Une nuit obscure

How about a chapter from another story, Mom? :) It's in French this time though.

Dans la nuit obscure, il pleuvait sur une vieille maison de campagne. Soudainement, l'orage a grondé très fort. Une noire voiture est arrivée et quelqu'un a démarrée la voiture. Une femme rousse, Juliette, est descendue, et elle a fermé la portière rapidement parce que la nuit était inquiétante. Ses yeux verts ont vu la forêt, et les arbres bougeaient violemment. 

Tout à coup, les éclairs ont illuminé le ciel. En effet, elle a couru vers la grande porte, mais elle tremblait trop. Elle a essayé d'ouvrir la porte avec ses clés, et la porte a grincé. Puis, l'interrupteur n'a pas marché donc elle a craqué une allumette.

Elle a monté les escaliers soigneusement. Le bruit de ses pas a reveillé un fantôme au rez-de-chaussée. Il était en colère, et il a joué du piano on appuyant tres fort sur les touches. Le bruit a reveillé un chat, et le chat a cassé un verre dans la cuisine accidentellement.

Par conséquent, Juliette a crié, et elle est descendue au rez-de-chaussée. Elle a claqué la porte, et elle est sortie.

En résumé, le fantôme et le chat se sont couchés. 

The Storybook Village of Charroux

A bit of creative writing largely-based on our trip to Charroux a few weeks ago:

In a tiny storybook village in the south of France, there live 389 satisfied small-towners and one grumpy woman who keeps out all other potential inhabitants. With only seven main attractions helpfully listed on an antique signpost, you can see all of them four times in a single afternoon. Charroux is laid out with one circle of main streets inside another like a bull’s eye.  The tourism department hands out maps to visitors upon entry, but if you can’t navigate around two circles, you shouldn’t be allowed to leave anyway.

The local attractions include the Confiturerie, where one can taste-test about a hundred jams before purchase. The cashier with a strawberry mark across his face greets each customer individually, informs him or her to use a new spoon for each potential confiture purchase, and thanks each satisfied belly upon a payment of about 4 euros.

The Rose Thé shop attracts even those on the hottest of days to its spindly, round tables laden with lace tablecloths and puzzle-pieced into the rectangular shop. While the hot tea is 9 euros a cup, travelers justify the purchase with “Well, when’s the next time I’ll be able to drink tea in Charroux?”

Wanderers can also stop by the Bougerie, where they are immediately informed by copious signage that each picture of the establishment costs 10 euro cents. Artisan candles in swirly purples and pinks hang from the ceiling, and dozens of scented candles in octagonal glass jars sit neatly stacked for purchase.

In a town without a nightclub or a bar, the villagers fill their days with gardening and bricolage, known in English as “The Honey-Do” list. Red, pink, and yellow roses adorn gothic-pointed fences and trellis up shutters, and the neighbors know each other by their choice of pastel houses. Each of the few streets is marked with a rectangular wooden sign affixed to a building and sports an emblem of a gold crown riding atop a green carriage.

After stepping out of the sunlight and into a quaint magasin, each shopkeeper is eager to explain her wares in detail and is patient with those who have only just begun the French language. Though Charroux’s population only grows every once in a while with the birth of a baby, plenty of curious sightseers stop by for a glimpse of such a perfect life.

A Weekend in Marseilles

This past weekend, Hannah, Kacie, and I went to Marseilles! It was quite the experience!

After school on Friday, we took the train first to Lyon and then to Marseilles. We arrived at 10 p.m. and were greeted by a man getting arrested. Bienvenue, huh?

We were staying with a family that Hannah's known for years, and they greeted us warmly at the station. The parents, Olivier and Christiane, have four kids, and their niece, Natalia, was staying with them, too. Friday was the summer solstice and to celebrate, France hosted la fete de la musique. This year, Marseilles was the capital of the festival. As we walked down the street from the station, we found that 100,000 people had showed up to listen to Zaz, Christophe Mae, and other French pop singers. 

At the harbor, we were right in the middle of the concert. It was a perfect night for a concert, and there were even some songs in English. 

Next we took our stuff to the house and found quite the snack of Miel Pops and Nutella on crackers. The family is incredibly dynamic because Olivier is American, Christiane is Brizilian, and they're living in France. So their family speaks all three languages. Needless to say, we didn't speak much French last weekend. 

On Saturday, we started bright an early with a breakfast of croissants and a complicated conversation about the history of the Middle East. Then Chris showed us the marche au plein air, where you can buy clothes, shoes, watches, jewelry, fruits, fish, and vegetables. It spanned a good 5 or 6 blocks. 

Next came the great hike up the hill to see la Notre Dame de la Garde. Chris was in great shape and literally ran part of the way. I was  completely exhausted by the time I reached the top. But the view was completely worth it. I kept saying while we were in Lyon, "This is my favorite part of the trip so far." And I continued to change my mind when the next breathe-taking view appeared. 

We returned to the house for lasagna and a quick break before we ventured out again. We paid for boat tickets to ride to one of the islands in the Frioul Archipelago. The ride was great just in itself because it was so windy that it was almost like a roller coaster ride. We also passed by Chateau d'If, other wise known as the Count of Monte Cristo Castle.

When the Germans took over Marseilles during the World War II, they moved all of the Jews to concentration camps onto the islands off the coast, and Frioul still has a bombed-out concentration camp.

There is so much sun, sky, and wind in Marseilles! Apparently, Southern France is very well known for being windy, to the point that the wind is named "Le Mistral." Boy, did we get acquainted with him. We explored the cliffs and beaches of the island, and I took a bunch of pictures of the gorgeous view. 

We were outside so much last weekend that everyone said I looked tan when I got back to Vichy. Me! Tan!

That evening, we drove to Aix-en-Provence to walk around the center of town. We ate pizza from a street vendor and followed it with ice cream. It was a cute little town, and the slow pace was relaxing after Marseilles humdrum. We all crashed that evening after all of the exercise and sunshine. 

On Sunday, we slept in a little before buying sandwiches and driving out to the Mountains near Cassis. We worked our way steadily up a gravel path in the woods until suddenly-

This appeared. 

The view really snuck up on me. It didn't occur to me to ask where we were going or that climbing up usually produces a view. All of a sudden, it was just there! We ate our sandwiches and marveled at how strong the wind was. 

Finally, we descended the mountain and made a stop by the beach. I'd been wanting to swim in the Mediterranean the entire time we were in Marseilles. However, I was in for quite the shock. The waves were so strong that I could only stay in for 15 minutes. They sucked me out and threw me back until I was exhausted. Finally, a string of three gigantic waves spun me under and spit me up on the sand - gasping and with a bikini full of tiny rocks. I did it though. The wind at the beach was as strong as ever and blew sand at us until we just couldn't stay on the beach any longer. 

We returned to the house and watched American TV in English with French dubbed over top. Every time someone spoke, I would try to cheat by hearing the English before the French started, and every time I would have to switch my brain back to French when the dubbing started. This resulted in a headache as I tried to think in two languages simultaneously. Olivier baked an amazing chocolate cake, and we relaxed on our last night in beautiful Marseilles. 

On Monday, we said goodbye to the harbor and Canebiere, the oldest street in France.

It was an energetic trip, but I really got my fill of Marseilles. I loved getting to know such an nontraditional family, as well. When one of the kids would get in trouble, Chris would lecture him in Portuguese while Olivier lectured him in French. Then Chris would translate the argument into English for us. It was a weekend of many languages. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to visit Marseilles and the Jouven family. 

Cultural Differences

I've been wanting to write for awhile now about the differences I've noticed between the U.S. and France. But this is not an Us vs. Them post because I am now a part of both groups - which would be a Me vs. Me post, and nobody wins there. 

Notations:

The French have one room for the shower, bath tub, and sinks, and a separate room for the toilet all by itself, called "Les Toilettes" always plural - never singular. The house I'm living in has three bathrooms but only one salle des toilettes, which seems to work for the family. 

The French really like bread, pastries and bakeries. We have a baguette every night at dinner, and there are at least three boulangeries on my walk to school. Every baked good I've had in France has been amazing, too. 

For the kids, school starts at 10 and goes until 5. The school year runs September to June, and there is no school on Wednesdays; it's a day off for the children, and some of the stores have reduced hours that day. 

Speaking of hours, stores open around 10 and close around 7. In the rest of France, they're closed on Sunday's, but Vichy is well-known for having open stores on Sundays. 

You don't have to clean up after your dog in France, even if it's on the sidewalk. And because of this, the same dog poop has been on the sidewalk for two weeks now. 

The French actually open the windows in their houses for fresh air and barely use the AC at all, even on hot days. My host mom asked me to open my window each day to air out my room. It's a nice habit. :)

Lunches are cheap here. I pay on average 5 euros a day for lunch, and my usual food is a ham sandwich. The French love ham sandwiches. But even when we buy ready-made lunches at the supermarket or get a croque-monsieur at the Snack Bar, lunch is still very affordable. 

Parents typically walk their children to school because everything is so close together in France, but today I even saw a dad taking his daughter to school on a bike. There isn't a place for cars to queue up in front of the school like in the U.S. anyways. So even if parents wanted to drive their kids to school, they couldn't.

Parking on the sidewalk is a completely normal thing, especially on skinny or one way streets. And it doesn't seem to be an inconvenience to anyone either. 

Trying on or touching hats in a hat store is incredibly rude and the woman will tell you no three times and speak very fast French. Taking a water bottle out at the table in a restaurant also is incredibly rude and the server will tell you to put it away. 

We say hello and goodbye to everyone: classmates, shopkeepers, passers-by, friends, teachers, wait staff, cashiers, and puppy dogs. We're all very friendly with each other.

The French like tiny cups, and at school, there are these machines that serve little cups of hot beverages like coffee, tea, and hot chocolate for 40 euro cents a cup. They're awesome.

The toilets at my school are unisex and tiny. You have to walk in to the very back, shut the open door, and then stand where the door used to be. Then you repeat to get out. And there aren't public toilets in supermarkets - I asked.

Also, much of France isn't accessible to people with disabilities. The only way to get to my class room, for example, is to walk up four flights of tight, twisty stairs. The metro stations are cram packed with stairs, and the sidewalks are uneven at best and cobblestone at worst. 

Everyone pays for everything with cash here. To the point that, if you are buying a 3 euro sandwich and you try to pay with a 10 euro bill, the cashier will ask you if you have coins instead. And I've only seen someone try to use a credit card once, and she changed her mind and paid with cash. 

Most people are very concerned with your nationality. It's the second question I'm asked after my name. Because there are so many countries in such a small area here, you really never know where someone is from until you ask. Except for today, when I accidentally asked a Frenchman what his nationality was. He responded very confusedly with, "Je suis français..." Oops. I knew he spoke French well.  

I love learning about the culture here! It's just different enough to be interesting but not so much to be difficult to understand. 

Yours,

Alissa

Mes compositions français

J'ai decidé d'ecrire un post en français parce que je reste en France pour étudier la langue.
Alors, je vais recrire mes compositions d'ici pour vous voyez. 

1. Un chose sentimental - 10.06.2013
Quand j'étais au collège, je jouais de la flûte dans le groupe de l'école. Je pratiquais tous les jours et je faisais des concerts. Puis, mon professeur m'enseignait. Je me preparais pour un concours, mais j'ai mal joué.
Je continue à jouer de la flûte, mais je n'ai pas le temps à l'université. Ma flûte m'aide à me souvenir des choses importantes dans ma vie comme la musique. 

2. Les avantages et les inconvenients d'Internet et du telephone portable - 11.06.2013
A mon avis, les nouvelles techonologies sont inventées parce qu'elles résolvent un probleme. Les personnes qui, se connectent à Internet pourraient ne pas être en contact. De plus, Internet peut aider les gens à trouver les informations pour le travail, l'école, ou les facances. Pendant que je reste en francais, je l'utilise pour parler avec ma famile parce que mon téléphone portable ne marche pas.
Ma téléphone portable est ma ligne de vie aux Étas-Unis. Il ya ma calculatrice, ma musique, et mes jeux.
Mais, je perds du temps avec mon portable. C'est facile pour moit de ne pas faire attention dans mes cours. Je trouve que étant sans Internet sur mon portable, la vie est plus simple.
Ensuite, Internet est trop important dans nos vies. Enfin, nous dépendons de lui, et quand nous ne l'avons pas, nous ne pouvons rien faire. 

3. Mon portrait - 12.06.2013
Je suis née en 1994 en Floride. D'abord, j'ai étudié à la maison jusqu'à l'université. Puis, j'ai inegré ma première année de l'université en 2012. J'étudie pour devenir écrivaine des romans fantastiques. J'ai travaillé dans une bibliothgrèque et une salle de rédaction. En effet, j'ai appris à adorer les livres et bien les éditer. 
Maintenant, j'espere devenir rédactrice dans une maison d'edition.
En résumé, mes études et emplois ont affinités mes habiletés littéraires. 


4. Mon endoit favori - 14.06.2013
Quand j'étais enfant, ma cour était mon lieu favori. Il y avait vingt-sept arbres - j'ai compté. En effet, les arrbres donnaient beaucoup d'ombre et c'était mysterieux. En résumé, j'aimais y jouer et explore ce lieu. 

Au revoir, 
Alissa

Un têtu homme dans ma classe m'a enseigné la patience.

Every Monday at school, we do introductions because new students arrive. So today, we began class with introductions for our new student, Gahli. Once we were halfway through the class, another student, Erica, arrived, huffing and puffing because we're on the fourth floor. Everyone laughed, especially my teacher because she's very warmhearted, and we all began the introductions again. We had just finished when Lila walked in the door. Finally, my teach asked us if this was a joke and where the hidden camera was. It was quite funny. But effective for learning everyone's names!

The Monday class is also short, so we just worked on one exercise. We worked in groups to choose cards with places, people, and things on them and imagine a story in the passe compose (past tense). This may have been the most challenging moment of my life, that moment right then.

Gahli is quite loquacious and constantly interrupts everyone by asking very rudimentary questions. It was endearing at first, but it began to get old quickly. He also seemed incapable of working in a group. He told the teacher that he studies alone and he took the placement test alone so he should be allowed to write his own story. He didn't want to work with me and Woo Jung.

Finally, he consented to let someone else besides himself talk, and Woo Jung and I began our story about Paul, le grenouille (the frog). Paul made plane reservations to see Paris, London, the Netherlands, and Egypt and lost his baseball cap along the way. Gahli was very intent on Paul visiting the Pyramids in Egypt and insisted that Paul stay there for four days. He continued to explain Paul's visit to Egypt for a straight 3 or 4 minutes before I interrupted the interrupting cheese to explain - in French - that it was a group activity and that we must work together - nicely. Talk about patience.

"Nous devons travailler ensemble pour ecrire UNE histoirie. Nous avons besion d'imaginer et decider ENSEMBLE." I began to get irritated with his lack of comprehension and constant interruptions so I started to speak louder and louder. To which he said "doucement." Don't tell me what to do! I do what I want! I was so happy when that class ended. He seems like a friendly guy, but I really hope he get's better at working together because we do it everyday. For everything. Always. I may have to find a new seat otherwise.

My afternoon class was less challenging than my morning class for once today, after the morning I had. I worked with Salah, from Saudi Arabia, to understand a man's phone call to his wife that his car had broken down in the snow. Salah is very helpful when I don't understand something, and he even taught me to write my name in Arabic!

I think I'll change my legal signature. ;)

After school, Kacie, Hannah, Salome, and I explored a new building that was labeled thermal baths on our map. It turned out to be a strip mall that was closed on a Monday afternoon, but it was beautiful and the acoustics were fun. It made me wish I had brought my flute so I could see what I would sound like. 

I really wish it was possible to accidentally find places like this in the U.S. I would explore more often.

I'm trying to learn 10 new words a day, outside of school. My tactic is to remember things I try to say during the day but can't because I don't know the words and then learn them that evening. If I rewrite them here, I'll learn them better.

Today's VOC:

orgueil - pride

singe - monkey ( to talk about Mila) :)

têtu - stubborn

amusant - entertaining

ridicule - ridicuous

mentionner - to mention

sautiller - to hop

trébucher - to stumble

peigne - to comb

amener - to bring

s'inscrire - to sign up 

And good news! Mila finally let me take a picture of her!

How cute are we? She took this one herself. 

Bonne nuit,

Alissa

Playing catch up: Week 1 in Vichy

Well it has been quite the first week in Vichy! I feel like everything that could have happened, happened.

On Tuesday, I was walking to lunch with friends, and I somehow managed to trip on one of the few completely perfect sidewalks in France. I landed facing the opposite direction I'd been walking with a skinned knee.
After the fact, it was pretty funny, and Hannah had a fantastic time recounting what my fall looked like to her. We cried we were laughing so hard. My skinned knee isn't too bad; it doesn't hurt to walk. But I'm interested to see what it looks like when it heals because it's about the size of a paper towel roll.

Then on Tuesday, on my way to school (we all know I'm not functional early in the morning) I tripped on an actual object and the strap of my shoe broke. I continued the walk to school like a penguin, with a big floppy flipper.
When I arrived at school, I walked up to the desk and said "Ma chaussure est casseé. Est-ce que vous avez quelque chose pour ma chaussure. Comme 'tape'?" The receptionist just stared at me. But a very nice man, Monsieur Jacques, got out the electrical tape and sat down with me for a good ten minutes to fix my shoe. His tape invention was genius and lasted me through school and to the shoe store for a new pair!

So far, my group of friends and I have done a lot of walking around Vichy, eaten a lot of sandwiches for lunch, and hung out by the river in the shade. It's quite the relaxing routine!

We've done exercises in French class like have a debate about whether new technologies are worth the risk, put on skits, run relay races to read and write paragraphs in French, talked about items that have sentimental value to us, and describe important monuments in our own countries. I really enjoy the learning style that CAVILAM implements.

On Saturday, we went on a day trip to Clermont-Ferrand, the closest big city to Vichy. It was so much fun! We goofed around the whole time and window shopped in the rain. Clermont-Ferrand has a lot of beautiful churches and amazing chocolates. We walked up a down a few streets several times, looking for clothes and food. We had gourmet Belgian chocolates at Leonida's, and I bought a 36 euro tunic at Yawatah's. Even though it was raining and cold, we didn't let that spoil our fun.

Hannah very confidently told a Frenchmen who asked us a question, "Nous ne parlons pas beaucoup de francais" in a very loud, very American accent. It sounded more like "NEEW NUH PARLYONS PA BOWCOOW DE FRANSAY!" We've been laughing about that since.

Our Turkish friends Ovgu and Seda taught us a few Turkish words that make up the core of my Turkish knowledge. Sapsal means cute; kankacim is like hey, bro; lyi aksamlar is good evening; and tesekkuler is thank you. As Hannah would say, I'm now tri-lingual! Some of the Turkish sounds are really hard for me to pronounce, and I found my self leaning forward like that would help me enunciate. Ovgu and Seda that that was pretty great.

These are Vichy's girls, and I love 'em!

Ovgu, Hannah, Kacie, Seda, and Salome. 

On Sunday, we all got together again to have lunch at a pizza place. The pizza was great! I learned that it's incredibly rude here to bring your own water bottle into a restaurant when the server scolded me for having mine. Oops. Won't make that mistake again.

Ovgu, Seda, and I walked on the other side of the Allier River from where we usually walk and the view was gorgeous!

I'm loving it here in France! Beautiful weather, a fantastic learning environment, a welcoming host family, goofy friends from all over the world, and gorgeous, wonderful French food. But I do miss all of you back home quite a  bit. All the French food in the world can't replace my life in Oklahoma.

Sending my love,

Alissa

Volcanic Water & Four-legged octopus

Well today was quite a day.
I woke up bright and early at 7 a.m. Marco and I had le petit dejeuner (breakfast), and Lionel drove us to school, explaining the route to us.

The Cavilam representatives welcomed us and promptly started our placement test - listening, reading, writing, and comprehension. It was a hard test, but the proctor said not to worry because the purpose was to see what level of French we could go up to. They posted where are classes were, and we were off.

The schedule is as follows:
lundi - morning class: 11 a.m. to 12:30, lunch, afternoon class: 2 p.m. - 3:30
mardi - morning class: 8:45 to noon, lunch, afternoon class: 2 p.m. - 2:30
mercredi morning class: 8:45 to noon and the afternoon off
and then jeudi et vendredi follow the same schedule as mardi.

Seems like a good plan to me!

In my first class, we worked on passe compose by learning a list of phrases and then asking our classmates questions with the phrases. They were questions like have you ever ridden a horse, fallen asleep during a movie, been given flowers, broken a bone, etc. During that class, speaking French started to feel natural.

So far, of the names I can remember, I've met Kan, Woo Jung, and Yukiko from Japan, Vera from Brazil, and Sala from Saudi Arabia. Everyone is very friendly, and people you don't know greet you on the streets in Vichy! Yukiko was in my tour group in the afternoon, and so we got a chance to get to know each other. She is a ballerina! She's already graduated from college too.

Hannah, Kacie, a friend of Hannah's, and I all got lunch together at the one restaurant we could find that was open. The waiter offered us a choice between ham and cheese sandwiches and cheese sandwiches. It made it easy to choose. I'm amazed by the upper hand Kacie and I have after only 3 days in Paris. We let Hannah in on the carafe secret and how to order in a restaurant.

In the afternoon, we listened to conversations in different markets and broke them down sentence by sentence until we really understood them. Then we pretended to be vendors or clients in a made up shop. I was trying to ask for strawberry perfume at a magasin de parfum by saying "Est-ce que vous avez le parfum de fraises?" But I didn't pronounce the r in fraises and ended up asking for butt scented perfume - "parfum de fesse." My teacher just stared at me for the longest time. After I got over being embarrassed, it turned into a great story! This makes the fourth time I've told it today. :)

After school, I tried to walk home to drop my stuff off before the tour, but I got lost. I wandered around for a while, assuming something would look familiar before I got out my map to try to make sense of things. That was when I realized I didn't know where the house was on the map. I asked a man for directions in butchered French, and when he heard what street I was looking for, he immediately asked if I was staying with Marie and Lionel. He's a friend of theirs! Such a small town. I understood most of his directions and made it home.

By that point, I knew I was cutting it close but I figured I could do it. I hurried up the stairs and managed to trip up them and land on hard cement. Then when I got downstairs, I'd left my key on the bed. After all of that, I got lost. Again. Even with the map. This was when I realized I was going to miss the tour.

I didn't know what to do because I'd told my friends I would be there, and I had no way of getting in touch with them. Was I supposed to turn around and go home? Give myself a self-guided tour? Run to school and try and catch them? I settled for grumpily power walking and trying not to cry from frustration until I got to the school - only 7 minutes late. I asked where the tour had gone and a nice man showed me on the map. I easily caught up with my tour and everything was smooth sailing after that.

We saw the park and the river. Our tour guide told us a lot of things, but it was entirely in French, so what I understood at the time, I no longer remember.

We tried Vichy water, what people know the town for. It's created by volcanic pressurization, and so it tastes almost like carbonated earth.

It wasn't bad, but we didn't finish our glasses. It's also not something I care to taste ever again. 

The best building was le Palais des Congres/ Opera. Known for it's fan shaped entrance, it was truly beautiful.

I do remember what the tour guide said about the statues. There were two more on the other side, four in all, one for each season. The winter woman held her shawl tightly around her and the summer woman clasped grapes. These are the autumn and spring women, with the harvest and flowers, respectively. Finally, the clock-looking object above them is actually a barometer, telling the weather. 

After the tour, I arrived home to a family I could suddenly understand almost entirely, (without getting lost,  might I add.) Apparently, one day of school (and wandering around) can really make a difference. I talked so much at dinner that I then had to make up for lost time and eat my food quickly. It's amazing to be able to express myself more easily now. 

After dinner, Soni and Mila came to play with me. Mila picked up my journal, a book I'm reading, and my French-English dictionary and asked me in awe if I had written all of them. I explained that no, I was only reading those and that my novel was on my computer. Then Soni invited me to draw pictures with him. Mila and I drew the ocean full of fish and octopus with only four legs. (Merriam Webster says the plural of octopus is octopodis, uhm, no. Alissa says it's like the word sheep.)

Then Soni and I had the bright idea to try to draw Marco. When Soni was finished, we went to get Marco, giggling profusely. He was good spirited about it but didn't seem to find it as funny as we did. He soon went out with friends, and Soni whispered in my ear "Marco aime Alissa" and giggled some more. We all found this very funny, including Marie, who understood my explanation that Marco was too young for me. But Soni wasn't dissuaded from his theory. 

It was such a pleasant evening compared to a day of having to pay attention and be on time. But overall, I am really enjoying Vichy. It is so much more calm than Paris, and the weather is gorgeous - sunny and warm.

A demain,

Alissa 

Finally in Vichy!

On Saturday, we hit up le Château du Versailles, which is the place I wanted to go to the most while we were in Paris!
It was quite the ordeal to get there. We thought if we just took the metro to le Pont du Versailles, that we would be at Versailles. But it wasn't that simple. Apparently, other tourists have had the same problem because when we arrived there were printed directions in eight languages telling us how to get to Versailles from where we were. So we rode the metro, the tram, and some kind of train-like transportation just to get there - 2 hours.

Then, when we finally arrived we began waiting in line to enter. I overheard a British couple talking about the ticket line, it turns out, that's not what we were in. So we got out of the entrance line and into the ticket line and then back into the entrance line - 1 hour.

Upon finally arriving in the palace, we were amazed! Everything was so shiny and fancy. The layout was very confusing because just about every room we entered was someone's bedroom, be it mistress or king, and they were all decorated very grandly. 

Of course, you're all waiting to hear about the famous hall of mirrors. It's everything it claims to be.

All in all, Versailles was a beautiful place! I really loved being there, and per Kacie's idea, we even took pebbles from the courtyard. 

Upon returning to Paris, we visited the Luxembourg Gardens, which turned out to be my favorite place in Paris. There were picturesque children playing with sailboats in a fountain. The garden even had palm trees and live music. I also figured out where the phrase French kissing comes from. They are not shy about their affections in France. 

They had these ingenious swings where a child sits on each side, and the parents push from outside of the swing's enclosure. Very efficient. 

It was a peaceful getaway in the middle of a busy city and gave me some time to relax. 

We then visited the Musée de Cluny, which was a Renaissance building that held Renaissance art. Such a cool experience. The old building really made me appreciate the impressive restoration of the art because I could compare the condition of the two. 

We also had Berthillion crème de la glacée on Ile St. Louis, a place known for it's ice cream and crowded with tourists. It was only my second ice cream cone in France, but it was definitely better than any ice cream I've ever tasted. 

We shopped at the Monoprix supermarket for dinner, and I ended up with pasta salad, tabbouleh, and kinder chocolate bars. We were baffled by the nationality of the chocolate because kinder sounds German, but they were called bueno bars, which is Spanish, and we bought them in a French grocery store. They're interracial candy bars. I like it.

On Sunday, what promised to be a leisurely morning before a peaceful train ride to Vichy turned into a mad dash of split-second timing. We thought we had enough time to take the metro back to buy souvenirs in quaint shops juxtaposed next to the mammoth Notre Dame and eat crepes from a stand we had seen, but in actuality, I should have woken up earlier. 

On the way up, we walked like we had somewhere to be, getting a bit lost as usual. We found a shop, and I bought a music box that plays la vie en rose. Then I got a nutella crepe. So. Good. We then realized that it was 11, we were 30 minutes from our hotel, I hadn't packed yet, and our taxi was coming at 11:30. 

We jay-walked, skipped down stairs, operated the ticket machines like beasts, navigated the metro system without any errors, literally threw things into my suitcase, fought with the tiny elevator to take me to the rez-de-chaussée instead of the first floor, and arrived in the hotel lobby 10 minutes late, sweating, but before the taxi. After that, our taxi trip was delayed by the longest biking tour you will ever see in your life. A steady stream of bikes crossed the intersection for a good 10 minutes before finally the driver turned around and drove like a true Parisian to get us to the train station on time. 

After settling on the train, I snacked; I read; I napped; I looked at the countryside. I had a lot of tension to ease. 

My host family is great! It's a mom, Marie-franca, a dad, Lionel, a boy, Sonni, and a girl, Mila. They're the cutest family and are patient with me when I don't understand them. Mila is literally the cutest thing. Every word that comes out of her mouth sounds adorable, and she loves to ride le cheval - me. "J'aime Alissa!" she exclaimed as I galloped around the living room.

Lionel used to be a rugby player for 12 years, and now, he owns his own company that makes plush sports balls that zip open to reveal the team mascot. They're really cool!

There is also a Suiss student staying here named Marco, who speaks German, French, and English. Show off. He's quiet but nice. 

I'm quickly learning French already after only being with my host family for four hours. Clearly, the best learning environment is a home. I can ask them to repeat something, or use another word, or speak in English, and they can correct my grammar mistakes without laughing at me. Having a conversation in a language you are unfamiliar with is tricky, but you soon learn to describe things in ways you wouldn't have thought to use in your own language. It's certainly a challenge, but I'm loving it already. 

Tomorrow, we report to Cavilam at 8 a.m. for convocation, and it looks like we're going on a historic tour of Vichy when school lets out. I'm loving Vichy so far. A lot more than Paris actually. I can't wait to continue to explore!

Until next time,

Alissa

Paris!

We've arrived in Paris!

I started Wednesday morning at Oklahoma City airport where I actually ran into Kacie as we waited for our separate flights. My first was to Minneapolis, and when I arrived, I hung out at the gate for several hours. I was surprised by how many families with children waited to board the plane. The kids entertained themselves by playing tag and running all around the gate. It was an overnight 8 hour flight and there was a screaming baby in front of me. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.

When we finally landed in Paris, the plane was taxing to the gate when I Parisian man looked at me and said "selon." While I was trying to figure out his sudden declaration of "living room," he repeated, "It's long," referring to the taxi time. I can already tell this two languages thing is going to be a struggle.

Once I met up with Kacie at baggage claim, we got a taxi and dropped our bags off at our hotel. The woman there was very helpful and told us which bus to take to get to Notre Dame. The church was beautiful, and the line to get inside wrapped around the block. There was an actual service happening while we were there, and that was cool to see.

Riding buses is quite the experience. I'd forgotten how much they jolt around; I've already almost fallen twice. This afternoon, we crammed so many people into one bus I thought the driver would tell the next passengers no; but he didn't.

I've already learned to ask for a carafe at restaurants so I don't get charged 5 euros for some water. Another group of students traveling abroad gave us that tip after I was complaining about the bill.

That afternoon we had dinner and walked around in the rain looking at flowers. We barley made it until bedtime; I fell asleep at 8 pm and slept until 9 the next morning. Talk about jet lag.

On our second day, we had a lot more to see. We started right in our own neighborhood at the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, a famous cemetery where Oscar Wilde rests. The cemetery was huge, with named streets cars could drive on and more graves than I have ever seen. It was almost like it's own city with a tall wall around the whole area.

There were even lipstick marks on Oscar Wilde's grave! :D

After wandering around the cobble stone streets, we took the metro to the Arc d'Triomphe, and then we walked down the Chams-Elysees. We didn't stroll. Tourists stroll. We moved like we knew where we were going.

We found the Eiffel Tower and waited in line for a good 45 minutes to buy tickets. But there were a lot of people watching opportunities, and time doesn't really exist when there's no where you have to be and your internal clock is 7 hours off. We decided on "le deuxième étage" because of the price and hopped in an elevator. The view was gorgeous!

After all of this navigating, that view really helped cement Paris' layout in my mind. It's kind of a complicated city. They don't have blocks in Paris, and so streets just start and stop whenever they feel like it. They also will change names for a while and then switch back. There is so much traffic that you really have to pay attention before you cross a street, even if the crosswalk is on. And of course, you must always be vigilant about your purse to fend off pickpockets, who have yet to make an appearance.

Next came the obligatory "getting lost." We tried to find a metro stop for a good half hour and walked in a gigantic circle, ending up back at the Eiffel Tower. Finally, after ironically being asked by a tourist where the metro stop was, we did find it. My feet were already hurting before our wild goose chase.

We rode up to the Montmartre district of Paris, which is on a hill 130 meters (427 feet) high. The view from that hill almost out did the view from the le Tour Eiffel! It was breathtaking. In Montmartre, we toured le Sacre Cour, where a mass service was happening. We seem to always go to church with everyone else.

We also stopped by what I thought to be le Moulin Rouge at the time, arriving with help from my first time at asking directions, successfully might I add. Apparently there is more than one building with a windmill on top of it in the same district! Sad day. What we saw was actually le Moulin de la Galette, named for it's brown bread.

It was a successful day full of a lot of walking, pictures, and sightseeing! Here's to seeing Versailles tomorrow!

Au revoir,
Alissa

Bags, bags, and bags

This weekend, I started making a messenger bag for my trip! A friend and I bought fabric and zippers at the store, but before we could really get started, she had to leave. 

So I embarked on this project myself with considerable help from my dear Mother. Thanks, Mom!

I found the bag on Pinterest awhile ago, and I used the tutorial from Cold Hands Warm Heart Crafts. I made a few modifications, like making a padded, fabric strap instead of the belted one and changing the measurements to be a bit bigger.

I forgot to buy lining fabric, but luckily, we had some gorgeous red in the scrap fabric bin. 

The directions were simple and easy to follow, and I had a finished bag in only 3 sittings! I also made very few mistakes! So go me! I had a lot of fun working on this bag. :D

Here are some pictures! :)

                                                      Above: Inside pocket

                                                             Above: Outside pocket

I also started packing. It's even more of a challenge than I thought it was going to be. How am I supposed to choose a month's worth of clothes so far in advance? I'm hoping to do a lot of shopping there, so maybe that will make up the difference.

Pack light everyone keeps telling me. Does that mean pastels? Because my suitcase is definitely not light. We'll see in time how my packing skills fair. Probably when I'm whining about not having enough room in my suitcase for all of my Parisian finds. 

Does this look light to you?

Until next time,
Alissa

Music & Sights

I'm getting in the French spirit today by exploring French music! I don't know if it's because I can't understand the words, but I like just about every modern French song I've heard. I started with a bunch of songs from the early 20s, but I can't take all that accordion and high pitched warbling. 

Of the latest French singles I've been listening to, I really like "Pourquoi Regardes-Tu La Lune" by Anouk Aiata, "Moi Lolita" by Alizée, and "Quelques Part Ailleurs" by Axelle Red. I've been able to find them all easily on YouTube. 

I also found an album called "Little French Songs" by Carla Bruni that I absolutely love.

French music sounds so sincere and mystical; I love it! 

I'm also finally starting to read travel books about our first stop, Paris. I had no idea how much there is to do there! And I've been before. I don't know how we're ever going to decide which things to do during our short 3 days there. 

So far I've been looking at sites like Le Cordon Bleu, the French cooking school Julia Child studied at, and Angelina, a salon de thé famous for its chocolat chaud, and where Audrey Hepburn liked to go.

My list of attractions to see at this point is long, so if you'd like to help me whittle it down, I'd appreciate any insight:
Riding les bateaux-mouches and "hop-on hop-off" buses
The Palace of Versailles
Shopping on Avenue des Champs-Elysées
Luxembourg Garden
Les Galeries Layfette
Victor Hugo's House
Le Moulin Rouge
The Catacombs
The Shakespeare & Company Bookstore
Ile St. Louis - known for la glace Berthillion

The excitement is building!
Until next time,
Alissa

Vichy Study Abroad

Hello Readers,
I thought I'd start a blog to record my trip and to keep in touch with all of you! Next week, a friend and I will be visiting Paris for 3 days before heading to Vichy to begin our 4 week study abroad program. The program is through OU's Education Abroad office and will take place at Blaise Pascal University in Vichy, France. I will be studying French language and culture at the university.

Things I am excited for:
In June, there is a country-wide music festival in France, and Vichy is known for its participation in the festival. Everyone just hangs out in the streets listening to music and relaxing!

Also, there is a huge half-off clothing sale one weekend that I heard about from another study abroad student. I will definitely be bringing money for that!

I've been to France once before, and I absolutely loved the risotto. I can't wait to be reunited with my risotto and to try other new French foods.

Speaking the language. Because this is an immersion program, I will be staying with a host family. I can't wait to be able to have a real, out-of-the-classroom conversation in another language!

Exploring! I've seen dozens of gorgeous picture of Vichy, and I'm not even there yet! Here's a taste of what's to come!

I hope you will continue to read about my study abroad experience and respond with your thoughts, too!

Yours truly,
Alissa