Presque Fini! (Almost Done!)

Holy Cow! Today is May 7th, meaning I have only 10 days until I am on my train to Paris and then a plane to Detroit....for good.

Last week, as soon as I got back from Ireland, I had a list of things to get done! Firstly, there was the IES family reception, where I gave a short speech thanking the families for the amazing job they did last summer. Next I had my Microbiology final, a friends birthday to celebrate, make-up courses on top of regular courses for all the times professors were absent this semester, required attendence to a Arms Trade conference, souvenirs and train tickets to purchase, etc. Also, my french professor from Alma was in Nantes for a few days, so although I was only able to spend about an hour going out for a coffee at a cafe, I was so happy to see her, and in France too! I only wish I could have had more time!

Such a short time remaining means that we have been taking advantage of as many activities as possible, just to cram in all that French culture. Therefore, Saturday, IES organized a day-trip to Clisson, an adorable neighboring village with Italian influences. Tres cute. We spent the day exploring the castle (I feel like I have written that sentence SO many times in these blogs!) which was interesting because, in contrast to other Chateaux, it was falling into ruin, and thus felt much more midevil. The weather was gorgeous: 75-80 degrees, so after picnicing along the river, Julie and I found an awesome tree that led out over the water, so we just sat and enjoyed the weather for a while. During the afternoon, we had our wine tasting at a local winery. The region around Nantes is famous for Muscadet, a white wine, so, after getting a tour of the wine-making process, we tried three different types of Muscadet, which were all very good I might add. The one problem was that we hadnt eaten in about 5 hours and were all a bit dehydrated from the heat, so add some wine and we felt the need to go to bed a bit early that evening.

Sunday turned out to be beautiful as well! I spent the morning in catholic mass with my host family and then accompanied them to the Talensac Market, one of Nantes largest, to buy fresh fish, veggies, and fruit for lunch. That afternoon, a group of 6 students rented a small motorboat and took it up the Erdre (one of Nantes 2 rivers) for an hour, something I have wanted to do all semester! So many people were outside : having drinks at outdoor cafes, jogging, musicians playing on every street corner. It is such a bummer that we have to leave just when the weather is becoming amazing! The first Sunday of the month in France is also Free-Museum-Day, so before catching the bus home, I finally decided to check out Nantes' Museum of Natural History. Not bad, I think the problem was that I just didnt understand exactly what Natural History was..so I was a bit surprised when I got to the room of all the stuffed/painted animal bodies. A tad creepy. But interesting...i guess? At least now I won't regret not going to any museums.

In conversations with friends over the past week, I feel that around IES we have a pretty general concencus on how we feel about going back to "Les Etats-Unis." After spending almost every waking moment depending on eachother, for study partners, social outings, help with cultural differences or translation, or even just lunch buddies, the saddest part of leaving, is the idea that we have no clue if we (students) will ever see eachother again. We come from different states across the nation and are all moving on to different areas of life, so who knows? However, with the type of experience it has been, I truley beleive that the friendships that have been made mean that we could call eachother up 10 years from now, after barely having heard from eachother, if we were in town and needed a place to stay, or just simply wanted to catch up and it wouldnt be a problem. I know that I am going to miss everyone incredibly. On top of that, there are our host families who have made France really seem like home and been one of the biggest aides in improving our french. Furthermore, Im just going to miss living comfortably in a big city, where there are always things to do, the hustle and bustle, my weekly routines, etc. I feel like we have all really grown up during the last 5 months, and have come to realize that we can make it, wherever we decide to live, if we just give it some time and effort. And although we have had a lot of help from our school and from our friends, we have become much more independant, just knowing we can plan out the logistics of our own travels, manage our money, confront different cultures etc. I think that we all have deeply fallen in love with Nantes and life here and could probably live here quite contentely for a while.

Nevertheless, taking all that into account, the general concensus has been "It's time." We can feel it. With finals coming, our classes ending, and even the weather changing into summer, it has given our semester/time here a bit more closure than if you were just living somewhere rather than going to school there. We miss our families and friends. our american comforts. our homes. our hometowns. the dollar. customer service with a smile. the ability to drive somewhere. our bins of clothes stored in our houses that we couldnt bring overseas, and therefore the feeling that you are not wearing the same thing every day. and as for me, I miss Slurpees. Its just not summer without them! And of course, I am also excited to be done, because it means that 1 year of my boyfriend and I being on different continents is finally coming to an end :) So thats something to celebrate, right ? :)

Anyways, as my stay is coming to an end, I will probably be only adding 1 or 2 more posts to my blog, so if you have any questions or you want to know about things I havnt covered, let me know and I would be happy to!

More Ireland Pictures!

A Tree in the Rock Close next to Blarney

Running across the Irish fields!

We had fun with these pictures!

Couchsurfers!

Danderin' Around Ir'land

So coming back from the States, I had 1 day to relax and recover from Jet lag before I left for Ireland. The reasons behind going may have been a little shallow (Allison and I had recently seen P.S. I Love You and had been easily convinced) but I was extremly excited to go. It was to be a 5 day trip covering Dublin, Blarney, Cork and Kinsale, originally only Allison and I but as time went on our friend Lauren from IES and Axel, a french friend, decided that they wanted to see the famous Green country as well.

So we arrived in Dublin Wednesday afternoon. and yes it was really cool! Our hostel was painted all these funky colors and we enjoyed learning some Irish slang such as when we were told we would be "dandering around the city" that night looking for a bar where we could try the famous Guiness. However, we got a little more sightseeing in, stopping by St. Patricks church, then sitting in on the beginning of an Augustian mass, and just exploring the city a bit. It was funny because throughout this whole trip we probably heard as much french as english, since there are so many french tourists in Ireland. So that night, we went to the famous Temple Bar district and since Allison and I consider ourselves "cultural drinkers", meaning only drinking when its truley part of the experience, we split a 1/2 pint of Guinness and could barely finish it! Wow, like cold distusting alcoholic coffee. Not my thing. So we moved on, walked around a bit more, got some Gelato, and returned to our Hostel. However, that night was a nightmere! Although cheap and convienant, we defineltly paid for choosing a hostel over a more expensive hotel since a middle-aged french man snored violently throughtout the entire night and we did not fall asleep until 4-5AM when he left early, only to be woken up many times by others leaving. It was probably one of the worst nights of sleep I have ever had in a Hostel but I guess it makes me all the more thankful that I have my own room to come back to!

Thursday we tried to fit everything else in. Trinity College, The Book of Kells, Dublin Castle, St. Steven's Square, Jonathan Swifts Birthplace, and every Irish souvenir shop in Dublin, etc. We even hit up the newly opened and conveniently free Tax and Revenue Museum, Exciting huh? It was great though. The guy in charge was telling us about the exhibits on counterfitting,etc and says something like "and over there, thats my old uniform." So I really am convinced that it has been his dream forever to have a little museum like that, and now all the exhibits are from collection. Furthermore, our 30 min evening chorale service was really beautiful and it was so relaxing to sit and hear classical music in English, since I have been so used to going to church in French. So on our way back, we tried the famous Fish N' Chips at Dublins most famous restaurant, only to find that they were REALLY bad. So I dunno if I got a bad batch or what, but I'll stick with my Amercain Long John Silvers if I ever get the hankerin for some Fish N Chips in the future. Overall, I did really enjoy my time in Dublin, but I have come to realize that big cities are often just big cities, and that for me it is soo much better to spend time enjoying the nature or small town authentic atmosphere of foreign countries.

Friday morning, bright and early, we took the bus down to Cork, and then over to the Blarney Castle, famous for the Blarney stone. The Irish make a sort of pilgrimage to this stone so they can kiss it and therefore receive the gift of gab/eloquence. The problem is that the stone is at the top of a tower over a ledge, so they actually have people there to hold you, and a camera to take your picture like its a Cedar Point ride. Afterwards, they give to a little number card and you can go see if you want to buy your picture. So anyways, we very much enjoyed the castle because it was out in the GREEN countryside. So, since we had to pay 8 euro to get in, we took our time, reading all the signs and making the most of the experience. I had meant to bring Lysol or something to wipe the rock before kissing it, but upon arrival, realizing I had forgotten, also saw that it really wasnt possible. You have to lean backwards, while holding on to two metal poles, while being directed by two old men on what to do. But it was fun and Im very glad I did it. Afterwards, we explored the Rock Close, with rocks that were shaped like all kinds of cool, mythical things, made wishes on the wishing stairs, and climbed a few very old trees :)

That evening we headed back into Cork so Axel could find his hostel, and we 3 girls could do couchsurfing for the first time. Now, for those of you who dont know, couchsurfing is an online backpackers travel network where you make a profile, and say that people can stay on your couch for free and you do the same for others, with reviews and rating system and a way to contact people beforehand to check out that they are legit. So we did all this for Cork. and ended up staying with 3 American guys who were studying in Ireland for the semester. We were all really nervous at first to try this and were worried it would be awkward, or weird people, even though we had already contacted them a few times, but it ended up being a great experience! Since all the students studying from their university live in the same building, we made a ton of Pasta and then they invited a bunch of their girl friends over to talk and just hang out. Even better, turns out, they are fans of The Office so I even got to watch the newest episode before laid out all the borrowed cushions and slept on the floor :) Very fun.

Saturday, we decided we needed to get out and see a bit more of the Irish countryside, so we took a bus for 45 minutes to the coast to a little town called Kinsale. This was probably my favorite day of the trip. We started on a 1 1/2 mile hike to Charles Fort and were very pleasantly surprised with the results. The weather was gorgeous, warm in the sun but with a brisk, strong Irish wind to keep you on your toes. About half way there we stopped to rest a small beach, covered with interesting shells and polished glass and stopped to snack and enjoy the beautiful view of the harbor town from across the bay. We even met this little stray puppy who wanted to play fetch with us for about 30 minutes. Continuing on our way, we found that the coolest thing about the fort was the views it gave of the water, since it was higher up, and, naturally, on a lookout point. It was so peaceful and we felt like we were the only tourists there which made it seem more of an adventure rather than just another line to wait in. So I found this spot on a look point, climbed up and just sat for about 15 minutes, soaking it all in: the wind, the water, the smells, the GREEN GREEN hillsides (did I mention it was reeeeally green?) and I just thought to myself : hmm...I think I could just sit here all day, just lost in thought. It was so peaceful and it gave me a few moments to reflect on such a crazy last few weeks, with Nicoles passing, reunions with friends, and now beautiful Ireland. I seriously felt like I had been living 2 separate lives as the contrast in events and emotions has been so huge. But it was so peaceful up there with the wind at times blowing fiercly and then in a minute not at all. and I just had to sigh and finally say to myself that I guess this is Life. God gives us blessings and hardships and you just have to appreciate the people and the moments as they come, and while reflecting from time to time, not get too caught up in analysing the past because sometimes Gods plan is too big and mysterious to understand.

I seriously could have stayed there for hours. However, from so high up, I saw a little path along the bay and couldnt resist wanting to explore more. So Allison, Lauren, Axel and I set off to go see what was down this little seaside dirt path. But...we got distracted. Those amazing green hills were just calling our names, so although there was a fence (possibly electric) we decided, "Hey, you're only in Ireland once!" and army-crawled underneath them. I was the first to go and as soon as I was on the other side, I got up and just took off running up that hill so exhilerated to have such a Classic Ireland Moment. However, the grass is about 2 feet high on those hills and in backless-clog-shoes, I tripped and planted my face in the grass about 20 yards from where I started :) No worries, I recovered quickly. We spent about the next hour running up and down those GREEN hills, taking beautiful scenery pictures, and some just silly frolicking-in-the-GREEN-Irish-grass pictures. All 4 of us were completely elated by it. And it truley just gave me a wonderful taste of the true beauty of Ireland. If I ever go back I will probably simply skip the big cities and go straight to the countryside, because that is where my heart really lies.

Returning to our couchsurfers that night at about 9pm, we were exhausted! However, we knew we had a French Toast Party with about 12-15 other students awaiting us. The thing was, we had heard that these guys make very good french toast, so Allison hinted that we would like to try it, and the next thing we new, it was party :) It seems the theme in their apartement is Make as Much Food as Possible, and Then Try to Eat It All. So I literally stuffed myself with French toast and Irish pancakes until I was about to explode, and then around 11 we started Mafia. A wonderful card/group game where everyone is secretly given a position and then the townspeople must figure out who the Mafia before they are all killed. I personnally happen to LOVE that game, so I had soo much fun as we played til about 1:30am. I think we all really enjoyed meeting this whole group of people, because they were so fun and welcoming, and it just was awesome to hang out with these random strangers united by the fact that we were all poor college students loving our time abroad! But it was great that we all just clicked. They were even Switchfoot and Lord of the Rings fans! How much luckier could I have gotten? Following Mofia, we were shown their video of their backpacking trip through Scotland, including the Braveheart reenactment, and finally went to bed around 2:30 to wake up at 5am for our flight.

So needless to say...we slept through most of our layover in London and got back to Nantes, so thankful to have a nice warm bed, with no snoring French man to keep us awake :) It was an unforgettable 5 days and I absolutely fell in love with the Irish countryside! So now I am just hoping that I will have the opportunity one day to go back and see all the rest!

Nicole

On April 10th of this year, Nicole Marie Miller died in a car accident. She had been my best friend almost since we met at about 8 years old and although we had begun to drift apart these last few years with college getting the way and life taking us down different paths, she was one of the most important people in my life. So, with my parents help, I flew home for the funeral. Below is posted the speech Val Harris and I wrote for the memorial service.

V: Hello, I'm Val Harris

J: and I'm Joye Kallgren. We were both very close friends with Nicole and we thought we would share a few memorable moments with you.

V: In 9th grade, I moved to Trenton and joined the Marching Band, happening to be in the same section as Nicole. The first memory I have of her is when she looked me square in the eyes and said.."Yeah...I really don't like you." The thing was, coming from a sarcastic family, I got a kick out of it and ended up appreciating the blunt person she was.

J: My memories of Nicole go back to 2nd or 3rd grade. I even remember standing up during Pioneer Girls Show N' Tell and announcing proudly that my mom was going to have a baby, only to have Nicole stand up immediately after and say MY mom is going to have a baby. 9 months later we were both big sisters again. It seems like we were always together, from our trips to Camp Cherith, Summers at VBS, and sleepovers in the basement where we would stay up to 3am playing monopoly. In 9th grade, we both agreed to try out for the Volleyball Team, despite knowing we would both get cut, me because of my lack of talent, and her because she was hopelessly too short. Yet we both agreed to celebrate NOT making the team with our favorite treat: slurpees. I still remember her calling me up after 2nd round cuts and saying " Well, we're going to 7-11!"

V: If it wasn't slurpees, it was Ice Caps. And any time we were going out and I asked her "What sounds good?", she'd reply without hesitation, "Taco Bell." Any time we would sit down in a restaurant, she didn't have to say anything, we KNEW we had to order for her. She has such a spunky personality and sense of adventure. This lead us on multiple occasions to climbing walls, buildings,...THS,...Alma College. You name it, we've climbed it. We did so many random things. For one of her birthdays, I bought her Van Gogh's ear, in the form of an air freshener, just to add a little spice to her car. She must have kept that up for two straight years, until I bought her a new one. And she kept it up ever since.

J: Not only was she spunky with a random sense of humor, but she also had quite a competative side. She and I had been designated Euchre partners since I learned how to play. We knew how to read eachother's every expression and therefore, I learned to expect that she would call a loner on a 9 and a 10. Most things went without saying. When either of us had something on our mind, we would call the other up and spend the afternoon "porch-sitting" as we called it, basically just sitting on my front porch talking about life. I'll never forget it.Someone once told me that you meet 3-5 people in life who truley change you and for Val and I, and so many others that she encountered, Miller was one of those people.

It was a very weird few days, because inside we all just wanted to cry for days but then my closest friends from highschool and I would get together and find ourselves laughing for hours over memories. I mean, you are there, trying to move on and not be overwhelmed by this horrible grief, yet you dont want to and can't move on too quickly, as if that person didnt mean anything to you, but at the same time, you know that person would want you happy. So I've found that the grief comes in waves. There are days when I'm busy and doing fine, and others where I just want to cry and ask God Why?.

However, the other thing that this experience taught me is how loved I am and how great friends are. The people at Agape in France here took the time to pray over the situation, for the family and friends, I received letters, notes, candy, visits from so many people, prayers, and so many people sacrificed time and money to get home and be there for me, and for the family of Nicole especially. So I want to thank you all so much because although only time will truly heal something like this, its so comforting to know you have so many people to lean on. Despite the horrible circumstances, I had a great week home and saw so many amazing people. I realized how much I miss and love my highschool friends as they made their way home from all over the US. I saw my boyfriend, cousin, grandparents...and I just realized how important all of my friends and family are to me. Its so cliche but I think you can really never tell them enough how much you care for them. I love you all.

In conclusion, I would just like to ask for continued prayers for Mr and Mrs Miller and Will and Cat, because its as things start to die down that you need continued support and prayer.

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!

Scott and Easter

Well, I just keep getting busier and busier!

Monday night, with almost no time to regroup after my trip to Normandy, I picked up my brother Scott from the aiport :) It was so nice to see him, as he is a grad student in NYC and since I wasn't home for Christmas, I had figured I wouldn't see him 'til Thanksgiving. However, when he told me he planned to do Spring Break "London, Nantes, and Paris" it was a pleasant surprise.

Once again my host family was very gracious and not only allowed him to sleep at the house, but also to eat two home-cooked french meals with us, something my parents missed out on (although I tried my best to replicate them!). Now, the only problem with the week was the timing for my exam. To graduate with a french major, I am require to pass a certification test given by the french government that says I have a certain level of french in all areas (speaking, listening, writing, reading). This isn't all bad, since its nice to have something like that on your resume when you are finished; however, the only testing center near me that would work for the semester was in Angers (45 mins by train) and was taking place over the two full days that Scott was here.

So 5:30am Tuesday morning came and we hopped on a train to Angers, had some breakfast at a local boulangerie (bakery) and I handed Scott the map of Angers, while I went to take my test. Turns out, that while you can't really study for a thing like this, as it was much harder than I expected, I really wish I had had more time/materials to help me prepare, but I did my best under the circumstances. That afternoon, Scott and I did some shopping, bought some paninis, and visited the local Castle (supposedly on the list of most beautiful castles in France) and also went to the Tapestry museum which holds this huge famous tapestry of Revelations, giving a play by play of the Apocalypse. Angers is a cute city, smaller and quainter than Nantes, and also another one of my options of where I could have studied. But I am still satisfied with my choice.

So, Jet lag + 5 hour of sleep = Exhaustion. So we headed back to the house, for a few hours of relaxation before going out to dinner with my families left-over euros(Thanks Dad and Mom!) . We were directed to this little adorable french restaurant called Le Petit Baccus by my host parents and were not dissapointed. The atmosphere was very french ( well...actually kinda international as we were in a corner with a some germans and french) and the food was wonderful, not to mention the 14.50 for 3 courses. So we had a nice night out, took the night bus back, and got to bed early.

Wednesday morning we did some walking around, before I headed to Angers for the afternoon. Scott on the other hand visited the Nantes Castle, Cathedral, large mechanical elephant, and did some shopping before I got back. All while practicing the french phrases he was learning so that he could get around in Paris. That was one of his major goals during his time here, to learn the meaning of every word he saw, and he did pretty well in simply guessing them and, the most difficult part of french, in pronouncing them. So we stopped at bar after I got back to chat with some IES friends for a bit and then headed home for another wonderful home-cooked meal.

Sadly, thursday Scott had a train for Paris at 1pm. So we got up early and did some last minute shopping and exploring before getting him on his train. It was a fun few days, and I wish I had had more time to just hang out, but we made the best of it and it was so nice to see some family during Holy Week.

Which brings me to Easter. Friday after Rock Climbing, I walked in all sweaty and gross only to see a table full of college age guys who had been eating dinner, turn around and stare at me. "Umm....Hi Everybody..?" Needless to say, I was a bit confused. I knew that my 22 yr old host brother Alban was coming home from Paris and that the 25 yr old daughter Alix was heading in from Brussels, but who were all these people? As my host brother Pierre Antoine was there I figured these must be just some friends. My host dad did all the introductions (which include the french cheek kisses..awkward when you are self-conscious that you are all smelly and gross) and I found out one was my host brother I had never met, next to his cousin, and Alix's boyfriend. Turns out, all the women were in the kitchen and bathroom at the time. My reaction: oooooh, I feel stupid. Oh well, first impressions!

It was a bit weird doing easter with another family. One one hand, I really enjoyed seeing all of their traditions, but on the other hand, although they included me in everything, I kind of felt out of the loop because these wern't MY traditions, and I felt like I was just observing. However, everyone was really nice. I made pancakes Saturday morning and got a chance to talk with some of my siblings. Also, Marc, Alix's boyfriend, is german, spent a year in the states, and speaks great english(and french for that matter), but it was nice to not feel like the only foreigner :)

Anyways..Saturday night, we did Easter eve service. No one wanted to get up early Sunday morning so it was agreed upon ahead of time. So we went to this huge cathedral in town that I had never been too, but reminded me of St. Marks in Venice : Big dome mosaic ceilings...old. :) The catholic mass itself was the first one in Europe I have gone to and been able to understand it (St. Marks on Christmas Eve was in Italien and Latin with an occasional flash of English). It started out completely dark, and then, as at the Christmas Eve service, every one lit their candle (which we held still for 90 mins totally lit...I can NOT beleive nothing caught fire) . Then as they read the texts, more and more candles were lit. It really was a beautiful service and although I knew it was long, I didn't realize it had been 2 1/2 hours until I checked my watch at the end!

On Sunday, all of the family came for the big meal : Roasted Lamb...mmmh. It was fun because with all of the kids there, it reminded me of home : everyone talking at the same time, the one child who always feels like everyone disagrees with him, and the look on my host mom's face who was thrilled to have all of her kids home at once.

That afternoon, the college age kids invited me to play poker. Now, I have never really played poker in my life, and am not a huge fan of gambling, but I figured it was some host-sibling-bonding that I couldnt pass up, so I agreed on the terms that they would teach me and help me along. ...So turns out, I rock at poker. hehe. well, at least I did on Sunday. I think having different expressions, and being the least known in the group played into my favor, but after 4 hours of intensity, I ended up splitting the prize (10 Euro) with my host sister Alex because, the only ones left in the game, we didn't want to keep playing. It was a fun afternoon, not just because I won, but because I felt like part of the group and that was nice :)

So the rest of the weekend was spent catching up on homework from the week that I hadn't done, and this week is mostly going to be paper writing since I have 2 due next week. Also, yesterday was our Film Night at IES that I helped put together as VP and I think it went well. It took place after conversation club so I think it gave french and american students the chance to interact in a more informal setting. It was a lot of last minute work all day, since no stores were open this weekend but with that and the Easter Egg Hunt from last week, I think that we have done a few nice things with our limited budget and are going to try to plan a few more (possibly trip to the beach, barbeque, etc.)

Well thats all folks! I'm coming home in almost 7 weeks! Crazy!

Normandy

Saturday morning, we met at IES at 7:45 to take a 3 hour bus ride to Caen, in Normandy. Arriving at lunch time, we explored the local castle (yup, every big city seems to have one) and picniced on the ramparts. Julie and I also found a small "History of Normandy" museum which had free admission and starting in the middle ages, gave to an overview of what this territory had gone through. After a long tumultuous history of viking invasions, the normands invading england in 1066, etc, D-Day in 1944, this country side is now just a quiet peaceful region known for cider, apples, camenbert....and what we experienced for the rest of the weekend....rain.



Thankfully, our afternoon was planned INSIDE, at the Memorial of Caen, a museum that takes you through world history leading up to WWII and then focuses on the D-Day attack of the Norman beaches. It was probably one of the most effectively put together museums I have ever visited and I am glad we had 4 hours to experience it. We started inside this circular dome, on a spiral path moving down a few floors, giving you a brief overview of major world events in the 20th century. When you reached the bottom floor, World War II had broken out. It was immpressive how they used more visuals (photos, artifacts, etc), radio recordings, etc than words to tell the story, although historical descriptions were availiable for reference in both english and french. I guess I had never realized how much France had suffered in the World Wars. I knew it had been damaged..but it was seriously torn apart, given over to Germany by its own government, and was left defenseless against invasions and battles which raged all over France.



My favorite, although the most heart-wrenching, part of the museum for me was when they started going through the typical life of a soldier. They ended this section with a display of letters soldiers had sent their families right before the debarquement. It was amazing the contrast of content. Some soldiers had just been informed that they would be involved in a sizeable attack and were writing their families to let them know that they were finally going to see combat. I couldnt tell if they were actually oblivious to the danger (and death) they would be facing, or if they were just writing in a very casual way so that their famillies would not worry. Written on the top of one such casual letter was written , "This is the last letter my uncle sent." Still others were writing with a more serious tone, the "death notice" only to be sent to their families in the case of their death on the battlefield. It was very difficult to read as one soldier apologized for all the trouble he had caused his family, knowing they had not parted on the best terms, but still wishing them the best, and telling them that they were strong and would be able to deal with his death. As I sat their and read that letter, I was imagining the family opening it...full of regret and sorrow, and I admittedly got choked up and had to stop reading so that I wouldnt be spending the next 15 minutes crying like a blubbering fool. Still, I think that the museum, along with history, gave me an appreciation for soldiers in general, and the families of soldiers. It must be incredibly difficult to go through every day not knowing whether you, or your son, will ever come home again, but, hopefully, knowing they are fighting for a good cause.

However, my whole day did not consist of such depressing thoughts! That evening we checked into our hotel. This was not just any hotel. This hotel rocked! Usually we get the cheapest thing around, so I dont know what happened but we had beautiful spacious rooms with televisions 20 channels (that is incredible for France, which normally has 6). But the best part was the food! Dinner that night was a buffet for every course, soupe, appetizer/salad, entree, dessert. Then the next day, breakfast was even better. I don't think any of us realized just how much we missed American breakfasts, and since they get lots of American tourists in Normandy, they knew just what to make for us: Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, cold milk, cereal! and then all the best parts of french breakfasts, pain au chocolat (chocolate chip croissant), 6 types of jam, dried apricots....mmmh. Delicious. wow, I miss America!

So on sunday morning, in the pouring rain, we headed over to Omaha beach and the American cemetary. Simply unbeleiveable. I walked through the huge cemetary, stopping to read some of the names. It was freezing cold, and as I had left my umbrella in the car, I was soaking wet and shivering. But at the same time, it seemed very appropriate that the weather not be all sunshine. Still, despite the cold, I decided to walk the whole length of it just so I would have an idea of how long it was. However, when I reached the memorial in the back, I realized, disturbingly, that I was only halfway through, and that another huge field of white crosses lay before me. It was just an incredibly sad feeling to think about, especially after the museum the day before.

After finishing with the cemetary, I made my way down to the beach. In any other circumstances (and perhaps with a bit better weather), these beaches would be a prime spot for hotels,etc. They are huge wide sandy beaches, which slope up into some hills that look down on them. It was unsettling to picture the nazis, with such an advantage high above the beaches, while americans, canadiens, and british did their best to get undercover, on an open air beach with no protection. However, the US was given this land, so the land has not been developped much. There are a few houses and it was weird to learn that the french do swim on those beaches, when to most americans, the thought is simply horrifying.

We all loaded back on the bus and headed down the beach a little ways to Point du Hoc. This was the general quater for the germans, and therefore, strategically, received the most bombing. We walked down a path that led between the huge holes in the ground, left from the bombs, explored some collapesed german bunkers, and really got a feel for how much damage the war caused! I wish we could have stayed longer, since, as with all of these trips, I am never sure if I will have the opportunity to return ever again, but the cold was getting to be too much and my coat, soaked completely through wasn't helping, so the visit was a bit short.

For lunch we stopped in Bayeux, grabbing a pannini and trying to explore without freezing. The main reason for our stop here though was to see the Bayeux Tapestry. This tapestry is 60 meters long and is like a cloth painting of the Battle of Hastings between the Normands and the British in 1066. It was kind of crazy to see it, as it is one of the oldest artifacts of France, and I learned about it freshman year in French Civ I. Thats the best thing about studying abroad, i think. It gives me the opportunity to really SEE all these little things I have always read about, and as a visual learner, I think it sticks better this way.

All in all, it was a very interesting trip, more like a school field trip than a vacation like the other ones have been, but I am so happy I had the opportunity to go and I'll never forget it!