Au revoir, Novembre!

I can't believe it's the last day of November! Our program director told us at the beginning of our time in Tours that this month would drag... Well, if this month dragged, then December is going to go lightning speed! I look back at the things that happened, and while a lot of instances were emotionally draining, it was a good month. I continue to be humbled with my lack of French, but I'm also encouraged by the things people say or the things I accomplish. I feel like that is a healthy balance to have.
Thursday was Thanksgiving. That's a pretty obvious statement. Well, it's not obvious here in France. It is not recognized as a holiday and many people asked the Americans at the Institute what the history of the day is and what makes it so great. That was really fun to explain, even though I was in school... just like every other normal day. My Canadian friend was so kind to point out the American flaw- that we back-stabbed the Native Americans. How was I supposed to respond to that in French? Ce n'est pas le cas? Anyways, while it was fun to explain to everyone the joys of my favorite holiday, I was very nostalgic and I was praying for the day to pass quickly and painlessly. My group from BGSU went to "Le Zinc" for a Thanksgiving dinner, which Alan deemed "Frenchsgiving." We ate a three course meal, completely French food, that was a decent substitute. First, we had a beautiful plate of salad and a sausage "gateau" (pictures will go up on facebook when I get a chance). Then came the duck, complimented by a side of potatoes and more salad. For dessert, we had tarte tintin, which is a form of apple tart. Afterwards, we went to the main road to see if the Christmas lights were on. They were not, but it was fun to walk there. The hardest thing about that day was not being with the people who matter the most in my life and knowing that they were celebrating just fine without me. Good lesson in humility, that one.
This week has started to prove a little more academic, and therefore more stressful. Thankful to leave nostalgic emotions at the door, I have plunged myself into research and the French educational system. That's just for one paper. The other is about laïcite (the separation of Church and State in France). Both topics are proving very interesting and time-consuming. My goal is to finish the rough drafts by Wednesday. I think I can, I think I can...
In other news, I have come to hate the French poste. Not only do they lose my letters that I'm supposed to receive, but they refuse to give me my packages the first time I ask for them. For instance, my mother mailed me an envelope with books in it that I'm supposed to read for my January class. My host mom told me on Friday that the Poste called and said that it was there for me to pick up at my convenience. Parfait! So, I went to the Poste after class and talked to the "gentleman" and he said that he wasn't going to give it to me without a paper (and my host mom didn't give me one), even though I had identification papers. He didn't even go check. He said that the package would be in tomorrow, even though I knew it was there. So, I went home dejectedly. I told my host parents this story and they were outraged. Saturday came and my host dad went with me to the Poste to retrieve my package. Thankfully, there is a happy ending to this story and I got my package, but I hope I never have to go back to that place. Those workers can be on strike all they want. "Vous faisez que vous voulez!" (Do as you please)

Une journée bizarre

My day started out extremely well... Got up, put in my contacts, then got on skype at 6am to skype for Jordan's birthday for about 15 minutes. The school day that followed was...well, bizarre is the only word I can think of right now. First of all, my teacher was late. Like 15 minutes late. Then, we somehow distracted her into talking about animals which turned into giving each person in the class an animal "name." For instance, I was a koala. Not sure why, but at least I had a panda bear next to me. The other animals included: a lion, a monkey, a giraffe, a flamingo, a sloth (this is the kid who misses class a lot and said he liked to sleep when we all introduced ourselves on the first day of class), a horse, a manatee, a mouse, a goose, a fox, a tiger, a beaver, and a peacock. Talk about a productive 30 minutes.
Next, we were divided into two groups to "debate" on the problem with TV for the youth, because they're not reading anymore. That turned into an assignment which included all of us assuming personalities on a newscast concerning the problem. We had an anchorman, a psychologist, a child, the parents, and the person responsible for choosing shows for the channels. As you can guess, as is always the case, I was the mother. I was married to the tall guy from the Netherlands, to which, when that was said, we looked at each other and said, "Enchanté." That means "Charmed to meet you." He kept forgetting the child's name, so I had to remind him and then they all decided that she wasn't really his daughter. So, not only did I get married today, but I was also unfaithful to my "husband" who yells at me and tells me I'm nothing. After being a koala. What a day.
It's these kinds of days that make me wonder why I go to class at all, but they also remind me what great things can happen when people go to class. We accomplished nothing today, except I think I made new friends with some people in my class. That's always a worthwhile experience, right?

The Excursion with the Apocalypse

This Saturday, my school group went first to Saumur (which we could only see the outside of because a couple years ago a wall crumbled and they've been restructuring ever since...)and that was grand. Alan ran down the hill because he was excited and slipped and fell in the muddy grass. That was exciting. Later, we went to Angers, where there is a castle and the tapestry depicting the Apocalypse. That was super interesting. I had brushed up on Revelation a little bit before going and it was really cool to look at the illustrations (and funny because all the characters were in period clothing... like one guy had two different colored shoes on because that was the style back then). There, I got to experience one of the most sanitary experiences I've ever had in my life: the French public toilet. It cost 20 centimes, but it was so worth it. You put the coin in and then the door slowly opens and then you go in, then the door slowly closes. Afterwards, you push the button to open it and then once you've exited, it closes and then completely washes the inside with water. It's so amazing.
All that being said, it was a great excursion even with the rain. This past weekend was also a sad weekend. Alix left Sunday around noon for Paris and it still feels like she's here. That sounds incredibly sappy, but it's true. I really wish I could hop on a train and go up to Paris to visit her... but alas, I do not have sufficient funds. That will have to wait when I come back to Europe and I can visit her in Belgium. At the same time, I've been talking with Fung a lot more lately and that has been extremely interesting. Our conversations vary from TV shows, to relationships to religion to country differences... it's been great. God has used a lot of those situations to open up times to talk about him and I feel like I often fall short, but I know God will use me anyways.
With Thanksgiving coming up in the States, it's hard for me to remain positive over here where this Thursday is just like any other Thursday... I'll be fine and I'll definitely make it, but I'll spend some time thinking of eating sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie and turkey and cranberry sauce and seeing family and friends. All in due time, I suppose. The group of us are going out to eat at a French restaurant, so I'll be eating duck when most of the US is getting up on Turkey Day. That's a fun thought :)
I had more to write, but I forgot... I'll have to include more when I write my next entry...
I miss all of you and I'm counting the days!

On to another chapter - The month where everything changes

I have 30 days left here. 30 more and only 30. I have mixed feelings about this number. It means that I have less than a month in a country that I'm truly growing to love and yet I am close to being home with the people who matter the most. I feel like it's almost a no-win situation. I'm sure there are a lot of things that would make it a win-win, but for the sake of emphasis, I won't mention them in this blog. ;)
I've been able to help my host mom bake/cook, which has been absolutely amazing. I forgot that being in the kitchen does wonders for my mental health. Last night, Alix and I helped Mme Anne make a tarte aux pommes that she had made for Alix's birthday a little over a month ago. Then, I "helped" Alix make a dish from Belgium. Both were extremely delicious and the recipes are in my possession. Today, when I got home from school, my host mom asked if I wanted to help make the gateau chocolat that she normally puts in my lunch when I go on excursions. Everyone in my group loves my host mom because she gives me this huge "cake" and I share it. I was thrilled to learn how to make it! I also learned a couple of other things, like how to make meringue. Who would have guessed that I would learn how to make meringue when making French brownies? Not me, that's for sure. I hope that I can continue helping in the kitchen for my last month here and I can accumulate more "recettes" before I leave. I'm planning on making an American meal for my family as well, but I'm wavering on what I should make. I think I'll end up making cheese enchiladas because it's one fo the things that has least amount of ingredients that I have to convert from American to metric... I'm lazy, I know.
Last night was Alix's last meal with us... she'll be leaving on Sunday and I'm already really sad. She's been a lot of fun and has helped me so much in finding things to do and places to go. I hope that this is not the last time I get to see her. I'm hoping someday in the near future to go visit her in Belgium and then maybe have her come to the US and stay with me so I can "learn her the love of the West" as she put it. I thank God for this period of 6 weeks that we lived together.
Also, with these last few weeks, I realize that I have a lot of work to do. Papers, tests, reading, other goals... the list goes on. Does that motivate me to go do them? Not necessarily. :) I think this last month will feel more like Taylor (academic wise) than it ever has, which could be a good thing. Different, but good.
Tomorrow, the BGSU group travels to Angers to see the tapestry that depicts the book of Revelation. I'm really excited about that and the conversations over lunch were really interesting when others were referring to it. I believe someone asked if "what's-his-face was on crack when he wrote it"... and I think my jaw almost dropped to the floor. Oh the things people say. Needless to say, tomorrow will be interesting in more than one aspect. We'll also be visiting Saumur, which is a small town that has yet another chateau. :)
I'm so thankful for weekends!
P.S. The first jar of peanut butter is almost gone. I fail at rationing.

The Ups and Downs of November

Today, I was searched by a security guard at a grocery store because he thought I made the alarm go off when I entered. Let me emphasize this: WHEN I ENTERED. He took my umbrella, waved it in the path of the censor, then my bag, then motioned for me to do the same. When no beep occurred, he then turned to my friend and asked her to do the same. I said she wasn't walking with me (which was a half-truth... because she didn't walk in the door with me, but try explaining that to a large black Frenchman), so he let her go. I explained to him that I didn't know what was going on and he reluctantly let me go. Do I look like a shoplifter who can steal things with my eyes and put them into my umbrella before I enter a store? I feel like that's an honest question.
On the other end, there have been a lot of good things that have happened since last week. For instance, midterms produced a three-day weekend, which was very much appreciated. I did nothing. Well, I found ways to be productive and go on walks, but I didn't really go anywhere or do anything academic and that was fantastic. I've been "munching" (more like nibbling) on my peanut butter and other goodies that were in the box from my wing at Taylor and that has been wonderful. Although, at this point, I think it might make me a little more homesick than I was before.
But, another perk is that midterms are done... and I didn't fail them. I didn't do well enough to advance, but that's fine. The good news is that I got a higher writing score than I have ever before. I was super excited about that. And I didn't do as badly on my oral as I thought... God is good. Now I need to fine tune things and we'll be good to go for the final at the end of the trimester. That's going to include a lot of time in the mediatheque (the library where all the media is) and less time speaking in English. I think I'll be ok with that because I can always type in English, right? ;)
My host mom is currently visiting her new grandson in Luxembourg, so it's just us students and the host dad. Yesterday was fun because my host dad left the classical music on all day (instead of just during meals) and he was playing with his iPhone at the table because he wanted to tell me what the temperature was in Colorado Springs and wanted to show me my house via "Googal Erts" (That's how he says it). I have a feeling that things will be very relaxed around here until she returns. As soon as she returns though, Alix leaves for her second internship in Paris... This makes me sad because I will be loosing a friend. That sounds dramatic, I know, but she kept me going during the weekends, with things to do and places to go... now I'll have to do those types of things alone... I doubt I'll be able to find someone who can replace her. Thanksgiving is coming up as well, which will be a new phenomenon for me- Going to class on Thanksgiving. And Thursdays are my least favorite days. Well, besides Monday and Tuesday ;) I don't think that holiday will feel quite the same.

It's beginning to feel a lot like... Noël?

No, but seriously. It is beginning to feel like the holidays. Every time I step out of the front door, I breathe out a cloud of air and inhale the cold fumes of cars. While the fumes are not so pleasant, I thoroughly enjoy the transition from fall to winter. Normally I become a little depressed when the trees start to shed their colors and stand bare in the cold, but France must have different trees. For some reason, they don't look quite as sad or forlorn. There are some trees that still have their leaves. Just the other day, I was sitting at a café with some friends and I realized that the trees across from us had the greenest leaves... as if it were summer or spring! This brings me to the conclusion that France air is different.
Today, I walked into a paper store and discovered a gold mine. Not only were there stacks upon rows of paper and cardstock, but there was a cornucopia of art supplies (I just really wanted to use that word because it reminds me of Thanksgiving). I felt like I had walked into a sophisticated Hobby Lobby... I didn't want to leave. After wandering around for a little while, I decided to mosey on over to the cassier (cashier) and as I was waiting in line, I heard Bing Crosby on the radio... I can't help but think of Christmas when I hear that man's silky voice.
Yesterday, I was studying in my room and I had my iTunes on shuffle. It went to a Joy Williams song "Here With Us" which is one of my favorite Christmas songs... so I broke down and listened to it ten times in a row. Yes. I know, I should be ashamed, but I figured that since I'll be in France where there is no Thanksgiving and the Christmas themes are coming out in stores that I was allowed to start listening to sleigh bells and holiday cheer. The only thing missing is a pumpkin spice latte.
I made it through my first day of exams... these are only midterms, but they're still a good taste as to what I'll be facing for my final exams. After lunching with mes amis, I went home and discovered a box on my desk, kindly addressed to me from my dear Alyce and company. They sent me peanut butter, dried mango, and other assorted things and hand-written notes. All of it made me so happy! I want to just read them over and over and laugh... Although my host family might wonder why I laugh so much in my room, so I'll try to spread it out over the rest of my time here (37 days or so).

Hello, Middle of the Trimester! When'd you get here?

I feel like time is beginning to spin out of control! So many things coming at me and it's getting a little hectic in my head! I'm no longer just focusing on things here, but now I'm working on planning for this January and then spring semester and student teaching next fall... And I'm thankful I'm in France, but coordinating all these things would be so much easier if I was in the US. I guess I'll just be thankful that I can be stressed out in a different language. Yeah. That sounds fun. :)
As midterms approach, I find myself preoccupied with a different feeling. Normally, this is about the time when I gather all my notes and review them vigorously because I haven't looked over them enough... But now, with my French courses, I find that I am unable to do that. My tests will be oral/written comprehension and production. That means that I have 4 different tests that I can't really study for... All I can do is hope and pray that my ears and brain work on Thursday and that my mouth works on Friday morning.
Today is Armistice Day, so we don't have school. I used that as an excuse to "faire une grasse matinée" meaning I slept in. Yes. I slept in. Until 9:30am. Success! I am procrastinating in doing some French things, because as soon as I immerse myself, I have a feeling I won't come out in a long time. It's like: Ready, get set, get-all-the-English-out-of-your-system, GO! I'm sure it won't be as bad as I'm making it sound, but I really want to perform better than I have been on tests.
We all went on an excursion this past Saturday to Chateau de Chinon, where Joanne d'Arc was held by the king... and learned a bunch of that history. It was an amazing castle, but like most castles from the 11th century, it is mostly ruins. There were quite a few towers that were intact and that we climbed the stairs in. For example, we would run into the tower and I decided to run up the stairs and then run down to the lowest level... periodically reminding my friends that I love stairs... It was great. But all silliness aside, it was really interesting to think about the towers being functional in times of war. What would it have been like to be Joanne d'Arc? What an intimidating time!
We also visited another Abbey, one that was used more specifically for the royalty. For instance, Louis XV sent his daughters from Versailles to study with then nuns at this abbey. Talk about fixing a spoiled child! It was rather cold, but very beautiful. It was actually a prison from the time of Napoleon III to 1960. Weird, huh? That wasn't that long ago. The sanctuary was transformed into 5 floors of dormitories for the inmates. That blew my mind! I was also a little in awe of being so close to Richard the Lionhearted... I felt like I should have been Robin Hood or Maid Marian (or however you spell her name). I felt the same way when we were at Chinon because it was also during that time with Richard and Prince John. Oh man. I love history!
Our last stop was a small town (I forget the name) that was very picturesque and we climbed a pathway that led us to the top of a hill where we could see the entire town and the beautiful autumn colors. We must have been pretty tired, because then we decided it was a good idea to speak in French with English accents, which then turned into English accents with random French words thrown in, then just English accents, then the Irish crept in, along with the Scottish and a little bit of everything. This went on for at least 2 hours. I feel kind of bad for everyone else on the bus...
There aren't any excursions planned this weekend, but I'm thinking I'll be going to Samur with Alix because it's my last free weekend while she's here because she's leaving on the 22nd of November. I'm really going to miss her when she's gone... We're going to have quite the full house for the next two weeks... Fung has a friend coming and staying for a week, then Alix's boyfriend's family is coming to visit and take her up to Paris for the next part of her internship. Crazy.

Thank you for a freaky Halloween.

I'm sitting next to my window at my desk, watching the rain fall. It began about an hour ago and my host mom says it's here to stay. So long, sunshine. So long, blue skies. So long, dry shoes.
I thought this weekend would be a nice relaxing "do nothing" weekend... which it has been pretty much, but it definitely had things that I did not expect.
1. My friend and I walked into a health store on Friday afternoon when we were walking back from getting some tea at Place Plume... Apparently they don't sell nail files at health food stores. Wish I had known we were looking for that before we had walked in...
2. I went exploring a little bit yesterday with Abbey and we got some great errands accomplished. But we also saw a group of about 10 French teenagers, all dressed up like Joker in the scene when he's visiting Twoface in the hospital, uttering cries and mumbling as they stumbled down the main streets together, all chained together. That was disturbing. I almost crossed the street, but Abbey pointed out that we could just walk around them on the sidewalk.
3. So, After that episode, I realized that Halloween is celebrated among the young. Therefore, when we went to a pub for a free concert last night, I should have expected costumes. And I did... I just didn't expect to see dozens of Michael Jacksons wandering around. I had no idea that the free "concert" was "l'hommage" of MJ and that they were all cover songs. Looking around, I noticed that us Americans were dressed normally and all the French people were decked out in Halloween costumes. I felt a little silly.
4. I reaffirmed why I don't drink. While the band was taking a break, we were all standing outside and we saw a group of people huddled around this guy... Apparently they're all friends, but this one guy was obviously completely drunk. He couldn't stand up without help and then one of his friends stood in front of him, holding his shoulders. Abbey and I kind of winced whenever we glanced over at those two because the drunk one looked like he was going to throw up at any minute. I wanted to go over there and say, "Hey. I'm glad you're here for your friend, but why don't you be here for him BEHIND him so you don't get vomit in your mouth, ok?" But thankfully we didn't see any of that happen. There was also a small child running around. Why is there a small child in a bar full of drunk youths?
5. I went to church this morning and it took about 30 minutes to walk there. I left my house at 10:10am... service started at 10:30. Good planning, Bridget. So, I walk into the church and I have no idea how to get to the sanctuary, so I kind of meander around the foyer until two other people come and then, in order to avoid being embarrassed, I opened the door marked "temple" and found myself in the back of a very small sanctuary where a small congregation was singing praise songs. I was so thankful...because I was bracing myself for the worst... like popping out onto the stage during a baptism or something. The church was a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be, but it was nice.
Halloween produced a freaky weekend... unexpected, but not all in negative ways. I did, however, miss watching "Arsenic and Old Lace" with my mom and talking about how great Cary Grant was... Oh well. Next time, maybe.