29 May 2009

Last day of classes!

Today is a perfect day for the last day of classes in Angers... only 1 more week and I have finished the semester (and brought up my GPA!!). It's sunny, warm (not too hot or too cold!) with a breeze. Finals start tomorrow morning at 9am (yes, on a Saturday!). However, I have 2 tomorrow, so that gets 2 out of the way so I can focus the rest of the weekend on studying for the others.

9 days until my dad arrives in France! I can't wait! I just got an e-mail confirmation from couchsurfing.org, confirming I now have all of our trip covered for lodging. I would post more details about what we're doing... but it's a surprise for dad. I am so excited!!!

A bientot (apres mes examens...)

Cate

27 May 2009

Bikes!

I just returned from a 14 km bike ride with my host mom. I suggested going on a ride this weekend... before having looked at the weather. It turns out today is the coldest day of the week- which is perfect!! Its 18 degrees right now and partly sunny. So great!

You know, there's one thing I really regret... and that's that I did not get to know my host mom very well. We are just now REALLY starting to bond, and I take all of the blame for it. I have been more concentrated on traveling and hanging with my friends (american and french) than spending time with the woman who has offered to give me room and board for the last 4 months. She's a wonderful person.

25 May 2009

More cookies!

Yesterday Colette asked me to bake cookies for our "international picnic with your host families" dinner tomorrow.

So today I baked cookies and they turned out just like my Grannie used the bake them. I can even hear her whisling "woo hoo" like she used to when I would go to her house every Sunday...

I miss her and my mom. Thank goodness for memories though!!!

22 May 2009

You never know who knows your language

I am in Villaviciosa, Spain, which is supposedly the second richest city in Spain, next to Madrid. My friend from way-back-when, Sarah, is studying Spanish here! It's so great to see her- especially in a foreign country. I will update you more about this trip and the last few trips soon... but I have an interesting story first!

So I really don't speak Spanish. I can comprehend a little bit of it, but not a lot. So this morning I was in the kitchen getting some breakfast and the cleaning lady started talking to me and asking me questions (most of which I really did not understand). However, I did understand when she asked me if I was studying here with Sarah, and I told her no, that I'm in France. Little did I know that this woman speaks French! Pretty fluently, too! So we had about a 45 minute conversation in French. Also, come to find out, she is from the city in Spain (Salamanca) where I have been told is the best place to go to learn Spanish- by numerous people. So I gave her my contact information and she said she will ask around for people looking for an Au Pair for me.

The power of languages...!!

07 May 2009

CrIepes

My host mom makes the best crepes... I love it when we have them for dinner!! The only bad part is I eat so many, that afterwards I'm not motivated and I just want to go to sleep! Luckily I have managed to stay awake for 4 additional hours and get a paper and some studying done... oh, and catching up with friends on facebook. You know, the norm.

06 May 2009

Parents

I may have lost my mom when I was really young, but I sure did gain a relationship with my dad that that is absolutely incredible.

He's an incredible dad, and I love him so much!

I can't wait to have him travel with me for 2 weeks this summer.

I am so lucky.

05 May 2009

French Doctors

The French way to do doctors offices are so bizarre... compared to American standards, that is. I have been feeling sick the last couple of days so I went to the "infirmerie" on campus today because I couldn't sit in class any longer. It was an office... much like a teachers office... and I told the woman my symptoms, she took my temp, then said, yes, I think you should see a doctor. So she looked in this book of handwritten doctors names and called a couple before making me an appointment. When I got there, it was the same type of deal- only this time there was a bed to lay on and, what I think of as an at-home scale. Didn't seem sterile at all, so good think I didn't have an open wound or something. Actually, that's not true. I think it's just that American's are super sterile friendly... the French have been doing things this way for years and it seems to work.

Diagnosis: a virus.

Treatment: A day off from school and medicine that only cost me 3 euros.

Outcome: Still sick.

04 May 2009

Red Velvet

I had a dream last night (or was it during my afternoon nap?) that I ate red velvet cake... and now I really want some.

This weekend I went from a rainy and yucky day in Angers to a perfectly clear and sunny evening in Paris.

It's amazing what 1 1/2 hours away can do...!
I saw my friend, Andrea, sing in what is called an "Apartment Tour". It really is a fantastic idea: people open up their apartments for 2 artists to perform. 15-30 people must be in attendance, and at the end they pass around a hat for money, but obviously nothing is required. It was so much fun!


Even after getting a little lost on the way back to my friends apartment, and trying to get lured to a dark and quiet street while just in front of where I was going, I fell asleep with the view of the moon and the eiffel tower and I could say the only thing that would have made the night better would have been a red dress and a date.



After a night in Paris, I headed back to Besançon to see Pauline, Julien, and Narimel. We sent to her parents tiny town an hour away and she showed me around. Since it was May day, apparently the tradition is for the kids that will be 18 that year to go around and collect all of the crap in peoples lawns and put it in the fountain in the "center" of town. Pretty funny. The next night we went to a concert called "L'Herbe en Zik" which means Music in the Grass (zik = short for music), where there were 2 stages set up for shows. My favorite was a genre they call "swing jazz" which is more like swing, jazz, plus a techno beat. I LOVED it. The last group was from Russia, I believe, and the guy didn't speak any French at all, and although he "sang" in english/russian, his spoken english wasn't that great. He kept saying something in one of his songs... but I can't remember it right now. to be continued...
Sunday afternoon was spend with Narimel, Pau + Friends picknicking in the park. Absolutely fantastic and great to see Nari again- and to take it easy!








Now that I am back in Angers I am getting sick with whatever Pau before I got there... so it's back to a nap for me.