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!