Les photos

Hello, again. 

I posted pictures on Facebook...and here is the supposedly public link.  Hope it works!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2107784&l=dd45e&id=39112435

Jurancon

Bonjour, mes amis!

Today was a much better day than hier (yesterday).  My French skills are improving rapidly and I'm feeling a bit better.  Also, I had fun today, rather than feeling jet-lagged and overwhelmed.  That being said, I left the house before 8h00am and didn't get back until after 20h00 (ten o'clock pm).  Je suis tres fatiguee.

Have I mentioned that the local (and very good) wine here is about 2 euros a bottle?  The white is called Jurancon, and is quite good.  Hence the title of the post.  

After spending the afternoon avec mes amis in a cafe, cafe au lait in hand (I felt so French), we had our first cooking class of the month.   It is wonderful to be able to practice French with friends over the preparation and eating of a meal.  However, it was slightly disappointing (maybe not the right word?) in that I realized just how spoiled I am.  Ma mere is a great cook, and we always have food straight from the farm or the farmer's market, often prepared with a French method.  It's not really new to have home-cooked food or to whip our own cream.  I also know how to slice an onion...

Alors, we had canteloupe with a French version of prosciutto (Melon et chiffonade de jambon de Bayonne) for our entree (first course en francais, not the main course, as en etas-unis).  There are thirteen of us in the class, so it's more of a bonding/eating/drinking/laughing at ourselves time than an actual lesson in how to cook.  However, the best part is that we get to take leftovers home!  That will be nice for adventures this weekend.  I got to take a LOT of pate home, and a half of a bottle of Jurancon (pronounced with a soft 'c').  I also have the rest of le jambon, and brought some strawberries for Titouan (the four year old).  In his words, "J'ai un passion pour les fraises" (I have a passion for strawberries).  

We had Poulet Basquese avec Rize Basmati (Chicken of the Basque region with basmati rice) for le principal (the main course), with pate Basque and baguette.  Red wine with our meal, and white wine with our Fraises a la creme chantilly (Strawberries with whipped cream).  It was a great time.  I'm going to try and figure out how to post the pictures I took today.  We all cleaned the kitchen together, and then headed home.  It was a big day. 

After classes and lunch today, we had a reception for des etudiants de l'universite (some students from the university).  It's a chance for us to get to know some French students.  We served food and beverages--differenty types of juices, fruit, chocolate, and some really good gummy candy (Alex, I thought of you...it was sour but not too sour.  I'll bring you some if I can find them at Le Clerc).  Great news!!  At the reception, we met the new teaching assistant at Mount Union for the fall.  She's really nice and she is willing to speak French with me to increase/maintain my French skills.  We've decided to help each other with our written projects, too.  Mine in French, hers in English.  She's really funny and very French.  C'est bon.

Tomorrow, we leave for Toulouse.  Because of the Grand Prix car race, I won't be able to get back to my house until Monday after class (unless I want to pay a small fortune in taxi fees).  So I won't be reporting any adventures until then.  Here's to hoping my French skills didn't fail me tonight in booking a hotel for Saturday night, and that we (my friend from Mount and I) will be able to shower at least once between tomorrow night and Monday night.  We're staying with our friends who live in the dorms at university on Friday and Sunday nights.  Maybe a hot shower?  

One unfortunate thing: Paulin, le bebe, likes to steal things out of my cupboard in the bathroom.  I now have no toothpast.  C'est triste (it's sad).  

I'm off to bed.  I've taken to wearing socks on my hands for gloves.  Pascal gave me an extra blanket tonight, though, so I hope I will be warmer. 

Bisou,

Marguerite.

Lardons de la creme

Bonjour, toute le monde.

I hope all is well dans les etas-unis.  I am sitting in my room with a glass of Airborne because I caught a cold yesterday, walking around Pau in the rain; c'est tres frois ici (it is very cold here).  Today was nice though.  There was a break from the rain and the sun actually shone (this was lucky, I forgot my umbrella).  

Language class ce matin (this morning), then lunch, then a walk around town before my elective class (French Cinematic Comedy).  We watched Le Placard (The Closet) today, and have begun reading Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic.  Thankfully, it is in English.  It's quite theoretical and philosophical--definitely my thing. 

I was early for the bus (thankfully) ce matin.  Actually, when I got to the end of the driveway, one of the neighbors offered me a ride to the bus stop.  She was very pleasant.  I managed to tell her to "Tournez a la gauche" (turn left), and she knew where to go from there.    

For lunch at l'universite, there were haricots de vert et boeuf de bourguignonne (green beans and beef bourguignonne).  There was also a zucchini salad.  Ce n'est pas mal (it wasn't bad).  I ate dinner with my host family tonight; we had leftover root vegetables but with a new twist: Lardons de la Creme (for those of you who don't know, it's basically bits of ham and ham fat that you cook down with some cream and put on top of things.  Really good).  It has quickly become my new favorite.  I used to not like ham at all (excepting, of course, bacon), but it's really good, and very standard, here.  

Tomorrow, I start my cooking class.  I will give a full report about it.  

One more interesting thing before I go back to reading my book about comedy (which, ironically, is not the least bit funny):

The French, from what I can tell, are the opposite of the definition of "germiphobe."  Par example, this morning, when I wanted to put the coffee mix into my hot water (shocking, I know, that I don't actually have real coffee in the mornings.  In case you're wondering, no matter where you go, all instant coffee blends are bad), and I asked for a spoon.  He told me to just use my spoon (even though he had seen me eating yogurt with it!).  C'est vrais, mon amis (it is true, my friends).  Also, they share food, spoons, forks, and knives, seemingly with no concern for where or with whom the aforementioned noun has been.  They also don't worry about food sitting out trop long (too long).  C'est tres interessant.   

The pace of life is also slower (partly because I'm in the southern region of France), which I like very much.  That being said, je suis tres fatiguee et j'ai une mal a la tete (I'm very tired and have a headache), so I am signing off for now.  

Just in case you're wondering: I have had one dream in French, only I didn't understand it.  'Tis a nightmare which haunted me with Latin, too.

A bientot, 

Marguerite

I almost missed the bus...

Bonjour, toute le monde.

The bus system in France is quite good, and it is just a matter of knowing which "ligne" (line number) you have to take, and where to change lignes once you get to the main switching station.  It is not as easy as one might think.  A woman who lives close to me, also studying through USAC, and I decided to take the bus together...two are better than one, as they say.

The bus for Pau (which I had to be on otherwise I would be late for class...a serious offense here in France) leaves at 8:16am.  I left my house "ce matin" (this morning) at a few minutes to 8:00am. However, having gotten to the end of the street, I couldn't remember which way to turn.  I took a chance, and, as odds have it, lost the fifty-fifty bet.  Once I reached a roundabout I had never seen before, I realized I had to turn around (mon dieu, French people drive fast and don't believe in traffic laws!  I almost got hit crossing the street).  Unfortunately, by this point, I had no concept of how far I had to go to get to the stop, much less if I could physically get there on time (it was now about 8:11).  I called Pascal (my host dad) in a panic, and he kindly offered to take me to universtity.  "Non, non!" I said, as I rushed down the street, looking far from glamorous by this point.  He gave me directions to cross the bridge, and then told me to call if I had any trouble.  I got to the bus stop (though a different one than I where I was supposed to meet my friend).  Luckily, a kind French lady affirmed my question,   "Est-ce-que cette lingne 7?" as "ligne 7" drove up.  All is well that ends well, but it was quite a stressful adventure.  We managed to change lines downtown, and got to l'universite on time.

In other news, I had my first dinner with my host family tonight.  The mother is on holiday in Northern Spain this week, so it's just Pascal, me, and the three children (7, 3, et un bebe).  We had ham and a root vegetable medley, followed by camembert with cherries for dessert.  C'est tres bien.  

Now I really must go do some homework, and get ready for tomorrow.  "Ce weekend," some friends and I are going to Toulouse, also called the Pink City.  Interesting fact about France: each town has drastically different architecture because they use all local building materials.  Toulouse is the Pink City because they have very pink brick.  Jamais sais.

Interesting fact about Pau: it rains "tout le temps" (all the time).  I'm not overstating: for the last two years, it has rained everyday.  The weather is quite unpredictable altogether, because it is so close to "les montaignes."

Bon soir, 

Marguerite

Bonjour, mes amis

Bonjour, dear ones. 

I thought I would start this so I don't have to write quite so many emails during my trip to La France.  Everything is beautiful here, and the people are very nice.  Pau is an adorable town, and my host family is lovely.  Though "les montaignes" are gorgeous, they make the weather quite unpredictable.  

I will write more tomorrow, but am still jetlagged and have my first full day of classes tomorrow.

Bon nuit, 

M