Day 3: oops!

Yeah, totally didn't post yesterday... it was a long day. We all got placed in our levels; I'm intermediate, level 5 (of 7). I have the option to cgo to a different level, but I like my profs and I'm learning in this class, so I'm staying. Plus, Shalomie is in there with me so I have a house buddy who can keep me on track for doing my homework! (But, by the way, mine is done for tonight and she hasn't started! Rare occurance I'm sure)

Alex and I went to the yarn shop Tuesday (forgot to tell you since I was drunk-mad about being called an old lady). I'm workin gon a scarf, sorta thin but it will be good for summer evenings. Only now, I'm inundated with school and homework, so maybe I won't be able to touchit for a while.

Victoria, Ben, and I went to see a movie last night; we chose an authentic French movie...and didn't understand ne'ery a word. I got some of it, and the visual and contextual clues helped, but some of the speaking was just so fast and the main character mumbled. Ugh! I sat there thinking "I wish I knew Frenhc, because I think I'd really like this one." Oh well, it'll get better after a month here.

Day 4: wtf?

Yeah, so tonight, I went out with the group, drank some booze, and was FINALLY enjoying myself around people my age...when some French punk SOB came up and started talking to us. He pointed at me and asked why they had an aduly chaperone. WTF?. That's all I have tonight. I'm effing 25 years old, hardly ancient by any standards. Ugh.

Day 3: Lost and even more lost

Today's successes started early: Shalomie, Ben and I went off for a run this morning and successfully ran a short distance. Hey, gotta start somewhere.

After arriving home and showering, we all headed to meet M. Braunrot at the corner of the rue nationale and the Loire River. He brought lunch for us today: sandwiches. We devoured the sandwiches and then set off on our journey to the priory of Pierre Ronsard, the famous Tourraine poet. We, however, ran into several snags along the way. M. braunrot pulle dus off the path running parallel to the Loire a bit too soon, and we ended up in subrurbia, asking random people the way to the priory. After several attempts, and a few cranky students, we made it to the priory. It's beautiful right now, an dthere are roses, roses, roses everywhere. I took some pictures on the way there, then realized that I had left my SD card in my computer last night...but Lacey (the so-called "Madame CVS" because of her purses of endless treasures) had a spare one. I was relieved and set off on my photographic adventure, only to be halted by an "exhausted battery" as explained by my camera. :: Merde:: So, sadly, today you do not get very many pictures.

We returned (via the most direct route), cleaned up, rested for a while, and ran some errands. Today is a holiday in France, so very few stores are open. But hte Monoprix (French version of Walmart basically) was open. We stopped in several times today for water, wine, a corkscrew, cheese, bread, shampoo (for me!), soap (also for me!), and notebooks. A little while before dinner, M. Antier came to our room to warn us against messing with the blinds in the bathroom, as they are currently out of commission. He's a cute little guy, and I like practicing le francais with him. The dinner bell rang a little later (yes, we actually have a dinner bell) and we all descended upon the table. A brief back story: since about 10am, the most delicieux smell has been radiatign from the kitchen, causing instant salivation to all who encounter it...we were all excited to see what was in store. We were not disappointed: fresh cucumbers with onions and vinegar, cooked-then-chilled-then-beautifully-arranged peppers, salad, and a delicious leek quiche. To top it off? Fresh strawberries (les fraises) A meal like tonight's could turn me into a vegetarian. Happily.

So tomorrow starts classes. Tomorrow at 8:30 is our placement test. I'm super nervous, but whatevs. I might have a breakfast of wine to kill the nerves and inhibition. I bought a bottle of red wine today (I know right?! Shannon with alcohol!? Totally out of character, buthey, when in Rome...) and I've almost consume half the bottle. Pooks- are you proud yet?!?!? :) Anyway, I need to sleep and force myself to adjust to the time...no more up til 2 or 3am.


A demain!

Day 2: Chenonceau

--Just wanted to let you know that this is what I see from my window at night, jutting above the rooftops...

Shalomie and I vowed to wake up and go for a run this morning around 7 or 8...too bad we woke up at 10. Oops. Instead, we took showers, cleaned our rooms, and prepared for our excursion to the castle Chenonceau. We also sat down for our first breakfast together; toast, butter, jam, yogurt, OJ and milk. I put the toast in the toaster for my roommates, and sorta didnt realize the knob was turned to "burnt" ...here's the result of our first attempt at toast-making.


At noon, we assembled as an entire group (minus Iris and Jennifer, who still haven't arrived) at the Gare. Dr. Braunrot purchased our tickets and we were off on our adventure to the castle of the 3 dames (Diane de Poiters, Marie de Medicis, and the final one, who was significantly less historically important, but she was loaded, and put her money into the expansion and protection of the castle). As you can see, the castle was built over the Loire River, one of the main waterways disserting France.

As soon as we arrived, we found a shady spot of the bank of the river, and ate the lunches our families packed us (yummy sandwiches). I was a hungry hippo and didn't share with the ducks, but several others did...

Here are some pictures of the castle and the gardens:




We got home around 7:00pm and cleaned up in time to have dinner at 8pm. The Antiers are so wonderful a couple, and dinner conversation is fun because we really get the chance to flex our speaking skills.

After dinner, Shalomie and Ben went to meet the rest of the group for drinks at the Place Plumereu; I however, stayed here and worked on my finals for my history and ed psych courses. The history final is completed and emailed, and my ed psych stuff still has a loooooong way to go, tahnkfully I have a reprieve until I get back. Tonight I have to start reading the plays for our literature class and write my daily French journal, which is yet another requirement for this study abroad.

Bon soir et a demain!

Study Abroad Day 1: 16 hours and 10 minutes...

...That's how long it took me to get from Atlanta to Tours. Just like everything else, I didn't take the easiest way to get here!

Yesterday was a long day: I went to bed somewhere around 2am, then got up at 6am to get the last minute things taken care of. In honor of a month sans bagels, I went on a field trip to Einsten Brothers for a chocolate chip bagel. Butler got permission to come, too, so he and I had a morning outing together. Einstein's has doggie bagels, so I indulged him, too. (Pics of his big ol' head out the back window are posted in Facebook). April graciously dropped me and my bazillion pound luggage at the Capitol before she went to work. Rita had offered to let me stash my stuff in her office until it was time for me to leave, so I took her up on the offer. We sat around and chatted for a couple hours, then I marched off to school for the last day of Maymester. After fidgeting in my chair for all of class, it was finally 3:00pm and I headed to the airport.

Do you know what the weight limit is on a single piece of luggage? 50 pounds. Do you know how much mine weighed? 50 pounds. No wonder I was winded from toting it all over downtown Atlanta. I ended up having to bring my computer with me to finish some final papers for my Maymester history course, so that plus all its accoutrements added to my poundage. Needless to say, I overpacked. Once I unpack and arrange my clothes, I'll probably fill up the entire wardrobe in my room.... :: typical girl:: (photo is trying to show my blisters)

From Brussels I had to take a train to Paris, to Gare du Nord. From there, I had to take the metro to Gare Austerlitz to catch my train to Tours (not complicated at all, is it?) Despite all the train hopping, the day went quite smoothly: I neither missed a train nor took the wrong train. I baffles me that I can travel so well across thousands of miles, yet can't figure out Sidney Marcus Boulevard.

Dr. Braunrot and M. Antier met me at the Tours Gare, and we waited for two other students, who eventually got here on another train. M. & Mme. Antier live not too far from the Gare, so we walked over here. Poor M. Antier insisted upon toting my suitcase. He did, however, leave it at the first floor for me to take up later. The three of us seated ourselves at the dining room table and chatted for a few minutes, then Shalomie- a fellow student- and Mme. Antier joined us. The Antiers are just the most fun people! I was very well-placed.

Shalomie and I decided to go for a stroll, first to FNAC to purchase some of my books, then for a brisk walk along the Loire river. We returned later to the house and Benjamin, the third and final GSU student to reside here at 4, rue Balzac had arrived. There is also another student here, not from our program, Valerie. The Antiers had dinner for us a few minutes later: M. Antier traditionally cooks spaghetti on Saturday nights, so that was dinner. Our dessert was a wonderful caramel creme for dessert (a WAY better version of flan). Conversation was good; we are all a little shy about using our French, but it went well.

We're all sitting in our own version of internet cafe in our little breakfast nook.

Now it's off to work on my papers and final exams for Maymester...and unpack!!

Ken Lee. No, no, I Ken Lee!!

This cracks me up more than anything else lately. LOVE the English subtitles.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RgL2MKfWTo

Shallots

Now that the weather is finally nice again (every other day or so at least) I’m really trying to get some good use out of my bike. And in that same sense of self-improvement, I’m also trying to learn to cook because, who knows, maybe one day I will be a “Mrs.” and therefore be required to create edible meals for someone other than my cat. Wishful thinking.

So yesterday I loaded up the bike and drove over to Freedom Trail. Someone at the Capitol mentioned it was a good trail, so I decided to give it a go. It’s true- the Trail is a good one. I rode my spandex-clad behind over every inch of path I could find, tiring myself out after only an hour’s ride. Yes, I am outrageously out of shape- it should be a crime, bearing the same penalty as wearing leggings 24-7 (ahem, Lindsay Lohan). Seeing as how I really could care less about how I look when I grocery shop (a reason I’m perpetually single? Possibly.), I packed up my bike, and took my sweaty, spandex-y self to the grocery store.

At the intersection of Freedom Parkway and Ponce de Leon, the grocery shopper has two options: turn left for Kroger or turn right for Publix. Taking into mind my loathe for the state of Florida, I took a left and went to Kroger, knowing that my old faithful grocery store would not make me regret this decision.

A side note about my Kroger. It’s um, how shall I phrase this, “urban.” It’s between North Avenue (should tell you enough right there) and Ponce de Leon. Its nickname is ‘Murder Kroger’ presumably because they kill competition with low prices. Riiiight. But I still choose to go there because I like to stand brave in the face of fear and support the struggling local national chain store. Plus, it’s frighteningly close to Atlanta’s best pizza joint.

Now here’s where the fun starts. If it’s not toilet paper, milk, or beer, I’m pretty much at a loss when I’m at the grocery store. But the recipe I found was pretty simple: tuna steaks (does that come from a cow-fish!?), spinach, russet potatoes (there is more than one kind of potato? Maybe that’s why Dan Quayle got confused), and shallots. So you can see my dilemma. Amazingly, I managed to get all the ingredients save for the tuna steaks and shallots. Shallots, shallots… I have heard the word before, but are they crackers? Dairy products? Vegetables? Yes, that’s it- vegetable! So, I scour the seemingly infinitesimal veggie section at the Murder Kroger but alas, no shallots. But, maybe this is user error- surely every Kroger sells every ingredient in every recipe. Sadly, there were no shallots at the store, according to the produce manager. Humpf. Ok, whatever- they were just to add to the spinach, I can do without.

Off to the seafood section. Wait, don’t blink. Darn it, you missed it. I turned back around to the glass case with shrimp and crab legs in it, with a jar of capers offered for sale resting on top. “Excuse me, sir? Er, ma’am? (indeterminable gender; I love Atlanta) Do you happen to have tuna steaks?” At this point, the seafood specialist, I’ refer to as “Pat,” looked in the case at the shrimp, then the crab legs, then back at me; “Nope.” Fabulous, Murder Kroger let me down. Now I will have to stop at Publix anyway. Whatever- I am running on the remaining endorphins from my fabulous bike ride, so it’s no big deal. Grudgingly, I get in line to check out with whatever ingredients I could find at Kroger. After waiting behind a seemingly homeless man purchasing a one-liter bottle of mouthwash- it is Sunday after all- I checked out, and headed to the Publix.

At this point, the Borders syndrome is starting to kick in. This delicate little condition is a peculiarity of my body. After 10 minutes in a bookstore (Borders being my book purchasing preference and therefore the name given to this syndrome), the urge to potty kicks in. Apparently, Borders and exercise are the two irritants of this syndrome. But no worries, I can make it…right?

Luck was on mine and my bladder’s side: there was a front row parking spot! In a fully occupied lot! Thank you Lord! This time, I’m not dawdling; I’m going straight to the first person with a Publix shirt and asking where the shallots are. Ta-dah! They were right in front of me and Juan, the produce guy. It’s amazing how inconspicuous these things are- just hanging on a rack in a little mesh bag. I never would have seen them on my own, thanks Juan! Time to head for the tuna steaks, albeit heading very slowly, as it is rather difficult to walk and simultaneously cross your legs. There is no fresh tuna, shoot! Whatever, we’re at Threat-CON Charlie here, so frozen will do. Two steaks, check. Two shallots, check.

The 15 items or less line is short, hooray! There is, however, another vagrant with a bottle of mouthwash. This makes me a stronger supporter of Sunday Sales- at least beer won’t put you in a coma after one bottle. I check out with a quickness, shuffle to the car, and speed home. I barely make it home without embarrassing myself, but at least I made it home.

I didn’t even like the shallots.