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.
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| Caleb hard at work |
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| my cupcakes! |
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| me, Elodie, Olivier |
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| 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!
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| 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!
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