A la prochaine!

Last post from France! My parents arrive today, and after that I’ll be too busy I imagine :)   So I’ve compiled a list of things I’ll miss and things I’m excited to go back home to.

What I’ll miss:

Cheese: Good, real cheese. Camembert, chevre,

Breakfast: Fresh loaves of bread from the market with a bit of butter and homemade strawberry preserves had with a bowl of coffee while looking outside the window, over the rooftops of Strasbourg.

The Terrasse: Eating dinner outside and watching the ducks and stork fly by at eye-level while the sun sets behind the church.

Dinner: Gruyere cheese smothered over everything.  Having an entree, a main dish, the cheese/salad, and then dessert — all cooked for me, every night.

Dessert: Sometimes home-made mousse au chocolat or apple tart, and always the yoghurt, fromage blanc, petit creme, et petit suisse.

The walk to school: passing the cathedrale then walking past the cute courtyard then crossing the little foot-bridges and seeing all the tourists pass underneath in the sight-seeing boats.

The height: feeling perfectly at home and seeing plenty of women 6′, 6’2” and the men even taller.

French: I’m just at the cusp. I can speak perfectly fine and get told I don’t sound american at all when I speak, but I feel as if I’m JUST at the moment where I start to really feel comfortable. If I stayed for a whole year, who knows how much farther I’d have advanced!

The Internationality:  I love the evenings when I’m the only american among a group containing british, german, turkish, french, serbian, spanish, etc, etc.

The Fashion: I love how people dress here. They put just a smidgen more effort into it (especially the guys). Plus, compared to other french cities I’ve been to, they seem to dress with more variety among them. Lots of dark neutrals still, but not everyone dresses in exactly the same style.

What I’m excited to come back to:

Food I know and love:  I have a deep craving for peanut butter on apples and bananas.  That and cheddar cheese with apples.

Having my own space: I can’t wait to be able to cook and bake and dress however I want. In other words, I can’t wait to feel completely at home in my home :)

English: It’s not like I don’t speak english while I’m here, and I don’t miss the language itself, really, but what I do miss is coming across as intelligent. I’m a different person in french — less quick to get a joke, less able to have deep conversations, and less capable of being myself with others.

My Phone: Call me dependent on technology, but I MISS MY PHONE. I miss having a camera, I miss being able to call people whenever I want, I miss the color, I miss that it flips open, but most of all I miss the keyboard. For me, texts are free here, and subsequently I text all the time. The only problem is that it is very difficult to text on this janky italy piece-of-crap phone. The keys don’t respond and there’s no T9.  God I can’t wait to have my real phone.

My friends in Portland:  They get me more than my international friends — I mean, obviously. I’ve known them for longer and everything’s in English. I love the people I’ve met here, but I can’t wait to just hang out, doing nothing, with everyone in PDX!

Also, I’ve thought about this a fair amount, and I think I’ve realized my favorite and least favorite part about my time here.  My least favorite part was the weather.  I just can’t help but feel that had it not been the coldest and longest winter on record (we’ve had a total of 6 days where it’s warm enough in just a t-shirt, and it is NOT normally like that in Strasbourg), I wouldn’t have stayed in as much.  There are so many parks and city-wanderings I could have done had it been pleasant enough to do so! It’s sad how something that out of my control can affect my stay that much, really…    And my favorite part has been the people I’ve met.  My non-LC friends here are amazing, and it will be so sad to leave them!  Hopefully down the road we’ll meet again :) And of the LCers I’ve become friends with, that has been an amazing experience too, and I really can’t wait to see them in Portland! (how bizarre to be there again!)

Anyways, wish me good luck getting home on time, and I will be in PDX and then GJ before you know it!

A la prochaine,

Holiday

Songs of France

So here we are, nearing the end! Abroad #2 is coming to a close.  Time jerked and lurched passed me this semester, yet it always moved relentlessly.  This is most likely my second to last post (and is no-longer connected to facebook) and I wonder how many people will actually see it…

I had some good and frustrating moments these last couple of weeks, but over all they’ve been good weeks. Some slow parts like the last couple weekends, which were spent in the rain, clouds, and chill, studying for many days on end for my 12 tests, 1 paper, and 1 presentation.  Turns out the tests weren’t all that difficult, however the amount of studying I did was for the most part appropriate.

Some good memories do pop up from these last couple weeks.  Like giving up last-minute cramming and instead reciting tongue twisters from our different languages. The funniest part was translating them into french where they didn’t make any sense.  Or, going to a party where there was a spanish guy that had the exact same facial hair as Abraham Lincoln.  Or getting distracted in the middle of my exam and realizing that the bag of a non-english girl in front of me had a director with his bull-horn and said “Stop Acting! Life is not a Reality!”   You’re missing the “…Show” there…I mean I’d argue that life’s a reality anyways.   Oh and Wade visited! That was fun!  Showed him around Strasbourg and heard all about last semester. Made me realize how much I missed at LC, and how much I failed at keeping in contact….oops.

So, one more weekend. I plan on hanging with friends and enjoying the sun (which should be arriving tomorrow). And then monday my parents come and then it’s all over!

I’m wrapping this post up with a bit of nostalgia: The following songs embody different parts of my semester in France.  As for why, well I’ll tell you individually if you ask!

The Kooks’ “Shine On” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOHCmr8shWc

Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” (but the parody — couldn’t bring myself to put the original on) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCGmjmazE5c&feature=fvst

Grease’s “You’re the One that I Want” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyUWkQj0Q_U

All of the Away We Go soundtrack, but in particular “All of My Days” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIQLha4zcQI

Kesha’s “Tik-tok” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP_nlrfxpfM

Vampire Weekend’s “Holiday” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSEHYHnhEBo

Love you all,

Holiday

Vacation: Paradise

Portugal (where we spent 6 days of our vacation) was quite possibly my favorite place in Europe.  It had such amazing landscapes, people, cities, and culture.  Because if I were to chronical our stay there in a more normal play-by-play fashion it would last pages and pages, I’m going to do this in memory form…:

• Maggie and I were scheduled to have a 10 am flight out of Paris-Beauvais to Porto.  However, since Beauvais is 1.5 hours outside of paris, you have to catch the special shuttle that leaves 3 hours before your flight.  It costs around an extra 15euro (yay ryanair) but if you miss the shuttle, it costs a 140euro taxi.  NEVER MISS THE BUS.  Unfortunately that’s what maggie and I did. We ended up sharing the taxi with a brazilian couple who, in the end, had only 40euros on them, total.  So we ended up paying an extra 50euros that morning. sigh.
• We met up with Grace in Porto and made it from the airport to train station. We had time to kill, so we decided to walk up the city, up a steep hill (not fun with heavy suitcases). However, when we reached the top we happened upon a beautiful church and graveyard.  The view from it was fantastic. And even though we accidently were taking photos of the church while there was a funeral going on (didn’t realize it until the casket came out of the church), the beauty of the place is probably my best memory of Porto.
• Our walk from the Lisboa train station to Afonso’s house (our couchsurfing host) was slightly torturous.  We walked for an hour with our heavy packs, and we thought it’d be a 20 min easy walk. To let everyone know, there’s a metro for a  reason. Lisboa’s a lot bigger than I thought.
• Speaking of Afonso and his flatmates’ apartment, their elevator has no door. It’s freaky watching the floors go by.
• Part of the reason our stay in Lisboa was so memorable is the fact that the time of year was perfect. It had just stopped raining and there were flowers everywhere. It stayed in the 70s all week long, too.
• My portuguese vocabulary is random.  Besides numbers 1-10, good-day: bom dia, hello: hola, and thank you: obrigada, I know how to say chicken and turkey (frango and peru, respectively), pastry: pasteis, and multiple ways to order coffee.  You can see what was important to me: besides basic communication, just food and coffee.
• Speaking about the language, it sounds russian.  By the end I could pick out some differences and start to recognize some words because we figured out more of the pronunciation, but it sounded unlike anything I expected.
• The countryside is gorgeous. just gorgeous. The houses and countryside slightly resembles Italy in places, but in general it’s a little wilder and less perfectly manicured like Italy.
• The trains there feel like a rollercoaster. I’m not sure why trains in france or italy don’t tilt around as much, but these were bizarrely unsettling.
• In Belem, there’s the monument devoted to Vasco de Gama, and amazing pastries which taste like the best french toast you’ve ever had (but in small pastry form)
• Going out was a completely different experience.  I mean now that it’s warmer here in Strasbourg, people hang out outside at night, but it’s still normally at bars or with your own alcohol. There, everyone has plastic cups and no one stays in the bars, but buys drinks and then mill around outside.  It’s fantastic to see, stretching out in front of you, the enormous crowds packed on the steep, cobble-stoned street.
• Portugal has fantastic (and lesser known) wine and olive oil. Of course we all know about Port coming from Porto, but did you know that the original word ”marmalade” came from there? Marmalade was “discovered” by the greeks, but the actual name we use today came from Portugal, where it means only a preserve made from Quinces (a fruit that I never knew existed really before this semester).
• Sintra was like walking into a garden of the gods.
•  While the castles and gardens were touristy and organized in that there were signs, tickets, tours, and maps, they weren’t as controlled as all other places I’ve been (keep in mind, I’ve only been to places in America and Europe since I was old enough to remember).  The tall moorish castle ramparts didn’t have handrails drilled into them, but rather just dropped off 40 feet, and the caves you can explore in the gardens of the Quinta da Regaliera didn’t have lights strung throughout them or ropes blocking the water’s edge, but were rather pitch black.  It was this feeling of “not enough americans have been here to sue the place for lack of stupid people safety features.”  It was a wonderful feeling.
• The bus ride from Sintra to Cascais was about the windiest craziest and most beautiful ride I’ve been on.  We waited 1.5 hours for the bus from Sintra to another beach, and then just took the one to Cascais instead. I think the only reason I didn’t get violently sick on the bus was because I was simultaneously struck by the incredible beauty outside my window and the intense fear that we were going to hit people, cars, and ancient stone walls.  But the intense contrast between the bright green hills of rolling grass, the blue of the ocean and sky, and the white-washed walls and terra cotta roofs of the villages made the ride well worth it.
• The people we met there almost all spoke english and were always nice with us and each other. They seemed like an amazing group of people to get to know and live among. There was one instance when the person who asked us for money was kind enough to give us directions in english, and he and the people in the store seemed on great terms. Plus, the only cashier seemed to think nothing of abandoning the grocery store to come out and help us as well. 

I realize that we came at the perfect time of the year, but that doesn’t lessen the magic.  It was like a non-touristy Italy that has the vegetation of Portland, except warmer, and is all coastline. The fruit is fantastic, the people are incredibly nice, things are less expensive, and bright colors are adored.  I almost considered not writing this post just to keep it more of a “secret.” But then again it was named Europe’s top destination of 2010 — and with good reason. All I can say is that it completely took me by surprise, and who knows, someday my life might lead me back…

Vacation: Cathedrals

So I realize this is a long time in coming. like a VERY long time in coming.  It’s just been so hectic with vacation, getting caught up in school, grace visiting last minute, and the weekend again. That, plus the newly-looming feeling that my time here is almost done. I mean, I’ve reached the one month-until-I-go-home point.  But I (as most of you can see) did manage to get up my Portugal photos and finally the rest of them. And so to continue getting vacation thoughts and memories in order, I’m going to start the first post, chronicling Paris and other places, as seen through cathedrals.

On Cathedrales:

Until this vacation, I hadn’t really seen churches not in Italy or France. I have seen MANY cathedrales and churches in styles ranging from romanesque to italian baroque, byzantine, and gothic, to high french gothic.  And I’ve felt that all are so impressive. Each new church takes my breath away in how beautiful and intricate they are.  In fact I started to feel like all cathedrals must be as amazing. Then I went to Spain and Portugal.  Although I loved those countries, I must say, their churches sometimes left me with just a so-so impression. I mean I love la sagrada familia in Barcelona and what I saw of the churches of Madrid (the outside), but the insides of some of the smaller ones are so baroque with all the plaster and clashing colors and dolls and flashy gold gives you the idea that the creators slapped as much together as possible in one church simply because they thought the more the better without any regard to aesthetics.  Like the more cluttered with gold and filigree and colors and stuff, the more impressive it is.  Of course, this being said, not all churches are like this in spain, of course! And from what I’ve seen in pictures and heard from friends, it’s really not all that bad compared to some german churches!

My favorite cathedrale in all of Paris is the St. Chapelle (ah, a return to the clean and awe-inspiring gothic design). It’s as if you’re walking into an expansive chamber of light. All those story-high stainglass windows circling you completely make you wonder how the delicate columns manage to hold everything up.

And speaking of churches that surprise you, I visited Chartres for the first time during those two weeks (I had heard about it since my 1st year of french, freshman year of high school). I went for the stained glass windows since they are famous for their abundance, intricacy, and colors (Chartres Blue, anyone?), and I expected them to be the most impressive part. However, no one had ever mentioned that the chancel was white!  Apparently it’s undergoing a cleaning, and eventually the original colors (hidden under years of paint and dirt) of the whole chancel will be revealed, with white stone on the top and yellowish/creamy stone on the bottom.  The effect is truly amazing. The stained glass windows are that much more impressive, and Chartres seems to literally glow.  I promised myself I’d come back after 2015, when the whole cathedrale has been cleaned.

Now, in this same vein, for those who have been to the above-mentioned St. Chapelle, you might remember that the floor of that gorgeous stainedglass chamber is a motif of red, green, and cream stone meant to mimic the recurring motifs. I learned on this trip, however, that these floors are not original. In fact, 150 years ago they were created during the restoration of the cathedral based on what the architects thought it might have looked like.  However, really recently more documents have been uncovered which reveal the true design. The floor, instead of being intricately designed, was pure, polished, white marble.  Imagine. This means that all that colored light from the stained glass would reflect from the ground, bathing all the royalty in prisms of light! What a sight that must have been…

The last musing on cathedrales came when I had the opportunity to go to Easter Service in the Notre Dame in Paris and then visited the Sacre Coeur later that same weekend. I’ve visited them both before, but this time it was different. What had been missing before was the music.  I had always found both churches impressive, but when I sat in the interior with the organ and choir, I finally understood why cathedrales have such an effect on people.  The musique filled up every space in the massive chamber, rising to the very top of the dome. It was a funny feeling, actually, as if I was finally seeing the cathedral as a person was supposed to. If you ever get the chance to see a cathedrale at mass, with musique, do it. They’re meant to go together.

Les vacances — What?!?

Alors, voila, la deuxieme fois qu’on a deux semaines des vacances. . . dans le meme semestre!!  Wow, I just can’t believe the AMOUNT of vacation we get here. win.

So, quickly (because I haven’t finished packing, it’s 23h24, and I leave at 8h30 tomorrow morning), my vacation looks like this:

April 2nd-5th: Be in Paris with the whole group (ie: Beth, Ron, us LC students, and the Kalamazoo-sp?- students who just arrived a week ago).

April 5th-7th: Stay in Paris with Maggie! Go to Chartres.

April 7th-12th: Travel to Portugal! (and meet up with Grace!) Stay in Lisbon/Lisboa and explore the area around (visit Sintra at least)

April 12th-13th: Split off from Maggie and, with Grace, continue on to Porto for a day.

April 13th-15th: Go to Alicante to visit the city and life of Grace!!

April 15th-18th: Leave really early in the morning and travel ALL DAY to make it to Avignon, France (ie, the south).  Spend the 2 full days there, traveling around, and on the night of the 17th, celebrating Nicole’s birthday.

April 18th: returning to Strasbourg and doing tons of homework I have to do over break and won’t have time to do…

So that’s my vacation.  I am very excited to visit another part of Europe, and I have heard only fantastic things about Portugal, and Lisbon in particular.  Ok people, I really do have to finish packing (freaking ryanair, making my life difficult!).  I will post again soon!

Love,

Holiday

The french system of Conges Payes

This is just a mini-post to share the beauty (and what must be maddeningly annoying to french employers) of the French vacation system.  In 1936, conges payes, or paid vacation, was democratized by law.  No longer was it only the rich who took vacations, but all of France could take vacations. In fact, each french employee was required to take off 2 weeks a year (and get paid for it).

Then, they decided that wasn’t enough, so in 1956, it was changed to 3 weeks of paid vacation.

In 1969, in the year after the student protests in France, they changed it again to 4 weeks of paid vacation, required by law.

That still wasn’t enough, so in 1982, every french person received 5 weeks of paid vacation.

And I must mention that this is only what’s required by LAW, ie: the minimum number of weeks possible.  My host mom gets NINE.  That, plus not being able to work more than 35 hours a week?! I mean sheesh, I know this system has a lot of problems of its own, but from where I’m standing, working in france is looking pret-ty good at the moment.

Les 11 raisons pour lesquelles j’aime bien les trains (because 10 is not enough)

This list arose while I was on my way home from Bordeaux last weekend.  When each person found out how long my train ride was (6h30min),  I kept getting the same response: “mais c’est si longue, ca!” or something to that effect.  I guess I could have taken a plane and saved money, but who knows how frustrating that would have been with all the transfers I’d have to make, and more importantly, I love trains.  Below are the 11 reasons why, in no particular order.

1) Train Stations: For me, they’re places that hold such promises.  The four-tone chime that rings in all French train stations before all announcements is irrevocably connected in my mind with a feeling of adventure and accomplishment.  Whether they’re tiny, uncovered, little 2-track stations, or the huge hubs with 100 feet high glass and metal ceilings, I get a thrill for being in here, in Europe, once again.

2) The Price: sure, I may grumble about how much I’m spending on a ticket, but really, $170 for a stress-free, comfortable journey across the breadth of the french countryside in spring? Worth it.

3) The Ease: drive up or walk up 15 minutes before the train leaves, stamp your ticket in the handy (and oddly entertaining) machines, walk through the tunnel to the right track, and get on the train. So easy, that took less than 10 minutes. I only fear the day security is upped on trains. As of now (minus possibly the Eurostar lines), that constant buzz of stress that comes with all airports doesn’t exist here.

4) The Time to Sit: Homework without distraction, reading or listening to books on tape without distraction, or just time to think and enjoy your surroundings — without distraction. You can’t be doing anything else, so you might as well enjoy doing nothing.

5) The Food: While the food that’s actually served on trains isn’t exactly stellar (except for that time last year Kristin and I were forced to take 1st class seats from Barcelona to Madrid), eating gran cereale or good chocolate with a baguette is.  I have a particularly vivid memory of going from Paris to Bordeaux in 2007 and having Toblerone and Orange Soda. It was sickeningly sweet but fantastic since it was an indulgence while in France, on a train.  For this trip, I found chocolate chip cookies (called “California Street Cookies” and sporting a skateboarder — as if the hip skateboarders in California all eat chocolate chip cookies while lounging at a skatepark) and a world variety pack of Haribo gummies. Verdict, Haribo gummy bears are the only kind I like.

6) The Speed: It used to take (by train) 5 and 1/2 hours to from Strasbourg to Paris. With the TGV it now takes 2 and 1/2. To go cross country from Strasbourg to Bordeaux? 10 hours. Now it takes 6 and 1/2.

7) The Amenities: It’s the little things like having more than enough leg room, an adjustable headrest, clean windows, clean seats, or warm water and plenty of toilet paper that make the price of a ticket that much easier to accept.

8) The Memories: Riding in trains reminds me of past train trips across the North-West, Colorado, France, Italy, and Spain. All were memorable and each was through gorgeous landscapes.  I think it’s because trains go where cars do not.  You get to see a cleaner and more hidden part of the country.

9) The People: I’m not a big “talk to the person next to you” person, but I’ve met the nicest people while sitting on trains (and planes, for that matter, but that’s a different story).  I love meeting fellow Americans and talking about where we’re from, why we’re here, and where we’re going.

10) The Announcements: Without fail, I always turn off my ipod and pay attention whenever the conductor starts to announce something, whether it be “in a few moments we’ll be arriving in ___” to “the food service is located in car 14.” And the food car is always car 14.  Every time I get a thrill from being able to understand what’s being said.

11) The View: I love it when I can see my city’s landmark in the distance (the tower of Siena or the cathedral of Strasbourg), but the real beauty is the countryside in between towns. I was struck by it especially this trip, having just been through a long and harsh winter.  Outside my compartment window, spring was just touching the ground. All the green rolling farmland with the occasional chateau gracefully rising from the meadows and the small stone farmhouses sprinkled throughout.  It was the french countryside you don’t really think exists. Too bad my photos won’t nearly do it justice (like it always is, isn’t it?).

Sirac, Bordeaux et Cap Ferret

Bonjour tous!

Alors, mon weekend avec les familles Boisnard et Faux etait merveilleux!   It was 2 days full of catching up, relaxing with friends, eating great food, visiting new places, and speaking in a delightful albeit confusing mix of french and english.  You know, I see a trend here. I really do keep coming back to wonderful meals when I think about good times had.  Maybe this is a hint — looks like gastronomical tourism for my anthro thesis is becoming more and more likely….

I spent Friday night at the Fauxs, with Annick and Andre.  They are both healthy and happy, which is about the best 2 traits in the world!  This photo of them is actually not from this trip, but a year ago.  I realized that I might not have given it or shown it to my family, so I added it here.  I think I took a couple pictures of their house this year  also, but it wasn’t quite as fully spring this time, and if anyone wants to really see how pretty their house is, look at my facebook album “A dopo” — it’s like the quintessential french-countryside dream!

We spent almost all of saturday at Cap-Ferret, on the coast.  We had an amazing meal of oysters on the back patio of the Faux’s beach house with Annick, Andre, Agathe and her family, and another family both the Boisnards and the Fauxs know.  About 4/5th of the conversation was in french and the rest english/franglish, which made for some funny misunderstandings on my part.  But I am constantly amazed at the level of english comprehension in everyone I meet. Seems like everyone can at least understand a bit. 

After lunch we leisurely walked on the beach of the cape and through the little fishermen villages.  During the summer the Cap-Ferret is a huge tourist destination, but now it’s quiet and has more of a local and laid-back feel, which is perfect.  I said goodbye to Annick and Andre, and headed to the Boisnard’s in Bordeaux proper where we  ate dinner and passed a great evening.   Another couple hours and I was headed back on the train.  Can you believe there’s a direct train from bordeaux to Strasbourg? It was a fantastic weekend and I only hope I can visit everyone again someday soon (and this time have my family come with!)!

Coming soon: my post about my love for trains :)

Holiday

Tout un coup, le printemps arrive

Today at 7:15 pm, I was stopped in my tracks.  I was walking home from school and half-listening to NPR on my ipod when all of a sudden I heard a sound that put me into such a sense of wonder and happiness.  Birds.  This was the first time ever in Strasbourg that I have heard the sounds of birds chirping. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, spring is here.

It gave me such a sense of amazement.  I hadn’t ever heard it before here, nor had I noticed its absence.  Today was in the 50s, the second day to do so, and it feels as if Spring was released all of a sudden. There wasn’t this sense of gradual warming, but instead as if France itself finally got fed up with winter all at once.  Every time something like this happens, I feel like Strasbourg is a slightly different city. It’s surprising how my perception of where I live can shift because of something as simple as a bird chirping. 

My host dad predicted that we’d see an explosive spring, and I hold him to it.  I predict that next week there will be buds on all the trees!

In honor of spring, I cleaned out my camera of all photos (and put most online).  All my winter photos are now out!  The photo below is of me and my host parents when we went to St. Odile and hiked in the Vosges.  It felt wierd putting it directly on facebook, but at the same time I felt people should see the great people I’m living with!  And also, notice how I’m not wearing “winter sport” clothing?  I felt incredibly out of place that day! I wanted to explain to everyone we met that I DO know how to dress for outdoor activities.  You see, monsieur, I do own a winter coat and pants, but didn’t have room for them in my suitcase. But normally I’d be dressed like I know what I’m doing (even if I really don’t) . . .

 And to further leap into Spring energetically, I’ve been thinking of travel, travel, travel. I leave tomorrow for Bordeaux (excited!), and I’ve been planning my spring break instead of studying vocab — so much vocab.  Officially I’ll be in Portugal and Spain for the majority of the vacation. I’ll be traveling with Grace (Wedgwood, bien sur!) and Maggie Mahoney around Porto, Lisboa, Faro (or at least somewhere in the south of Portugal), and Alicante to visit Grace’s life.  I still have 4 days left unplanned, and I’m not sure what I’ll attempt to do. Maybe go to another place in Spain, maybe Corse, maybe the south of France, maybe return to Strasbourg. Who knows!

Vi voglio tanto tanto tanto tanto tanto bene!!!

Holiday

Random Musings From Today in France

Today, after craving it for 3 weeks, I finally broke down and bought Nutella.

At my internship, I helped create an interesting rose-pearl-wood wreath, which Nathalie (the owner) then priced at 85Euros.  It’s wierd to create something in an hour that’s worth that much.

I feel like a crazy person.  Girls here are not supposed to smile all the time (if you remember from a previous post). However, I spend the 30 minute walk to school listening to Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me from NPR, and consequently am both smiling AND laughing to myself.  Sometimes I get wierd looks.

Walking in the bike lane is my form of rebellion.  I just love it when the bikers mumble things under their breath as they pass — but if the walking path is all torn up from construction, what do they expect? I’m not walking in mud for half a mile. Screw that.

The milk here is whole, and when you let it sit out in a pitcher, the fat starts to separate.  I always eat breakfast later than my family (who leaves out the milk). This means that every morning I have to decide if I care enough to try and skim off the milk.

I just realized that although french bread contains no preservatives and comes from the bakery or the market down the street, this does not make it healthy for you. White bread is still white bread. That’s disappointing.

I am starting to finally understand and use the subjunctif. Not fluently, but it’s a start.

They have a term for the crazy weather in march: le gibulee (with accent aigue over the 1st e).  We say march “comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb.” Whatever it is, I can’t wait for it to be done with. Snow in march? unheard-of in Strasbourg, except this winter of course.

Alsace is the smallest region in france. It is also the second richest region, one of the only 2 conservative regions, and the region with the least unemployment.  Often times, Alsaciens refer to themselves as a separate people from “those french.”

I saw Brother Ali last night in concert. While he’s popular in the US, he didn’t sell-out a small venue here. He came down off the stage and into the crowd to dance and sing. It was one of my favorite concerts I’ve ever been to.

I’m going to Bordeaux next weekend! I’m stoked to see the Fauxs and Agathe & co!

Tonight I’m going to my host sister’s university’s party. The theme is leather and mustaches. Not sure what that means, but I now have a moustache for the occasion. I was in good company, too. About 10 people were also there, buying the same cheap moustaches from the same small costume shop off Place Kleber. It should be interesting. :)

Love,

Holiday