Good News :)

Well I happy to inform you all that I am officially done with all of my papers that were due in the last two weeks. I know you were all extremely worried ;) But I am very releived. I have spent the last two weeks with an Alma work load, meaning every night right after dinner, I'd hide away in my room to research and write. I felt really bad about basically ignoring my host family, but I guess school is why I am here, right? Anyways, because of that, I havn't had the time to fit any out-of-this-world events in, but there have been a few things worth noting.

• I Passed my test! : Last blog, I wrote about my French Certification Exam in Angers. And I wasnt supposed to get my results back for a month, but I just received them this week and am SOOO relieved that I won't have to retake it this summer. Now I can just concentrate on the GRE instead....
  
• My first Professional Soccer Game : Last friday, on our way to "escalade" we passed the Stadium and saw that there was a game that evening. So, seeing as that was one of the many things on my List of Things to Do and See Before I Leave, we opted to skip out on rock climbing a bit early and go to the game : Nantes vs.......Some team in Blue. Yeah, you can tell I am a huge soccer fan. Anyways, since they dont allow food inside the stadium, I ran and bought a "Galette Saucisse", now a Galette is really just a wheat crepe with bits of meat or cheese, or in this case sausage. So I was a bit suprised when they handed me a full brautwerst (sp?) wrapped in a galette. Im thinking..."I guess this is how they do hot dogs here?" But anyways, it was fun being in the crowd and learning the very repetative cheers like "Allez Jaune" ...which means Go Yellow. But we finished with a 1-1 tie, so I was a bit disappointed. But all in all, I am so happy I got to go because my last few weeks are going to fly by with all the events crammed in!
  

• Boulangerie Tour : This was really neat. We were taken to Nantes most famous bakery and given an 1 1/2 lesson on how to make different kinds of bread, the process, etc. Bread with meals, and great bread for that matter, is a signature of France and I think it was pretty rare to go behind the scenes and learn some of their secrets. It was a bit like the cooking channel, He made the dough in front of us, telling us that it needs to sit for a few hours to let the yeast ferment and give it the right gout (taste/flavor). Then each and every one of us got to make a baguette, put the crazy lines across it so it looks tasty, and they went into the oven. Then to finish it off, he let us all taste-test 5 different types of bread, explaining what gave it its unique flavor. I had never realized that there was such a difference in taste! But now I feel so knowledgable, and went into a boulangerie the next day knowing exactly what I wanted to order, rather than choosing the cheapest or most tasty-looking thing I saw.

• Pancakes and Friends : Saturday night, I was invited to a little going away party for a canadian girl I didnt know, at a french friends house. So it was only four of us, but we had a big pancake and brioche dinner, mixing french and english and just joking around for a few hours. It was very relaxing after writing my paper all day. And It made me start thinking about all the friends I have made here. In the last few months, we have spent more time together than I have spent with a lot of people at Alma in 3 years, since we eat meals together, we travel together, we have all classes together, we endure crazy cultural differences together. It really is a unique experience, unlike other week-long trips that I been on, I know that I will be lifetime friends with a lot of the people I have met my trip. I've just realized in the past week or two, knowing that the semester will soon be done, just how much fun we have together. I think its because we have time to go to have a 2 1/2 relaxing lunch at a local restaurant or suffer through the freezing cold rain as we search for a non-existant but advertized Carnival of Nantes, or better yet compare drawings we have made out of boredom when sitting through a 3 hour conference on the geopolitcal importance of the Caucasus mountain region at 10pm. (Three things I have done in the last week). So I am completely torn. I really am excited to be back in America, to see all of my friends and family, but I am going to seriously miss all my friends here so I am trying to spend as much time with them as possible before I leave!
  
  
• VACATION!!!!!! yay! Saturday I leave for the South of France for a week. and it can not come too soon after two weeks of stress. (I know, I know, Alma kids have been stressing all semester...) Im going to Carcassonne, a mid-evil castle city, then Aix-en-Provence, supposedly the essence of France, and then onto Nice for some relaxing beach time on the French Riviera! eeeeh:) So excited :) Then I'll be back in Nantes for a week studying for exams and going to the coast for a day with my host fam, and then I am off to IRELAND for 5 days doing Dublin, Blarney Castle, and Cork. Its going to be amazing. and Im soooo excited. If you couldn't tell by the previous caps and exclamation points.

Oh, and before I end, I want to say a quick Congratulations! to all my friends who are graduating. Im totally bummed I can't be there for the ceremony but keep in touch! I'll miss you! As for all you non-graduating people. Let me know what you are doing with your summers. I'm doing my summer at Georgetown, and have the whole month of August off and I may get to go see some of you!