Thanksgiving in France!

Not a whole lot has been going on here recently. We've all started the big countdown to the end of the semester (only 3 weeks to go)! A lot of people are ready to go home (although they're excited to do their after semester traveling). I haven't been homesick, but there are definitely some things that I really miss about home; large cups of to-go coffee, choosing what food I want to eat, people who pick up their dog's poo, convenient internet/computer usage, cheap laundry and having more than 8 shirts to pick from in the morning!

This week's big event was THANKSGIVING; my favorite holiday. It was really fun although we had class all day. Thursday is everyone's very busy day. We had grammar from 9-12 and then after lunch we had a museum tour for art history. Then when we got back at 5 we had to go to French Civ until 6:45. Then it was time for dinner! The cafeteria ladies had pushed all the tables into a U shape so that we could be one big happy family. They also brought in props; an American flag, a teepee, window clings, flowers, etc. One of the ladies has 2 grandkids and they were dressed up like Native Americans, and the ladies all dressed up like cowboys (we didn't really get it but it was the thought that counted)!

We started with bread and cranberry sauce (they thought it was like jelly so they served it with the bread). Then we had corn chowder, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, turkey and gravy. I didn't think that they would be able to pull off a meal anything like the ones that we eat at home but I was pleasantly surprised that they did. Although it wasn't Mom/Grandma's, it was really good. It turns out that our St John's director spent the day in the kitchen making the food. We finished the meal with pecan and pumpkin pie...I had one pumpkin, one pecan and helped Caitlin and Cody finish their pecan slices (Caitlin's 2nd and Cody's 3rd).

After dinner we went to the bar on campus. The school does a karaoke night after Thanksgiving, as part of the "tradition." It took awhile for it to get started but once it did we could have gone all night. It was fun to have karaoke at an international school because everyone got up and sang songs in their native language. We all tried to sing along with the French ones but it wasn't very good. Then the Spanish speakers got up to do the macarena and all of a sudden it turned into a huge dance party. For half an hour we all danced around like we were at the discotheque. Then the karaoke started again and continued until 12. At that point Cody and I decided that we would watch the movie Eurotrip so we didn't get to bed until 2! And we had to get up for class at 9 on Friday.

Friday night we all stayed in and got to bed before 12 since we'd gotten so little sleep. Saturday we were supposed to go on a trip to Marseille but it was cancelled because there was rain forecasted (it was a gorgeous sunny day!). Instead we went to Marseille on Sunday.

Marseille is not one of the best places to go in France. It's not particularly safe and it's not particularly interesting. When we got there we went to a soap factory; it was interesting to see how soap is made and, even though the tour was in French, I learned a lot. Then we went to the basilica; Notre Dame de la Garde. We had a lovely picnic lunch looking out over the water. After a short tour of the church we went to a few more places...I'm not sure what they were. The best part was the Christmas market. It was fun to see all the Christmas ornaments, even though it really doesn't seem like Christmas. We all miss the snow; well miss isn't quite the right word, but the lack of snow doesn't provide a Christmas atmosphere.

There's only 13 days left of classes; I have a presentation, 4 tests (2 in grammar, 1 in art and 1 in civ), and 1 paper left to do. We've all started making lists of things that we have to do before we leave: jumping in the Mediterranean in December, getting ice cream, going to our favorite bars/clubs, finishing our souvenir shopping, having a picnic, etc. Time is flying by and it's hard to believe that my 4 months are really coming to a close, but I'm really excited to get home. I've started making a list of food that I will enjoy when I return. I've also started to realize how much I'm going to appreciate my own computer with Internet at any hour. I know I'll miss France tons when I get back to the States, mostly I'll miss the laid back lifestyle and the humor that this country provides!

Relaxing weekends...finally!

The last 2 weekends have been very relaxing and a total change of pace. The weekend of Nov 4-5th we took a college excursion to Aix en Provence. It was really cool to go to the market and then see Cezanne’s studio. The best part about the studio was that it was set up with all the stuff from the paintings still in it. The guide flipped through a portfolio of paintings and pointed out where each vase, chair, table, basket, etc, were at. It wasn’t the most exciting place and we didn’t spend a lot of time there but it was still a pretty good time.

Sunday was a nice day of homework and hanging out. I started my day with mass and then a nice long brunch. Afterwards I did some homework on the terrace (which looks out on the water). Then Amy and I did a short workout because we haven’t done that in awhile. After that I took a nap for most of the afternoon. I went to dinner and then watched a movie with Cody. We watched Asterlix and Obelix which is a French cartoon. It’s about these 2 guys who live in a small France town during the reign of Caesar and in each episode they have to fight against the evils of Rome (or something like that…it was in French, I didn’t understand all of it).

The big event of the week was the play; Quelque Chose (“Something”). I couldn’t give you the plot line if I tried; one girl finds something (it’s a red dot, made by a laser) and that’s where the story stops making sense. It was so much fun to be in the play. I am amazed at how far I came from mumbling the lines to getting up on stage and “fluently” speaking. We did two shows and the first one was probably the best because a bunch of students came and enjoyed laughing at everyone. I couldn’t believe how fast the shows actually went. We spent so much time preparing and it was over so quickly. Now, I’m excited to watch the second show (the first week in Dec) and see how much I can understand.

Last weekend I went out on Friday night to a dance club in Cannes. We had really wanted to go to Karaoke but the place was really crowded. Then Saturday after a late and leisurely brunch I ended up with an allergic reaction (swelling of the eye). I did a little homework and started planning my trip to Italy. I ended up taking a 2 hour nap and then I hung out with Cody while he tried to solve the world’s problems. After dinner we watched a couple of movies (I slept through half of one). At 1 we went to bed.

Sunday morning I had a quick brunch before being picked up by my echange-langue. I went to their house and we ended up going for a walk in the mountains before having a lovely picnic on the side of the mountain. I spent about 5 or 6 hours with them and got back to the college at 4. At 5 I went to the SJU director’s house for cooking lessons. She gives a lesson to 6 people every Sunday night. We made aioli (garlic mayo dip), tomato basil soup, quiche and chocolate mousse. It was amazing. We didn’t get back to the school until 9:30 and then I talked to Mom and Dad for awhile before going to bed.

I’ve started to try and incorporate more French into my daily life in hopes that my ability will improve and also in hopes that more of the language will stick with me when I leave. I watch movies in French occasionally (the college usually offers 1 or 2 per month), and last week I started reading the French paper, Le Figaro. Usually I just read the headlines and then pick one or two articles to read since it would take me all day to read and comprehend the whole thing. I’ve also started to concentrate more on memorizing verb tenses and expanding my vocabulary. When Caitlin, Sharon and I went to Monoprix this week we spoke in French the whole time which is something I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do. Only 5 weeks until Italy!