Revelations

Walking around Compiègne this morning, I realized just how beautiful the town actually is. I mean I live on the ugliest street in all of Compiègne, but walking into the center of town is truly breathtaking. Next time I venture out, I will bring my camera with me to snap some photos for you all. I found a new boulangerie and decided to go in for a baguette and I am pretty sure I will be revisiting. The baguette was the best I have had since I have been here. I didn't really think too much of bread before, but now I find myself thinking hmm, this one has too much this or is too doughy or is just boring. Who would have thought there is so much to bread? On my walk this morning, I also stopped at a farmer's market and bought some new raspberry, strawberry, and some other berry jam to accompany my baguette of course.

Recently, I was also introduced to mate, an Argentinian tea, by my friends from, well, Argentina. You add the herbs into a a special cup like the one here and drink out of a specific metal straw. At the end of the straw there is a sifter so that you don't suck up all the herbs. You then add hot water and sip through the metal straw. Let's just say I burned my tongue, throat, and pretty much my whole mouth the first few times, but after awhile you get the hang of it. Either that or your mouth becomes accustomed to the steaming hot tea. 

To drink the mate, you are passed the cup and you have to finish all of the water in the cup when it is your turn. The straw makes a noise when you are done so that you know. You then add more hot water and pass it on to the next person. When you are completely done and do not want anymore for the day, you say no thank you. I was warned the first time to not say no thank you when I wanted to pass. The herbs are added once in the beginning and last a bunch of passes until they become "washed" and then you clean it out and start again.

In Argentina, drinking mate is a social activity that everyone does all day, everyday. When we get together, there is always mate now! It tastes delicious too. So refreshing. And I was reassured that the herbs were completely natural - basically, that they were not drugging me!

Coming to another country, you think you are only going to learn about their own culture, when in fact, it is so much more than that. I have already been introduced to so many different cultures. I love learning the ways of all my friends and what customs they have. Words cannot describe the experience; you just have to be immersed in it yourself. I am so glad I had this opportunity to study abroad. It's only been a month and I have experienced so much, imagine what a year is going to do!

Desperate Housewives

Friday was the last day of the summer immersion program. It also marked one full month that I have been here. Crazy to think that it has already been that long, but hey, I made it! Each class had to come up with a skit for the spectacle to complete the program. Our class decided to do Desperate Housewives. We did three housewives and a house husband. I played Gabrielle. My friend Ale was my mother-in-law who was coming to visit for two months and we had to act out that scene. 

We did a great job!

We made a slideshow to make it look like the real show. Our class kicked ass in the spectacle and we had the best skit by far.

Ma Belle-Mère

Pas!

The Whole Class

The summer program ended on a good note - literally - I received an A which is hopefully a good sign for what is to come!

PS - Happy Anniversary Mem and Pep and Happy Birthday Auntie Julie and David!!

Moving In

Yesterday I moved back into my dorm room. After making two trips using the lovely buses Compiègne has, and with the help of Mike, I finally moved all of my stuff from the house to my dorm room. It would have been much easier if we just had a car. Once arriving, I asked Barbara, my new roommate, if she wanted to go to Simply Market with me. This is the closest grocery store to us.

Not only did I have to say goodbye to Mike and Kayla, I did not see Kitty Kitty on my last day at the house. I was so upset. I will never see that cat again and I didn’t even get to say goodbye. But that was just the beginning of my day at the Mare Gaudry (new home). I go to plug in my computer and within milliseconds the outlet pops and I blow a fuse. Awesome. Not only did I blow the fuse in my room, but in Barbara’s room as well. I really know how to make a good first impression. Next, I attempt to get on the internet but to no avail. Apparently spending two hours to set up the internet on your computer (earlier in the summer), means nothing. And to make matters worse it is now about 4:30pm so everyone has left for the weekend. There were a few other hiccups throughout the process of moving in as well and that was the last straw. I just broke into tears and wanted to pretty much pack up and leave. I called my mom, who at the time was at the bank, a good place to deal with a hysterical daughter explaining what happened while attempting not to cry, but that didn’t happen.  After talking with my mom, Little Blonde Puppy comforted me while I continued on with my not little so breakdown when I decide to start cleaning my room and put up some pictures. Maybe this would help me feel more at home. So I put on some Bruno Mars and got to work. It definitely helped and I had fun decorating. After that, I made a quick dinner, chicken with zucchini and green beans, and then decided it will probably be a good idea to take a nice hot shower.

I go into the bathroom and look at the showerhead that is attached to the tub faucet. I think to myself, exactly how am I going to rinse my hair like that until I noticed that the showerhead is detachable. I turn on the water expecting it to come out of the showerhead, but no, it comes out of the faucet. After a few minutes of fiddling with the faucet and consulting Barbara, I finally have water coming through the showerhead. I hop in and start showering. Just when I put the conditioner in my hair, the water starts to get a little colder so I turn the hot water higher and nothing happens. It gets colder and colder until I am completely shivering. I kid you not; the hot water ran out on me. I could just not win yesterday.

Barbara had invited me to the bar, but I was so emotionally drained from the day and had a splitting headache so I decided to just stay in. I watched Water for Elephants, a fantastic movie by the way, and then headed to bed hoping the morning would bring sunshine and a better day. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that it was cold and rainy yesterday too, just to make the day that much better.

Luckily, today Barbara and I went out shopping and I bought a new fuse. We now have outlets that work in our rooms. I also made a new friend today, Jungho from Illinois. He helped me get internet in my room and is pretty much my best friend ever. I gave him a beer for giving me internet; I figured that was a pretty good trade-off. For now we outlets that work and internet, but no hot water. I guess 2/3 isn't too bad!

Amiens

Last night the whole group of students went on a mini "fieldtrip" to Amiens. It was an hour and a half bus ride from Compiègne. When we arrived, the bus basically dropped us off on the side of the road in a not so nice area after passing beautiful cobblestoned streets, lively gardens, and a flowing river. Nope, we got dropped off next to a Kebab (a French style fast food restaurant). We then made a right and a left and this was standing right in front of us.

It is called the Notre Dame of Amiens. We went inside for a further look and it was huge. There were a few people looking around when a group of 100 plus kids came barging in. Some people really do not know how to act when they enter a church. It's just a sort of respect that even if you are not Catholic, you know not to be loud and fool around. Aside from that, the cathedral was beautiful. There was so much detail in every face and every hand on every surface. You just don't see this in the US. The ceiling was my favorite part. The sun came beaming in through the windows and lit up the entire inside.

After we left the cathedral, we had five hours to just chill out around the town. Seeing as we had no idea where we were, a group of us decided to go out exploring. The town was beautiful. There were gardens everywhere and lots of stone buildings. 

It is so hard to describe because there is nothing to compare it to. You really have to come and experience it for yourself. We eventually ended up splitting up and meeting up with another group of kids. Kayla and I walked around for a bit by ourselves in between and found the river! We also made friends with a couple of locals. They even read us a story!

For not really knowing the town, we covered a pretty good portion of it while we were there. We made our way to a playground with the best climbing jungle gym ever. As soon as I saw it, I dropped my backpack and jumped up and starting making my way to the top. I literally felt like I was a five year old kid again with the biggest smile on my face. Some of the Brazilian kids made friends with a couple kids playing soccer and they ended up having a four on four game. Unlike normal soccer fields made of grass, this one was cement. There were a few times where I thought we were going to see how French hospitals work, but everyone came out with all their limbs!

Kayla and I bought the most amazing crepes. Literally, the best one I have had since arriving and I have had my share. It was a little red truck and the guy made them in the back. He was super nice and talked with us for awhile. 

He thought we were Italian, because yes, I look Italian. We told him we were from the United States near Boston and he said that he had been to Framingham, Mass. Not exactly the town I would visit on vacation, but they probably say that about their own local towns too, as we are there, camera in hand, and in awe. We enjoyed our crepes so much that we went back for seconds. I had a crepe au sucre (with sugar) and one with maple syrup! Kayla had two with Nutella and coconut. We told Mike about them, and he caved in and bought one too. 

The best was yet to come. We all met up at the cathedral at 22h (10pm) not knowing what was going to happen in a matter of seconds. The whole cathedral went completely black and then there were speakers telling us the history of the cathedral in French, German, English, and Russian. Hard to understand when there are that many languages going at once. Next thing you know, the whole church slowly starts lighting up. The main archway lit up first followed by the two on either side. Ever Saint was illuminated and their clothes looked so luxurious. It was amazing. Bea if you read this, you need to go here and see it! I thought of you while it was happening. The outline of the entire cathedral was illuminated by the end. Again, incredible. The picture does not do it justice. All in all, Amiens turned out to be a great "fieldtrip."

Care Package Delivered

Today I received my first care package from my mom! It was like Christmas. I felt like a little kid, running home from school, jumping for joy when I saw that it had arrived. My first care package consisted of:

• lots of fruit snacks (bunny ones)
• cliff bars (Todd, these are all for me)
• notebooks with normal lines!
• two pocket folders! (things you would think would be universal - nope)
• erasers
• pencil case
• coin purse
• fleur de lis and anchor Alex and Ani bracelet (courtesy of Ephraim)
• and of course the air bubble packaging

All in all, my first care package was awesome. Don't know if anyone can top that?!

Rumble Rumble

Last night marked my first thunder and lightening storm in France and it was amazing to say the least. There were some awesome lightening strikes, that definitely took down some trees, and the sky lit up repeatedly. I jumped up at the first rumble and watched the whole storm. Although it is advised to stay away from windows at the time of a storm, I had mine wide open, standing in it, snapping away. Probably not the best idea to have an electronic device in your hand, but who doesn't like to live on the edge! It was well worth it too because I got an awesome video in addition to this "super chouette" picture!

Kitty Kitty has a real name - Max. I still like calling him Kitty Kitty though. Both yesterday and this morning he came over for a visit. He now comes in the house and ventures around a little bit. He is super cute! I don't know what I am going to do when I have to move. I was thinking of taking him with me, but now that the neighbor knows I am in love with him, I think she will know who has him. Zut!

And of course, what to do when you're bored - paint your nails! If France didn't have watermelons before, it does now! 

Do you know what time it is?

For all of you who know what I am referring to, no I did not find any lemoncello in France; although, I am treating myself to a gin and tonic. I could not find any Bombay Sapphire so I had to settle with Beefeater. It was the first bottle of alcohol I bought in France. I like to be different, most people come to France and buy wine, but not me, I am a gin and tonic girl all the way!

Today I went to Paris even though I said I was staying away for a little while. It was a beautiful sunny day today and I went to Sacré Coeur, my favorite spot in the entire city, and a few other areas. It was the first time venturing around Paris without a Parisien.  Alex and I made our own itinerary as we went and when we got to Sacré Coeur we ate lunch outside at a little café. It was so French! We ordered everything in French and actually received what we ordered. I had smoked salmon atop pasta with pink vodka sauce - it was delicious!

After lunch I got scamed by a guy on the street. He only got 15 euros of mine, when really I won two times and should have won 100 euros. Moral of the day - don't gamble on the streets!

While roaming one of the streets, I found the Bank of China and I attempted to send myself through the mailbox to Elena, but I didn't quite fit! Maybe next time. 

Throughout the day I bought lots of little gifts for everyone. I think I came out with one thing for myself, a green reusable bag with all different cows on it, filled with goodies for everyone else! 

Not sure what the agenda for tomorrow entails, but I will be sure to let you all know if anything exciting happens. For now, back to my gin and tonic (:

End of Week Three

I cannot believe I have already been here for three weeks. It seems like its been a little longer, but still it is getting better and better everyday. It has been really nice in Compiègne this week, which is rare. Usually it is pretty rainy. This weekend is going to be fabulous although, I have no plans as of yet. 

Next week is the last week of the summer program. I only have two days of real class left! We are taking a trip to Amiens on Wednesday as a group and then Thursday we have our final exam and presentations. I can't believe it is almost over! I am excited for the real school year to start (: 

Yesterday I was petting Kitty Kitty and he was loving it until I decided I was done and he pounced at me. He didn't like that I wasn't giving him attention anymore. Apparently cats hold grudges because this morning as I left for class, he got up and ran the other way from me haha. Don't know what his problem is!

Lacanau - Bordeaux - Royan

For our three day weekend, we headed south to the beach. After only 8 hours in the car, we finally arrived in what I thought was Bordeaux, but it was actually a smaller town outside of the city called Lacanau. We stayed with one of Alex's friends family. We arrived around 1130pm and the family had dinner waiting for us - lasagna - not quite French food, but delicious nonetheless. The family only spoke French so it was very different than what I had been used to. They also had an orange cat! It was by far the fluffiest cat I have ever pet.

Lacanau Beach

On Saturday, we got up and headed to the beach, which 

was only about 10 minutes from the house. Within seconds, Mike was waist deep in the water. The water was a tad chilly, but once you got in, it was lovely. The waves were awesome at high tide although you couldn't really bodysurf because they broke too far out and then broke again too close to shore. 

We happened to go to the beach the same weekend there was a surf competition, so we got to see a whole bunch of surfers surfing right in front of us. It is like they knew we were coming and decided to put the show on just for us. After the competition we headed up to the boardwalk and went through all the little touristy shops and got ice cream. I bought a few little knick-knacks and had Toblerone ice cream that was to die for.

Sunday we headed to Bordeaux. The city was really pretty, but not much there. There was  a church and fountain, but other than that, nothing special. I am not sure what I was expecting Bordeaux to be, but it definitely didn't live up to it. The streets were filled with stores and restaurants, but most of them were closed because it was a Sunday. Probably for the best, I could have done some damage in that city. And what would a trip to a city be without getting a little lost. We were trying to find a fountain, and after a few wrong turns and a lot of walking later, we finally arrived at the fountain. Between the fountain and the Garonne River, which is one of the major rivers in France, there was le miroir d'eau. There were tons of people walking through it and every once in a while, it would spray. There was one little girl that was so cute, so I kind of creeped on her and took some awesome pictures. 

Le Miroir d'Eau

Lost in Bordeaux

Finally the Fountain

Royan

We left Lacanau and the family on Monday and started to head North. We took a ferry to Royan where Mike, Kayla, and I went to the beach while the Alex and Alex met up with a friend for lunch. Royan was wealthier than Lacanau and there were many more shops and activities. The water on the other hand, had no waves at all - none. It was kind of a bummer. You could also walk about about 100 feet and still be only up to your waist, if that. Not the best beach, but it was still a beach. We walked around the town a little bit before Alex and Alex picked us up and headed home. About 7 hours later we finally made it back to Compiègne.

Weekend experience: first time I had been in a family setting with a family that did not speak English so to communicate, I had to speak French. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 

Half Way

Today in class we received out graded homework back and I got an A. My teacher said that I was the only one who did it completely correct - hell yea! 

Tomorrow marks the half way point of the summer immersion program, which means midterm time! I probably should be studying, but its more fun to enjoy France and go out and explore instead. I am definitely getting into the habit of coming home from class and then going out to the store to buy what I want for dinner. The cashiers are going to know me by name pretty soon. There is also a boulangerie across the street from our house and whenever we go in, the little who owns it, always smiles at us. 

After the exam tomorrow, we are leaving class early and heading to Bordeaux because we have a long weekend. We are going to stay with one of Alex's friends and we are going to go to the beach! I cannot wait (: 

I will let you know how the weekend goes when I get back.

Il est cinq heures paris s'éveille

In class this week my teacher introduced us to this song. It is very catchy and I have been singing it all the time. Listen to it if you get a chance : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woTcLJvf7fw. Today the immersion program went to Paris for the day instead of having class. We first went on a mini bus tour around some of the city and afterwards we went on a boat tour along the Seine. It would have been very enjoyable, if I had not walked and seen all of the attractions multiple times before. The little group that I was with did befriend a German brother and sister. We conversed through gestures and drawing pictures. Turns out the boy is 4 years old and his sister is 10 years old. They also had another sister who is 7 years old and are from Munich. Isn't it crazy what you can find out without even knowing the other language. The eldest girl was teaching us to count to 10 in German and she had the hugest smile on her face as we were attempting to repeat her.


It was also gorgeous in Paris today - sunny skies and not too cold! We ate lunch in the park by the Eiffel Tower and then headed over to the Champs Elysées for some window shopping and to see the Arc de Triomphe. With so many people flooding the streets of Paris, I have decided to take a break and visit the countryside for my next visit. Not sure where I am going to go yet. Any suggestions?

Just a Saturday in Paris

La Tour Eiffel

Yesterday everyone took a trip to Paris. I took my first train ride from Compiègne to Paris. It was not bad at all seeing as I slept most of the train ride! Once we arrived in the Gare du Nord in Paris, we meet up with Nina and Marilyne (who studied at URI last year,  but are from France). From there we went on multiple different metros before ending at Breakfast in America. Yes, the French actually have a restaurant with just American food. The menu was in English and everything. I had the most amazing French toast ever; it was delicious! 

In front of Notre Dame

After breakfast, which by then was really 3pm, we headed to Notre Dame and La Tour Eiffel. Both were beautiful as always. And what would visiting Paris be without a little rain. Just as we walked up to La Tour Eiffel, it started to rain. Mike and Kayla went to the top because they had never been there before. 

Alex, Frenchi, Marilyne, and I decided to go out and explore new places of Paris that Alex and I had not seen before. We went and saw the Opera Garnier, Moulin Rouge, Montmartre, and of course, Sacré Coeur. Sacré Coeur and Montmartre are my favorite spots in all of Paris (well of the ones I've seen). 

Sacré Coeur

For dinner the four of us headed to a restaurant near the Gare du Nord. I had oysters as my appetizer and then duck as my entree. It was beyond delicious. The duck was cooked just to my liking and was in a balsamic vinaigrette. I felt very French! This was the first time I had been out to dinner since arriving. Let's just say, I may have to pick one day a week where I go out to dinner to try new French foods. They are so yummy!

I could not leave Paris without my fill of crepes so we made a pitstop on our way home. I ordered a crepe au sucre, which is just butter and sugar. It was a perfect way to end a perfect day in France (:

Crêperie

Today for lunch we went to the crêperie and I had my first crêpe since arriving. It was a caramelized apple crêpe with whipped cream on top. Two words - totes delicious! After lunch we went to the Château de Compiègne. It was where Napoleon lived. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera along, so I do not have any pictures. I enjoyed the gardens more than the actual castle. I have gone to see them three times already!

I saw rain for the first time today and it appears that it will not be ending for a few days. Time to invest in an umbrella.

Opening a bank account was much easier than I thought it was going to be, although, I did have to wait 40 minutes for the lady. Again, French and their concepts of time do not exactly coincide with Americans. Just need to learn to slow down my pace of daily life.

Paperwork Galore!

The first few days of class went well minus a pop essay. Yesterday for the afternoon class, we all went on a scavenger hunt around the town and saw a bunch of historical buildings and such. It was really nice out, but tiring.

Also as Kayla, Mike, and I were returning from the boulangerie, I happened to look over and found a George Naumovich roaming the streets, map in hand. He is going to be staying with us for a few days. Last night we went out to a Belgium bar and the beer was very tasty. We also saw the sunset on l'Oise (the river alongside Compiègne), but it was a little cloudy, so it was not too clear.

Today was the day of paperwork. Let's just say that the French could use a little help in the Administrative Dept. as well as organization. I "filled" out paperwork for about 2 1/2 hours this morning and then had to return after lunch to set up my school internet connection, which you would think would be an easy thing. Two hours later, I have WiFi for when I am on campus, which only consist of two really ugly brick buildings connected by a sky walk. Pictures will be coming shortly. 

Tomorrow afternoon the group is off to visit the Chateau de Napoleon so I will let you know how that goes.

à bientôt,

Nicole

First Day of School

Touring Compiègne was much more fun than going to class, but you need to do what you need to do. We all got up super early because we didn't want to be late for our first day and what did we do, ended up sitting around for almost an hour just staring at each other. Oh well, we will know for tomorrow.  We of course had to take our first day of school photos.

I got off to a rocky start at school. I had to retake my placement test because they lost mine. I was not a happy camper, but once I retook it and got placed, I found out who my teacher was, and everything was better. My teacher is so nice and she is even smaller than me! I like the class I am in a lot so far. There are girls from Brazil, Venezuela, the US, and tons of guys from Mexico. It is really funny to hear French with a Spanish accent!  Tomorrow we are going to have an Asian invasion; 7 Asian students will be joining our class. Can't wait to see how tomorrow goes!