CARNAVAL!

02.23.09

Another crazy weekend, but so much fun! A large group of us left for Nice Friday morning around 915 am! I was on a train with two friends (Lexi and Tyra) and we had which we thought to be a quick transfer in Marseille, but which ended up being an hour and a half! There was an accident so all of the trains were backed up coming into the city! This was nice though because it allowed us to get a quick lunch and we walked around the city for about 20 minutes (and I REALLY want to go back there!). On the way to Marseille, we chatted away in French with a middle aged man returning to Algeria for the weekend, originally from Marseille. We have met so many interesting people on rides so far, and it is great to get different perspectives on where to travel, etc. We arrived in Nice that day around 3pm and checked into our hotel, which was minutes away from the station! We walked around the town that day, did a little shopping, and got ready to go on the town! Around 10 of us ate at this great this Italian restaurant (we were craving pasta!) and got home at a reasonable hour since we had SO much we wanted to accomplish the next day!

Five of us woke up the next day (830am!) and ventured to the Musee d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporaire. Véro recommended this one and I am so happy we went! We grabbed croissants on the way and found it quick, only around a 20 minute walk from our hotel! The Museum was so much fun and was free for students! My favorite section was the Realism/Pop Art Section, with a few paintings from Andy Warhol and an awesome statue made completely out of plastic bottles! We went to the top of the museum, where there was a terrace and a BEAUTIFUL view of the entire city! Afterwards we grabbed a quick lunch (tried the Nice specialty called SOCCA), got ready, and went into Vieux Nice for the first parade!

The weather was absolutely perfect and there were so many people everywhere! We took a ferris wheel ride, which was another cool way to see the city and all of the action! We saw a little of the parade, with tons of giant floats and headed to the beach! It is a pebble beach, so not the most comfortable thing ever, but it was gorgeous! The Mediterranean was stunning and it was great to lay in the sun for awhile. Afterwards, Maddie and I split a Nutella Crepe with whip cream, simply delicious! We were in search of masks for the parade all day, but finally came across some at night! The night parade was CRAZY and lasted for around two hours. The floats were very intricate and colorful! Everyone had spraying silly string and there was confetti EVERYWHERE. It was literally covering the streets and covering our hair! I was dancing with some parade people in costumes (so much fun), when suddenly another parade man picked me up in his arms and carried me to this trampoline! I was screaming, but kind of excited at the same time. My friend Kelly took my purse and mask and they flung me in the air on this sheet! It was so much fun! We were exhausted after the parade ended and soon made our way back.

Early the next morning we decided to venture to the Matisee Museum, which seemed very close to our hotel. We somehow got a little lost, and it took us around 45 minutes to find the museum, but it was definitely worth the walk. The houses along the way were stunning. They all had the cutest shutters and were light pastel colors! The museum was in an old villa, which I guess is quite common in Europe. We soon had to check out of our hotel and go back home! We left at 2:30 and I got back into my house around 9… quite the long day! Virgil and Arthur were back and looked so cute! They are nice and bronzed from their two week skiing vacation in the Alps. Vero was excited to see me and was pleased when I brought her a bouquet of Mimosas (from Nice!), her favorite flower! It is nice to be home and we all decided we want to stay here this weekend, but possibly do a day trip Friday. We were thinking either Carcassonne or Sete, since they are both extremely close to Montpellier. I’m sure either will be fun, can’t wait!

BDAAAY!

02.19.09
So yesterday was my birthday, and I am officially TWENTY! Definitely a little scary but nothing I can do about it now! Véro returned from Paris on Monday and it seemed like she truly had a wonderful time! She surprised me with a early birthday gift.. a really funky colorful bracelet and cute earrings from Paris! She is so thoughtful and was really excited when I wore the earrings out the next night! Last night a bunch of girls from my program (15 to be exact) joined me to celebrate! My friend Jess’ host mom recommended a place we go to, called Chez Elia. It was right in the center of Montpellier and since one of her best friends owned it,she got us a great deal! It was a Brazilian restaurant and the food was delicious! We started out with the yummy chicken and artichoke salad, then had sea bass with rice, and then a delicious chocolate cake! The server was cute and even put twenty candles on it and lit it for me to blow out! It was a very fun night out! The girls were adorable and got me this GIANT card and all wrote a little something in it and paid for my dinner! Afterwards we went to a local pub for a while and then headed on home! That day Arthur sent me a text to say Happy Birthday and wrote it in English! He was so sweet to remember, since the boys still are not here and in the Alps. ‘Bon Noel’ In French can mean Happy Birthday so he directly translated and wrote‘Happy Christmas!’ I told Véro this and we both laughed for a quite some time. I'm sure I make the same errors in French which made it even funnier too.

School has still basically been a joke! That quiz I was supposed to have Monday did not happen! AND my classes got cancelled on Wednesday since the teacher “forgot what time our class started”. She rescheduled a makeup for Friday morning and we were a little upset! Two girls and myself are headed to Nice, our friend Carley to Amsterdam, Tove to Italy and Simon to Germany! SOOO basically half of our class is gone! We told our teacher this and she was like that’s your fault….. yet she was the one who forgot we had class! A little annoying but hopefully we do not miss too much.

This past Tuesday, my friend Tyra and I were done with class by 12, so we decided to go to a local museum that we pass all the time! It is called Musee Fabre and is right in the center of Montpellier and is free for local students! They are currently hosting an exposition of artist Emil Nolde. His work was incredible and all very different and colorful! He was one the Modern Era’s greatest artists and the exposition had around 150 of his paintings. It was actually really fun and I want to go back!

All of us got a little bit of a wakeup call yesterday. My friend Danielle was riding the tram home and was listening to her ipod, which also acts as her phone back at home. She said these two boys kept eyeing her but she stayed cool and did not let it get it her. A few stops before hers, the two boys were about to get off the tram, and one boy somehow stole her ipod right out of her HANDS and started running! She said she was in shock and had no idea what to do, and everyone on the tram was ranting (in French) about how stupid people are these days. The tram driver took her to the police station, but she was a little overwhelmed to go in, so she just headed home. We all felt horrible, but I’m just relived that she didn’t get hurt or corned into a sticky situation.

I haven’t really talked about missing home much yet, but I am starting to miss bits and pieces a lot. I do miss my family, my PUPPIES and my friends back home! I also really miss MOCHAS/caribou as dumb as that sounds! If you order a coffee here there are about the size of a shot glass and taste horrible! I also miss drinking milk with every meal (they drink whole!) AND I truly miss warm showers. I am lucky maybe about 2 our of 7 days that the shower manages to be somewhat ‘warm’ but most days it is FREEEZING and I dread taking one! I also miss driving and miss MY IPOD (it recently broke!). This weekend my frat back home is headed to their annual trip to CHICAGO, and I made me jealous thinking about how much fun I had last year! I am headed to Nice though (bright and early our train leaves!) so I guess that will have to do :) We are taking a train to Marseille, and then transferring to one that takes us to NICE! It was cheaper this way and it’s not too much of a hassle; we only have around a 50 minute layover. Carnival is this weekend, and is supposed to be a little crazy! I hear it is like Mardi gras, so we will see what happens! ! LOVE!
Xxx Sara

TOULOUSE/V-DAY!

02.15.09
What a crazy weekend! Eight girls and I left for Toulouse on Friday around 11:30. One girl in our group was quite the train expert so we followed her lead, got the correct platform, and found our correct seats! I think we have all mastered it now, which is nice! Toulouse is the fourth largest city in France and is about 2 and a half hours West of Montpellier by train. The train ride was very relaxing and went by in a hurry! After we arrived, we found our “hotel” which actually ended up being very nice! Only 23 euros and each room had a large double bed. We were all quite surprised and pleased! That day we toured the city and just walked around. The city is known as “La ville en rose” because of the abundance of red brick buildings all around the city.

We visited three churches, my favorite being the largest Basilica in all of Europe, Basilique St-Serin. The Romanesque steeple coming from the top was amazing, with its tiers resembling that of a wedding cake! The church was in the shape of a crucifix and the detailing inside was gorgeous! The ceilings were intricately painted and stain glass windows were throughout. We paid extra to go into a Crypt that contained some holy relics, which were very remarkable to see. After exploring the city, we got ready to grab a bite to eat and go out on the town! The receptionist at the desk was EXTREMELY helpful and recommended a great place for dinner and a couple of places to go after. We ate at an adorable restaurant called “L’Ane Qui Tousse”, definitely my favorite meal in France so far (other than Vero’s amazing cooking). It was this giant ladder, with six different kabobs: cheese, chicken, seafood, veggies and a few others. Our meal was also served with sangria AND a big bowl of yummy fries with different sauces! After dinner we went to this little square in Toulouse which was pretty hopping! We did a little bar hopping, first going to this artsy bar, next to a cute little pub, and then to a rock dance club. They were all very different, but all very fun! People knew we were not French, but when they guessed, they would usually guess we were English and one group of people guessed IRISH! After finding out we were American they kept chanting OBAMA, and were patting us on the back as we entered. Kind of hilarious but it was nice to have a warm welcoming for being American!

The next morning (Valentines DAY!) we woke up early and went to a little café for a quick breakfast. They had a deal for 4 euros for a croissant and juice, but we ended up getting tons more food then we thought! They then brought out hot chocolates and a slices of bread.. quite yummy! We did a little shopping that morning, and I definitely found a few things! The night before, I spotted a dress (made for meee) in a window and I went on an adventure to find the store! I FOUND IT, they still had the dress, and it fit perfect! I was really excited to find a dress (majorly on sale too!) since I haven’t found one in France yet! We ventured to the Capital building, where there was a little market outside! A few of us bought scarves and we took a small tour inside. Shortly after, we headed to the train station to catch our train home! We sat across from an older man who lived in Sete, who recommended a few places for us to travel to! Quickly after returning home we were on the go again to our friend’s apartment that was having a small get together for Valentine’s Day. It was a fondue party and everyone brought something to dip/share! The cheese fondue was delicious AND I think I may have to make some for Vero when she returns home. It was a very fun night to spend with some great girls!

Today Lily and I woke up and went on a run around Castelnau! Her mom showed her a way to go, through a bunch of backroads. It was a beautiful, sunny day for a run, but a bit windy! We passed though a bunch of vineyards..so pretty! The houses we saw were adorable and made me want to buy one/live there someday!

This weekend a bunch of us are headed to Nice for Carnival! We are leaving early Friday morning and returning midday Sunday. Carnival is supposed to be a great time and I am getting extremely excited!!! You may think all these trips are getting expensive (yess they are) BUT since we are students we were able to purchase a 12/25 card, which gets us 25-50 percent of all train tickets around France! It lasts for a year and pays for itself with only three tickets! It’s q great way for us to explore France and save a little money!
Tomorrow is my first Quiz/Test! The teacher didn’t want to tell us anything about it, so it may be a total surprise… let’s hope it goes okay! We found out we have to do an Expose on the topic of our choosing in two of our classes. One seems less serious and only has to be about 5 minutes, but the other is worth a large portion of our final grade! It is supposed to be about our hometime/our life and a girl in my class (Lexi) and I are doing it together since she is from Edina, Minnesota. It has to be twenty minutes AND in French, but our date is not until the end of April, SO let’s hope we will basically be fluent by then!

That’s all for now!

Happy Anniversary (again) mama and papa! MISS YA!!!

trip to the ALPS!

02.10.09
I arrived home from the Alps late Sunday night and it was a BLAST! We arrived late at night on Friday, around 10pm. We we got there it was snowing like crazy and we all got got off the bus and started playing in the snow! The bus ride into Vallouise was a little scary because it was snowing very hard and we were winding around a mountain… but we did make it! Our rooms were fine, 2 bunk beds with a bathroom, but with a gorgeooous view! The next morning we woke up bright and early at 8 am for skiing! I was QUITE nervous since the last time I skied was in 7th grade for a school field trip. We went to the bunny hill first, and somehow I didn’t even fall! My sking abilities magically came back to me and we skied all night and the next day as well! Lily and I decided to be adventurous and try sking all the way from the top of the mountain because everyone told us the view was breathtaking. It may have been one of the scariest moments of my life, BUT we made it down the mountain! I only managed to fall once. And by fall I mean completely wipe out face first into a five foot pile of snow. BUT I got out uninjured and made it down the rest of the mountain,

Saturday night we were served Raclette at the hostel, which was extremely delicious! We had this device that heated the cheese, and then you cut a piece of and put it over a baked potato with ham. That night all of us kids hung out downstairs chatting up our friend Pascal who owned the place. He was basically the bartender/owner/cleaner; he ran the entire place. He was hilarious and we had a lot of laughs. Sunday morning we skied a little, and then just hung out at restaurant outside drinking hot chocolate. I loved our trip! Some kids in our program were a little disappointed since I believe we were at the smallest mountain in all of the ALPS (there was only one chairlift….) but overall I think everyone had a blast. On the way home we watched the movie SCREAM in French! It was quite entertaining since none of us knew what was going on.

Vero was so cute when I arrived home, she screamed out “Ma BELLE!” She made me the BEST meal I have had yet! She calls it the “floating pizza” and it is made out of a very thin crust, with a layer of mustard, then tomatoes, then mozzarella cheese. Simply delicious. She said she would give me the recipe to share with my friends..YAY! She leaves for Paris Thursday and returns late Monday night. I am headed to Toulouse for a small day trip this weekend! Five girls and I are leaving Friday morning and returning late Saturday afternoon. I’m so excited to go somewhere on our own and have our first hostel experience! Saturday night a bunch of girls and myself are having a cute little dinner party and making fondue! It should be interesting since we don’t own a fondue pot but most likely will turn out fun!

Today, since I ended class at 11 o’clock, Tyra, Lexi, and I went exploring the town! Today was the last day for SOLDES (sales!) so I was on the hunt for cute shoes! They have two huge sales here, one in January and one in July, that last for around a month. I found two pairs of heels, and am quite excited to break them in!

School is still pretty easy, but I have my first test Monday! Our teacher told us nothing and when I asked her how many questions it was she laughed and said she will decide this weekend. Hopefully it is easy! This week in her class (Ms. A) we have had to act out the readings and even do a mini game of charades with French words. She made us redo it it we didn’t say the reading with the correct emotion..And this is supposed to be grammar class.. interesting! One boy in our class named Gia presented a small speech on the topic of his choosing today. He is from Vietnam and talked about how a first name is chosen there, and how most girls and boys are named after flowers (his father is named Rose). It was a little difficult to understand his French because of his accent, but it was awesome to learn more about his culture. This week I met a girl named Mariella in my class, who is from Cyprus. She knows little English, so we are forced to speak French. This has actually been really fun and I enjoy talking to her, even though it can be a little frustrating at times.

Hope you enjoy the pics! BIS!

A few busy days!

02.04.09

It has been a few busy but fun daaays! Classes have been quite easy so far still. We had one assignment to write a half page about a news article, I went to turn it in and the teacher told me to keep it (whaaat!). Kinda crazy/I feel that homework is optional here?
The weather was finally nice today, around 55 degrees! This whole week it has been raining and kind of miserable! I conveniently left my umbrella at a restaurant, so this entire week I have gone without one! I went out yesterday to finally buy one AND now there is no rain! Just my luck. On the upside, half my classes were cancelled today, because the teacher was sick! We got out at 2:30 instead of 7:00, which was great!
This weekend we are headed to the ALPS, which I am very excited about! We are leaving Friday and traveling by bus. Our program director said it should take around four hours, so not too bad! Veronique is extremely nice and is letting me borrow her ‘snow outfit’ for the weekend. I cannot wait to show off my awesome outfit to the slopes. It is like a complete jumpsuit (teal) with embroidering on it of animals. It definitely made my day when Veronique showed it to me. The boys are gone this week, which actually has been quite nice. I can use the internet whenever and the house is more calm and peaceful. Next weekend, Veronique is going to Paris for the weekend. She has spring break for two weeks now and then two weeks again in the spring, kind of crazy! I am staying here ALONE (don’t panic mother). She is preparing me food for the weekend and is showing me how to take care of the animals. She said I could stay with a neighbor if I wanted, but I am actually really excited. It will be like my own house in FRANCE for a weekend.

Last night a few girls and myself went out to a bar called The Australian. Before I went out, Vero inspected my outfit and told me I looked “wonderful” in her adorable little accent. It is cute that she cares and is like a temporary replacement Mom (obviously not as good as you mama!) Every Tuesday is Erasmus night there, so there were kids from all countries there! It was actually really fun, and we met up with a couple kids from our classes there as well. Tomorrow night is ‘quiz night’ at a local pub, where they test you on music, movies, etc. I’m hoping to dominate the music section, but we will see! A few kids went last week and said it was very fun, so I’m excited! The bartenders there are from England, so it’s nice to speak English with them, rather than trying to order in French (quite difficult trying to pronounce some of the weird drink names)!

Tonight, Vero made me DUCK! I have never had it before, but it was actually kind of good! She made it with this really yummy sauce made of creme and wine. She told me her favorite thing to eat is pig toes! I really hope she does not serve me those, but we will see. Hope all is well at home and it is getting warmer! :) Hopefully I will have some fun stories from when I return from my trip!

Bonjour Montpellier!

02.01.09 I have officially been in FRANCE for two weeks! It is a little hard to believe, but I am truly loving every moment of it! We have actually already done a lot of things here! And as in we, I mean the group I am here with through my school. There are two groups within my program here, Language and Culture and Integrated Studies. The integrated kids arrived January first, and are composed of around 40 kids. My group, which arrived three weeks later, is composed of 19 kids: one boy and 18 girls. We all seem to get along really great, which was surprising but awesome at the same time! About half are from the U of M and Penn State, with one from Seattle. We take classes at the Institute of French Studies for Foreign Students at Paul Valery University. It is very cool, since everyone in our classes is trying to learn French AND from everywhere around the world! We have kids from Germany, Korea and Japan! I met two really awesome Swedish girls in my classes, and am excited to hang out with them more!

Montpellier is unlike anything I imagined! It is such a quaint little town with tons of little streets winding throughout. It also has a main center (la Place de la Comedie) where everything basically connects to. I think I already have the tram perfected! I do have to switch lines to get to my school, but it is actually really easy. I live in a little town right outside Montpellier, called Castelnau-le-Lez with an AMAZING family. My house is around 5 minutes from the tram stop, and it takes around 15 minutes or less to get to the main center, but a little longer to get to school.

When my host family came to pick me up at the hotel, I was quite nervous! One woman walked in: short pink hair, large gold hoops, a black belted dress, and tall red boots. For some reason I knew she was mine and I couldn’t be happier! Véronique used to be an artist, and is now a teacher at a local school, teaching 7 and 8 year olds. She has every wall painted a different color in her house, and has everything decorated extremely cool! Her bathroom is covered in picture frames with photos of her family, and the hallway leading up to my room is covered in fake grass and flowers! I gave her a very chic handmade wallet as my gift and she seemed to love it! She immediately put her things in it, and always tells me that she brags to her friends about it. She is too cute.

She is separated from her husband and her two sons, Arthur (17) and Virgile (16), alternate weeks at their parents. Her kids are very sweet and welcoming. I gave them both Minnesota rugby t-shirts and Oreos which they polished off in a few minutes! They may be the skinniest children I have ever seen though and look about half their real age, but that’s France for you I guess! I have definitely become closer already with Arthur. He is very animated and quite hilarious. He loves American music, with Rhianna and Bob Marley being his favorites. We went on a walk the other day with their cute little puppy (Lily) before dinner and I got to experience Castelnau at night! We speak a lot of franglais to each other, meaning I usually speak French to him, he responds in some English or French. Arthur told me this town is truly his favorite place in all of France, and I can definitely see why. I watched a movie the other night with them and we often watch the news before dinner. Dinner is so much fun with their family! Véronique is truly a great cook, yet she tells me otherwise. My favorite dishes so far have been ratatouille (made with eggs, eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers) and a yummy chicken and rice dish made with coco milk. She made me yummy crepes the other day too, which I ate with nutella. It was delicious! After every dinner, Véronique serves me more wine and a platter of cheese. AND offers me dessert. It is A LOT of food, but the French seem to be able to handle it since they do not snack here! It was a little difficult to get used to only eating three times a day, but I think I am getting the hang of it! And she tells me this is how they keep their small, petite figures.

Their family dynamic is truly what I love, and has made me feel like I am apart of a family here. They get along very well, always joking and laughing with one another. The boys speak incredibly fast when speaking to one another, but Véro is sweet and usually gives me a quick recap of what just happened. It is kind of hilarious. She is SO incredibly sweet and patient with me. Now I can basically understand her about 80 percent I would say, just finding the words to say back is the tricky part! She knows a little English, but only uses it if I don’t understand a word she says. OR else, she will whip out this giant dictionary, and have me find the word myself! Conversation is becoming easier and more natural as the weeks are progressing, which is a relief! Last weekend she took me to a local flea market and to Palavas, which is near the Mediterranean! It was such a nice day and it was fun to explore the city with her.

Last night, I ate with Arthur and Virgile, while Véro chatted with a few close friends that she had over! Her friends greeted me with 3 kisses, alternating cheeks. In Montpellier you give three, but it varies throughout France. It is a cute way to say hello! Her one friend even told me I am already looking very French (this obviously made me quite happy)! After dinner, I went to a friend’s apartment. A few girls and I just chatted the night away! We decided we wanted a low key night; all brought a few goodies over to munch on, and had a blast! I really love the people here so far, and couldn’t have asked for a better group of people. This weekend our entire program is headed to the Alps for the weekend! I am SO excited, even though I will probably spent most of the time falling down the slopes. A lot of the girls are not very experienced either, so it will be fun!

I started classes last week and was placed in level B1, which I was happy about. We had to take an hour written exam and oral placement test to determine our levels. My schedule seems great! It gets finalized next week, but so far I have the majority of my classes on Monday and Wednesday, one class Tuesday, two classes Thursday and NO class Friday! Hopefully this will allow for some fun day/weekend trips.. I can’t wait to start planning them! We already went to Nimes and to the Provence region with our program the first week! In Nimes, we were able to visit an amazing old roman Amphitheatre, where they hold bullfights at now in the Spring (A few of us definitely want to try and make it back there)! In Provence we saw the Pont du Gard aqueduct, the old remains of a castle in Les Baux de Provence, and a few other historic sites! Going to these places, makes me want to explore EVERYWHERE!

One last thing for now. There was a strike the other day! People all over France participated and it was a protest against Sarkozy. The trams were only running about one every half an hour and only ran until around 7pm. After my classes, a friend and I went to the Comedie to check it out. It was like a parade, with music and signs everywhere, very bizarre! Véronique participated and so did most of her friends, so most all schools were closed around the city. She told me that there were a lot of signs with Obama, saying YES WE CAN, and then ones with Sarkozy saying NO WE CANT. She found this hilarious! She absolutely does not like Sarkozy and complains about him to me all the time! Grèves (strikes) in France are supposed to be quite popular, so we will see if another one arises!

CIAO! LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL! Since I have finally set this up (sorry it took me forever!), I will keep it updated regularly!
xxx Sara