The feast...

Today we analyzed the Rousseau piece that we had for homework. Much to my surprise, I quite enjoyed it. Our homework tonight is to read Le Lac par Lamartine. It was the first poem we read at the beginning of Spring semester, so it should be pretty easy for me the second time around.

After class today, Angelina, Amanda, Libby and I decided to go to the supermarché and buy some food and prepare it ourselves. We bought fruit, frozen pizzas, ice cream Snickers bars, premixed salad, and smoked salmon. From the market we went to Angelina and Amanda's house to prepare our feast. I ended up eating almost my entire small melon. It was sooo good! The frozen ZA smelled like cat food once it was cooked, so I didn't have much of that. The ice cream Snickers was better than I could have imagined, and I don't even like Snickers.

While we were at the girls' house, I met Sereal, the weird 19-year-old French boy who listens to Avril Lavigne and Aqua. If you've ever seen pictures of teenagers in French textbooks, then you've probably seen Sereal. He has that weird buzz haircut with the bangs left only in the front, he wears dark jeans and button down shirts, and looks very serious all the time. He played Michael Jackson 'Thriller' for us on his computer. Followed by much Avril, Aqua, and Ashley Simpson.

Now I'm at the Café Internet talking on AIM and updating the blog. Quel journée. For those of you who are curious (read: Joanna) what there is to do in Marseilles, I'll give you a little bit of background info. Marseilles is the oldest city in France, founded in 600 B.C. It is also the second largest city in France to none other than Paris of course. If you are familiar with the legend of the Count of Monte Cristo, Marseilles is the home to the Chateau d'If where the story takes place. It's on the coast of the Mediterranean with a total of 23 beaches. It's also rumored to have some pretty bumpin' night clubs :) That's probably all you care about, so until I actually go there, that's all you're going to get.

I think I'm going out to Le Couche Tard tonight, and maybe The London Pub; you know, the usual. Tomorrow I'm leaving for Marseilles directly after class, so I don't know if you'll get a blog update before Sunday night (which is Sunday morning for all of you lovely people in the States). By then I will have tons to say and lots of new pictures. Get excited! Until then, au revoir mes amis!

Oh, and mom, loved the double blog comment and the one apology for the double blog comment - it was perfect. And just FYI, to say my child or my daughter it's m'enfant or ma fille.

Booked the train.

I just left the train station where Libby and I purchased our tickets to voyager à Marseilles ce week-end. We're very excited, it should be a good time. Class this morning was nondescript - we're reading Rousseau, woo hoo.

Some of the girls might go out tonight, I haven't yet decided whether I'll join them. Since I have actual homework to do I guess it will depend if I get that done or not. I hear I missed out on a great time last night at Fox and Hound - way to keep the spirit of darts alive Snyder, and continue kicking Britt's butt ;) I also wish I had been present for the miraculous retour de Bradley J. into our lives... Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to catch up with him in August. Make sure you keep him around, I don't want to miss it!

Ok, well I haven't got much to say, so I'll keep it short, for once. Peace out!

L'échappe

I had to échapper from the apartment. I played a ridiculous card game with Kenza, which she created, and it was so freaking stupid - the way any 6-year-old card game would be, only it was worse because she mumbles in French, and no matter how many times I ask her to repeat herself, I still don't understand!

After the card fiasco, we ate dinner - early tonight. Lynda made crèpes which were delicious. They had grilled vegetables inside of them with grilled eggs and some soft white cheese. For dessert we had Nutella crèpes. I really enjoy crèpes - they're such a versatile food. Besides fruit, which, along with water, is God's candy, is there another food you can eat as part of a main course and as dessert? I can't think of one at the moment.

After dinner, Kenza of course wanted to play cards again. We did for a bit, then I think she could tell I was annoyed, so she brought a different game. This one I liked much better. I'm sure the children's game Guess Who? rings a bell with most of you... Well en français it's Qui Est-ce? so Kenza and I played Guess Who? in French for a while, then I couldn't take it anymore, so I told her I was going to take a shower and go to the internet café. She just wouldn't leave me alone! Then she started in with the 500 questions that kids just tend to ask all the time. I finally escaped. I'm hoping she'll be in bed by the time I return.

So, I remembered some things that I meant to say earlier. First, at the mall today I found a Nalgene water bottle at a sports store!!! It's different from the one I had, but it's a Nalgene nonetheless. It also happened to be the first water bottle of any kind I've seen at any stores - believe me, I've been looking.

I've been listening to my iPod a lot lately - I almost always just have it on random. Today 'Roxanne' came on and perpetuated my manque des états. It really made me want to be at home, at Elsa's with Snyder and some Bad Juans playing Roxanne. Most of you are familiar with the game, I trust :)

So anyway, nothing really important, I just wanted to get away from the apartment and discuss my longing to be in the States with tous mes amis right now. I really miss all you guys, can't wait until August! Grands Bisous!

The downhill.

Okay, so... It started out rough, got better almost immediately, and here I am, 10 days later, having a manque du pays moi-même. Everything is still totally fine. I have people to hang out with, I get along with Lynda, class isn't hard, I'm proficient at speaking French and perfect at understanding it. I miss the States. There is air conditioning there... people I know and want to be around, surroundings I'm familiar with, my native language, windows with screens, and a bed that won't totally screw up my back. The so-called "honeymoon period" of studying abroad has ended for me and the realization of it has truly set in. No, I'm not homesick, per sé; I just kind of want to be around the stuff I know. As I told Brittany today, I know I'll be back to the States before I even know what hit me, and right now I can't wait... but by the time I have to leave France, I will probably want to stay.

Today was the first day we had class in the morning, which means we have all afternoon off. That's definitely a nice touch. I had lunch in the Caféteria Université today - it was actually pretty good. After that, we went to the train station to make plans for this weekend. I am not 100% sure, but I'm probably going to Marseilles with a few other girls in the program. I figure the Côte Mediterranéen can't be too hateful :) After the stop at the train station, we went to the big mall in Grenoble and shopped for a while. I got a cool pink dress and a top to wear out at night. I also bought a couple novels because - not surprisingly - I finished Angels & Demons last night precisely 3 days after I started it.

Now I'm at the Café Internet enjoying the AC and thinking about going for a run this evening before dinner - preparing myself for the massive heat I'll endure. I haven't done too many interesting things for the past couple days, so I don't really have any new pictures to post. You'll have to settle with my words for now. I might be back to make another post later tonight - I feel something worthwhile occurred that I'm forgetting, but that's all for now. A bientôt!

Prémier jour de la classe

Aujourd'hui was the first day we had an actual class. Mireille and Dominique divided us up into 2 groups, Mireille took the more "advanced" class, and Dominique took the lower level class. The class you're in depends what level of French you are taking back in the States. I apparently have enough classes to be in Mireille's section. Woo hoo. As of tomorrow we'll have class at 9:30h until 12h instead of 13h until 15:30h, so we'll have all afternoon off - I'm pretty glad about that.

I got up and went for a run this morning, and I almost died of heat exhaustion. I later found out that today is supposedly the hottest day we've had thus far. Good thing. Tomorrow after class I'm really going to trouver la piscine and swim some laps.

I know all of you have a tendency to check the scent of your armpits to make sure you don't smell - it's okay, we all do it. Now, as I mentioned before all French people smell.... BAD. Since I'm constantly smelling B.O. on the tram, walking down the street, in cafés, etc., the armpit check has become a reflex for me. I'm always relieved to find that I don't smell, then I remember I'm in France and it's never me, it's just everyone else. Kind of a gross realization, but it's the truth, and sometimes the truth stinks... literally.

Angelina and I have become addicted to the sorbet poire at our awesome glacier in La Place de Grenette. Who knew pear sorbet could be sooooo good? I saw Steven the cute bartender from the London Pub at the université today. He did the bisous thing and gave me a flier for the bar, so I think some of the girls and I are going out tonight, bien sur. That's about all I have to report for right now... I doubt I'll be back here later tonight, so until tomorrow, au revoir!

Chill day.

Today was a pretty relaxed day. I woke up and started reading Angels & Demons immediately - I'm addicted. I met some friends at the Place de Notre Dame at noon, got some lunch, went to the open market and bought some really delicious, inexpensive fruit, and hung out. It's truly amazing how much better fruit is over here... It's sooooo incredibly fresh, it almost melts in your mouth - and if I like the canteloupe, you know it's got to be fabulous, because that is the only fruit I typically won't eat. I even bought a melon today, aren't you proud Mom?

After lunch and fruit, I also found some multi-grain bread au boulangerie... Merci Dieu!!! I have been eating no grain except baguettes, and those hardly count. Angelina, Shelby, Emaan and I went to Haagen Dazs today - it was creamy, smooth, and fantastique. The mango crème and strawberry crème ice cream I ordered came with home-made strawberry sauce and very ripe, fresh strawberries, très delicieux!

Angelina and I decided we needed to rest after such a decadent dessert, so we found a park, turned on our iPods, and napped under a large, pigeon-infested tree. I was slightly concerned about our position, but luckily no pigeons crapped on us.

There is something I forgot to mention about the wildlife of Grenoble... As we are in Southern France and in a valley, it's a Mediterranean climate - hence the 100° days we have. This climate also explains the rather large, black furry spider that Amanda and Angelina saw, and killed, at their host family's house. They later asked the host brother who is a 19-year-old French boy named Sereal who hates all Americans, especially one with the initials GWB. Sereal told the girls that they had smashed a baby tarantula. Yes, tarantula, the same huge furry poisonous spiders that look more like 8-legged rats. SICK!!!!!!! He proceeded to tell them that the family always gets tarantulas in their house in the summer. I've been freaking out. Last night when I was lying in bed I kept thinking something was crawling on me and that tarantulas were going to climb through my window. AHHH! I haven't encountered one yet, and I really hope it stays that way.

Right now I'm about to put some more pictures online, probably in a new folder so you don't have to look at all the pictures every time you check them out. Tonight I am going to go back to the apartment and maybe do some laundry, read some more of my inticing book, sleep, and get up in the morning to either run or swim - or read more :) A bientot!

La Grotte

Today was such a long day... it's 22:46h (10:46p for those of you not used to Eurotime) and I haven't been back to the apartment since 7:35h. We went to some places up in the mountains for the day. We had a long true to form traditional French lunch. We ate bread and drank wine, then we had trout. It was a whole fish, and it was purple with some sauce that looked like blueberry yogurt on top of it. I had to take off the skin and get rid of the bones, head, and fins. Needless to say, I didn't actually eat much of the fish - I was too grossed out. We then had the cheese course, followed by dessert which resembled the éclairs from Van Wilder... yum.

After lunch we went into the caves, where it was a refreshing 45°. It was a giant grotto - a lake inside a mountain. It was incredible. I have pictures, but they kind of suck, so it might be a while before I can get someone else's pictures and post them to the website.

Angelina, Amanda, Shelby and I went to Au Bureau for dinner and drinks. It was nice to relax for a bit after a very busy and tiring day. I decided to stop at the internet café since it's on my way home and check some email and update the blog. I'm really tired now, so I think I'm going to go home and read and go to sleep. Adieu!

P.S. BON ANNIVERSAIRE MAMAN!!! (happy birthday mom!!!!!)

Je suis allée en Genève

So, 2 trains, un bus and some stress later, Jen, Kara and I arrived in Geneva, Switzerland. Go figure, stupid American tourist girls got on the wrong train out of Grenoble. Good thing. Everything ended up just fine, as you can see from my pictures - yes I finally updated them.

We made it to Genève and walked around for a while. I bought a Swiss Army Knife for myself, and one for Kingsley that I promised her in January. Of course, we all bought some delicious Swiss chocolate. We hung out by the lake, saw some swans in the river, and checked out the banking district. There are banks from every country, in every language in the world. There are so many banks it's ridiculous!

By the end of the day, we were all so wiped out. We got on the correct train back to Grenoble and relaxed a bit on the ride. I also bought Angels & Demons while in Genève, and started reading it on the train back to Grenoble. For anyone who doesn't know, the novel is set in Geneva and, just like it's brother the Da Vinci Code, is very intense! Since I'm reading it in Europe; it's making me want to go to all the places it talks about.

Mom, just FYI, this time I didn't sleep through the scenery of the Swiss Alps that you claim I missed the last time around. You are right, it is insanely beautiful. However, while Geneva is awesome, Lucerne, Switzerland is still the most beautiful place I've ever been in my life, sauf, maybe Higgins Lake.

Tomorrow we're going as a groupe to some caves in some mountain in Grenoble. If I knew more details about it, I'd fill you in now, but all I know is that I have to get up at 7.30h and be at the musée by 8.00h. C'est dommage. That's all I have to report for now... A bientot!

Au revoir, Nalgene!

I have some sad news... I lost my Nalgene bottle today - the one I've had for almost 5 years. I don't think I can get a new one in Europe, so I'll wait until I can get it at Sports World on State Street.

On to happier things, Mireille and Dominique(our teachers) gave us the day off tomorrow. A few of the other girls and I have decided to take this opportunity to go to Genève for a day. It's close to Grenoble, et les billets were very inexpensive, so why not? I'm still working on getting pictures posted... not sure when that's going to happen, but hopefully soon. Definitely by tomorrow night, I think. After I get back from Genève I will come back to the Café Internet and try to figure it out. I don't really have much to report... We're going out to Le Couche Tard ce soir, so we'll see John Paul, the British server. Then there is talk of going to une discothèque. I haven't decided if tonight is the night for dancing, but I might go. That's all for now, and thanks to everyone who makes comments, it makes this Blog thing much more interesting for me!

Il faut parler français.

France seems to be a good time so far; however I'm with American students all the time. We have a lot of fun, but we tend to not speak French with each other. It's fine for a while, but if we don't start speaking French all the time, we won't be fluent by the time we leave. I'm starting to wonder if 6 weeks is long enough to become fluent. It's definitely long enough to become very proficient, but totally fluent, je pense que non.
Last night was June 21, the summer solstice and the longest day of the year, for anyone who didn't know. There was a huge music festival in Grenoble, so we went to it. There were random bands playing on the streets everywhere, from weird hymnal chants to French covers of The Eagles, U2, Alanis Morisette, and Usher, Lil Jon, and Ludacris, and everything in between... Yes, I heard the French version of "YEAH".
I ended up at Café d'Espagne with a few friends. We drank some Sangria and talked to the bardtender - he was hilarious. Malheuresment he made fun of our accents, but it was fun nonetheless. After Café d'Espagne, we went next door to find a huge group of girls from the program sitting at a table taking shots. We, of course, joined them. It was a great little place called Le Couche Tard (The Late Sleep). Our server was John Paul - British, 24 and very cute. Some beer, conversation, and a Kamekazi later, we went to The London Pub. It was so much fun! We met the host sister of Meggie, a girl from the program. She introduced us to a bunch of her friends, some Mexican, some Français, all very cool. We hung out there for a while, the bartender, Stephen, played all the songs we wanted to hear, and brought us some Sangria. In France, all the music is American (Black Eyed Peas, 50 Cent, Britney Spears) and all the drinks are fairly cheap, especially on ladies night :)
Today was fairly uninteresting, just class and more walking around Grenoble. We had some delicious fruti sorbet from a stand in one of the squares around the city. It was soooo good! Now I'm at the Café Internet, and tonight we're going back to The London Pub. It should be a good time. Not sure when I'm going to update my pictures online, but hopefully soon! I'm out for now...

Deux mots... Touristes Américains.

Two words... American tourists. That, in a nutshell, describes my group. It's not so bad, since we all speak French and most of us dress appropriately, but when we all gather, pass the digital cameras to one person and pose for a photo, we become the biggest tools ever - a collective launchpad, if you will.
So, today we had class, très facile. Après la classe, we went to Un Centre Commercial (read: shopping mall). This Centre Commercial has Un Géant in it. Le Géant is like Super Wal-Mart, except French. Libby and I are going to go back sometime and take des photos. Well, les français supposedly don't eat as much as we fat Américains do, but their huge store sure has a lot more food than ours do. For those of you in Wisconsin who might think the cheese aisles in Copp's, Woodman's or Sentry are excessive, let me tell you, you haven't seen anything yet. There were 2 cheese aisles with every kind of cheese you knew existed, and some you didn't. Oh, the French. On to the meat section... Anyone know what Le Cheval is? Allow me to translate: The Horse. It's true, they eat horses. I think I'll tell Lynda I don't want to try it.... ever. The rest of the store was pretty similar to a Meijer or Super Wal-Mart, with the exception of the excess of overly fatty sausages at the deli. Anything you can get in the States, you can also get in Grenoble, but I'm not so sure everything you can get in Grenoble, you can get in the States. Has anyone checked your local butcher's cooler for horse meat lately?
Even though today wasn't as eventful as yesterday, I took a few pictures. They should be up on Community Webshots by tomorrow - I'm at the Café Internet aujourd'hui, so I have to wait until I can use Libby's computer again to post the photos. The one picture I really want you all to see is impossible to capture in a camera, no matter how high the resolution. Picture this: Some lush green foothills of the Alps with georgous European homes strategically placed on the mountainside. In the background, reaching far above the highest tops of the green foothills are huge, still snow-capped mountains, almost blocking the entire sky. It's so beautiful, I hope at least one of the pictures I take in the next six weeks will do the scenery justice. I wish you all were here to share this experience with me - but since you're not, make sure you keep updated with my handy blog :) C'est tout pour maintenant. A demain!

More from today...

Okay, so... I have community webshots now. That means you can click on the link at the left of my blog called "Grenoble Photos" and see photos I post! Also, I changed my blog settings so that ANYONE can post comments. This is very exciting for me, because then I can know who is actually reading my blog and cares. Tonight Libby, Amber and I went out to a little cafe and had some great beer and wine. It was delicieux! Then we decided that when in France, do as the French do... so we bought some cigarettes. Gross. Since Libby can't get wireless at her apartment, she left me her computer for the night so I could update my blog again and setup the webshots thing. Very nice of her!!!
We already have some homework to do - not a ton, just some reading and excercises to do. Not hard. Speaking of exercise, I actually did find out there's a pool at the university! Not sure if it's a lap pool, but maybe I'll find out tomorrow. I've decided to go for a run and explore tomorrow morning before Libby comes over to do the HW. Class doesn't start until 1pm, which is kind of nice. I can't really think of anything else to add at this moment, so until tomorrow, bonsoir!!!!

Tout est bien!

So, it's all good. I'm adjusting well, I'm realizing I don't live in the ghetto, it's just France. Lynda has left town for a couple days, she'll be back tomorrow night. Kenza, the daughter, is staying with a friend of Lynda's. I talked to the program director, Mireille, and she said that families are different. It just depends. I'm pretty comfortable, it's a good location, and now Libby and I can get wireless internet from my apartment!!! So, Libby can come over and we can both use her computer. Very nice! I bought postcards today, so if I have your address, you should be receiving one of those shortly. I am also going to try to post pictures to the web, there will be a link on the side of my blog.
Today we walked around Grenoble and saw the sights. It's truly a beautiful city. We went to the top of a mountain overlooking the whole city - it was awesome. We went up in these weird clear balls like a tram to the summit of a ski mountain. I felt like I was in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in the glass elevator. So far it's been sunny every day; it's sooooo hot here! I'll add more later, the battery of the computer is about to die. Adieu!

Day 2... Already better.

Ok, so today I met up with the other kids in the program. Libby is living close to me which is really nice. I think I am going to change my family because Lynda, the woman I'm living with, definitely is in the slums of Grenoble. It's weird that I am sleeping in her dqughter's room with Barbie sheets and Kenza, the daughter, is sharing the bed with her mother. She's also a smoker, which I didn't realize, and that grosses me out. I talked to the other kids today, and Libby is also slumming, but most have nice places. One guy has DSL at his house, 2 girls who are living with the same family have their own wing of the house to themselves, another boy has a pool in his backyard, and it just seems like I got kinda screwed.

Today I saw 2 French guys driving along in a brand new Renault with the bass cranked up and listening to Nelly. It was quite amusing. I also saw a guy on the train wearing a t-shirt that said I'M SHY (but I have a big dick). I bet he didn't even know what it said. On another note, it's true that the French really do smell awful. I'm in this internet café and a boy who is about 14 just sat next to me and now I can't breathe. Sick.

Some of the girls in the program from Michigan are going to Rome the weekend of June 30. I think I'm going to go with them. Tomorrow we're going to the WWII fortress on the top of this mountain in Grenoble. It should be a good time. I think that's about all I have to report for now. A demain!

I'm in France and I'm scared out of my mind.

So, 2 dramamines, some vodka, a long plane ride and a few train rides later, here I am. I knew speaking French was going to be tough, but I am realizing how bad I actually am at it. I know it's going to get easier, but right now, I am so freaked out it's not even funny. If I had my way I'd be right back on the next train to Paris catching a flight back to the States tonight. I'm in this internet café where the keyboards are organized totally differently from U.S. keyboards, and all of the websites except facebook and wiscmail come up in French even when they are supposedly English sites. My host mom isn't so much a mom as a woman who is letting me sleep in her 6-year-old daughter's room for 6 weeks. I feel like I am just an inconvenience for her. Tomorrow I might ask if I can change to live with an actual family. Lynda is very nice, but I don't know if living with her will work out. I am basically a wreck right now choking back tears each second. Hopefully I can sleep well tonight and will be more confident and okay in the morning.
On to happier things... I've already seen 3 people walking bichon frisès or poodles, one of them was carrying a baguette under his arm. Welcome to France. On my flight over I sat next to a really nice French guy, Gregory, in his late 20s. He's from Normandy, but lives in Chicago. He got me through customs in Paris without waiting at all, then helped me find the right trains to take. He rode with me until we had to go our separate ways. I got his Chicago address though, and will probably talk to him once I'm back in Madison. Tomorrow should be better. I think I'm just tired and scared. Bad combination. I hope things get better!!! Until tomorrow... Adieu!

I forgot I have a blog... that's a good sign.

So I forgot for a while that I had this blog. It's the first week of June and I'm at home in D-town. I'm working at Five Seasons which is awesome, and getting ready for France. I need to get in the habit of updating this thing, so I don't keep forgetting while I'm in Frog land. Soon I'll send the mass e-mail so you all can check my blog and have my contact info while I'm in Grenoble.