Is Week Three Already Over??

Sunday morning right now so it's about 5 AM in Marietta...trying to think about the time change is strange because I'm so used to it here now. This week was fairly slow and full of ups and downs. I had my first pang of homesickness on Wednesday and it wasn't so much that I wanted to be home as I was frustrated with my situation here. It's really strange coming to a place where you know no one and then have to make friendships based on that. Who can you trust or talk to? People don't know your story here because you've known them for less than a month. It's frustrating when I actually think about it so I really try not to. I'm a fairly trusting person but here it seems hard to build trusting relationships because of differences in culture.

Classes are turning out well. First grades came out and I am where I should be in terms of my level and the grades I'm receiving. Different from the US, you really can't guess what kinds of grades people are getting unless they give the information willingly. Grades are SO unpredictable but it really makes you strive to do your best every single time.

Random culture notes: Salsa dancing is a HUGE thing here. Salsa nights are every Thursday. I thought this was interesting. Also, universities and high schools here do not have extra curricular activities. THey offer classes alone and that's it. It's up to the students to find opportunities to get involved. That is SO different from the US. One of the biggest sports here is Handball: France is doing really well in the World CHampionship. I watch it with my host father here.

Yesterday I had an excursion to the city of Angers. It is by far my favorite place in France so far : even better than Tours. There is an enormous castle there that has magnificent tapestries of the Apocalypse. It is the oldest and biggest tapestry in the world. I can't even explain how amazing the tapestries are. They are absolutely enormous. It is missing over 1/3 of the pieces because after it was made, people would cut up pieces to make rugs or horse blankets. It makes me cringe to think about it. Back in the day, art really didn't mean that much so they had no respect for it. THe biggest basillica every created doesnt' exist anymore because the government of the city decided to tear it down to build a road. (This was in Southern France). The tapestry is a double sided one so all the knots are on the inside and both sides have well preserved colors (there are SO many colors). It's hard to believe that it is made of wool. Looking at pictures online just doesn't do it justice. We did a tour of the tapestries in French and later used the English audioguides that they offer. It was interesting because both guides had different aspects of the illustrations to point out.

Angers the town is wonderful too. THere is better shopping there than in Tours so of course I had to go shopping. RIght now are the "soldes" which I don't think I've explained yet. They are 5 week sales and there are 2 soldes throughotu the course of the year. Other than that, items in stores do not go on sale. I could have stayed in Angers a lot longer : perhaps for a weekend!!

The Paris trip fell through next weekend so instead I'm going up to Reims with a friend on Saturday to see the cathedral there. It is said to be twice the size of Notre Dame in Paris so I'm excited. :)

And I was also thinking about Carly's comment the other day when I was reading the newspaper. In more response to the comment, even when the news here reports on the American issues, it always links the issues to how it relates to Europe. I read an article yesterday about Obama closing the CIA secret camps and it related the news to how it effects Europe.

I thought I'd do a top ten (in no particular order) of what I really love about France:
1. Kebab :) Here's a pic but imagine the fries ON the sandwhich. :)
2. No classes Wednesday or Friday afternoons
3. Being able to travel somewhere really neat in just a day
4. HISTORY: there is virtually no history in the US. The conflict over Alsace area between now Germany and now France stems back to 864!!!!
5. Crepes: So delicious :)
6. Walking everywhere: I thought I walked a lot in Marietta...that's a joke.
7. International Friends
8. Pastries and chocolate: There is nothing like it in the US
9. Galette de Rois: How cool is it that there is a prize in the cake?? :)
10. Fashion Sense: My fashion fits in here really well :) And I LOVE scarves/foulards. One of my friends said yesterday that I always look like I'm going to a fashion show in France...funny comment since I was wearing jeans and boots to be warm...:)

That should do it for now. I love comments and questions so leave me some! :)

Pictures: Most of my group (minus 3!) at Angers, the castle and gardens at Angers (You can't possibly get a picture of all the castle in one because it is too big!), Me on top of the tower at Angers, Kebab.

Sunday = Update Day

So it's 6:30 here in Tours and I am doing my weekly blog/online check-in. Sundays here are very laid back so it's the best day to write even though I should probably be talking with my family. :) Oh well. I'm up in my room smelling the scent of chocolate cake that my host father is making. He manages/works with a chocolate company in France and its his homemade cake. I can't wait for dinner. :)

A lot has happened since my last check-in. First, I visited two chateaux (sorry, castles!!) last weekend with my program. We visited Langeais and Azay le Rideau. Langeais is an old castle that was built for protection and war. Azay is the opposite, built for pleasure and comfort. (As comfortable as you can get with stone walls and freezing temperatures!) Azay sits on a lake so it is really gorgeous. We also went to a little dessert shop (for lack of better translation) and got cakes and hot chocolate. Delicious! I love how France is so intrested in their food and making sure every little detail is covered: Desserts here are not only amazing but gorgeous at the same time! One of the most significant details I learned about the castles (stuff I didn't already know) had to do with the kitchens. In Azay, part of the kitchen has a low floor (original floor) and the other part has the higher, newer floor. The reason for the low floor is because there were windows in the kitchen and the owners of the castle did not want people on the outside looking in to see the "lowly peasants and servants" while they worked or chatted. I thought it was really interesting how concerned people were.

I've successfully been through two weeks of classes. My head hurts (my host dad says this is normal and a good thing!) because I am constantly thinking in French. It's actually kind of hard to switch back now. :) It's a little frustrating because even my international friends all want to speak English. My closest friends here are from Netherlands, England, Spain, and one from Miami University. We do a lot of different things together (celebrated my birthday and such!) My friend from the Netherlands speaks English as if she was from the US. The group of us will be going to Paris in a couple weekends : Yay!

Anyways, got off subject: Classes. I have a long long day of classes. Monday and Tuesday I go to school from 9 to 17h30. Wednesday is nice; I only have classes from 9 to 12 and the afternoon is free. Thursday I go from 9 to 15h30. And Friday I go from 9-12 break then from 1400-1600. My classes are taught completely in French which is challenging but it keeps me awake. I had my first test last week so I'll have to see how different the grading system is than at home. One thing about France is time means nothing. Class is supposed to start at 9 and my professor normally shows up at 905 or 910. It's actually normal to show up to class at 905 or 910. Breaks are supposed to last for 10 minutes and sometimes they go for as long as 20 minutes. My family is the same way: If I say I have to leave at 930, I won't be out of the house til 940. It's definitely something to get used to.

I celebrated my birthday this past week as well. I went to hockey game (they have cheerleaders for hockey teams here!) and went to a cafe with some of my friends. It was a lot of fun. :) My birthday was on Wednesday and my professors brought in cake to celebrate. Galette de Rois is the name of the cake: It's quite possibly the best cake I've ever eaten.

As far as this weekend goes, I went to see Twilight (in French) last night: It's a big of a fad here as it is in the US. And I saw Slumdog Millionaire today with my family. Cinema here is different: No one talks, laughs, or practially moves both before the movie starts and during the movie. And the popcorn is like kettle corn. :) ANd movies aren't horribly expensive here.

It takes two days for US news to get over here. My mom (real mom) told me about the airplane landing on the Hudson and it showed up in the French papers two days later. My host family talked a bit about it but they're more excited about the inuaguration. It's completely normal to talk about politics here and to talk about who you voted for. My host mom asked me today who I voted for. Also, the Israeli-Palestine situation is in France as well. I don't know how it is in the US, but in many cities in France there have been protests: including in Tours, where I am. There was one on the main street yesterday (protest parade) and all week there have been people trying to get you to stop and talk to them.

Well I think that's a lot to digest for now. This week I have two more exams and am visiting Angers on Saturday. My host father told me that part of Angers burned down (?) so we may be changing our excursion. Hope the first week of Marietta classes went well! Can't wait to hear all your comments/questions. :)

Pictures: Langeais, Azay le Rideau, International Friends, Professors, the Loire River
*Pictures won't work on this internet..I'll post tomorrow. :)

JE SUIS EN FRANCE!!!!!

Bonjour!!! Je suis en France maintenant! For those who don't speak French: hello! I am in France now!! Today is Wednesday, January 7th and it is about 9:30 here. I've just finished dinner and am tired of working on homework so I thought I'd take a little break. A lot has happened in the past few days so I'd like to fill you in on a bit.

I won't bore you with all the details of my trip and all my encounters because I could sit here for days typing all the things I have done here in the past three days and all the things I have seen. First of all, I wish I could describe the different smells. Every morning I wake up and have breakfast with my host father. Breakfast is normally cereal, croissant and jelly, fruit, tarts, or other fresh pastries that may be in the house. This morning, my host father went to work before I was up for breakfast so I served myself breakfast. When I opened the fridge, I was overwhelmed with new smells. I assume the smells of different meats and cheeses. In just three days I have eaten things I never thought I would eat, things I couldn't even tell you what they were. Last night, I ate a vegetable that has no English equivalent in the dictionary. It definitely wasn't my favorite but coming from a picky eater, I have truly surprised myself.

I love my host family. I live in an adorable house and my family is so welcoming. My host father talks with me about many things and he helps me with my pronunciation and french grammar. It is truly helpful. Last night, I had dinner with just him. He told me that he thought the French were getting lazy. For example, it snowed the other night, and there was no school yesterday. He said when he was in school, they were expected to walk in the snow. It reminded me of how my father talks. Things really aren't all that different here after all.

As far as school goes, I am in level four intermediate. It is the level in which I wanted to place. The professors here are not like the professors in the United States. Grading is much harder and professors are very critical in class. I experienced this in class today. You have to have thick skin to survive in an environment at the Institute.

I have made many different types of friends here. I even met another girl named Blakely!! She is in my small class of 15! I have friends from Columbia, Mexico, Spain, Venezuela (lots of Spanish!), Britain, Austrailia, the United States of course, Korea, and France too. My host nephew (he is a student in Tours and lives at the house) is so nice to me and I talk with him very often. He likes to practice his English with me and he lets me practice French with him. Making friends here can be difficult because no one speaks the same language and it seems easier ot make friends with someone from your native country but I am trying hard not to do this. I have made a close friendship with a girl who lives around the corner from me who goes to Miami. We speak French with each other however.

There is snow here right now. It is very strange for Tours to have snow! It's the first time in over 10 years my host father tells me! I will post a picture of the town hall with snow. I took it on Monday night when I went out to a cafe called Cafe des Langue (cafe of lanugages) where students go to meet other international students.

That's all for now. This weekend I will travel to the castle called L'Azay le Rideau. Questions? Comments? Let me know! I'll answer!

Hope all is well in the states!

It was hard to write this without switching to French...I think that's a good sign!