"Vivre en Amerique, c'est . . . Vivre en France, c'est . . ."

We had to write a poem filling in those blanks for our literature class today. I only wrote two lines. Our classroom isn't very inspiring. I think I'll have to bring my notebook into the city, where there are plenty of great things to write about. Ex: German tourists (they are everywhere), des pains au chocolat, and people making out in the streets. Okay, maybe I'll have to find a nice park or something.

Also, I finally called the doctor today (last night was rough), and I have an appointment for Monday morning. Then, I found out that the very same doctor is coming with us on our excursion to Mont-Saint-Michel this weekend. Quelle chance! At least I'll have her there, just in case I get sicker. Sicker? More sick? Increasingly ill? Sicker? Yes? Whatever - sicker.

So, today I woke up at 8am for classes (again) and was in class until 5pm. Oh the joys of being a student/victim of disorganized class scheduling! These past few days have been VERY long. Today, I had Oral Expressions, Mme Dargan's class, Grammar, and Literature. I love all of my teachers, but that much French in one day is exhausting. Especially when you're sick and just want to be in bed.

Oh! But what was cool, was that after my literature class, the teacher looked over at me and said, "Vous, vous parlez bien le français." How exciting! Not to brag, but this is my blog and I can do what I want, so I'm going to celebrate the fact that my French teacher at a French university singled me out to compliment my French. That's really cool, and it makes me hopeful for my progression with the language during the rest of my semester here :)

So, other than those classes, I haven't done much today. Tonight (it's already 10pm ahhh) I have to pack for my trip this weekend, but at least I don't have any homework or classes tomorrow. I'm going to try to bring my laptop with me on the trip, but no promises about internet or having time to update this. From what I can tell, it's going to be a very busy weekend. Better remember my camera!

Love, Josie

7 Hours of French Classes Later . . .

I don't think I can move. I am so incredibly tired, and I know that tomorrow is just going to be longer and more exhausting. Today, I woke up at 8 for Oral Expressions (where we "learned" the future tense. I'm too tired to even be sarcastic about this, so I'll just say it: it was a waste of my time. I felt like I was back in high scool (or Professor Becht's class) again). After that class, I came back to the apartment, where I got some food and then headed back to the school for a 3-hour-long class on African Studies. Yes, it is extremely interesting, and I love the class and the professor, but three hours of non-stop French is very exhausting. The best part about my Wednesdays? They never end. After African Studies, I hopped on the bus to get to the Musee for my 2-hour Art History class, where we walk all over the museum for two hours and talk about European art throughout the centuries. Today, we covered . . . something. Well, all the answers to her questions were either "Sebastien," "triangle," "classique," or "baroque," so you figure it out.

So, after art history, it was already 6pm so I decided it was time for me to get home. I still have almost all of L'Avare to read, and it's supposed to be finished tomorrow, so I figured I had a lot of homework to do. Have I started it yet? No. I had to watch Glee first. But I'm about to do my work now - it should be a party.

Also, today Emily V. and Allie talked about going to Greece for our break. I am so excited about it, and I really can't wait to start planning. We need to go somewhere for a weekend before Greece though (Allie will be in Spain, so Emily and I want to go somewhere too) - any ideas? Or any ideas where I can find cheap flights/travel options to Greece?

Let's see - that's pretty much it for my day. I'm feeling better (finally). I really think that all my food that I bought has helped a lot. Unfortunately, it's all almost gone (didn't I just go shopping yesterday?) so I guess I have to go back tomorrow. Why is life so expensive?!

OH! I FOUND PEANUT BUTTER! Kind of. It says it's peanut butter, but it comes in a can that requires a can-opener to open it. So, the jury's not out yet on this one. I will be sure to keep you posted though :) Haha, and when I brought it home, my host mom says "Oh yeah, we don't really have that in France. It makes you fat, and we don't like to eat stuff like that." Wow. Interesting point of view, considering we had nutella crepes for dinner last night.

Gotta love it.

It's Moliere time!
Love, Josie

I Am Officially A Resident of France!

Today, the other students and I went to the French consulate/official-ish place where they deal with papers to get our residence visas granted. It was a trip, as everything in France is, but in the end my visa was granted and now I am officially a resident of France (until June 2011)! The most important thing about this is that I can now travel outside of the country. SO excited :)

Other than that, today was fairly uneventful. I was late to the rendez-vous at the gare this morning, and got scolded my Mme Dargan. Typical. And then we went and got chest x-rays, where we were individually ordered around, topless, by French nurses. Awkward. And then we left and got lunch, which consisted of goat cheese, bread, and French pastries. Unhealthy. Then, as we were walking across the Seine River, I walked right past some guy who asked me for my number yesterday without noticing (my friends told me after he had walked by). Weird. And then, we all waited in the waiting room at the consulate place, waiting for our turn for the French doctors to call us fat. Confidence-building.

No, but really - the doctor, after reading my height and weight, says, "okay, so your height is (whatever it is in centimeters), and your weight is (whatever it is in kilos). this means that your BMI is good - it's in the average. But no more - stop!" Seriously? Fuck him - I went out and ate some peanut M&Ms afterwards. Do you think that helped with my BMI, Dr. Dickhead? Apparently he told another girl that she was obese, according to her BMI (she is anything but), and tested a few people for diabetes just based on their weight. Look - it's not their fault that muscle doesn't exist in France. No wonder this country loses every athletic competition. Ever. No one exercises, has any muscle, or can do anything athletic at all. We get called crazy when we say we want to go for a run.

Which leads me to my next issue: I need to start running again. It's SO hard to go here, first of all because I've been sick, but also because there is nowhere to run. It's just busy streets and neighborhoods. And I don't even know if I feel safe going by myself. I just feel like it's really unfair to not even have the opportunity to work out, even when I want to. I really want to be in shape, but it's nearly impossible here. No one does anything. Especially the women - they are, in general, anything but athletic. It's really amazing how little they work out and how tiny they are. I don't understand it. But also, it's not even about size or BMI - I just really like being in shape and feeling strong. I'm already so sad without my Bikram yoga (I totally gave up on running once I found Bikram), but now I don't even have a place to work out at all. It's really hard.

So now, I'm just sitting at home about to do some serious Moliere reading. I went to the store today and bought a bunch of delicious and nutritious things, and I'm really excited about them. I'm so sick of being sick!

Also, I really think that the bus drivers here are certifiably insane. The bus on my way back up to Mont Saint Aignan today almost hit two cars, a man on a bike, a woman and her child, and a curb. Yes, the last one is a stationary object. You would think that, at least, the driver would be experienced enough to know when a curb is coming up, and talented(?) enough to know how to avoid it. Not always the case.

So, that's pretty much it for my day. Oh! I bought a pair of flats for 20 Euro. They are black and beautiful :) The piercing is still looking sweet, and hurting less, so I'm a happy camper. I'm gonna go eat some apples and cashews now.

Bisous!
Josie

My First Tattoo!!!

I wish I had a picture of my mother's face when she read that title.

Oh, and this is a joke, by the way; I just got my cartilage pierced. Mama - that's what you get for not responding to my Facebook chat message.

Also, FUCK. I just wrote this entire long blog post, and my internet kicked me off right after I tried to post it. I'm gonna go ahead and add "internet" to my bad things in France list.

Anyway, today I went to a piercing shop to buy a new nose ring, and left with a new piercing. Of course. But, in my defense, I did leave with a new nose ring too. It's bright blue and beautiful. I would take a picture to show you, but another fun thing about my bedroom in this apartment is that it doesn't have any lights. I'm basically in a cave of darkness right now, which I don't feel is very conducive to picture-taking. I'll take one tomorrow :)

So, the cartilage piercing hurt a ton - much more than my nose piercing did - but it looks cool as hell, so I am definitely happy with my decision.

OH MY GOD. The new Desperate Housewives came on last night, which means I can watch it now! I mean . . . I don't watch that trashy show either? Okay, don't judge me. I'm a straight-A student studying in France and becoming bilingual. I fully admit that the shows I watch are horrible, and I embrace it. At least it's not Fox News, right?

So anyway, I'm in love with my new piercing. A few people want to get tattoos while we're in France, but no worries everyone - I will definitely not be partaking. It's not that I'm against tattoos; it's just that I can't think of anything important enough to have on my body for the rest of my life. Maybe I'll get one in the future, but here's my thought: if I have to wrack my brain for a tattoo idea, then it's not meaningful enough. It should be much more important than something that I come up with just so I can get a tattoo.

Sidenote: every time I tuck my hair behind my ears I hit my new piercing and it hurts. A lot. This is always the worst stage of new piercings. But also the best, because you're all excited about how new it is. I still haven't gotten sick of my nose ring though - actually I'm still completely in love with it.

Okay, so that's pretty much it. Today was a success: new piercing, new nose ring, and no rain. Wonderful.

Now, I have to go read an entire Moliere play. Wish me luck :)

Love, Josie

Sunday Morning, Rain Is Falling.

mmmmmmmmm

Quelques photos from my day with the Le Jeunes yesterday :)

Welcome to the wonderful world of autumn in Normandy: rain - all day, every day. It's a chilly, rainy, gray Sunday, and we all know what that means: hanging out in bed, catching up on my American TV shows, and - could it be?! - doing homework. Don't be too surprised; it had to happen eventually. I don't just get to hang out in France without doing any work for 4 months. I get to hang out in France doing hardly any work for 4 months. Unless you want to count sightseeing, shopping, and going to cafes as work, in which case, being a student in France is hard.

My homework that I have to do this weekend consists of three pages of grammar exercises (thank you, high school for teaching me this 4 years ago) and reading a Moliere play (thank you, Moliere movie that I used to watch all the time because it is so awesome). In short, my homework is really just a way for me to relax, practice my French in the comfort of my own bed, and pretend like I'm being super studious. I'm sure it will get more difficult, especially when we have to start writing essays for my African Studies class, but for now I'm enjoying the leisurely grammar exercises and elementary-school-level French plays (no actually- they bought us the "Petits Classiques" version of L'Avare). Love it.

So that's pretty much it for my day. I ate some spinach, rice, and an apple for breakfast/lunch (meals get confusing when you wake up at 1pm), and now am just relaxing to the tune of French homework until the season premiere of Private Practice finishes loading. Wait, what? I don't watch that trash. . .

Anyway, depressing as the day looks outside, I'm really enjoying being warm in bed, reading my Moliere, while watching the rain pour down outside of my window. It's going to be a great -- uneventful, but great -- day.

IMPORTANT: If anyone can figure out how to send me pumpkin pie and/or peanut butter in the mail, please do it. I will sell my soul to you for pumpkin pie. The realization that I won't be home for Thanksgiving just hit me yesterday, and I'm starting to flip out.

Okay, that's all. Love you all very much!

Bisous, Josie

Blast From the Past.

I just got home from an absolutely wonderful day with the Le Jeune family. Henri, Marie Cecile, Anne Laure, and Benoit all came to Rouen to see me today, and we spent the day walking around the city, eating pizza (and if you're Benoit, a pizza for dessert), and remembering all of the amazing times we had when they came to visit us in the United States. It was an amazing day filled with laughter and good company, and it is beyond incroyable to think that it has been three years since I've last seen them!

Henri took a ton of pictures, which he has promised to send me, so hopefully I will be able to put up a few soon :) I didn't have my camera with me though; I just don't feel like carrying it around with me these days. Plus, I don't have a way to upload them yet, so it's not much help right now.

Something that I realized today (besides the fact that I really, really need to buy this beautiful, warm, dark gray, French coat. I'm not going to tell you what it costs. I'm only going to say that is is from the United Colors of Benetton. Yeah.) is that friendship is the most amazing thing in the world. A connection with another person transcends language barriers. I remember when the Le Jeunes came to visit us in the U.S., and we were all trying to communicate with each other, but none of us could really express themselves the way we wanted to (besides my father. Of course). We all have nothing but amazing, fond memories of that time together, but thinking about it now, it's really amazing how we connected the way we did without being able to speak the same language. So what was really cool about today was that I was able to talk to all of them, and say exactly what I wanted about everything. I got to show them around my city (ahhh I love it - my city), give them updates on my family, and tell them how much I want to come back and visit them in Brest. I'm just so incredibly lucky to have this opportunity to spend a semester studying in France, allowing me to improve my French enough to have conversations with my French friends. Also, how amazing is it that I have such great friends in a foreign country? I really, really hope I will be able to visit them in Plabenec before I go back home.

So, that was pretty much my day: catching up with old friends in good old Rouen. Tomorrow, I'm gonna go get that coat.

Tonight, I don't know what the plans are yet. A bunch of my friends went to Paris today, and they should be getting back in the next few hours, and I think they wanted to see a movie (The Town) tonight at some point. Not that this information is AT ALL interesting to you. Just saying. It might be a relaxing night of watching an American movie in French, and then going home and going to bed. Sounds perfect to me. I just wish I had some hot chocolate, my Mama's popcorn, and a cozy blanket to cuddle up in. It's getting to be that time of year, and I am in LOVE with it.

Bisous!
Love, Josie

Teenage Dream.

Don't ask about the title. It's a Katy Perry thing (which is hilariously pronounced "Cat-ti" en France).

So today I went shopping. Oh, I went shopping. Emily Valentine (the most impressive and magnificent shopper I have ever seen in my life) found an H&M nearby, and it stripped us of our l'argent. But, as Maddie's reasoning goes, the clothes we bought will help us to get people to buy things for us, so really it was an intelligent money-saving endeavor. I'm gonna go with that logic, firstly because it's hilarious, but also because I'm in France and if I want to buy some amazing French clothes, I'm gonna buy 'em.

Note: I sound like I was completely reckless with my shopping today, but I'm really just in a good, hyper mood. I, of course, agonized about every cent that I spent and then felt guilty about it all the way up to the register. Not to mention, I didn't even spend nearly as much as some of the other girls. Maybe it's a good thing to be so cautious about money, but maybe it's also a little unhealthy. Who knows?

Anyway, I bought some wonderful things, all of which I am extremely excited about wearing all over the place. I LOVE FRANCE RIGHT NOW. It's just so classy. I wish I could post pictures of my new clothes. Maybe I'll be able to figure that out soon, but I bought a black skirt, tights, heel boots (YES!), a sweater thing, a shirt, a dress, and I don't even know what else, but it was all just over 100 Euro. Actually, not bad for what I got. I'm SO happy about all of the clothes too. There isn't one thing I'm not completely thrilled to own! And that's the way shopping (and life) should be.

So now it's about 7pm and I'm just hanging out around the house until dinner is ready. What a difficult life I lead here. How lucky am I to have this amazing opportunity? I am so grateful.

After dinner, the Swiss girls and I are going to meet some of my wonderful American friends for a few relaxed drinks, and then come back to the house early (j'espère) because everyone is going to Paris for the day tomorrow! Well, except for me. But it's still wonderful because Anne-Laure and her family are coming to Rouen to see me!!!! I am SO excited to see them again.

So those are my plans for tonight. Not too exciting, but I'm still happy anyway. So I'm gonna go try to sneak in an episode of Psych before dinner (I have no life).

Bisous!
Love, Josie