Changes.

As my time in France is slowly coming to an end, I have begun to think about how this journey has changed me. While some changes I expected, others I would never have even considered. Also, I have not made a lot of changes that I thought I would. I don't feel as though I've matured, or gotten older. I don't feel like my French has really improved too drastically, although, I'm sure it has a lot more than what I think. And, while before I thought I would want to move to France immediately, I'm still content with staying in America.

I have changed in these ways though, most of them having to do with food:

1.) I can successfully eat a full meal with my left hand. In France, it's rude to change hands if you are cutting something, so if you have a knife in your right hand, you are suppose to eat with your left hand. At the beginning, this was very very difficult. I would get so frustrated and sometimes end up just eating with my hands instead. Haha. Now, I've learned the ways. I've studied my family, and my professors while they ate. Prefecting the art of eating. Haha. It really is a lot more difficult than it seems. So, I'm sorry if I look funny while eating when I come home, it's normal here.

2.) I love eating fruit. In the U.S. it would take a good piece of fruit already cut up and ready for me to eat for me to really enjoy it. Here, I go to the supermarket all the time, and then as soon as I leave, start eating my fruit. Without cutting it up, and most of the time without washing it. It's just so delicious. I think that I will come back craving fruit on a fairly regular basis.

3.) I look forward to dinners that involve cucumbers or tomatoes. If I had been given a meal in the U.S. like that I probably would just have walked away. I guess I really just needed a push to try these things. In fact, today at lunch, I ate a handful of cherry tomatoes without giving it a second thought. And they were delicious.

4.) My instincts have started being in French. When I bump into someone I instantly say pardon, or excusez-moi, rather than sorry. I never thought I would do that. It's hard to break old habits, but I have apparently.

5.) I wash a lot of clothes in the sink. At home, doing this would be crazy. But I'm actually okay with it. It only takes a few minutes and then they're ready to wear the next day.

6.) Sleeping without air conditioner to keep me cool was a big change that I had to make. At the beginning, it was difficult, and I would wake up in the night sweating and uncomfortable. Now, more times than not, I sleep through the night even though I'm sweating. I've actually forgotten what it's like to have air conditioner. Use to, I would walk into a building, expecting the coolness to come over me. Now, I walk into a building already anticipating the higher temperatures of being indoors.

I think thats all the really major changes. And that's all I have for you.

Kristina



p.s. I miss my boyfriend more than anything in the world. But I get to come home to him in 7 days.

Annecy, c'est beau.

Once again another week has passed. The good news this time is that there is only one more. Yep, that's right. In 9 days I will be back in the wonderful United States.

Last week went very fast. We only had two days of class so it wasn't really a big deal. And then on Friday we went to St. Remy's de Provence. That's a city that van Gogh spent a lot of time in. It's where the mental hospital that he stayed in is. It was kinda neat to see his room and where he lived. There was also a bunch of roman ruins in this town. They had just recently been dug up, like within the last 100 years. It was really really cool to see because the ruins were still so intact. You could still see the structures of the buildings.

Saturday I went to Lyon with Lexy and Jared. It was fun we just hung out and walked around all day. Lyon is the third largest city in France, but yet, there wasn't a whole lot to see. However, it was a lot more modern than Paris and a lot more relaxed.

Sunday was the best day I've had here I think. Me and Lexy went to Annecy. I'm completely in love with that town. It's so beautiful. It's a small town that is located at the foot of the Alps. It has a beautiful lake at the edge of the town and on the other side of the lake is the Alps. The lake was crystal clear and it looked more like a pool than a lake. Me and Lexy rented paddle boats and went out onto the water. It was so fun.

On Monday IES decided that all of us students should attend the theater festival in Avignon. So we all were brought back to Avignon. It was a really long day. And the plays weren't very exciting. For the most part the plays were monologues, so it was very difficult for us to understand without much action.

Tuesday went by with nothing exciting happening. Once again though, I was glad to be home. It was a nice feeling.

This week is almost over and now I only have 3 days of class left. I'm so anxious to come home. It's all I think about all the time. I miss my boyfriend like crazy.

Well, I think that's all I have for now.

J'aime le buerre de cacahuetes.

Another week is nearing an end. And yes, while it feels like I have been here forever. It has gone by quickly. If that makes any sense at all. I spent the week-end in Paris. Therefore. I have a lot to talk about.

It all started Friday morning. At 7 o'clock to be exact. We all walked down to the gare. Ready and excited for the adventure ahead of us. We all love the TGV and it has quickly become our favorite way to travel. The TGV is a big train that goes all through France. It's great because one, it's air conditioned, and two, it's fast. So, we got into Paris around 11:00.

After navigating the subway systems and getting lost in the 14th, we found our hotel. And what a nice hotel it was. The people were so nice. It was kinda funny, because she spoke english to us, and we responded in French without even really realizing it. Good times.

After finding our hotel we decided that finding food would be an awesome idea. So, it was off to a supermarche. We all bought stuff for a picnic and returned to the hotel to have a picnic on a hotel bed. It was great. We then decided to be a little more ambitious. We traveled back into the center of Paris and went to an Andy Warhol exhibit that was at the bottom of the champs elysees. It was really neat and I think we all enjoyed that. By this time, of course, we were hungry again. It's amazing how often we ate. But we ate at a cafe and then we got on a boat called the Bateaux Mauche. It took us on the Seine around Paris. It was very beautiful and a great way to see Paris by night.

Saturday was my favorite day. We went to Versaille and went to the Palace and the gardens. The gardens were my favorite part. We had brought food and so we had a picnic in the gardens and also rented bikes for an hour and rode around. It was so pretty and one of the most relaxing things ever. Saturday night we wanted to chill because we'd been going so much. So we returned to the hotel, for another picnic in the room for dinner, and then we went to see Public Enemies. It was an okay movie, but the part I liked was that it was in English with French subtitles. We all enjoyed reading the subtitles because it was interesting to see how they translated certain things.

Sunday we got up early and went to Musee d'Orsay as well as the Pompidou. I liked both of those museums a lot and hope to someday go back and visit them when I have a little more time. It was my first time to be at a museum with really famous artists. I enjoyed it a lot.

Monday we went up to Sacre Couer. That's a big church on top of a big hill. Not only is the church beautiful, but it gives a beautiful view of Paris. We then were all anxious to get home.

It was so weird to us how we all felt like we were going home. On Friday, when I left, I would never have thought of this place as home, but after having been in Paris all week-end, it was home. I was happy to be home and it was good for me because it gave me new confidence. I only have 15 days left and then I'm leaving. I just have to make the best of it and keep going.

Yesterday was Bastille Day. For those who don't know, it's basically France's independence day. I was really excited to get to see fireworks since I didn't get to on my birthday. They were really pretty because they did them on the far bank of the Rhone river. That way, everyone was on the other side. It was beautiful because you could see the reflections of the fireworks in the water. Also, there was a boat in the middle of the river that had fireworks coming off of it. It was just good.

School is going okay. I only have 7 days of class left. So that's good.

Okay. That's all for now.

A la guerre, vraiment?

It's been awhile. I know. It's more difficult than I expected for me to find time to write on here. Mostly because I'm so exhausted all the time. Also because my thoughts are so tangled with French that it's sometimes difficult for me to think for long periods of time in English.

It's been an okay week. My family was here for a lot of it. So that was awesome getting to see them and such.

Last Friday we went to Avignon. That was my favorite place so far. We took an audioguided tour through le palais du paupes. I think that's how you spell it. Anyways, it's where popes used to live. I believe it was before there was a Vatican city. But i'm not sure on that information. Bertrand even let us listen to the tour in English. So we were very excited about that.

I'm starting to learn the ways of the Arlesians a little more I think. They do things so much differently. Dinner never consists of one course, it comes in three, or sometimes first. Eating is definitely my favorite thing here. There has really only been one meal that I didn't like. And that's because it was some weird fish stuff. I really enjoy eating outside, however, it has to be hot when we eat outside or "les moustiques" eat us a live. I have so many mosquito bites it's ridiculous.

My classes haven't really gotten any better. But that's okay because I'm halfway done with them. I'm also halfway done with Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, and almost Tuesdays. Personally, I think that's exciting. I have a countdown to when I come back home, and I definitely like the number being in the 20s rather than the 40s. In a few days it'll be in the teens, and that is very exciting.

On Friday, I'm taking a trip to Paris with some of the other IES students. I think that it will be fun, and it will help to pass the time.

While here, I've realized just how shy I am. It's difficult enough for me to talk to strangers in English, but, en francais? C'est impossible! Okay. It's not really impossible. It's just really hard.

I guess I should talk about the title of this post haha. A few days ago we were stitting at lunch. Oh. Sidenote, Monday through Wednesday we eat lunch with the other IES students and some of our professors. It's really cool and very language intensive. Anyways, we were at an IES lunch and someone said they had to go to the gare to get their train tickets. The french word for gare, is pronounced gaaaar. If that makes any sense. Only, this person said it how it looks, like a word that rhymes with care. Anyways, the way she said it was the word "guerre" which means war. So she told the professor she was going to war. And it was funny. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to post that story in English and describe the sounds, but, there you go. Sorry if you don't understand.

Anyways. I'm going to go now. I'm very tired.

Au revoir!