Le Jambon

Ham is everywhere in France!!! I’m not sure it’s even possible to get a sandwich without ham. Even if you made a sandwich yourself, and had no ham anywhere nearby, I feel like ham would somehow end up in it anyways. At home, I don’t like ham, but luckily, it tastes better here. Probably because it’s French. I’ve had a couple “Parisien” sandwiches, which are just butter, ham, and cheese on a baguette, and they are soooooooo good. Pretty much any bread here is insane... -ly delicious. And it's pretty cheap too, a loaf is like less than a euro and sometimes less than 50 euro cents. Bon appétit!

Les Huîtres, La Dune et La Plage!

Yesterday, we went on our “excursion” to a small oyster town, Gujan-Mestras; the biggest sand dune in Europe, La Dune du Pyla; and the beach. All fifty of us got on a tour bus (which was surprisingly nice, especially compared to the dorms), and our first stop of Gujan-Mestras was about 45 minutes away. When we arrived, we were all kind of like, uh, what are we doing here? There was hardly anyone around, and the harbor was just boats in mud because the tide was really far out. We first went to the local oyster museum, where they talked about the history of oyster eating and the extremely long process of raising and harvesting oysters. It was interesting, but I had trouble understanding some of the specific oyster vocabulary they used.

After the museum, we went over to a nearby restaurant, where they gave everyone a plate of six oysters. Normally, I would have passed without a second thought, but the directors really wanted everyone to try one, so I managed to eat one. Kind of gross and slimy. But some people were really into it and collecting the uneaten plates so they could have like 20 oysters. I also tried un peu de vin blanc! I figured I should considering the Bordeaux region is famous for its wine. It was just okay; I think I’ll stick to water...

The meal was pretty French; after the oysters and bread, they went around and gave everyone some ham to eat, and then later we all got two little cheese cubes. Fromage du chèvre (goat cheese) seems to be pretty popular here. Lastly, they gave us a sort of apple tart thing which was good.

Next, we headed off to La Dune du Pyla, which is the biggest sand dune in Europe! The program directors and the people at Oysterville kept saying that, and I at least was like, okay well

how many sand dunes are even in Europe?! But it was actually really cool, probably my favorite part of the excursion! It’s about 350 feet high, and you can either climb to the top by the stairs or by going straight up in the sand. I decided to be semi-adventurous and take the sand route. It was hard! If you think walking in dry sand is hard, try climbing 300 feet! But the view from the top is spectacular! On one side, all you can see is a huge green forest, and on the other side, there's the very blue ocean and the beach way below. After taking in the view at the top, me and another girl in the program decided to run all the way down to the beach on the other side. Running down was so fun! You go really fast, and the sand makes you kind of half slip down. We had to be back at the bus in like 15 minutes though so we just touched the water, took a few victory photos, and started the long trek back up, which took way longer. We were breathing hard and sweating at the top, but it was definitely worth it.

Lastly, we drove over to the beach, so we could experience European lack of inhibitions a nice French beach on the Atlantic. By that time, everyone was pretty tired; some people went in the water, but mostly we just sat on the beach and relaxed. The water here is warmer than at home, but I’m not exactly a swimmer.

The ride back was pretty silent, and I think everyone fell asleep. Last night was pretty quiet. Everyone was tired, and the internet on campus wasn’t working, so everyone just sort of hung around and went to sleep.

Today’s a Sunday, so France is pretty quiet. Most stores close early or don’t open at all on Sundays in France. However, there’s a big outdoor market along the river downtown in the morning, so I went to that with some other EAP kids. It wasn’t too crowded. It’s mostly food vendors, so we all bought bread to eat later, and we split a sort of cake/dessert bread that had cranberries in it for breakfast. The river is really petty in the morning. A lot of people jog or roller blade or walk their dogs along it. (Disappointingly enough, I've not seen a single poodle yet!)

Right now, me and a bunch of other EAP kids are at McDonald’s for the free wifi. Un peu pathétique to be in France and at a McDonald’s of all places! I’m pretty sure almost everyone has been here today because we ran into a ton of people walking back when we were coming here. We American college students need our internet!

À bientôt!

26 août 2011

This morning, when I woke up, it was pouring rain. Luckily, it was only sprinkling when everyone had to walk over to take a test at the DEFLE (Département des Étudiants avec Français comme Langue Étrangère (Department of Students for whom French is a Foreign Language) (pronounced def-luh)). The DEFLE test will place everyone into one of three levels for the Intensive Language Program (ILP). It was pretty difficult. The ILP starts Monday, so we find out what level we’re in then.

The test took about 3 hours, and when we left, it had stopped raining and was getting sunny. At 2 o’clock, we all met downtown at the Office de Tourisme with the program directors for a walking tour of downtown Bordeaux. The tour guides were from the Office and did the tour mostly in French. Except I think my group’s guide lost faith in us understanding because he switched to almost entirely English near the end…

The tour was really interesting; our guide told us a lot about the history of Bordeaux. Most of the buildings are from the 1700’s and 1800’s. They have to be cleaned regularly or else they would all turn black because they use a very porous stone that soaks up the pollution in the air. If anyone wants to build something new downtown, they have to use the same stone and style of architecture so it looks like the new building is two or three hundred years old. Our guide pointed out one building that’s only about 20 years old, and it was impossible to tell the difference!

There are a lot of really cool places downtown I want to visit this year. There’s the Grand Théâtre, a huge shallow pool of water that reflects the lights off all the buildings at night, a ton of museums, a cathedral from the 1400’s (if I remember the tour right), and plenty of towers and fountains and statues. So much to see! So far, most of my time downtown has been spent just doing errands with other students. We all needed to get phones and groceries.

Side note: I got a French phone! And I spoke to the salesperson in French to get it! Go Katie! It’s a pay-as-you-go plan (hors contrat) from the French phone company Orange. It’s kind of expensive; calls are like 50 euro cents a minute! Whaaaaaaat. But incoming calls and text messages are free! Even from international numbers!

Anyways, the tour was really interesting. It ended on some random street far away from the Office de Tourisme though, so when the tour guide was like well here we go, everyone was like uh, wait, what, where are we? And then we awkwardly clapped as the he walked away. Luckily, it only sprinkled a couple times and was mostly sunny during our tour. Pictures coming when I have a steady internet connection!

After the tour, I went with a few other students to walk around and stop at a Monoprix, which is like a French Target. Sunscreen is so expensive here! The cheapest one was like 15 euros! I don’t even want to think about how many dollars that is. But I didn’t really have a choice so I just bought it anyways. It has some weird cooling sensation thing when you put it on. I can see how that would be nice in when you’re out in the sun, but you’re supposed to put on sunscreen before you’re out in the sun. Maybe I’m just being too American!

When we got back, we all decided to go onto the main part of campus to try to get internet. It was after 6 though, so all the buildings were locked. It looked like it might rain, but we Americans were desperate for email, so we huddled under overhangs. Then it started pouring rain and thundering and lightning. I think we might have looked a little ridiculous/pathetic all huddling under the overhang and trying to lean so as to best protect our laptops… Eventually when there was a lull in the rainstorm, we all sprinted for the dorms. And the internet wasn’t even working! After all our trouble!

Tomorrow, we’re going on an excursion to the beach! À bientôt!

(I'm posting this late because I had no internet...)

Bienvenue à Bordeaux!!!

I made it!!! The journey was pretty exhausting. For the most part, I slept through the two flights, but I was still exhausted. Sleep on the plane doesn't really count. On the train, I was trying to stay awake to watch my bag (everyone puts their larger suitcases in a common spot right by the doors), but I kept dozing off anyways. The TGV is really nice, the seats are big and comfortable and there's a ton of leg room. The ride is really smooth too. The flights were not so great - American Airlines is very no-frills. The only TV's were in the aisles, and the food was not very good. And the seats are tiny!! And the guy next to me on the second flight kept fidgeting which was annoying.

Then I managed to walk about half a mile to the hostel, which was kind of uncomfortable since it was hot and humid and I had so much stuff. The hostel was not great, but it was only 22.5 euros, and it included a free breakfast. The main part of the breakfast was a huge chunk of bread - very French!

There was a girl in my room at the hostel who's in the same program, so we split a taxi to the dorms. There, the program director greeted us and informed us that we would "have to exert ourselves a little," since our rooms were on the 4ième étage (that's the 5th floor to Americans!). Luckily, someone helped me most of the way with my 50 pound suitcase.

The dorms are, uh, not great. They're kind of old and gross. It's also a little unsettling how frequently the program directors tell us to always lock our doors... But today someone put a seat on one of the toilets, so obviously things are looking up!

This week is mostly orientation stuff. Yesterday was a general orientation to France and the program, and today there was a meeting on housing. I still don't know where I'm living! Scary!

This Saturday, we're going to the beach and giant sand dunes. And le Musée des Huitres (Oyster Museum)! We're supposed to try one... I'm a little apprehensive. Can't I experience French cuisine with, say, a croissant or some cheese??

À bientôt!

2 Days!

I can't believe I'm leaving for Bordeaux in 2 days! Sunday morning (very early morning), I'll be flying off to JFK in New York, then Charles de Gaulle in Paris, then taking the TGV (high speed train) to Bordeaux, and then walking (possibly crawling by then) to the hostel. So I'll probably leave my house at like 3a.m. Sunday and arrive at the hostel in Bordeaux around 3pm Monday. And I'm traveling all by myself! Oh la la!

I'm nervous to finally fly off to France, but I'm really excited too. I love French, and I've wanted to study abroad in France pretty much since I first started taking it in seventh grade. It's hard to believe I'm finally going. But I'm packing my giant suitcase and frantically reviewing the subjective past tense, so I guess I am!

It's a little scary to be heading off for what could be a whole year (or a whole school year anyways, so more like 9-10 months) away from my family and friends. I'm signed up for fall semester, but I have the option to extend to stay for the whole year; I just have to decide by sometime in October. My student visa is good all the way through June! I'm used to being away from my family and friends from home for long stretches of time after going to school fairly far away for two years, but I wonder how it will be when I'm in a whole different country and time zone (9 hours ahead!).

I really hope I can do a good job keeping in touch with everyone! Email me!

Au revoir - presque! Bordeaux, je te verrai dans trois jours!!