 to 10-ish and lunch really DOES take about two hours or a little more. SO LUXERIOUS! So here is the creperie I went to where I totally forgot to photograph my galette before eating it. I can assure you though it was warm and perfect for a brisk day and since I ordered from the prix fixe menu, I had a crepe chocolat as well. The end was a petit cup of coffee with sugar and chocolate, something I have come to learn is typical here. Well, I can't complain!

I can use as many of these pleasant days as possible.

Packing and Pizza

2010-01-29T19:00:00.002+01:00

Defiantly take the absence as a sign of me being busy. No adverbs are there for this adjective. Packing, problem solving, paperwork, errands have all been emphasized by the very fact that any and all business, unless done over the Internet, will have to be halted until July 9. There’s a sense of quasi-finality in that.

I have one more full day in the United States and I will not be back for almost half a year, huge event for someone like me who has never traveled like this before. It is exciting and eerie to be spending my birthday, the coming of the Midwestern Spring, the breaking into its hot summer, and finally my country’s day of independence…all in a world I do not really know.

Ah, well, I better just keep it short. I promised Mom I’d be “99.9%” done with my suitcases by the time we go out to eat with the Roth’s. Now there is something to be happy about, Alfonso’s Pizza. Citizens of Greene County may now not their heads in agreement.) Who knew? My favorite pizza is made in the olive oil-fragrant restaurant of a Peruvian immigrant. Do Peruvians have the best-kept secret ever that they make amazing, flavorful pizza? I don’t know, but this one can.

Math and Fog

2010-01-21T18:39:00.002+01:00

Ugh, so I have about ten days until I leave for France and I’m feeling the pressure to get things ready, get things ready right, and doing all of this with a cool head while it seems the world is losing theirs.

I just got off the phone with Study Abroad at EIU. My bill for this semester is making no sense. My total costs amount to less than $1,000 yet the total at the bottom says over $3,000. What? I checked again and again and nowhere did any of the numbers match up. Then the other day, I received a huge check in the couple thousands from EIU, saying just that it was a “tuition refund.” Again, I’m left with a “huh?” reaction. So the Study Abroad coordinator was unavailable for the moment and I can only hope this is nothing serious and there are a bunch of other numbers being processed out there that I just can’t see and make sense of this seemingly faulty math work.

A more insignificant but disappointing point is that I don’t know if or when my London Fog trench coat will be ready for France. My seamstress (brilliant, brilliant woman) lives in Jacksonville so of course I’ve asked Mom to take it into town. The trouble with having a school administrator for a mother is that they can get very busy, very stressed, and very forgetful especially during the weeks that education consultants come in.

However, one of the consultants this week is good to have around for Mom in my opinion since they get along so well. The Illinois School for the Deaf’s reading consultant is a smart, charming professor from DePaul and I’m hoping Dad doesn’t try to forbid me from going up North this evening to have dinner with her. The weather may be mercifully getting warmer but that also means potato soup fog. Ha! London Fog and Illinois fog are both problems for me! Besides deer, fog of any kind is one of the things guaranteed to make my father overly worried.

Here’s hoping for a smooth (fog-less) departure in ten days….

Making myself update and...oh, yeah! Food Porn!

2010-01-18T03:20:00.006+01:00

Okay, so I should probably be more regular about these entries. I can’t just leave it at Chicago. However, it is not like things have been very interesting here.

Slowly I’m putting together my Europe wardrobe and it has been rather fun but not easy. Having never been there, I have to go by guidebooks and other students’ accounts of winter weather in Angers and am expecting lots of cold and lots of wet. As a result, I just bought a brand new London Fog camel trench coat while in Chicago! Just because the weather won’t look pleasant doesn’t mean I have to as well.

So that’s been a work in progress and I’ll stop there for now since I hate to bore you with a detailed account of every sweater, camisole, and pair of pants I’m dragging over with me.

HOWEVER, I will drag in my latest obsession while waiting and waiting to go to France…cooking.

In my horror at the idea of spending a whole month doing nothing, I searched for something to keep me not only busy but producing something all the time. Hence, this is why I’m always knitting, reading, writing, or something. It is all to keep away from the dismal, boring state of doing nothing.

So I’ve been perusing through the internet, especially taking the opportunity to go healthier and cheaper, trying to use the contents of my parents’ over-stocked cabinets as much as I can. While, I doubt I can take care of the over two dozen boxes of pudding mix and the fifteen packets of country gravy by the time I leave, I have almost conquered the canned fish, fruits, soups, and vegetables. We also have a box of lime gelatin that is old and fragile enough, it could have easily come from the 80s. Anybody like Jell-O?

As any new journey such as this one, we come across individuals who change us deeply. In my case, it is Les Classiques de Camille. Yes, I’m in love with French cooking.

This is actually big news to me because ironically enough in the past I judged French cooking to be too rich, too complicated, and too expensive for my eating habits. This cookbook, covering some of the most fundamental dishes and elements of the French meal, has made me see the error of my ways.

Is it easy? No, but it is simple and I do mean simple. Those five-ingredient recipes from Betty Crocker can’t touch some of this stuff. It is good, simple food. There are no complicated ingredients to cover a poor-quality piece of meat or the freshness of the eggs. As someone who can get nearly snooty about that sort of thing, this book is my ally and friend.

Ah, and let’s not forget that great “food porn” and Camille delivers. Almost every single picture and recipe had me sighing and moaning until I realized that in the wrong context, someone might get the wrong idea if they heard me! That is why it is food porn. Though not as good as seeing it in person, here are some of my favorites. I’m just going to go to the kitchen now….

Je m’appelle Elizabet(h).

2010-01-09T03:11:00.005+01:00

Je m’appelle Elizabet was the first phrase I learned in French class when I was a freshman in high school. I was nervous and excited; much how I’m feeling right now. I was in a new school and being introduced to a new tongue. In just a couple of weeks I will be in a new country trying to master that tongue.

People ask me why I choose French. In truth, I’m really not sure. It was available. Everyone else was taking Spanish and so that just didn’t seem exciting. So French it was then. One thing led to another and by the time I came to Eastern Illinois University my transcript called me a double major in English and Foreign Language (with a concentration in French). Eastern just works that way. One can only “concentrate” on something. It makes for a very long title on the diploma. Somewhat bothersome.

Well, it is finally Friday evening and I think I am officially recovered from this whole student-visa-application-with-France thing…as it has been going so far. What I mean is I am officially recovered from my Chicago trip. France is now currently evaluating whether I am actually an honest-to-God American university student who is attending school in France and has the financial means to support herself and not some lying, no-good, illegal alien bum.

After collecting proof of identification, financial means, and good intentions, I now can’t help but wonder, what does America make international students do to study here? As a true conservative Republican, Dad is completely confident it couldn’t be much at all because of the apparent copious amounts of “’illegals’ running about.” I have absolutely no idea so I’ll set that thought aside until I’ve spoken with an international student myself.

As for the Consulate meeting, it was actually very pleasant. I was bundled up for for the weather like another ice age was coming (notice the "moscow hat" I was wearing at the Amtrak station), but even that was pleasant as well. Well, it was pleasant compared to central Illinois that day! My experiences with the French show that their paperwork is a headache but working with them in person is rather charming (and mercifully efficient). Mom noted that their office was somewhat “dingy” but had never seen such stylish interior design in any American government office. And it was true. Probably my favorite part was the mod chairs with colorful prints of ginko tree leaves and cherry blossom branches. The whole set up in general was so, so, well très chic!

In all the whole “interview” took maybe ten minutes. It would have been less if I couldn’t stop failing to press hard enough on the finger scanner.

For all who may go through the visa process to live/study in France, know that all of the tension is in the preparation and save your mental and physical strength for pressing the stupid finger scanner.

So now I am ready to take all of that pent up stress from this stage and throw it out.

So what am I going to pack?