Where Were You?

In honor of September 11th, I thought I would post some songs that I feel are appropriate for the 10 year anniversary....

Amazing

So, I stumbled upon a cool, interesting, and jealousy-inducing fact about my house and it's contents the other day.....

My host brother has a bloody Narnia wardrobe.....

I overrode a lock....

Quick update.....

 I can now say I have gotten locked inside a school. Just because I stayed after class, and no one was smart enough to peruse the hallways before giving the janitor the 'all clear'. Good to know my school is being run by capable human beings.

I, of course, had to check all the doors before deciding to yell and scream while pounding on the glass doors like some wild ape in a zoo. I still don't have a phone at this time (but that will be rectified tomorrow.... when all the shops are open) so I was debating on commandeering some pamphlets to make an S.O.S. sign. A smoke signal even crossed my mind. I had my computer so I managed to get online and notify a couple people of my predicament. I asked for the site director's number, although I doubt she could have done much. I tried a button that read ouvert porte but I apparently didn't press it long enough the first time. So I continued to bang on the doors like a savage. After running around parts of the building where I suspected people might still be, I went back to try the button again. After the click, I thought I might as well give the door another try. The button was just far enough away to make it awkward to open the door and hold down the button at the same time. It took me a couple tries to get the timing right, but in the end I managed to escape relatively unharmed (except for maybe psychologically). I say I overrode the lock. Much cooler than, " I pressed a button and opened a door".

I never knew my study abroad experience in France would include trying to free myself from a form of prison that many students see school as. France, you are full of surprises.

Sean Penn

Happenings of last night....

I ended up going out to a movie with my host mom and her friend. I have found my crowd. I spoke better French with them than I had all that day. We went to see a Sean Penn movie called "This Must be the Place" which was debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. It was a cross between Edward Scissorhands and Into The Wild somehow.

Now, before the film, we sat down to dinner and I had to ask the question, were we taking the bus or driving? Driving it was. Great. Following le diner I rushed upstairs to get my oh-so-favorite pair of nude pumps. I had a specific outfit in mind and wasn't going to waste a perfectly good opportunity to look put together. When I came downstairs, the friend (whose name escapes me) mentioned that we weren't going for a walk on the Champs-Elysee. She commented that I looked like one of those "young, what are they? Celebr - movie stars?".
Afterwards, we all went out for drinks (as if my mom's friend doesn't drive crazy enough). It was nice to sit and relax in the centre ville late at night - so beautiful. Following our stint at the cafe, the ladies decided to take me up to a lookout that has a beautiful view of the entire city. I finally managed to get home at around 1:30am and got up at 6am for my final day of class. One more day.

Vitalis

I have now seen thunder storms from 35,000 feet and while in France. I had the opportunity to sit out on my two foot wide window sill and watch the storm. Magnificent. Then the rain came, and you could hear distinctly how far away it was as it traveled.

The one evening I decided to have dinner with my family in my PJ's, the attractive cousin stops by for a visit. The story of my life.

Yesterday, while skype video chatting with my boyfriend, a worker at the university was constantly flirting with me and eventually asked me out for drinks at the Tomate Blanche. I tried to be polite and say I was tired, but he then started suggesting other days we could go. I finally gave him a "maybe". He commented that he'd see me tomorrow..... oh boy.

In other news, I got paid 10 euros to talk English to French high school kids for an hour during lunch. In France, an hour and a half is a typical lunch. My high school had exactly 32 minutes. It was surprising how long that had been speaking French, yet their level was less than I expected. At certain points I started rambling in French, trying to get my point across. As my boyfriend would say, "whoops a doodle".

I have been introduced to a strange creature called ALF - I can't say much more than that but I am sure I will be forced to learn more in the future. I can't wait. My excitement is overflowing. There really needs to be a sarcasm font, I am convinced.

Oh my... we are pulling out cigarettes in class at the moment in order to prove a point (what point, I don't know). This whole week has been tiring and somewhat bizarre. My French is getting better and I am understanding more, which I am ecstatic about. France is known for their accurate and reliable transportation. Apparently yesterday was their day off. My bus (the system is called "Vitalis") was 20 minutes late and I also had to deal with a bunch of lost women making the driver stop the bus in order to figure out where they were headed. I was a bit late for dinner, which is at 8pm, but when I got home I found the house empty. I had been left a note saying they were at grandma's and that I should help myself to dinner. Well, because of the fact that the only thing my family has is raw ingredients and I didn't want to waste pots and pans for cooking, I had a banana.


I am currently jonesing for a ham sandwich on a baguette with mayo, butter, and cheese. Very French. Very delicious. I think I am going to find one of those (along with a stop at the crèpe shop) when I go downtown during lunch. This afternoon is going to consist of a French educational version of a scavenger hunt around the Centre Ville. From what I understand, we have to stop random people on the street. Because that isn't out of normal French culture at all. Again, sarcasm font.

Take and eat first....

Well, the time has come to talk of other things....

Mainly: food.

This is my mantra now: Take and eat first,..... well, you know the rest. Last night I had the most unfortunate encounter with les moules - still in shell. Of course, I took a healthy helping, not wanting to offend anyone. My host mom asked me if I liked les fruits de la mer and I commented I had never been a fan of seafood. On top of the rubbery texture, salty/fishy taste, and the fact that they looked yucky - I still had this image in my head where they were still alive somehow although I had seen my mother boil them into oblivion. The face I was making as I tried to pry one out of it's shell must have been priceless, because I had the whole table laughing. I tasted it, gave it a chew, and slowly worked it down my throat. My mom assumed I didn't like it, and asked to reassure her assumption. She was dead on. I said I was incredibly sorry and felt guilty as she told me just to put my plateful of crap mussels back into the pot. She gave me, instead, a package of sliced meat that (I deduced from the smell and taste) was also some sort of seafood. I later found out after I ate it that it was indeed seafood. Crab. My mother is becoming a grandmaster at hiding potentially repulsive facts until after I have consumed it. Kudos.

Today marks Day 2 of the stage. I was sufficiently worn out yesterday and had to complete homework on top of that. I thought the French barely ever had homework. I've been deceived.

I am currently chatting with my boyfriend and good friend on skype. They happen to be sitting in the same room, so it is slightly weird because I am talking to one via video chat, but sometimes I ask questions via the video chat to the one I am only type chatting with. If that makes any sense whatsoever.

Accent Goggles

I am currently sitting in what will be my classroom for the entire week. I feel like a child.

What might make things easier (or should I say, who) is Shay. I have met my first Brit, and I fancy him if I do say so myself. It might make this week slightly more bearable sitting next to him. With each other's help, we managed to make it through a "petite quiz" on France that wasn't so "petite".

Yesterday, I had the most amazing glass of beer and chocolate ice cream at an outdoor cafe. Simply perfection. I then proceeded to flirt with a restaurant employee to get him to help me get on the internet using the free Wi-Fi (it wasn't working at first). It wasn't necessary to flirt, I know, but I figured if it helped in getting my internet to work then I was all for it.

It's quite odd using the term "boyfriend". I haven't had one in so long, it almost felt wrong saying it. I had a conversation with a fellow American about how her boyfriend was back stateside as well and the story evolved into us telling each other cute things that the boyfriends had done, so of course I had to relay the story about my hike to Shadow Falls. I received an "awwwwwwwwww" every 5 sentences or so.

Postcards sent yesterday. While Mathis was showing me where to mail them, I had to ask if his mom was annoyed by my computer use (what else are younger, more impressionable host siblings for than to get inside information?). I ended up finding out that she was discussing me with a friend on the phone (where I heard from upstairs "Samantha" "l'internet" "l'ordinateur" and "wi-fi" but not much else) about possibly installing wi-fi so I could use my computer in my bedroom. Apparently she doesn't hate me after all, that's a relief.

Last night, during dinner, I had to take a step back and think "holy crap, I must look super badass talking so fast with this French family". Of course, that would appear so to only those who are rusty with their French, or have no skills in that department whatsoever. Although, I have to admit that for how long I have been here, my French has improved quite a bit. I was having a solid conversation at the dinner table with my host family. I even managed to get in a few funny one-liners that made everyone laugh.

I now know where I can access wi-fi, so Skyping (or as my father so eloquently puts it: "syping") is now a must with anyone who is available. This week, I can skype after 4:30 pm my time, or I can get up early and head to the school around 7am-ish my time. For Oregon residents, that would be roughly 7:30am or 10pm, not ideal, but doable if you really miss me :)

I am just waiting on my USB cable to come in the mail, and then photos will pop up like daisies.