Raw beef

So last night I decided that I really I needed some protein, so my friend and I went out to a cafe for some dinner. After walking around for an hour trying desperately to find a restaurant where we could find something, we settled on some random place. We were about to sit down in the cocktail area when i realized that it would be better to sit in the more restaurant-y part of the place. BUT the waiter came out and sat us right down in the cocktail part with the small little tables and where no one was eating except us because its where you drink before you eat. None of the restaurants actually open until 7:15 so people just sit around and drink until 8 something when they decide oh hey its dinner time. I just always thought that people just did not eat until late, but then i realized last night that you CANT eat until late because nothing is open until late. And it was Sunday which cuts your choices by 2/3 because nothing is open on sunday. Cant even go to the supermarche. ANYWAY so then we order, and my friend is adventurous and orders something that he doesn't know what it is and I just order salmon because it sounded delicious. They bring out ketchup, mayonnaise, worchestershire (sp?) sauce, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and tabasco sauce. We already have two glasses of water, a big glass bottle of water, a coke bottle, and a glass for my friends's coke on this small little table. It was ridiculous. THEN we wait forever and get our food. My friend looks down. Its a patty of RAW ground beef with a RAW egg on top of it. And some pickled chickpeas. I died laughing. And he ate the whole thing. I knew he was going to so I took a bite for him just so he didn't completely die. It was the funniest and most disgusting meal I have ever been through. Everyone was staring because I could not stop laughing at how gross it was. My meal was delicious. All the sauces ended up on that hunk of raw beef just trying to make it less disgusting. hahaha. It was the funniest thing. I wish I could explain it. It was freezing outside, and my friend was waiting for the meal to warm them up and then they bring out a COLD hunk of meat. Fire had NEVER touched this beef. haha. Then we get out of there, go to mcdonalds to get ice cream and coffee, and they were OUT of coffee. My friend had to go to the bathroom the ENTIRE meal so then we go to mcdonalds to use the bathroom and the bathroom was being used forever so they couldnt go. Then we almost get hit by 2 cars coming back. We decided to never leave the house again.

kinda ill

I am still not feeling the best. Kinda stuffy and sick in the stomach. I want it to go away, but no such luck. I think my diet probably has something to do with it. The only protein I really get is from milk. Meat or anything with protein costs so much that it can be really difficult to get into my diet at all. Oh well. I will make do. I just feel really weak and tired for the past few days. And I go from freezing to being flushed in a couple of minutes. Oh well oh well it will all come and go. Just gotta push through it. I did not really do anything today. Went to a different grocery store and saw some cheaper food prices. Its nice to know they exist. Ugh I am just not in the mood to do this entry. Maybe tomorrow.

Nothing new really

I dont have anything new to report really. I just thought I would write and let you all know that I am still alive. I am just trying to struggle through classes and its not all that easy. Sociolinguistics, when taught in French, can get kinda confusing. And in my Francophonie litt class, we are reading an adapted version of Shakespeares " The Tempest" . So its like Shakespeare...but in french. Gives me a giant headache if you really want to know. Anyway. Trying to figure out Prague (whats new right) and my bag situation between the end of the program on Dec 20th and when I come home Jan 6th. All these travel things are really difficult. Its not really the get up and go type of things people lead you to believe about Europe. Its actually a lot of planning. And when you dont have internet at your apartment...well that makes it even harder to figure out because I have limited time and funds to do so. Someday everything will be settled. Just sitting around watching the exchange rate change everyday and having a daily heartattack. And someone pointed out today that pulling all my money out of my American bank account and putting it in the French one I have isnt really helping the American economy too much now is it? Whatever. The economy hates me and I hate the economy. Mostly because I dont understand it. Isnt that always how it goes though... Anyway yeah might have to buy a big ol' hiking-like backpack and be one of those crazy looking people travelling from town to town. We'll see. I dont even know what I am doing tomorrow. Jade goes to Munich tomorrow for October Fest and Ill be all alone in the apartment with my German roommate who cleans like there is no tomorrow and you wouldnt want your apartment to be messy at the end of the world now would you? But it just makes it uncomfortable when you put something down and they MOVE it and then I cant FIND it. Life is rough I know. Internet soon? Anyone anyone? Please, France, Please? Just do something on time; just this once?

Last day of Paris and back home again

The second day of Paris was great as well, though a lot less intense than the first day. haha. We went to breakfast in the morning and then we went off to the Louvre, where we spent a good portion of the day. It was really overwhelming, but I enjoyed it a lot. You're trying to look at the building and then the painting, and the scupltures and the history...it's a lot to take in. But it is a beautiful place. I decided I really like Paris. Something about it is just not as intense as our cities back home. Lack of skyscrapers or something. All the little cafes and everything, beautiful buildings, gardens, green spaces, walking paths. It's really nice. We had a little lunch at the Louvre as well, and then headed back to relax a little before I had to head off again to the train at 20:20. All in all, I just had a really good time. It was really nice to see familiar faces again and just travel around a little bit. Montpellier feels like home now so it does not feel like I am really travelling anymore. It was nice to get away for a little bit. But it was also nice to get home again. The bed with the mattress was quite nice. haha. You do what you gotta do! Yesterday I really did not do too much. Sat around, went to a pizza place for lunch, went to the pub to watch the chelsea vs. man u game (it was a tie) and then back home for dinner and sleep. It was nice to go and come back because I realized how familiar I am with this place now and how comfortable I actually am in this town. I know how things work for the most part and how to do most things that I need to do to survive. The town is beautiful. We were just sitting in this park here and looking out over an aqueduct and it was a beautiful day in the high 70's and I don't know...it was just nice. And Jake is coming the end of October for my birthday! He finalized his plans yesterday! Now I just gotta figure out when I am going to get to Prague...So much to do. I have been here 5 weeks already. Time is really flying unfortunately.

One Day in Paris

I have been in Paris now for a little over a day and it has been really great. I met Mr. and Mrs. Trethewey here in the train station because they are visiting Paris for a few days. The train ride was fine. It felt a little long just because I was by myself and so I had no one to talk to, but I just listened to my ipod and read my book (which was in english and the people around me looked at me weird for reading it) and tried to just enjoy the ride. The trains themselves are actually pretty nice. I got to Paris around 11:00pm and the Tretheweys were there to greet me. Then we took the Metro back to where their hotel was, went to the cafe for a beer and then went to sleep. I had a cozy little spot on the floor. It works just fine for me! Free things always work out pretty well I think. The next morning Mrs. Trethewey and I went to breakfast and the had the normal French breakfast of croissant, bread with jam, cafe au lait, and orange juice. Then the business began! We caught the metro into the main part of Paris and visited Sainte Chappelle and Notre Dame, got lost for just a few minutes, and ended up at the Centre Pompidou (the modern art museum here in Paris). So, we decided to look around there for awhile. ha. It was like they were trying to tell us to go there so we just spent a few hours in there and it was nice to look around at my own pace. Then, after having lattes on the roof, we met up with Mr. T and the three of us went off to look at the Louvre (just the outside though, there wasn't enough time to really go in) on our way to the Arc de Triomphe. We went all the way to top. So many stairs. I got my workout for the week. But it was beautiful! The view was amazing. You could see so much of Paris and the major sites and it was just really nice. I enjoyed it. ha. The Arc is just huge. Then off to the Eiffel Tower! We did not go to the top because that was just really a long line. But I got some amazing views at it. And yes Brittany...it is huge. Really know you're in Paris when you are under that. Then we went back to this end of town, had a wonderful dinner (it was so nice to have real food!) and went to bed. It was a wonderful day. My whirlwind day in Paris worked well for me! And now I have one more day today before I leave here at 8:20pm! Lots to do!

American sized anyone?

So here is an observation for ya. Things come in 4 sizes in some places here. Small, medium, large, and...American. I wish I was joking but I am not. Many of you might have already experienced this phenomenon but I am just seeing it for the first time. Our physical size and our food is a huge joke here...Granted, the American sizes ARE actually about the size of an American large half of the time. But for the most part, the things labeled American...I would never dream of eating. It's pretty gross to me. The sandwich "americain" is a sandwich with everything in it...including the fries. Apparently all Americans just slap those fries right into the sandwich and just munch away on x-large sodas and...why not more fries on the side too? This might sound like an angry rant, but I actually find it really funny. It's funny to be an american and see the things labeled "american" that are really just gross. You never know what other countries think of you until you get there. Makes me think about all the things labeled French, or Chinese, or something else in the US that probably just seem weird. I went to get pizza yesterday at the very french establishment called Domino's Pizza yesterday and I started ordering and the man goes "a large?" Well, I did order a large because I was ordering for 4 of us...but STILL! haha. I know all this food does exist in the States, and we do eat large portions (even if you think you don't...you still do compared to the French) but it's just funny that these meals and meal combinations are labelled American. The sadest thing is...I think a lot of the Americans here are actually eating "american sandwiches." Ok...that's my daily observation. Yesterday I ate a ridiculous amount of food I thought...and then realized that it was probably about the amount that I eat at home. It was a sausage and fries for lunch (which I did not even finish) and 3 pieces of pizza for dinner. I felt sick after eating it all actually. Weird. All I wanted was some greasy food and then I had it and my stomach thought I was insane. Also, I went to the flea market yesterday, and I think it was actually the steal things off of cars and sell them to people market. Funny the things people sell. Same things back in the US. How much for the rusty ax sir?

Nothing

Haven't really done anything with my time so far this weekend. So tired from the last three weekends that we are all just using this one to relax a bit. I kind of wanted to do something but oh well. Next weekend hopefully. Money is kind of bringing me down because I realize that I don't have that much to spend on a daily basis. Barely any actually... like 20 € a day MAX. Not a lot actually when you have to eat and drink and pay the utility bills. It will all be ok I am sure. Well I don't actually have much to say today so far since I haven't been doing anything. Maybe later today though its already 2:30 and this IS France where nothing but drinking can happen past 7 or 8. It'll all work out! Ugh these French keyboards blow my mind!

Better

I am doing better today...Talked to Jake yesterday for awhile and I feel much better. Today is a day off so I don't have to do anything, which is fantastic. I think we are going to the zoo or the aquarium. I am getting internet in 10 days!! Fantastic. And a home phone and more television. Don't worry, I will still leave the apartment on occasion. Last night was a good night after I got off skype, just went to the bar across the street, had some disgusting cider that tasted like vinegar, and then wrote a letter, and then went to bed...it was nice. Today should be pretty good. Maybe we'll make something good for dinner since we have the time. Well I have not heard from my parents in a fairly long time...I think they may have given up on me? haha. It's ok though. I'm a big girl now. I'll write more later maybe. If I can get to the internet again.

Frustration is setting in

I have become a little frustrated and just blah lately, and I don't really know why. I guess the newness has REALLY worn off and now I am just trying to figure out the french way of life which is more or less impossible. It's just really disorganized and doing anything takes weeks, which is fine when you aren't leaving in 3 and 1/2 months I suppose. But I am so I kinda want things to get done sometime rather soon. Classes are going alright...I hate my grammar class because we have the worst of the 4 grammar teachers. My african francophone litterature class is alright, but the actual lecture portion is difficult. The teachers here talk REALLY quietly and don't make any effort to be entertaining at all. You pretty much sit there and listen to Ben Stein speak for 1 and 1/2 hours straight while straining to hear any of the words. It's a difficult process. In my sociolinguistics class, I could understand what she was saying just fine since it is just Intro to Sociolinguistics, but everyone around me would not stop talking to the people next to them so that made hearing anything almost impossible again. I have phonetiques this afternoon, which is worse probably than it sounds. haha. This is a depressing little entry, but that's about how things are going for me right now. I feel out of contact with everyone and when I try to email or call someone, I get no response or very cursory short answers which actually don't give me any comfort at all. So. Frustrated. I want to travel but it's actually ridiculously expensive I am finding. I don't know what to do. Go to class I guess.

Ah classes

So yesterday was the beginning of my real classes and I did not have a class until 4:15 so I had the morning to do what I wanted. I did laundry for the first time (yeah three weeks in...a little dirty I suppose) and then I recharged the minutes on my phone, went grocery shopping, and finalized my classes. It was a busy morning. The civilization class that I had was really really long but it's only once a week so I guess it will be ok. This morning I had a Francophone African literature class. It was the recitation part of the class, the lecture is on thursday. My friends are in that class with me so it was pretty nice. Plus most of the kids in that class are foreign, so the prof was really nice and easy going. I think it will be a nice class. This afternoon I will have grammer, which will be boring, but I guess we gotta do what we gotta do. They force us to take the class even though it won't really count for anything at all for me since I have already done grammer. I talked to my german roommate for awhile last night and it was really awkward since I am not very good at small talk, but we tried. I was just sitting there reading my book and she just sat there staring at me so I felt like I really had to talk. It was interesting enough, got to talk a lot about Germany vs. France vs. US. That's what we do with all foreigners that I have met up to this point. I am still trying to get travel plans to France and Prague finalized. And I realized I really need to go somewhere this weekend because I have 3 and 1/2 days of weekend to fill and I will be really bored just sitting around Montpellier when I have all of France at my disposal. I will probably go somewhere in France, maybe Nice? I don't know. That sounds nice though. Well it's time to find food, the usual problem I face everyday...finding cheap food. Au revoir, bientot.

Avignon

Today we went to Avignon to visit the Palais du Pape, the popes palace in Avignon where the Pope lived for a couple hundred years when there was a lot of political turmoil in Italy with the emperor. It was interesting enough but the building was so touristy that it was hard to get a sense of how it actually was. There were all these panels of info that just made it difficult. Then we went to this vineyard which was pretty cool. Got to see the vineyards, eat some grapes and see the process a little bit. It was a agriculture school so it was there to teach students how to make wine. It was pretty and the grapes tasted great. ha. The French love their wine though the amount they drink has definitely gone down due to the whole health thing. But it was fun though even though I get annoyed with the whole group thing and have to walk away for awhile. My German roommate arrived last night and she seems nice though it was a little awkward. She speaks english well enough but you can tell she doesnt always understand us. I am sure it will get better over time. I am getting pretty settled though I am scared about classes. I am going to go and I am going to write more later.

No internet makes life hard

So I have no internet in my apartment and that makes keeping in touch really really difficult actually. You don't know how dependent you are on something until it's gone. I published a few posts that I wrote last weekend but never got to actually post due to the lacking internet. This week was not that eventful though, just the last week of prestage classes. We went to a little wine tasting on Monday for civilization class which was fun. The guy was a mixture between Bill Murray and Richard Simmons. Interesting. Then on tuesday they scared us to death about the class system in France by telling us that basically we're not going to know what we are taking until the day before we go, and maybe not even then. And the teacher's are going to talk really fast and the french apparently take really intense notes. Then on wednesday we had the final exam for civilization class. Which was fine. But yesterday, we had the afternoon free! First time ever! They keep us so busy that we can't really do anything to settle in and it's really frustrating. (by the way my english skills have gone down since I am in this weird mix between french and english and I can often not remember how to say things in either language. So if any of this sounds weird, that's why) Me and Renee made apple pie! We had NO measuring equipment, not even metric, so we just guessed on the amounts and hoped it was right. It was DELICIOUS. haha. There were 7 of us sitting around our apartment just eating pie...and quizzing each other one verb conjugations. Oh well what are you gonna do. It made us feel a lot more settled to be able to do something normal in this country. And what's more American than apple pie right? Today was the last day of prestage classes and tomorrow morning is the final. Good times. Hard to believe I have almost been here 3 weeks. But anyway, we went to sign up for classes today, but we just kinda chose which ones we would LIKE to take. Since they have no times set for anything, we don't know if we will be able to take them. Ugh. So tonight it is studying and tomorrow it is finals and Sunday it is Avignon and Monday I figure out my classes, and TUESDAY I start. haha. I'll try to keep up with this blog. I might end up posting several posts at one time...so just keep looking back. Alright, off to study.

Carcasonne

Today we went to Carcassonne, a fortified city. It was very interesting and castle like, but the guided group tour was pretty annoying again and it was overcast for the first time since we got here. It was pretty cold out in comparison. All these excursions are nice but they keep us so busy that I have no time to get settled. Things close early here so it’s difficult to get things done when you are busy all day long. The pre-stage classes aren’t really helping that much, so I really wish they had given us this week to get settled into our new places before starting classes on September 8^th. We have class tomorrow, then wine tasting for our civilization class (tough stuff I know), then Tuesday we have class and signing up for classes, Wednesday class and final exam for civilization. Thursday APPEARS to be a free afternoon. MAYBE I can get internet set up then. The no internet thing makes life very difficult. I went to a cyber café today and the keyboards are so difficult. You have to hit shift to type a “.” And all the keys are in the wrong place and for the @ symbol, you have to press a special key that took me an hour to find. Difficult. Oh France. My comprehension has gotten a lot better though. My speaking…not really. I do end up translating a lot for Jade though. She almost refuses to speak French, and she can’t understand what people are saying most of the time. I enjoy translating a lot though actually. Maybe I’ll do something with that. It helps me learn better when both of us are depending on me understanding and being able to speak. I want to meet some French people in classes because that seems to be helping people here a lot. Class again tomorrow, so I should probably go to bed.

First day in the apartment

So yesterday was moving day. We went to the Courbet exhibit at the museum here and while the paintings were interesting, the tour guide was not. I would have liked more time to look at the paintings, but Jade and Renée had had enough. So we went to McDonalds, which was actually my first time going to a McDonalds I am proud to say. All I got was a milkshake (which they call “milkshakes”, but who knows how they actually pronounce that) and it did not taste the same because milk here is very different. They don’t have to keep it refrigerated in the store. You buy it warm. Who knows. I can’t keep up with all the differences. They’re exhausting. Then we had to go back, pack up the mess we’d made after living in the dorms for 2 weeks, and move. We had to drag our suitcases all the way to the tram (a 20 minute walk when you’re NOT carrying 70 lbs of luggage), take the tram to la Place de Comédie, drag it the 5 minute walk down crowded streets, and then lug it up 2 flights of spiral stairs that are actually oval and very awkward. AND it was easily 90 degrees with no wind and no clouds. By the time we got here, we were dead. I only have one suitcase and a backpack, but Jade has 3 suitcases and a bag. But the apartment is beautiful. It is huge, open, well decorated and furnished. There are 3 bedrooms. I took the medium sized one with a door to the balcony that I leave open most of the day. Small bed, but nice sized room. Our German roommate has not yet arrived so I figured I would take the medium one and she wouldn’t get mad about it. Jade took the big one with the door to the balcony, double bed, and double closet. The other girl gets the kids room. This might turn out bad but we did get here first and it’s hard to take the worst room when the third person isn’t even here yet. I’ll post some pics of my apartment somewhere hopefully soon. I have no internet but I’m trying to use the wifi at McDonalds because it is free. I do have 6 channels though! It was so nice to have tv even if it was all in French. It’s a good way to learn it. They dub American shows, which is funny. And we live in the center of town, so we walk 2 minutes and everything is at our disposal. Very nice indeed.