Weekend in Perigord

Just a little enticement to read the blog

Well, this is probably one of my final blog entries given that my stay in France is coming to an end. My mom and dad are arriving in France tomorrow! After our week together in the south of France, and one day together in Tours, we are all heading back to the big chi.
This weekend was the final Bucknell excursion. We headed to Perigord, which is about four hours south of Tours. It was an incredible weekend- full of sunshine and lots of fun, but relaxing activities. The weekend in Normandy was educational, and this weekend was amusing.
The trip began with a visit to the Lascaux caves. Here, in the original caves, a few adolescents found the original cave paintings of the Paleolithic area that are so well known. Although the original caves are now closed to the public, we visited the reproductions, which are completely accurate, with only 5 mm room for error!
After this, we visited the Gardens of Eyrignac. These were incredible pretty, although it was clear we were there for the teachers' enjoyment. The look on Madame Fazelly's face throughout the visit was so funny, and very heartwarming. She was so happy to be  there, we had no choice but to appreciate the amazing gardens as well.

After a night in Sarlat, we spent the morning in the town, walking around the market, and having a picnic on the grass (french style). We then visited the Chateau Beynec. Although I am a bit tired of visiting chateux, it was a good way to wrap up the semester, and we took some incredible pictures.

Chateau

We finished the day in the town of Rocamadour. If you ever have the chance to go anywhere in France, I am 100% serious, go here- no lie. It is incredible. Built on a mountain, it is one of the most beautiful towns I have seen. I also saw the sword from the Sword and the Stone- the King Arthur tale.

Sword

Rocamadour

The next morning, we headed to a Fromagerie where they make Chevre cheese- my favorite goat cheese. You can see from the picture at the beginning that I fell in love with a little friend that day. That little goat was only 8 days old. He is now in my suitcase to come home with me- a friend for Luck Luck- just kidding :(
We then finished our Perigord visit at "le gouffre de Padirac." I'm not quite sure how to describe this, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Although it was prohibited to take pics, I snuck a few because I knew this is one place my brother Peter will have to visit in his lifetime. He would love it.

Today is my last full day in Tours. I went to NovaGym for the last time- with mixed feelings. I will have my last dinner with Beatrice- but when I come back next Monday with my parents to get my suitcases, we are going to have lunch here with her because I know that both Beatrice and my parents want to meet each other.
I am excited to go home- but I know my time here was a real growing experience. I am now fluent in french and although I can't wait to go back to the US, I'll leave a little bit of me in France.

Chocolat

Given that classes are over, us Bucknell students have a LOT of time on our hands. I have been passing the time reading Nicholas Sparks and, since I finish books faster than most people, I have just bought another book- a bestseller in Ireland. Its 500 pages- the only reason I bought it. So it should last me quite some time.

 

So Catherine and I decided to attend the Chocolate Festival in town. Wow. What an experience!

First of all, the place was a-bustling. Every citizen of Tours was in attendance.
It was quite the learning experience because we took the bus there, I learned a lot about taking the bus- a task I've never accomplished in Chicago.


 There were probably just under 75 booths of different Chocolatiers from Tours and the surrounding areas. My favorite part was the samples. The entrance fee was 2 euros, and I was worried I would have to pay to taste chocolate. But Nope! Different places cut up little pieces of what they offer so you could taste them all. Needless to say, I ate enough chocolate yesterday that I have no interest in any sort of chocolate item for the next few days- who ever thought this point would come.
The most interesting thing I ate was probably this chocolate that was I guess natural? It wasn't sweetened with sugar or fake sugar- but some sort of natural sugar. Well, anyway, it was very good.
We also tasted Macaroons that were made the way they were made in old times. I'm assuming that's what it was because they were decribed as "a l'ancienne." Those were a bit strange though. I did not want to return.

Man creates masterpiece

Weirdest thing I've ever taste tested- will not come back for more

These are almonds covered in colored cellophane- so pretty

 Catherine and I then decided to try a workshop. We signed up for this free workshop which was clearly meant for children. We arrive and we are given little chef hats.

Not the most attractive pic

Happy chef Catherine

 We then put warmed chocolate on wax paper, and put 1 apricot piece, 1 hazelnut, 1 pistachio, and 1 raisin in the chocolate before it hardened. It was fun! I didn't get to taste it because at this point, I really COULD NOT eat any more chocolate, but we saved all of our pieces for our classmates as a treat.

Makin chcolate

finished product

Last night, because I knew Beatrice would be jet lagged, I offered to make dinner. I wanted to make something American, but I then didn't know what to make because I feel that everything Americans eat is rooted in another countries traditions. For example, I love eating stir fry, well thats asian. Fajitas? Mexican. Spaghetti? Italian.
So, I struggled with what to make for about two weeks. I finally decided to make a pasta dish that I love to eat in the summer because it is super light. You saute tomatoes, and other vegetables in a pan. I used peppers and zucchini. And then you toss this mix over pasta. Super simple. But it was DELICIOUS last night. Good work me.
This morning I slept in, went to the gym, came back and made my oatmeal. Beatrice, still jetlagged, didn't pull herself from her bed until 12 pm! Good luck sleeping tonight and getting to work on time tomorrow! This afternoon, she wants me to go with her to surprise her niece at school. We then are going to go to her brothers house for dinner. Hmm...

Today, Bucknell went on another excursion to the town of Candes. This town was the deathplace of St. Martin. When he died, citizens of Tours went to Candes and stole his body, they carried it through the window and sent it down the Loire! He is now buried at our Cathedral. Then, the professors suggested a small walk... but surprise! There were boats waiting for us! We took a boat ride on the Loire and they had sandwiches prepared for us! We then went to the Abbey at Fontrevraud... the weather today was UNBELIEVABLE. It was so hot and sunny! I came home and bought ice cream to end the day in the summery-est way possible!

My time in Tours is coming to an end. I have just one more week before I go on Easter vacation with my parents and then fly home.... When I get home, it will be 50 degrees and rainy... compared to the 75 and sunny that I am used to here! What a change it will be!
Also, this morning I woke up to flowers on my doorstep- a present from my noisy neighbor who threw the party... well that was nice!

Allergies are in

So spring has sprung and Tours is BEAUTIFUL right now. Sadly for me, that means that the allergies I never knew I had are reaching a lifetime high. This, in addition to my lack of sleep (see last blog) have made me sick! I have been fighting the sniffles and headaches for a few days now. Today, I finally seemed to recover!
I have finished all my classes as well! We spent our last class with the BARCAT... riding horses! I got to be the leader :) It was super fun, but all the time spent outside and such made me itchy and sneezy all over again! Worth it.
Also, on another note, I saw my first man purse this morning. that was...cute.

La Loire a Velo

So yesterday, given that we had a free weekend and it was predicted to be GORGEOUS, we decided to do the Loire a Velo! This is a program where you rent a bike for a day (or I guess as many days as you wanted) and ride to the Chateaux in the Touraine Valley! I forgot my camera, as usual, and my friends haven't posted their pics yet so you all get some nice pics from google in order to picture us being Lance Armstrong. 

It did look the same, so just pretend that I'm in the front there leading the pack!

We rode to Villandry. This castle is known for their gardens so we only wanted to see that part, that way we could stay outside. We brought a picnic lunch too! We walked around the gardens for about an hour, and then continued. We planned to go to Usse, the castle that the Sleeping Beauty castle is modeled off of, but that was far and we were already tired. So we decided to go to a town about 6 miles away called Langeais. It was such a cute town. We walked around a little, and then headed back.

All in all, we were out and about for EIGHT HOURS. That is ALOT of biking. Not only does my heiny hurt, BUT IM SUNBURNED. I look like a little lobster, who has very funny tan lines. But when it turns to tan I will DEFINITLEY NOT be complaining :)

However, going to the gym this morning was a little hard. I did it but I skipped the bike :P

ANYWAY, so last night i come home, make myself  a little pasta, have a well balanced meal, chocolate, and then lay down thinking I would prob get up in a few to go watch a movie with my friends. HAHAHAHAHAHA. No, I was down. I couldn't move, I was paralyzed from 730 PM Until 930. At 930, I was falling asleep... I was exhausted... and decided I could let myself be SUPER lame for one night and maybe go to bed early. 

Well, this is where the adventure began. My WONDERFUL upstairs neighbor, Sophie, Beatrice's best friend since gradeschool, decided to go out of town, leaving her 17 year old daughter unsupervisered. And this little brat took advantage of that and threw a party for her little friends. I was so exhausted, just wanting sleep, but they were playing music and SLAMMING doors, going up and down the apartment stairs, for hOURS. Oh, and they were all WASTED, so they were screaming and yelling and clapping, and WHATEVER. OK, I was 17 only 3 years ago, so I feel old saying this, but I was NOT OK WITH IT. I called my friend Catherine, and while on the phone with her I opened the door to look at the hall. Two boys saw me and thought I was calling the police... well I was about to so they should be scared. They tried to talk to me but I slammed the door and locked it... not gonna talk to drunk boys when I'm home alone. They slipped a note that said "please! Bea is ok with the party! Would you like us to cut the music"... so they turned the music down... but it was STILL loud.  Hours later, still awake from their noise, I called the cops. Of course, being clearly not French, I was not worthy of respect from the cops. I ended up having to call a second time, didn't understand what he said, and was just like UGH. 

Well the party went on until 5 AM. I fell asleep at 5AM and was woken up at 9AM from them cleaning up before their mom came home. 

I was tempted to tell them to clean all they wanted... given that I called the cops, I feel obligated to share that with Bea, hence the mom will find out...

I blasted country music all morning to help them with their hangovers and to teach them to respect America. 

And then I heard the mom yelling at the daughter. 

DONT CARE

This is Villandry's gardens... this is the garden of love or whatever. Each square represents a different type of love

The Gym

So this morning at the gym, french woman number 1 (guilty of walking on the treadmill EVERY MONDAY WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY- when I want to run- how rude) brought in her little girl to the gym. How cute. Mommy and me time. NO. THE GYM IS NO PLACE FOR INFANTS. This little girl was around 7 so maybe she wasn't an infant, but I still thought it was totally inappropriate. And I sat there wishing I could be like "children in the gym? tsk tsk."
I really wished the evil towel man (the man who yelled at me for not carrying around a towel) was there because he is very strict with the gym rules and I am SURE he would have enforced this one. But no. He wasn't. And this mother bought her daughter a flavored WATER (not even juice) and then started her walking on treadmill regime. Meanwhile, this girl was 1. standing next to the bikes looking around. 2. then stared at me while I did the rowing machine and even asked her mom if she could try it- when her mom said no- she just stared and smiled at me. Comment dit-on GO AWAY in french? I actually don't know how to say it. I guess I've never had to use it.
Anyway, totally inappropriate gym mother was driving me crazy. She then brought her daughter to the other room while she did weights while her daughter stood next to her. She even had the nerve to take the machine I was about to use- oh no you didnt lady. But whatever, I was the bigger person and went to the other room to do yoga. and the lady left. She wasn't there for very long HA. Maybe she learned her lesson.
French people at the gym are VERY STRANGE (they are strange in general- besides Beatrice who is SO COOL.) The other day, someone winked at me when I handed him a towel to wipe the treadmill he grabbed just as I was done sweating all over it. No french person, we are not friends just because we both go to the gym. No winking, no smiling.
They also wear really weird work out clothes. I wish I could take a picture and share it because it is just so strange. French woman number 1 (mentioned above) wears the same thing (probably because WALKING on the treadmill does NOT make you SWEAT). Its a weird longggg black vest, black pants, and a white shirt. Same thing, same vest, everytime.
And don't get me started on the french love for aasics. That, I will never understand.

Anyway, my classes are wrapping up. I handed in a final yesterday, I have two finals tomorrow. One tuesday, and I'm home free. Except for the whole still going to be living in France thing.

:)

A quick note about NORMANDY!

So, this weekend, Bucknell took a three day excursion to NORMANDY. We got up super early Friday (met the bus at 545 AM) and drove to St. Malo. We walked around that cute little city, so happy to be greeted by the fresh, sea air. We then continued to Mt. St. Michel. It was just as cool as I remembered and I appreciated it much more. We drove to our hotel and Bucknell treated us to a delicious crepe meal (Normandy specialty!) and cidre.

Mont Saint Michel started as a tiny church and grew to this!
So eat your wheaties.
JK 

We woke up again early (Catherine and I barely slept thanks to our noisy neighbors who spoke in whatever language it was at 1 in the morning... NOT COOL) and started the longest day ever recorded.

Pretty view!

We went to the debarquement beach (sp?) which was awesome to see the extensive piers that Churchill had built IN ENGLAND and then dragged over to France. We then went to a film about the DDAY beaches... which was VERY moving.
We spent lunch in the town, which was actually a horrible lunch because the woman was so rude and thank god catherine was there to yell at her for the awful service and got me my sandwich FO FREE (because I waited half an hour while the rest of my table got served, had to eat or else it would get cold, and then we all sat there before that dumb lady came out and told me they didn't have the ingredients for mine... SO RUDE).
ANYWAY, we then went to the American Cemetery. It was such a beautiful day and we were really lucky to have gotten the chance to go on such a great day. I took some GREAT pictures.

American Cemetery

We then went to Pont du Hoc to see where the American soldiers scaled up the steep cliffs.

Pont du Hoc, imagine scaling up that!

After this we went to the German Cemetery because it was really important that we see that it really was a war that took the lives of so many young people.

German Cemetery

We returned to out hotel and got dinner at an amazing local restaurant. I do not think they get many tourists in this restaurant because there were only five old men in there playing poker. They loved that we were studying french and were so excited to show off their english to us. The food was amazing. I had another crepe (my fav).

This morning, we headed to the Memorial Museum of Caen. This museum shows the history from the end of WWI through WWII and even touches upon the Cold War. It was very cool! I've been there before but this time I actually paid attention. We got to sit outside and bask in the sun once more. I'm hoping to get a little face tan :)
We then boarded the bus to head home.
I came home to an empty apartment because Beatrice is in the Caribbean for two weeks! It's kinda nice to have the place to myself and I was looking forward to eating whenever I want. but to be honest, it's not like I don't have freedom when Beatrice is around and it's nice to have someone to talk to. :(
But, oh well!! PARTAY.
just kidding :P

Au Revoir Les Enfants!

Bucknell in France, in order to show that it is an enriching program, requires us to do "Journees Decouvertes," or Days of Discovery. Today, I did mine at an "ecole maternelle" or our equivalent of last year preschool to around first grade. I chose this because a part of me is interested in being a schoolteacher, or at least having that option if I want it.

So, instead of going to a boulangerie to watch them make bread, or other choices, I thought of this one! 

I had to get up super early in order to get there when the kids get dropped off. I got there at 8AM, and the principal walked me around for about twenty minutes. She then introduced me to the teacher I would be shadowing for the morning. The teacher didn't seem to happy to have me there. We stood in a room as the kids got dropped off, and she talked to the other teacher as I watched the little kids. But I was laughing because of their crazy antics and adorable ways so I didn't mind kinda being awkward. Then we brought her class, 5-6 year olds, to the class room. The 6 year olds left for english class and the 5 year olds stayed behind. 

They learned a new vocab word, and did a puzzle. I remember first grade being a lot different and doing a lot, but maybe that was just my first-grade mind. 

Then, the other class returned and we all went to recess. I was like crap because one, it was raining, two, today was unusually cold, and three, what would I do? watch the kids? talk to the teachers? Well, that question was answered for me as we went outside and the teacher made it clear she didn't want me to hang out with her. Fine with me, you're boring. 

So one of the little kids came over and asked me to zip her jacket, and then asked if I would play with them. I said ok, but to be honest, it is really hard to understand the little kid version of french. It's more mumbled and just SUPER hard to understand. So I had to kinda go with the flow in playing the game because I couldn't understand as they tried to explain. But it turned out to be freeze tag. I played with them for awhile. 

It then turned into me running from them. And then me comforting each crying child on the playground who came up to me because the teachers ignored them and they knew I would listen. 

The french teachers are super stern with little kids, which is SO backwards because the older kids (aka highschool ish and onwards) are horrible in class and the teachers don't do a thing about it. But anyway, I then got to leave for lunch. I walked home in the rain, had lunch, and passed out. I almost never nap. So that's an indication of my day. 

I woke up from my nap, dreading going back only because they don't get out of school until 5. But I pulled myself out the door, figured out some random way into the building because I was a little late and it was locked up. I went to the principal's office but ran into the teacher I shadowed. I went back to her classroom and the kids put their heads on their desks for their "sieste," naptime! AKA NOT NECESSARY FOR ME TO BE THERE WHY DID THEY TELL ME TO COME BACK SO EARLY. 

The teachers cell phone rang and she told me to go downstairs because I was going to spend the afternoon with the younger set. 

I found the room, good job me, and walked in on a bunch of 4-5 year olds napping, with pillows from home, on their desks. SO CUTE. Some even had stuffed animals. 

The teacher, who was REALLY nice that morning, had turned into a witch without the principal around. She just goes, "they're napping" and then goes back to watering plants. I found a big person chair and just kinda waited it out, even though they were all awake and kept waving, whispering, and making faces at me. (Except one little guy who was actually PASSED OUT on his desk, literally out. I couldn't even wake him up later). 

This teacher scared even me, I don't know how the kids deal with it. It was paint time after naptime. They had to paint flowers. Only six got to paint at a time, so the others colored in a drawing while they waited. Ok first of all, the teacher would only let them draw things the right color. Aka, trees had to be green. WELL, in my youth, art time meant creativity time. If we wanted orange trees, we were allowed to go with it. These kids were so disciplined. One kid drew out of the lines and the teacher told him it was bad work! And he was sad! I would have been like IM FOUR BACK OFF. 

She was crazy strict and I was kinda like why did you choose to teach such young children?

Then they all got recess again. And this time, I literally had every kid in this class, and the older class, fighting to hold my hand or for me to pick them up. I finally made them sit in a circle and tried to teach them duck duck goose, except the french version is called "tomate, tomate, ketchup." Fine. Then we played hide and seek. The bell rang and we went inside but the teacher was still outside and I was panicking. I did not want them to get yelled at because maybe they thought it was ok to go in because I was there. Maybe not. I was really nervous for them. 

She came in and they all sat down. Story time! I noticed half way through, the teacher got really animated and her voice got nice. Well, when I turned around, parents had arrived to pick up their kids. Witch teacher and your evil ways, I see right through you. 

The kids left and the teacher told me, Good luck... thanks?

Au revoir et merci!

That signaled the end of my day. 

The end. 

Recipes for pancakes and tomatoes!

I am no longer living alone. Beatrice returned this morning at 3AM. When she asked me if I heard her walking, I said no not at all don't worry! But what I really meant was yes.
And yes, while we are on the subject, you woke me up with you at 8 AM. I don't know why because normally I'm the one who wakes up early but what the hey. Let's get wild.

That's all in fun because I am actually really happy that Beatrice is back. I had someone to talk to throughout the day. And when I was doing my homework, she mentioned making pancakes (not sure if I wrote about this but Beatrice has been dying to learn to make pancakes ever since she went to a Denny's in California). So, I did some homework and then looked up recipes. I found one and wrote it out for her so she would know what to buy. But as it turns out, we had everything in the apartment. Even milk, which is weird because neither of us drink milk. (and also, the milk here does not have to be refrigerated until after opening. She pulled this milk from her pantry. I asked her about this and she said something about it being heated super high and even though its not fresh it can be stored- until its opened)

But the gods had spoken. And even though it was 330 PM, and we had finished lunch only two hours before, we decided to have a pancake snack. We whipped up the batter, invited Catherine over, and made pancakes. It was super easy and super delicious. And we saved the extras so Beatrice could have them for breakfast!
We all hung around for awhile and then Beatrice decided to go for a run... it takes a strong person to run after eating pancakes.
At around 8, Beatrice and I sat down to have dinner. And maybe this is not important but we had the most amazing thing that I'm dying to share because it was heaven in a bowl. It was brown rice, tomatoes chopped up, balsamic vinegar, and oil. And it was ALL KINDS of delicious. It tasted like summertime. I was amazed and kept saying I like this, I like this... AKA... make it again.
And that is why I am so happy to have Beatrice back. Other than the having someone to talk to thing. She makes the most simplest dishes that are sooo good for you. For a WEEK I have been staring at the tomatoes thinking, I don't know what to do with you other than eat you with pasta. And I can't stoop to that stereotype (college kid eating pasta). And now, I have a recipe. And I'm very happy.

So, after waking up at SIX AM, I have now tested and passed as a level B1 DELF certified french speaker. Whoo. hoo. NOT worth the sleep I so sadly missed.

ANYWAY,  our weekend excursion "Centre Renaissance" has been cancelled. Darn, I guess the Bucknell students will miss out on eating turkey legs and watching a jousting match. I am really excited to have the weekend off, just chillaxing here in TOURS. I like Tours alot. It is a "city," I guess. It has many stores. And that is very cool. But, at the same time, its small enough that people are really nice. Unlike that RUUHUDE city, Paris. Paris is good for visiting, Tours is good for living. That's my saying.

What I love about Tours:

I can run here. I can shop here. I can learn my way around the whole city and still have new parts to discover. I can feel confident enough to explore. I can look forward to coming back here after time away. I can take the train whenever I want to get away. I can walk anywhere I need to go. Food is not so expensive. I have figured out all the really great places to go... like this great crepe place I love and have been twice. And the grocery store is pretty cool (Monoprix <3).

Ok. That's a lot of great things in one city. Definitely enough to keep me happy for only one semester.

Wikipedia Tours

According to that link, we speak the purest form of french in Tours. Well good. I don't want to speak impurely.
Also, Zaz, this really popular singer was born here. But I'm not proud of that because although I've never heard her songs because I listen to my ipod at the gym, I have seen her music video a million times and I am SICK of it. So Zaz, I'm not proud of you, stop creeping on my life.

But also, learned on wikipedia that SPRINGFIELD USA is a twin city of Tours. What up Dad???

there are a lot of great things about Tours. One is that every Wed and Sat mornings there are street markets. They sell flowers (which is beautiful to walk past and I used to walk past when i came to school from my old house- shudder), fresh meats, cheese, fruit, and then cheapy merchandise.

I plan on going to the market tomorrow. After a run. and enjoy my free day in this lil city.

the WOman of the house

The King's Speech won the Oscars! and Colin Firth won best actor :)
I am so happy. They could not have picked a more appropriate winner. Colin Firth is this movie really showed the world how great of an actor he is. And he really is a professional. For anyone who hasn't seen the movie, (those who have will understand this) it is incredible how thoroughly Colin Firth must have researched his role. His stammers and hesitations sounded completely authentic and it was actually difficult to sit through his struggles. Anyway, see this movie because it is genial.
I am currently listening to this song, which I am told won an oscar as well.
Song
Very cute and worth a listen.

This week Beatrice is skiing in the Alps, no big. I am the grown up of the house! Today I bought some fruit and bread. As much as I would love to make my own dinner, Beatrice has arranged for me to go eat dinner at her neighbors house. :(
I am really dreading going. I am tired of the small talk: what's your major, what do you do for fun, do you have a pet alien, blah blah. I am not looking forward to this dinner. And tomorrow I have to do it all over at a different neighbors. I am 20 and perfectly capable of preparing my own meals. But oh welllllll :P

However, I find it hilarious that Beatrice left me all my favorites, in mass quantities.

Coca Light

Sojasun yaourt: soy yogurt

"First line: I bought chocolate also!!!!"

Will this be enough...?

Where I am eating tomorrow

Too good to be true
http://www.breakfast-in-america.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=26

Paris with Doloris

GMA and I have been in Paris for a day! After the MOST STRESSFUL morning of my life... taking the train to Paris, metro to the other RER train, getting fined 25 euros, trying to navigate through Charles de Gaulle, having to take the airport tram, walking across two terminals. etc. I found GMA just chilling in the airport. We then somehow made it to the CDG train station to try and get back to the city, gave up, took a taxi and arrived just before lunch. First of all, hotel was not as advertised. and I am still mad at our friend Pierre Henri at the front desk who is just. plain. rude. And I will strongly word my evaluation at the end of our stay. So keep scowling Pierre Henri, you have it coming pal.
Anyway, yesterday GMA and I fought the cold and visited the Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde, The Arc de Triomphe, andddd Lalique, the crystal store. I made us crepes for dinner... except it was awkward because although we have a kitchen, we have no seating area. So, that will be the last meal we eat here. We then chilled for a bit, and then went out and got ice cream sundaes! (Because I've been dying for one) and I'm just gonna say, the stomach ache that followed my delicious sundae, because I have not eaten something like that in FOREVER, was worth it. It hit the spot.
Today GMA and I went to Le Carrousel, the mall where the entrance of the Louvre is (we always find the closest mall)... and now we are resting up in the room... aka GMA is napping and I'm writing my blog, eating copious amounts of twizzlers. This afternoon we are going to go to the Opera Garnier, where Phantom of the Opera was filmed! and then I will go for a run this afternoon... yayyyy.

The longest meal ever recorded

Yesterday night, I went out with Beatrice to her friends house for dinner. I was hesitant to go for many reasons. I'll list a few: 1. the french eat late 2. I would have to speak french 3. the french eat late. 4. I would have to speak french.
I told her I was hesitant because its difficult for me to keep up with a lot of conversation and I get REALLY embarrassed trying to conjugate verbs and getting overwhelmed and such. But she told me not to worry and called her friend to say i was coming.
We left at 6:30 p.m. and drove to a flower shop. This shop was ADORABLE. I wish I had my camera because it was SO cute. But oh well. We then continued to her friends house who lived in another town. This friend is an old friend of Beatrice's, they met in grade school!
We got there and I was kinda nervous but the family was so nice. Their house was sickkk! One thing that I've learned to love is the color french blue. In the future, my front door will be french blue and so will my kitchen. No exceptions.
Anyway, this family was uber modern, especially in comparison to my old family. They had one daughter, Clemence, who was really nice. The father liked to poke fun at me ALOT, but it was all for a joke, and we ended up making him speak english so I could laugh at him instead. We had aperitifs for almost TWO HOURS. We sat down a little before 9 for our starter, which was scallops. I've never had this before but it was good! We then sat and talked forever before they even got up to make the main dish. They had duck and I just had the side dish- a celery and potato puree... DELICIOUS. We then talked forever again and a little after 10, they got up to get the cheese. The cheese sat there forever before they realized they needed a knife. We then waited until 11 to have dessert. At this point I was like come on come on come on, but then it was tea time! Duh! We finally left at 12:15 AM.
It was a long night, but I did enjoy myself. I noticed I was mentally EXHAUSTED at the end, and kinda started to mentally drift off... but I had fun! The daughter goes to high-school in Tours, and although she doesn't know my old host sister, she's going to ask around. They were very sympathetic to my old situation and felt awful. I was talking being like, "Poor me, right?"
But all in all, I HAVE to say, I am no longer counting down the days until I leave. Living in the new house, my days pass quickly and enjoyably. I loveeee it here.
Today I have tried to cultivate my growing interest in cooking. I woke up lateee and went for a long run. When i came home, Beatrice was in the kitchen about to make a quiche. I sat there and was watching her when she asked if I wanted to join.
Yesss, my french cooking begins again. I was in charge of scrambling the egg yolks and adding the cream. And why yes, I did spill it all over the counter top. But I cleaned it up and continued my duties. Beatrice added the cheese and tomatoes and the quiche went into the oven. The smells that grew from that oven were DELICIOUS, I was dying in my bedroom waiting. Finally, when it was ready, I ate it so quickly I'm pretty sure I burned my tongue off. But it was sooo yummy.
In fact, it was so good, that when beatrice asked whether or not I wanted pasta for dinner or just the quiche I answered without a second thought.. QUICHE.
After dinner, I stole away into the kitchen for the recipe. Do Not Worry.
Waking up early tomorrow to catch a 7AM train to Paris to spend time with GMA!
Yayyyy

Who in this building gets to see my pickle pajamas

Last night, I couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the chocolate I had at 9 PM... mistake... or MAYBE it was that my upstairs neighbor was listening to the TV or radio or whatever, really loudly, at 1 in the morning!!!
First, I tried closing my door really loudly. This was for two reasons: 1. I thought maybe she would hear it. 2. I thought it would help my frustrations . Well, it didn't help either. I then resorting to crying because I was tired. But this didn't even help (and I always feel better after a good cry). So then, I did what any girl could do at this point. I walked up there in my pajamas and glasses and hair a mess (and I wasn't being brave, I was SHAKING).
I knocked on the door, and waited.
I heard some moving. I started to think of french words to say, realizing I didn't know how to say what I wanted. Even if I did, I would forget it, as I do in any situation in which I become overwhelmed. (What sucks is I always get overwhelmed, forget the words, walk two steps away, calm down, and remember what to say, verbs perfectly conjugated... DARN). But anyway, this woman opens the door.
I say, "Bonsoir, um, c'est dificile pour moi de dormir avec..... avec...." (Good evening, its hard for me to sleep with....)
"Ah le radio?" "Oui, je suis desolee"(Yes, I'm sorry). This neighbor, who Beatrice knows well, and who, I know because she told me earlier, she had plans with to go swimming with today, was super nice. Apologized, and I immediately felt bad. I sat in my bed thinking, did I ruin their friendship? Will Beatrice be mad? Was I rude? Is this not ok in France? What would I do in the US in this situation? Besides speak english and be really smooth about it... obviously.
Beatrice is really good friends with her neighbors. I am actually going to be eating dinner with two of them while Beatrice is out of town in two weeks because she feels bad leaving me to eat alone every-night for a week, so they are passing me off, every other night, awkward... I digress.
Anyway, the radio was turned down, I fell fast asleep.
This morning, I was DREADING telling Beatrice what happened. When I woke up and came into the kitchen she asked me how I slept so I told her what happened. She didn't hear any of this, including me and my blind eyes fumbling with the locked front door. She told me not to worry.
My morning went by and at noon, I could hear Beatrice and Catherine talking in the building hall after swimming. "Dont come in, dont come in," I prayed. "Meghan?" Beatrice said. "This is Catherine." And that's how I awkwardly re-met the neighbor who got to see my in my pajama boxers with pickles on them at 1 AM.
But all is well. We are going to work out a system where she turns on the radio and I tell her what is too loud.
Oh, french people.

I'm a Big Kid Now

 Bonjour à tous! I am settled in my new house all nice and cozy. I've learned to be a grown-up since moving into my brand spanking new apartment. I learned to make oatmeal on the stove (and yes, it boiled over everywhere and I had to clean it up... pain) and I learned that you REALLY shouldn't mix whites and darks in the washing machine :( (RIP the white clothes that were in there).
Yesterday, Beatrice had to go to Paris and left me in the apartment alone. Catherine and I planned a cooking day, that way Beatrice couldn't see the mess we made... hah kidding.. kind of. We bought our own ingredients and came home after class to get to work... time goes by... blah blah blah... let's just say, Meghan had enough cookies to NOT be hungry for dinner... OR BREAKFAST.... OR LUNCH. I knew I was so full of cookies, but I missed my cinnamon sugar vegan cookies so much that I just kept needing to have "just one more." (And that "just one more" gave me the energy to run for an hour today... fueling purely off sugar). So maybe that wasn't so grown up, but everyone deserves a vegan cookie day I think. 
ANYWAY, despite that MISTAKE, I've been sitting ALL day planning the wonderful week I will have when GMA arrives!!! YAYYYYY. Sadly, EVERY Bucknell student is already on break (it started yesterday and everyone got the heck out of dodge). I've been alone for approximately 6 hours, and I'm already bored (ruh roh). 
I have some pretty exciting plans for when Grandma visits, and all this planning is really helping me learn the parts of Paris well. We are staying literally DOWN the street from the Louvre. No Big Deal. I might even try to get some running in along the Seine, seeing as how we are right there. I am so excited to have GMA come visit :) So far I have four days fully planned (breaks included don't worry- including a hot chocolate break that I heard is to kill for). Today I bought my train tickets to go fetch her from the airport and a ticket to come home with time to drop her off! So all is set! 

Meghan, the travel agent, planning away little travel plans 

On another note, my running gloves got stolen at the gym Wednesday... REALLY? Well, chick who now is the proud owner of purple striped FIVE DOLLAR H&M gloves, the joke is on you. They are over four years old, and have been sweated in and snotted on. Sucker.
And today, I found this AWESOME running store by my house and picked out really sleek black ones that keep my hands really warm. So HAH. 

Comme Nuit et Jour

"Like Night and Day" is an expression that is translatable. And it perfectly describes my new and much improved living situation in Tours. I am now living in a modern apartment, with a single woman, maybe in her thirties (I know enough not to ask). First of all, I never took pictures of my old pad, so unfortunatley I can't prove to you how much better this new home is, but you're gonna hae to put all your faith in me and trust me when I say, Heck Yes.
Beatrice is really nice and sporty, which cracks me up because that's not particularly normal for French people (match made in heaven?). She eats SUPER healthy. But not the same kind of healthy as my old house. She is VERY much a single lady living on her own. She doesn't make fancy sauces with pasta or anything like that. Everything is very simple, made pretty quickly (which is fine with me!) Also, she took out soy yogurt yesterday and told me this was her favorite and I should try it. Soy yogurt! In France! I almost cried. She also doesn't make dessert... panic... panic... BUT, she was quick to inform me she always, always, always keeps dark chocolate in the house.
Although the apartment is small, its comfortable. It's clean, but not super neat. My old house was dark, cluttered, dirty, and musty. This could not be more opposite. My linens smell fresh, I walk into the bathroom and it smells like the summer, the kitchen is bright. I am so happy here. I wake up in the morning and instead of feeling gloomy because there's no sunlight coming through my tiny window, I feel happy because there is a huge window in my little room. I appreciate Beatrice even more when I realize she had less than two days to make room for me. And although life is a bit cluttered right now, I really am looking forward to the next months (instead of counting down the days at the old house,  I actually reverted to counting the number of meals I would have to eat with that awful family).

My Room! Big Bed! (I slept on a prisoner's bed before)

Groovy lamp in my room

the shower (that thing is for drying clothes)

Speaks for itself

The kitchen! The walls are so cool!

Apparently washing machines in the kitchen is normal for Europe.

The view when you walk in the front door

We have a comfortable sitting area! With a tv! And a cool lamp!

Hopefully these pictures can help you picture what the little apartment is like. I really like the sitting room. There was NO comfortable place to sit in the old house. I travelled to two places in the old house: the dining room for meals, or my room. Beatrice came in yesterday and told me I was always welcome to sit there, I wasn't confined to my room. And she also told me I can use the "tu" form, and could call her Beatrice. This is really nice of her. "Vous" is the formal form, and on my wonderful and infamous list of rules at the old house, at the top were directions to call them Monsieur and Madame, and use vous. So this is realy nice of her, establishes more of a balanced relationship, and is also a lot easier mentally for me to conjugate. So, today I did the dishes to try to symbolize that I know she's not my "mom." She respects that I'm 20 years old and I like so I'm trying to respect our more balanced living arrangement.
So, I'm pretty happy in this house. And next week, GMA is visiting :)
Oh, and I got my first paper back! And I got an A-
Not shabbbbayyyyyy

Are You My Mother?

Very Appropriate... Listen while Reading

So maybe you've been wondering why I haven't blogged in forever... well, this has been quite the week. And, as of right now, I am homeless. Ok rewind, I've been getting increasingly bothered by the number of rules and unnecessary regulations in my host family and it all boiled over on Wednesday when I became extremely overwhelmed and anxious in class. I went to the Bucknell professors' office, to inform them about my bathroom rules, no flushing and also close the door quietly if I use the bathroom at night (a rule that was instilled with a post it on Wednesday morning... and trust me I havent been slamming the door in any way, shape, or form). I told them about the wall shaking tantrums my sister was having, and I explained a few more discomforts of the house. It all boiled down to me basically living in a boarding house, rather than a family. Not so comfortable.
They told me it seemed as if the dynamic had dramtically changed in the span of a year (the girl before me had numerous complaints similar to mine, and would come to the office in tears). They told me to think about my options, bring in my list of rules (which they were suprised to hear about) and come back in. Well, I obviously did not look forward to going home, and being there was almost unbearable. I asked to leave the dinner table early, blaming homework, and I was greeted with more rudeness than I have ever encountered in the house. While I sat in my room, my sister came in, telling me that when I went down in the morning, could I please remove my shoes? (sure?) I was so uncomfortable in the morning, I left early and waited for my friend, who I walk with, and just chilled on the street corner (no big). I arrived to one of the Bucknell professors in my classroom waiting for me. I told her my newest rules (no shoes, which I forgot to do and the mom STARED at my feet... get a life, lady) and also gave her my list of rules, including the two signs I took off the door of the bathroom. She rolled her eyes at my rules, and told me I should probably move out. I sighed and agreed, extremely relieved at this point. She told me the move would probably happen in a week or so, and not to say anything.
Not even an hour later, she came back to my class, pulled me and my friend Catherine out, and informed us that I would be packing THAT DAY, spend two nights at Catherine's, and move into my new house SATURDAY. That was fast.
We walked to my house after class, packed me up in less than an hour, had one awkward moment with my host mom ("are you leaving tonight?" she asked, "yes" I answered- that was it), and brought a sleepover bag to catherine, leaving my suitcases neatly lined up in my room.
Being at Catherines, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. No more disgusting, dirty walls. No more hamsters brought to the dinner table (ew), no more not sleeping because tantrums are being thrown, no more stupid rules, no more any of that! Catherine and I had a super girly sleepover, watching Jane Austen Book Club and painting nails, and I slept GREAT.
After class Friday, I drove with the Bucknell professors to pick up my suitcases. They told me not to worry, they were going as support and nothing would happen. We arrived, a little late (usual french fashion) and my host mom was NOT happy to see them. We shook her hand, went upstairs, brought everything down (they cleaned the house- psh... that was obvious) and tried to leave. But we were stopped. With a lecture, from my mom, telling them it ws MY fault I didn't say anything was wrong, that I was being dishonest when I took the signs down, BLAH BLAH. They kinda dismissed her, I shook her hand thank you, and got the HECK OUT OF THERE. We closed the door, and Professor Kingue looks at me and goes, "I seeeeeee."HA.
Well that chapter is closed. I am excited for the new chapter. I get my new family tomorrow. I will live close to my friends, with a single woman in an apartment. I keep wondering what she will be like, if I have passed her on the street. Catherine and I started a joke that I am the little bird from the children's book Are You My Mother. Looking at each person and wondering are you gonna take care of meeee?
I'm Little Orphan Annie waiting for Mommy Warbucks to loveeeee meeee.
Will keep you updated! Wish me luck!

What's the Story Wishboneee

What a great weekend I had! Friday night I saw the movie the King's Speech (in english with french subtitles). If you have not seen this movie, go see it now. Shut your computer, get the car keys, and go. This was the best movie I have seen in a long, long time.
Seeing the movie with the French subtitles was very interesting. Many of the humor was lost through translation. The French people in our theater must have thought we were crazy as we laughed and laughed at jokes that were not translated. C'est dommage.

On the train lOoKiNg FlY

Saturday, we went to visit two castles. We went to Azay le Rideau and Chinon. I will talk about Chinon first because it was my least favorite of the two. Chinon was more of a medieval fortress than a royal castle. Interestingly, there was a lot of information on Joan of Arc, who travelled there to help Charles VII win the Hundred Years War, or something like that. The castle was actually kinda creepy, with weird staircases that led to random rooms. However, it sparked enough interest in me that when I got home, all I wanted to do was get on wikipedia and look up stuff on Joan of Arc. There was a lot of stuff that went down with her that was not portrayed on my Wishbone TV shows as a child (Wishbone- best history lessons of 1990). I've noticed since I've come to France that I have become so much more interested in history than I ever was before!

Purty Castle- Azay le Rideau

Why can't I get sweet air too?

So, Azay le Rideau. Now, this castle was more of a Noble residence. But it was bea-u-ti-ful. It is covered on all sides by a moat. They somehow slowed the water down surrounding the residence so that when its sunny, the water becomes a mirror... so cool. The castle itself on the inside was sickkk as well. One thing that stuck out the most to me was that the King had his very own bedroom in this house as well, just in case he ever decided to pop in for a quick visit. And he did, twice. The town surrounding this particular castle was adorable as well. We couldn't find sandwiches at the time we wanted to eat lunch, so we went to a boulangerie and bought a baguette, went to the market and bought chevre cheese and tomatoes, and had a nice lil' picnic. It was fun!

The market

Tonight is the Super Bowl and I am actually so sad I am missing it. I want to eat chips and salsa and have one night where its totally ok to sit around for four hours and not think about homework! And I'm also really craving an American ice cream sundae... so if anyone wants to make that happen, that would be greeeeeattttt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZLEvrkbFcQ For those who do not know who Wishbone is, I've included this link. But you should really take some time and be ashamed of yourself and think about what is actually important in life. A little Jack Russell Terrier teaching history to children is much more important than anything you were doing in the 1990s.

Leviohsa not leviosaaa

Today we met with an actress who does phrasing exercises with us. It seems fun, but it becomes very frustrating! She spoke so quickly and we had to repeat after her. And if you didn't do it right, which of course I never did, she would interrupt and make you say fragments of words over and over and over and over... OOh not Ooh...(leviohsa not levIosaaa for Harry Potter fans!). I became extremely overwhelmed and finally needed to take a seat. One thing I really liked about her though is that she realizes that it is EXHAUSTING to learn a new language. After an hour and half, she could see that most of our minds were shot. She let us take a break and do a little yogitskis. I miss yoga alot! After that workshop, the six of us that showed up went to an Irish store. This was the coolest store ever. They had so many products from Ireland like scarves, hats, big fisherman sweaters (which look to die for), jams, teas, ciders, etc. I definitely plan on going back!
One thing I really like about the school here is that it has MULTIPLE cafeterias. Today, we all decided to go to the Moroccan one. It was actually really good and you get a pretty good full meal for only three euros! I don't know if its something I'll do everyday but that was definitely cool to see... hopefully I'll find a sushi one and be set for life!
I had to meet with a teacher to talk about some homework due next week, which I suppose I should work on, but I know I'm not going to get it done right now! We'll save that for later. And after that I went running next to the Loire!
It was so awesome! I changed in the school and left my stuff in the locked Bucknell classroom. I had to walk past some french kids in my gym clothes, and trust me I stuck out like a sore thumb. The French idea of working out is having to walk to find someone who can light your cigarette. It was more overcast today than I would have liked, but I had a peaceful run (listening to Glee Christmas... Christmas 2011, I'm ready for ya!). Next time, I'm going to cross the bridge to run on the other bank, because I think that one is considered safer (and I found a bridge just for pedestrians).
Tonight I am going to see "The King's Speech." I'm seeing it in English with french subtitles. And tomorrow we are visiting two castles!
I suppose I should tell my mom we need to have dinner much before 9 tonight, but I might leave it up to chance ;)

Meghan the Teacher

First of all... I would like to give out a shout out to Eva Pleuhs and thank her for sharing her lemon cake recipe with the world on her blog "Fresh from Eva's Kitchen." This is the best cake I've ever had. Danke!!

My day started awful. The badness started yesterday when I wanted to do my laundry. Something tells me this will be a constant struggle between me and the mother. She said I couldn't because she was doing some. Woman, I've been waiting all week and it seems as if you are always doing laundry. And I am running out of "sous-vetements" AHEM. Donc, I need to do laundry now. But no, and then, the machine broke. Joy. So, I put my white clothes next to the door to claim my territory. If laundry gets done, it better be mine. And the angel did my whites for me! This morning, I dragged my colors down from the room, remember no laundry basket?... and had my breakfast (I bought myself good old Quaker Oats oatmeal the other day... heaven in a box). The dad came downstairs and I said my hellos, and headed back up. And there, on the stairs, was a pair of bright pink underwear. I grabbed it quick and ran to my room. And we all know the dad saw them, and I said hi, thinking everything was normal in the household. Horror.

I started out DREADING leaving the house because I had four straight hours of class this morning. Pointless classes, for example, today I learned how to take notes in french using a "mind map" (don't get me started). And then in the caf, the stupid woman was SO RUDE to me. So I paid in little coins, sucker. And then I had to go to two hours of service learning... oh jesus. BUT.....
It was great! I went to the Center of Service Learning to help French students with their english and finally, after one month of being in France, I remembered that yes, I am a competent, intelligent  human being! It's so nice to remember that!!! I feel so much better knowing that my inability and frustration with communicating is because I'm always trying to communicate in French! I can feel everyone saying duh, but you have no idea the difference this makes when you figure it out. These French students have the same silly frustrations in English that I have been having in French!
I had the best time being the teacher, rather than the student.

I helped two French students, one with the "h" sound, and one with the rhythm of sentences. We all worked together because there were so many French students to help and only two Americans there. And the students were really happy to be working, silly me, I was afraid they would be rude, given what I'd seen in class. But anytime they started going off in french really quick, I would just make them say something hard and we would laugh about it and move on. Ha. They joked around with me saying "You're a real American, not a martian!" (Ok?) But I had a great time. Anyway, after they left, I helped a French professor with his English. He didn't know much English at all, and we sat in another room because some of his students were there and he didn't want them to hear him try to learn. He said Thursdays were his days to learn English. We tried to just have a conversation, rather than work on exercises. I helped him with the days of the week and we talked about Universities in the US. He has a colleague at the University of Chicago, which I thought was cool.

Tomorrow is Friday and I'm going to go to some Chateaux this weekend which I am really excited for because its going to be 50 degrees and sunny!
Gonna go unpack my bikini!
(jk)

my Regime

My french word of the day is...régime.
I want to make it an ugly color because it is an ugly word. Three weeks of eating french pastry at every whim and fancy and I have finally decided I need to diet. Therefore, today I started my "Good Choices Only... but I can have dessert with dinner" diet (G.C.O.- the real south beach and adkins... none of that no carbs, all meat fluffernutter). Anyway, so things were going really well. When I get my mind on something, I'm pretty good about it. Lunch rolled around and my friend Catherine and I went to the school caf to save money. And they don't have any french cafe cookies so I ran into no problems there. And after school, I went to the grocery store to store up on apples and bananas. When I got home, I was so proud of myself, I had one piece of chocolate... shoot me, I've been great all day. 
Dinner time rolls around, and passes. And I'm hungry. But have yet to be called for dinner. So I did my usual, casual stroll downstairs which turns into the hover... Waiting. My "mom" offered for me to eat right then, but I would have to eat alone. I said "Heck yes woman, feed me." So I sat there, and told her how much I loved soup, while she served me soup. And then delicious eggplant and rice. And then, she asked if I wanted cheese. And I started to panic... cheese means no dessert. It means no chocolate for Meghan. I said... ok? and took the smallest piece (hint hint). She offered me fruit.... ok? I took the smallest clementine. Then, she left the room. Noooooooooooooo. 
So I asked the dad if there was a little chocolate, I wanted something sweet. This man gets me. He loves chocolate more than I. He said of course and pulled out the dark chocolate. But watched me as I took a small piece and retreated to my room. And here, it is depressing and chocolateless (I threw out any and all junk food in my room two days ago... which at that point was a pack of mentoes and some chocolate). 
But no, don't feel bad and send me candy. Seriously (I'm talking to you, Anna). I'm going through my detox period. It'll pass. 
Again on the family front, the two oldest daughters got in a HUGE spat yesterday. It got awkward. They are the only two on the same floor as me. I heard a lot of yells, and doors opening and closing. One kept going, "Shh, Meghan is sleeping." I wanted to call out, "No I'm not, don't worry, carry on" but felt a bit awkward. Mean names were called out, doors were slammed again, followed by some very loud sobs. 
But now they are best friends again, being freaking loud and screaming and laughing. Shh. I'm writing my blog, please!
Glad I don't have sisters, jeez. Thanks for being a boy, Peter. 


And good thing I ate earlier, it is 8:45 p.m. and they haven't even sat down yet. suckers.