You Know You're in France When...

You know you're in France when you see someone shoveling his snow-filled driveway with a garden shovel.

You know you're in France when the next day you see that same person sweeping newly fallen snow away with a broom.

You know you're in France when you see "Joyeux Noel" on the buses. (Assuming they are running of course.)

You know you're in France when they tell you the train you are waiting for is delayed by 20 minutes and you end up leaving 2 hours later.

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I can hardly believe it, but tomorrow I will see my family for the first time in 117 days!!!!

France has been SUCH an amazing experience, and everything has gone above and beyond my expectations of the study abroad experience.

I finished my exams last Thursday, and these past days have been filled with packing, visits to Rouen, and lots of snow. In fact, a white Christmas is rare in France, so people everywhere are whipping out their cameras to document this historic event....aka SNOW. Of course the buses have been sparse, but there is no short supply of holiday cheer. Everywhere you look, a friendly snowman is there to greet you, and cries of happy children fill the air. I feel like I'm writing the beginning of a children's holiday story. Ok back to my personal life....there have been so many goodbyes with friends I might never see again, and it's a bit saddening. I will definitely keep in touch with the friends I've met, but it's not the same. My professor said we are living in the parentheses of our lives here in Rouen, and it's weird to think that the parentheses is coming to an end.

I will have another post with further comments....so for now I will leave you with a few key phrases:

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Happy New Year!

Most importantly, SEE YOU ALL SOON!!!!!!

I'm A Kid Again

Yesterday I went to Disneyland Paris with school!! It reminded me of my childhood and going to Disney World. I loved that some stuff was in English, but some stuff was translated to French. For example, on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, the pirates spoke French! Also, during the big parade, the Toy Story and Pinocchio section had the characters speaking in French. That was pretty humorous. They alternated between French and English during the parade. I loved the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and it was a really fun experience! I have included some photos below!

The Castle!!!

Sleeping Beauty :)

It's a Small World- mix of the normal song and Christmas Carols!

Semester is almost over, but it's been great!! See you all soon!

Barca Barca Barca!

The best thing about Barcelona = it was in the 50s/60s the whole time - a nice break from snowy Rouen! As soon as we (I went with my friend from the Czech Republic named Tereza) stepped off the plane we saw palm trees greeting us at the airport. Just like Florida. We took a bus into the city and found our hostel relatively easily. Pooped after a long journey, we went to bed in anticipation of a full day of sightseeing.

The first thing we did was purchase tickets for the sightseeing bus, and it was really a good move. The bus went to all of the main attractions, and had information you could listen to during the ride. I inquired about a football match, but there weren’t any in Barcelona until the next week. Too bad!

We also bought about 20 clementines for 77 cents – quite a bargain! The first stop on our journey was Casa Batllo, which is a house designed by a well-known architect named Gaudi. The architecture was truly amazing and I really felt like I was in a Dr. Seuss book. The architecture is similar to the drawings, or at least according to what I remember from my childhood. After Casa Batllo, we went to Park Guell, which has other Gaudi architecture. The day was so perfect, and we spent an hour sitting in the sun eating clementines. Such an enjoyable/relaxing afternoon! All throughout the park there were musicians playing, and it made for a wonderful atmosphere.

We also went to see Sagrada Familia, a famous church designed by Gaudi. Building started long ago, but isn’t scheduled to finish until 2026, so there was construction going on while we were there. Inside, the stained glass windows were gorgeous. The church was cool because it wasn’t crumbling as some are, but was very modern and clean.

At the end of the day we rode the bus around and saw the stadium, a palace, the university (across from the palace) and other cool sights.

For dinner we went to a place to get tapas and paella (rice with vegetables and meat or fish). I tried sangria and surprisingly liked it. The place we went to was quite cozy and they even had a football match on tv!

The next day we saw some other sights, and we went to the beach where we saw a submarine! Also, we found a shopping mall and I bought a dress! 

The day ended with an extremely long flight and driving back to Rouen in a snowstorm. Bye bye Barca :(

I had heard that no one in Spain spoke English, but apparently “Barcelona” is different from Spain. They speak Catalan, so all of the signs were translated into Catalan, Castillan, and English. Catalan is closer to French, and Castillan is closer to Latin, so it was interesting to compare the Catalan translation to the French…it actually was pretty similar. For example: exit was Sortidas in Catalan, and it is Sortie in French. In Castillan it is Salida.

Barcelona and Rome are probably my two favorite places I’ve been to, and I highly recommend visiting!

Casa Batllo

Sagrada Familia

Park Guell

View of Barcelona

When Christmas Comes to Town

I can’t believe I only have two more days of classes and less than three weeks left in France! Crazy how the time flies. The beginning of December has been quite a whirlwind of activity. From traveling to Barcelona to lively international dinners, life has been nothing less than exciting. 

It all started with a dinner I organized. My host family went out of town and said I could have a dinner at the house if I wanted, so I jumped at the opportunity. The dinner was with friends I met at the beginning of the year. These friends were people from the cross-cultural seminar we had to participate in, and most were French students, aside from one kid from Singapore named Caleb. Caleb cooked us a Singaporian meal and it was delicious! He made chicken and beef in several different sauces, chicken soup, rice and steamed vegetables. Also, we had the yummiest tea ever after dessert. For dessert they wanted me to make cupcakes (apparently it’s an American thing). Unfortunately, I couldn’t really find what I wanted (funfetti cupcake mix) so I did my best. I used a bizarre cake mix I managed to procure at the local grocery store, and added sprinkles to the batter. Also, I used nutella as frosting since I couldn’t find frosting anywhere. I am happy to report that the cupcakes turned out quite well. Yay! The dinner was really fun because high-speed French was spoken the whole time. It was pretty hard to join in, but I got the general gist of what was going on. 

Caleb hard at work

my cupcakes!

me, Elodie, Olivier

Funny face picture :)

The next day I had class at 8 in the morning (not cool for a Saturday) and then again at 1:30 where we had final presentations for our wine class. Our assignment was to develop a new form of advertising wine. We decided to market a wine cask that would be sold in supermarkets. The idea was “bringing the vineyard home” with you. Although the professor liked our presentation, he gently informed us that there is no possible way our idea would be feasible due to the likelihood of cask leakage etc. Oh well, it was a good attempt. I am still getting used to the fact that teachers give you immediate feedback on presentations in front of the whole class.

After my long unusual Saturday of classes ended, I set about an important task…making Mediterranean green beans! I was going to a Christmas dinner that night, and decided to bring the green beans. Since I made my greek meal a month or so ago I was a green bean pro. The preparation was completed without any complications (I didn’t even shed a tear when chopping the onion) and I happily set off to the Christmas dinner. It was a group of about fifteen people at the apartment of a French friend. The mix was quite interesting…Chinese, German, French, Turkish, and me, the only American. Everyone brought some type of food from their culture, so it was the most unique Christmas party I’ve ever attended. The only thing that was similar to any other Christmas party I’ve ever attended was the Christmas music playing in the background. Sadly there were no Christmas cookies, so I intend to make some as soon as I get home (regardless of the fact that it will already be the new year). At one point we had a “sandwich tower” and it was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. It literally was a tower of tiny finger sandwiches. A Yule log was present, and devoured quickly by all. Somehow every gathering that involves French people ends in techno music, and this night was no exception. I love talking to people from other cultures, so this was a really fun night! 

Florian and I

The next day was homework filled….nothing too exciting to report. Although I did go to my favorite restaurant at Docks 76 (the local mall) where I got a galette (crepe with various non-sweet ingredients such as cheese, vegetables and meat.

Monday I turned in a final exam paper written in French, gave a presentation in French, and had my last French civilization class. Lots of French haha.

The next night Andrea, Bernadette and I went to the Christmas market in Rouen. It was soo tiny! About four or five different booths. They do have a ferris wheel and a merry-go-round though, so maybe that makes up for it? I don’t know. I do know that the lights downtown do a fantastic job of spreading Christmas cheer! We did a little Christmas shopping, and then I went to see the new Narnia movie in French. I generally understood pretty well, and I feel that I’ve improved since the beginning when I saw my first film. The movie was 3D and I loved the soundtrack. Always do.

This morning it was snowing when I woke up! Yay and boo to that. 

We went to a restaurant called Zebre a pois (which means spotted zebra) for lunch and it was fantastic! Basically we had a quiche-like concoction for lunch, but it was homemade and super delicious. It was served with salad. The four of us (Greg, Andrea, Bernadette and I) split the dessert du jour and it was a perfect ending to a wonderful experience. We then proceeded to do a little more Christmas shopping in Rouen, and finished the afternoon with a special hot chocolate type drink from Singapore. 

Well, soon I’ll be going go-kart racing, but I shall talk to you all again later, with an update on my Barcelona travels!

Turkey Tom Takes a Vacation

So Thanksgiving does not exist here in France (obviously), but our school tried to make up for it by having a Thanksgiving Dinner this week. The only problem is that the dinner was Wednesday, and Wednesday wasn’t Thanksgiving. So sad. I miss my family right now, because we always spend lots of quality time together this time of year, but at least I get to see them via skype! It’s weird that it’s a normal week with classes and homework. If I was in the US, I’d have made the 4ish hour drive home by now and I’d probably be helping my mom in the kitchen. My French mom once asked me how to make mashed potatoes, because she had never made them before!

Thanksgiving in Rouen.....it snowed for the first time, which is extremely rare at this time of year! It was beautiful and I went outside and frolicked in the backyard while catching flakes on my tongue. After that Isaure (my host sister) and I sat around the fire inside. When my host mom came home she had us try a tart that she made and it was such a nice addition to the day! I was going to run (as this is my first year without a Turkey Trot) but when it started snowing and got really cold, I decided I'd rather stay cozy inside the house. My friend decided to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and it was AMAZING! We had turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, and I made pumpkin muffins for dessert. We didn't end up eating until about 11 at night (we underestimated the necessary preparation time), but it was a really fun night full of laughter and friendship. There were 7 of us at dinner, three Americans, one Columbian, one German, and two French, so it was fun to explain Thanksgiving traditions to them. We listened to Christmas music while we dined and it really got me in the holiday mood! After dinner we went to a school party at a discotheque, so I didn't get home until 4am where I promptly fell asleep to prepare my mind for my 8:30 French class.

Thibaud, me, Bernadette, Andrea outside Chez Pepe on my birthday

Thibaud and me

My family wrote a little happy birthday note to me on the white board!

Isaure in front of the fire

Pretty fireplace :)

My lovely pumpkin muffins!

The tart!

Cedrick (French), Florian (German) getting ready for thanksgiving dinner

Let the festivities begin!

Bernadette (left) cooked the wonderful meal

everyone at the table

Yes we rocked out to techno music after our thanksgiving meal

Me, Andrea, Bernadette

SNOW!!!!

The day before Thanksgiving was my birthday, so we went to the restaurant Chez Pepe with some friends and it was a lot of fun! I also received flowers from my mom! The day was relatively relaxing since I don't have classes on Wednesdays :) I didn't get to eat any birthday cake, but I'll make sure to do that when I get home. At the restaurant they did bring me an apple crumble with a candle in it, and my friends sang happy birthday to me in French! Yay for being 21!!

Here’s a little strike update for those interested…the retirement bill passed a while back, but there was another random strike yesterday-meaning I had to get up an hour earlier if I wanted to get to school on time! I asked my family about it at dinner, and they didn’t know what the strike was about this time (mumbling that strikes occur all the time for no reason in France). Also, today, due to the snow (it was BARELY dusting the ground) the buses didn't run at all!

Speaking of family dinners, my host dad always has such interesting things to tell us! He is a quiet man, but when he does talk, I find out how knowledgeable he truly is. Last week he told us about the linen plant. It has blue flowers and apparently it requires wind to grow properly. The wind moves the plan around, and that movement is important for the plant. Another thing I learned is why the British drive on the left side of the road. Evidently, back in the days of riding on horseback, it was easier to pull out your sword and defend against an attacker if you were riding on the left side of the road. Who knew! Once at dinner we played a game called “le nez du vin,” which means “the nose of wine.” The game had various vials that you had to smell and then guess what was inside. I was pretty bad at the game. I don’t have “le nez du vin.”  

I bought a coat here in France, and I love it, but the buttons keep popping off! I couldn’t take it to my mom, so my host mom sewed the buttons back on for me. I love living with a French family because I miss my family at home and the host family is a good substitute.

My international negotiation class ended this week and we learned a lot of interesting things that helped me understand some of the challenges of France. For example, France is a low-context culture, while the US is a high-context culture. This means that in France, there are certain things they expect you to know, and so they are less likely to spell out all of the information (unlike the US where everything is explained a million times.) After learning about this I realized how true it is. For instance, when we first go to the school, they didn’t give us a tour, didn’t tell us about the cafeteria, or printing, or any of the normal school functions that you use regularly, but don’t think about. I survived by watching and following others, but I see now that the administration just expected us to know stuff like that, hence the lack of explanation.

Since this blog is full of random information, I thought I’d keep up the trend by talking about pop culture. First of all, Harry Potter FINALLY came out in France Wednesday at midnight. I will still go see it, but I forsee much confusion on my part. Not only is the wizarding terminology entirely made up, but the French have their own translations. For example, Muggle is Moldus, and some of the character names are even different! Also, in class I learned that the Twilight series is called “Fascination.”

Finally, electricity and utilities in general are extremely expensive in France. Thus, they “attempt” to be efficient at every opportunity. The bathrooms all have sensor lights, which is a good idea. What’s not a good idea is sensor lights in the hallways…I’ve had many a group project where we were working away, minding our own business at one of the tables, when all of a sudden we were plunged into darkness. I do see the value of conserving electricity, but really?? Some things in France still baffle me.

Ok well as I write this I am sitting here freezing like an ice cube, so it’s time to tell my family my heat isn’t working. 

Talk to you again soon and Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy your break :)