La cuisine française...

I still can't get over the food here. For some reason, I'm way more adventurous here when it comes to food. For example, over the course of one weekend, I tried mussels (yuck) and oysters (not toooo bad). Me! Before, you couldn't get me to look at poisson without gagging.

Me and my oyster buddy...I'm so proud of this photo!

My newly found culinary adventurousness I think stems from the fact that this entire year is for new experiences. I don't want to miss a thing because I'm too scared (and yes, I was scared of that oyster). So, if I don't try that weird looking seafood while I'm here, in a region that's known for its fruits de la mer, then I'm missing out. Maybe that's why I danced on a table with a gay man, a columbian chica, and a silly Frenchie the other night. And maybe that's why I danced old school Breton dances with some elderly folks at a Fest Noz (party of the night in Breton) this weekend. I may have felt like a fool, but it was fun :)

I'm writing this post before I have to get ready for class, so I'll see how much I can fit in. This past week I turned 21. In the US, this is a momentous occasion. In France, not so much. It was definitely weird to have a birthday abroad. I kept thinking of how different it would be if I was at home in Madison. It wasn't a bad birthday at all, just different, and made me a little homesick, to be honest. September 8th is also my host dad's birthday, so we had two cakes at dinner time. They were DELICIOUS! My mom said they were from the best pâtisserie in Rennes, and I believe it. My family also bought me a bunch of cookies (because they know I love them), and this really good perfume called Amour by Kenzo. They popped a bottle of champagne and it was a really nice dinner. Lucile kept asking if we would be eating slugs for dinner, so I told her in the US, slugs are typical for birthdays. We eat them whole, even the heads. She thought that was pretty cool. After dinner, I went out for a little bit with some friends. Home by one. Not exactly the most rowdy of all birthdays, but it was nice.

Wednesday was the France vs Serbia World Cup qualifier, and since my family doesn't have a TV, I went out with some friends to watch the game. France's goalie got a red card within the first 10 minutes and Serbia got a penalty kick, making the game 1-0. Luckily, even down a man, France managed to score, and the game ended in a tie. SO DUMB. I'm really enjoying watching soccer here. People get so into it. Rennes has its own team, and the next home game is the 23rd. I'm most likely going. It should be really fun! I've also been playing a lot of soccer with people in the program. Its made me realized how I much I miss playing soccer on a team! The university has club sports, but I can't make it to the soccer one. So, I'm probably going to play some volleyball on Thursdays after class. Since I don't know the words for anything in volleyball in French, it should be interesting. Hopefully it'll give me the chance to meet some more French people, make some friends. I love hanging out with the people from Madison and the others in CIEE, but we don't speak French to each other. Not too good when you want to improve your speaking skills.

Thursday.........welllllllll. I feel like Thursday is a night best left not in print. Haha. It was definitely an eventful night. I tried mussels at dinner! Met some people from Palestine. And Kazakhstan (although he had a real good British accent...). We ended up getting WAY lost on the walk home, and wandered through Rennes for over an hour. I fell in a bush. You know how it goes....

Our friend from Kazakhstan was in the newspaper the next day!
Proof that Friday was a hilarious day.

The next day, I forgot to set my alarm, so I showed up an hour late for class. There were some people who didn't bother to show up. The rest of us were sitting there, exhausted, while purple pants professor Laurent kept asking ridiculous questions. Leah and I couldn't stop laughing the whole time, especially during the next class when we learned French hand gestures. While I was exhausted, Friday was just a really funny day. That night, I went to a little get together with my host mom. They called it an aperitif, but basically it was just snack food and wine and conversation. While I didn't add toooo much to the conversation (I told them about how cold Wisconsin gets pretty much), it was nice to be able to listen and realize I understood most of what was being said. All older French people seem to know about this book called "On the road to Madison" (sur la route a Madison), and everytime I say I'm from there, they ask me about it. No clue.

This weekend was definitely quiet in comparison to my week. Leah and I went to the marché. All sorts of flowers, vegetables, meat, cheese, breads...what was weird was that all the birds and rabbits and all those little animals still had heads and talons, much like my poulet friend from last weekend. Very gross. But the flowers were pretty! And we got some café afterwards and relaxed. I went to the Fest Noz with some friends on Saturday night. Its a traditional Breton dance, with celtic music and dances. Most the dances involved big circles and pinky holding. There were bagpipes, oboes, saxophones, barefoot hobbit like people, orange and green decorations (I thought I was in Ireland for a second)...at first it was bizarre. But it ended up being really fun. Even though I have no rhythm and had no clue how to do any of the dances, the other people there were really willing to teach. Sadly, I have no pictures :( But it was seriously like we went back in time (minus the crazy lights on stage).

Sunday I went to the coast with my host parents and sisters. It was really different from the beach by their grandparents house. The north coast of Brittany is colder and windier. "Sauvage" was the word my mom used. But, it had its own beauty to it. There were cliffs and dunes, and the water was really blue. It was kind of what I imagine the Irish coast to look like too. Off in the distance, I could see Mont St. Michel.


There were lots of waves, which were fun to splash around in with the girls.


I'm really starting to settle in here. Rennes is a great city, and I'm having a great time! Today is my first day of actual classes at Rennes II, so I'm kind of nervous. I'll let you guys know how it goes...