So Saturday night we went off to a fete. It was definitely quite interesting. We had a 5 course meal including stretchy mashed potatoes & lamb; along with a German-esque band with an accordion - aren't those always fun!
Sunday we went to church & sang in the choir. Got lots of work done.
Monday was full of history class. Read my wonderful paper on adultery (:
Today we had an oral french test. That didn't go too swell. I <3 Spanish so of course I was speaking in spanish when it should have been french but it happens. Just finished religion class which is always just a blast. Maybe I'll go find the dogs & take a walk! (:
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Oh French Class.
I know it’s been forever since I blogged but they have us running around like crazy. I feel I never get a chance to just breathe!
So let’s see…Monday night I took my first ‘real grocery trip.’ We also decided that we are all going to London for the long weekend, which shall be fun having the 7 of us together.
Tuesday we had our first official French class which was a little overwhelming, especially since she only spoke in French to us. That night we had religion class from 8:30-10:30, which was much too late for me! Eric is the cutest though & so much energy.
Wednesday we went off to Toulouse to check out a museum & a couple churches. That night was the first that I heard the ‘ghosts.’ I don’t believe in them but that’s all everyone was talking about for awhile. I swear they were going up & down the hall & then doing it rather slowly & knocking on people’s doors. I was so freaked out that I wouldn’t even swallow in fear that they would know I was awake. This place is a little creepy at night, especially when the automatic lights take forever to turn on.
Thursday we headed into Albi for French class, which was quite the adventure with one of John’s first times driving a stick. Of course we were all prepared for a quiz, yet didn’t have one. After lunch we went over to Gerry’s where his wife Olga made us tea & dessert. She is very sweet; Russian lady with the cutest son! We then went to a wine museum which is one of the oldest wine producers in France (or something like that). Afterwards we went to a vineyard. It was quite beautiful! We also had a wine tasting. Then we were all up half the night attempting to get our Art History expose done that we had NO time to do during the week.
Friday morning we had Art history which didn’t go as fabulous as planned but it was the first one, hopefully this week’s will be better. After Tour de Table Becca & I took the dogs for a walk, which was nice. It’s funny how Jay-Z will lead the way & stop every so often to make sure you’re following & Brun will stay right at your side. They know exactly where we are going & you can’t get lost! John, Becca, Melanie, & I then headed down to Peter & Margaret’s for choir practice. It was nice singing in another language even thought I didn’t know what it meant or could pronounce the words correctly. Afterwards they gave us tea & cookies. It was legit british tea, which Melanie was in awe over. Peter & Margaret are a british couple that came to France in 2000 for 6 months to help the bike/tourism place. It was so they could tell the British that came over exactly where to tour & such. They loved it so much that they just stayed & have been here over 10 years! Afterwards we all crashed from our hectic week! It was very much needed; though we should have been getting some work done… Then it was just a usual Friday night. We all just sat around the table for a few hours & enjoyed each other’s company.
This morning, Saturday, I was one of the first to wake up. I decided that today is a pajama day until we go out later. I got to make my first pot of coffee, I think it went well (: Now I have tons of history homework to do, seeing as I’m taking 3 history classes…For the one class we have to write what life would have been like in Medieval Toulouse from someone’s perspective. I’m taking the side of the adulterer’s lover. It shall be interesting, especially will all the punishment the man has to go through. I’m making for from the point of view that I never loved him yet did it for revenge on his wife. Fun stuff!
So let’s see…Monday night I took my first ‘real grocery trip.’ We also decided that we are all going to London for the long weekend, which shall be fun having the 7 of us together.
Tuesday we had our first official French class which was a little overwhelming, especially since she only spoke in French to us. That night we had religion class from 8:30-10:30, which was much too late for me! Eric is the cutest though & so much energy.
Wednesday we went off to Toulouse to check out a museum & a couple churches. That night was the first that I heard the ‘ghosts.’ I don’t believe in them but that’s all everyone was talking about for awhile. I swear they were going up & down the hall & then doing it rather slowly & knocking on people’s doors. I was so freaked out that I wouldn’t even swallow in fear that they would know I was awake. This place is a little creepy at night, especially when the automatic lights take forever to turn on.
Thursday we headed into Albi for French class, which was quite the adventure with one of John’s first times driving a stick. Of course we were all prepared for a quiz, yet didn’t have one. After lunch we went over to Gerry’s where his wife Olga made us tea & dessert. She is very sweet; Russian lady with the cutest son! We then went to a wine museum which is one of the oldest wine producers in France (or something like that). Afterwards we went to a vineyard. It was quite beautiful! We also had a wine tasting. Then we were all up half the night attempting to get our Art History expose done that we had NO time to do during the week.
Friday morning we had Art history which didn’t go as fabulous as planned but it was the first one, hopefully this week’s will be better. After Tour de Table Becca & I took the dogs for a walk, which was nice. It’s funny how Jay-Z will lead the way & stop every so often to make sure you’re following & Brun will stay right at your side. They know exactly where we are going & you can’t get lost! John, Becca, Melanie, & I then headed down to Peter & Margaret’s for choir practice. It was nice singing in another language even thought I didn’t know what it meant or could pronounce the words correctly. Afterwards they gave us tea & cookies. It was legit british tea, which Melanie was in awe over. Peter & Margaret are a british couple that came to France in 2000 for 6 months to help the bike/tourism place. It was so they could tell the British that came over exactly where to tour & such. They loved it so much that they just stayed & have been here over 10 years! Afterwards we all crashed from our hectic week! It was very much needed; though we should have been getting some work done… Then it was just a usual Friday night. We all just sat around the table for a few hours & enjoyed each other’s company.
This morning, Saturday, I was one of the first to wake up. I decided that today is a pajama day until we go out later. I got to make my first pot of coffee, I think it went well (: Now I have tons of history homework to do, seeing as I’m taking 3 history classes…For the one class we have to write what life would have been like in Medieval Toulouse from someone’s perspective. I’m taking the side of the adulterer’s lover. It shall be interesting, especially will all the punishment the man has to go through. I’m making for from the point of view that I never loved him yet did it for revenge on his wife. Fun stuff!
Monday, September 20, 2010
La Mousse au Chocolat
Wow. This week has been an utter whirlwind of excitement!
Thursday, we headed into Albi for French class. The professor seems very nice. This semester we will each be paired up with a French student who will show us around & help us with our English. We were given a tour of the university by the students. We didn’t learn any French in French class so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. We then ate lunch at the cafeteria. I wasn’t impressed. Everyone said that it’s better than Torvian but I haven’t eaten there in a year so it’s a hard judgment call for me. We then headed into the city of Albi for a little tour. We went to the Cathedral of Saint Cecila. It was gorgeous. We then had free time to walk around. We decided to stop at a little café. We then met the deputy mayor of Albi who gave us some history of the town & its existence. Afterwards we stopped at the Casino, which is a very large supermarket (think Wal-Mart but larger). They had 5 aisles for wine & another 5 for hard liquor. It was definitely different then Pennsylvania. We then just had dinner & exhaustedly fell into bed.
Friday we started out with Art History class. We made la mousse au chocolat. I can’t say I ever want to make it again. It’s just raw eggs & chocolate, which kind of grosses me out. We then headed to the classroom where he talked about art & such/so forth. We were each given a painter to do an expose on next class. Mine is Raphael. We then had lunch which was our Tour de Table. Where we learn about what we are eating in French so we can get a better grasp on our French vocabulary. After lunch we had a little French ‘race.’ We were split into teams & had to label different things in the kitchen, classroom, & common room. It was quite the challenge since I know no French. Afterwards Ed, Dr Woods & I decided to take a bike ride. It was very nice & peaceful. It was lots of fun, until we had to ride back up the hill. That hill is a killer but I can proudly say that I made it up without stopping/dying! (: We then had dinner & two French students, Laura & Angeline, came up to have desert & happy Kool-Aid with us (:
Saturday was a little bit of a lazy day. I attempted to wake up early to start on my Art History project but then everyone wanted to go to the grocery store. All week John kept saying that his birthday was in September yet wouldn’t tell us when. He decided to wait until the night before to tell us. So Tim took us to the grocery store so we could buy cake & other goodies for him. The town was supposed to be having a day of history to get to know the town & such. But of course, we had the wrong day & it was really Sunday. So we were down in town & decided to go up to the ridge. It was a very nice view. We could see the back of the monastery (which you can’t ever fully see from our view). It was very nice. We then watched the town play some bochie ball & then went to Nadine’s to chill. I had a sugar crepe & wasn’t a fan. When we got back, Becca & I made John’s cake. Of course that was sort of a disaster. In France, the batter is already made. You don’t have to add anything to it! You just pour it in the pan & cook it. It was fabulous! We then celebrated John’s birthday after dinner. The French girls came once again & Laura brought her boyfriend (who speaks no English) but he was entertaining anyways. Of course we had a toast to John, cake & ice cream. Angeline was telling us Friday night about a ‘syrup’ that goes on ice cream that is very strong but good & helps with digestion. There was peach & blueberry. I tried the blueberry & it was to die for. We then gave the girls a tour of the house & of course Kerstin had the idea to scare everyone since there had been so much talk about ghosts & ‘the white lady.’ Apparently if you say ‘La dame blanche’ twelve times she will come & kill you. The French students were telling us about horror stories they had with it & Laura’s boyfriend was utterly freaked out even when Shane said it once. They are quite a thrill.
Sunday we went to church. It was very nice. It’s wonderful that it’s right next door to us. When Ed & I walked in we were immediately welcomed by the priest. Unfortunately, he only speaks French so it was hard to communicate with him. We met Peter & Margaret who run the choir & thankfully know English. The mass was in French but thankfully Margaret had printed out the whole mass in French so we could follow along. It was a very nice mass & the French just added some flair to it all. Later that afternoon we went back to the town & got our tour that we thought was Saturday. It was nice to learn about the history of the town & people’s differing views of it all. We then just kind of chilled & worked on our plans for the long weekend/break. We are going to London for the long weekend & Rome for the break with day trips to Assisi & Venice. It shall be fun.
This morning, Monday, we had our first Inquisition & Society class. It was nice just sitting in the stone room on the couches chatting. It was interesting to see that our book went along very well with the history we were told about the city of Albi & everything just fit together perfectly. We could relate to everything we read. It was extremely nice. All of our classes fit together, it’s really a fabulous thing. I just got out of the History of Medicine class. It’s just Dr Woods & I. We sat on the front patio & just discussed what we will be doing. It’s such a nice, relaxed environment & I feel I shall definitely enjoy the class. Now I’m off to Non-Western history class, oh joy… I doubt it will be bad at all.
As you can see, so far things are going pretty fabulous. I like the idea that we only have each class once a week so we have time to do our assignments. We are constantly running around & it feels that we have no free time to blog or do homework! So looks like I better go get on that!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Gorgeous
France!! Is it really true?! Am I really here?! Oh yeah, I am! (:
This place is utterly amazing! We left Monday around 3pm from SFU to Dulles Airport in D.C. From there we flew to paris on a 7 hour flight; which was way too long. From there we switched planes & headed to Toulouse & then drove to Ambialet! We were all completely wiped by the end of it; atleast we all slept great!
It is completely gorgeous here! Pictures give it no justice! You shall need to come out & see for yourself! The food is amazing thanks to Bernard, our chef. The weather is amazingly really nice & warm. Today we headed down the mountain to Ambialet; we met some great people & had ice cream at Nadine's cafe. It's the most adorable little town. This is the most wonderful opportunity ever; why I ever doubted coming is beyond me!
This place is utterly amazing! We left Monday around 3pm from SFU to Dulles Airport in D.C. From there we flew to paris on a 7 hour flight; which was way too long. From there we switched planes & headed to Toulouse & then drove to Ambialet! We were all completely wiped by the end of it; atleast we all slept great!
It is completely gorgeous here! Pictures give it no justice! You shall need to come out & see for yourself! The food is amazing thanks to Bernard, our chef. The weather is amazingly really nice & warm. Today we headed down the mountain to Ambialet; we met some great people & had ice cream at Nadine's cafe. It's the most adorable little town. This is the most wonderful opportunity ever; why I ever doubted coming is beyond me!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Two days.
Two days.
Two days until I leave this country & head out on my grand excursion.
Two days until I no longer have a kitty to sleep with me every night.
Two days until I don't have Daddy to cook me Saturday morning pancakes.
Two days until don't have my phone anymore.
Two days until I have to kill my own spiders.
Two days until I can't understand a single person talking.
Two days until I fulfill some lifelong dreams.
Two days until I no longer sleep in my own bed.
Two days until I take my first flight oversea.
Two days until I can't have lunch every day with my Mommy.
Two days until fun, freedom, & adventure.
Two days until I become a big girl.
Only Two days.
Two days until I leave this country & head out on my grand excursion.
Two days until I no longer have a kitty to sleep with me every night.
Two days until I don't have Daddy to cook me Saturday morning pancakes.
Two days until don't have my phone anymore.
Two days until I have to kill my own spiders.
Two days until I can't understand a single person talking.
Two days until I fulfill some lifelong dreams.
Two days until I no longer sleep in my own bed.
Two days until I take my first flight oversea.
Two days until I can't have lunch every day with my Mommy.
Two days until fun, freedom, & adventure.
Two days until I become a big girl.
Only Two days.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Oh Boy.
Bonjour. Mon nom est Lauren. Oh boy, who am I kidding?! I went to a translation website for that! Yes, I leave in a week & can only say hello. I sure am in for it! This shall be quite the adventure!
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