Katie's Adventures in Rennes

2010-04-25T20:30:00.001+02:00

Sunday, April 25th

Quick note: Germany is chock full of beer and brats. All it needed was Bucky and it would have been just like Madison. Well, a Madison with awesome castles in the countryside.

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2010-04-25T20:30:00.000+02:00

Wednesday, April 21st

Leah just left and I'm hanging out in Amsterdam for two hours before I catch a train to Stuttgart. It's hard to believe that this two week vacation is almost over.

After my last post, Leah, Yoann, and I headed to Amsterdam for a few days...Notable moments:

The Anne Frank house. I remember reading her diary as a kid and it really stuck with me. It was such a horrible point in history, but there were still moments of hope. Anne definitely had hope, right up until the day they were captured...it was a really moving memorial, and to see that bookcase that hid the annex, to see the walls of her room covered with posters....I really enjoyed it.

Pub crawl. Some of us were more victorious than others, let's leave it at that. Also, learned how to say "I'm wasted" in German from a bunch of guys from Frankfort.

The bikes. Amsterdam is a dangerous city. Not only do you have the cars and the people to look out for, there's also the tram and the five bijillion bikes flying at you from every direction. We went on a free walking tour and they told us that every year, twelve thousand bikes are found in the canals. Twelve thousand. Almost every resident has a bike (or two). I've never seen so many bikes in one place in my life.

The debauchery. Pot and prostitutes. It was really weird to be able to walk into a coffeeshop and just say "I'd like a joint please." just like it was a normal, everyday occurrance. Even weirder, marijuana isn't technically legal, just decriminalized and tolerated by the police. The Red Light District was even weirder to me. It was kind of sad to see these girls pretty much naked winking at guys through windows. The girls rent the window rooms for eight hours and do their thing. In some ways, I think it's a good thing to make it so open...the girls have more access to help, they have more rights, but at the same time, the fact that they gave to resort to prostitution is pretty depressing.

Amsterdam is definitely a beautiful city, the parks and the canals are great to just wander through on a sunny day (which is what we did). Also trying to pronounce the street names is great fun!!!!

Leah and I said goodbye to Yoann after that and said HELLLLLLOOOOOO DENMARK!!!! We stayed with my friend Martin from high school (he was an exchange student my senior year) that I hadn't seen in about a year and a half. He lives in Århus, a city right on the sea, and at a population of 250,000, the second biggest city in Denmark. We took a night train up to Kolding where Leah and I successfully managed the Danish railway system and got tickets to Århus. Thankfully people generally speak good English in Denmark and the don't make you feel like a fool for not speaking their language (cough like Paris cough cough). Martin's girlfriend Mia met us in the train station in Århus and we got settled in at their apartment, which was super cute btw. Martin told us that you're never farther than half an hour from the sea in Denmark, and I believe it! It was such a beautiful country, and everyone was so nice and welcoming to Leah and I. Martin's parents own a great restaurant right on the water and they treated us to a DELICIOUS meal there, complete with ocean view. Martin's family also owns a house boat right by the restaurant (they live on it about half the year) so we checked that out. The boat was super nice and HUGE.

Denmark still has a royal family and our first day there was the queen's 70th birthday. She owns a summer cottage in Århus, so we checked that out, wandered through her gardens a little bit, peeked in the windows. She wasn't there, I think she was too busy partying like a rockstar in Copenhagen, but it was cool to see.

Martin's parents also took us out to dinner to try some typical Danish food. Leah and I got this dish that was basically baked bacon with lots of potatoes. It was super good, and not that hard to make according to Martin and his dad (both chefs). Martin's mom insisted I try a Danish apple dessert too, so of course I said yes....we left the restaurant ready to explode! His family was unbelievably nice to us, I couldn't thank them enough. After dinner, Martin and his friends planned a little bar crawl for us that involved lots of dancing and singing Danish on tables (or in my case, shouting random sounds), and resulted in a massive hang over lazy day the day after. It was a lot of fun, Martin's friends definitely know how to party.

We watched probably 4 James Bond movies (all with Roger Moore) over the course of the weekend, it was great. I'd never seen an old Bond movie, and I thought they were hilarious! Martin is a chef, so Saturday he cooked us a really nice meal and he tried to show me how to do it too. I'm going to give it a try, but I'm pretty positive it's not as easy as he made it look...

Martin took us down to the beach at sunset one night and it was beautiful. I could definitely see myself living by the ocean someday....

Leah and I also visited Old Town Denmark (a lot like Old World Wisconsin) and pretended we were back in the old days, played on stilts, pet a horse, and learned about some rare chickens. Pretty sweet. Martin, his friend Jonas, Leah, and I also went mini golfing on a roof. I sucked and came in last. But we saw some of the Danish national soccer team players (they were playing mini golf too and of course I papperazi-ed them) and I do enjoy a good game of putt putt. Another Danish pastime: drinking øl (beer) in parks. Martin and his friends do that a lot I believe, any time, any day of the week. It's a great way to spend the afternoon.

We also went out to the country and met Mia's family. Again, they were so nice to us. We made dinner and the played soccer and jumped on a trampoline with her brother and sister. We even taught them how to play crack the egg on the trampoline (I think Martin really liked that one). Mia's family lives out in the country and they have horses and it was just a really pretty place to be!

Yesterday, Martin drove us to Copenhagen so we could catch our train. It was, of course a really pretty drive because of all the ocean views. We got to take the longest bridge in the world because Denmark is so split up by water. Before the bridge they had to take a ferry to get to Copenhagen.

We had really crappy weather, but the morning was nice and we got to eat in the sunshine before it started pouring! I think Denmark was just sad to see us leave. The little mermaid statue is in China, so we didn't get to see it, but I think Leah made a great Ariel...we saw the queen's palace and Christiana, a big hippie commune where the Red Hot Chili Peppers lived for awhile. The weather was a bit disappointing, but it was still a pretty town.

Martin and Mia were so great, it was a little sad to say bye. I really liked Denmark, even though Danish seems imposible. I do, however, know how to count to ten and say thank you. I can also ask for a boys number and for some ice cream...Leah and I had fun making up what people (like Martin and his friends) were saying when they were rambling off in Danish. Also, their currency, the kroner, was confusing to figure out at first (1 dollar = 5.5ish kroner) but super cool. I will admit though, Denmark is expensive. A sandwich meal can cost over ten american dollars...But, in any case, the people were great and it's a beautiful place. Jeg elsker danemark!

Now I'm on my way to see Hank in Stuttgart, Germany. On the agenda: the zoo and a beer festival! Should be fun!

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Waffles and peeing boys

2010-04-12T08:40:00.000+02:00

Leah, Yoann, and I are heading to Amsterdam this morning after three days in Brussels. It's been fun, we've seen the sights, drank lots of Belgian beer, and eaten waffles everyday. We checked out a comic book museum on Saturday that was really neat (especially for Yoann). They had lots of Tintin stuff (a well known comic book from back in the day), and Leah and I each bought one titled Tintin in America. I started reading it and so far he beats up Al Capones gang. Pretty sweet. We hung out by this statue of a peeing boy that is super famous; they even dress it up in costumes! It was a vampire rabbit on Saturday.

It's been nice in Belgium because people speak French. The signs in Flemmish are pretty awesome though. Lots and lots and lots of consonants....

One city down and on to the next! Can't wait to see the canals of Amsterdam!!!!

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LIVE from France

2010-04-12T08:32:00.000+02:00

Since I have my iPod with me and this new app to write blogs, I figured I'd try writing bits and pieces this weekend as I go. Effectively it's a live blog! Woooo!

I'm on the bus to Bordeaux watching the rain pour down outside (thanks Bretagne). The forecast isn't looking too good, but I'm still excited to see a little bit more of France. From now til mid May it's nothing but travel travel travel...

Also, the bus has started dripping rain on me (thanks Bretagne).

It's funny how music can take you back...trip down memory lane. I'm listening to the Kooks and I can just remember exactly the first time I saw them in concert in Milwaukee. Everytime I listen to Red Hot Chili Peppers I can't help but imagine myself in Jake Edwards' basement junior year of high school. Queen's Don't Stop Me Now reminds me of a certain evening three years ago when I watched the stars from the roof of my high school with some amazing friends. I've decided math is not the international language, it's gotta be music. When you can have French teenagers singing Bob Marley at their friend's house at the same time as a man in Florence plays it in front of El Duomo, and they both play with the same feeling (whether or not they really get the lyrics...), it's pretty cool.

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So. Go France. We arrived in Nantes no problem. Ran into two CIEE kids too! Awesome. Then we notice our train car isn't listed on the board. Hmmmmm. Sali and Eduardo have tickets that make them take buses and other trains. Hmmmmm. They were told there were issues with this train. Hmmmmmm. We asked a worker if there was a problem with the train. "Nope." Cool. We look at the board. No stop at Bordeaux St. Jean. Hmmmmmm. We ask another worker. "I don't know, ask someone else.". Thanks SNCF. We finally got help from a nice little old French lady who told us that part of the line was down due to storms a little while ago. We're taking a train to La Rochelle and getting off. We don't have tickets for all of this but oh well. So, we're just going to have to follow the crowd and hope there's place on the bus at La Rochelle. From there we'll have to ride to some random town and take another train to get down to Bordeaux. Great.

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Currently on the last train of the day, about an hour from Bordeaux. So the SNCF didn't plan for the huge surplus of people needing to take the random train down to Bordeaux because of the rail problems and there aren't enough seats for everyone. Not even close. There are people standing in the aisles, in the doorways...people are pissed. Some guy was yelling about how it's scandaleuse. Way to go SNCF, way to go. Positive thoughts....

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It's Monday and we're heading back to Rennes in about an hour. We have to make the same train bus crazy stuff on the way back. Should be fun. This has been a good weekend, except for the rain. The first day we explored a bit on our own until it was time to meet up with Tristan (Taylor's friend). His roommate made us Iron Chef inspired cheesburgers and we hung out for a bit. Then Tristan took us out to his favorite bar in Bordeaux, Calle Ocho. Him and his roommate have been going there for years, so we got lots of free mojitos and shots up the wazoo. The bar played lots of Latin music and there was lots of dancing. It was a really great time!!!

The next day we went on a little tour of Bordeaux in the rain. It's a really nice town with lots of open green space. It also has the longest pedestrian street in France. The weather cleared up in the afternoon, we ate some cannelé, a traditional snack from Bodreaux and wandered over to La Locale. Tristan is a member of Ultramarines, the fan club for Bordeaux's soccer team and la locale is kind if like their headquarters. It's where they organize andmake banners and such. It kind of reminded me of a frat house basement. From there we went to the game. we were interviewed by some random press dude that ambushed us before we got into the stadium and asked questions about Yoann Gourcuff (about his looks more specifically). I responded with a "he's so sexy!" Maybe i got on the radio lol. There was a great ambience for the majority of the match, a lot of cheers led by the ultramarines and some good soccer. At the end, Nancy scored a second goal and Bordeaux fell apart. They lost 2-1. Sad.

The next day Tristan drove us out to St Emillion which is a town super famous for it's wine. We took a free tour of a wine cave and attempted to have a wine tasting...except I think the owner of this place had been having his own wine tasting all day. He was nuts. The man was speaking some bizarre franglais poured us a little bit of wine and then disappeared. We got ignored for awhile and then just decided to leave. The town itself was super cute and old and cobblestoney. After walking around a bit we left and Tristan showed us his grandpa's winery. It was outin the country and really pretty. Tristan's mom is American so when we went tibia parents house she chatted with us for awhile. It was a nice relaxing day. When we got back to the apartment we watched some CSI and went to bed.

Now it's back to Rennes for three days of school and then off to Brussels on Friday! It's the start of our two week spring break. Wow.
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2010-04-01T10:49:00.000+02:00

Happy April Fool's Day/poisson d'avril!

Can't believe its April already.....

Lucile and my best fishy face

Traditions

2010-03-31T13:57:00.001+02:00

Tonight I'm going to a fest noz sponsored by the CIREFE, which should be interesting. The last fest noz I went to was a lot of fun, even though I felt like a tool waving my pinkie around and running in circles. For those of you out of the Breton loop, Fest Noz means fête de nuit in French, which means nighttime party in good old English. It's a Celtic tradition from way back in the day, and it involves traditional dancing (ie pinkie holding) and music. Oh, and traditional Breton cider!!! You know Bilbo's birthday party in the beginning of LOTR with all the hobbits running about and making merry? They're kind of like that. Brings out the hobbit in you, I swear.

This weekend Leah, Taylor and I are headed to Bordeaux! We're staying with Taylor's friend and he's getting us cheap tickets to a soccer game!!! He's one of those soccer hooligans and will hopefully teach us all the cheers. Also exciting, our visit coincides with a bunch of other CIREFEers, so a bunch of us will be in Bordeaux together. It should be fun!

This weekend is also the weekend of Easter (Pâques en français). In France, it's not a big friendly bunny who brings kids chocolate, it's a bunch of flying bells. Yep. Bells. I had my mom send me an Easter egg dye kit so my family can dye eggs. They don't do that on France, which I think is a tragedy.

Another funny French tradition: for April fools, kids cut fish shapes out of paper and try and stick them on each other's backs without the person noticing. Lucile's class is planning an ambush on their maîtresse, so she made a huge one complete with stickers and scales.

Being over here has made me really appreciate how into traditions americains are...we know how to do holidays right! Decorations and Christmas carols, Easter eggs, thanksgiving dinner and the Macy Day Parade (that one isn't really france's fault, but I did have two failed turkey day meals attempts here in November)...

But beware: next April Fools, I might just bring this fish idea over the sea...and I'll be pinkie dancing the whole time.

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Life goes on...

2010-03-27T22:23:00.004+01:00

So, I've decided its been a little too long since my last update (I made a New Years Resolution!) so here ya'll are.

Last weekend was a CIEE day trip to the south of Bretagne, the land of the mégalithes. Mégalithes are these giant stones (think Stonehenge) that were left by who ever lived in this area 6000 years ago. At Carnac, there are around 4 kilometers of these rocks left in rows. There are no written records left from these people, so no one knows what the purpose of these rocks really was. They don't line up with the moon or sun like Stonhenge does, and they're actually a lot older (by about 1,500 years). Word on the street (or French comic books) is that Astérix and Obélix (click to find out more about it) brought the giant rocks themselves. Obélix, this huge (and I mean HUGE) dude carried them on his back. I tried to re-create the magic of this idea, but since I was completely out of potion magique, I just pretended to be that strong.

We also visited Vannes, a city by the water that was pretty much the capitol of Bretagne way back in the day (way way wayyyy back). It was really crappy weather though, so the highlight was eating lunch at an AWESOME crêperie and getting a delicious galette. Just can't get enough of those things. We got a tour of the city, saw some people doing a scavenger hunt dressed as leprechauns, tried to stay out of the rain, and then went home.

I'm sensing now is the time for another photo....wait for it.........MONTAGE!!!!!

Vannes

A sign in both Breton and French

Your everyday, average leprechauns

Hey Hank!!!

Last weekend was also Springtime of Movies (don't really know what to call it), which meant all movies were 3.50 euro! Leah and I took advantage of this deal and saw La Rafle, a movie about the Holocaust. In 1942, the Nazis tried to capture 24,000 Jews that were living in Paris. Thankfully, Parisians were able to help hide about 10,000 so only 13,000-14,000 were actually caught. But, sadly, out of the 13,000-14,000, only 25 survived. 25. No children. All adults. The film follows the story of several people involved, a Jewish family, a Jewish doctor, a nurse who tries to help them all....it was really well done. I cried throughout the whole thing...but its a very good movie. I'd recommend it!

Also this week, I was very cultured and went to see the Orchestre de Bretagne play at the opéra in Rennes. Jamie was going with her friend from home who was in town visiting and Leah and I decided to join them. The opera was a really neat building, all golden and luxurious and opera like, although smaller than I thought. Our seats were in the front row, which really means front row. Any closer and I would have been in the violin section. It was my first time being at an orchestra concert (that I can think of) and I really enjoyed it. I didn't know that violins did so much plucking and the synchronization of the bows was really cool to watch. I'd definitely check it out again. On a cultural experience note that was kind of funny, before the show Jamie wanted to get dinner at around 6h15, which seemed SO early to me (its become such a habit to not eat until 8) and Jamie quickly realized after we made the tour of restaurants, that no where serves dinner until at least 7 here. Hungry at 6h30? Subway is pretty much your only choice. Oh, France.

After the orchestra, Leah and I checked out the "Apéro Géant" that was going on at Colombier. Apparently there is a competition going on between a lot of cities in the area, such as Nantes and Tours, to see who can throw the biggest party. Thursday night was Rennes turn to show what they got. From the headlines I saw, about 4000 people showed up. When we got to Colombier, there was just this massive crowd of young people hanging out, drinking, smoking, joking around, throwing glass bottles (a Rennes favorite pass time...). In was sort of like what Mifflin looks like, minus all the cop hugging and general complete absurdity, and instead of a block, its was in a square. There was a guy juggling fire, lots of people trains, a makeshift pirate ship, and some guys running around with a banner that said "Rue de la Soif is not for sale!" (but in French, obviously...Rue de la Soif is Rennes version of State Street, only smaller, and minus the ethnic restaurants. Basically just bars. And some guy in town is trying to buy out the bars to reduce the drinking in Rennes, which has upset the local student population). Leah and I just kind of observed, ran into our friends Gabriel and François, met some crazy Frenchies who "LOVE AMERICA!" "WISCONSIN! LIKE THAT 70s SHOWS!?!" They were very, very nice, and very, very enthusiastic. But, I wasn't feeling that great (my usual cold...Sophie's stopped force feeding me essential oils and my immune system is getting low), so we headed home pretty early.

Louis' birthday is today, and Lucile and I made the usual preparations. We made our own card for him with TWO birthday cakes, balloons, and confetti all over it. We wrapped presents (she searched in her dresser and found a coloring book to wrap up and give him lol) and taped candy to them. Everything is set! Tomorrow, he's going bowling for the first time in his life for his birthday party! 11 years, no bowling? This kid has been missing out.

Other than that, I've just been suffering through school...lots of tests this past week, and I still have 2 more to go (plus a paper and a speech to get working on....). Ho hum.

Next week, its off to Bordeaux!!!!! I can't wait. We're staying with a friend of a friend and we're going to see a soccer game. This means I'll get to see this lovely man, Yoann Gourcuff, in person:

What a stud. Next weekend also starts my whirlwind travel time (6 weekends in a row in travel, including 2 whole weeks of vacation). I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Also, I officially have less than 2 months til I leave. Tonight at dinner, Lucile asked me if I was coming to Agathe's synchronized swimming gala...Sophie asked "When is it?" Agathe replied, "In June." Guess I'm not going.....so weird........time goes by way too fast here.....

2010-03-18T21:44:00.000+01:00

Here I am, at the end of a long (3 day), busy (I mean, I did go out for St. Patty's Day), stressful (I took two tests!), exhausting (see St. Patty's Day) week. Its crazy how fast a week can fly by, especially when you spend part of it traveling. This past weekend, Leah and I adventured to Barcelona to meet up with her friend Becky and to eat tapas. It was quite the trek; the trip there took 18 hours, most of which was spent in a train or waiting for a train. But we travel like pros and therefore had enough energy to see the sights right off the train.

We started off with some Gaudi buildings (he's a famous architect who designed pretty much all of Barcelone), namely the famous Sagrada Familia and some random houses. I will say, his stuff isn't boring. Its covered with (sometimes creepy) statues, very gothic, but cool. Its one of a kind stuff. Leah and I got our tapas and sangria fix, and we also all went out to see a Flamenco show. It was a lot of singing, which I didn't expect, so I really didn't get what was going on for the majority of the time. The loudness of there clapping really impressed me, along with their furiously stomping feet.

The next day we got some fruit at this crazy huge market and then headed up to Parc Guell, another Gaudi creation. Its way up on the hill, so you could see all of Barcelona, really really pretty. Another plus, America's Next Top Model filmed the runway finale with Caridee and Melrose there, so you can strut your stuff just like the pros. Leah and I definitely did, and we rocked it, if I do say so myself. It was a really beautiful, sunny day, so it was nice to enjoy the sun in such a picture perfect place. We also went down to the beach; March is not swimming weather, sadly enough. I put my feet in and we sat in the sand. Good enough pour moi.

Barcelona tip: GO SEE THE MAGIC FOUNTAIN! I don't care how lame it sounds, it is the coolest fountain show (maybe the only one...) I have ever and will ever see. Awesome. I couldn't get enough of it.

Another Barcelona tip of a more non-lame nature: Go to the Olympic Port for the night life. So worth it. Earlier in the evening, we all went to a bar by La Rambla, this giant road with lots of shops, street performers, rabbits and turtles (really. people were selling them there), and tourist shops. It was fun, but the bartenders spoke in Spanish to Becky (Leah's friend) and Becky's friends and Leah and I just sat in the corner and commiserated about our lack of comprehension. Becky and crew headed back to the hostel around one, but Leah and I decided to profite bien of our trip and we went down the the Olympic Port. Lots of dancing, Spanish bands pretending to be Irish bands, cool St. Patricks day hats, and you didn't have to pay to get into these places! Perfect. And lots of fun (we didn't get back til 5 am).

Quick synopsis of the next day: Lots of climbing up and down hills, more beautiful views, 1992 Olympic Stadium, beaches, soccer game (Barcelona won! Messi had a hat trick! I wore my jersey!), sleep.

The next day we spent in transit, but we finally made it back to France, land of yummy cheese and baguettes, where I understand things and people don't smoke in public buildings (I had to air out my coat and scarves after this trip...). It was weird not understanding what was being said at all for a couple days and not being able to ask the simplest things....Spanish is not my forte.

Another cultural happening: ST PATRICKS DAY! Which is celebrated with much less green and much less enthusiasm than in the US. I told my host siblings that in the states, if you don't wear green you have to suffer through an entire day of pinches. Lucile thought this was hilarious until I pointed out the fact that she was wearing nothing but red. After an assault of pinches from Louis and I, she changed clothes. It was weird to not see green everywhere you went! Sophie told me, "That just isn't our thing here...."

Last night, Leah and I grabbed our Leprechaun hats, which we acquired in Barcelona, and headed out. O'Connells, the big Irish Pub here was the busiest I have ever seen it in my life! There were people all over Place du Parlement because there wasn't enough room in the bar for everybody, and the line for the bar took FOREVER. They had a Celtic band playing music and free Guiness gear to hand out, plus the bartenders are legit Irishmen with adorable accents. Everything you could ever want. Everyone was in good spirits in honor of good old St. Pat. It was good to see the Frenchies dress up like silly people and have fun, although it was much less crazy than St. Patty's Day aux Etats-Unis. We spent the evening having conversations with random Frenchies (although most of them would only speak in English back....). It was a good time!

Which leads me to a random rant I've been having lately....I'm reading this book for lit class written by a Canadian chick who lives in Paris and half the time she bashes the States (even though she lived there for the majority of her youth)..."I hate being associated with the idea of an 'American in Paris.'" "I hate English. Americans think everyone should speak English. They're stupid pigs." (not really direct quotes, but you get the gist). I HATE when people say that we think everyone should speak English. I HATE when people complain about America 'taking over the world.' If people hate English so much, then when I come up them speaking in French, don't speak back to me in English. If people hate the idea of American consumerism, stop listening to the Black Eyed Peas and start listening to Carla Bruni (who is Italian, but she sings in French, so close enough). Young French hippies with guitars are everywhere, all you gotta do is go to your nearest parc. But do they jam out and write songs in French? Nope. English. Even if when they sing it's incomprehensible, whether its because of the pronunciation or the words just don't make sense, they do it anyways. Its à la mode. I don't think everyone should speak English (although speaking English is rather helpful when you're, say....in Barcelona for example....and don't speak Catalan or Spanish....), why else would I be making all this effort to speak French, its just frustrating when you can't even really practice it. As soon as you make a mistake or they hear your accent (which is a telltale sign, most Americans have a very distinct fake French accent....), they switch to English. Which, oddly enough, is a lot harder to understand than if they just kept speaking in French.....

Anyways. Thats my complaining for the month.

I'm off to eat some dinner....à la prochaine yo.

PHOTO MONTAGE!!!!

Pretty awesome...

2010-03-06T18:20:00.001+01:00

My motivation for writing this is that I finally found an app so I can write blog posts from my iPod. What will they think of next.

Earlier this week, Leah, Jamie, and I volunteered at a retirement home near my house called Les Roseraies. We didn't really know what to expect and didn't really have any sort of game plan. When we arrived, we met two ladies who were excited to talk to us. One came prepared with an atlas and her first question was "Where are you from?". Amazingly enough, her daughter studied abroad in the US nearly fifty years ago in a wonderful little state up north called WISCONSIN!!!!!!!! Even cooler, she visited her daughter in Green Bay, which is where Leah is from (Bon, she comes from De Pere, close enough). It's rare to meet a français(e) who knows what Wisconsin is, much less meet someone who has actually been there! This lady was pretty crazy, she has been ALL over the world and has the photo albums to prove it. When her kids were all grown up and she was in her retirement, she decided to get out of France and see what was out there. At 66 she became a global explorer. She'd been to China, Alaska, Machu Pichu, India, Serbia, Egypt, Australia, she even went dog sledding in Canada. She's seen all corners of the planet, multiple times. Incroyable. Next Monday she said she'd get some little drinks and we could go through some of her albums. I am excited and extremely jealous!

Rennes is showing signs of spring, namely a little bit of sunshine. I played soccer today and it got me super excited for the warm weather to come!

COUNTDOWN TO BARCELONE: 5 days!!!!!!!!!!!

Bisous!

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Mousse au Chocolat

2010-02-28T12:34:00.004+01:00

So, by popular demand of Elise's mom :), here is the world famous recipe that I received from a friend in Strasbourg. It was her mother's recipe, so you know its good!

Mousse au Chocolat
Serves 4 people

Ingredients:
125g of dark chocolate
1 big chunk of butter (directly translated my recipe calls for "One fat nut of butter"....just put in a fairly large slice and you'll be fine)
4 eggs
1 pinch of salt

1. Melt the chocolate and the butter chunk on low heat
(I used the whole "boil water and place another pot in the water" thing that acts like a double boiler)

2. When the chocolate is soft and melted, take it off the stove

3. Separate the egg whites and the yolks (keep both parts!)

4. Mix in the yolks with the chocolate using a wooden spoon (I don't know if the wooden part is all that important, but its the recipe....)

Attention! This part is important: Make sure not to cook the yolks!!!!!! The flame can't be too high when you're melting the chocolate!!!!!

5. Put the chocolate/yolk combination in a medium sized serving bowl

6. Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt.

7. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate little by little.

8. Let the mousse sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours, which means you can't eat any of it for at least 3 hours. This is the hardest part....

Et VOILA! Mousse au Chocolat! Hope it works out for you guys!

Side note: I'm messing around with flickr to see if I like it. Here is the site for my pics if you're interested.

7h26....boooooo.

2010-02-27T07:14:00.006+01:00

So, just waved good bye for the THIRD time to Hank (this time, admittedly, was a lot easier than the last two) as he headed off to Germany to start an internship working on engines and turbo thingymabobs. I just finished doing some random cleaning things around the house that I'd been putting off for awhile, because my host family gets home from Australia at some point today or tomorrow. I, of course, forgot when Hugues told me they were coming back so it will be somewhat of a surprise. Now its about half past seven and I'm not sure whether to sleep or brave the day. As a compromise, I decided to write a petit blog in bed.

Hank's visit was pretty uneventful, but fun. In typical Bretagne fashion, the weather didn't co-operate with us for most of the week (lots of rain), but we managed to get out and enjoy the moments of sunshine. I had the week off from school, so it was nice just to relax and hang out before he starts work. Because his internship goes til August, we'll have spent a whole year abroad and apart by the end of all this and I'm happy to have any opportunity to spend time with him! We weren't complete lazy bums though. We went on a couple runs, rode bikes to Cesson (a nearby town)...On Sunday Leah, Hank, and I went to Stade Rennais to watch Rennes battle it out against Lille. It was a good game, and I had high hopes for Rennes! It was tied 1-1 for most of the game, but in the last 5 minutes Lille got a lucky shot off and beat us 2-1. Oh well.....Rennes beat Bordeaux earlier in the season and that's all that matters! Even with the loss and the inevitable rain during the match, it was a fun night.

On Tuesday, Leah hosted an Olympics party at her place to watch figure skating. Unfortunately for us, France insists on making everything live, so in order to watch any of the cool events, its necessary to stay up until about 3 or 4 am. Skating started at 1h30, so we spent the majority of the evening eating pizza, chips, and cookies (Leah, Hank, and I made sugar cookies in the shape of the Olympic rings....epic) and drinking red, white, and blue drinks in the spirit of America. Yoann was the sole Frenchie, so while he tried to cheer on his country during events, he was usually drowned out by the USA! USA! USA! chants. We managed to stay up long enough to see the first American skater before calling it quits and sleeping in til noon the next day.

This week was a week of culinary endeavors because, with the bad weather, there wasn't much else to do. Hank made me lots of yummy dinners (I think Hank enjoyed the food a little too much by the looks of the picture on the left...) and I made mousse au chocolat from scratch! I was very proud of myself and it was super yummy. Maybe I'll post the recipe on here sometime as its really easy to do. I took Hank to the marché des lices, and I think he was impressed with the size of the market and also the quantity of cheese. It definitely rivals the farmer's market in Madison. We got some goat cheese with Mexican spices on it and fresh baked bread plus lots of fruit and veggies. And I made Hank try a galette saucisse, which is basically a brat wrapped in a galette (the really yummy wheat crêpes that Bretagne is famous for). Not the most nutritious thing, but delicious.

Yoann challenged Hank and I to play 2v2 soccer against him and his little brother on Thursday (we tried several times of the course of the week, but the weather didn't clear up until then so we profited bien of the break in the rain). It was an epic battle, really, the stuff legends are made of, duked out in the mud and mush (which was slippery and lots of fun), USA vs France, and in the end.........USA PREVAILED! By a lot. Final score: 20-10. Although, I did accidentally kick Yoann's brother (who is like 12) and he told me he would never be able to run again. Whoops. But, hey, all is fair......

Leah and I are in the middle of planning April break and its really exciting! Bruxelles, Amsterdam, Copenhagen/Aarhus, and possibly Belfast! I think Hank might try and meet up with us for one of the weekends too. We leave for Barcelona in 2 weeks....AH! I wish I would have traveled more last semester, even though I couldn't have really afforded it, because there's really no time left this semester! We've got most weekends taken up by CIEE trips or trips of our own and my travel wish list is wayyy too long. I have less than three months and I'll be back in Madison for the summer. Crazy. Side note/complaint: For our return flight, Leah and I planned on taking a train at 6h10 from Rennes straight to the airport. It was perfect because with all our bags, navigating Paris would just be a nightmare. Normally, there is a train EVERY DAY (except Sundays) at 6h10. EVERY MONDAY. So, when the tickets went up a couple days ago, Leah and I went online to buy our tickets. No train at 6h10. May 24th is the ONLY Monday without a train at 6h10. Tuesday has one. The Monday before has one. Of course, the day we need a train is the day they decided to let the conductors sleep in? I talked to a guy at the gare and he didn't know why. He said to check in a week and see if any new trains get put up. Otherwise Leah and I will have to go in the night before and spend money on a hotel room. Boo France.

I think I'm going to try and take a mini nap before heading to the market this morning. Talk to you soon! Bisous!

2010-02-19T23:05:00.002+01:00

So, just a quick update. Hank got to Rennes today (he had to quite literally run through 2 airports to make it here) and we had a lovely lazy afternoon eating pizza and watching Disney movies :)

Its 11pm now, and the jet lagged boy is sleeping so I don't want to make too much noise.

A la prochaine!

¡¡¡¡Aye Mexico!!!!

2010-02-08T22:21:00.002+01:00

Or Barcelona. Because I'm going there in March with Leah. Bought the tickets AND booked the hostel today. Go us!!! Too bad neither of us speak Spanish. Una assietta por fovora?!?

Getting back down to business

2010-02-07T10:26:00.002+01:00

So, all my visitors are gone, I'm back in school (at least until the end of February when we get another week of vacation....), I've actually got homework (for once), things are starting to get back to normal here in Rennes, France. Yesterday was another one of the world famous CIEE excursions, which usually end up with us spending wayyyyyy to long in the most random of places and then sleeping on the bus. We went to Saint Malo and Mont Saint Michel, and even though I'd already been both places, they're really interesting towns, so it wasn't too bad. The only downfall was the weather, which decided to be gray, cold, and windy. And a sad change from last semester, CIEE is only doing one overnight excursion (to the Loire Valley) in lieu of 2, but now we get two day trips (the one yesterday and another to Vannes/Carnac). I always had a lot of fun on the overnight trips, and it was a good way to get to know the other kids in the program. Ohhhh well.

Leah and I recently tried to plan out our trips for the upcoming semester. So far we've got: Barcelona in March, Amsterdam and Copenhagen/Aarhus (maybe Brussels/Belfast???) in April, Bordeaux (who knows when), Paris and Versailles in May (we already bought the tickets for this one!), and then we want to try for Rome/Prague/Dublin at some point in the semester if money holds out. Although you always hear about cheap travel in Europe, it never really ends up being all that cheap.....You have to get to the airport, usually Paris (or Beauvais for RyanAir, which is a HUGE hassle), and then the cheap airlines don't really fly into the main airports, so you have to get from the airport to the city you want to go to, if you don't know anyone in the place you're visiting, you have to pay for a place to stay, food, cool things to do, etc. It adds up fast. But, Leah and I decided we have around 100 days left here, we need to make the most of it and not worry tooooooooooooo much about the cost. It just means we have to resist the glowing lights and fashionable clothes of H&M a lot more this semester. PLUS the euro is down to $1.36. Best. News. Ever. Well......

Maybe even better news than the falling exchange rate: Hank got an internship in Stuttgart, Germany starting MARCH 1st!!!!!!!! Which means I have to add Germany on my list of travels. This internship was such a last minute thing, and its a great opportunity for him. Knowing my love of tigers, Hank promised me a trip to the zoo in Stuttgart, so I'm pretty excited :) I'm hoping he'll be able to stop by Rennes before he starts work, because it might be kind of hard to plan to see each other when both of us our busy with our European lives. Its pretty cool that we'll both be over here at the same time, and I hope that we can at least meet up once or twice before I fly off at the end of May.

I'm starting the job search for summer in Madison, because after all these destinations I'm hoping to see I'm going to be BROKE. I turned in my application for the desk job I had last summer, but I'm a little worried that since I'm coming back home so late I won't be able to get it. So, if anybody knows anybody who are employing nice, hard working, French speaking, awesome people, let me know.

Til next time,
Katie

Thats so owl.

2010-01-31T14:11:00.029+01:00

We're so cute on the Champs Elysées

So, my resolution to post more = 2 posts in January (whoops). BUT to make up for it, you get 2 bloggers for the price of 1!!!!

Elise is here in Rennes with me, and we've been hanging out and seeing the sights of Bretagne for the past week and a half. We started with a whirlwind tour of Paris. Off the plane, we dropped our bags off at our cute little yellow hotel room with a crooked door and headed straight to Notre Dame to chill with Quasimodo. We got up close and personal with some gargoyles (although we learned that they aren't really gargoyles but in fact are chimères. Darn you cartoons for your false information [anybody else watch that besides us?]). They were pretty cute. We named a few, such as Stan (he was on a postcard, we never actually found him). There were lots and lots of spiral stairs, 400 to be exact, because French people like making tourists climb steep dark stairs. We like to call this the Paris workout. We also saw a HUGE bell. I was tempted to lick it, just like Barney, but it was too far away. The following photos are a few of our favorite new friends from atop Notre Dame:

After climbing the towers of the cathedral, we hopped on the métro over to the Eiffel Tower, just in time to see it light up. We dodged several dudes trying to sell us glowing souvenirs, took some awesome pictures and then Elise saw the Eiffel Tower sparkle!!!!! She didn't know it did that, so she was pretty pumped (and thats an understatement).

SPAAAAAAARRRKKLLLLLLEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! You know how a lot of time the really cool touristy things aren't as cool in person?!? The Eiffel Tower does NOT fall into that category- its sweeeeeet. Since it was Friday, the Louvre was open late (AND FREEEEEEEE - for people under 26...sucks to be old) so we went to hang out with Mona. We covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time. The Louvre is kind of overwhelming and basically is a lot of paintings of Jesus, so its hard to find the really cool stuff. It probably took us half an hour to find Hammurabi's Code (the first written law). We managed to hit all the important things, and we even tested out Mona's eyes. They really do follow you around the room. By the time we made it out, we were exhausted from all the stairs, and we headed back home and went to bed!

The next morning, after a somewhat slow start and slightly dreary Paris weather, we went to Musée D'Orsay to enjoy impressionism, among other things. It was easier to differentiate paintings/artwork, given some range in subject matter other than religion. We really enjoyed the room of all of Monet's work, including some of the lily pads. It was really cool to see some of the paintings that took up a WHOLE wall and some of the furniture was strange (and a tease, since you could not test out the comfort levels of each item. Some of the chairs looked really promising too). There was a special exhibit by this special dude, who after being harshly criticized by the public, became obsessed with painting these masks represented the distortion of the evil masses of the cruel public. Obviously he did not handle criticism well- but some of these masks were SUPER creepy. On a lighter note, one of the paintings we enjoyed the most, was The Orgy Painting. Basically, a whole bunch of Romans were having too much fun one night, drinking, making out, you know- the usual, and there was just a lot of drama going on among these young drunken Romans.

As you can see above, alcohol leads to no good. The older Romans obviously think these young-ins can't hold their own, there are love triangles, make out sessions, jealous emo kids- a high school dance gone wrong. Just looking at the picture makes me giggle.

In search of food and coffee, we walked along the Champs Elysées (one of the chic-est streets in Paris), where we stopped to admire (or laugh) at Louis Vuitton, especially because we both already own, you know, like 35 pairs of sun glasses each (at 350 euro a pop). We picked out our favorite trunks (because we are on the Titanic) to ship back home (and use as furniture on our porch, to copy the mannequins). The Champs Elysées was probably the start to this weird obsession with leather and boots, even the desire to wear cool high heels, that France seems to have instilled in me (Elise). At the end of the Champs is the Arc de Triomphe, a GINORMOUS monument built by Napoleon to compensate for his dwarf status. See the man in a blue letter jacket? Elise decided to flash a smile in his direction.

French boys are creepy. No smiling- ever. Lesson learned.

The Arc is HUGE and very cool to look at, especially the ceiling (like all the other cool ceiling in France- seems to be a requirement). There is a flame always lit, for the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. The intersection around the Arc is terrifying, since all the main streets intersect here, thus to cross the street, there are underground tunnels to get to and from the Arc. By the way, we found the Ericson family of France to take the above photo (creepy man included). They were at least 10 feet tall- even the mom. Also the by the way, people in France really like, like obsessed with, How I Met Your Mother- which is wonderful. Everyone loves Barney.

We went to the Père Lachaise cemetery, where lots of famous French and international people are buried. Its huge and complicated, with tons of different sections. We took a picture of the map with our camera, hoping to take advantage of zoom, but we still couldn't find stuff. We visited Jim Morrison's grave first, once we found it. Then, meandered towards Oscar Wilde's grave, which also took a while to find because we overshot it. Once we were in the right section, it is fairly easy to find because it is covered in lipstick and kisses. It is a popular tradition to kiss his grave; a tradition we decided to take part in. Never have I ever kissed a grave....Shoot.

We were rushed out of the cemetery as it started to get darker- probably because of zombies, so, we left and decided it was probably safer in the sex district of Paris, Montmartre. Some day, when rich and famous, we will return to the actual Moulin Rouge.

While meandering more cobblestone, dangerous even in flat shoes, we bought some HOT WINE to keep warm. The wine is warmed, has some spices and orange slices and is delicious. Yum.

We continued to wander, saw the Sacré Coeur, a beautiful white church, whose service was in progress while we quietly walked around the outside. This was another example of the stair climbing for the Paris Workout. At the bottom of the hill, there were a bunch of guys with string, who tried to grab your wrists and make you a bracelet for lots of euro. No thank you.

Katie made me (elise) try more French-y things, like KIRS. It is white wine and a fruity syrup. We drank it at this cute little cafe over by our cute little hotel. We had crepes that night. I had NUTELLA and BANANA- it was messy, but brilliant. We had a train early the next day, so we headed to bed, and woke early to quickly carry all of my stuff to the sketchy metro stop at 7am. Saw a homeless man penis (my favorite early morning surprise) and the cops stopped the metro to search for some man, who we then saw them handcuff. Cool. Good morning.

Other noteable Paris things: Where's Waldo is actually... Where is Charlie?!?! And Quick Burger has lots of signs for STRONG BACON, as well as strong cheese. Not as exciting as STRONG BACON.

Our first afternoon in Rennes was filled with an intense...wait for it....ping pong tournament. Yeah. It is hardcore. We watched Yoann destroy a wall in hot pursuit of a ball, lots of french swearing, followed by beer and baguettes. Yoann's family cooked us a delicious meal, a chinese-inspired dish of Beef and caramel, with wine, as well as a delicious fruit crumble desert and french cheese. This was my first French cheese experience. Nothing like Wisconsin cheese. But the Munster was DELICIOUS.

Monday, I (Katie) had to sign up for classes because my month and a half vacation came to an end this week. Tragic, really. In French style, Leah and my schedule ended up getting messed up, but, I guess we're used to France disorganization. For our long stay visas, Leah and I needed to go get x-rays of our lungs. WHICH WE GET TO KEEEEEEP!!!!!!!! Proud to say, I'm tuberculosis free! Check. I'm putting my x-ray up on the fridge when I get back to Madison. Also, we had to get a doctors appointment. Our doctor was about 12. Wore skinny pants, pointy boots, and had his scooter helmet on his desk. I think his backpack had red spider webs on it. I told him about Milwaukee (he'd never heard of it) and I almost tipped over the medical table, whoops. He told me the x-ray was a "beau cadeau" (beautiful present) and to take care of it. Awesome.

Katie, Leah and I took a day trip to Saint Malo, a walled beach town which is about a 45 minute train ride. I really like the trains- they make me sleepy. The weather was surprisingly nice, it was SUNNY, and we walked along the wall and adventured along the beach. Apparently the tide rises really quickly and its easy to get stuck out on the little island like forts- but we didn't get stuck. Just enjoyed each of the forts. We found Chateaubriand's grave overlooking the ocean. He was a moody French author who was born in Saint Malo. We agreed that it was a fitting and very EPIC place to be buried; very beautiful. It was also completely lovely to walk along the water, with lots of little kids bundled up playing, as well as dogs running about. We wandered about in the town searching for a place to eat and eventually ate wonderfully delicious Galettes, which are crepes, with egg, ham and cheese in them. We eat them a bunch, because they are super yummy. We also drank cider and had a sugar crepe for desert (Leah splurged and got a caramel crepe). We mostly hung out, looked at the ocean, and enjoyed the sunshine. It was peaceful and wonderful.

Things We've Explored in Rennes:
-We walked through the garden to hang out with the birds. They were chirping up a storm; I reckon they like to gossip.

-The HOT CHOCOLATE specialty place. They have soooooooooo many different types of hot chocolate. YUM. I got raspberry flavored hot chocolate and Katie got honey and vanilla. They give you a little bit of brownie too. There are board games to be played and a lovely warm ambiance.

-The CHAI place. We've been there twice. Also delicious. They play good music and we snagged a table with cushions the second time we went. We've also decided to open our own little hippie coffeeshop some day when we are old- sometime after Katie has worked at Curves/Hollister and I've lived in a cardboard box somewhere? Ooooh the places we'll go.

-The Saturday Morning Market: We wandered through the fruit section, where Katie got a FREE apple, a quite tasty one, and I got a super yummy pear. We tried galette saucisse, which is a brat wrapped in a galette. While in line it started to HAIL, then snow, a little bit of rain and then it was sunny again. Bretagne has weird weather. They have EVEN more cheese than the farmers market in Madison, which is impressive. Also, a lot of honey. We also walked through the meat part of the market, which was pretty gross, with HUGE slabs of meat, cow eye balls and chickens with their heads still on. Yikes.

-Katie and I ate at this cute little restaurant in Rennes that we happened to meander into. We got a lovely student deal for pasta (which had corn in it, which was apparently debated about among the cooks/waitress, and they went for it, and it was a good addition), wine and coffee and we bought a dessert too. To our luck, they didn't have the dessert we wanted, so we got a super fancy and wonderful fancy dessert (it was really fancy) for the price of the cheaper brownie one. Awesome. Seated next to us was a man dining alone. Dun dun dun.....and he wouldn't stop talking to us. Unfortunately for me (Katie), Elise doesn't speak French, so I was stuck having to answer his questions. Upon leaving, the waitress asked me if we were bothered by him. I said no, it wasn't a big deal. She replied "Good. Because usually we don't let him in. He likes to chat up young girls." Great. The dessert was totally worth it.

-Magical Bakery: everything is jumbo sized, chocolately, and magical. End of story.

-Funny assortment dinner- We needed to pick up dinner before heading to Leah's, so we stopped to get sushi. We also got clementines (probably the yummiest clementines i've ever eaten). We also got brownies. Yum. Elise's sushi had mango and mint in it. Weird combo, but was delicious. I got one with cream cheese, avacado, and salmon. Called the Philadelphia. Also yummy.

-Sneaking wine in my room like 2 high schoolers. We also did not have the corkscrew to open it. Thus, we discovered, all you need is: a fork, a pen, nail clippers, tweezers...and a tad bit of DEDICATION.

So. Thursday night. You see...i've been hearing about how Thursday night is THE night to go out, wander the cobblestone, hang out in the other Mad Ave (not that any place could ever even touch the classy-ness of the wonderful Mad Ave Dance Club that we often frequent in Madison), take some smurf shots, drink a beer, dance in the streets. Viva la revolution. To start our night out solidly, we ate some pasta and got FREEEEEE dessert. Leah, Katie and I then enjoyed some cider and cheap red wine in a rando alleyway, because, we are obviously, a) super classy and b) we can. I really did enjoy the Madison Avenue here on the Rue de la Soif (Thirsty Road....interesting. Thirsty Thursday, France style). The conveniently cute bartender kept dancing to all of the Shaggy songs that played. We also saw a hobbit, who talked to us, mooned the bar, and tried to get with this chick. Good work, Frodo- protect that ring. We met up with Joanna and Adelene, two lovely French friends, hung out til bar time, and then, when kicked out of the bars, everyone moves to the streets. We had to move, twice, due to the impeding doom of fights getting close to us. So, this guy, came by and opened a seemingly locked door with his butt. So....obviously....we did too. We took turns, around the circle, opening the said locked door, with our booties. It was great fun. THEN! we met Barney Stinson, or so he claimed. Insisting that he was awesome, he demanded validation as the French Barney Stinson. However, he had no suit. No Suit = No Barney Stinson. Suit up, man....duh. VIVA LA REVOLUTION. We slumberpartied (yeah, verb) at Leah's, tried to watch a How I Met Your Mother even though Leah and I fell asleep pretty prompty and Katie finished it, and then awoke for an adventure to NANTES.

A Trip to Nantes: We went there. Most importantly, there is a CASSSSSSSSTTTLLLLEEEEEEEEEEE. We are princesses. The castle belonged to the Duc de Bretagne back in the day. He was pretty cool. Rebellious, viva la revolution, and all that. The only let down was the lack of dungeon. No dragons, but there was a legit moat. And machicoulis, these holes in the floor of the walls that people used to throw shit through to smash invaders!!!!! SOOOOO cool. (Katie is obssessed, if you can't tell).

Like stated above, PRINCESSES

We wandered a bit, although the weather was iffy (it is Bretagne after all), and stopped in a bunch of random shops to look at shoes (Elise wants leather boots. I just bought some.). We found this random indoor mall that looked like some Victorian awesome thing. We learned about it in the castle. We found a big bell tower, a cool fountain, drank some cafe where we discovered that Katie may in fact be the devil, if not at least related, due to her 6.66 of change, saw a huge cathedral that was slightly lame (I think they rebuilt a lot of it), PLAYED WITH PUPPIES, drank a beer with some Irishmen, ate Thai food SUPER FAST (we had a train to catch), and then headed home to watch some How I Met Your Mother (obviously). Its been fun to explore parts of Bretagne that I haven't been to yet, even though they're super close and I've been here 5 (almost 6...holy cow.) months. Its been an adventure for both of us!!!! Plus we'll have cool pics to put on our porch next year (on top of the Louis Vuitton trunks).

Other observations: Escalators, while prominent, are always broken. French women can walk in crazy high heels and dress quite nicely- almost annoyingly nice. Lots of funny little inserts of English, such as STRONG BACON, and GO. There has also been many debates about PIRATES v. NINJAS- although we don't particularly understand the debate (Pirates would obviously be way more fun to be at a bar with.) Or...zombies v. vampires?!?!

Lucille and I engaged in a very serious and intense TICKLE FIGHT. She is crazy. We also played a game where one person was blind folded and had to run around and grab someone else. Katie and I had the advantage, since she is tiny and easy to guess. Lucile also thought it was funny that Elise couldn't understand what she was saying. I had to translate a lot.

I REALLY like all the graffiti on all the walls. I don't have any idea how they tag some of the places that they do, like the really high up ledges and such, but it think its super sweeet. (even the sorta lame ones are still pretty cool).

We hope you've enjoyed our witty banter, as we've enjoyed our adventures. And always remember, VIVA LA REVOLUTION. À bientôt!

-Katie and Elise

Warming up by the fire

2010-01-20T21:52:00.002+01:00

I'm at home, sitting by the fireplace, enjoying a bit of peace (after a pretty peaceful day)....

Today Leah and I bought our plane tickets home. Doesn't seem like that big of deal, but it got me thinking. Up until now, I was just going about my days here in Rennes, which has been kind of just like a giant vacation from the real world, with out much thinking of how one day I am in fact going to have to go back. Sure, I've thought of the things I want to do when my plane touches down in Chicago (Mickey's Dairy Bar and a BIG GIANT NON ESPRESSO REAL COFFEE from Indie), but home seemed very very far away. I now have a deadline. May 24th I'll be heading non-stop to Chicago in an airplane, waving goodbye to Rennes and a fantastic year abroad.

Leah and I counted the days. 124 (soon to be 123). I now have 124 days to do absolutely everything I want to do. All the cafés and pastries and traveling and galettes and chaï and silly French people I can handle. I'm hoping its enough. I've always been that person that writes a million lists and then never looks at them again. This time, I'm going to write that list of things I want to do and I'm going to cross them off. (well hopefully most of them)

Other exciting news: Elise is coming on Friday (as in a day and a half!). I foresee lots of adventures in France (and possibly elsewhere?). Its been so great to have visits from home. After 5 months away, seeing Hank and now Elise has been a big boost of morale. I'm leaving Friday morning to get her from the airport and we're going to spend the weekend in Paris, doing awesome Parisian things. The Louvre is open late on Fridays, so I think we're going to take advantage of that, and if the weathers holds, maybe a picnic with La Tour Eiffel herself on Saturday. J'ai hâte de la voir!!!!!

Random French quirk: They like to change the titles of English movies into different titles, in ENGLISH. Not even in French. A few examples:
The Hangover = A Very Bad Trip
Pirate Radio = Good Morning England
Whip It (which I saw yesterday) = Bliss
I can understand translated titles into your language, but really? A Very Bad Trip? C'mon.

Well, its getting awful close to my bedtime. Being in a house with kids has lead to me catching un rhume several times this semester....even Sophie's (my host moms) essential oils and teas can't ward of all illness. So, its off to bed to battle a cold I go......

2 weeks gone by way too fast

2010-01-16T00:29:00.004+01:00

Tomorrow I head to Paris to say bye to Hank, who has been visiting me for the past two weeks. We've done a lot of fun things, spent New Years Eve in Paris, drank lots of coffee (and wine) in Strasbourg, hung out at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, and relaxed in Rennes with my host family....

It went by way too fast, and I can't believe I'm going to have to say goodbye to Hank (for the second time) on Sunday. But, we made the most of our time together, and I know that this next semester will go by just as fast. Pretty soon, I'll be back in Madison hanging out on the terrace, just like usual.

One of my New Years resolutions was to keep this thing more up to date, because I failed at it first semester. So, hopefully this means more awesome posts by moi in the future. I'll put up some pics for those of you without facebook to see of my trip through Europe with Hank and write a more detailed post later. I will do it. Promise.

Ta ta for now.

Katie and Hank

Joyeux Noël

2009-12-25T23:28:00.002+01:00

So, apologies as always, its been a month since my last post. With exams last week and saying good bye to all the fall semester students, I barely noticed how fast time flew by. Now it's Christmas, and I'm left scratching my head wondering where December went.

I guess I should do a quick recap of this past month:

1. Waffle houses. I wanted to do some festive holiday things with the kids in my host family, since I love Christmas and everything. I thought to myself, well gingerbread houses, thats a GREAT idea. Upon quickly realizing I would have to make gingerbread myself and after having messed up plain old sugar cookies (they turned into a giant mass of melted butter in the oven...), I changed my idea to graham cracker houses. Oh wait, small issue, they don't have graham crackers in France.....

Some fast problem solving at the supermarché led to Leah and I buying lots and lots of waffles and lots and lots of candy. The kids all invited some friends over and they got to make their own creations, and eat lots of sugar. The Gingerbread houses à la française weren't quite as pretty as the ones we make at home, but they definitely had their charm. Most impressive was Louis' friend Guillaume who managed to eat 6 waffles.

2. SNOW!!!!!!!!! It snowed for the first time in 3 years here in Rennes, all 2 inches worth. I'd like to say it was all because of me, I brought it from Wisconsin, but who knows. All I know is that it was wonderful! Agathe woke me up last Friday and said, "Hurry and see the snow before it melts!" I helped Agathe make her very first ever snowman, a slightly crooked, cute little guy with almonds for eyes. Sadly, he toppled shortly after. France in general is not well equipped for snow, and even though with my Wisconsin vision, it looked like nothing, French people all over were terrified. The buses stopped running, schools closed, people walked hesitantly on the sidewalks, bundled up for the frozen tundra. Par contre, Leah and I made snowballs. The next day, Leah, Lucile, and I had great big snowfight. Lucile really loves the snow, and she keeps telling me she wants to come to Wisconsin to see all of it.

3. Haircut! Nothing much to say, I went and got my haircut at Stephanie's host dad's salon. I was really scared because I didn't know any of the vocab and I didn't want to end up with a super short bob/faux hawk haircut and purple highlights or something. Thankfully, Steph's père was great, and he gave me a good haircut with bangs (!). He cut Leah's hair the other day and she loved it too. We survived our first French haircuts!

4. CIREFE end of the year party/Depart of the semester. So, last week was a pretty chaotic time. It was the last week of classes, which meant everyone headed home before Christmas. CIREFE (the university) held a big end of the year party at a discothèque. It was a lot of fun, very eventful (people got kicked out!). But, most importantly, Leah, Larissa, and I sandwiched Daniel Audaz, our program director (Madison alum, and possibly the cutest Frenchman on the planet). On Thursday, a bunch of us went out for last galettes at Creperie St. Anne, which were delicious, and then went to O'Connell's Irish Pub to say goodbye to all the people who were leaving. It turned into a giant American dance party, and we got free Guiness shirts and man thongs (hey, it was a Christmas party after all). It was a lot of fun, and a good way to say goodbye to all the CIEE kids. Its weird to think that most of my friends here are back in the states. Saddest of all was saying bye to Larissa. Friday night her family had Leah, Yoann, and I over for a dinner of raclette and afterwards we helped pack her stuff. Well, Leah packed her stuff, Larissa and I pretended to help. The next morning (as in 6:30 am...), the four of us, plus Larissa's host parents walked her and her heavy suitcases to the train station. Georges (her père) insisted on walking because of icy roads (obviously George has never been to WI). It was a quick, unorganized goodbye at the gare due to frozen doors on the train. She ended up having a lot of travel problems (snow in Paris) but is now safely back in the US! Leah and I are a little lost without her :(

5. Wine with Guillaume Marbot. For our last class of civilisation, our professor taught us how to taste wine. So, at 10:30am, we all had a little wine and discussed its many fine qualities with my favorite Frenchy ever, Guillaume Marbot. I learned that you should open red wine at least half an hour before you drink it, and that the more alcoholic a wine is, the more larmes it leaves on the glass when you swirl it. He scoffed at Sarkozy and Mitterand, who, as he told us, don't drink wine. "A French president who doesn't like wine?!?!?" ....I love this man. I actually did learn a lot from this dégustation, and the wine he picked was delicious. After the class, he let us take the left over wine, so, thanks to Monsieur Marbot, I have wine in my closet. Only in France.

Other honorable mentions: the mairie all lit up with a Christmas spectacle, chichis from the Christmas market, almost having a heart attack before my arhitecture oral exam and then somehow surviving, trying to call the French government and no one answering..., endless episodes of How I Met Your Mother, helping Sophie out with the inventory at the pharmacy, movie night at Yoann's consisting of white russians made with bailey's and Elf dubbed over in French, helping Lucile leave out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer....

Christmas deserves its own paragraph. The most obvious differences between the holiday here and in the US is the lack of decorations (at least for me). You walk around the neighboorhoods and no one has lights up outside. Most homes have a tree and a manger set, but thats about it. Not too many put lights all over the outside of their houses, or put up endless amounts of decorations on the inside. There is also a distinct lack of singing. They don't have very many songs for Noël. No Frosty, no Rudolph, no Rockin Around the Christmas Tree. While the Christmas Market and the lights in town do add to the festiveness, its a little hard to feel like its really Christmas. To help celebrate, Hugue's parents came over. In comparison with my family in the states, it was a lot more tame. No buffet style munchies, no cousins and aunts and uncles. It was weird to not be with everyone back home and to not have snow. At first, when I woke up, I was kinda sad about it all, and I wasn't sure I was going to have a good day. Luckily the day was full of things to do, so it kept my mind off all the people I miss.

Last night, we all placed our shoes under the tree, and this morning we found chocolate stuffed inside them and little piles of presents. I will say, at least in my host family, there were a lot less presents than back home. I guess it proves the whole "US = consume consume consume EXCESS!" idea. For example, Agathe got pens and a board game. She seemed a little disappointed nonetheless...Lucile was so happy with Père Noël's present of a barbie camera, she pretty much forgot the rest of her loot. Lunch was very structured, multiple courses, Agathe had planned entertainment in between. I ate foie gras for the first time, and I actually liked it, even though I felt bad for the little geese. We also ate fish, which they told me isn't typical. In France, its usually a turkey for Christmas. Agathe made a bûche de noël that was AWESOME! In between the main course and dessert, the kids put on a little Christmas spectacle. Agathe read a story out loud, and I helped Louis and Lucile make the sound effects. I think everyone liked it :)

Lunch took a good 3 hours, and afterwards all I wanted to do was sleep. I took a skype break and talked to my Mom. After that, I went back up and joined the family for a stressful game of Jenga. I forgot how nerve wracking that game can be. Hugue's dad is this funny little old man who is super interested in English pronunciations. He asked me to repeat the name Julia Roberts at least five times so he could try and get it right. Jooola Bovers. Jula Roset. He just couldn't get it. Dan Rather was a toughy too. The French and those darn -th- sounds.

I'll try and get some pics up on this tomorrow.

Now its after midnight and I am going to try and watch a little bit of "A Christmas Story" online before I head to sleep, visions of sugarplums dancing in my head. I hope everyone back home had a wonderful Christmas, full of family and food. Joyeux Noël!

Love lots,
Katie

Katie à l'école des sorciers

2009-11-25T18:56:00.008+01:00

(First off, I haven't written in almost a month. Whoops. Time flies here. I don't even realize it and a week has gone by).

On a recent trip to BUDAPEST to visit Allison, my roommate from freshman year, I had a lot of time to sit and wait (on the train, at Charles De Gaulle airport, on the plane...) so I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone en français. The whole thing. I just thought I'd share a few things with you that I found interesting. The French people have a funny insistence on making things very French, including all the names. Professor Snape? No way. Let's call him professeur Rogue. The snitch? Well thats a Vif d'or, obviously. Even Hogwarts couldn't escape the French translator. C'est Poudlard, biensûr. Here's a quick list of a few more of them.

Muggles = Moldus
Oliver Wood = Oliver Dubois
The Sorting Hat = Le choixpeau (which is the word 'choix' (choice) mixed with the word 'chapeau' (hat)...and voila quoi, you get the hat that chooses!)
Hufflepuff = Poufsouffle
Ravenclaw = Serdaigle
Slytherin = Serpentard
Filch = Rusard

The list goes on and on. I asked my friend Brice why they would change the names, and he responded, "Le mot 'muggle' n'a aucun sens en français..." (the word muggle has no meaning in French). Since when does it mean anything in English? Oh you silly, silly Frenchies.

I experienced my first grève (strike) in France yesterday. All the restaurants on campus were closed. No lunch! I don't really know why there were going on strike, probably for money. It was more of an annoyance since I had to go buy food in town (we get lunch free with the study abroad program). But they were back open for business today! Maybe they all just wanted a day off....There were actually some elementary/middle/high schools that closed too, as well as parts of the post office.

This past weekend, like I already mentioned, I went to Budapest to visit Allison. She's studying abroad over there, and has her own apartment and everything. It was a very intimidating experience to land at the airport and to have to navigate my way to her apartment. Thankfully, people did speak English, a nice businessman I met at Charles De Gaulle gave me 1000 forints (about 5 bucks) when I told him I was nervous about the whole ordeal (he happened to have forints in his wallet?), there were some signs at the airport too, and I managed to take the right bus and make it to the right subway stop! An elderly Hungarian woman blabbed to me on the bus when I tried to let her sit in my seat, I gave her the "deer in headlights, I have no clue what your saying" look, and she just patted my knee and smiled. I don't know how Allison manages without knowing the language. I feel like life would involve a lot of pointing.

A bunch of Allison's friends who are studying abroad in Florence came to visit her too, plus some of Allison's roommates friends too, so all in all it was about 13 people sleeping in her apartment! I got a bed, so all was good. Without going into detail about everything, I'll just summarize my favorite parts.

1. Forints, the currency. Its about 250 forints to one dollar. So, if you pay 500 forints, its like 2 dollars. I felt like I had big bucks the whole time. 1000 forint? No big deal. Pocket change.

2. The awkward language barrier. One of Allison's friends ordered apple pie, and the waitress brought him pineapple juice. So great.

3. Business lunch! Monday-Friday, most restaurants have a cheap menu where you get 3 courses for about 600-800 forint. We got soup, chicken burgers and fries, AND dessert for 3-4 bucks.

4. Apple Strudel. Nom nom nom.....

5. The Baths. There are Turkish baths in Budapest all over the place. They're giant pools heated geothermically. The place we went had three big outdoor, wonderfully warm (basically giant hot tubs) pools and then 20 some inside. There were 2 saunas too. It was the most relaxing thing ever. It was also prime speedo watching. Lots of old men in speedos....Another great thing about the baths were the old men playing chess in the pools. I guess its a Budapest staple, they come and play chess all day. One of the people visiting from Florence was this tiny little girl from Korea, and one of the old guys asked her to play. It was a hilarious image, this small girl standing across this giant white haired extreme chess player. Guess who won? The girl! I could have spent forever there, just floating around in the water, but alas, I had to leave.

6. CHRISTMAS MARKET!!!!!!!! It was my first taste of Christmas since I've been here, as the market in Rennes doesn't open til this weekend. There were lights, vendors of gifts and food, music, people, a GIANT TREE!, everything you would ever want in a Christmas market. Allison, Cristal (her roommate), and I got some mulled wine just to get the super cute souvenir mugs that say Christmas in Budapest in English and in Hungarian. We also got some delicious cinnamon bread that was roasted over a fire before our very eyes. I was in heaven. A peculiar thing about the music....there was a little mini choir that was singing songs on a stage. First off, they were singing in English, but in a way that made it pretty obvious they didn't know what they were singing. I had trouble at first telling if it was Hungarian or English. De plus, their music choice was decidedly un-Christmasy. For example, Son of Preacher Man? But I loved it all the same.

It was a really great trip, I also learned a lot of the history of Budapest from both Allison and random drunk Hungarian men, and I got to see a part of the world I'd never seen before. It was hard to leave to go back to class :)

Tomorrow is THANKSGIVING (or "Sanksgiving" à la française...they have such a hard time with those -th- sounds). I'm eating lunch at a retirement home with Leah and Steph to talk about the tradition with some elderly Frenchies and then the Institut Franco-Americain is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant in the city. TWO THANKSGIVINGS!!!!!!! I'm exciting to see how they pull off pumpkin pie. Its absolutely unheard of here. Cody tried to find pumpkin pie filling to make pumpkin bread and failed. Lucile (my little host sister) thought it sounded horrible, but maybe thats just because we eat pumpkin an awful lot at my house. I showed my host siblings clips of the Macy's Day parade and I basically told them all you do on Thanksgiving is eat. They were sad they don't celebrate it here. It's weird not seeing turkey decorations and hearing all sorts of buzz about no school and the holidays, and it's even weirder that I'm not going to see my family. But, I'm going to celebrate it with my friends, which have basically become my family here, so hopefully it won't be too sad, just full of fooooooood!

Another quick observation: Little kids looooooooooove marbles here. I have played marbles more times in the past week than I have in my entire life. Lucile is obsessed. I can tell you all the different types (who knew there were multiple kinds of marbles?) and the types of defenses you can use while playing (mur, araignée, coquillage). I don't get it.

Bahhhh voila quoi. A bientot!

"Hey, are you guys French?" "No! We-a are-a Italianooooo!"

2009-11-08T13:38:00.007+01:00

A LOT has happened. Which explains why I haven't written....First off, fall break.

I went on a road trip with Yoann, Leah, Larissa, and Cody to the south of France. After some mishaps with the GPS (fondly named Marie-Claire), which included her sending us down dead end roads and her suddenly deciding she needed a nap, we made it through mountain roads to Marseille.

Dead End Directions from M-C

But, alas, Marseille was definitely a sketch town. I'd heard from a lot of people that it wasn't that great. The old port was really pretty and nice, but once you went a block off of it, the safety level severely dropped. At least our hostel was nice, and the next day we went on a really nice boat ride to Château d'If, the location of the prison in Count of Monte Cristo. It was a beautiful day and the Mediterranean was gorgeously blue as always. The castle was also pretty neat. We saw prison cells and there were all these etchings in the walls that tourists had made, some dating back to the 1800s.

After that we said "Au revoir Marseille!" and headed to Nice. Which is A LOT nicer. Our hostel was called Villa Saint Exupéry, after the author of Le Petit Prince, and it was really nice. The place was over run by Australians, who love backpacking, and it was definitely weird after being surrounded by French for over two months to be in a giant English bubble. One of the workers asked us if we were from Québec because we were speaking in French to Yoann. We said no, he asked us why we were speaking French then. "Ummmmm, we're in France?" was our reply. I think Yoann felt a little out of place, but it was really cute to see him order stuff in English, "Sank you!" (ie thank you, those darn "th" sounds...). The hostel was a little ways away from downtown and the beach, but Nice recently installed a tram that was SUPER nice and efficient, and the hostel had a shuttle running to the tram and back, so no biggie. We spent the first night down on the beach. Leah and I attempted salsa dancing at a salsa bar, but just ended up running into everyone.

The next day, we met Alex (an Aussie, of course), and the 6 of us walked around Nice for the day. We wandered through the flower market, ate some yummy lunch and then went to the beach. Cody, Yoann, and I braved the cold and jumped in the water! It was nothing compared to the polar plunge, but still a weeeee bit chilly! But how could you go the Mediterranean and not swim at least once! After that, we climbed up this big cliff which a sign described it as having the most beautiful panoramas in the world. I'd agree. The sun was setting and Nice is really just a beautiful city. Sea on one side, mountains on the other. It was perfect. After a stop for some ice cream, we headed back to the hostel for dinner. This hostel was awesome, really. I recommend it to anyone traveling to Nice. The dinner was super yummy (and cheap) and they have one euro beers at the bar! We played a really fun game of shoulders, and then went into downtown and wandered for a bit. And so ended our time in Nice.

Us with our Aussie friend

Des plus beaux panoramas du monde!

The next day, we headed back out on the road, putting our trust in Marie-Claire once again to get us to our next destination safely. We took a route that followed the coast pretty much, so it was a beautiful drive! I don't know how some of the houses don't fall of cliffs into the sea. We made a pit stop in Eze, home of a famous French perfumery. It also has a really cute old city on a hill, with more beautiful views of the Mediterranean. And a lot of nice cars. After that, we made another stop in Monaco. We wandered into a carnival, which was surprisingly a lot like a 4th of July carnival in the states. Complete with carnies. But, they were giving out Wiis as prizes......We also stopped in at the Monte Carlo Casino. At first, we didn't know if they would let us in, since we weren't high rollers, but we got to go into the slot machine room. We collectively put in 5 euros and took turns pulling the handle. My first gambling experience! And we lost. Yoann played on his own and won 6 euro though! Big money!!!!!!!

Then it was on to Italy. The drive there was through mountains and really twisty turny. Then when we got to Florence, it was even worse. ITALIANS! They are crazy drivers. There was so much traffic and no one cared about lanes. It took us maybe 45 minutes to drive one km. Yoann nearly had a heart attack (I did too). Of course, Marie-Claire decided to nap right as we got into the city, so we had no idea where we were going. It was a tense moment. Luckily, we found the hostel, got the car parked, and everyone was happy (ish, Yoann was still kinda stressed). We ate some pasta, and then walked around the city at night. Florence is such a beautiful city. The bridges, the churches, the statues! There's this statue/fountain of a boar that your supposed rub for good luck and put money in its mouth, which we all did. I think it worked, because I feel pretty lucky to be here :)

We did more wandering the next day, included going up to the top of this hill which gave a great view of the city. Leah, Larissa, and I went on a search for Leah's perfect boots, but it was unsuccessful. Instead, we just went into Chanel and pretended to be fancy. The one weird thing about Italy is that they have a cover charge in restaurants. So, not only are you paying for food, but you're paying to just be there. It was annoying. But the food is good, especially the tiramisu, so no worries. We did get ripped off (those italiens, ils profitent de la situation...) because we're tourists and don't know the language. We bought gelato, thought we were getting the 3 euro cups, only to be charged SIX EURO afterward. Yeah. Boooo. Thats-a lame-a itaaaalia. We were all exhausted so we went back to the hostel (which had free wi-fi and breakfast btw) and watched How I Met Your Mother on Cody's laptop.

Florence from above

Yummmmmmmy tiramisu

Final stop: Lyon. We drove the next day through the Alps and I saw my first REAL MOUNTAIN! I was super excited. We stopped at a gas station and took pics. My host family says I need to try skiing, which I've never done. If it means I get to touch a mountain with snow on top, I'm in! The mountains were just so beautiful. We got to Lyon pretty late, just in time to watch some Simpsons Halloween (in French) because it was Halloween after all, get some dinner, and then the Americans (Yoann slept) headed out to our dear friend, Sirius, the riverboat dance club. It was a ridiculous evening, to say the least. Leah and I sandwiched a random man, we all spoke in awful Italian accents the entire evening, and we danced home through the streets of Lyon. A fitting way to end the trip I'd say.

We got back to Rennes on Sunday and ate a really good dinner chez Yoann. His mom made chili con carne, which just makes me want some Mexican food! It was sad to end the trip, and after being with everyone for an entire week, it was really weird to get home and be by myself! Leah and I had a test the next day at school at 8:15AM (Merci, Guillaume Marbot....), which I probably did awfully on. Who knows a cheese that comes from the Alsace? Not me...

Since the road trip.....

I got back my first test. 15/20, not too bad! Leah said it transfers back as an A, so I'm pumped! Its actually been a lot of tests lately, I had one in history Thursday that was pretty much my only legit test since its about facts and dates, not just "what sort of roof do houses in the south of France have?" I think I did pretty well on it too, knock on wood. Its also been a week of birthdays! Thursday was Lucile and Leah's birthdays (Lucile = 6, Leah = 21). It was pretty hilarious because Leah was more excited for her birthday than Lucile. I had to remind Lucile that it was her birthday! So, on Thursday, Agathe and I dressed up in coats and hats and scarves and brought the cake upstairs to surprise Lucile. Agathe pretended she was a delivery person, and Lucile thought it was pretty funny. I got her some jewelery and her parents got her a chalk/marker board on an easel. She immediately opened the easel and started drawing! After dinner chez moi, I met up with Leah and Co. They were out for dinner at this nice pizza place. I showed up just in time to see them bring out this ice cream dessert with a giant sparkler! The birthday girl decided it was obligatoire to wear party hats, so we all were birthday-ed out. After dinner, we hung out at Mad Ave on Rue de la Soif, played some shoulders, had random Frenchies come up and wish Leah happy birthday (we were seated next to the bathroom, so it was a high traffic area). Some guy in a silver sequence cowboy hat tried to convince Leah that it was a rule to get naked, and he took off his shirt to prove his point. Leah still said no. We went dancing after, and they played JUMP AROUND! Of course, Leah, Larissa, Steph, Cody, and I were the only ones in the whole club who know what it was. We freaked!!!!!!! Made me miss Madison so much.

Yesterday was another birthday, this time Agathe, my other host sister. She turned 13 (teenager wooo!!!!). During the day, Leah, Larissa, and I went to Mont Saint Michel. Its this crazy island Abbey that's well protected by the tides. We went with our school, and my architecture professor was our guide. Somehow, she has access to places that aren't necessarily open to the public. She told us that now we know Mont Saint Michel better than most français because we've seen more than the average person. We got to climb up to the VERY TOP of the abbey, which was awesome! You could see all around. It was a climb though, up a winding spiral staircase and then a narrow stone one up way way way high. We also saw a second church for the 11th century that people don't get to see either. Visible in this church is a section of wall from the first church on the island, built in the 8th century, that pilgrims used to have to touch before being allowed to enter the big cathedrale. And, of course, Leah and I couldn't resist. We touched the wall too. The only problem was the weather! It was bizzare. It was sunny out. Then all of a sudden, it would pour and pour. Then 10 minutes later, sun. Then HAIL! Yes, hail. Then rain. Then sun. Then wind. Then sun. Etc etc etc. My feet were freezing the whole time. But it was definitely a neat place, pretty incredible to see. There's something magical about it.

From high above Mont Saint Michel

Shadow of the mountain

MSM VIPs!

For Agathe's birthday dinner, we ate raclette. Its sooooooooo delicous, and somehow all French people have a raclette set at home. Its basically just potatoes and cheese and charcutrie, and you melt the cheese over everything. Sooooo good. We also had cake (my second gâteau of the week), so by the end of the meal, I was about ready to explode! Agathe got a radio from her parents to put in her room and I gave her a gift card to H&M. I think she had a good birthday.

Quick last thing: I'm going to Budapest to visit Allison, my roommate from freshman year in two weeks!!!!!!! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!

My vie en general (2 posts in one night! GOOOO ME!)

2009-10-16T20:00:00.013+02:00

Its been going REALLY good. There have been a few minor hiccups in the past couple weeks...there have been some crazy drama moments with everyone (like serious asthma attacks and illnesses back home and my family telling me they wouldn't be offended if I moved out a semester??), but all in all, France is great. Almost two months have gone by (a fact that I just realized today) and only about two months are left in the semester. I can't believe it.

Last weekend, we had an other excursion with CIEE to Cornouaille. This time there wasn't as much museum-y sight seeing things, it was just BEAUTIFUL! We were right by the ocean, our hostel even had a view of the ocean from the window. The city we stayed in was called Carcaneau, and it had a really cool walled city area on the water. It basically was an excuse to party with everyone in the program, which was fun. We all hung out by the water, and later Leah and I explored the walled city. Found some old canons and took a lot of pictures. It was great. The Pointe-du-Raz, the most western part of France, was hyper cool. I was just in shock with how pretty it was.

This past Tuesday, there was an event at Rennes II called Le Parrainage (which is like a mentorship) for French and international students to meet. I met a group of 3 French girls and 2 French guys who were all really nice. I tried to teach them some Christmas songs (they asked?) and they taught me some random phrases (like how to say "I'm buzzed" - Je suis pompette - in case you were wondering). It was nice to be able to speak in French to real French speakers for once (and not just random international students in class). Though, at times the conversation was WAYYYYY to fast between the Frenchies to follow. I got a couple numbers, made some facebook friends. Hopefully I'll see them again.

At the moment in Rennes, there is an accordion festival, called "Le Grand Soufflet" and every night there are free concerts. Last night, Larissa, Leah, and I went to one and it changed my views on accordions entirely. It was so cool. They played Chick Corea, some samba, Cindi Lauper's "Time After Time." You name it. I didn't realize you could play an accordion like that, I always just imagine Leiderhosen and weinerschnitzel.

Today, for our class de Francophonies, Leah and I had to interview someone who lives in France but comes from somewhere different. Leah's host mom works with a guy who is Portuguese...so parfait! Our interview went ok, but we were both kind of nervous (its for a grade), and of course, after we turned the recorder off he said the most interesting thing. Georges lived the first 20 years of his life in Portugal, and has lived 20 years in France. To the French, he's not really French. He can speak the language, and he knows the culture, but he's not un vrai Français. But, he says now, when he goes back home, the Portuguese don't consider him Portuguese either. He's adapted his ways, he doesn't speak the same Portuguese. He's in a sort of cultural purgatory. Doesn't quite fit in one place, no longer fits in the other. He also said that being in France brought things about Portugal that he didn't know before to his attention. In Portugal, he didn't know much about the folklore or the traditional music, but the distance made him more interested in his own culture. I'm really glad that my prof gave us the assignment! It was a good experience. And he complimented us on our French skills, always a plus!

Leah and I found a great coffee shop/book store that reminded me a lot of coffee shops back home, with a couch and photography for sale on the walls. It even came complete with French hipsters! Oh and homemade quiche. Quiche is always a plus in my book.

This weekend, I'm gonna faire du méga shopping with Larissa, Leah, and (hopefully) Agathe, my host sister. I've been amazed at how fashionable French people are. And it always looks effortless. Today at the coffeeshop, Leah and I did a lot of people watching. The game: "Guess how old the French kids are." The 12 year olds look about 20, no joke. They wear boots and heels and leggings and dresses, and all black, and dress about 45788929395 times better than me. I feel entirely inadequate. So, goal for demain, buy Frenchie clothes! I'm coming back to the US à la mode!

The long awaited Lyon update (not so new info anymore...)

2009-10-15T16:21:00.010+02:00

Just thought I would give a tourism plug for the AMAZING CITY of Lyon. Two weeks ago, Leah, Larissa, and I went on our first solo voyage of the semester. We'd bought our train tickets early, and got to the station with plenty of time to spare. We even got discount tickets with our 12-25 cards (for people ages 12-25...). But, as traveling never goes smoothly, what did I forget at home?

My Carte 12-25.

Picture this: Me, at 7AM, still dark out, BOOOOOKING it through the streets of France, all the old people on their morning walks staring at me. I felt kinda like Forrest Gump. BUT, due to my super lightning fast running skills, I somehow made it back to my house, grabbed my card, and ran back to the train station in 15 minutes. Barely made the train. Phew. It was a sweaty start, but we were on our way!

I'll just give a quick rundown on why Lyon rocks:
1. Old stuff
2. Free stuff
3. Free old stuff
4. RIVERBOAT DANCE CLUBS

I'll start with #3. Lyon has a part of the Roman empire 2000 years ago, so coincidentally, there are some Roman ruins. Namely, two theaters situated on a hill overlooking the city. Whats even cooler than the fact that these theaters from 2000 years ago still exist, is that you can see them for free, run and leap around them, touch engraved marble tablets, pretend to be statues.....the possibilities are endless. We did all of the above. It also gave a great view of the entire city.

Leaping

Posing

Being awesome

The first night we went out on the town, spoke in British accents (even told people we were from Wisconsin, England), and danced the night away on a RIVERBOAT DANCE CLUB!!!! They exist. It even had portholes. And guess what? It was free to board the boat. No 10 euro Pyms dance club (like in Rennes). It was also called "Sirius" as in Sirius Black as in Harry Potter as in British accents. Perfect.

The next day we explored the town. For lunch we followed my host mom's advice and at a buchon lyonnais (which is just a restaurant that serves typical cuisine from the region). Thank god we did. It was probably the best meal I've eaten in France. We got a steak and gratin daupinois which is like potatoes au gratin, which cheese and I think crème fraîche (we said it was like a classy version of steak and potatoes). This meal made me so happy. So so happy.

After lunch we went to a (FREE) museum that had lots of old stuff. My favorites were the Monet paintings and the Egypt wing. The Egypt wing had a mummy head and hand and all sorts of sarcophagi and stones with hieroglyphics. It even had these GIANT doorways covered in writing. The paintings were really cool too. There were two Monet's that were very pretty (including one thats of a sunset and water and its all purple and blues and I looooooooooove it). There were no barriers, so I got real up close and personal with his brushstrokes. It was a really good way to spend the afternoon.

We then walked all the way to the other side of town, to le parc de la tête d'or. Its a gigantic park with a zoo and everything inside. And by zoo I mean there were deer roaming around. Only in France. We walk in and see deer chilling. You could feed them chestnuts, so a lot of little kids were just chucking them at these deer. It was pretty funny.

I also watched some French TV, which I rarely get to do, because my family doesn't have a TV. Les Simpson! Hearing the voice overs was really bizarre. Bart's voice was awful. I also watched some Charmed, and those voices didn't fit at all. I've talked to Frenchies my age and they all say its awful too. But they love American TV shows so the bad voices must not stop them from watching.

It was a great trip! I'm so glad Leah, Larissa, and I decided to go to Lyon. Such a cool city. And I couldn't have spent the weekend with better people too :)

GROS BISOUS DE FRANCE!

In case you were wondering....

2009-10-14T00:09:00.009+02:00

I'm still alive.

And I'm still planning on posting about my weekend in Lyon (which was AWESOME!) and this past weekend in Cornouaille.

Time just FLIES by here. I don't even realize it and an entire week is gone.

To tide you over (who ever actually reads this...) here are some pics of Cornouaille, a region in western Brittany.

The view from our hostel

The girls on some rocks

Me and Cody at Pointe-du-Raz, the western most part of France

What a good looking group!

Traditional Breton clothing, don't know why it went out of style...

I'll write more soon. Promise.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Battle Royale

2009-10-06T17:47:00.002+02:00

Update #1

2009-10-04T14:48:00.011+02:00

A lot has happened in the past two weeks (ish). I'll start off by recounting last weekend...

I went to my first official European soccer match at Stade Rennais. It wasn't a huge match, so there wasn't a lot of people there. But, it only cost 2.50 euro, so can't complain! Also, in typical French fashion, the fans were on strike. Yes, the fans. On strike. Usually a group of people lead cheers and songs, sort of like a pep group. But, because it was a little game, with little importance, they went on strike. Not really sure what the aim was, but I cheered anyways.

Rennes won! So all was good in the world.

Side note: Before the game, Leah, Larissa, Kayla and I went to a random resto to eat. Leah, Larissa, and I tried some random food that, according to Kayla's dictionary, was a type of sausage. Nope. Intestines. Live and learn.

Last Friday, Yoann invited all of us Madtowners over to his house to have a fête de crêpes. Basically, you make a ton of crêpe batter and can make yourself one whenever you feel like all night. I went over early and helped make some batter, which involved me stirring and Yoann doing everything else. Here is a montage of our successful attempts at sauter des crêpes:

Moi

Cody

Larissa #1

Larissa #2

And, as normal, beer drinking Wisconsinites, we taught Yoann the finest of drinking games: beer pong, flip cup, and circle of death. No worries, we represent the Dairy State extremely well over here.

Look familiar?

It was a really fun night, full of crêpes and games (Yoann told us he usually eats 10 crêpes at parties like that, which is an incroyable amount!). I got approximately 15 minutes of sleep before it was off to meet with CIEE for our trip to Normandy....

Normandy was a really interesting experience. I didn't expect it to be so moving/emotional, but it really was. We visited the WWII museum in Caen, which had a lot of items and pictures. There were letters on display from soldiers to their families, one which almost made me cry. It was the last letter the family ever received from him, and it was right before D-Day. We also saw a movie that used a lot of real footage from D-Day, and one clip in particular was really unsettling. It was a sweeping view of the beach with all the soldiers rushing up, only to fall a few feet later...its different when its Saving Private Ryan than when its actual people.

After Caen, we went to Bayeux and saw this famous tapestry. Its about 1000 years old and 250 feet long. Its also extremely detailed, and tells the story of William the Conqueror, how bamf he was, and how he took over England. The museum gave us some pretty sweet audio commentary, with music and sound effects, and after the tapestry we got to see some great wax figures of William. It was a nice change of mood from the WWII museum...

The next day we went to the American Cemetery. Its a very moving place, and, although its sad, I recommend seeing it. If I remember correctly, its the burial ground for about 8000 American soldiers. There are even a few female nurses buried there from the Red Cross. Its on a cliff above Omaha Beach, one of the spots of the invasion. My grandpa was part of D-day, and he was at Omaha. I tried to picture him at the beach, and couldn't help thinking of how glad I am he wasn't one of those crosses (if he was, I wouldn't be here!). It was so hard to imagine it how it was that day, how it must've looked and sounded like, how the soldiers ran up the beach, like in the film we saw at the museum, and about how so many of them never made it back home...It was a really beautiful beach, and its sad how it will forever be known for something so ugly and terrible.

We spent a long time down at the beach, because it was a really nice day and the water was so perfect. I found a bunch of hermit crabs, and waded in the sea.

After Omaha, we went over to Pointe du Hoc, another D-day location. Here, 250 soldiers attempted a surprise attack on an area of German arms, but due to navigational errors, lost the surprise, and had to scale 100 ft cliffs while being barraged with Nazi bullets. Somehow, 90 soldiers survived and took the fortifications. Most of the area has been left in tact, and is open to the public. The ground is pocketed with bomb craters, and you can go inside the concrete buildings. You can tell what was used to hold up GIGANTIC guns too. It was really unbelievable.

The weekend was a really good experience, although a little emotionally draining. The coast of Normandy was super beautiful and peaceful. But, it was good to get back to Rennes after a LONG exciting weekend. I watched the Rennes v Bordeaux soccer match on TV and called it a night. I didn't do too much exciting things during the week EXCEPT plan my weekend in Lyon! More on Lyon in the next post......

XOXO

Le Ping Pong

2009-09-21T21:12:00.010+02:00

French people love ping pong.

Preuve #1:

This is an entire gym devoted SOLEY to ping pong. Its a salle de tennis de table (Ping Pong room). No basketball hoops or anything. You come, you play ping pong.

Preuve #2:

This boy was like 9 and played with the intensity of a 25 year old. They don't mess around.

Preuve #3:

This was one of the refs. Like I said they don't mess around.

To explain, one of the moniteurs (French students who are there to help us foreigners out) named Yoann plays ping pong in his hometown. He's on a table tennis team, and they have tournaments on the weekends against other towns. I went with my friend Cody to cheer him on this past Sunday and it was QUITE the experience. I never knew ping pong could be so intense. Lots of "Allez Allez Allez!" and random French swearing. Afterward, Cody and I ate dinner at Yoann's with his parents, who were very interested in learning English words, and seeing what we thought about politics (I was asked what I though about health care...I wouldn't even know what to say in English...). We also played some Wii Sports, which I kicked butt at :)

No way to not look awkward playing Wii

Saturday I went to La Forêt Brocéliande, which is rumored to be the location of the King Arthur myths. Merlin chilled in this forest with Lancelot, and there's even a place called Merlin's tomb. It sounds awesome, right? Well, we didn't really know what we were getting in to. Got dropped off in a random city called Paimpoint only to find out that everything awesome was about 9 miles away. Cool. And instead of being able to wander through the woods like flower children, we had to trudge down busy Road 38, complete with speeding semis! Though, I'll admit, the forest was SUPER pretty and it was nice to get out of the city. The town was small and full of random Arthur references, like Road of the knights of the round table, and a big metal cut out of Merlin. I guess its more fun if you go there with a car because you can get to all the stuff easily. All in all, it was a good day, nice weather, lots of trees.

Classes are in full swing. Most classes are two hours long though, which makes for a LONGGGG day.

A bientot mes amis.

French people are crazy....

2009-09-15T00:01:00.003+02:00

For realz.

First day of class was pretty boring, although no silly "introduce yourself...where you're from one one interesting thing..."

Not much too say about the classes themselves. One might be pretty boring, learning how to argue your point (discours et argumentation). The other one we're going to be watching clips and listening to the radio. Only two tests, each worth 50%. Woooooo! I've got one class tomorrow and after that I'm going to go watch a match du foot (Bordeaux vs Marseilles).

But what I find really, really funny is the way the people actually enrolled at the fac (the university university, not just the part for us foreign kids) get their schedules. For us, I guess it was much the same way. I showed up today not really sure where I was going or what classes I had. They hadn't 'given' schedules, so we were all pretty much clueless. When I got to the campus, I had to go look at a bulletin board with all the departments classes listed out, find my name, see what classes I had, and then find them on the schedules. No individualized schedules picked out and available online.

Leah, who wants to audit a class, had to search all through batiment B for a single bulletin board. The schedules are no where online. Just bulletin boards.

Technology is overrated though, right?

La cuisine française...

2009-09-14T10:23:00.011+02:00

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...

I'm still alive, just busy...

2009-09-06T19:12:00.008+02:00

Its been hard to find time to just sit down and write a post, but its Sunday and my family is off at Futuroscope, so I've got lots of free time. Last weekend we went to their grandparents house in the south of Brittany, on the beach, which was great, and then it was time to start getting used to life in a new city.

I really don't know where to even start...I've been in Rennes a little over a week now and it seems like its been months. We've been going to classes at Langues et Communication during the week. The teachers are very....eccentric. Laurent is this 40-something Frenchman who likes to wear denim jackets and purple pants. He teaches the first grammar class of my day, and as he's a very in your face, intense kind of guy (what other type of person would wear purple pants...), it's a little too much to handle at 9am every day. He's very into hypotheticals, so he makes us "imaginez" situations and pretty much everyone stares blankly. I imagine him as a guy who lived in Montreal in the 80's and never left. I've noticed a lot of France is stuck in the 80's, actually...

We also have a civilization class in the afternoons, which is pretty hit or miss. Friday, the class spent the hour talking about the year 1968, I spent the hour napping. But, when we learned about Brittany, it actually was pretty interesting. I've got a week left of classes there, and then its off to the big show: l'Université de Haute Bretagne. I placed into Avancé so I've got a pretty good selection of classes I can take, and I'm looking forward to actually taking classes that matter (not that Laurent and his purple pants aren't great...).

Rennes is a really fun town. Its doesn't feel like a big city, much in the way Madison doesn't either. The métro is efficient and clean, and the buses are too. Renne's centre ville is adorable, with all sorts of wooden buildings that have been around since the 1500's. Some look ready to fall over, but they are really cool all the same. There are so many cafés and cute shops and an H&M (!), and the Marché des Lices that happens every Saturday is awesome. It's the 3rd largest in France (I think), and you can find everything! Its super busy and most Rennais do their shopping here. My host mom bought a GIANT fish and an entire chicken before...you can also buy flowers, vegetables, fruit, etc etc etc. Its really cool.

Life with a family has been interesting...I think that most of the families think the students are dumb, or a lot worse in French then they really are, because all I hear about is how peoples host families never think they understand. My family will repeat things three times even when I understood it the first time. Its really awkward still to be living here in a strangers house, plus the fact that I'm responding in French, so I am kind of tongue tied. I understand what my family says to me, but beyond saying "d'accord" or "oui," I don't ever know what to respond with. So, my family thinks I'm lost half the time when I'm not. Its really, really, REALLY frustrating and makes me kind of uncomfortable. I'm sure it will get better with time though. Hopefully. Hanging out with the moniteurs (French students who are there to pretty much hang out with us and help out) is awesome, and they're a lot easier to talk to. I don't feel so ridiculous.

I've been playing soccer with a few of the moniteurs and people from CIEE, which has been really fun. I definitely missed playing. Yoann, one of the moniteurs, has actually become a good friend of ours (the people from Madison), and he's shown us around and taken us out. He's really funny, and loves learning English phrases, like 'badass' and all the silly things Cody's taught him. Nightlife in Rennes is pretty crazy. There's a road here called "Rue Saint Michel" thats been nicknamed "Rue de la soif." That means road of thirst, and it definitely has earned the nickname. Its a tiny street packed with bars that gets so crowded on the weekend that you can barely walk down it. Its like if you took all the bars on State Street and condensed them down to a block. It was definitely ridiculous to see. Thursday is actually the biggest night to go out here, because most students go home Friday and Saturday to see their families.

Madtown on Rue de la Soif

Yesterday a few of us went to Rue de la soif to watch the France vs. Romania World Cup Qualifier game. We met some Frenchies and they asked us where we were from and upon hearing Wisconsin they all got big smiles. "That 70's Show!" Yup. Thats the only thing people know about Wisco. People here also LOVE How I Met Your Mother. Yoann loves it, the people we met last night did too. Everyone wants to be Barney. One of the guys last night was wearing a Homer Simpson shirt too. Classy. Leah, Larissa, and I had a little sleepover at Leah's house as all our families were out of town, and it was a really fun night.

One cultural difference I've noticed so far is definitely meal time. The French eat late (not before 7:30pm) and its a requirement pretty much. You have to be home for dinner. It usually involves multiple courses, like a salad, some main dish, some cheese and bread, and then dessert. Peoples schedules definitely revolve around eating. I think it reflects the structured nature of the French mindset in general. In class, Laurent was always stressing the structure of your thoughts/arguments. I feel like Americans are much more about free flowing ideas and effort, while the French like order and no errors. Daniel, the program director, likened it to a kids coloring book. In France, if a kid is asked to copy a picture of a man in a blue shirt and red pants, the kid better copy it and be inside the lines. In the US, if a kid decides purple polka dots on the shirt and green pants work better, and puts a sun and some clouds in the background, then that's perfect. Put it on the fridge. With Lucille, my little sister who's 5 and a half, if she wears something funky, like rainbow socks and flowered sandals, Sophie, my host mom, makes her change. It just makes me think of when my mom used to let me wear capes and zorro hats to the store and my brother got to go around in tiger face paint. I'm not saying one is necessarily right, but I'm kind of glad I got the upbringing I did.

I've gotta start looking at classes, it's going to be a little tough to make sure I'm taking classes to cover both majors, but I think a lot of classes offered here will work. Trying to get in the school mindset is so hard, as this trip still feels a little like vacation...

A bientôt!

The Fam

2009-08-27T22:10:00.003+02:00

Today we met our host families. It zas probably one of the most nervewracking things I have done in a LONG time. Its a big deal, since I'm going to be living here for a year.....

So, here's the deal: I'm living with a family of 5 (a mom, dad, 2 daughters ages 12 et 5 (and a half she prouldly told me) and a son age 10) and their cat Choupette. I'm actuqally in the city, pretty close to centre ville, which is great! a lot of students had to stay in houses in the suburbs with long commutes. The youngest girl is very very very cute (hard to understand too) but she told me I look like her friend and she likes to hold my hand. The boy likes cycling a lot and showed me all his posters of the "great cyclists."

Tommorrow I take the place,ent test to see where I end up in classes....I,m pretty nervous. I might actually study before bed. Weird. After that, the kids in my family are part of a circus camp and are putting on a "spectacle" which I am invited to. The youngest is a tightrope walker!

My room is very cute and in the basement so I can have my own space. I,ll take some pics soon. My hosts seem really accomadating, and are even going to get WiFi soon so I can use my laptop (hopefully soon...). I,m using a french keyboard which is pretty frustrating. Things are not where they should be. AND they have a kids block on facebook. Boooooooooooo.
Now tomorrow is the beginning of the real experience. I'm terrified. AH!

Bienvenue à Paris!

2009-08-25T16:02:00.002+02:00

So, I'm in Paris right now for the orientation and its been a very very interesting couple days.

I had a Guiness at 9AM in the airport in Dublin. That was pretty wonderful after a flight with no sleep. The plane had TVs on each seat which was great, but also lead to movie watching and no napping. We (the other girls in the program from Madison) made it to Paris pretty much without a problem.

Paris is where the fun began.

Fun Tip #1: Do not take the métro with 50+ pounds of luggage. You will get stuck in the turn styles and be ridiculed by les parisiens.

Fun Tip #2: Do take the marked métro doorway for people with luggage and strollers. If you do not, see Fun Tip #1.

Lets just say, getting to our hostel was an adventure. AND the hostel had 5 lovely sets of spiraling stairs we had to lug our suitcases up. Whooooo.

Notable event from the first exhausting day...I saw a completely naked hairy Frenchman sitting on a stoop messing with his bojangles.

Since then, things have been a little more relaxed. We've met with our program and the leaders. The head director got his PhD at Madison! And the assistant director is this really nice lady from West Bend who attended UW-Milwaukee when she was younger. Wisco represent! haha. They had us sign contracts saying we would speak French pretty much all the time (which a lot of people in the program haven't really been following...I had a girl ask me if our classes were going to be in English...uh. no.) The people in the program from Madison are really nice and have been great. We're all kind of just freaking out and nervous and excited. Its good to have some people I know I can go to here.

We still don't know our host families...but we will Thursday! I'm very excited to just get to Rennes and settle down. Unpack my suitcase. Meet the people I'm going to be living with for 9 months. Mostly here in Paris I'm just tired and slightly overwhelmed. And scared. And excited. Basically a mess of emotions.

Some Paris highlights:
-Eating the BEST TIRAMISU at a random café with Leah and Larissa (two Madison girls). It was good food too and good conversation (in French, we were practicing :)
-Seeing people's reactions who've never seen the Eiffel Tower sparkle. SO fun.
-Actually finding a water fountain near Notre Dame. It was awesome. Seriously. How are Parisians not dying of dehydration?!

Anyways, I'm probably wearing out my welcome in this McDonalds (the only place with free WiFi that we've discovered). I'll get pictures up at some point and hopefully will have some more exciting news from Rennes soon!!!!!!!

Don't let this happen to you.....!

2009-08-13T18:35:00.002+02:00

This girl should've used gmails drunk email blocker....

10 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-13T01:34:00.000+02:00

That is all.

<3

Hey there!

2009-08-07T08:31:00.001+02:00

Just seeing how this picture thing works...

Click here for pics from previous trips to Europe.

15 Days...

2009-08-07T07:21:00.000+02:00

So, after a failed attempt at hosting my own website with iWeb (a program on my mac) and some free site based in New Zealand resulted in hackers and google blocking my blog, I've resorted to a blogspot. Not as awesome as my other blog, but it will do.

Hopefully I'll be able to put some pics up and keep you all updated with what I'm up to abroad (awesome adventures, for sure!). I have about two weeks left before I leave, and I can't quite believe it. It definitely hasn't sunk in yet at all. I'm still working my summer job (I'm actually at work right now, working an overnight shift...), trying to pack up my apartment for the move out, painting my mom's house, enjoying summer. The idea of flying overseas in a jet and landing in Paris, attempting to speak nothing but French, living with complete strangers who are to become my French "family"...........not quite making connections in my brain that its real. For now, I'll keep on playing mini golf, going for walks to Picnic Point, sitting at the terrace watching sunsets, and putzing around the internet at work. I'm trying to enjoy my last two weeks.

I'm unbelievably excited to go abroad. I've wanted to study in France for as long as I can remember. I know it's going to be a big shock, and they've gone over the whole "wave of culture shock/emotions" with us at orientation. I'm definitely at the top of a wave right now....the only thing I'm not looking forward to is packing. A suitcase to fit a whole year. Wow.

Oh and just so everyone knows, Rennes is a city in the Northwest of France, in an area called Brittany. Its actually the regional capitol of Brittany, and has a population of around 200,000 (60,000 students!!!!). Its the smallest city in the world to have its own métro. Pretty cool, huh? I'll be attending the Université de Haute Bretagne II, but I don't know my classes yet. I'll have to take a placement test first before I register. Check this site out for some cool panoramas of Rennes. Its in French, but you can just click on the picture. There's an English version of the site too, but its doesn't have the cool pics. Anyways, I'll write to you all again soon!