Day 22: Un jardin, le dejeuner, et une promenade. N'oubliez pas le café! / A garden, lunch, and a walk. Don't forget the coffee!

I woke up this morning around 10am. I hung out in bed for a while catching up on facebook and emails, etc. Then I got dressed and ready for the day - had some fruit for breakfast. I went back to my room and did homework. Then I went to go eat the left over pasta from the meal we had made on Friday night (that I had put in the fridge) to find it wasn't there. Claudie was in the kitchen and was like, "what are you looking for? the pasta?" and I was like, "Yes." She apologized because she had eaten it and I used my new favorite/French phrase, "C'est pas grave" several times and told her it was no problem. She offered to make me pasta, but I told her it was not a big deal at all and I'd just go out to eat with my friends (I was meeting up with them anyways for coffee!).

Left the house to go meet up with two friends for coffee and food, but because it's a Sunday in France, nearly everything is closed. We finally found a restaurant/café across the street from a café called "L'Americain" on the Rue de la Republique. Tried my first vin chaud - hot wine mixed with cinnamon, spices and orange slices - very good! Then had some coffee after the meal and the words on the saucer reflected on the mug to show the words that it spelled (if you can't make it out in the picture, it says "grand arabica").

We left the restaurant and headed to see the Pont d'Avignon. On the way, we stopped at one of my friend's houses - there's a view of the gold Mary statue that is in the Palais des Papes square on top of one of the buildings.

From there we explored the garden that is above and behind the Palais des Papes. The Mistral was strong today and therefore made it that much chillier up in the garden overlooking the city. We wrapped up our scarfs and kind of looked like babushkas! It was quite chilly to say the least, but well worth the pictures we got (it was a clear day).

Once we headed down from the garden, we found a café in the Place de l'Horloge where we sat inside to warm up and sip on hot drinks. We stayed there for quite a while before going our separate ways and saying our "À demain"s.
...À demain!

Day 21: Les Soldes / The Sales.

Saturday mornings are fantastic. I slept in this morning - went to bed late last night so this was a nice change. Got ready for a busy, fun filled day! Michel was in the kitchen making a fruit salad - mangoes, etc. He didn't get back from his reunion/meeting last night until after 2am and he only left because he planned to go to the market this morning at 5am!

I then met up with friends outside Les Halles in Place Pie to go shopping and spend the day wandering around the city. Brought her some juice (the water was turned off at her house so she had limited water - a bottle - with which to brush her teeth etc.), so she was extra thirsty. Went to go get a crepe and on our way there we ran into two other girls from the program. They had been goign to get their hair done by "hair cut students". One of their host moms went with them. The guy was going to "be inspired", dye their hair all different colors, cut it crazy, etc. The host mom told the hair cut guy, "No. No. No. You can't do that. They are Americans. They will be sending pictures home to their parents. No. No. No." Hahaha.

So we continued on to the crepe place - a British/French guy - and we all got Nutella crepes. There is this cool crepe grill thing. Anyway, the crepe was so gooey and yummy It was my first crepe since being in France. It was so delicious!!!

The rest of the day was filled with shopping - going into stores which we had no idea what they were like and going into other stores where we were certain we'd find lots of great stuff at really low prices. Had some lunch, continued roaming, got some coffee/espresso (in a tiny plastic cup!), then returned home.

We were eating dinner a little early because of the show downstairs and also because Claudie was going with a friend, Martine, to go see the movie, Avatar. She invited me to go with them, and I accepted! We had a great conversation while we were sitting at the table while it was just her and I (while Michel was down working in the theater with the woman performer). I got offered coffee with dinner - it was like fate was helping me out. I was trying to figure out how to politely go about explaining to her that I drink coffee, I just don't always want it late at night. Thank you fate. I enjoyed my coffee in the mini "tasse de café," mug of coffee.

We went and saw the movie. The theater didn't have ticket windows or tickets like in the US - an actual booth with a circle hole and a little square stamped ticket! The theater had red cushion connected chairs with legit arms on the chair. You could hear the movie reel reset. The commercials ran and then stopped. The screen went black and the lights went on. There was a pause between the ads and there was about a 5 minute pause between the ads and the movies.

The movie was great. I didn't really know what to expect. I knew it was very popular in the US. Claudie thought it was great, she really loved it! It was great to go to the movies with her.

Day 20: Un répas parfait! / A perfect meal!

Got up this morning for my one class that I have on Fridays. Got to the Institute a little early and it was nice and quiet. I drank some tea, read a french newspaper. The newspaper mentioned a little article about the workshop and performance that are going on tomorrow. Claudie and Michel invited me to the performance.

After class, ate lunch and left to go shopping. I got some cute shoes from "Déli's Shoes" - black flat "ankle" boots with little silver button type things on the top/side for only 10 Euros. Then we kept wandering around shopping, etc. Went to Carrefour to get food for dinner tonight. Claudie and Michel had a "réunion" for his organization and told me I could have friends over to make/eat dinner. We came back from grocery shopping, dropped the stuff off at the house, then walked to Mirel's house, then to Delee's house, then back to the city to do a little more shopping! I bought a cute navy blue dress for 15 Euros. The only thing that I need to buy is a suitcase since one of the wheels on mine broke on the way over here so it's crazy dysfunctional as a suitcase carying 50 lbs worth of stuff. I am going back out shopping with some of the girls tomorrow for a suitcase.

We returned to my house at a little after 7 - Claudie and Michel were just leaving for the gathering. For dinner we made chicken, pasta (bowtie with tomato sauce), a veggie "mélange" (combo) with tomatoes, broccoli and some herbs, and a salad (lettuce, tomato, broccoli, and grated cheese). All around it was a fabulous meal - quite delicious indeed. I can't take most of the credit - the three other girls (Alaska, Delee, and Mirel) did most of the cooking and I washed the dishes after.

We watched MTV while we were eating. Michel always tells me (when I'm watching tv and he's in the other room) that I can change the channel to MTV. So we decided to watch. It was silly! After dinner was over, a couple other joined us to hang out for the evening.

Overall today was a great day and a great start to the weekend!

Day 19: Je fais du shopping...demain./I'm going shopping...tomorrow.

Woke up this morning (feeling like P.Diddy - in reference to a current pop song by Kesha). Got to sleep in and take a shower before class. Had kiwi, a banana, and a clementine (which was nearly the size of an orange!) for breakfast.

After class (Literature), I went to a little shop/cafe to get a baguette. The owner/man behind the counter spoke english (and french) and had a British accent! So many languages/dialects rolled up into one. Went back to the Institute and had what I have now begun to call "my picnic of a lunch" because I carry out all my food in my huge reusable grocery bag at lunch time.

Started researching places to go and to travel. I have begun to aimlessly google search for historical sites and the top places in Europe to travel to and then have been narrowing down my list as well as looking for travel buddies.

I started looking into what course I want to take. I spoke with one of the students who was here last semester as well (and who took a course at the University last semester and is doing it again this semester) about how to go about signing up for a class and if she could recommend a course. She told me that University classes won't start until around the 20th of February, and this week professors have just begun to finalize grades, so I still have a while yet until the schedule for courses will be posted. This bodes well for me in terms of scheduling because I will get my major 20 minute presentation for Poli. Sci. completed before I start the (what is sure to be very difficult) class at the University.

Had sausage and potatoes/peas/green beans for dinner with an "apple crisp/tart compote" for dessert a little while later. Michel and Claudie have a gathering ("réunion") for his organization tomorrow night, so they told me I could have some friends over to cook dinner.

We watched some french film that was almost completely dependant on dialogue and with very little visual assistance in terms of understanding the plot of the movie. I had major trouble following it. Then we watched a movie "Agents Secrets," which I could follow better, but was still a bit confusing. I find it a bit bizarre that I can better understand movies that are dubbed in French than movies that are actually in French. ... Weird.

Anyway, the end of January brings the end of sale season in France, so tomorrow I will be going shopping for some boots (and maybe a suitcase if I can find one, since mine broke on the way to France)!

Day 18: La Chorale d'Avignon / The Avignon Chorus

Today started out as a normal Wednesday. I woke up at 8h30, leaving in time for my 9h30 class (L'Histoire de l'Art) after successfully telling Claudie and Michel that I would be returning late this evening because of Choir rehearsal.

Wednesday's are definitely my "hump day" if you know that expression. Once I've climbed over the mountain of a day that Wednesday is, my week is not hard. After Art History, I went and bought all the food I needed for the rest of the week to eat for lunches. I feel like little by little I am becoming more of an Avignonnais (an "Avignon-er" ... I think that's how you spell it!) I even have my own reusable grocery bag for the Carrefour grocery store!

I returned, ate lunch, went to History class, then to Political Science. It is helpful having those two classes in that order. There is a lot of overlap between the two classes. The history class kind of acts like a background class for the Political Science course. That is very helpful, because right now without that background I would be even more confused in the Political Science course than I already am! :-)

After that class, I packed up my belongings and left with Lauren to pick up Bus #1 from Place Pie. We missed the first Bus #1, which had come 10 minutes before we got there and the next bus didn't come until 10 minutes later (basically, we arrived right in the middle of when the 2 buses arrived). We made sure to ask the driver if the bus was going to the right place. The bus ride took less than 10 minutes.

The choir is about 20 people of all ages...I'd say from age 10 up to mid 40s. Three males, the male director, and all the rest females. We sing a mix of songs in English and French. We sang a Maroon 5 Medley (This Love, She will be loved, and Sunday Morning), a Mariah Carey song, a Stevie Wonder song, and other songs in both french and english. This link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcadgkDdJu0 is to the song in French called, "Diangue, Diangue, Diangue" (pronounced almost like "Dang" but not quite) that we practiced tonight. The song basically is saying "I'm crazy/enamoured about/with you, I'm shouting it from the roofs, I'll chase you, it's never too late for us." It's a fantastic song. It's so much fun and so upbeat.

The choir was so much fun. Everyone was willing to help us - get us some of the music, teach us the notes and rhythm, share music, and even give us a ride back to the Centreville (inside the walls, because the practice space is outside the walls). Needless to say, it was worth eating dinner 40 minutes late to go to choir rehearsal! I can't wait for next week! I'm glad I pursued it. We sing a bunch of contemporary songs and everyone is really nice. There is even a concert in March that I will participate in! I hope there will be CD recording so I can share it with everyone and have a little memento!

Choir was definitely a great way to relax and put a smile on my face after the busy day of three classes. This bodes well for the weeks to come!

Day 17: Un peu en retard / A little late

So I am writing this on Wednesday morning (well I guess actually afternoon because it's 12:04pm) about yesterday's adventures. I was quite busy and quite occupied so didn't get a chance to write about my day.

Yesterday, like my typical Tuesdays, I only had one class - Literature. We talked about an author, George Perec. We are reading one of his books. He is part of a literary group/movement, L'OuLiPo. The group follows the idea that with each new work they put a new constraint or rule to follow on what they are writing. For example, Perec wrote an entire book without using the letter "e". Try writing a sentence - even in English - without using the letter "e". It is very hard. Any way, this reminded me of an episode of Gilmore Girls, "You Jump, I Jump, Jack," where the Life and Death Brigade has an event and a group of people at the gathering are talking, avoiding using words with the letter "e". I wonder if the episode was inspired by this book?

After that, I sat down to write my first legit paper in french about the state of France in 1945, right after la Deuxieme Guerre mondiale (WWII). -- Basically a state of disaster. -- Then I read my packet for Poli-Sci about the initial influences and start of the European Union.

Then I went and talked to the Activity Director (among the many other things she does) about joining a club, volunteer, or other type of activity. This evening another girl in my program and I are trying the choir that she found for us. Supposedly they sing songs in english - example, Stevie Wonder -and french. We have to take the bus to get there and then she told us that someone could drive us back inside the walls. The rehearsal is from 18h30 to 20h. So, I will have to be a little late for dinner. Told Claudie and Michel this morning and they said that it's not a problem.

Last night for dinner we had some meal that was similar to ratatouille supposedly, but I don't remember what it was called. Her food is always so delicious! That's all that really matters to me.

After that, she had a practice/class for something, so she left, but I watched (Michel joined for the end) Benjamin Gates et le Trésor des Templiers (National Treasure I). After the movie ended, an investigation on the dangers of the road with drunk drivers and more people driving under the influence of marijuana came on, which we watched for a little while. Then Claudie returned with a DVD of her most recent show that she directed by a lesser known French playwright who wrote around the same time as Moliere.

Then it was off to bed. Right as I was going to bed, it started snowing. Michel pointed it out. He seemed very excited, but he was also very glad that it seemed to be melting on the patio. Needless to say, there was no snow on the ground this morning, just some on cars.

It has been great Skyping, Facebooking, and emailing with people. I am happy that I am able to keep in touch even thousands of miles away!

À ce soir (quand je vais écrire d'aujourd'hui!)

Day 16: C'est lundi. /It's Monday.

Last night at dinner, I got the sense that Michel was upset that I hadn't stayed down at the soirée for very long with my friends. One of my goals for tonight - which I accomplished! - was to reassure him that we had tons of fun at the soirée and we just didn't know how to salsa so we felt a little goofy. He reassured me that it's not a problem that we don't know how to salsa, nobody notices, the Americans just do their thing and nobody stares or anything. He then informed me of when all the other soirées will be. I'm psyched to go!

When talking to Claudie last night, telling her something similar about how we didn't know how to salsa, she said I could try a class, try learning how to salsa. She told me the days and times - there are two different classes. I thanked her very much and told her I'd love to try, thanks for the offer.

This weekend, Michel went to a market (at 5am on Saturday morning!) and bought tons of fruit. He then showed me all the fruit he had bought and then told me he had noticed that I was only eating one piece of fruit breakfast. He told me I should eat more than one at breakfast, bring one to school if I wanted, and/or eat one as a snack between lunch and dinner when I return home from school. Almost a whole shelf of the fridge was filled with fruit - bananas, apples, pears, kiwis, and clementines!

Today I had two classes - history and political science. Both classes are still my hardest classes, and I really have to focus and concentrate to follow what is going on. It is good practice for when I start my class at the University (which I still haven't selected because they still haven't posted the schedule) and the professor will speak "normal" speed.

I finished my first container of Nutella today at lunch. It is so delicious, I can't help it! My host parents today were commenting on how I don't eat a lot but that's good in comparison to other Americans who sometimes eat a lot. They told me about one student they had who ate Nutella constantly. I will certainly not be doing that any time soon!

Today as I was leaving for school, Claudie was making letter head (I think) or some kind of stationery for Michel's humanitarian organization. She was putting pictures from Togo along the side. Then later this evening, I joined them/they showed me an email they received from a student who stayed with them back in 2004. I asked her if she had finished making the letter head, could I see, and could I look at the photos. Michel had to go downstairs for a little while, so I wasn't able to look at the pictures tonight, but he is going to show me the prints of the pictures. I'm very excited to find out more about what he does and to speak more with him about what he does in Togo.

When returning from school, I watched a show with Michel about the choices Obama is making about the banks, how powerful and big they are, how his actions will affect other stock markets of other countries, if other countries could effectively follow suit, and if Obama could actually make it happen. I didn't follow all of it, but Michel explained parts of it to me as we were watching.

Claudie and Michel will not be here on Friday night and told me I could put some food in the fridge for dinner and/or have friends over to cook dinner together while they aren't there. Also, on Saturday there is going to be singing/theater combination performance on Saturday night at 8:30 that they invited me to go to if I wanted to. I think it's something Moroccan and/or it's related to Sufiism - the more liberal/modern version of Islam - if I heard correctly. I told them I'd love to go! I'm so lucky that they invite me to all these things at their theater!

I also received 2 letters in the mail - one from my parents and one from my grandparents. Everyone was jealous that I had already received mail! It was very exciting - I got my first when I was coming into school. Then my friends were returning from buying some food and told me I had another. What a surprise!?! Two in one day!

For dinner, we had some kind of special French dish "'something' veau" (veau is baby cow). It was tied up with strings which you had to cut before you ate it. It can also be made with other meats. It was very delicious. I have also certainly lucked out - Claudie is a great cook!

À bientôt.