tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17010242843689987732024-03-19T04:55:54.153+01:00Travelin' ManUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-63157281762395784622012-02-01T17:38:00.000+01:002012-02-01T17:39:41.025+01:00Paris Vacances, Deuxième Partie<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">When I left you off I was buying candy in the metro on the way home. I didn't end up eating that candy, not just yet. In fact, I saved it up until we were on the bus ride home two days later! Impressive, I know. Compared to my recent efforts in self control it really was though…</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">So, we got home around 10:30-11:00 and pretty much went straight to bed. Except that I stayed up to talk to people on Facebook…Isa insisted that I wasn't bothering them by being on the computer, and you know how the French are about insisting…I didn't argue. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">That night we slept a lot better I think. I remember that I woke up a few times during the night, due to unfamiliar surroundings and unfamiliar beds and that sort of the thing, but it was bliss in light of how horribly we slept the first night. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The only thing we had scheduled for the day was the Cirque d'Alexis Gruss, and that wasn't until 2 or 3. We had heard during our tour on the Seine that there was an exhibition of video games playing in the Grand Palais, and although that didn't really tempt Isa, Anouk and I were pretty interested (I was actually really excited), so we woke up a little late, took our time with breakfast, and walked out once again into a rainy Wednesday morning. Consequently, the number of pictures I took during those grey days is equally as depressing. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Upon entering the enormous palace-turned-exhibition hall we learned that the exhibition wasn't on video games, but rather games in general. You could have cut my disappointment with a chainsaw. Maybe that's a little dramatic. It's true that I was disappointed, mostly because I'm a nerd, but I was still intrigued by the concept of an art exhibit based on the development and progression of toys throughout the centuries, so we bought tickets and walked through anyway. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">As was the unfortunate case in the Sacré Coeur, photographs were once again forbidden, and it's hard to take a discrete picture with an SLR camera so I walked out with nothing but my memories to paint the picture of what I saw…I would literally paint it but I'm horrible with a pen and paper so I'll just write.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Basically you walk in you and are completely surrounded by toys from as far back as 400 years ago. Everything from wooden dolls and puzzles to stone action figures and toy farms. Then you walk 20 feet further into the exhibit and you're looking teddy bears, robots, and more action figures. There was one whole room dedicated to girls' toys from everywhere and from every decade. We're talking the first Barbies, porcelain dolls, and cabbage patch kids among Bratz, My Little Pony, and Pretty Pretty Princess collections. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">There was always a direction of progression throughout the ages as you went from left to right or vice versa. Side note: have you ever heard someone pronounce "vice versa" "vicee versey"? It's SO annoying…</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">After the room of girls' toys you walk up the stairs and now you're amongst the realm of men. That's right - toy cars, more robots and action figures, marbles, and FINALLY video games! It wasn't a very big deal, actually. Maybe five games were set up to show the whole progression of video games in the last couple decades. Enough to make you go, woah. People (meaning I) actually played that back then…but not enough to make you go, woah. NOW I get what made Pokémon so popular! or NOW I understand why they've been making Mario games for 30 years! NOW I see how Halo revolutionized the entire FPS genre! That all takes at least…15 years of gaming experience.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Anyway, all gaming aside it was a pretty cool walk through. It's not often I go through art exhibits at the Grand Palais in Paris…</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We left with much bigger expectations in our hearts as our metro pulled us closer to the highlight of the day: Le Cirque d'Alexis Gruss! Yes, Le Cirque Du Soleil was there too but Isabelle decided that since that was an international mix of artists it would be cooler to see a more local, French circus, which is very cool and impressive all the same. Before ducking into the classic circus tent we sat outside underneath a small awning by a lake and ate a sandwich while it rained. We were eating sandwiches for the majority of the time we spent in Paris, now that I think about it. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Eventually we made it underneath the typical circus shelter, about 45 minutes before the show was due to start. After finding our seats (which were in the second row from the front) umm…nothing happened. We just sat there and waited for the show to start haha. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjr37duBibfni1OU-8OgDEt4CadXLO4vwJV2SU8hH8u8MQBbRnuayG_tYpFH0mOI1B1xJHaheRFcYzSOvoGV8st6IAE05maYVsG175taG-mWbzGG8Iy_njVo8vuJN9ZF1iwnn5YU7GRj0/s1600/DSC_0358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjr37duBibfni1OU-8OgDEt4CadXLO4vwJV2SU8hH8u8MQBbRnuayG_tYpFH0mOI1B1xJHaheRFcYzSOvoGV8st6IAE05maYVsG175taG-mWbzGG8Iy_njVo8vuJN9ZF1iwnn5YU7GRj0/s200/DSC_0358.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">And what a show it was! I would've recorded bits of it but A) we were pretty sure it wasn't allowed, and B) I was too busy being wowed by the circus freaks, I mean performers. They did all sorts of things. They started by doing a bunch of different tricks with horses. The horses would come in and run around in a circle and the carney brothers would run and jump and flip and twirl onto them and stand up and do more flips and jumps and stuff while the horses were still running. Then two or three more guys would join the one already on the horse. It was really impressive!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzg2EO29FJga-z09ZhIHHzrktmE2tV91VRUzYVP1WGQLwe4R8Ej5Hd-2kKQuTuIceQWZwyeoH2lD_oSrwlIkppQAivuJvV_yYtgKulUmM-Mm_5QqZ26CeEnape4GKigV0zOpJnjiJkPg5/s1600/DSC_0363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzg2EO29FJga-z09ZhIHHzrktmE2tV91VRUzYVP1WGQLwe4R8Ej5Hd-2kKQuTuIceQWZwyeoH2lD_oSrwlIkppQAivuJvV_yYtgKulUmM-Mm_5QqZ26CeEnape4GKigV0zOpJnjiJkPg5/s200/DSC_0363.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The only thing is that after about 23 seconds after the first horse entered the scene my allergy senses started tingling. By that I mean my whole chest felt blocked up and I sneezed about every minute until half time. Or whenever it was that we took a 20 minute bathroom break. Even after the horses left and they moved on the bigger and better things, whatever they kicked up stayed in my system for the rest of the day. Well, for the rest of the week I guess. I did stop sneezing after the shooed the horses out, but I was still snuffling the rest of the show. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Other things I saw :</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">An elephant. I don't think I've ever been so close to one, and it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. They had it trained to sit, give high fives, stand on it's hind feet and pick someone up with its trunk and wave him around. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9fLtch3qA3Ath8HlsixqSuOFut9bhdklDwMRoBQBslqKr9WqtOiyA58pxX6tlkCTgG2S6Qn9HmDY006PsZJv5ALK8ZmNnlFZb5sy34BiJ27M9SDiiDe07lIQalOk6-QVT2wJ-CE-Niyq/s1600/DSC_0366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9fLtch3qA3Ath8HlsixqSuOFut9bhdklDwMRoBQBslqKr9WqtOiyA58pxX6tlkCTgG2S6Qn9HmDY006PsZJv5ALK8ZmNnlFZb5sy34BiJ27M9SDiiDe07lIQalOk6-QVT2wJ-CE-Niyq/s200/DSC_0366.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">A guy juggling several plates while balancing by himself from the top of a 20 foot ladder. Also, as he climbing up the ladder he would spin around it and even did a backward roll over the top rung like it was nothing.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Extreme pole dancing. A guy and girl climbed up this huge pole and would slide down and stop themselves right before hitting the ground and just were crazy in every sense of the word. I almost said every sense of the mot (word in French), ah!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Two girls dancing around, unattached in an open sphere suspended probably 50 feet in the air. This show was not for the light hearted!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">In the finale, everybody came out and was either juggling pins, twirling giant metal squares around themselves, riding a horse, or something else very circusy. It was wicked cool, but I wish I could've taken some videos or pictures. Like just about everything else I've done thus far, I guess you'll just have to come and see it for yourself! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0RNyKTCHYInTZPzM77OAWE5AYofFo3SboujuVb2JZGMvVLzgkcxk5oChwHKH2vJ9JauvsAJd959IiFc0q0JMMDmrfphpNHc72aN_GT1mgjNTU_cjBOYsdVaQNOa_BEA1tjIZosVlRSeq/s1600/DSC_0368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0RNyKTCHYInTZPzM77OAWE5AYofFo3SboujuVb2JZGMvVLzgkcxk5oChwHKH2vJ9JauvsAJd959IiFc0q0JMMDmrfphpNHc72aN_GT1mgjNTU_cjBOYsdVaQNOa_BEA1tjIZosVlRSeq/s640/DSC_0368.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKi5d3YnB2dDeNRnLaECm0rPFqV0OMeQjZRDgbucY9d09w_XruhyxH_cqQnYHC4DXghZq0Psudnk0Ik3nv64dWQC3ViVMN3l8gcJq3Ub50F2xdRKZCpkwvK593DasBkiXvjNsXnbJMpZYn/s1600/DSC_0387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKi5d3YnB2dDeNRnLaECm0rPFqV0OMeQjZRDgbucY9d09w_XruhyxH_cqQnYHC4DXghZq0Psudnk0Ik3nv64dWQC3ViVMN3l8gcJq3Ub50F2xdRKZCpkwvK593DasBkiXvjNsXnbJMpZYn/s200/DSC_0387.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I think the whole thing last about two and a half hours, and by the time we left it had already gotten dark out, even though it was still relatively early. You know how it is during the winter. Anyway, we had one more big sight to go see - Le Louvre!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlNX0Fwp5c2_k_RiI4egc-_vU70AOAoG57SHUDczOPSvZ5bMGbTeG8HofqwTGm8XQ4p67cj3TDuPXLX-YypoIKTXYuiScI4glb8G5Ud19ezaiZk0W-HQlDjff3XkUfdOsXPB6-nz20Qys/s1600/DSC_0388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlNX0Fwp5c2_k_RiI4egc-_vU70AOAoG57SHUDczOPSvZ5bMGbTeG8HofqwTGm8XQ4p67cj3TDuPXLX-YypoIKTXYuiScI4glb8G5Ud19ezaiZk0W-HQlDjff3XkUfdOsXPB6-nz20Qys/s200/DSC_0388.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Thankfully it wasn't closed like it was the first time I went with Baptiste, Elizabeth, Stephen and Justin nearly three years ago. Apparently Tuesday is National Close National Museums Day or something. It wasn't Tuesday, however, so we were able to make it inside! They were only open for another two hours though, and if you know anything about the Louvre it's that it takes at least a couple days to see just the main works there, and about three months to go through the tour of every piece using the audio tours they have. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTNAaHBcPmqHbt0slgQxyPDkOTpYDatYRcq7tCUUP_WstsMzjBXZJ9Jcmb1uWhPm1BgzbA-PYeMVu_Je-4QqMgYMZKngasdIXBM0ct-YUO50krjnCR8WgI1TqO9-x-5_-1ke_WImfQ4kZ/s1600/DSC_0390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTNAaHBcPmqHbt0slgQxyPDkOTpYDatYRcq7tCUUP_WstsMzjBXZJ9Jcmb1uWhPm1BgzbA-PYeMVu_Je-4QqMgYMZKngasdIXBM0ct-YUO50krjnCR8WgI1TqO9-x-5_-1ke_WImfQ4kZ/s200/DSC_0390.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Needless to say, we didn't see everything. I wanted to see above all the Mona Lisa, or La Joconde in French. (They call it that because the name of the woman, Lisa del Gherardini, married a rich silk merchant named Francesco del Giocondo, and they went to da Vinci to have a portrait made in celebration of the coming of their second son, and Joconde is the translation of Giocondo!) </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHpmWlWeOKz19XUMt6o-z0jxYdc8rFlAWpDPZLyJck-FYfHttuqFDfwDcnto1X33ujBpc8UbP5LNZq-qgU70MIKJ5cHz53_56CBSrenZW5GTzmMzGuReQG_u-NJEjNgMyfEDdwfnS1LMI/s1600/DSC_0400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHpmWlWeOKz19XUMt6o-z0jxYdc8rFlAWpDPZLyJck-FYfHttuqFDfwDcnto1X33ujBpc8UbP5LNZq-qgU70MIKJ5cHz53_56CBSrenZW5GTzmMzGuReQG_u-NJEjNgMyfEDdwfnS1LMI/s200/DSC_0400.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">There was also la Victoire, Venus de Milo, the whole Egyptian exhibit, among countless paintings and statues that we passed in order to get to the other works. I was obviously really impressed by all the different paintings and stuff, but unfortunately I didn't have time to stop and appreciate every one there so I grabbed a couple pictures and moved on. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcgl4F4sS3WChZChmcUTCay74_vCK6oTbeyfbOG3-kj5KlCEqxki_imIfBR6OQFOpCSjjaHzY2y8vkRGt1vYrWZkb_SvU76Ha87jsqS7opnPgkEwNYCrogJx-5HFCMWUXJ3uO1dRZuy3Y/s1600/DSC_0410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcgl4F4sS3WChZChmcUTCay74_vCK6oTbeyfbOG3-kj5KlCEqxki_imIfBR6OQFOpCSjjaHzY2y8vkRGt1vYrWZkb_SvU76Ha87jsqS7opnPgkEwNYCrogJx-5HFCMWUXJ3uO1dRZuy3Y/s200/DSC_0410.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We saw la Victoire first, and it was way cool. It looms above everybody and you can see it from pretty far away, which makes approaching it kind of eerie in a way, considering it's headless and armless and keeps getting bigger and bigger.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrh1SazwCX7Egx2Kq4DVuuNzUOnOGDzfvZleQ49zSWAzMxmchObG8iE-wjArIDkA-7ZzeXsh7JX5j3JhoCbeVKzG7pUgmiSo8DI6ygh14RQ0L3MQdm9j-CQPFRGAlrSGqd8ve27wi2nbBE/s1600/DSC_0412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrh1SazwCX7Egx2Kq4DVuuNzUOnOGDzfvZleQ49zSWAzMxmchObG8iE-wjArIDkA-7ZzeXsh7JX5j3JhoCbeVKzG7pUgmiSo8DI6ygh14RQ0L3MQdm9j-CQPFRGAlrSGqd8ve27wi2nbBE/s200/DSC_0412.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The Mona Lisa was the next stop, and to be completely honest, I wasn't even that impressed haha. There were a million people standing around taking pictures of it, but the bulletproof glass over the front of the portrait makes it hard to see and even harder to take a good picture of. In case you were wondering though, yes, her eyes do follow you! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">There's a path that leads to the Egyptian exhibit where you pass by the old walls of the Louvre before it was remodeled. Did you know it used to be a castle? People LIVED there! You wouldn't believe it walking through because it's just so freakin big. I saw an artist's 3D rendition of what it would've looked like before it was knocked down, and it's incredible. It's got to be pretty accurate because he used an old painting of the Louvre to make the model, and you really start to feel small when you see stuff like that. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">So we walked around the base of what used to be the Louvre castle, and eventually ended up in the Egyptian section of the enormous museum. I couldn't possibly write enough to justify the amount of pictures I took, so I think I'll just do a little gallery thing. Here goes!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think my favorite part of the exhibit were the giant walls of hieroglyphics. You always see in the textbooks the different pictures and drawings they had, but to see and touch with your own eyes and hands is quite the experience. Also, the sarcophaguses and tombs were incredible. The details these people put into their final resting ground! I don't know, it was just awesome. I think I want to be buried in a sarcophagus. With giant Russian-doll styled Casey Garland's surrounding me. And my guts can be sorted out and placed in little clay dolls in the shape of my friends. Is that…weird…? </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aA0TN1dVPbZl_fo9r7fubXTYjN8_HQJlffvwsMZL9Hlj1Rn1p_X5mxQovSekfh9inXYEOgQNCVCfBg9V41cTMK2Tjj4cygcv0hbKoNSKQ05FLjoeycSL_Lw2W3BcdlRTzwfgzZjSFpjx/s1600/DSC_0432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aA0TN1dVPbZl_fo9r7fubXTYjN8_HQJlffvwsMZL9Hlj1Rn1p_X5mxQovSekfh9inXYEOgQNCVCfBg9V41cTMK2Tjj4cygcv0hbKoNSKQ05FLjoeycSL_Lw2W3BcdlRTzwfgzZjSFpjx/s200/DSC_0432.JPG" width="132" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Anyway…I just need to finish this post. I've been writing it for like, five weeks now. We swung by the Venus statue on the way out. It was cool! I have such a lack of appreciation for art it kills me…I guess I just mean that I think I saw cooler statues that were all just lined up next to each other, and then here's Venus with her own little exhibit. I don't get it! Who decide's what portraits and sculptures are more important or valuable or famous?! Is that a stupid question…? </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We left the Louvre just before they closed, and we were hungry and tired from walking around all day, so we went straight from there to the nearest restaurant. It was a nice little place called the Thermidor, and I can't remember what I ordered. Knowing Parisian restaurants, however, it was probably delicious. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">That was the last significant thing we did in Paris. It was a fantastic adventure, and even the lack of sleep made for a good story. That night I managed to get a little more than we had been getting previously, even though we woke up relatively early to catch a bus to the Gare de Lyon station to catch our train to the Part-Dieu station that's actually in Lyon to catch a bus (where we finally ate that candy I bought in the metro) to Davézieux to catch a ride with Papi (Isa's dad) home.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Later that day I was hanging out with Alex when this girl walking through the neighborhood handed us this pamphlet for a free drink at a newish restaurant that had opened in Annonay called the Bombine, so that night we decided to check it out. We were the first and only customers for a while because we showed up a little early and they said they'd open early for us because I had volleyball practice later that night and if we didn't go until they opened I would've missed it. Lord knows I need as much physical activity as I can get apart from biking to my classes every Tuesday. Especially considering I don't bike into town anymore because I either have a ride from Alex or Thibaut and because Ashley moved to Valence so I have no one to visit there :(</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The Bombine was excellent. Yet again, I don't have the slightest what I ordered. Often on the menu is some sort of poultry (although mostly duck), salmon, a chunk of meat, or another type of meat. After dinner Alex dropped me off at practice, and we said our joyeux Noëls and à la prochaines. Practice went pretty well I'm sure, and after I got back Isa and Anouk decided that we should open presents before I left for Bordeaux the next morning.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">My present from them was the trip to Paris, so I wasn't expecting anything, but of course they got me a little box of recipes using Carambar (a really popular caramel), crème de marrons, fromage à tartiner, and other stuff. They're so nice!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I got them a blu-ray player and Anouk the blu-ray Star Wars saga to go with, because she's a big fan. She watched all six within the next two days I think haha. They were super appreciative and we shared some kisses on the cheeks (no hugging here - ever), but it might as well have been! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I went to bed that night with a heart too large for my chest. I was worried about not having the same Christmas Spirit here in France, but if there's anything I've learned from being here it's that people are generally all the same kind, generous, loving, people you will find anywhere else. I love that feeling. All the same, I couldn't wait to see Tiste and his family and friends, so I packed up that night and got ready for my eight hour train ride the following day.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Bordeaux, ho! </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-89409488369515076412012-01-08T03:24:00.000+01:002012-01-08T17:09:18.215+01:00La Ville d'Amour, et Aussi de Mes Rêves - Paris ! (Lundi et Mardi)<br />
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Ok. Paris. Big time awesome. Fun fact : "awesome" is being officially banished, along with "baby bump" and "man cave." Don't ask, just accept. If you don't accept then look it up!</div>
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As I was saying : BIG time awesome. We got up early to catch our bus to Lyon, but first I stopped by the post office to grab two of the three Christmas presents I had ordered for Isabelle and Anouk. One of them was wrapped really nicely because I asked for it to be (thanks Amazon!), but I had to wrap the other one myself with that cardboard looking/feeling paper because Amazon couldn't wrap something that big (it wasn't that big) and it ended up looking…not so great haha. I tried to think of it as an oyster…hideous on the outside, but a beautiful treasure inside!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4E1VmXJPobUYVFquVTtWmjLbeiMynmZP44BvUgx-vYzV0uREH937BBlSK1m9lNcTNI2RHeODuv60u3t6lEM4CQV5X4yX71CHcBFoISqhfDFWKOvU1uTlUlgH590mch6lanxKFlmDQHITI/s1600/DSC_0173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4E1VmXJPobUYVFquVTtWmjLbeiMynmZP44BvUgx-vYzV0uREH937BBlSK1m9lNcTNI2RHeODuv60u3t6lEM4CQV5X4yX71CHcBFoISqhfDFWKOvU1uTlUlgH590mch6lanxKFlmDQHITI/s200/DSC_0173.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbLM1X53nRWJmxH1l791Q_GgtRqk8SdpFO-2lEgE60aUJFUFLaIEsaJmD03nxcYhpIOoDKvrwHFc8NwWB5HbMGQ1W3KwQuP8Hqy0P_Bj-4X0wGNnlNJP57UO0ybZue-68U-K9JVyTFrts/s1600/DSC_0172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbLM1X53nRWJmxH1l791Q_GgtRqk8SdpFO-2lEgE60aUJFUFLaIEsaJmD03nxcYhpIOoDKvrwHFc8NwWB5HbMGQ1W3KwQuP8Hqy0P_Bj-4X0wGNnlNJP57UO0ybZue-68U-K9JVyTFrts/s200/DSC_0172.JPG" width="200" /></a>Anyway, we didn't open presents until that Thursday, so I'll shut up. Papi (Isa's dad) took drove us to the bus station, which is just by the church up the hill. My friend/teammate from volleyball was our chauffeur for the morning, and he drove us safely to the train station Part-Dieu in Lyon. We had to wait an hour for our connecting train, but we were entertained by a couple little birds who flew down to say hello in the waiting room. After eating a sandwich, another sandwich, and a yogurt drink thing we hopped on the train to Paris!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ07uGyvXl9R5eRUTZMDd_s8kv5RHOlSxVafsFK5VOpHEp_VWB0tO9Cf6JolTlWbQ9vGZiT57qqhXTlauAnfbUbcZSptRhDezy7CBpm6bi8RezsjsifQ6jlXuVODywyJyNGGj4h8vZyOlZ/s1600/DSC_0175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ07uGyvXl9R5eRUTZMDd_s8kv5RHOlSxVafsFK5VOpHEp_VWB0tO9Cf6JolTlWbQ9vGZiT57qqhXTlauAnfbUbcZSptRhDezy7CBpm6bi8RezsjsifQ6jlXuVODywyJyNGGj4h8vZyOlZ/s200/DSC_0175.JPG" width="200" /></a>I forget how long the ride was, probably 2 hours or so. We tried to catch up on some sleep on the way there, and before I knew it we showed up in the middle of a crappy weather streak. It wasn't raining heavily, but it was like that Seattle drizzle where you're just miserable and everything is gray - until you realize in Paris! Then you're filled with the love of the capital of the République (that would be France) and La Marseillaise (the national anthem) starts playing in your head and in your heart, even if you don't know it. It's incredible, really!</div>
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Mostly I was just cold and wet though. We jumped on a bus, and then made our way through the nearest metro stop towards our warm and cozy apartmenwith in Montparnasse (pretty much in the middle of Paris, with a view of Les Invalides and even La Tour Eiffel herself!) It's actually Isa's ex's cousin who is filthy rich and only goes there every so often, so he let's people stay there whenever they want. The French. So nice.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjHTUfqaGIdHg2rPTaOFwq9ukSdkgqDE8MNA6vsxeqB6TrifBuS13l-ix3gQcPtd74ZGB0LF33LWDBamQl53ZgmbtwB6l3VS9T559gTu6p_uHWcolhlIYSC_JhZDBa8XGN6EwJF3p-u9hH/s1600/DSC_0182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjHTUfqaGIdHg2rPTaOFwq9ukSdkgqDE8MNA6vsxeqB6TrifBuS13l-ix3gQcPtd74ZGB0LF33LWDBamQl53ZgmbtwB6l3VS9T559gTu6p_uHWcolhlIYSC_JhZDBa8XGN6EwJF3p-u9hH/s200/DSC_0182.JPG" width="200" /></a>It wasn't very late at night, maybe 4 or 5 p.m., but it felt like it was 10 p.m. due to the weather. But we were going to profit from our time there, so we dropped off our stuff in the apartment and headed back out into the rain to check out Les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower, whose top we couldn't even see because it was covered by a shroud of mist and gloom. The Invalides is this big, golden domed building that houses Napoleon's tomb, along with several other French army generals and is a museum of a bunch of army stuff. It was closed by then but it was really pretty to look at. Unfortunately it was raining and I didn't get a picture of it when we visited, but you can look it up on the interwebz if you really want...it's pretty dang sweet!<br />
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Next stop was the Iron Lady, better known as the Eiffel Tower! I wish we would've gone the next day, or the day after, or the day after, but I was happy to see her again regardless of the wind and rain. I wanted to take an awesome picture with my camera, but whatevs…I'll just have to go back I guess! :) We decided to take an elevator up to the second level, where they said the best view was. Also Isa Anouk are afraid of heights, so they didn't want to go up to the top anyway. I've been up there before, so I wasn't disappointed. I feel bad though, they're totally missing out! Fun Fact : from the ground to the second level is the same distance as the second level to the top! Don't question. Believe the crazy American guy from South Carolina I heard talking about it behind us in line.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHFbpqh2ILcXko3XJrLJ1hlNeorVyGmt5SMD91ZVHmN6Mbm3iZEuYC640dCRYnIPmaCBQNXhUh4GjvJVDX8ntGG6v78JDUD8QjN_AmA1csZncUC-unQNck86D_7FZ_NExi02oCrRCTbP0/s1600/DSC_0184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHFbpqh2ILcXko3XJrLJ1hlNeorVyGmt5SMD91ZVHmN6Mbm3iZEuYC640dCRYnIPmaCBQNXhUh4GjvJVDX8ntGG6v78JDUD8QjN_AmA1csZncUC-unQNck86D_7FZ_NExi02oCrRCTbP0/s200/DSC_0184.JPG" width="132" /></a>I did get some interesting shots while we walking around the second level. Check it out! We walked the perimeter of the tower. which was really cold because it's all outside, and saw and read about all the monuments in the surrounding area. No pictures - A) it was too dark to take a picture without a tripod B) it was raining :(</div>
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We didn't stay super long. After we finished walking around the perimeter we headed back down the elevator and walked back to our apartment. There was this fancy looking Italian restaurant called Del Arte down the street, and we hadn't eaten yet, so we decided to stop there for dinner. Isabelle offered to pay for me - she is so so nice! I got this pasta sampler platter, with lasagna, salmon raviolis in a white sauce, and a spinach/chicken penne dish. It was way good, and not very expensive! For Paris anyway. I've gotten used to dropping $20+ for a meal here. TAKE NOTE LADIES. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6vu5xAzFPyDHXMSV2PbHS2nmlR3-RPsmvDJhI08OX7U4_MpW0V_xFvv-9t9afrBy-FLNal8iprFd1GNd-jqd8BZmi8-Wpj5gzon_mUuJqGHzWh4_-cfiCQBIULtPriyvjhgpn9WV2ve-/s1600/DSC_0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6vu5xAzFPyDHXMSV2PbHS2nmlR3-RPsmvDJhI08OX7U4_MpW0V_xFvv-9t9afrBy-FLNal8iprFd1GNd-jqd8BZmi8-Wpj5gzon_mUuJqGHzWh4_-cfiCQBIULtPriyvjhgpn9WV2ve-/s200/DSC_0188.JPG" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4pYgJf-VnwMRSPHgYtr-66KyGUWpQzb2iVP5ET6tTK9qrPE5ndupe7C412dx3lhmDOh1pqrt-3R2SYdIYd9fu2tDfYQCNrBvFlox6OR8M_ox_JCfB2ygPT8fZdTYqTvQG96sFU0GpYqi7/s1600/DSC_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4pYgJf-VnwMRSPHgYtr-66KyGUWpQzb2iVP5ET6tTK9qrPE5ndupe7C412dx3lhmDOh1pqrt-3R2SYdIYd9fu2tDfYQCNrBvFlox6OR8M_ox_JCfB2ygPT8fZdTYqTvQG96sFU0GpYqi7/s200/DSC_0189.JPG" width="132" /></a>So after a delicious, hot meal we huddled together and shuffled back through the cold and wet to our apartment, where we all spent a very restless night trying sleep as the neighbor was screaming at the top of his lungs and the blow up mattress beneath me screamed at the top of its vinyl lungs every time I dared move. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep.</div>
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If someone had said to me "rise and shine!" the next morning I definitely would have punched them right in the face. I don't even remember if I woke up to someone moving around or if I was already awake and happened to notice that it was already 8 a.m. We weren't gonna waste our time being there though, so even though we didn't sleep very well we still got up, ate a bowl of cereal, and headed out to the biggest cemetery in Paris, Père Lachaise. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4SPJ7VW8Z9Dl5TpyU14M0Y_rSw2WnqTYwkJfRjMiNRMASyIpGQEyNLwqG8wtfitWAm3THkWkLFDECh63yvexjN5EZUdqXL7engPXT7MfUAefldmkY-ouY7Siggj7MJKqdLQ36gZW1-PY/s1600/DSC_0191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4SPJ7VW8Z9Dl5TpyU14M0Y_rSw2WnqTYwkJfRjMiNRMASyIpGQEyNLwqG8wtfitWAm3THkWkLFDECh63yvexjN5EZUdqXL7engPXT7MfUAefldmkY-ouY7Siggj7MJKqdLQ36gZW1-PY/s200/DSC_0191.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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There are around 300,000 graves with bones dating as far back as 1141, across 110 acres and over one million bodies, not including the crematorium. How are there more bodies than graves? you might ask. Well, a lot of the time families are buried together - I mean like generations worth of families. </div>
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We saw the graves of some pretty cool people I think, although I admit my knowledge of French painters from the 18th century is…limited…There was the grave of the guy who translated the Rosetta Stone (the one with the hieroglyphs, not the computer program), so that was cool! Except for the part that it was falling apart…</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEGwTALc1gFTXSqj9r1fDeELTzPT17_syGtdCbSZVs3zH1z6YjxWDACvfk5BD-IsCcRMXxJDm9Rn_rle7LW0q4tx_FNY7KVgcU8J7f9ijzgHRBxMSZpj4Xyex-rvTNSg-Gd4FfC6AQOlH/s1600/DSC_0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEGwTALc1gFTXSqj9r1fDeELTzPT17_syGtdCbSZVs3zH1z6YjxWDACvfk5BD-IsCcRMXxJDm9Rn_rle7LW0q4tx_FNY7KVgcU8J7f9ijzgHRBxMSZpj4Xyex-rvTNSg-Gd4FfC6AQOlH/s200/DSC_0200.JPG" width="200" /></a>Also there was a big memorial grave for the hundreds of people who died in a plane crash that was heading from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. That was probably one of the most depressing things I've ever seen. It was this big glass mural with all the names of the people who died in alphabetical order, so you could see all the members of the same family and couples who went down together. I was pretty somber for a while after that. Even writing about kinda gets me down…</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNr51kP1PSVqqOOvpb0gFTEfuMrsi9zPGpnbH1j2SFPEQP4Xq4uj_R9ICNXeHiV6kJVzzVt3p7tdaoD1OPMj76ocu2wXrAcmJlse7bpifsDHrYpiAQCvS_NkVpb6eky98jMeDOXuOBkRl/s1600/DSC_0232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNr51kP1PSVqqOOvpb0gFTEfuMrsi9zPGpnbH1j2SFPEQP4Xq4uj_R9ICNXeHiV6kJVzzVt3p7tdaoD1OPMj76ocu2wXrAcmJlse7bpifsDHrYpiAQCvS_NkVpb6eky98jMeDOXuOBkRl/s200/DSC_0232.JPG" width="132" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6w2Q3w8jFL8CvVlYjbU348y0PilR-i5cep94TeSrrnom9nYVI5x3SEYrJk7bQ1L8xMPV33mVB80f3gzzNNE12YL6nizZdegi45PBVKK50TkSo_NvPiRRTY-rDoJx1qS3xKSMbwPGx_MP8/s1600/DSC_0218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6w2Q3w8jFL8CvVlYjbU348y0PilR-i5cep94TeSrrnom9nYVI5x3SEYrJk7bQ1L8xMPV33mVB80f3gzzNNE12YL6nizZdegi45PBVKK50TkSo_NvPiRRTY-rDoJx1qS3xKSMbwPGx_MP8/s200/DSC_0218.JPG" width="132" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2Jh1BcTW7lBvVHyr34MQggwMr3dBi6GOx53vdQUwqBf6CO7dsyx72w104fWWx0rZv1fOguwzlSB-z7RF3eJrslZYRXYbp2ChS5kkZv6k4rhOM1oaImAvojW2nfaHWvwEzzr4wMMnk6oi/s1600/DSC_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2Jh1BcTW7lBvVHyr34MQggwMr3dBi6GOx53vdQUwqBf6CO7dsyx72w104fWWx0rZv1fOguwzlSB-z7RF3eJrslZYRXYbp2ChS5kkZv6k4rhOM1oaImAvojW2nfaHWvwEzzr4wMMnk6oi/s200/DSC_0192.JPG" width="132" /></a>SO. Our next stop was the church Sacré Coeur, which is big and beautiful. Before we hiked up there though, we did a little shopping. Anouk was looking for a party dress, and while we were searching I stumbled across this sweet peacoat. I'd been looking for one that wasn't a million Euros, and this one was only 50€ and I liked it a lot and I was on vacation sooo I bought it! </div>
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I didn't buy, however, any of the watches or perfumes that were being sold all down the sidewalk. Nor did I place a 50€ bet on a game where a guy puts a piece of paper under one of three button things and then slides them around and asks you where the paper is. I watched probably 500€ get lost just from walking around and seeing people pick the wrong button. How. Stupid!!! I was so frustrated at the idiocy of these people! I had a kink in my neck afterwards from shaking my head every time I saw someone hand over a 50€ bill only to lose it 15 seconds later (p.s. the first guy I took a picture of chased me down and made me delete it).<br />
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Finally we walked up the stairs to Sacré Coeur, one of the many beautiful churches in Paris. We stopped halfway up to sit on a bench with a great view of Paris to eat a sandwich. At the top there were lots of vendors in front and around the church selling cool bits and bobs, including hot wine, intricately cut up paper pop-up cards, and every sort of food you can imagine. We peeked inside and took a little tour around. They had small and large candles for sale that you could buy for either one or two euros respective to the sizes, then you light it and place it on an altar or something. I think they were prayer candles? I'm not familiar with Catholic customs but that was the idea I got. Either way, it was beautiful and set a very holy ambience inside. The architecture was incredible, not to mention all the paintings and stain glass. Pictures weren't allowed inside though, sorry! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoL3IXYe-8bcN_6ruz7B1lyEiGtAJDe7-K7vGv8zW5UjRiT6pTO90ifHwkw86Jn54uwjgnaiBl4ywNiuobKyEeNysYLt8NcpdxvuRmaUPhlMGXQXgh_fTXP8SAoZJZ5al-HG5D1q9pTJ8/s1600/DSC_0229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoL3IXYe-8bcN_6ruz7B1lyEiGtAJDe7-K7vGv8zW5UjRiT6pTO90ifHwkw86Jn54uwjgnaiBl4ywNiuobKyEeNysYLt8NcpdxvuRmaUPhlMGXQXgh_fTXP8SAoZJZ5al-HG5D1q9pTJ8/s200/DSC_0229.JPG" width="200" /></a>Not far from Sacré Coeur is la Place des Peintres, a famous plaza where tons of painters come to show off their work and to draw people on the spot. There were at least a hundred painters there, but Isabelle said that during the summer the place is jam packed with people. Regardless, it was really impressive! Every time someone brings up Justin Beiber I just think of that place and my faith in humanity is restored.</div>
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The descent was a lot easier than the climb - duh. Why do I even write these things…I consider erasing them, but I think leaving them up is at least sort of humorous. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbUeRvCXfkb7wwzppR46fEBXEBHFlSCEE_zD1Eb156Z9CXGW1Nui4ykDHZez5AKDgAm7Y2A0njrSomgQA4AP9JUJJ9vapKngz1dme4lV5JnBu63r3PUprSRVPHSMOcXVU-6O9o5pY3ys_/s1600/DSC_0227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbUeRvCXfkb7wwzppR46fEBXEBHFlSCEE_zD1Eb156Z9CXGW1Nui4ykDHZez5AKDgAm7Y2A0njrSomgQA4AP9JUJJ9vapKngz1dme4lV5JnBu63r3PUprSRVPHSMOcXVU-6O9o5pY3ys_/s200/DSC_0227.JPG" width="200" /></a>There are some nice people (typically hobos) who line the stairs towards the bottom who try to grab and use your finger to tie a cool bracelet thing with multiple, different colored strings and talk to you the whole time and then sell it to you afterwards, but the key is to not ever make eye contact with them. Once you lock eyes there is no escape. You will sell you that bracelet on the stairs of Sacré Coeur if it's the last thing they ever do. I walked away bracelet-free.</div>
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Just a ways down the road is the Moulin Rouge, which I'd been to before but it's fun to revisit, if I can say so without sounding like a creep, but little did we know that the way there was lined with literally side by side on both sides of the street down the WHOLE street with just sex shops. It's like they were the kebab shops of Paris. As disgusted as I was, I couldn't help but laugh out of embarrassment. How the heck do any of those places make any money?! There must have been just under a hundred stores and each one was in full blossom with people bustling in and out. Bleh.</div>
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I took some pictures of the red windmill and we rode the metro back to our apartment to take a little break before tackling the Champs Elysée and the Arc de Triomphe. I ended up on Facebook while Anouk and Isa napped, but it was nice to just sit down for a while. </div>
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Maybe two hours later we were walking back out of the apartment and into the cigarette-smelling hallway and down the too-small elevator and out the perfectly normal door and into the kind-of-nice weather towards the famous Champs Elysée! Whew...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjaLEt_yhX-r0dcTYLRZYcTXAjWjQNtM8t1zNwW-hYoHbhLtIZUJxPezwRpsDnPHKZqyjZ2sik84uYJr1k7zz3gkbEAC1wJXi_g3XbCDE8vaur9vopKLkZRoB_Yml3WgI6hgxJWV4yxW_/s1600/DSC_0254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjaLEt_yhX-r0dcTYLRZYcTXAjWjQNtM8t1zNwW-hYoHbhLtIZUJxPezwRpsDnPHKZqyjZ2sik84uYJr1k7zz3gkbEAC1wJXi_g3XbCDE8vaur9vopKLkZRoB_Yml3WgI6hgxJWV4yxW_/s200/DSC_0254.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7POQL5tQmJYfJJt6uiRJ1grcSoBSCs0-tnbpNcDlojfah4O9DNva9O4aZTflFUejd0DakADM21WU7OqsHUqeCaAVCtx4dFrcL1mH8qwsJ6Q94MT20KVsQy2nrDcPxRvaHfKigW6tvYAX/s1600/DSC_0251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7POQL5tQmJYfJJt6uiRJ1grcSoBSCs0-tnbpNcDlojfah4O9DNva9O4aZTflFUejd0DakADM21WU7OqsHUqeCaAVCtx4dFrcL1mH8qwsJ6Q94MT20KVsQy2nrDcPxRvaHfKigW6tvYAX/s200/DSC_0251.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatENu9kQPIovfK_lIyajv1uclMQs1y4iNRHqFlaqkCVLA7IyJK5QAwiMszKQ5PtQ7j2SHLSXUIghuP8viXbfy-XrgHZvPf5ycZzCspnnfDE7WEKRthfGQMPAhHQADXpCxqLyoN3BwqEbw/s1600/DSC_0245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatENu9kQPIovfK_lIyajv1uclMQs1y4iNRHqFlaqkCVLA7IyJK5QAwiMszKQ5PtQ7j2SHLSXUIghuP8viXbfy-XrgHZvPf5ycZzCspnnfDE7WEKRthfGQMPAhHQADXpCxqLyoN3BwqEbw/s200/DSC_0245.JPG" width="132" /></a>We took a metro to the Place de la Concord where they have the Obelisk of Luxor, which was given by the viceroy of Egypt to the French in 1829. The 3,300 year old monument is 75 feet tall and weighs 230 tons!!! It was quite impressive to stand underneath. It had started raining again, but I had to have even a crappy picture. Also there was a giant ferris wheel. I've seen a million. Not that this one wasn't cool or anything, it's just lost that special "woah!!!" factor. You know, like when you see something for the first time...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcurch7xPvxcwbaWijFe3HIVNx1XmVmAjzOh10GjGcToDhfc9A1SBq24q1_awakhwR9UWbpxONUc0M-LNLmAyT-YLA_RbpERmM-_YXy0-bQ3vmf2HZgqY9N7_hyphenhyphenBf4rHlwwIxhuOBr4I-E/s1600/DSC_0259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcurch7xPvxcwbaWijFe3HIVNx1XmVmAjzOh10GjGcToDhfc9A1SBq24q1_awakhwR9UWbpxONUc0M-LNLmAyT-YLA_RbpERmM-_YXy0-bQ3vmf2HZgqY9N7_hyphenhyphenBf4rHlwwIxhuOBr4I-E/s200/DSC_0259.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcurch7xPvxcwbaWijFe3HIVNx1XmVmAjzOh10GjGcToDhfc9A1SBq24q1_awakhwR9UWbpxONUc0M-LNLmAyT-YLA_RbpERmM-_YXy0-bQ3vmf2HZgqY9N7_hyphenhyphenBf4rHlwwIxhuOBr4I-E/s1600/DSC_0259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>That's also where the end (or start) of the Champs Elysée is, so we started walking from there towards the Arc de Triomphe at the opposite end, three kilometers away. There are probably…well over a thousand stores including the little shops and vendors that line the street on both sides. It was sort of like at Sacré Coeur where they were selling just about everything. We stopped and bought some crêpes (I freaking love crêpes…) and chocolate dipped waffles about halfway down the Champs Elysée before we started seeing more legitimate retail stores and whatnot. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxGFJfJMpXEnIGzL6ILJfbc4LtjYqatT3nBSFBE3Yng8Emk2HVZsaLpyimK_rOatk5AfYcOcUArP2rLKuOWUr2-EOEyaBJ7O6u8j3CoE8hvHMtexpB_IL9_uUEuw7jKIi1u3DVZpDqK_I/s1600/DSC_0257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxGFJfJMpXEnIGzL6ILJfbc4LtjYqatT3nBSFBE3Yng8Emk2HVZsaLpyimK_rOatk5AfYcOcUArP2rLKuOWUr2-EOEyaBJ7O6u8j3CoE8hvHMtexpB_IL9_uUEuw7jKIi1u3DVZpDqK_I/s200/DSC_0257.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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There were some street dancers who were all right (they were really good) but they really plugged up the sidewalk, which is still like 20 meters wide. Also, there were lines pushing into the sidewalk to get into certain stores that were literally marked with 45 minute waits, and people were lined up past them! Crazy sauce.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCp6tuQ29y3Atu4uWgG78tbzf2dkA6EBWf9Ak4GbXbyDSBy79ezc-55bxihVuX4ph3Vi3fXACaQHnBZLBFDcRKIjMEqfRuZL2Hl-tNIG7KCTfS82XpG4pbV5xdpUZWEMeR8rUfeOhBDCfW/s1600/DSC_0267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCp6tuQ29y3Atu4uWgG78tbzf2dkA6EBWf9Ak4GbXbyDSBy79ezc-55bxihVuX4ph3Vi3fXACaQHnBZLBFDcRKIjMEqfRuZL2Hl-tNIG7KCTfS82XpG4pbV5xdpUZWEMeR8rUfeOhBDCfW/s200/DSC_0267.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxP8_Cd-WCdEfCJZiW5usZuSUVa8kDcAv3Ehl7mvFrfVEyIXwHALp3gRAMMYD0QiGI7x-lb_ZQCVe0i323Evxkh-JZwptSCOx2HELsBXNW0NS77GI7f7W91U9YE3CDSJXZHzdv4fFurTQ5/s1600/DSC_0271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxP8_Cd-WCdEfCJZiW5usZuSUVa8kDcAv3Ehl7mvFrfVEyIXwHALp3gRAMMYD0QiGI7x-lb_ZQCVe0i323Evxkh-JZwptSCOx2HELsBXNW0NS77GI7f7W91U9YE3CDSJXZHzdv4fFurTQ5/s200/DSC_0271.JPG" width="132" /></a>Eventually we made our way to the tomb of the unknown soldier, better known as l'Arc de Triomphe. Little did we know that they were actually having some sort of miniature army parade right underneath it, so we stood there and watched for a while. After they were finished they let the crowd flood underneath the arc to do our tourist thing, after which we went back down the stairs and crossed the busy roundabout (I honestly just had to think for a good two or three minutes how to say 'rond-point' in English...yikes...) back to the metro. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XKF4YsKk3ASWHQcvz-NPnJLzLCojN-SUdTGdHxfObY3wjtgMJ1DrgLC-u-wGgyL4KYGOgYH2u_F_Da6oA6I4SPQjqsz_ynIppMI9L3MiO0KtYcSRe-5dvFpkm5ilyK25hL8hmgOgYgLo/s1600/DSC_0304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XKF4YsKk3ASWHQcvz-NPnJLzLCojN-SUdTGdHxfObY3wjtgMJ1DrgLC-u-wGgyL4KYGOgYH2u_F_Da6oA6I4SPQjqsz_ynIppMI9L3MiO0KtYcSRe-5dvFpkm5ilyK25hL8hmgOgYgLo/s200/DSC_0304.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6dp_NPuNIeSaWZQ5hGM-fNIBBGG8FbQ303xQZlIrl-H-XAmnvNVmbKozqGLOJpUXBKj_glt9g26lj4vxnrlBKNzyeTkmLLKPCxSMXduEz3UXhF1pywmgTtIKARRhIn0q8H45_DK639lu/s1600/DSC_0289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6dp_NPuNIeSaWZQ5hGM-fNIBBGG8FbQ303xQZlIrl-H-XAmnvNVmbKozqGLOJpUXBKj_glt9g26lj4vxnrlBKNzyeTkmLLKPCxSMXduEz3UXhF1pywmgTtIKARRhIn0q8H45_DK639lu/s200/DSC_0289.JPG" width="200" /></a>We got off and crossed one of Paris's 37 bridges, the Pont des Arts, whose railings are completely covered with padlocks. You cannot even understand the number of locks that are attached to this bridge. Here's the story - every year the city of Paris has to remove hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of these locks from the Pont des Arts. Why? Because every year, hundreds, if not thousands, of couples cross the bridge. As they cross, they take a padlock (most with an inscription on it or something with their initials) and lock it to the railing, then throw the key into the river. How romantic is that?! I freaking love the French. I cannot stress the amount of locks on this bridge haha. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfjAi452Egf0d6ceWPsI0OPY-7i_Jf6H4NUPBIJ65qRfHLM6FXmag-HifY4_OVDgGLTv4slyN_xfdqDiFcl7WzmA6OBEHbIVtC91vIhQDnLyuPRPh81oVMdwxhJNfYzkhFJeeu0zl2igc/s1600/DSC_0295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfjAi452Egf0d6ceWPsI0OPY-7i_Jf6H4NUPBIJ65qRfHLM6FXmag-HifY4_OVDgGLTv4slyN_xfdqDiFcl7WzmA6OBEHbIVtC91vIhQDnLyuPRPh81oVMdwxhJNfYzkhFJeeu0zl2igc/s200/DSC_0295.JPG" width="132" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEwh1npY4qUC_bOWScMIJQfqTov1VtyPyw7QtwN5Z-MoGabhAZD9UWWrNQ16C9DKEcG2xKr7cyStzUNz_6s2yBhXrg7dbWkk1RKWuttsZcsYsoAi1Qa3baMlevwQQ-X4NMpy8CH6YclSQ/s1600/DSC_0305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEwh1npY4qUC_bOWScMIJQfqTov1VtyPyw7QtwN5Z-MoGabhAZD9UWWrNQ16C9DKEcG2xKr7cyStzUNz_6s2yBhXrg7dbWkk1RKWuttsZcsYsoAi1Qa3baMlevwQQ-X4NMpy8CH6YclSQ/s200/DSC_0305.JPG" width="200" /></a>Anyway, we crossed the bridge to make it on time to our boat tour! It was around 8 I think, and we snagged front row seats outside on the main deck so we would have a great view of everything. I wish I would've taken notes on everything I learned from the tour. I honestly don't remember much! :/ Our tour guide was a French student who was studying tourism and stuff. She spoke like a robot, but at the end I felt bad cause she's just a student like me and so I gave her a nice tip. Also she was kind of funny (in French - she didn't make too many jokes in English). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbFSR0JStAA8MwWl4eZpW1LxgAOJHZGAh-DCyyLrp2FoPd4kxHW97rI4eVq1wN3OvG6DB-JlKkCUzS0WMLeIMfO_QPLI2QfGdI_CpiLzOp9nhXYX9DFEvYlQX3PODIMsyH3TlMFwklQoJ/s1600/DSC_0312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbFSR0JStAA8MwWl4eZpW1LxgAOJHZGAh-DCyyLrp2FoPd4kxHW97rI4eVq1wN3OvG6DB-JlKkCUzS0WMLeIMfO_QPLI2QfGdI_CpiLzOp9nhXYX9DFEvYlQX3PODIMsyH3TlMFwklQoJ/s200/DSC_0312.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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We didn't go very far, but we saw a lot of things that we had already seen before. There's two islands in the middle of la Seine where the first inhabitants of Paris lived. I don't know how they found that out…it's pretty sweet though! It's now the most expensive place to live in Paris.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-efa6G-zCr5qvK9RK9UUa0K6rce6qB7t76ofEhYw3SzP9EZHmXXS9kBdLK4E7H24H7bhfWPVSvPQIXLLknlcvLYWz06T6TVg9I60wYnCuJYl7gvDafuw_B9xVdMBl3UtqWDe-ocYzeXy/s1600/DSC_0354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-efa6G-zCr5qvK9RK9UUa0K6rce6qB7t76ofEhYw3SzP9EZHmXXS9kBdLK4E7H24H7bhfWPVSvPQIXLLknlcvLYWz06T6TVg9I60wYnCuJYl7gvDafuw_B9xVdMBl3UtqWDe-ocYzeXy/s200/DSC_0354.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHa1TLZ73D1_h3lvOYYvSvwVf4HoALAqlFgmhzeiW6kCq-HJcAqwLkA32NSYqIz7f72cn4swv710chBJiGJd9adeGw5IXhLxfrX8pklheWKw99VfuSZ5cduTOd6t2b3kO_mIrJyP9Q5R0b/s1600/DSC_0339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHa1TLZ73D1_h3lvOYYvSvwVf4HoALAqlFgmhzeiW6kCq-HJcAqwLkA32NSYqIz7f72cn4swv710chBJiGJd9adeGw5IXhLxfrX8pklheWKw99VfuSZ5cduTOd6t2b3kO_mIrJyP9Q5R0b/s200/DSC_0339.JPG" width="132" /></a>We saw the the Eiffel tower twinkling twice, as she tends to do every hour, on the hour. I took some videos of the touring, which I can't figure out how to put up on the blog, but if I ever figure it out I'll come back and add it here. In fact, I took a lot of videos! I'll have to figure out how to share them…</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvqd5Ts3d9GAwWbc0N7I-PPn1PeAI8Wgnxu7Afz_wUl1eFV3A9faC_jP6Q3jTNRtYTWtigmshz-aUUS8n2hi0_aP85FsNCcqlrZ_c7COw1NXYHQtvEFZz5TkRjuE7AvdiVO99PHiG2XI0/s1600/DSC_0356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvqd5Ts3d9GAwWbc0N7I-PPn1PeAI8Wgnxu7Afz_wUl1eFV3A9faC_jP6Q3jTNRtYTWtigmshz-aUUS8n2hi0_aP85FsNCcqlrZ_c7COw1NXYHQtvEFZz5TkRjuE7AvdiVO99PHiG2XI0/s200/DSC_0356.JPG" width="200" /></a>Our tour lasted about an hour and a half, and then we were in search of munchies. Munchies turned into another little Italian restaurant, where I actually spoke Italian to the waiter - it was great! I had raviolis with a Bolognese sauce. Delish. No dessert tonight, however. It's ok, I probably needed a break from the sweet delicacies that are French pastries anyway. So I bought some candy in the metro on the way home…</div>
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I'm gonna break this here so I can put up pictures and you can stop gnawing your brain about how wonderful my trip was, then I'll go and finish writing the Wednesday and Thursday part of my journey! </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-73633945719597952752012-01-03T20:50:00.000+01:002012-01-04T12:11:42.474+01:00Dernière Semaine Avant Les VacancesI couldn't wait to be on my already second vacation of the year. It was a really just a vacation within a vacation. We must go deeper…<br />
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Basically on Monday I did what I usually did. You should have my Monday-Tuesday schedule down to the button by this point. Say it with me now! Monday I worked with the chilluns, and afterwards I had a volleyball match. That night sucked. We played like garbage! The good news is that after every match we always eat super well. The bad news is that 7 hours later I had to wake up and go back to work.</div>
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Which I did, with flying colors. I had been reading the kids "Twas the Night Before Christmas" for the last two weeks or so in preparation for the holidays, so that made lessons pretty easy. They don't understand 95% of what I'm saying but we always talk about it after I'm done and I teach them some Christmas vocabulary and the kids think it's so funny. Most of them are loving it!</div>
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I took some time out of my Christmas lesson to explain to the older kids something I've come across about a zillion times since I've been here. I've come up with the four biggest pronunciation problems with the French speaking English - 1) pronouncing H's. 2) pronouncing TH's 3) pronouncing R's 4) pronouncing letters at the end of words. </div>
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The problem with pronouncing the H isn't that they can't do it, but rather once they learn how to do it they put an H in front of almost every vowel, especially 'I'. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "Hi ham happy!" instead of "I am happy!" I used that example to explain to the kids that they only have to pronounce the H when they see one at the beginning of a word, except for a couple words like hour. When I tell them that when they say "hi ham happy" they're saying "bonjour jambon content" they crack up, but I think that really gets them to understand. </div>
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The TH is a lot more difficult to explain, because they never use that sound here. Not ever. I just do my best to explain that you have to put your tongue between your teeth and blow through it. They can usually do that just fine, but when it comes to a THR or even THER word they struggle to go straight from the TH to putting their tongue back in their mouth to get the R.</div>
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If I thought explaining the TH was difficult, explaining an English R to the French is like trying to count your licks to the center of a lollypop. It requires extreme concentration, dedication, and patience. Basically, it's nearly impossible. I just stand there and repeat myself about a hundred times until I decide we should probably move on to the next subject.</div>
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Anyway, I just wanted to include a little bit about what I've been doing at work because I know most of the time I just say I went to work and then went home without much detail! I'm still working on getting a picture of the kids, but honestly I probably won't have one until the end of the year.</div>
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On Tuesday my last day before vacation, we made chocolate covered corn flakes most of the day, and it was really easy. I explained some of the directions in English, but it was hard enough to explain how to make it in French so pretty much I just acted as assistant teacher that day. Which, honestly, I prefer! In Jean Luc's class we sang "We Wish You An Aussi Christmas" together with his guitar that he let me play and it was really fun. I don't particularly like the song, and would have rather sang the real version, but it was still kinda funny.</div>
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Quick culture note! Chords in French aren't based on the letter notes like we do (C, D, E, F, G, A, and B) but rather the sounds of Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, and Ti! That made it a lot harder to learn the song, but luckily I have a decent enough ear and have playing guitar for long enough to be able to figure it out. </div>
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Finally I was done! It's not like I work really hard throughout the week and needed a vacation, I've been on one since I've been here…I just couldn't wait to go to Paris and to see Tiste! I had the rest of the week to go through first, however, and I already also had several plans. </div>
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Plan number one: hang out with Ashley! I hadn't seen her since the week before, and she was taking off for home on Thursday, so we decided to hang out before vacation. I went over to her place after work to watch Run, Fat Boy, Run. I love that movie! Mostly I love Simon Pegg, but so far I haven't disliked anything he's been in. </div>
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One ginormous hug later and I was biking back home to meet up with Thibaut and some of his friends to get some Chinese food at the buffet in Davézieux that I've wanted to go to for a long time. I hadn't met the two other guys before, Darion and Jeremy, but they were pretty funny. They ate enough to make any American impressed; I couldn't even keep up. The food was way good though, and for 18€ I think I got my money's worth. </div>
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On Wednesday, like usual I went to Thomas's for an English lesson, which can be difficult if he doesn't have homework from school to show me, which was the case that day. I decided to just give him the same lesson I'd been giving the kids on "Twas The Night Before Christmas," but we did the lesson a little differently. I would read a paragraph and he would dictate it, I would edit it, and then he would tell me what he thought it meant. It went really well I thought, I could see progression in his work, which is the goal, right? </div>
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All I have written after Thomas's house is Skyrim, so I'm guessing that's what I did for the rest of the day Wednesday, sorry to disappoint :P</div>
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Apparently I didn't get enough rest Wednesday, because all I did Thursday was play Skyrim and watch Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain before I went to an awesome volleyball practice. Nothing like breaking the dull of a day by throwing yourself around a gym floor in order to push a synthetic rubber ball over the other side of a 274 cm high net.</div>
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I was walking down the road in front of my house about to check in for the night when Françoise, my host mom's friend who I play pétanque with sometimes, rolled up next to me to drop of some champagne for Isabelle. She had just finished with a korfball match (weird basketball, remember? If not, look it up) and since I was there she invited me to have a drink and bite to eat with them in the lobby of the gym where they were playing. I was starving. Plus, like I've said before, I'm trying to be Yes Man over here in France, so I tagged along to meet back up with her teammates, who happen to be everybody else I play pétanque with (Gislenne, Alex, Jean Paul, Béa, Jérome, Anthony, etc.) for some fruit juice and cake and bread and cheese and paté and it was great. I was home an hour and half so later and ready to hit the sack. But I just went to bed instead.</div>
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Big plans for the weekend! At least for Friday and Saturday. I was up and eating lunch with Alex and his mom at the mall-like grocery store by Alex's work by noon on Friday, which his mom paid for. She's so nice! I love the French haha. After lunch Alex and I headed up to St. Étienne for another party at Romain's that night, but we went early so we could go to the mall and check some things out there. </div>
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We stopped by the SFR phone store so Alex could ask them for a replacement since his as bugging out. They took his phone to send in to HQ and gave him a brick as a replacement until he got his phone back in the mail, and made him write a 60€ cautionary check. I wouldn't have paid four cents for the phone he was given as a replacement, but luckily it was only for 15 days or so. Unluckily, that meant he wouldn't have it for his trip to Nantes to visit his family for Christmas and New Year's. I felt bad because he's always taking pictures with his phone (it's a really nice camera) of his adventures too, and I couldn't imagine going to Tiste's without my camera! </div>
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After SFR we went to check out some shoes. I even decided to give the Adidas another look - still didn't want them. But we did go up to this other sports store where they sell all sorts of other shoes, whether it be for running, tennis, volleyball, basketball, soccer, you get the idea. So we went up there, and I fell in love with this pair of red and black Nike running shoes. There was another pair of sweet volleyball shoes that were BYU colors so…I decided to get those too. Merry Christmas to me!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LldI6K4xwXU/TwOfsxAB8uI/AAAAAAAAAqM/2N7zQfucLCg/s1600/DSC_0140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LldI6K4xwXU/TwOfsxAB8uI/AAAAAAAAAqM/2N7zQfucLCg/s200/DSC_0140.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8iZI72mM7E8/TwOglQc77ZI/AAAAAAAAAqc/y5B75aSlhZU/s1600/DSC_0150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8iZI72mM7E8/TwOglQc77ZI/AAAAAAAAAqc/y5B75aSlhZU/s200/DSC_0150.JPG" width="132" /></a>We left the mall for Romain's apartment, where we waited a while for people to show up. I just realized we're always the first ones to the party haha. Romain showed us some pictures of his new motorcycle which is really really nice, but locked up in a garage at his mom's place, so we couldn't see it. When people eventually did show up, we played this fun counting game with them where someone starts with one and points to the next person, then that person says two with the objective of eventually reaching 20, but there are little twists in between like at 4 you have to point the other direction, and at then at 5 you point with both hands but the one on bottom is the direction you go next, and there were different rules but if you screwed up you had to drink. I tried not to screw up too often. Two liters of Coke doesn't feel very good in your system when it's taken in one sitting…</div>
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Things were pretty chill like that for a while, and we called it a night after a while. Obviously.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l-DBX6f29-4/TwOgKSXeLeI/AAAAAAAAAqU/gMyxwbbZj0c/s1600/DSC_0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l-DBX6f29-4/TwOgKSXeLeI/AAAAAAAAAqU/gMyxwbbZj0c/s200/DSC_0141.JPG" width="200" /></a>The next morning we all got up to it snowingg outside! It was the first snow I had seen here, and for some reason it was mesmerizing haha. We were all hungry, so we left to get lunch at the Casino down the highway, and despite waiting in line for 10 minutes to reheat my food it was really good! </div>
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Alex had told Guillemette he would help try to fix her computer that afternoon so we had to leave St. Étienne around 2 or so, and were at Guillemette's around 3:30. Her computer was so bugged that she couldn't even get it to start up, so we went over to her older sister's house to help her figure out a Facebook page for her wedding store. She's the one who made the dresses that my friends modeled for a couple months ago! Holy geeze it's already been 3 months. It's going by WAY too fast! :(</div>
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Well after we left Guillemette's sister's we went to Kiabi for a little bit because I wanted to check out the raincoats there. Like the classy, French ones. Two rows of buttons? Peacoat style. Unfortunately they're like 100€ sooo I decided to check back later when maybe there would be a sale or more in stock, because they had the style I wanted but not my size unfortunately. Anyway…</div>
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I got back home and probably derped around on the internet and on the xbox until I was ready to sleep. </div>
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I have zero notes from Sunday…I have no idea what I did, but I know that it was the day before we left for Paris so I know I spent a good deal of the day packing and stuff. But other than that, I'm blank! It's not the first time that's happened, which scares me. What did I do?!?!</div>
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Either way…I'm still alive…and I still ended leaving the next day, so everything worked out! Onto Paris! (French accent Paris, not American. I'm still indecisive on how I will pronounce French words and cities and everything when I get back…do I say them how they're supposed to be said? Do I take it easy on my friends and family and just say them in English? I'll probably just do both. Who knows. Except Paris. I'll always say that with a French accent. And chocolat.) </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-20614565234004896162012-01-03T20:49:00.002+01:002012-01-04T12:11:00.215+01:00La Fête des Lumières<br />
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After my night in Valence I headed straight back to Davézieux, looking forward to a chance to rest up, maybe take a much needed nap. Unfortunately, I totally forgot that I had a lunch date with the teachers of Vissenty, so after stowing away my overnight stuff I hopped on my bike and rode down to the school to carpool out to the restaurant with my coworkers. No nap. </div>
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We went to this sortof classy place in Annonay, where I think everybody but one person ordered the salmon (a very popular item throughout all the restaurants I would dare say). About halfway through the meal I thought it would be nice if I anonymously picked up the tab, to the point where I started getting nervous. It was kind of weird. It's not like I don't do nice things for people and then I was getting nervous to do it for the first time or anything like that, but for some reason I was feeling…tingly.</div>
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So as soon and as discretely as I could I got up to 'look for the bathroom,' found the waitress and asked to pay for the bill. In my haste I forgot to mention that I didn't want the others to know, so when I headed back to the table and someone asked for the check, the waitress just told them I had just paid for it. I was so embarrassed! My coworkers gave me a hard time about it, which made me feel worse, but I really wanted to do something nice for them all as a thank you for being so welcoming, helpful and friendly towards me so I pretty much begged them to let it go haha. Tingly feeling gone.</div>
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They were really appreciative, but I could tell they were still a little…not bothered, but maybe just thought it was too much for me to take, so I wasn't surprised when, the following week, they all pitched in to get me a gift card to Intersport (a big sporting goods store). It was really nice of them, but I'm still kicking myself for botching project Anonymous Amiable American.</div>
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After lunch, I biked back home and probably played guitar or xbox at home until I had to head back to the school to meet up with the boys I babysit. Their mom was there, which I wasn't expecting since I was under the impression that I would just walk the kids home, but I guess she wanted to meet me and talk with me a little bit before she took off for work, which makes sense. After making me feel even more comfortable in their house than I had been before by telling me her home was mine, she left me with the boys for the next couple hours.</div>
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I had made copies of some Christmas flash cards that I thought we could go over for our English lesson for the day, and after we went over all of them the boys brought me into the living room to play this game on their TV, which was actually pretty fun. They think I am a legend because I helped them beat a few levels of their game haha, I love it. I could play older brother forever! And get paid for it? In France?! Life complete.</div>
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After their mom came back, I biked back home and got ready for the big night in Lyon. The city of lights! We had been planning the trip for a while, and I was really excited. I had watched videos, heard people talk about it, seen pictures - I was ready to see it with mine own eyes!</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sv-FiHbhCp8/TwOQAioFuCI/AAAAAAAAAnc/6LGYKtn1qs8/s1600/lyon_balloons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sv-FiHbhCp8/TwOQAioFuCI/AAAAAAAAAnc/6LGYKtn1qs8/s200/lyon_balloons.jpg" width="132" /></a>Side note - do you know why they have the Illuminations? Not even a lot people in France know much about it, it's pretty much just the Rhône Alps region that puts on the show, and even more specifically Lyon. Anyway, if understood correctly, either in the Medieval Times or around then there was a plague that swept through Lyon, and the people all gathered at the top of one of the mountains and prayed to the Virgin Mary to save everybody, and the plague miraculously ended! </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-33uilC2xI1Q/TwOQHap9wQI/AAAAAAAAAnk/lbgesq4kLxk/s1600/lyon_blocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-33uilC2xI1Q/TwOQHap9wQI/AAAAAAAAAnk/lbgesq4kLxk/s200/lyon_blocks.jpg" width="132" /></a>Since then they've given thanks to her by lighting up candles and putting them on their windowsills, and obviously it evolved from that. They still have a big "Merci Mary" sign lit up at the bastille up on the mountain where they gathered hundreds of years ago. The end! </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4l-4bOx5mY/TwOQRmpqfWI/AAAAAAAAAns/--4bkJORCdY/s1600/lyon_bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4l-4bOx5mY/TwOQRmpqfWI/AAAAAAAAAns/--4bkJORCdY/s200/lyon_bridge.jpg" width="200" /></a>So, Alex, Guillemette, and I met up at my house and we were off. An hour and a half or so later we rolled into town, along with about 2 million other people. I think the greatest blessing of the day was that as we were circling around looking for parking, someone pulled out of their spot just in front of a hotel, so we parked there and the hotel attendant said that normally you had to be a customer to park there but for that night only we were allowed to stay there. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MhRo8ReVjeY/TwOQpDSky0I/AAAAAAAAAoE/WAGPG3l64WE/s1600/lyon_eyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MhRo8ReVjeY/TwOQpDSky0I/AAAAAAAAAoE/WAGPG3l64WE/s200/lyon_eyes.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P-qZSCYLaWE/TwORFFO0zoI/AAAAAAAAAoc/dtEPVLbbZUw/s1600/lyon_market.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P-qZSCYLaWE/TwORFFO0zoI/AAAAAAAAAoc/dtEPVLbbZUw/s200/lyon_market.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jrr6zMBvQg8/TwOQ9krpWiI/AAAAAAAAAoU/W2V7XRTsrS4/s1600/lyon_ho%25CC%2582tel_de_ville.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jrr6zMBvQg8/TwOQ9krpWiI/AAAAAAAAAoU/W2V7XRTsrS4/s200/lyon_ho%25CC%2582tel_de_ville.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M3jGW_cIo7Y/TwORnNQ-GjI/AAAAAAAAAo0/O8CE_0u9vxQ/s1600/lyon_trinkets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M3jGW_cIo7Y/TwORnNQ-GjI/AAAAAAAAAo0/O8CE_0u9vxQ/s200/lyon_trinkets.jpg" width="200" /></a>It was right next to a train station, so it would be really easy to find on our back, Plus, Guillemette had done some of her studies in Lyon, so she knew her way around really well. We walked maybe a mile tops to get into the center of town, where it seemed the rest of the world was also gathered in celebration. We walked around and admired some of the different set ups of lights and shops they had set up, and then met up with Océane and her friend to look at some other stuff. Like McDonald's! Just kidding…we were hungry, so we stopped there to eat. </div>
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After we were done ordering we split up with Océane and her friend to go see one of the coolest shows that night, which was this building that was all lit up on the side where the lights played out a pinball scene. The windows lit up, the gargoyles 'moved,' the doors and the pillars were a part of the game, it was really impressive! I think I have a video if no pictures...</div>
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We met up with more of our friends, Ana (from St. Ètienne) and her friend, where we saw a bunch of lit up eyes. I didn't get it, but it was cool haha.</div>
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It wasn't longer after meeting up that we said bye to them, and went to go watch this big show that played on the side of several buildings surrounding a plaza, which was really cool except for the music which was actually kind of annoying haha. I only have a video of it I think, so if you wanna know more about it you'll have to meet up with me in person!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u5_IRX9RcGk/TwOQildFFNI/AAAAAAAAAn8/a6O241fcJY4/s1600/lyon_dancing_lights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u5_IRX9RcGk/TwOQildFFNI/AAAAAAAAAn8/a6O241fcJY4/s200/lyon_dancing_lights.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v1Ew9Z75RDs/TwORPIMdJ4I/AAAAAAAAAok/ERMkcgP_CBE/s1600/lyon_merci_marie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v1Ew9Z75RDs/TwORPIMdJ4I/AAAAAAAAAok/ERMkcgP_CBE/s200/lyon_merci_marie.jpg" width="200" /></a>We didn't get to stay for long because both Alex and Guillemette had to get up early the next morning to work, so we left around midnight after having been there for 2 hours or so. On our way out of town Alex and I stopped for a crêpe, where we happened to run into Océane again! We chatted a little while before continuing on.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GxrFqnb3gVs/TwOQbJGx4KI/AAAAAAAAAn0/OhBZ2seJGMI/s1600/lyon_butterflies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GxrFqnb3gVs/TwOQbJGx4KI/AAAAAAAAAn0/OhBZ2seJGMI/s200/lyon_butterflies.jpg" width="132" /></a>The car ride home was pretty quite, we were are really tired and ready to be home, where we rolled in around 1:30-2. Friday and the rest of the weekend still had a lot in store in for me though! Things don't ever really settle down for me haha, but I'm thankful for that. How much would it suck if I just sat around all day? I love my friends and their nonstop partying.</div>
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My Beats (by Dre.) came in the morning after the Illuminations, and I was in love at first…listen. I put on Cinema (Skrillex remix) and literally teared up when the bass dropped. These headphones are like nothing I've ever experienced. I pick up different sounds and instruments that I've never heard in certain songs before. Not to mention the noise canceling feature is truly a lifesaver…</div>
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I plugged in and listened to music all Friday and worked on my blog (from weeks before) until that night when I got a text from Thibaut inviting me to go out to pizza with him and Alex. We went to this little restaurant in Annonay that sells really good pizzas for like 5€, and you can rip off a ticket from the box and collect them to get free pizza! </div>
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Have I talked much about the pizza here? It's not normal. They make pizza out of everything, and it's superb. Potatoes, ravioli, salmon, you name it. I got a pizza made with kebab meat. </div>
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Have I talked much about kebabs here? It's a sandwich that is typically made from a big slab of lamb that has been cooked rotisserie style for hours that they hack off and throw in between bread and it's most delicious. Here's the thing. In some cities, there is a kebab shop literally 5 stores away from another one. Down the whole street. You could walk around town and cross 50 kebab shops, not even exaggerating! They're 99% all run by Turks. That's right! There's a surprising amount of Turkish people here. I just typed in Valence Kebab in Google Maps and it came up with 1,039 results. No joke.</div>
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Anyway, the kebab pizza I ordered was delicious. I ate the whole thing :( I'm not gaining weight either, I've just been blessed with a metabolism equivalent to that of a Ferrari engine. </div>
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We said our au revoirs, but had plans to meet up again for two parties the next day so it wasn't a tearful goodbye. </div>
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I didn't have plans the next day and was ready to work more on my blog until our first party on Saturday night, but I got a text from Guillemette inviting me to visit her best friend in St. Vallier and then to go do some window shopping in Valence. I've been trying to say yes to every invitation, and that was no exception. An hour or two after waking up (around noon probably), I was in the car with my friend on our way to see her friend and her adorable three month old French Pitbull.</div>
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We all had lunch together before heading out to Valence. My goal was to eventually get to the Foot Locker so I could snag those sweet Adidas I had seen in St. Étienne, but I would have to wait while the girls checked out the Sephora (perfume/cologne) and FNAC (a Best Buy of sorts). While we were in the FNAC it pleased me to see my Beats (by Dre.) hanging on the wall for a mere 299€! Did I mention I got them for 120€. French Ebay. Love it. </div>
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Anyway, eventually we got to the Foot Locker, and I saw the shoes. That's when one of my infamous Casey Garland qualities came out, and real strong too. I immediately didn't want them anymore. I had spent at least an hour on the internet looking them up on Ebay, the Adidas website, all over. Now, I would love to have them. But for some reason sometimes when I get really into something that's kinda costly and finally arrive at the store to buy it, I back down 9 times out of 10. I can't imagine how much money I've saved by doing that. The end of the story is that I didn't buy the shoes and I don't regret it.</div>
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I had to be in St. Victor earlyish for Alex and Thibaut's friend Justine's birthday party, so I said ciao to Guillemette and company and caught a train up to Tournon where I would meet up with Thibaut and he would take me to St. Victor, where would we would wait for Alex to get done with work and meet us.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kdwZuBvaRJs/TwQy-us-dII/AAAAAAAAArA/axVZOzu9mcc/s1600/392707_2450335813752_1112683692_32282511_409747362_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kdwZuBvaRJs/TwQy-us-dII/AAAAAAAAArA/axVZOzu9mcc/s200/392707_2450335813752_1112683692_32282511_409747362_n.jpeg" width="200" /></a>I can't remember what time we headed to Justine's party, but we were the first ones there. It was hosted at this community center-like house thing, where there was a dance floor, a kitchen, and a stage for the DJ. There were tables and enough seats for at least 80 people, and at least that many people came! It was really fun to meet more people, and I saw Marion there too. Justine's parents had a butt-ton of food ready for us - entrées, main dishes, desserts, etc. I think we were there for 3 hours or so before we headed out to Guillemette's party! We met her and some more friends at her place before we left for the Mykasa club, where we had a table reserved for us. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p6vRwk0vyJY/TwQy9dWG-CI/AAAAAAAAAq4/paFpACvMfus/s1600/377570_2450358734325_1112683692_32282525_1837369177_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p6vRwk0vyJY/TwQy9dWG-CI/AAAAAAAAAq4/paFpACvMfus/s200/377570_2450358734325_1112683692_32282525_1837369177_n.jpeg" width="200" /></a>After dancing and doing the whole clubbing thing for a while, which included picking up a free mustache tattoo, Alex, Thibaut and I called it a night and headed back home. I had a lunch date with my host mom and her friend (who happens to be a co worker of mine at Van Gogh) at noon the next day so I needed to get some sleep.</div>
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I pretty much rolled out of bed and into the car the next day, I was so tired. Evelyne, my co worker, had a great lunch lined up for us though, so that woke up me up pretty well. Her husband is hilarious. We chatted about soccer for a while over lunch and had laughs about a bunch of different things. The French love to talk. They will talk about anything, and they love to express their opinion, especially when they know more than your average Jean-Deau (pronounced John Doe. Get it?! ha…)</div>
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I was hoping we'd have a chance to go home and take a nap before going to Anouk's orchestra concert that night, but turns out we were at Evelyne's for FOUR hours. Lunch isn't just a drive through at MacDo here, especially if you're hosting it. You start with an appetizer and something to drink, then you have an entrée, then you have the main dish, then you have cheese, and THEN you have dessert. Yeah. Four hours.</div>
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We left from Evelyne's and went straight to the concert. I'm mad at myself for not bringing my camera, but I guess I wasn't expecting to be eating lunch for four hours either. The concert was great! Anouk's orchestra wasn't so big that you couldn't hear the flutes, which Isabelle says happens often, so we actually got to hear her play. What's more, the concert was held in a beautiful church and the sound was incredible. </div>
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There were some light refreshments served afterwards, and we were there for maybe 10 minutes before heading back home. We got lost on the way back, but thanks to modern technology I was able to locate our position accurate to 3 meters on my phone and successfully guided us back to the right direction. How about that? An American giving directions to French locals? I thought it was funny…</div>
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On the way home we stopped at the home of a close family friend and their family, whose kids Anouk has been babysitting for the last several years. It's the same family we'll be skiing with in February, they're so nice and kids are really cute.</div>
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We just stopped by to say hello but they insisted that we stay for a little while and to have drink. I've learned not to to say no to an insisting Frenchman/woman. You just can't ever win. Also I didn't really have a choice since I was following Isabelle haha.</div>
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Finally, we made our way home. I got to work on my blog a little more that night before cashing in and resting up for my last week of class before vacation! </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-71285980715392986382011-12-18T12:29:00.000+01:002012-01-03T20:48:00.122+01:00La Vie Continue - Valence Vite Visité<div style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
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Life here doesn't give me too much to complain about. I have so much to be thankful for! Sometimes I don't have a lot to do, but that's when I try to rest from being crazy busy during the rest of week. Anyway, like every week, on Monday I went to work, and then after a bit of rest I went to play in a volleyball game which we lost 2-3 to a team of oldies. We even won the first two games, making it even more aggravating...</div>
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On Tuesday things went like normal except that a mom from one of the kids at Vissenty wanted me to come teach her older daughter a private English lesson that night, so right after work Isabelle took me to her house. I met Maurine, a girl about Anouk's age, and helped her a little bit with a story she had to write on her own just using some random pictures the teacher had given them. The story was...how you would expect it to be haha. I wasn't about to rewrite the whole thing though, so I corrected the grammar and did my best to have it make any sense. I'm not 100% that I succeeded...</div>
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Otherwise, the lesson went great, and her mom said Maurine really appreciated it and liked my 'methods,' so that's comforting! I like to think these people aren't just paying me for nothing. That wrapped up my Tuesday though, so not much more to talk about...</div>
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Mercredi! Wednesday was a blast. On Tuesday night I got a call from Fabienne to tell me that Thomas couldn't do a lesson Wednesday, so I woke up as late as I wanted and lazied about for a while, got on Facebook and three minutes later had made plans to go down to Valence for the day! </div>
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Turns out Ashley (one of my English friends who lives in Annonay) was planning on going down there to go ice skating and go out to dinner with some of the other assistants and she invited me to come with! I didn't have any plans at all for the day, and as tempting as it was to stay in my room slaying dragons all day, I can always do that back in the States. So I said yes! </div>
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After a quick bite to eat I walked down to the gare (which takes the better part of an hour) to meet Ashley at 14h00 to take the bus up to Péage de Roussillon where we would catch a train down to Valence around 15h00. Well turns out our train from Péage was about 20 minutes late, and we were ten minutes early anyway, so we walked down to a bar in town and sat down for a cup of quite tasty hot cocao : 2€ (remember this for later). Fun fact : the French serve their hot chocolate with cubes of sugar on the side - in case you want to add sugar to your cup of liquid chocolate...yo dawg...! meme comes to mind...look it up :P Anyway I had to try it of course, and honestly it doesn't really taste any different. I think I'll stick to my already not-so-healthy-so-not-gonna-make-it-worse hot choclate. Merci.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4XwquIz6kDM/TwNWlLK-c5I/AAAAAAAAAmY/8H_yWZFIO9Q/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4XwquIz6kDM/TwNWlLK-c5I/AAAAAAAAAmY/8H_yWZFIO9Q/s320/DSC_0005.JPG" width="212" /></a>Thirty minutes later we headed back to the station and hide a peaceful ride down to Valence. Ashley is a pro being familiar with Valence, so we headed out from the station and walked around (at the first corner I was lost) and made our way to our friend Jess's (another rad English girl who's an assistant in Valence) apartment. We hung out there for a little bit and got in touch with the other assistants in the area who were waiting for us to show up so we could all go ice skating.</div>
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Another English girl, our friend Emily, lives down the way from Jess so we walked down to her place and then we all headed out towards to rink to meet up with everyone else. It was too bad our train was really late, because we lost a lot of time of skating and they closed like 30 minutes after we got there. We had fun though. I didn't learn anything new, but it's comforting to know I can still skate - kindof. I can go really fast, that's it. I can't stop, can barely turn, and every once in a while can pull a full spin. The good news is that I only fell once! The bad news is that for the next 3 weeks I would have burns a little above my ankles where the skates were rubbing against my skin. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9wiqHpWtOrM/TwNWI33mlyI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/pWQIoiuP7B4/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9wiqHpWtOrM/TwNWI33mlyI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/pWQIoiuP7B4/s320/DSC_0003.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r5tbEowfbno/TwNW-ApjT6I/AAAAAAAAAmg/vqpl3VIirjI/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r5tbEowfbno/TwNW-ApjT6I/AAAAAAAAAmg/vqpl3VIirjI/s320/DSC_0007.JPG" width="320" /></a>More of our friends met up with us at the rink, but didn't skate with us because it was too late. We all walked away from the rink to a bar to get some drinks and fries before meeting up with MORE people for dinner at the Vodka Steakhouse that was right in front of the train station. I had another hot chocolate - 3.50€ (big city prices are typically a lot higher than the smaller cities like Péage, where my cocoa only cost 2€. Bah, humbug!). </div>
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The girls ordered either wine or beer, which was all cheaper than my drink, AND they had more to drink. We were there for maybe an hour being joyous and whatnot, and the fries were really teasing and I got really hungry so eventually we left to the restaurant to at least find our seats and so we could munch on some bread while we waited for the rest of the party.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LXhplw48zGw/TwNXZvw5JlI/AAAAAAAAAmo/H8Qnp7jMxWg/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LXhplw48zGw/TwNXZvw5JlI/AAAAAAAAAmo/H8Qnp7jMxWg/s320/DSC_0010.JPG" width="212" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vqh_WncTkos/TwNYMrep-uI/AAAAAAAAAm4/hMbgsbSzKUA/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vqh_WncTkos/TwNYMrep-uI/AAAAAAAAAm4/hMbgsbSzKUA/s320/DSC_0012.JPG" width="320" /></a>I forget how many we were that night...after some quick thinking and reanimating the night in my head I think we were 11. I would draw out the table for you but I don't have a pencil, and also that would suck for my computer screen. Also I suck at drawing. Also I don't think I took any pictures of the whole group...we'll see after I'm done writing (that's when I go look for pictures to add). ANYway.</div>
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Dinner was amazing. Straight up. A lot of us ordered the same thing - the entrecôte, which is a cut of beef. Not quite sure where it comes from...it was quite tasty though! I topped it with some kind of onion sauce that I forgot the name of.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TyS0oxCuBac/TwNYmVg7KYI/AAAAAAAAAnA/yV3iKWx32pI/s1600/DSC_0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TyS0oxCuBac/TwNYmVg7KYI/AAAAAAAAAnA/yV3iKWx32pI/s320/DSC_0013.JPG" width="212" /></a>For dessert I had to get this 'marron glacé' dish, which was chestnut ice cream. I don't know if I've mentioned this on here before...but I am obsessed with chestnuts now. There's a smaller chestnut called 'châtaigne' but it's basically the same, and they're WAY good. I've had crêpes de marron, gateau de châtaigne, crème de châtaigne mixed with fromage blanc, and now marron glacé. I could eat the stuff all day. All. Day. Long. Out of a chestnut bowl with a chestnut spoon. So good.</div>
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Basically I stuffed myself. Most everyone did. Some of the girls were a little silly by the end of two carafes of wine, but we were all having a lot of fun so we went from the restaurant to another bar for...more drinks! Haha I'm still getting used to the night life here... </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AHHBt8CePJY/TwNY_vurymI/AAAAAAAAAnI/Tv3IxgmAzns/s1600/DSC_0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AHHBt8CePJY/TwNY_vurymI/AAAAAAAAAnI/Tv3IxgmAzns/s320/DSC_0015.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu6G4-QcA48/TwNZcfzRuFI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/iUTKplynJE8/s1600/DSC_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu6G4-QcA48/TwNZcfzRuFI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/iUTKplynJE8/s320/DSC_0023.JPG" width="212" /></a>We parted ways after another hour or so, after convincing our Puerto Rican friend that our English friend was of royal blood and knew the Queen and everybody. That was hilarious. Jess, Ashley, and I all headed back to Jess's for the night, only to get up a few hours later to catch a train back to Annonay where Ashley had to work. I couldn't imagine having the strength to do what she does! A powerhouse, that one. The force must be strong with her.</div>
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This would be a good break point for my next post about the Fête des Lumières, which was an adventure in itself! </div>
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Continue straight on to the next post if you wish…</div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-71196069647283982332011-12-11T21:14:00.001+01:002011-12-16T01:43:42.802+01:00Nouveau Travail Et Spectacle De Téléthon<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For some reason I wrote notes on this week backwards, and I think it was because I didn't start making notes until that Saturday...from the looks of it, it wasn't an especially eventful week. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have zero pictures for you. Sorry! This is where I find out (not really) if you're a true fan or just came for the pictures. If you are reading on, I'll try to make this is quick and painless as possible!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So needless to say, waking up Monday morning for work was pretty difficult. I was still really tired from the weekend, and just about the last thing I wanted to do was go hang out with a bunch of eight year olds. How do you teachers do it all week and all year?! Thankfully my Mondays are actually the better days. Kindof. I have my preschool class first thing, and there's not a lot I can do for them so I sing for them like once or twice and then just act as an assistant teacher. One of the kids is crazy. Mathis. I have an automatic prejudice against all other children named Mathis now...anyway.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We had volleyball that week, like every other week, except this time we lost! And it sucked because we play the best of five matches and we won the first two, and then they came back and won the next three. It was pretty embarrassing. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tuesday I worked like usual, and I don't think anything exciting happened...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On Wednesday I worked with Thomas again, annnd I'm pretty sure that's all that happened...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thursday, however, was more eventful. I had been in contact with a mom of some of my students, and she wanted me to come babysit the kids after school on Thursdays for a couple hours while she worked at her flower boutique. So that Thursday, after school (obvi) I met the dad outside the school. The guy is super nice. He flies airplanes, hang gliders, and is a snowmobile guide. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway, he drove us just down the hill to their beautiful house that looks over a canyon. We walked in and he showed me around the house, including opening about every drawer and cabinet in the kitchen telling me I could eat or make anything whenever I wanted. I had a glass of apple juice and a really good butter cookie with a strawberry spread, and then they all drove me back up to the hill where I grabbed my bike and headed back home.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That evening I had volleyball practice, which wasn't the best I've had since I got here, but I guess that happens sometimes. I had a better night when I skyped my family until like 4 in the morning. Since I have nothing to do on Fridays I can stay up as late as I want without consequence, so I was happy to chat with them because it had been a while since we had last talked.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On Friday I went and visited Ashley in Annonay for a little while before she headed off to Valence, which is when I went back home to go with Isabelle and Anouk to another pétanque party at the same place we had the first one. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was just as fun as the last time, except there was no cake at the end. Not that it matters, the cake is a lie.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'd love to come home my own set of pétanque balls, but there would be no where to play and no one to play against haha, so I guess I'll just leave that hobby here. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We didn't get home too late, probably midnightish, and then I was off to sleep. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Saturday was a lot more fun! I slept in and skipped breakfast to go meet Alex for lunch, after which I had major heartburn. Word of advice : don't eat pasta and a pound of ham and a raspberry tarte for breakfast. A couple hours later, after Alex had gotten off work, Thibaut drove us three down to Annonay where we bought some Tum-like pills that immediately cured me of my heartburn. It was like magic! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We ate paninis at a pizza/sandwich restaurant next door to the theater in Annonay where we were waiting to see Guillemette perform in a big dance performance. It was a charity event to raise money for research to help the sick and afflicted. The cool the thing is that events like these were taking place simultaneously around France for the same cause, like the kids at one of the schools I work at holding a bake sale. It's called Téléthon, and it's a huge event they hold every year! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They had a TV program going all day, showing different events going around the country, people who were going to be helped with the money, and an active count of how much money was being donated. You could go online and make a donation there, or you could call in and go from there. It's a really great idea, and this year they raised over 86 million euros!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well anyway, after dinner we still had some time to wait, so we bought our tickets in the theater to avoid the inevitable huge line that would come later and went to the mall to get some dessert. First, however, Alex let me drive his car around the parking lot. Have I mention that EVERY car here is a stick shift? Good thing McKenzi trained me over the summer, so when I got behind the wheel I made it around the whole lot without stalling even once! I was so proud, and I think Mac B would've been as well.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We picked up a tub of chocolate mousse and a box of cat tongues to munch on in the theater. Oh, sorry, did that weird you out? Didn't know cat tongues were a French delicacy did you?! Well, it's...not true. Sorry to be misleading, 'langue de chat' is just an oval shaped butter cookie that they often eat with coffee and chocolate mousse :) </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I would say we had about 50 cookies and about two pounds of chocolate mousse that we devoured within the next 3 hours. It was somewhat disturbing, especially considering I'm pretty sure I ate most of it...here's the weird thing. I haven't gained or lost a pound since I got here. Ok it's not so weird that I haven't lost any weight, but I figured I would've picked up a little something extra from what I've been eating. I guess I just have a Grade A metabolism, and I'm trying to make use of it while I can!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We finally sat down center stage a couple rows back in probably the most perfect seats, and then it started! There were maybe...10 dances, starting with a little boy who danced to a Michael Jackson medley in an MJ getup, he was really good! Then there was a group of 3 or 4 year olds, and the next several dances continued like that, increasing in age every dance until Guillemette's group finally came out!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All the dances were really impressive. Except for the 3 year olds, mostly it was just them holding hands and running around a Christmas tree. It could've been better organized. Haha totally kidding, but really...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway, after our friend danced there was a couple of guys who did some break dancing, and THAT was super impressive. There was a magician after them. He was...subpar, at best. Porr guy. Finally, after three hours we left and went to St. Victor to watch Paul (in French), after which we finally went to bed, at about 3:30.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the morning Thibaut had bought us all fresh croissants and other goodies from the bakery, and after we had all eaten our fill we headed back to Annonay, where I think I got some more sleep and spent a peaceful day in my room doing something that I don't remember and didn't write down...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Another week down. It's definitely starting to feel more and more like home here. I know because the weeks are starting to blur together, and I'm starting to develop a routine! I know quite a few people pretty well, and I know almost all my student's names. Ok not really, but I do know practically every face. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's currently December 16th, which means I have two weeks to catch up on, which I should do soon because in three days I'm leaving for Paris and in a week I leave for Bordeaux to spend Christmas with Tiste! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I'll save an explanation for later. Bye!</span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-818434350445535432011-12-09T18:04:00.001+01:002011-12-11T12:17:39.764+01:00Thanksgiving En France Et Les Gorges De L'Ardèche<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mondays and Tuesdays have become a blur of children and volleyball. Not a great combination when put together, but when you spend time with them separately it's a lot more fun. So like the week before and weeks to come, I spent Monday working with kids (also the teachers) and at the end of the day I went off to play in our second match, which we won again! My coach (Rémy, the guy who makes his own apple and apricot juice who I saw at the Gourmandises), asked me after the game if I would come play with his team on Wednesday, which I of course agreed to!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On Tuesday all I have written is "work" haha, so apparently nothing interesting happened that day, and if something did and I forgot and you were a part of it I'm really sorry and must be on drugs...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway, on Wednesday I was with Thomas again for a private lesson and Fabienne (his mom) dropped me off at the train office in Annonay (even though there are no trains) to meet with Isabelle to buy train tickets to Paris and Bordeaux. I'm officially visiting Baptiste from the 23rd to the 3rd! So pumped. Look forward to pictures!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQf7AHolCnKgt7E1PRwxznAIv3XWYWKqail1-mfeq1uwBPH11UwT9a2hD1dXcfTdxpFinKQTgjEU9lEskS8tG_c9lA0aB5WjVHAhUzgu1XOhObascQDYQ1WgF35sKKh2cvaYoiQz6m9o4a/s1600/DSC_0201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQf7AHolCnKgt7E1PRwxznAIv3XWYWKqail1-mfeq1uwBPH11UwT9a2hD1dXcfTdxpFinKQTgjEU9lEskS8tG_c9lA0aB5WjVHAhUzgu1XOhObascQDYQ1WgF35sKKh2cvaYoiQz6m9o4a/s200/DSC_0201.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That night I followed Rémy and his squad out towards where I was on Monday, and I had an awesome time with them. They play a lot more competitively than the I play against, so it was actually a lot more fun. Also, winning is a lot more satisfying haha. I've been lucky to only travel super far away on Wednesdays, when I don't have anything to do the next day. So when we did eventually get home around 1 a.m. I was happy to know I could sleep as much as I wanted.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2-Y6L88Nmhs9b-2j9Hxa4S-rPDlFtBrJIBHnKV5CpVnCGMapR1VopBp-FbiHx7eLsC8O-ye9Hnb_af1jc486gvTO0GtMZffRfLPnUPBvNlZxcB_hoeavIo32o4ICRkWdHd8FyOj15e3q/s1600/DSC_0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2-Y6L88Nmhs9b-2j9Hxa4S-rPDlFtBrJIBHnKV5CpVnCGMapR1VopBp-FbiHx7eLsC8O-ye9Hnb_af1jc486gvTO0GtMZffRfLPnUPBvNlZxcB_hoeavIo32o4ICRkWdHd8FyOj15e3q/s200/DSC_0194.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eventually I woke up to go get groceries with Alex for that night - Thanksgiving!!! My meal plan looked like this - turkey, creamy garlic mashed potatoes, spinach artichoke dip, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie. The idea was to keep it cheap and simple so my friends could have a small idea about what we do in the States. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5g6ebtTVEdSCjSdqiLGB0v8svzDu988MIPCZIcufRh9pZKuTBXpvM0sxFSvnQ-9paRLFFa7Xe_ULt614or5t-TiKc2s_3lzSl10TvIYl8-r42I2a6SkFoIFukWq-4udmfgH4xMBDcbhj/s1600/DSC_0229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5g6ebtTVEdSCjSdqiLGB0v8svzDu988MIPCZIcufRh9pZKuTBXpvM0sxFSvnQ-9paRLFFa7Xe_ULt614or5t-TiKc2s_3lzSl10TvIYl8-r42I2a6SkFoIFukWq-4udmfgH4xMBDcbhj/s200/DSC_0229.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVeuviaJRRc9S7SbNEacsghIpAUFciie-02ZuLhzQEqHryjfUiE9XjX3r0VQuNRyY5cQmJXC0SBqHWl9MrlzJwUf4Fr46Yr8LtadlZJ6RKYmPN0sDxmH-4fY406TOa-JWIP0BxKbhjR5Y/s1600/DSC_0202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVeuviaJRRc9S7SbNEacsghIpAUFciie-02ZuLhzQEqHryjfUiE9XjX3r0VQuNRyY5cQmJXC0SBqHWl9MrlzJwUf4Fr46Yr8LtadlZJ6RKYmPN0sDxmH-4fY406TOa-JWIP0BxKbhjR5Y/s200/DSC_0202.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We only picked up a few things in Davézieux and planned on getting the rest in Lyon where we would meet up with Océane. Guillemette, Alex, and I all took off Lyon bound and got in around 7. We didn't leave the grocery store until close to 9 I think, because guess what? It's a lot harder to translate ingredients than you would think. I couldn't find half the things I needed. The mayonnaise had mustard in it. There wasn't a pumpkin anywhere in the store, nor canned pumpkin. So there would be no pumpkin pie :/</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I got what I thought most closely resembled the ingredients I needed for everything else though, and we all headed back to Océane's apartment. By the time we ate it was probably 11. I tried the best I could with what I had to ace the recipe's I had, but I came short on pretty much everything...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkJtW6JzCPwpD8sY26GtuwTfXOVrqXhzPtG5NWb6coZBsZ4MbcpVWQ8Lx-kUxPbGx_k__09dXD-5-RNGPljMSB0TNw4t6RGO-49smsvapFciyJrPRGonmw7uJqOnVfhUYWUmFy5sB_RnF/s1600/DSC_0212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkJtW6JzCPwpD8sY26GtuwTfXOVrqXhzPtG5NWb6coZBsZ4MbcpVWQ8Lx-kUxPbGx_k__09dXD-5-RNGPljMSB0TNw4t6RGO-49smsvapFciyJrPRGonmw7uJqOnVfhUYWUmFy5sB_RnF/s200/DSC_0212.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAHdTWTryKX9l8uq8kd4X7PX8GWFFWnJXMYX1A7S3wSQV9P3mSdCCY8-atoucfzgYyhQDHt2EFl0EPFVceNomGSHICd-baWyxyeAOpbthY0gmXUGGfLdjmMZcti4SdsE0WxoLs14I53za/s1600/DSC_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAHdTWTryKX9l8uq8kd4X7PX8GWFFWnJXMYX1A7S3wSQV9P3mSdCCY8-atoucfzgYyhQDHt2EFl0EPFVceNomGSHICd-baWyxyeAOpbthY0gmXUGGfLdjmMZcti4SdsE0WxoLs14I53za/s200/DSC_0234.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There aren't turkeys in the markets or grocery stores until closer to Christmas, so we had to buy a rotisserie chicken (please don't hate). The dip was too mayonaissey, the garlic in the mashed potatoes was too chunky, the green bean casserole didn't even taste like a green bean casserole. That would be due to the lack of dried onion rings and cream of mushroom soup...overall, I was a little disappointed in myself. Either my friends are all really good at hiding their disgust or they actually enjoyed it! Hoping it was the latter...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKovCUrT61K38e2n_2YlRhz1HB5J5HL7zXSOGFH1rai1uJaMUOXGexz149aAm5bAx5MJ_LRuvslac5k-7OR5fSjMlUSuwWVMSvhh4yvkvEYsgnG5T-zw4jQLA1Iwl8dAtWWIIX0q9FVfId/s1600/DSC_0254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKovCUrT61K38e2n_2YlRhz1HB5J5HL7zXSOGFH1rai1uJaMUOXGexz149aAm5bAx5MJ_LRuvslac5k-7OR5fSjMlUSuwWVMSvhh4yvkvEYsgnG5T-zw4jQLA1Iwl8dAtWWIIX0q9FVfId/s200/DSC_0254.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the worst, we got to spend some quality time together. Also, before we ate I made everybody say something they were thankful for haha. Anyway, Alex and Guillemette had to work the next morning so we left a little after midnight I think and got home around 1 or so.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdw6h3u10VPKho-N3sWoEZQ0nGBX46DYTdRcz5yTZzjpdNSggy4nZwTgcE7rCczQrWqIHEGz6ncPP992rLPajufptO5HUBu4zpvWRWGBCoSzd-TEA02FpI_Q7WPiyxG1B_JnMYhYcuTH6F/s1600/DSC_0269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdw6h3u10VPKho-N3sWoEZQ0nGBX46DYTdRcz5yTZzjpdNSggy4nZwTgcE7rCczQrWqIHEGz6ncPP992rLPajufptO5HUBu4zpvWRWGBCoSzd-TEA02FpI_Q7WPiyxG1B_JnMYhYcuTH6F/s200/DSC_0269.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ok. Big weekend. We had made plans to go hike in les Gorges de l'Ardèche three weeks before, and to prepare for our adventure I got up Friday and went and got my hair cut. That was an experience. The hairdresser was very professional and quick, I was in awe pretty much the whole time she was working on my hair. For 20€ (including a tip) I was really happy! Content, even! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtQF0FYRulfxOHWzTcuccMMNTNCaa1iiwDJVL7NYuF4tauwiUdCToC8k-R9BkrtnttDMCCLacFfRCXA8AHb6PI2uMIjkb4_oEArXk3eRKBmVxCgCaqabnLO3WVs5pM9cba7y-9Wo7Cqgf/s1600/DSC_0303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtQF0FYRulfxOHWzTcuccMMNTNCaa1iiwDJVL7NYuF4tauwiUdCToC8k-R9BkrtnttDMCCLacFfRCXA8AHb6PI2uMIjkb4_oEArXk3eRKBmVxCgCaqabnLO3WVs5pM9cba7y-9Wo7Cqgf/s200/DSC_0303.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglD6EEhLzQaxy4EVhzzCSo7xs15AxQY0607f6YbLMMtVwa6LoSX5CCobyTaK7TmZ5GJERPmm3d7lQBb-_KlFAVRWoC6VY52SxDF2RZUPBHaWWGsbhQYtAEbRMftXIcRC6nGBD9zQrRFd7S/s1600/DSC_0282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglD6EEhLzQaxy4EVhzzCSo7xs15AxQY0607f6YbLMMtVwa6LoSX5CCobyTaK7TmZ5GJERPmm3d7lQBb-_KlFAVRWoC6VY52SxDF2RZUPBHaWWGsbhQYtAEbRMftXIcRC6nGBD9zQrRFd7S/s200/DSC_0282.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Instead of waking up super early Saturday morning and heading south we decided to go down Friday night so we could get a good night's sleep and then get up whenever we wanted to go hiking. We hit up McDonald's and then Thibaut drove Alex, Guillemette and me out to Guillemette's little cottage-like home on a camp ground. We got there pretty late, so I didn't get a good look at where we were exactly, but in the morning I was pleasantly surprised!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was beautiful outside. The weather was really, really nice. Sunny and practically warm. The cottage was super charming, with the one downside being placed right after the take off/landing of a local airway...they were just little two seater planes, but we all had the pleasure of hearing three of them pass right over the house.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_3dq91OfwFKOIgTPDk_3OA-VzsqKROMp1C5hERYyO2yDXlots4VUvMqkLE8DfjlKdrJ5I6yIH_9LlreozESpgaocJVm2v0ACC28YZ1LocdIbrsF-CqSmtwykEYTXsGcvdM6VPxcq_UZl/s1600/DSC_0308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_3dq91OfwFKOIgTPDk_3OA-VzsqKROMp1C5hERYyO2yDXlots4VUvMqkLE8DfjlKdrJ5I6yIH_9LlreozESpgaocJVm2v0ACC28YZ1LocdIbrsF-CqSmtwykEYTXsGcvdM6VPxcq_UZl/s200/DSC_0308.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmxWAvMUtVr0orwpVCADLBPxQmWo9ZKB9wXFQEe4HSz3S6MDs9LTSKfRLMdLQIsHblUu4ARZuq4Rx7K4lhW1WfT67dMduuD1YVS_Zyk8E1B9g0K70WjuG8pMmUGNRdrQA2C4SUtD-5OZ_/s1600/DSC_0316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmxWAvMUtVr0orwpVCADLBPxQmWo9ZKB9wXFQEe4HSz3S6MDs9LTSKfRLMdLQIsHblUu4ARZuq4Rx7K4lhW1WfT67dMduuD1YVS_Zyk8E1B9g0K70WjuG8pMmUGNRdrQA2C4SUtD-5OZ_/s200/DSC_0316.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We ate a quick breakfast of fresh croissants and pain au chocolat (that's chocolate bread, not chocolate pain). The town was called Ruons, and turns out one of my colleague's parents live there! I never saw them. That'd be weird. Anyway, while we were in town we decided to walk around the "vielle ville" which is like the old part of town. It was really pretty with all the old architecture and structures, even though small, it was very peaceful. Afterwards we and went to get groceries for the lunch. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasJF0yNe9Nn1qtVwzqnSzq-w8-_Os310Q7TBfYMfZrC-co_tz_S-xbzjTaZlczjtNXStpcGTAFc7PXrXr77xvhe8qRc-ALCGqHren7682ISy_hWUiS1TD-LRw7fYy-xbjwrBVdz2vzA-B/s1600/DSC_0351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasJF0yNe9Nn1qtVwzqnSzq-w8-_Os310Q7TBfYMfZrC-co_tz_S-xbzjTaZlczjtNXStpcGTAFc7PXrXr77xvhe8qRc-ALCGqHren7682ISy_hWUiS1TD-LRw7fYy-xbjwrBVdz2vzA-B/s200/DSC_0351.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We were loaded up and ready for an energy boost. Above the parking lot there was this rock formation that we climbed up and ate on top of. Not the most comfortable setting for a lunch, but the view was beautiful. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1GdJiUuF5Vzlhp77uoK0REFSjIiBmvhS3K0ulSKCS1dud9XoB_GtpARhbQWY2CSS3yAQCZe6woXtOWnkLLMIh9E9IpmSkDpMTQ-QjsBbNSn2zNOrOsa74hpzFQ32lZCpn1QryeDwjWOTI/s1600/DSC_0355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1GdJiUuF5Vzlhp77uoK0REFSjIiBmvhS3K0ulSKCS1dud9XoB_GtpARhbQWY2CSS3yAQCZe6woXtOWnkLLMIh9E9IpmSkDpMTQ-QjsBbNSn2zNOrOsa74hpzFQ32lZCpn1QryeDwjWOTI/s200/DSC_0355.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From there we hiked down through another little town called Labeaume, across a bridge, and into the wilderness. It wasn't a very difficult path, but there was an occasional rocky part that you had to be wary of. We walked passed several clusters of summer homes that people rent out, and also a few farms. What a life that would be! I can't imagine it. The simplicity would be too much for me. Ha!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpy6nOrCMKuQG9nkJavlBCNGIHUVJQbwZ5GQFCa3zhEmJwCWyG_5o4yNtzUfdpYsZHmos6rbR8VA_vTaCUa0kHNdKv_Q4jb6xqIbGj9TBv2Pzmr8DlwaNnLJ0fArHSK78BbyoNITE6ae9/s1600/DSC_0417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpy6nOrCMKuQG9nkJavlBCNGIHUVJQbwZ5GQFCa3zhEmJwCWyG_5o4yNtzUfdpYsZHmos6rbR8VA_vTaCUa0kHNdKv_Q4jb6xqIbGj9TBv2Pzmr8DlwaNnLJ0fArHSK78BbyoNITE6ae9/s200/DSC_0417.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbI7hvhZKrh7VwMDHFdPUo9KP1NFueXw8c1oYlV8qVKK7rusQrJEwrT1IaEkiCzvx_owftpjwHLGBZ_nRGDzb4-TF53jYAkkITBmb0n8tSKqn5DLYRaWIfa4cJjEKj3RwqBJ8-sKdygAu/s1600/DSC_0438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbI7hvhZKrh7VwMDHFdPUo9KP1NFueXw8c1oYlV8qVKK7rusQrJEwrT1IaEkiCzvx_owftpjwHLGBZ_nRGDzb4-TF53jYAkkITBmb0n8tSKqn5DLYRaWIfa4cJjEKj3RwqBJ8-sKdygAu/s200/DSC_0438.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNDSQFOXGIEFY8gtnmx7c19OFRBU4r7VV4BgMwj99YgwkNixdelO7PV9fPsCMIaeNgP07PWXYgRZfWwciMttn4emHQck_Tw289th0LCuFNVHA0L_7IGOKO0oPKZfx0PvCfGO4ocz03WtS/s1600/DSC_0421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNDSQFOXGIEFY8gtnmx7c19OFRBU4r7VV4BgMwj99YgwkNixdelO7PV9fPsCMIaeNgP07PWXYgRZfWwciMttn4emHQck_Tw289th0LCuFNVHA0L_7IGOKO0oPKZfx0PvCfGO4ocz03WtS/s200/DSC_0421.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZm9sI_17A13DNy5A65tNCrqp-ch5Rr00xdkeaEIF0ejccRXZaJKS4__tvAOAhNaryiPlB24HlCRmi669CqvGpL9xjZIP1BJydAM5Pf40Lt6XLE9q7Pb88QQs4OxaCKvBzgQTI1Wxp5GJm/s1600/DSC_0427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZm9sI_17A13DNy5A65tNCrqp-ch5Rr00xdkeaEIF0ejccRXZaJKS4__tvAOAhNaryiPlB24HlCRmi669CqvGpL9xjZIP1BJydAM5Pf40Lt6XLE9q7Pb88QQs4OxaCKvBzgQTI1Wxp5GJm/s200/DSC_0427.JPG" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZ1y2Q9RgUT9lZqcKaG5ixK3T1xD0Bs1j4lmwJoytJO0GDfTovjASHfAfZOiCN6850AA0tk4NatwCIfo3LHZU4FgOectg7UcFMxoLPSnMoJN9Erqu1yNWrVdbWb1y9vzreJ0sSBUMDFbK/s1600/DSC_0403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZ1y2Q9RgUT9lZqcKaG5ixK3T1xD0Bs1j4lmwJoytJO0GDfTovjASHfAfZOiCN6850AA0tk4NatwCIfo3LHZU4FgOectg7UcFMxoLPSnMoJN9Erqu1yNWrVdbWb1y9vzreJ0sSBUMDFbK/s200/DSC_0403.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We saw goats, dogs, cows, and pony's, which we fed, which was fun. On our way to see a castle that turned out to be off limits to the public, we passed by this fruit tree that looked like it was growing tomatoes. They even felt like tomatoes. I'd never seen or tasted anything like that, so I plucked one off the tree and Thibaut cut it up. It was SO good. After a quick Google search I figured out it's called persimmon, in French "kaki". Fun fact: it's what the Greek referred to when they talked about the nectar of the gods! It tasted like a plum mixed with a fig or a date. In fact, "persimmon" is derived from the Persian word </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">خرمالو </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">which literally means "date plum" (stolen directly off of wikipedia)! Can I just accent how good they are? So. Good. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9uSGfcz4aRqACtV7AJ7iEUGs51jj0Oe287BWL6qk1tNZn-LWnapduLZlyKpK8MiGURAd4_ocjVOoeJvNroocPEXLr8I8ZSjzNsOvhv9XMXr_eGczUXt63FO27Ix5u2037H2-M9Rv6Fby/s1600/DSC_0429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9uSGfcz4aRqACtV7AJ7iEUGs51jj0Oe287BWL6qk1tNZn-LWnapduLZlyKpK8MiGURAd4_ocjVOoeJvNroocPEXLr8I8ZSjzNsOvhv9XMXr_eGczUXt63FO27Ix5u2037H2-M9Rv6Fby/s200/DSC_0429.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-YB05y28eZAqWOL77xQJMRobDbYwlk8qjpWI2TFF_-GEO5xVjyJJLZLsubhbdNu2_g4s1MkaIhHI_VeQSf7B-JuhU7C263KRwjPtdtvcuoHANJVEDQtXCmlNk9VwXXsXQ8yS9FDaeSw4/s1600/DSC_0471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-YB05y28eZAqWOL77xQJMRobDbYwlk8qjpWI2TFF_-GEO5xVjyJJLZLsubhbdNu2_g4s1MkaIhHI_VeQSf7B-JuhU7C263KRwjPtdtvcuoHANJVEDQtXCmlNk9VwXXsXQ8yS9FDaeSw4/s200/DSC_0471.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsyMVLg6AfzwhWjzFuhnOZqIyBUtQ5fq3wILpAm3iQzEKv_jzhANmHJrklJD1BBllK_QCeDyn1RMsPSfgKbKHxcEx6c9pa5vZ7rThbTqp3AE7bnoWP3ga3JOWcRaxlxo2iQiDFg_fn8haP/s1600/DSC_0478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsyMVLg6AfzwhWjzFuhnOZqIyBUtQ5fq3wILpAm3iQzEKv_jzhANmHJrklJD1BBllK_QCeDyn1RMsPSfgKbKHxcEx6c9pa5vZ7rThbTqp3AE7bnoWP3ga3JOWcRaxlxo2iQiDFg_fn8haP/s200/DSC_0478.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We walked this loop of about 10 or 11 km, and headed back to the cottage for dinner. Before eating, Alex pulled a great prank on me. I was completely unaware the French were capable of such things, but was soon at the receiving end of an ice bath. There was lavender under the deck in front of the cottage, and when we got back he was like "hey you should smell that lavender!" When I bent down to smell it, he pushed up on the awning over the deck that had collected a bunch of water and it all came down on my back - ice. cold. It took me a couple seconds to recuperate, but when I did I laughed and had them take a picture, with my camera that had been around my neck at the time of the soaking but was luckily protected from the water as I bent over it. We all shared a laugh and Thibaut offered me a new shirt to wear for the night.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqZalhGKg8O1sg6ol-E34Uz_ZQcEC2Ac2zQwRJvWx6lrnxnJRKqygQsEJrrwtb_t53E3qyFJjFJrZyzXauaKpm7j20Ha0GwbuhCRU7xINvLICFVN_6RLueDX8aKZX2oxQRg6Y-_g7KRAf/s1600/DSC_0527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqZalhGKg8O1sg6ol-E34Uz_ZQcEC2Ac2zQwRJvWx6lrnxnJRKqygQsEJrrwtb_t53E3qyFJjFJrZyzXauaKpm7j20Ha0GwbuhCRU7xINvLICFVN_6RLueDX8aKZX2oxQRg6Y-_g7KRAf/s200/DSC_0527.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">taking a picture!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gzHt8mFQnCyva8fArd8boY4iCe6_yUm1HNNwLvYnnj_g__CdHzU0hLzmp_TeILCUNLPkdncEDU0urWv-xiUEf0-EzL64LHuCoivFBNi7zCKYroAOL7e40ZYvg0E4iL3FJ6w9grb5MYKe/s1600/384576_2372741393940_1112683692_32256313_867001182_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gzHt8mFQnCyva8fArd8boY4iCe6_yUm1HNNwLvYnnj_g__CdHzU0hLzmp_TeILCUNLPkdncEDU0urWv-xiUEf0-EzL64LHuCoivFBNi7zCKYroAOL7e40ZYvg0E4iL3FJ6w9grb5MYKe/s200/384576_2372741393940_1112683692_32256313_867001182_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">alex taking a picture of me...</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKn6tgjRyiKGtEwBwtSUQ3_aQ56KRGpmCncp05vUyjmas4iz2h3AoKjs-N-UdPOYGIN_7rbNghv2lyjJeQRxr8vee6r6JS0edzTlYTtc5C3A1zCls3nvQL2rRgAJWLfJxjO_K0jW3zQ_q-/s1600/DSC_0528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKn6tgjRyiKGtEwBwtSUQ3_aQ56KRGpmCncp05vUyjmas4iz2h3AoKjs-N-UdPOYGIN_7rbNghv2lyjJeQRxr8vee6r6JS0edzTlYTtc5C3A1zCls3nvQL2rRgAJWLfJxjO_K0jW3zQ_q-/s200/DSC_0528.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It had been a while since we had eaten, so we prepared dinner - pasta and cheese and hotdogs. It was delicious, and not far from home! After we were well filled we watched the French version of Dinner For Schmucks, which I only understand about half of. It was still really funny though!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTF2pjfEfby6cLSYw-h5POFscz402LYmEtxWCsFX4KSObrbmd9UkIz6VwEYbb0x8c3r65cLdVF0u0FS1-LL1_Ta6wplb7MuPNYUprQFLhSIWMy7dhSyWLnTb9tnovEohJd1XvIclzcr6g/s1600/DSC_0544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTF2pjfEfby6cLSYw-h5POFscz402LYmEtxWCsFX4KSObrbmd9UkIz6VwEYbb0x8c3r65cLdVF0u0FS1-LL1_Ta6wplb7MuPNYUprQFLhSIWMy7dhSyWLnTb9tnovEohJd1XvIclzcr6g/s200/DSC_0544.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sunday morning we all woke up and ate breakfast like we had the day before, cleaned up a bit, and headed up to climb up to this radio tower that looks over the area. It was pretty fun; I got some good pictures, and Alex got some pictures of me taking pictures! We found a little cave, and played with death on the edge of a cliff. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRLlmC8AfFvy-YOlcNERFvumH-CvXZDXJ49eT7gYWaS8uVfSg9IgP91hUI-c2TBjSLJisSWscBhVDTISvYtWAQDK0yrYVoNVEBE2DZCal0N9zH-aTtET4zELp5Qhc7Zgb3XRahnqWNtlCT/s1600/DSC_0551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRLlmC8AfFvy-YOlcNERFvumH-CvXZDXJ49eT7gYWaS8uVfSg9IgP91hUI-c2TBjSLJisSWscBhVDTISvYtWAQDK0yrYVoNVEBE2DZCal0N9zH-aTtET4zELp5Qhc7Zgb3XRahnqWNtlCT/s200/DSC_0551.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We drove back down and headed towards this giant monument of southern France called the Pont d'Arc, which is an enormous land bridge that the river l'Ardèche carved through erosion (obviously it wasn't dynamite or lasers) thousands of years ago. Its size and beauty is, like most things here, impossible to just take a picture of and say "get it?!" You have to go and see for yourself. I will gladly be your tour guide!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSFAYCoYr9FEfIppMIQU1YByUNOh9shTOHFw6AzaMkSPE3muzcoO8L9a1W5B7PkXI02LGgfcMpExa5es7GQug3rQdqdOUUKkrvYqtfGl4sKqKZjfvs6SCvmlIm_BjHcQsfJ8zSvFCBbKs/s1600/DSC_0559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSFAYCoYr9FEfIppMIQU1YByUNOh9shTOHFw6AzaMkSPE3muzcoO8L9a1W5B7PkXI02LGgfcMpExa5es7GQug3rQdqdOUUKkrvYqtfGl4sKqKZjfvs6SCvmlIm_BjHcQsfJ8zSvFCBbKs/s200/DSC_0559.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After dining on the beaches of the Pont d'Arc we walked up the street and found a path that we thought we lead us to a look out point over the area, but we ended up just walking into the middle of nowhere, so we turned upwards towards this rock slide and sat down for a while before turning around and going back to the car. Everyone was pretty satisfied with the day's hike, and by satisfied I mean whipped.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We got back to the cottage, cleaned up completely and packed everything before we said our goodbyes. To the cottage, that is. I got back that night totally drained, and wasn't too excited to get up and work the next morning. Alas, I don't really have a choice in the matter, and it's not half as bad as I make it out to be. That concludes that week though, so I'm off to bed! I'm almost caught up, there's just the week after this and now this week (5/12 - 11/12) and then it's all good. Awesome. Ok bye!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-81365278651852780892011-12-06T19:47:00.001+01:002011-12-09T17:49:25.155+01:00Oh My Update... 1/3Week one of three I have to catch the world up one...here goes...the only downside of not updating regularly is that after a while I decide it's not worth the pain of editing any pictures and so I just post them raw. Can't even explain the advantage in boosting levels, even just a little makes such a difference.<br />
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ANYway.<br />
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This week (from what I remember) was pretty legendary. Starting from Wednesday. On Monday I went to school and then that night was looking forward to getting my license to play volleyball, only to show up and them not have it. We had a match that Wednesday, so I was a little worried I wouldn't get to play. A quick chat with my capitan (Maddy) put my ease - she would have it for when I showed up for the match.<br />
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I would've stuck around to watch the rest of the match but I was already tired and knew it wouldn't finish till late, so I headed home and probably got on Facebook until late anyway. Tuesdays for me are getting harder and harder to remember because there isn't really anything special about them except that it's my Friday. But because I have to work on Wednesdays I don't ever go out or leave town on Tuesday so I usually just keep it pretty relaxed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">headhot. twice.</td></tr>
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Wednesday was great. Thomas and I had as much fun as we usually do, and afterwards I went home to find Skyrim waiting for me. Fun fact : import tax of a video game from the U.S. are about 33€. That brought my grand total from a $60 game plus a $30 shipping fee to $134 with the $44 import tax. The good news is that I'm rolling in the dough over here so I can afford to drop that kind of money on a game - even if I really wasn't expecting to and am still a little pissed about it.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbZsiBd7KWIUAGCeQWfhT8THoNX3RrAXl7vWO4-VybaQeUiZeZ3h0hTorbwRNkQ5kpdN0bHN1H74hm8pZP_1bNHSmJqsfNNKL0iaKKC3Ub3gib-EGefqjGF4yxvbZZ180UlB956zOYVqD/s1600/DSC_0178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbZsiBd7KWIUAGCeQWfhT8THoNX3RrAXl7vWO4-VybaQeUiZeZ3h0hTorbwRNkQ5kpdN0bHN1H74hm8pZP_1bNHSmJqsfNNKL0iaKKC3Ub3gib-EGefqjGF4yxvbZZ180UlB956zOYVqD/s200/DSC_0178.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
Anyway, like I said earlier we had a match that night so I didn't get to play all night like I was hoping to. We had an awesome time at the match though, I didn't play too bad for my first time. I even finished the game with a left handed kill! Afterwards, like usual, we all changed and showered and headed out to the lobby where they fed us. By then it was already 10:30, and we didn't even up leaving until probably after 12 and didn't get home until 1 ish. Good thing I don't work Thursdays!<br />
<br />
From my Cliff Notes on what I did Thursday apparently all I did was play Skyrim until I had volleyball practice at 8 that night. Wouldn't surprise me.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEB3yMlEBaMC8SMrbnCqH6J36dVZ53on4L180Aqfp4m_SAxgneeq_ETc53zxcuWER7sUX8TXg7lmtk0h_AnNdBFDUL_T31uhIHHBO2K9F5W0ZELC5Zo8G82owfRBsnnBOpl5PwfGP2CdV/s1600/DSC_0154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEB3yMlEBaMC8SMrbnCqH6J36dVZ53on4L180Aqfp4m_SAxgneeq_ETc53zxcuWER7sUX8TXg7lmtk0h_AnNdBFDUL_T31uhIHHBO2K9F5W0ZELC5Zo8G82owfRBsnnBOpl5PwfGP2CdV/s200/DSC_0154.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZmwIzyNexRLQsXewZhzLRGc5au_ExTAFW5Y3gCycbU1rmMu-gv2C3ad9Em_OW4ajblM-HU8z9SioJ9gnP5nAOYIEvg94Ss8dAdF24bNRBNHVy5hDPXZtuJzUvHrD0kyMLIC7S5yp0WF4/s1600/DSC_0142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZmwIzyNexRLQsXewZhzLRGc5au_ExTAFW5Y3gCycbU1rmMu-gv2C3ad9Em_OW4ajblM-HU8z9SioJ9gnP5nAOYIEvg94Ss8dAdF24bNRBNHVy5hDPXZtuJzUvHrD0kyMLIC7S5yp0WF4/s200/DSC_0142.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGXJY6ORN5pEvobSfLlESCwwgzzKzkTI_m8JpspvibCuZgrPmm-wpBS_FY49C1d4wwD7PXn_qwV28oxvBnKGNylY6QJ9eBSENbZiLQ9rzDvk3jHqFa5R7AQzFMWfN4qVriYv3XsyJENCz/s1600/DSC_0158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGXJY6ORN5pEvobSfLlESCwwgzzKzkTI_m8JpspvibCuZgrPmm-wpBS_FY49C1d4wwD7PXn_qwV28oxvBnKGNylY6QJ9eBSENbZiLQ9rzDvk3jHqFa5R7AQzFMWfN4qVriYv3XsyJENCz/s200/DSC_0158.JPG" width="132" /></a>Friday was a lot more productive. Alex and I were planning on going to this Musée de l'Alambic, a distillery in St. Désirat, just 20 minutes or so down into the valley. There's a free tour you walk yourself through where you see really old parts of the distillery (which is still in production by the way), and then at the end you can buy products and whatnot. They make a really strong alcohol called eau de vie, which you drink a little bit of after a meal. There were a million different shaped bottles and holders and it was really impressive, including sealed bottles with whole fruits in them!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZMHNd5_-szWOBMJmwuNlOoi8lx9MTKb_laJsPnnuZoP6yTo9P4PV0yrxe-4mwhYw1d4BIW_MxxGlmKUAAYaxoRKClw3P-xDs3Q1R1S6Hi92q4axGE2OThFFmsB8-kLFeXPDVEZA9ZDJd/s1600/DSC_0174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZMHNd5_-szWOBMJmwuNlOoi8lx9MTKb_laJsPnnuZoP6yTo9P4PV0yrxe-4mwhYw1d4BIW_MxxGlmKUAAYaxoRKClw3P-xDs3Q1R1S6Hi92q4axGE2OThFFmsB8-kLFeXPDVEZA9ZDJd/s200/DSC_0174.JPG" width="132" /></a><br />
We walked around, saw this little video, and continued on our way until we were in the gift shop. Wall to wall bottles of alcohol. It was really fun, but we didn't buy anything.<br />
<br />
I was really excited to put pictures up from the musée the next day. So excited, in fact, that I left my camera on all night instead of turning it off after I was done transferring the pictures. Which only takes like 2 minutes, max. So the next day, when Alex, Thibaut, and I all went hiking in Pilat I was pissed because my camera dead. I managed to get a couple pictures before it completely died, so here are those. I'll just steal some Alex's and hope he doesn't sue me :) <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BYzCCEByR2KSfRAgbXfToBxzKtfLg7KrdGhShFgQbHzqIkDqT9B-q9KGwhAcMn3eFRA3LUmA2SrTlYIy-clXPrmUVXW_Tr4gnVQc1Wd1ArllvX2SeDAflbzeUFyK46gopgjqriS-NH3n/s1600/DSC_0177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BYzCCEByR2KSfRAgbXfToBxzKtfLg7KrdGhShFgQbHzqIkDqT9B-q9KGwhAcMn3eFRA3LUmA2SrTlYIy-clXPrmUVXW_Tr4gnVQc1Wd1ArllvX2SeDAflbzeUFyK46gopgjqriS-NH3n/s200/DSC_0177.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSFAkFlEeAeFzRAQQ1g-aGsWmjKfDyNhfbJYxmCvuymJK23WqjUjPgh_CraYavQXpCioMa25qF8qkTMZ97ZIgbi-vz7d1LB9-OrntwDwqXJFL0y4B7kdaK0CqGLtLFkvID9_lY1zCvrCw/s1600/DSC_0179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSFAkFlEeAeFzRAQQ1g-aGsWmjKfDyNhfbJYxmCvuymJK23WqjUjPgh_CraYavQXpCioMa25qF8qkTMZ97ZIgbi-vz7d1LB9-OrntwDwqXJFL0y4B7kdaK0CqGLtLFkvID9_lY1zCvrCw/s200/DSC_0179.JPG" width="132" /></a>The hike was great, with a wide range of difficulty of trails. When we first started, we were just walking on pretty much flat dirt into the forest. As soon as we passed the tree line, however, we were walking straight rocks the size of...large potatoes. Our first hike took us the highest point in Ardèche, where we could see several cities and villages in the surrounding area. We even saw Mt. Blanc, the tallest mountain in Europe, but no one was successful in capturing it on film. Or digitally, for that matter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskK5mZKH-DuRcNAzmAdrzlfGtKXK8BBu5o4NfK8CtGeFvpJcwp0DnFHM3cuSVS17L3p7T066PPe9jQ9_NC8kztrJ0XiNMWmwBsQIOJGe4UO2zZuQxdPFHp3RYLXvpmGmynbsf4o2D_y8a/s1600/389913_2332674752299_1112683692_32237748_539594934_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskK5mZKH-DuRcNAzmAdrzlfGtKXK8BBu5o4NfK8CtGeFvpJcwp0DnFHM3cuSVS17L3p7T066PPe9jQ9_NC8kztrJ0XiNMWmwBsQIOJGe4UO2zZuQxdPFHp3RYLXvpmGmynbsf4o2D_y8a/s200/389913_2332674752299_1112683692_32237748_539594934_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWQjQZlJrXMbKTzZw0ELSFc5BzK4sTwNUngTKRkHjt_3wjJFZlmdEGi7T2d5cNt6Mdcr0Wn8vIHdoZbfl3b3p4q034J8ur7mhDM4C_OjPWFeGHe-MXzMfH5aWpZ8MCNN_aggZgMjVqV_B/s1600/DSC_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWQjQZlJrXMbKTzZw0ELSFc5BzK4sTwNUngTKRkHjt_3wjJFZlmdEGi7T2d5cNt6Mdcr0Wn8vIHdoZbfl3b3p4q034J8ur7mhDM4C_OjPWFeGHe-MXzMfH5aWpZ8MCNN_aggZgMjVqV_B/s200/DSC_0189.JPG" width="200" /></a>We came back to where we had parked for a little picnic. I feel like I should clarify though. It was freezing cold, and the wind was blowing like no one's business. So when I say we "picnicked," I mean we sat in the shelter of a barn on a large wooden pallet and huddled together to keep warm while we split a baguette and some fruit juice. Just had to throw that out there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTemkYzb9Yd7ubJl_5DxhLKe5zl1gcqaXl6C6EqAbmNhu2P3xT4Cv_CIZtXzMOHkRJ65KfP6aNCPubnUXrrpKwKG4d9fRtOkUNVAGKZmdbjpNZhVmlq4whf_BYKj4OZsMYLU85_nbAXCL6/s1600/376881_2332669912178_1112683692_32237740_911624303_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTemkYzb9Yd7ubJl_5DxhLKe5zl1gcqaXl6C6EqAbmNhu2P3xT4Cv_CIZtXzMOHkRJ65KfP6aNCPubnUXrrpKwKG4d9fRtOkUNVAGKZmdbjpNZhVmlq4whf_BYKj4OZsMYLU85_nbAXCL6/s200/376881_2332669912178_1112683692_32237740_911624303_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaRiWp7zCpiqlEpQmbD96zz2fHEtvf5C0LAWN3n5rUqde07_0tvh9b8qt8dPfsY8P2WOA1HBoU_-ofjrYNqrXIA8lin6w_F1HSp_FQJrxZUlVwXhSxbVAXt2z4LGE4AKhwi-dvoE-0VpQ/s1600/389007_2332656271837_1112683692_32237721_1618410492_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaRiWp7zCpiqlEpQmbD96zz2fHEtvf5C0LAWN3n5rUqde07_0tvh9b8qt8dPfsY8P2WOA1HBoU_-ofjrYNqrXIA8lin6w_F1HSp_FQJrxZUlVwXhSxbVAXt2z4LGE4AKhwi-dvoE-0VpQ/s200/389007_2332656271837_1112683692_32237721_1618410492_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGFuwp_MXba3fA6sYhfH4NHtnd72X4_kcGtr695zrS3HSLUd5Gh8r5q8Fb74Q7wcS8qXuYy5C0nmLO3NBk0bY2VPWlCGWAO1vV2yhV-oMf1SCAaQOQSE-7T-eK_x3CC9idSaX1sjLmfHy/s1600/310585_2332675312313_1112683692_32237749_2125952770_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGFuwp_MXba3fA6sYhfH4NHtnd72X4_kcGtr695zrS3HSLUd5Gh8r5q8Fb74Q7wcS8qXuYy5C0nmLO3NBk0bY2VPWlCGWAO1vV2yhV-oMf1SCAaQOQSE-7T-eK_x3CC9idSaX1sjLmfHy/s200/310585_2332675312313_1112683692_32237749_2125952770_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>After lunch we started our second hike. This one was about 23 times harder than the first one. We pretty much hiked straight down a set of stairs made of jagged rocks and tree roots. It was awesome. When we reached the bottom, we followed a stream up to this beautiful waterfall. We goofed off a little bite in front of it and then instead of climbing back up from where we came we took an even harder route up this rock slide of giant, moss covered limestone. Then we had to climb back up the vertical trail of death. Basically I died, but it was really nice to be outside after having playing Skyrim already for hours in my cave of a bedroom.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOV2im-I2LmU7frAdL35BaPdkvdmlpj5Y71JPxsA6-ILMPlnQYlXlKZhlO-FciiQ9n88Rw2sASxmXJSU1dKVttZ_l5DNTtSsE5qdEOFdSVSEHFceEK2JznCzbwVdbM0GvI7Dd2SJgSmbP/s1600/381102_2332697952879_1112683692_32237760_169944942_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOV2im-I2LmU7frAdL35BaPdkvdmlpj5Y71JPxsA6-ILMPlnQYlXlKZhlO-FciiQ9n88Rw2sASxmXJSU1dKVttZ_l5DNTtSsE5qdEOFdSVSEHFceEK2JznCzbwVdbM0GvI7Dd2SJgSmbP/s200/381102_2332697952879_1112683692_32237760_169944942_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
We parted ways with Thibaut unfortunately, and Alex and I headed to St. Étienne to party it up at Romain's place. Which we did quite well, I might add. I think something crazy happens every time I go there, it's great. On that night, I met an LDS girl who happens to be friends with Romain and them and she came. Small world! She went home early so we didn't get to talk much, but she's way cool.<br />
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On Sunday I followed my friends to this warehouse like building where a bunch of universities and companies had booths set up to advertise themselves. We went home after a while and I'm pretty sure I just kicked back and tried to recover from the combination of lack of sleep and extreme boulder climbing.<br />
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On to the next week!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-57219979804605572582011-11-17T17:57:00.001+01:002011-12-06T19:47:21.576+01:00Back To Work...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After my jam-packed weekend with the models I was done with vacation and was back to the work life. By that I mean back to working only Mondays and Tuesdays. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After my first day back on Monday (which I'm starting to like more and more as I get to know the kids and teachers better) we had our first volleyball match of the season that I couldn't play in because I didn't have my license yet. I went anyway and kept score of the game (we don't have official refs or anything, usually the home team provides a ref/score keeper), and then afterwards we brought out a bunch of food to eat together, both the home and away teams. I was super surprised to find out, however, that we had started at 8 and the match didn't get over until 11:00! And THEN we ate. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By the time I was back home it was about 12:30, and I was already whipped and therefore not looking forward to having to wake up early the next morning for work. I sent Isabelle a text that said I would just bike to school the next morning, so she didn't have to wait for me to give me a ride, which gave me a few extra minutes of sleep.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The next morning was pouring rain. I woke up too late to ask for a ride, so I was stuck with my bike. I was drenched and freezing cold when I got to school. I left my bike there at Van Gogh (the name of the school) and caught the bus to Vissenty for the afternoon. It had stopped raining when we were done so Isabelle took me to my bike and I rode it home, after which I have no recollection of what I did o_O </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On Wednesday I was planning on meeting up with Holly in town for a bite to eat and was really looking forward to sleeping in, when and I woke up to a text from Fabienne that said she would pick me up in 15 minutes. I had totally forgotten that I was supposed to teach Thomas that day. Everything worked out though, because Holly wasn't able to make it into to town till later that afternoon anyway. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So after a couple hours basically just hanging out with Thomas and eating a delicious lunch Fabienne took me home and I took my bike into town to meet up with Holly. We gave Ashley a ring too and we all hung out for a couple hours, getting a drink at a café and unsuccessfully looking for s'mores stuff. That night I think I bought Skyrim on eBay. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On Thursday Ashley and I met up in the afternoon for lunch, but we kept it simple and just got a sandwich from a boulangerie and enjoyed the sun, who had decided to join us for the end of the week. Ashley was prepping to go to Grenoble that weekend to go bungie jumping, so I wished her good luck and I went back home to prepare for my own weekend, starting that night.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzL2MtYemelIEqRt-_cA318uyEqMcqN5miujha-Isd0xROTxCrmH7I95Fn8lt1x3R31Q89hLuNLcb3FR4Bm7ovCDPX0kQurAxGSa-Xs-MNyO4gz29a1aeG3_FdSlUWduba1R2swy82HpdV/s1600/309826_2289489312690_1112683692_32216628_1229607236_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzL2MtYemelIEqRt-_cA318uyEqMcqN5miujha-Isd0xROTxCrmH7I95Fn8lt1x3R31Q89hLuNLcb3FR4Bm7ovCDPX0kQurAxGSa-Xs-MNyO4gz29a1aeG3_FdSlUWduba1R2swy82HpdV/s200/309826_2289489312690_1112683692_32216628_1229607236_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Alex, Marion, Thibaut, Guillemette and I all went down to Valence for this soirée étudiant at a club called Blue Note; basically a huge party for university-aged students. We got there and waited in line for at least an hour before we were finally let in. It was only 6€ for the entry and you got two drink tickets, which was sweet! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Observation: Again, I don't go clubbing very often in the States, but I noticed something cool about this club. Whoever is driving the party gets a special wristband after he or she gives their keys over the counter to someone, who returns the keys only after the driver blows either or 0 alcohol rating or whatever they decide is a reasonable enough number to drive. I think it's 0 though...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5clo9-wr31DqNF6PXu6xk_wlxGvL5t71PNSoZvtY1wmEOa8p2G9b8E1D7EKLerviaH26ApnuCUQD2AYoKghrMa-ywbcbyybQz6L7vSdhgzK71wCq5dLcYfyZ2WPGgjmeXdCi0z9VE8d02/s1600/381746_2289482392517_1112683692_32216612_797939363_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5clo9-wr31DqNF6PXu6xk_wlxGvL5t71PNSoZvtY1wmEOa8p2G9b8E1D7EKLerviaH26ApnuCUQD2AYoKghrMa-ywbcbyybQz6L7vSdhgzK71wCq5dLcYfyZ2WPGgjmeXdCi0z9VE8d02/s200/381746_2289482392517_1112683692_32216612_797939363_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway, the club. was. huge. SO many people there! I wanna say at least a thousand. It was incredible. I loved the atmosphere, minus the crazies. There's always crazies. We partied it up until like 3:45, and were out of there by 4. That's 4 a.m., by the way. After carpooling back to Annonay, Guillemette finally dropped me off at home around 5:30 I think. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I honestly am doing my best to remember what happened on Friday, and I can't come up with anything. Biggest mystery of my life. Apparently I tweeted this "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgba(255, 167, 65, 0.0898438); font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;">I love green apple candy but I'm not that big of a fan of green apples... </span><s class="hash" style="background-color: rgba(255, 167, 65, 0.0898438); display: inline-block; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; opacity: 0.7; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">#</s><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 167, 65, 0.0898438); font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">youcantexplainthat</span>" but have no idea why I did. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6Fef0BUHef_Lj9sjy8neBWUR1Hd3gRoXjk2an6jkVo0JBAO3GunJDQaxfyLBkQevunYgtpC4DgsszAb0mo8K1n0G53YEeSr-ciewkjAclYCul5AIBGb_ijMRZuBXVaD1_p-1iFVvFAUB/s1600/DSC_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6Fef0BUHef_Lj9sjy8neBWUR1Hd3gRoXjk2an6jkVo0JBAO3GunJDQaxfyLBkQevunYgtpC4DgsszAb0mo8K1n0G53YEeSr-ciewkjAclYCul5AIBGb_ijMRZuBXVaD1_p-1iFVvFAUB/s200/DSC_0009.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Saturday was also really fun. In the morning, I got up and biked down into town where they were having this big market for people from all around Ardèche. Even people from Germany and Italy came to sell their goods, it was really cool to walk around and just browse. Turns out one of my team mates, Rémy, had his own booth for selling apple and apricot juice that he makes himself. They were both heavenly, and I look forward to drinking more throughout the year.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Later, in the early afternoon Alex, Thibaut and I did some grocery shopping for that night's soirée raclette. Raclettes are a popular dish that consist of cooked potatoes, melted cheese, and meat. Lots and lots of meat. We had a type of salami, ham, hot dogs, and some other stuff that I either didn't recognize or don't remember the name of.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As we were shopping I saw Skyrim sitting all by its lonesome on the shelf. I held it for a while in awe, but eventually had to move on. I would have the next week, in English...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSot1FKOJq8hSMi0tjp93A50LPfRuyam23c-AJ0kYA-p1XDTfsEltlEXkGcM4wSE9jSaljbG96akBJTHuwbFebGwkLBNNmeu1xvnYrHzX67_BZ5HfjEnsMtNVGDZHwrAeACHW3PUVi2pR/s1600/DSC_0053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSot1FKOJq8hSMi0tjp93A50LPfRuyam23c-AJ0kYA-p1XDTfsEltlEXkGcM4wSE9jSaljbG96akBJTHuwbFebGwkLBNNmeu1xvnYrHzX67_BZ5HfjEnsMtNVGDZHwrAeACHW3PUVi2pR/s200/DSC_0053.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After taking care of the groceries we met up with Guillemette and Océane by chance at the wedding store in Annonay for a few minutes before heading out to St. Victor where the garçons live. I got to meet Alex's mom, dad, and sister at his house, which is super nice, and we all enjoyed a glass of locally bottled apple juice, which was devine. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH5zdzfuFWJ-76H5rrnczhGKVrMrUY9o713g80gn2oFKPlAR2nb5OzRn_yJDngHHCLdxPaaImLB0VBLQzPWI6f4CMHd9f8_6KjOPKVL5mzq6rZ7cheJLp4RO4ydiZMfbeRoHwFC0aj21yl/s1600/DSC_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH5zdzfuFWJ-76H5rrnczhGKVrMrUY9o713g80gn2oFKPlAR2nb5OzRn_yJDngHHCLdxPaaImLB0VBLQzPWI6f4CMHd9f8_6KjOPKVL5mzq6rZ7cheJLp4RO4ydiZMfbeRoHwFC0aj21yl/s200/DSC_0050.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We grabbed his raclette machine, which melts cheese in little trays and then cooks meat on top, and then headed out towards Thibaut's house. We stopped though at this little turf soccer field that had basketball hoops to kick/shoot around as we waited for the girls to get ready and come over. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_dG_p7hFMr1e-s9UFOE2oDjZeYu_cfmnJ6DvX8Je43qLwWYGpnDMvULBnEc6QaTnUuBYS5IrMCmCqqZOTG6Lvqs-sc7cXBCY3Me0WjSN4Nyx093NGRc7DiWyh4SYe_LfTsfVUElrYadN/s1600/DSC_0056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_dG_p7hFMr1e-s9UFOE2oDjZeYu_cfmnJ6DvX8Je43qLwWYGpnDMvULBnEc6QaTnUuBYS5IrMCmCqqZOTG6Lvqs-sc7cXBCY3Me0WjSN4Nyx093NGRc7DiWyh4SYe_LfTsfVUElrYadN/s200/DSC_0056.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3psvSlxWVzUF4zjCIAVcskjrqQ8WstS0BKque64g5kX83e3vgTQP_LKYfcxvO80COLtZZNA6bp5oPnx8HWIvqm2saWMgvBnGOJuD510rTCcOfnEe-oePr1Vbv-Ka-cR4SpwHcoJuWZ6Xt/s1600/DSC_0057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3psvSlxWVzUF4zjCIAVcskjrqQ8WstS0BKque64g5kX83e3vgTQP_LKYfcxvO80COLtZZNA6bp5oPnx8HWIvqm2saWMgvBnGOJuD510rTCcOfnEe-oePr1Vbv-Ka-cR4SpwHcoJuWZ6Xt/s200/DSC_0057.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eventually we ended up at Thibaut's, preparing the potatoes and setting places for everyone. There were seven of us total, including some of their friends and Thibaut's brother Greg, who he lives with. After we were all set, we stuffed ourselves to the brim with potatoes, meat, and cheese. I've never felt so good/bad at the same time. The good news is that it was so delicious I didn't even care. I hope I'm not getting fat...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBL3Dr67azhiQsBe6TTa0eS_hQa7Xg1WI5HmBmJlNxzU11qQXRtw2lueYIHsUlddqzsFH94Ol3_wGHMHHZ70DLzSKPgE35_ysUb6apunrm9EiqXzW28hKrvjr09vI-3epGq8_KaBpnlwYl/s1600/DSC_0064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBL3Dr67azhiQsBe6TTa0eS_hQa7Xg1WI5HmBmJlNxzU11qQXRtw2lueYIHsUlddqzsFH94Ol3_wGHMHHZ70DLzSKPgE35_ysUb6apunrm9EiqXzW28hKrvjr09vI-3epGq8_KaBpnlwYl/s200/DSC_0064.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_16khM2lhyphenhyphenQsX83mi7yFxeYWUScvCIrPnEovYInlZEnGaAt7WaOfpwY7E9MjN3fvLVmAYs3kcFsjEaITLa-Oy_7lsm0HPSVnMgt4pQhUHb6cF-bWTk2itRwmLEyZ2ispEzqz8sxRW0NRZ/s1600/DSC_0062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_16khM2lhyphenhyphenQsX83mi7yFxeYWUScvCIrPnEovYInlZEnGaAt7WaOfpwY7E9MjN3fvLVmAYs3kcFsjEaITLa-Oy_7lsm0HPSVnMgt4pQhUHb6cF-bWTk2itRwmLEyZ2ispEzqz8sxRW0NRZ/s200/DSC_0062.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We started a movie called Sexy Dance 3, which you might know as Step Up 3D. Why the name change? No idea. I thought it was hilarious, and if you would like to laugh you are hereby invited to do so. We didn't get very far into it, as we had plans to go to another party and it was starting to get late. So we headed out to St. Alban to the soirée célibataire, or the party for singles! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was relatively small compared to the club we were at a nights earlier, and 90% of the people there were still in high school. Alex explained to me that it was because most people in that area our age are at their universities during this time of year, which makes sense. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was also much more savage than the club we were at in Valence. There was your typical circle of bros who just push each other around during a song and ruin it for everyone else. I ended up on the ground one time because I got shoved by an unexpected prepubescent hulk of a boy who happened I happened to be standing by at the wrong place at the wrong time. I also witnessed two fights, neither of which slowed nor excited the pace of the party. People pretty much just danced around them until their friends broke it up. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We left around 2:30 to Thibaut's, and then Guillemette once again took me from St. Victor to my cozy home in Davézieux. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ouqEO3jEh1aSwrQryBUAvPvao4l1emYGFECYKesRtcBImg4yC6-RUrcKq0cGnFhwsh13HoBn4zJZW02Z34fR8JlnLZlggbAU4zADB3wVbBfPZfa-OPAfoHKZY4cG7WCsGR7cavFB5TOX/s1600/DSC_0099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ouqEO3jEh1aSwrQryBUAvPvao4l1emYGFECYKesRtcBImg4yC6-RUrcKq0cGnFhwsh13HoBn4zJZW02Z34fR8JlnLZlggbAU4zADB3wVbBfPZfa-OPAfoHKZY4cG7WCsGR7cavFB5TOX/s200/DSC_0099.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKKn32LOe0tTtePc-pAIIV1-7LMEGWBgDUOau2bIwIU33Rtg-ozb5g85eiK0Feu5E6jpssfAqi2Tu2avR6Ynz_dGJ9Q_W3CDRbIIw-iJG0xNoiTG9qGMoIvN-G1I6_FNo9ZHUObLtI3a9/s1600/DSC_0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKKn32LOe0tTtePc-pAIIV1-7LMEGWBgDUOau2bIwIU33Rtg-ozb5g85eiK0Feu5E6jpssfAqi2Tu2avR6Ynz_dGJ9Q_W3CDRbIIw-iJG0xNoiTG9qGMoIvN-G1I6_FNo9ZHUObLtI3a9/s200/DSC_0094.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After a peaceful sleep, I met up again with Alex, Thibaut, and Guillemette on Sunday to go to this little lake that is kindof close to Anonnay. It was a beautiful day, as it had been all weekend, so I got some pretty decent pictures. We were planning on taking a dip, which isn't allowed, but the water was freezing butt cold anyway so we only went up to our knees before giving up and getting dry. Then we walked around the lake, which is about 4 km if I remember correctly. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjka2mSJFHg6F_EsunPXaksc8yv7swSn5kev-26cYjxMCRqMXQSaLfms1yi4XIZ9Wp6WZYy-L4rtc67qa9iF03-1NBy1rogbwecOTR2VQTY_79xqF5VrgtHf_eXm4qJxSjXFxCgUV8bzJQb/s1600/DSC_0136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjka2mSJFHg6F_EsunPXaksc8yv7swSn5kev-26cYjxMCRqMXQSaLfms1yi4XIZ9Wp6WZYy-L4rtc67qa9iF03-1NBy1rogbwecOTR2VQTY_79xqF5VrgtHf_eXm4qJxSjXFxCgUV8bzJQb/s200/DSC_0136.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FiTlNphDq9s4yrD5EFlDVP52ng7YgYrai4Z4h7ZixpYj_cAMGk43GC0WvboVH_p7uScD0KEyFIgF8CQ4SbFNt8SQCgM7tQ7nYC5IEkC1Bhg-s-gc0s2GX1NNm2oGz_hlGV03bOPgIqJe/s1600/DSC_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FiTlNphDq9s4yrD5EFlDVP52ng7YgYrai4Z4h7ZixpYj_cAMGk43GC0WvboVH_p7uScD0KEyFIgF8CQ4SbFNt8SQCgM7tQ7nYC5IEkC1Bhg-s-gc0s2GX1NNm2oGz_hlGV03bOPgIqJe/s200/DSC_0117.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There were a lot of people there, as the weather was great and people go typically walking together on Sundays. Afterwards we were all pretty hungry, so we drove back to St. Victor to Thibaut's to finish off the potatoes, cheese, and meat from the night before and also to finish watching Step Up. The dancing was really impressive, and I understood most of the plot, which there wasn't much of to begin with. Not that I was expecting "Inception" with a dance twist or anything...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7gFVb6wZcrM6SeiI4MVC3lipjRJ2gRmBkAGR0IZ8E2A3TW08VPYEhtETn1vf9dkEa_dKDIflxNaKNfL1r5olusAzvSGwMIb5OQXWlx3BZdS98vPjQcACx8e7O38YAOBNQudLzfzstiXJ/s1600/385795_2304012235754_1112683692_32225703_1592871268_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7gFVb6wZcrM6SeiI4MVC3lipjRJ2gRmBkAGR0IZ8E2A3TW08VPYEhtETn1vf9dkEa_dKDIflxNaKNfL1r5olusAzvSGwMIb5OQXWlx3BZdS98vPjQcACx8e7O38YAOBNQudLzfzstiXJ/s200/385795_2304012235754_1112683692_32225703_1592871268_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmw8Tx5gfGfEOmlWc-2CecUDHbeyfX6o9N4uAz4ieqpAbWefFQVKjXSoioj-S5fYOFEZewEqPMgfQXUx1PxytnsYtL0Chjbdfp893j4oH9iBIhmqKTLbt3kNXbccVh1UaFHZHsd6JseCi/s1600/DSC_0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmw8Tx5gfGfEOmlWc-2CecUDHbeyfX6o9N4uAz4ieqpAbWefFQVKjXSoioj-S5fYOFEZewEqPMgfQXUx1PxytnsYtL0Chjbdfp893j4oH9iBIhmqKTLbt3kNXbccVh1UaFHZHsd6JseCi/s200/DSC_0122.JPG" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For the third night that weekend Guillemette brought me back to my house, and we said our au revoirs and à bientôts. It was a pretty incredible week, if I do say so myself, and I was even beginning to look forward to work the next day! Not so much the waking up part, but I think I'm starting to appreciate what it is I'm supposed to be doing here, and therefore I'm taking more of an interest in it as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway, if I can remember anything else about that Friday I'll make sure I come back and add it. The end! Of this post!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-47954759345332971892011-11-17T17:18:00.001+01:002011-11-17T17:52:44.868+01:00Weekend Avec Les Mannequins<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbD-T8EdGC8HTXidaE2XPLQemECtLsJ733iGF120XC4tw5JcckeV4Du1KzyCFIQl-uxL4HS0fTUAz69kHdDuNInNHVLawThiKb0hONQWPGuj8nmQrOhi_iZnw_8dtfU4PPX_3o86UfK4ry/s1600/DSC_0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbD-T8EdGC8HTXidaE2XPLQemECtLsJ733iGF120XC4tw5JcckeV4Du1KzyCFIQl-uxL4HS0fTUAz69kHdDuNInNHVLawThiKb0hONQWPGuj8nmQrOhi_iZnw_8dtfU4PPX_3o86UfK4ry/s200/DSC_0183.JPG" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBt4a6CjD_XRX41mjn8ZWGT7A205Qa8A9rpQUmraevc7hbbOpR_tH5Gd10uV6tt9tmSseI3ibRuA7Vepc_cfe-2-4r-dr5Tv_uLReiWfRoGIKbRa7jR1HXcTlfd820oWpb5XtESQatfFS/s1600/de%25CC%2581file%25CC%2581_friends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBt4a6CjD_XRX41mjn8ZWGT7A205Qa8A9rpQUmraevc7hbbOpR_tH5Gd10uV6tt9tmSseI3ibRuA7Vepc_cfe-2-4r-dr5Tv_uLReiWfRoGIKbRa7jR1HXcTlfd820oWpb5XtESQatfFS/s200/de%25CC%2581file%25CC%2581_friends.jpg" width="200" /></a>This will be my best attempt of describing an event that's slowly fading and being replaced by a rapidly increasing amount of memories, which is why I'm thankful to have had my camera with me - on the second day.<br />
<br />
Saturday was the first day of the défilé, which can directly translate to a parade, but the French say it in reference to a fashion show as well. So anyway, my friend Marion (are you starting to remember names? or is this like the first post you've read...well she's my co worker's daughter who invited me to the first party I went to here, the first person my age I met) picked me up at my house with her friend Thibaut who also knows Alexandre (my friend who was modeling that weekend).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjupIVv-mXcYbER2qK-Gg1RLOxUTtZMu1wyVYdtKsyQbhtUObfdsOXlie-HaRUkhWXLl4HIHzPIDkT46-Yq4GHUrcQpBD95LlCgf8pFS2xb5wBSlgJryZILMLA_bEaJMJFw7JT__DkJnUe/s1600/DSC_0282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjupIVv-mXcYbER2qK-Gg1RLOxUTtZMu1wyVYdtKsyQbhtUObfdsOXlie-HaRUkhWXLl4HIHzPIDkT46-Yq4GHUrcQpBD95LlCgf8pFS2xb5wBSlgJryZILMLA_bEaJMJFw7JT__DkJnUe/s200/DSC_0282.JPG" width="132" /></a>We drove out to a smallish city which is really close to the Rhône river, which runs through Ardèche (the region I live in, for you n00bies), to go to the site of the show, which resembled the ball room of the old community center in Richland. There were several different booths for people who specialized in providing different things for weddings : meats, candies, music, bounce houses, photographers, hair stylists, jewelers, and even a guy with a horse and cart!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lO6s0jBFOiVc0aUL16x1EnUWvJjxBnH5mf_iAWA7F2MJ2r5X6Aj2Fv2rHFP3x6Z8NwJlmHFe9QzRdKETpjXEuxDgVsmI8ebV3nLBtTzShvVeMO0pFSU-GXhYC8mBAXSaMFs5Q0qowRm1/s1600/DSC_0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lO6s0jBFOiVc0aUL16x1EnUWvJjxBnH5mf_iAWA7F2MJ2r5X6Aj2Fv2rHFP3x6Z8NwJlmHFe9QzRdKETpjXEuxDgVsmI8ebV3nLBtTzShvVeMO0pFSU-GXhYC8mBAXSaMFs5Q0qowRm1/s200/DSC_0209.JPG" width="132" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixsfzFiMHGocRxoUfnCoGYnaA5OpYNpueIZYDCR1D1Ma1oZBmgawH_eJkfZlOZ6TmwFCTuwktYdpofuoEZjRdR6baE3fAIBOzIJbyqMLKfxQLrgfC89pXpsJIK3aAsEOlNU613VQH8zYFk/s1600/DSC_0251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixsfzFiMHGocRxoUfnCoGYnaA5OpYNpueIZYDCR1D1Ma1oZBmgawH_eJkfZlOZ6TmwFCTuwktYdpofuoEZjRdR6baE3fAIBOzIJbyqMLKfxQLrgfC89pXpsJIK3aAsEOlNU613VQH8zYFk/s200/DSC_0251.JPG" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAQYh6dOmLKe9joq0omDDJHuY139vvSy1sWFEzPriXj9pLTnnnWv4HNWc6J6bgGcRCBcIqtTEIf7G3yWISmRlhNDf1ZiR-sKBPi43Udaib66lpo9fYNScpHnqOyQH4aTKlaLQ5Q5GsNp4s/s1600/de%25CC%2581file%25CC%2581_guillemette_et_moi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAQYh6dOmLKe9joq0omDDJHuY139vvSy1sWFEzPriXj9pLTnnnWv4HNWc6J6bgGcRCBcIqtTEIf7G3yWISmRlhNDf1ZiR-sKBPi43Udaib66lpo9fYNScpHnqOyQH4aTKlaLQ5Q5GsNp4s/s200/de%25CC%2581file%25CC%2581_guillemette_et_moi.jpg" width="200" /></a>Basically it was a place for people to come who were planning on getting married, and then the wedding dresses and suits that were being modeled were a kindof a special attraction at the end of each day. Actually, there were two per day. One in the afternoon and one a few hours later, each one lasting about 50 minutes. There were two different stores, each with their own set of models, who took turns modeling their own song, one store after another.<br />
<br />
Those who were modeling for the same store as Alex were: Guillemette (who I met previously), Océane, Charlène, Annabelle, Laurie, and Céline. The last one was the only girl I didn't actually meet.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlmgkujXGGkQ4V_i7ueK974sbnMlg-SM507YXrHSAqqMksmJbsWctnsYVL04rnOSxqVsOE6myrwleo5768kJVds_Ff6vG-aCr8l_zTfsaBGi-xucUcMkocLt0bg-IxEtW43YhTjoNuWuC/s1600/DSC_0349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlmgkujXGGkQ4V_i7ueK974sbnMlg-SM507YXrHSAqqMksmJbsWctnsYVL04rnOSxqVsOE6myrwleo5768kJVds_Ff6vG-aCr8l_zTfsaBGi-xucUcMkocLt0bg-IxEtW43YhTjoNuWuC/s200/DSC_0349.JPG" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlOOypCrgjc8DjsRKBLtTWk5zWvh476BKafDpBScVM7FdoqH5dElsG3_JRwgYLTR2ZXpzIpu356SUWLVHsv72roTvScxbt-hNpx58aGmA31iaH-8lcQS1eJV1BJgwYl9E82kUYpgyWw8R/s1600/388595_2277924103567_1112683692_32210577_1717594250_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlOOypCrgjc8DjsRKBLtTWk5zWvh476BKafDpBScVM7FdoqH5dElsG3_JRwgYLTR2ZXpzIpu356SUWLVHsv72roTvScxbt-hNpx58aGmA31iaH-8lcQS1eJV1BJgwYl9E82kUYpgyWw8R/s200/388595_2277924103567_1112683692_32210577_1717594250_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>We stayed for both of the shows that day, and then later that night Thibaut and Marion headed back to Annonay while the rest of us went out to eat at a buffet-style restaurant. That's where I ate my first tartiflette - a big mixture of potatoes, cream, ham, and cheese. I also took a giant slice of crêpes stacked on each other and layered with creme and raspberries because I'm a big fatty. <br />
After dinner we were planning on going to a discothèque, but it was still pretty early, and since we were gonna wait for Océane to join us anyway we drove up to this great lookout point over the city and watched a movie called "Bienvenue Chez Les Chti's (Welcome To The Home Of The Chti's."<br />
<br />
It's a movie about a guy who is made to move from Marseilles to Beurges (from the very south to the very north) to work as the director of a post office. The movie pokes fun at the stereotypes of the Northern French, especially the 'Chti's,' French people with a thick accent, so "ça va?" sounds like "sha va?" Even though I didn't understand all of it, I did get most of it, even with the accent! It was hilarious, easily one of my favorite movies.<br />
<br />
Anyway, after the movie we drove out to the discothèque "Le Cube" and met up with Océane there. It was pretty sweet, but there weren't a whole ton of people there. Maybe a hundred? With your ticket into the club you get a drink ticket, which I thought was pretty cool. I don't know if it's like that everywhere, but I don't really get out much...so...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_0l5EMafeoNpQDoq45IdDuiPa2nqIGAnIi7zJ5Pym-cKldMHzYl06bYmsLnyjGwWi-kaaauvd-1sKlCy0906QLRRPpXydkgKv8Afq0SVFhHRbqkgh31ScCJWYQMZQzNxUTiGwZ_xyLjcb/s1600/DSC_0148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_0l5EMafeoNpQDoq45IdDuiPa2nqIGAnIi7zJ5Pym-cKldMHzYl06bYmsLnyjGwWi-kaaauvd-1sKlCy0906QLRRPpXydkgKv8Afq0SVFhHRbqkgh31ScCJWYQMZQzNxUTiGwZ_xyLjcb/s200/DSC_0148.JPG" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfIt4hRK5pNc8h9bbHl-ilsDUv6W4kTRbK9KyBv41TrehvryzSQMOlaWmLpqwTODA2YYPyHZvdnjwBCk05Af87hZcxuRowdRwQhdbyZtxeaSwrUdd6ncjFaeSRe_1RdZtYoyE-X7UM33o/s1600/DSC_0267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfIt4hRK5pNc8h9bbHl-ilsDUv6W4kTRbK9KyBv41TrehvryzSQMOlaWmLpqwTODA2YYPyHZvdnjwBCk05Af87hZcxuRowdRwQhdbyZtxeaSwrUdd6ncjFaeSRe_1RdZtYoyE-X7UM33o/s200/DSC_0267.JPG" width="132" /></a>The DJ who we were listening to when we showed up was pretty good, but then the featured DJ took over after about an hour and it was some Jamaican guy and his posse who were stuck in the techno of like 10-20 years ago, so after like half an hour of lame music and the Jamaican rapping poorly we left. It seemed a little pricey for how long we stayed, but it was still fun! We all headed back home around 3:30ish I think. Because the weather still wasn't that great on Saturday, I hadn't brought my camera, so unfortunately there aren't any pictures from that day. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMddMt5SW2zRGJQctCzbE1HZLHQbVdSm1vWTsW39uJNL-VQmVuDQe489brUCYzy0gqf-KLuU0Ztq8RswBHFMzTqtRz-ICh7ErpWUPy74MFZDyMZr_Ijj6hwjPuzwrbngFfjx8GtWlzZrn/s1600/DSC_0290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMddMt5SW2zRGJQctCzbE1HZLHQbVdSm1vWTsW39uJNL-VQmVuDQe489brUCYzy0gqf-KLuU0Ztq8RswBHFMzTqtRz-ICh7ErpWUPy74MFZDyMZr_Ijj6hwjPuzwrbngFfjx8GtWlzZrn/s200/DSC_0290.JPG" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGp1qLx5a0vaH3S1QjG19RMcAzws3qo1nB7ymX_CdhLjp37O0tcZogIXrmUsh1Xnwa27fEotW09JsRi8g78K8ugZiKjYbla5vrgVgWEMnjU0-EGPcjAopI4MeRVXVmK70ABf_AwO3hTNg/s1600/301573_2277974944838_1112683692_32210606_2083082308_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGp1qLx5a0vaH3S1QjG19RMcAzws3qo1nB7ymX_CdhLjp37O0tcZogIXrmUsh1Xnwa27fEotW09JsRi8g78K8ugZiKjYbla5vrgVgWEMnjU0-EGPcjAopI4MeRVXVmK70ABf_AwO3hTNg/s200/301573_2277974944838_1112683692_32210606_2083082308_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>The next day was pretty similar, except it was just me and Thibaut who went to support Alex and our new model friends. After the shows Alex, Thibaut, Guillemette, Laurie, and I all went out to dinner at La Paille Courte (The Short Straw), where I ordered the house special - a type of sausage, with the house sauce - a type of mustard, along with a piece of chocolate cake. Thibaut is super generous and paid for everyone's meal which makes him one of the best people ever. We all said our goodbyes and headed back home, thus officially marking the end of my 26 day vacation!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-62883404858196326622011-11-10T16:55:00.001+01:002011-11-14T21:31:05.337+01:00Dernière Semaine De Vacances<br />
This would be like Episode 2 of "The Missing Chapters Of The Last Couple Weeks Of My Life."<br />
<br />
The day after Halloween was Toussaints, or All Saint's Day. We didn't really do anything to celebrate, but I pretended to make a big deal out of it haha. I went to my Marion's house (her mom is my co worker at Bernaudin) that day to give her brother, Thomas, his first private English lesson, and it was awesome!<br />
<br />
He's 15 or 16, plays soccer and video games, and has a really hard time with English. I found that surprising, because when we were first talking I showed him where I lived on Google Earth and like ten minutes later his mom came in and he started from the view of the globe and zoomed in all the way to my house. The kid has a phenomenal memory, so I don't know why he struggles with the language barrier. Maybe it's a left brain/right brain thing? He's really good at math, so I don't know.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I told him a little about myself and he told me a little about himself, and then when he realized that I'm a gamer too, it gave us some common ground to talk about -<i> </i>while we played. We got on his computer and played Team Fortress 2 for probably an hour and just spoke bits of English (but mostly French) while we traded off games. <br />
<br />
Fabienne (the mom) bought pizza, and I think there was a seafood, four cheese, pepperoni-esque, and ham. Pizza here is different, but it's still super good. So anyway, we ate pizza and then Fabienne gave me 20€ and her and Marion took me home. Not a bad gig in my opinion!<br />
<br />
I have no recollection of what I did Thursday. I think that might've been the day where I was out looking for anything to do, hopping from store to store when I ran into my friend Alex at the register in a clothing store called Kiabi. Turns out he was only working there for three more days, so it was cool that I saw him! He invited me to go meet up with his model friend and hang out as they went over their routes (for lack of knowledge of modeling terms) for the show that weekend. Desperate to do anything, and also eager for the chance to meet another French model, I agreed to tag along.<br />
<br />
I met Guillemette in her apartment that's actually really close to Ashley's, and after they had drawn out their routes we all went out to eat at this nice-ish restaurant called "Outre Terre." For like 16€ I got an entrée of some kind of meat paté, duck for the main dish, and a little chocolate cake for dessert. Apparently it was very French, which is why I got it. As I said before, the weather sucked all last week, so I didn't have my camera on me to take any pictures :/<br />
<br />
Alex invited me to go with him to visit Tournon on Friday, but I had already made plans with Ashley to make cookies so I had to decline. The next day was just as crappy as it had been all week, as far as weather goes, otherwise known as perfect cookie making weather. I met up with Ashley at the grocery store and we shopped for a couple of ingredients that I didn't have leftover from the last batch I made, which included a large plastic bowl I used to cover my head as we walked back to her apartment.<br />
<br />
We put on music fit for the mood. Turns out half the songs we listened to were from the Twilight soundtrack. I thought that was funny. Waaaaahhhhhh it's raining, let's make cookies and get fat so we can put ourselves in danger (cardiac arrest) so our loved ones will come to our rescue!!! Bleh.<br />
<br />
I ate my weight in cookies that day. The dough turned out a little different than usual, as in it stuck like glue to my hands (until I licked it all off). Fortunately, the cookies turned out fine. It was a little hard to judge when they were done because they spread out pretty far, resulting in a crunchy outside but a chewy inside. Apparently it was deliciously impressive to my British friends - a huge relief. <br />
<br />
Oh! That also was the first day I did laundry since I've been here. I remember because I hung my soaking wet coat next to other hanging articles of clothing strewn across the room to dry. If you would have walked into my room without knowing what was happening, you may have been...confused.<br />
<br />
My host family has a (small) washing machine, but no drier, which is typical here. They just hang their clothes outside on a big clothes hanger thing. As I stated before though, the weather had been super crappy so obviously I had to bring the clothes inside. Also, it took a couple days for everything to dry...I wore athletic shorts for underwear for a couple days.<br />
<br />
That was it for the week as far as I can remember, but the weekend gets more interesting. I'll let you nibble on this post while I work on the next one, which WILL have pictures. Of French models. Yep.<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-67714783711212836322011-11-08T19:21:00.000+01:002011-11-12T13:42:35.214+01:00Halloween and Such<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtdLcMxdFy3tyCk3vLmodSC07A3vbGvRhplnnDI_dkKokGukaEfygyOLCzUARDZdxcIsKxVeS208iEMFpkCl5KFWFGEYCrv1-YTRphnuh5CjKmOI3-T2oYDQI6ykTvq-NA4ZgY0kdcJol/s1600/millepats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtdLcMxdFy3tyCk3vLmodSC07A3vbGvRhplnnDI_dkKokGukaEfygyOLCzUARDZdxcIsKxVeS208iEMFpkCl5KFWFGEYCrv1-YTRphnuh5CjKmOI3-T2oYDQI6ykTvq-NA4ZgY0kdcJol/s320/millepats.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">happy halloween! found this little guy trying to sneak<br />
into my bathroom. i should've taken a picture of what<br />
he looked like after i smashed his guts all over the place.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Basically I have no excuse for not keeping my blog up to date, other than the fact that I've been way too busy to spend four hours writing about stuff not too many people care about. Now that I have that out of the way...I also didn't have my camera on me for a lot of the things I was doing over the week because it's been raining chats and chiens here. I literally saw the sun today for the first time in 10 days.<br />
<br />
Anyway, there will be a series of smaller updates to come. The first of these will be about Halloween and some stuff before, which was a week and one day ago, today being Tuesday, November 8th.<br />
<br />
It feels like it was just yesterday, yet I don't even remember much of it. Must've been that killer party the night before where all I drank was Coke and fruit juice. Nah, couldn't be that...but I did get to go to another party at my friend Romain's place in St. Étienne. This time Marion (my co-worker's daughter) couldn't come, so I caught a ride with my friend Morgane and her boyfriend.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshwiJLvEmYbgSNrHFqbxsdl7IhtidWb_KQXxHLmdtD79ZI_odAKhdw-yLS0euU-oBD9YJej8MJGmS_9ykq-MRKY4s1E8JdUtCPMs3tLr7ey6D9vtLS1CnPSRc-L2Z5LWGCxPGOey_R7PV/s1600/pumpkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshwiJLvEmYbgSNrHFqbxsdl7IhtidWb_KQXxHLmdtD79ZI_odAKhdw-yLS0euU-oBD9YJej8MJGmS_9ykq-MRKY4s1E8JdUtCPMs3tLr7ey6D9vtLS1CnPSRc-L2Z5LWGCxPGOey_R7PV/s320/pumpkin.jpg" width="320" /></a>We were only 7 that night, I think. It was me, Alex, Romain, Romaane, Ana, Morgane, her boyfriend, and another girl was there for a little while but she left after a couple hours. We listened to music and ate snacks and later pizza and drank and just had a good time together. I liked just kicking back with a handful of people I already knew and playing some card games, opposed to getting together with a bunch of strangers and going clubbing (even though that's how I got to know some of the strangers from the last party).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhFaYnbZeYUzI-A7QOB3q4CnBXmr0FaQJAo4GXKEyLFDD1vZDV64P3Qpuz4q8Serxdw_QHyCssbCWP5_E1oe0KQ4qP4MJLEDSVnOppd2RNOBAcwNp64-jgzWBlGiTnDLo5R_SjToi930n/s1600/pumpkin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhFaYnbZeYUzI-A7QOB3q4CnBXmr0FaQJAo4GXKEyLFDD1vZDV64P3Qpuz4q8Serxdw_QHyCssbCWP5_E1oe0KQ4qP4MJLEDSVnOppd2RNOBAcwNp64-jgzWBlGiTnDLo5R_SjToi930n/s320/pumpkin2.jpg" width="212" /></a>It was a pretty tame night. I didn't get to sleep ridiculously late, no one was crying or fighting, and everyone remembered my name the next morning! Always a good thing. Morgane had classes early the next morning, so we were on our way back to Annonay around 8. I got home around 9 30 or so and slept until around 1, and then Isabelle surprised me with two pumpkins! They were little, but it was nice to have something to bring me a little closer to the States. Her nephew was over doing homework, and when he was done I asked him to help me carve them. We made a classic jack o' lantern face and a spider thing. Later, Isabelle made soup out of the pumpkin guts. It was...interesting! It broke down surprisingly well and was pretty thick, but it wasn't as bad as I make it out to be. Needed a little salt :P<br />
<br />
She took me to volleyball practice, but we didn't see anybody trick or treating and it was already 8! She said Anouk and her cousins would go together when they were younger, which surprised me. I would've thought that being out in sort of the country they would have been less festive when it comes to American holidays, but I guess a good amount of people do, even though only one trick or treater came to her house that night. I wish I would've been there, but I was at practice when it happened.<br />
<br />
Anyway, that's all that happened on Halloween! On to the next post!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-53788684209908514232011-10-28T18:27:00.002+02:002011-10-28T18:31:10.663+02:00Aventure d'Annecy à Genève - en Vélo<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0QX1Xt0aoauhAodJ3zobGrtHy8yuDX2pS6J53vFP_BVnD28U_ljjHu237VkeW2kMuBxp76XCABIusTqkFO2anZoHqMURpR_NWmKhQFFbjJunPP37lYX9IBM2Z4RdQrfSMvzsRHIBmnoK/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_departure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0QX1Xt0aoauhAodJ3zobGrtHy8yuDX2pS6J53vFP_BVnD28U_ljjHu237VkeW2kMuBxp76XCABIusTqkFO2anZoHqMURpR_NWmKhQFFbjJunPP37lYX9IBM2Z4RdQrfSMvzsRHIBmnoK/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_departure.jpg" width="200" /></a>So when we were in Autrans for the training, Flor, my new Argentine friend from the States, asked me if I wanted to bike to Geneva, Switzerland in the upcoming week. I thought, 'haha sure that'd be crazy, but fun! if it even happens...' Here's the thing about Flor: she's legit. She wants to do something like that and then sticks to it through the end! Here's the story:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Jhj7eqyVIl2NlTiaj2nbJzAZsRgOa1xYoW8Fl1VOzVWtu3rF1RM2-KvygQTVx6fwhchXhm28heZzJEOIWzqJOPJCVO9WjAZl6jecgRho6SKmujJZEN4L0JkH2XZckDcmMrOvjJSgs7l-/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_on_the_road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Jhj7eqyVIl2NlTiaj2nbJzAZsRgOa1xYoW8Fl1VOzVWtu3rF1RM2-KvygQTVx6fwhchXhm28heZzJEOIWzqJOPJCVO9WjAZl6jecgRho6SKmujJZEN4L0JkH2XZckDcmMrOvjJSgs7l-/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_on_the_road.jpg" width="132" /></a>As I described in plenty of detail in the last post, I came to Annecy on Friday the 21st of October, and then we were gonna leave for Geneva the following Monday. Well, we did. After getting everything we needed for the next couple days, we headed out! We didn't get very far before we stopped for the first time. Mostly because we needed a bike map to figure out where the heck we were going, because really we didn't know. No one at the office de tourisme in Annecy could help us, so we went to get food for when we would stop for lunch. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5GTh4AM36cu35jPqp7m-uK0qB8sEPMZS6uobn4ksZb4uLPo75XP8ztlZvUzo8C8ZCN35ZOt3plKbVppIj54vYG6pSqzGZmdKsRt5Qr2TS33lP2MnlGjCMJit3QvlA4pZFJXLotfujxTQ/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_break.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5GTh4AM36cu35jPqp7m-uK0qB8sEPMZS6uobn4ksZb4uLPo75XP8ztlZvUzo8C8ZCN35ZOt3plKbVppIj54vYG6pSqzGZmdKsRt5Qr2TS33lP2MnlGjCMJit3QvlA4pZFJXLotfujxTQ/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_break.jpg" width="200" /></a>After loading up Flor's bike basket with goodies, we started pedaling towards where we thought we were being pointed by bike signs in the city. Turns out that was for a super hard route, as we discovered after we stopped and asked a guy on the side of the road for directions. He pointed us towards another road, where we found some police on the side of the road and decided to ask them for help as well. They gave us some more directions, and then we finally got a good ten minutes on the road...before we got stuck again. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdeO99kb3Rk5XWImHMWH-sCX7viVOiZHVWeeMMZMlb9EZ9VV8kOCSrkNlf1zGYKSJgnSt1i7OAmw2tVF0jKKe10H7t0eDj67gTfKdEY6k5OJb_ckcD0bjhgFHkjO8atPuI9DN24F8ewBy/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_apple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdeO99kb3Rk5XWImHMWH-sCX7viVOiZHVWeeMMZMlb9EZ9VV8kOCSrkNlf1zGYKSJgnSt1i7OAmw2tVF0jKKe10H7t0eDj67gTfKdEY6k5OJb_ckcD0bjhgFHkjO8atPuI9DN24F8ewBy/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_apple.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">iFound an apple in the street that<br />
had fallen off a tree close by. so good.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinsdvSKzhkTvgo_oI1EZ4pcyMouJOT_nOtnXF1zAlgVA_-gyE8wH3M_h_YfEabiZJXHb0T15xIz_4iex8xore3qmfra2xXaqrpC7XjP3iJTMBIjrCKbL2q2yrj2a8V8qPzZc8uvc-yQhyphenhyphenB/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_biking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinsdvSKzhkTvgo_oI1EZ4pcyMouJOT_nOtnXF1zAlgVA_-gyE8wH3M_h_YfEabiZJXHb0T15xIz_4iex8xore3qmfra2xXaqrpC7XjP3iJTMBIjrCKbL2q2yrj2a8V8qPzZc8uvc-yQhyphenhyphenB/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_biking.jpg" width="200" /></a>Luckily, Flor, Adriana, and I were all wearing Argentina apparel, because this car driving past us saw the jerseys and pulled over to talk to the girls. I don't speak Spanish, unfortunately, so I just sat there and smiled when they all laughed. They could've been making fun of me and I would've been laughing at myself. Oh well! Eventually they left and Flor clued me in: they were immigrants from Argentina who hated the government, so they both moved to France and had been there for five years. Woah. Apparently we were headed in the right direction, but we needed to cross a bridge or we'd end up in the middle of nowhere. Thank goodness for friendly neighbors!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxiCwMdu49bygarDDTQK0n8-djjeB3bSl2W-PqdtUo1EKc-8Lcob3cU6HDiLFDR2J81M270iHeRBjAxnGLXcj1tldf9ofXbyD7siiUTbnuef6vFgnNcmhzgWpK6p03tO3ZLPwiNyRk33o5/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxiCwMdu49bygarDDTQK0n8-djjeB3bSl2W-PqdtUo1EKc-8Lcob3cU6HDiLFDR2J81M270iHeRBjAxnGLXcj1tldf9ofXbyD7siiUTbnuef6vFgnNcmhzgWpK6p03tO3ZLPwiNyRk33o5/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_road.jpg" width="200" /></a>We found the bridge, no signs attached, and continued on our way for another ten minutes. Up until then we had been on two-lane, bike friendly roads. Now we came up on a really busy two-lane road that had nothing for a shoulder, but we saddled up and went for it anyway. We hit the first of many ascents, but finally we knew where we were going, sort of. We stumbled across a bike route sign and followed it the wrong way for a little while, talked with a post man who pointed us back to the right place, and found the sign we needed and followed that way instead.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiokYAT8NK77jj8aVk6UVqiUD7I8GdJDLwE0TCNP0-v46EIEaEzugtoKOAV6PHEDRSny6V_utsDB_yrIKStIgf1JHsJ4Uz1nuzHS316auqL5RwhdnfAG-ABEpMMfEvO2hqLRIY6UwumyB6x/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_smoke_stack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiokYAT8NK77jj8aVk6UVqiUD7I8GdJDLwE0TCNP0-v46EIEaEzugtoKOAV6PHEDRSny6V_utsDB_yrIKStIgf1JHsJ4Uz1nuzHS316auqL5RwhdnfAG-ABEpMMfEvO2hqLRIY6UwumyB6x/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_smoke_stack.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
It's funny, not far from where the sign pointed us we passed through Genéva! It was literally a 25 second bike ride from the beginning of the little town to the exit sign. Fun fact: I realized that's why "Geneva" in French is actually Genève, and not Genéva!<br />
<br />
Anyway, we biked through a lot of little towns and villages like that, up and down hills, through little fields and meadows, and it's just impossible to show how beautiful it was. Also, I didn't really take any pictures because I was biking the whole time! Turns out the 7-speed was just about perfect. I rode probably most of the trip in less than fifth gear because of all the climbs. It was a great work out!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8Or8-M0JJ9zp455MC-YcnzHk05LFArF-HfczQf1tcH5NVmcCrTCFIIGFWJgUovrysB-UAtuZdNqR71TRXzvwPn5DHg3dMVeI7SO7CyyYEpyb7tBi4ZXiobguUZjaLXed7L1IlPbJqOIv/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_lunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8Or8-M0JJ9zp455MC-YcnzHk05LFArF-HfczQf1tcH5NVmcCrTCFIIGFWJgUovrysB-UAtuZdNqR71TRXzvwPn5DHg3dMVeI7SO7CyyYEpyb7tBi4ZXiobguUZjaLXed7L1IlPbJqOIv/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_lunch.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
We stopped for lunch in this little town, Cercier, where the map showed a fork, one way going towards Geneva, the other back towards Annecy. After we were well rested and filled, we took off to Geneva again. Or so we thought. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxS5zoMm1iO0GPoy8OLKhmhXdfGCKnDcSoUo678YiCGoLE4lNdb8VHzmZo_0ibynhajEluIztT9NdLMKUH8zHEJZLHds7KSUSzAfGP7lZ-u6s-zXMn3iNwDXNYYcA4rdGys52liD2u7n6/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_break2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxS5zoMm1iO0GPoy8OLKhmhXdfGCKnDcSoUo678YiCGoLE4lNdb8VHzmZo_0ibynhajEluIztT9NdLMKUH8zHEJZLHds7KSUSzAfGP7lZ-u6s-zXMn3iNwDXNYYcA4rdGys52liD2u7n6/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_break2.jpg" width="200" /></a>I got ahead of the girls and came to this round about where nothing pointed towards any of the cities we were looking for on our bike map. We had to flag down three different cars before we finally realized we had gone in the wrong direction about 20 minutes. After backtracking to Cercier, we asked again for directions, and we found the right way. <br />
<br />
P.S. Every time I say "we asked for directions," 95% of the time it was Flor. I was always like, "come on, we'll figure it out on the way!" and then she would just ask the next person anyway, and most of the time she saved us from going the wrong way. Turns out I'm awful with directions, and for some reason I feel like I'm bothering everyone by asking for directions, although, thanks to Flor, I'm pretty much over that by now.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLAHc7nx-MTtMZ7wwZ_HYhSGqcEgM5OX8Eu-zi8oRHkbO5Xs7Z1Xbk1RV-_JZFVKNGDrDoREj4F_MaQFGJpnjrwNtCjytsy5gNDqH8fjZhORVMTfjaWZRZ8Rh-Bz4i67exeYyvXFZIqHl/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_bench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLAHc7nx-MTtMZ7wwZ_HYhSGqcEgM5OX8Eu-zi8oRHkbO5Xs7Z1Xbk1RV-_JZFVKNGDrDoREj4F_MaQFGJpnjrwNtCjytsy5gNDqH8fjZhORVMTfjaWZRZ8Rh-Bz4i67exeYyvXFZIqHl/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_bench.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">longest bench in Europe!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOC8etN1vPDTrCUpNxDd5KCJASYp23fFS4HtvlfEnJwrYA0BXiijpOx1paT54W0geQi0TOnpNIr3oGs9cPuRklu4Yr8hI-iO_u3ePnHCLofoudyycMKSzYyPmMh78ZZ7wrtrWLS9IoxRr6/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_graffiti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOC8etN1vPDTrCUpNxDd5KCJASYp23fFS4HtvlfEnJwrYA0BXiijpOx1paT54W0geQi0TOnpNIr3oGs9cPuRklu4Yr8hI-iO_u3ePnHCLofoudyycMKSzYyPmMh78ZZ7wrtrWLS9IoxRr6/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_graffiti.jpg" width="200" /></a>So. We rode downhill to this city, which was super nice until we had to bike back up. It felt like a never-ending hill of death and despair. I was standing up in first gear huffing and puffing, it was awful. Finally we got to a flat part, and then we had to climb again. After probably an hour of this, we finally got to go flat for a while. We decided that, because it was starting to get late, that we would aim for a city, Vulbens, on the map that was only an hour or two from Geneva and then just stay the night there.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvZRQR_LP4WUDIJ2SfjfgDbyz47NPERNjDabKnsQJyg_5ex5q_ZmjmtOWe-tfbhkmI4np8oP2wMWRNbipNHYTWE1t8TwTL3bMwqWKKcsv4Pd48YMAzTPQuzDRqXHZCW4WZpLpZ164-TX-/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_hotel_dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvZRQR_LP4WUDIJ2SfjfgDbyz47NPERNjDabKnsQJyg_5ex5q_ZmjmtOWe-tfbhkmI4np8oP2wMWRNbipNHYTWE1t8TwTL3bMwqWKKcsv4Pd48YMAzTPQuzDRqXHZCW4WZpLpZ164-TX-/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_hotel_dinner.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
For 20€ per person, it was a pretty great deal. Two full beds and then my bed, with a bathroom. Plus we slept in until 11 the next morning and didn't leave until after noon. That night we rode out maybe 10 minutes to the nearest grocery store and bought some stuffs for dinner and breakfast, and then we came back, ate and showered, and tucked ourselves in for the night.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf201PR4SxnW6pxE0hE9_3vxQVzjGgwlq5oIbXWtZ-_VQx0R9-7wUpy8PV6aSXkHKTekhz29-znOo8fd8WIzBxXHRpN8wxjwpw_KWclA7GQhNhJOzXhpkzrMlBLn2V7p3RSpxb1n6qPqq5/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf201PR4SxnW6pxE0hE9_3vxQVzjGgwlq5oIbXWtZ-_VQx0R9-7wUpy8PV6aSXkHKTekhz29-znOo8fd8WIzBxXHRpN8wxjwpw_KWclA7GQhNhJOzXhpkzrMlBLn2V7p3RSpxb1n6qPqq5/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_library.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">entrance to the library in<br />
Geneva! pretty sweet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Like I said, we didn't leave till about noon the next day. My legs were dead starting from the first pedal away from the hotel. Unfortunately we still had a long aways ahead, so I bucked up and we continued on our journey. We were in Switzerland not too long after we left Vulbens, but there wasn't really a welcome sign or anything. It took us a flag in the yard of someone's house and several license plates to realize we had crossed borders. No passport check, no visa scans, no nothing! Going country to country here is as smooth as a babies bottom. Since I'm 21 now, can I still say that without sounding like a pedophile...?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdPS3ilRJcUKFhi1UsSx3YIOPWdq6wMO5xnTvKfU9uEkyIHRBiUMlqnDJBV5FN2SK8CorpBeJ3-SP1ZMopIcEUmHVGuGt6SZ_MUui6cS78SQXxMYLzfGGjwLpokkKlh-c1R1eO3ka1prP/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_pano1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdPS3ilRJcUKFhi1UsSx3YIOPWdq6wMO5xnTvKfU9uEkyIHRBiUMlqnDJBV5FN2SK8CorpBeJ3-SP1ZMopIcEUmHVGuGt6SZ_MUui6cS78SQXxMYLzfGGjwLpokkKlh-c1R1eO3ka1prP/s320/gene%25CC%2580ve_pano1.jpg" width="320" /></a>The Swiss road to Geneva was so much easier to follow than it was in France, we were there in no time! The weather was nice for the first five minutes we were there, and then it started raining. After a couple salami sandwiches in front of the tourist center (we needed maps of the city) Adriana and I split up from Flor so she could go to the UN and we could walk around and check out the sites in the older part of town. There were a lot of things I wanted to take pictures of, but wasn't able to because of the blasted rain. It's ok though, we're gonna do it again when the weather is warmer, so probably not until April! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLElLovljjTEi0gHKvhtBosqCy7RzaH29ZJa_wuD3Bc7qdidBWKV8ymBWg3sIJLea8w8rNamdd4Eb2pPpru8Pr5KNRGzuNWYNQGJ67-RVvf_zW4ffEV_65t8UvdMSvq8VEHmdZfbCa3j3/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_pano3%2528desat%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLElLovljjTEi0gHKvhtBosqCy7RzaH29ZJa_wuD3Bc7qdidBWKV8ymBWg3sIJLea8w8rNamdd4Eb2pPpru8Pr5KNRGzuNWYNQGJ67-RVvf_zW4ffEV_65t8UvdMSvq8VEHmdZfbCa3j3/s640/gene%25CC%2580ve_pano3%2528desat%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3smCuZNja5eFlOCBW4ki8drnGj1FcJYtyH05swmHPbP_nByM1hbYMXjCk-L-CZWFN4-_fokLCIWp1QyLs7NHrqSSSkWIcpWrx-oB5d04zHgQ897zEXbDp9MVRsQ8bUxWfQTtGJx4CCir/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_UN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3smCuZNja5eFlOCBW4ki8drnGj1FcJYtyH05swmHPbP_nByM1hbYMXjCk-L-CZWFN4-_fokLCIWp1QyLs7NHrqSSSkWIcpWrx-oB5d04zHgQ897zEXbDp9MVRsQ8bUxWfQTtGJx4CCir/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_UN.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFJ1-TnlzMND0XdhzLhtkeivm2BTdfIsg2LXVaha_6Xz0mMgG6XsDWpQZZA0sr8rQwGlbWJKur2fiOwGRINNbflfy_ISAzhxzWphPmbSKsJrSPhY-GsLE2OQZI22OF6_sNeg2IxxhlTPQ/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_chair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFJ1-TnlzMND0XdhzLhtkeivm2BTdfIsg2LXVaha_6Xz0mMgG6XsDWpQZZA0sr8rQwGlbWJKur2fiOwGRINNbflfy_ISAzhxzWphPmbSKsJrSPhY-GsLE2OQZI22OF6_sNeg2IxxhlTPQ/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_chair.jpg" width="132" /></a> iThink we got there around 1:30, and it was raining all the way until like 5:30, which was when we met up at the UN to leave. An hour later we had all walked to the nearest train station and gotten in line to ask about departure times to Annecy and to ask about our bikes. We figured out that there was a train that let's you bring your bikes on for free as long as there's space, but the station was a ways away and we needed to catch the next train at 7:30. We left in a hurry, because we weren't exactly sure how to get there and we didn't have a whole lot of time.<br />
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The rush out of the train station was a big mistake. Flor and I lost Adriana. One second I was waving to her from across the street, and the next she had disappeared behind a bus. I went and looked for her, only to find two guys fighting over a handful of money and a bunch of scattered coins on the ground.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98MZSjESrGmkC8pNGb7vcm35p6ujlkdlHRHaZSAjBjuakKaUILTrTHu-0-P7hZlTG0gle-7905oZqXx0MU1Svu62ZSw5lMjdYN05S93ZaqI_G1VhBoBk8Pfvs-VMpIwsWGzhxU25-HkZp/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_mural3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98MZSjESrGmkC8pNGb7vcm35p6ujlkdlHRHaZSAjBjuakKaUILTrTHu-0-P7hZlTG0gle-7905oZqXx0MU1Svu62ZSw5lMjdYN05S93ZaqI_G1VhBoBk8Pfvs-VMpIwsWGzhxU25-HkZp/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_mural3.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicl8DCzYgJRGIXUAbO5I3G4mITQgMWj6nvNOLSGPBF-meYBmp6h5roJAMMmXgcWpdg9_huhWir8ynPsrG7D8IIhodRGAmCYQv0EWK2c6dgxOVTTX_rETZVjiuKNz2EK-In-5pVsafrLmBJ/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_mural1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicl8DCzYgJRGIXUAbO5I3G4mITQgMWj6nvNOLSGPBF-meYBmp6h5roJAMMmXgcWpdg9_huhWir8ynPsrG7D8IIhodRGAmCYQv0EWK2c6dgxOVTTX_rETZVjiuKNz2EK-In-5pVsafrLmBJ/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_mural1.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSe5YqlF-nctoNtSx8VntgAGeTTfwqetGH2RZRZUnbNxxHfPsPCIlhErwbAGd1mdmDU3r5vNXE4_SxjOerYq58zDud6MCJr97VWaPTAobJEgfvXaDXSJqz_oMNwpeyC-sQm5DBMCXFodI/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_mural2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSe5YqlF-nctoNtSx8VntgAGeTTfwqetGH2RZRZUnbNxxHfPsPCIlhErwbAGd1mdmDU3r5vNXE4_SxjOerYq58zDud6MCJr97VWaPTAobJEgfvXaDXSJqz_oMNwpeyC-sQm5DBMCXFodI/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_mural2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVM2Bw3zKS0cB_rlkX7MmJt2ReA1PbjuDNGm903oNs3bV-k9RyRaFscCL1__mtPIckiU_WkBRN-qaliHDRwSIHAZPRs9VcjNYJuuGa5MQ_oPub6DJpw4Mn6LnaUkncFXpppKN4pIjSU-3X/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_chess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVM2Bw3zKS0cB_rlkX7MmJt2ReA1PbjuDNGm903oNs3bV-k9RyRaFscCL1__mtPIckiU_WkBRN-qaliHDRwSIHAZPRs9VcjNYJuuGa5MQ_oPub6DJpw4Mn6LnaUkncFXpppKN4pIjSU-3X/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_chess.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nzJVZq0-QUastu-eNSvJ70BbcUAcQUE1HZBOdy6jvClfWUlkDnarSQAVmd5L2TfqF04Ua_XDiIJtGmWM5R7Sk2CrusRyl2L9VZRS1ojL1LUz7Iqw7AQ99jVDk2UgPFKVkDh7Hx7UcY2C/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_st_pierre2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nzJVZq0-QUastu-eNSvJ70BbcUAcQUE1HZBOdy6jvClfWUlkDnarSQAVmd5L2TfqF04Ua_XDiIJtGmWM5R7Sk2CrusRyl2L9VZRS1ojL1LUz7Iqw7AQ99jVDk2UgPFKVkDh7Hx7UcY2C/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_st_pierre2.jpg" width="132" /></a>Adriana wasn't picking up her phone, but we decided that she was smart enough to use the map she had to get to the train station, so we would try to meet her there before the train left. If not before the train came, obviously we would just wait there until she got there. <br />
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We got a text when we were right at the station that she had made it there, so we met her out front. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. The train we were looking for had already left, so we waited half an hour for the next one to show up, got on and connected at Aix-les-Bains towards Annecy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjfIaRhS533yIYvos4MwFVgguMOkQck7PJnpa3DJWzZ4Wb66aRFgSQMhFR_Ia1tUUMpv3uOdTdYKeAWsQr060Yg8zXPTTOjI6RnNh1d0PueBZKpXAVti3SLSiYTXg-1uZFdA6gVUmZ-Eb/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_mcdonalds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjfIaRhS533yIYvos4MwFVgguMOkQck7PJnpa3DJWzZ4Wb66aRFgSQMhFR_Ia1tUUMpv3uOdTdYKeAWsQr060Yg8zXPTTOjI6RnNh1d0PueBZKpXAVti3SLSiYTXg-1uZFdA6gVUmZ-Eb/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_mcdonalds.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9UhWoIPn7wE6n6BQpfm0RDjdwEILMJlfY80-9jJtpRiJJ6eHj09zKtHWuIiFqk_4QqxeMKpDHoAD1INkY83z5Saob4EmeCPNSOJ5iMjWE92YWnVfjvSupXD85imGv-qsxykCfMk2zCZw/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_st_pierre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9UhWoIPn7wE6n6BQpfm0RDjdwEILMJlfY80-9jJtpRiJJ6eHj09zKtHWuIiFqk_4QqxeMKpDHoAD1INkY83z5Saob4EmeCPNSOJ5iMjWE92YWnVfjvSupXD85imGv-qsxykCfMk2zCZw/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_st_pierre.jpg" width="132" /></a>The next morning, I packed everything and went into town with Flor to keep her company while she took care of some administrative stuff. We ate at a McDonald's (second time), went further out of town, and eventually came back to meet Emily so they could talk to someone at Orange (the TV/phone/internet company). I walked around an outdoors/sport store and saw a bunch of stuff I would've loved to buy, but for some reason making purchases is like a fine line between the decision between life and death for me. So I walked out like 30 minutes later empty-handed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KiSjKOmg_knaXxpB-D7Hn3lYCs7t9JVvjB8BNS6_O0IJyMKomb7AM7deDh2mJVWhyO-xJ5miOWIVjmnCutsLETPYnGWSZTTOjopt7XTs9acfddDToQmRB96GdkQOD0dVGD2fLD24a12p/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KiSjKOmg_knaXxpB-D7Hn3lYCs7t9JVvjB8BNS6_O0IJyMKomb7AM7deDh2mJVWhyO-xJ5miOWIVjmnCutsLETPYnGWSZTTOjopt7XTs9acfddDToQmRB96GdkQOD0dVGD2fLD24a12p/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_statue.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlFokDRQs27OKDVlOr6eWmWRWh8BahHg-b4xND-HiOSj-Bx0KLTxbxA5KFlBWzV0L8qBMrUXYZPX8axe_hmSnXGVKf3inRj5rLncIAFzv4vLNN7B0vk7zSdqv7FTY0LEOrEZA4kfqfT8C/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_statue_wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlFokDRQs27OKDVlOr6eWmWRWh8BahHg-b4xND-HiOSj-Bx0KLTxbxA5KFlBWzV0L8qBMrUXYZPX8axe_hmSnXGVKf3inRj5rLncIAFzv4vLNN7B0vk7zSdqv7FTY0LEOrEZA4kfqfT8C/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_statue_wall.jpg" width="200" /></a>Emily and Flor led me to the train station so I could buy a train pass and return my bike, and then I said bye to Flor and Emily and I walked around to look for something to drink. We got a liter of fruit juice and sat in this nice park for a little while before we decided we were also hungry, so we got up and looked for an open restaurant. Fun fact: I would say most French restaurants and cafés don't serve lunch after like 1 p.m. It's crazy sauce! We found a sandwich place that was still open, so we ate there. Why didn't I take a picture? No idea. It was delicious. I was probably too busy obsessing over the taste to think about my camera.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGPNNuLvyq-AQwBWMFXSQarxtcFZlU5NY2dTMRIOvzsS_Q61nVgeYyGKfemk0KTS-4Tnj7HiJHosnbkEcQK5UhJQMG3zzhmRPr49QMWG6U0vPqKBCtNYv74MNS7QdgHT8fMkyFIhRXf3E/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_statue2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGPNNuLvyq-AQwBWMFXSQarxtcFZlU5NY2dTMRIOvzsS_Q61nVgeYyGKfemk0KTS-4Tnj7HiJHosnbkEcQK5UhJQMG3zzhmRPr49QMWG6U0vPqKBCtNYv74MNS7QdgHT8fMkyFIhRXf3E/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_statue2.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fNGcUgnC9PWCdpkNl-2ixsHTUBhfX2oJl2IWBpT5MJ_ztGlBzjmy_IsPEtFgzO3EhpPp6YSS3054R1m1Jx1bTvN4VgeED23AXo_uJQuL0-VFzHyGMMAwUUzFceWyD3YxxNQWxcYn1cA3/s1600/gene%25CC%2580ve_river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fNGcUgnC9PWCdpkNl-2ixsHTUBhfX2oJl2IWBpT5MJ_ztGlBzjmy_IsPEtFgzO3EhpPp6YSS3054R1m1Jx1bTvN4VgeED23AXo_uJQuL0-VFzHyGMMAwUUzFceWyD3YxxNQWxcYn1cA3/s200/gene%25CC%2580ve_river.jpg" width="200" /></a>Emily hung out with me at the train station as I bought my ticket and waited for my train, and then we said goodbye and I got on board and headed to Lyon. Just one transfer onto a bus and I was on my way back to Davézieux! It was an amazing trip. I can't wait to go back! I'm currently in the works of planning a trip to Rome next week, but we'll see how that pans out...until then! Ciao Ciao!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-46936616942125579042011-10-27T20:36:00.001+02:002011-10-27T20:36:48.068+02:00Vacances en AnnecyWho loves to read a really, really long post about someone else's life? Probably lots of people, as long as there are a million pictures to accompany said post. In order to satisfy both those who enjoy long posts and those who do not, I've split this update into two parts: my trip to Annecy, and also my 80 kilometer biking adventure to Geneva, Switzerland. The latter part will come later. Please excuse the weak wordplay, I don't know how to be creative in French so I'm unleashing my pent up creativity on you...alas, here's the story of how I got to Annecy, and also what I did there:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwjwyuL4xgdciWWlsgfeGRknq3d-j72kcoGATo0Vmi_ueoFZnuZMbB0htKMXGmq0bwvAWLZ4uQINMJaGD67jyXsNmR51k8CQtOx5VVKwTiKgZNoyA_LqyJ3_RguHTAUjfSnewpXfElGob/s1600/annonay_cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwjwyuL4xgdciWWlsgfeGRknq3d-j72kcoGATo0Vmi_ueoFZnuZMbB0htKMXGmq0bwvAWLZ4uQINMJaGD67jyXsNmR51k8CQtOx5VVKwTiKgZNoyA_LqyJ3_RguHTAUjfSnewpXfElGob/s200/annonay_cat.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i just...didn't know what to think...</td></tr>
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Friday of last week, which would've been the 21st, I was planning on catching a bus out of Annonay to a train station at Le Péage de Roussillon, a small town just a couple minutes down the way, where I would ride the train to Lyon, and then to Annecy. Anyway, since I was also planning on biking to Switzerland I packed super light (two shirts and a pair of jeans, plus church clothes for six days).<br />
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I didn't wanna just sit around all day waiting for a bus out of town, so I made plans with Ashley to meet up in town for lunch and just to hang out before for a while before I left. Well I couldn't take my bike with me, so I walked 45 minutes into town and we met at the bus station. After we took care of some administrative business at her school we grabbed a bite to eat from a patisserie in the city center. We both got a quiche and then I got this almond pastry and she got a raspberry one, everything was delicious. As you can tell by these pictures.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_uI44rXRPiEX3HMsTUTUSnPfnQ9leo0YyQ47dvKkdpOHnxlNLSv-5IVoALdKoGp61NHBRjk3HYUaBGBIN3OVOg-dagV5-RJxOaoQ-uDOuyebpDm1hD1QQfWyBxvP17oDY6i6JZjNwUXm1/s1600/annonay_bite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_uI44rXRPiEX3HMsTUTUSnPfnQ9leo0YyQ47dvKkdpOHnxlNLSv-5IVoALdKoGp61NHBRjk3HYUaBGBIN3OVOg-dagV5-RJxOaoQ-uDOuyebpDm1hD1QQfWyBxvP17oDY6i6JZjNwUXm1/s200/annonay_bite.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNx31E4-TeQVaCD_bet28SBbPJVHUsCe13vglD24bzgEmfBlTlxRPwlX1pwf_Tius763anURuEDgpMla_WmHDt0VotPDg7OzWI36aUK8adGGhhywABk4OAD1qMaC-7v7OFAYRdzsOjwX_/s1600/annonay_lunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNx31E4-TeQVaCD_bet28SBbPJVHUsCe13vglD24bzgEmfBlTlxRPwlX1pwf_Tius763anURuEDgpMla_WmHDt0VotPDg7OzWI36aUK8adGGhhywABk4OAD1qMaC-7v7OFAYRdzsOjwX_/s200/annonay_lunch.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
We picked up a letter from the postoffice and then she showed me her apartment. It's really cozy inside and the view out her balcony was amazing! Something about making panoramas...I love it. Doesn't quite do it justice though.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZYXnlf1e1Ajp1Dji88mF_JMerqXM444NPqX8Wx2mHT2ya4K7gTQCagqzQWFXMgLtoKwF01iumtWmiGepU5654xjOx-pQ2FiI3vWS4r__ytL0ZKFd_B6yj50vYEGWR2cmTtbnttw06i_1/s1600/annonay_panorama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZYXnlf1e1Ajp1Dji88mF_JMerqXM444NPqX8Wx2mHT2ya4K7gTQCagqzQWFXMgLtoKwF01iumtWmiGepU5654xjOx-pQ2FiI3vWS4r__ytL0ZKFd_B6yj50vYEGWR2cmTtbnttw06i_1/s640/annonay_panorama.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Anyway, we were still hungry, plus we walked all over the place so don't judge us but we went and got another something to eat on my way back to the bus station. I got a crab sandwich and she got a croque monsieur, both which were good but a little too much mayo in mine and a little too much bechamel sauce in hers. Still, a disappointment here is like heaven back home.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9N1aJMwjAjSWB5a4O6XWrR8l51pR4Cig2o8odBILDyrUBmFWPUIvFLyyWmYYLRdNwKJrrYP6DI_O_63JrgHyr4uM63fJDErNRgD4dWtcrmf15Z6E-zJBMslJccFdKHxBBGcL1UsWiW0IH/s1600/annonay_ashley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9N1aJMwjAjSWB5a4O6XWrR8l51pR4Cig2o8odBILDyrUBmFWPUIvFLyyWmYYLRdNwKJrrYP6DI_O_63JrgHyr4uM63fJDErNRgD4dWtcrmf15Z6E-zJBMslJccFdKHxBBGcL1UsWiW0IH/s200/annonay_ashley.jpg" width="132" /></a>I got on the bus and made it to the train station with like 5 minutes to spare. I tried to buy a train pass but the train got there in the middle of the transaction, which is unfortunate because I could've saved like 30€. I made it to Lyon 20 minutes before my next train left to Annecy, but I still needed to get a ticket. I went to the ticket office, which was jam packed with people, but found a small line of maybe four people in front of a ticket machine. I wondered why the line was so short when there was another line of probably 30 people in line to buy tickets from a real person.<br />
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I figured out why when the first person took 10 minutes to buy a ticket from the machine. I literally watched a guy get in the big line and go all the way through and come out with a ticket as I stood behind three people. I also watched the clock tick closer to my departure time. Fifteen minutes. Ten. Seven. Four. Then there was only a guy in front of me, who restarted his search four times, and THEN froze the machine (no joke) and left the line. I stood there in disbelief until divine intervention made the machine work again. <br />
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I bought my ticket with maybe 45 seconds to spare, ran to my platform and jumped on the side of the train as it was rolling away. We were well out of the station before I finally pried the doors open and stumbled inside as the passengers looked at me like I was crazy. Ok, it wasn't that dramatic. I did run to the platform, but I got on normal-style and the train left like two minutes later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw07RrvQQqChxtcbEINkCcJKL13BTu7jVfI5yNl2Nq8rktbgAharLY9GFOPKX9zR3f9hbBAJOvV0xEi6PHmoukhDn-cZdwhJ_kF87MHpFIGmfJJJrLYXobY3WZDLtIU7upuELT7yLyQ-Rz/s1600/annecy_hotel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw07RrvQQqChxtcbEINkCcJKL13BTu7jVfI5yNl2Nq8rktbgAharLY9GFOPKX9zR3f9hbBAJOvV0xEi6PHmoukhDn-cZdwhJ_kF87MHpFIGmfJJJrLYXobY3WZDLtIU7upuELT7yLyQ-Rz/s200/annecy_hotel.jpg" width="200" /></a>I watched three or four people get on the train, realize it was the wrong one and get off. Unfortunately, two girls were not so lucky. They got on the train as it was leaving and <i>then </i>they found out it was the wrong one. Poor souls...I had peaceful ride though, and when I arrived in Annecy I called the president of the branch there because we had arranged for him to pick me up. He was super nice, but he didn't know of anywhere I could stay (I didn't ask why I couldn't just stay with him) so he took me to a hotel. I paid 45€ to sleep in a big bed for six hours. But it was nice!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUuzIZFReOx0cbKuf0KgwK0_U12pQ4aHMVXNrJnB7gAiCcJlmPox9J5f6_j6ZHV2rY_rHn_F9io1nN8Wp0o8aA8nRenuHsQ2lG3loGb9JhA5y9x8jwwSbIipSGE7RapxtKK0qBmqU4t4yi/s1600/bern_temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUuzIZFReOx0cbKuf0KgwK0_U12pQ4aHMVXNrJnB7gAiCcJlmPox9J5f6_j6ZHV2rY_rHn_F9io1nN8Wp0o8aA8nRenuHsQ2lG3loGb9JhA5y9x8jwwSbIipSGE7RapxtKK0qBmqU4t4yi/s320/bern_temple.jpg" width="212" /></a>At six the next morning the president came back and took me to the church building, where we met up with some other members to carpool to the Bern, Switzerland temple. Among them were my friends Flor and Emily! They're in the same program as me and teach in Annecy. We carpooled to the temple and I got to talk to the other man who came with us, he was awesome. It was cold in Bern, but the sun was shining and the temple was beautiful. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBk7f-wRiET62hB3Q8spBozGEdFnorthiRhSBgbko5TaiXwjsj49hJcwp7AuQrpKHJkIPHz4-_RkesyM3H214JnP6V95Gc2S_zHlt_AumLP04Cw7cXxHhLNj3J7a-yv5UlkgijxW9h9BHh/s1600/annecy_mcdonalds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBk7f-wRiET62hB3Q8spBozGEdFnorthiRhSBgbko5TaiXwjsj49hJcwp7AuQrpKHJkIPHz4-_RkesyM3H214JnP6V95Gc2S_zHlt_AumLP04Cw7cXxHhLNj3J7a-yv5UlkgijxW9h9BHh/s200/annecy_mcdonalds.jpg" width="200" /></a>Afterwards, we all went to McDonald's. It was actually the first time I've been there since I got to France, which I was pretty proud of. Culture observation: in Switzerland they have three national languages: French, Italian, and German. I guess as kids grow up they just learn the language of their parents, and then in school I think they just learn the language of the country closest to them. I don't really know. The point is that the girl behind the cash register spoke German, but the girl next to her spoke both German and French, and there was another guy who worked there who spoke German, and it was just cool. The food was so good, of course. I got this big chicken wrap and a raspberry frappé thing. Again: So. Good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirB4E24DYRl6WPfNwRF_WRQKzAGXsQLtuVv9Wm-0eJ5G1AZrHrsmynWxAIWGxtdXFNSWPwoi7_Ff5top-Wb2eid7dH8QYCzxuZwWz_4hN2MpmMZjW6dbAK7g2K03W61r24XX93qMPLi5km/s1600/annecy_pizza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirB4E24DYRl6WPfNwRF_WRQKzAGXsQLtuVv9Wm-0eJ5G1AZrHrsmynWxAIWGxtdXFNSWPwoi7_Ff5top-Wb2eid7dH8QYCzxuZwWz_4hN2MpmMZjW6dbAK7g2K03W61r24XX93qMPLi5km/s200/annecy_pizza.jpg" width="200" /></a>We met up with people back at the temple and left for home. When we got back to Annecy, Flor, Emily and I walked around looking for something to eat. We stopped at this pizza place and ordered the most delicious pizzas I've ever had...in France. They tasted as good as they look. One was a three meat combo and the other was some Haute-Savoie (the department I was in, remember Ardèche, my department?) specialty, a creme based pizza with potatoes and other stuff.<br />
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After pizza I rented a bike from the train station, a 7-speed that I prayed would make it to Geneva and back. We rode back to their apartment, taking the scenic route alongside the lake. It is so beautiful there, I can't even describe and pictures will never explain it in full, no matter how many thousands of words they're worth. If I were to show you a picture though, it would be another sweet panoramic I took.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz76-h160EDXmxgBhmRk3VrgDDG4YCYe1eMwlYMdCWODO2kwpFHXFwQp1GUBGFuqKBzNjYzMfO1h2YXOAyQAm0JSMh7dIEVgrpHCLWtgKst3H2W8F57lqcUYTrd9qrLsWH8LqMCBkgRqhH/s1600/annecy_lake_panorama%2528small%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz76-h160EDXmxgBhmRk3VrgDDG4YCYe1eMwlYMdCWODO2kwpFHXFwQp1GUBGFuqKBzNjYzMfO1h2YXOAyQAm0JSMh7dIEVgrpHCLWtgKst3H2W8F57lqcUYTrd9qrLsWH8LqMCBkgRqhH/s640/annecy_lake_panorama%2528small%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The view out their apartment is breathtaking, here's an attempt to capture it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiin8kyQdbOQ4ybV_jLc_lE8uvhdsGH4SehyY3-ARw9nYdd3cHVXobK7cIs1KcnvgEqhtlm5kFP04K7Ggsg_BHQYAll5Y8tJSlwGKAMrkd9wWIJfSsRK4ZwFzaZLtY4ZUL5g1RIVSXXJtef/s1600/annecy_window_panoramic%2528small%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiin8kyQdbOQ4ybV_jLc_lE8uvhdsGH4SehyY3-ARw9nYdd3cHVXobK7cIs1KcnvgEqhtlm5kFP04K7Ggsg_BHQYAll5Y8tJSlwGKAMrkd9wWIJfSsRK4ZwFzaZLtY4ZUL5g1RIVSXXJtef/s640/annecy_window_panoramic%2528small%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ztjc6Sm5yqw8MlCVHFr17VJUrjKFg_hjr7rgjhmoLuaR0QHkKaKrGoA8VntArkkfsrQm_MxrAEc-Ba9HoIY27xEMkXbFXUgf63QkOalTFdY5RJEDHx2OKOSTrrWJSzDxwxl_ofIp7nzQ/s1600/annecy_river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ztjc6Sm5yqw8MlCVHFr17VJUrjKFg_hjr7rgjhmoLuaR0QHkKaKrGoA8VntArkkfsrQm_MxrAEc-Ba9HoIY27xEMkXbFXUgf63QkOalTFdY5RJEDHx2OKOSTrrWJSzDxwxl_ofIp7nzQ/s320/annecy_river.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3msgvfL1Hs4Un9jaFDat6gvdQ3mUYQJSOPQq-CCzGW2QIeCaQHzFFz4LdcVE1VA3yxKe-xTklQT2-s96X87c_iLG-vmgsR4U1VEWWsNGgpgMhi7r4lO3EC8JgRtmAMt0Wsheg5muN-sBk/s1600/annecy_bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3msgvfL1Hs4Un9jaFDat6gvdQ3mUYQJSOPQq-CCzGW2QIeCaQHzFFz4LdcVE1VA3yxKe-xTklQT2-s96X87c_iLG-vmgsR4U1VEWWsNGgpgMhi7r4lO3EC8JgRtmAMt0Wsheg5muN-sBk/s200/annecy_bridge.jpg" width="200" /></a>The next morning we all went to church, and it was so great. It's such a different experience being in France, but the Spirit was just as strong and I loved it. We took the same route there and back as we did the day before, but on Sundays there's this ginormous open market for a couple hours in the morning and we rode right through it. It was so busy in the morning, but I only thought to take a video on the way back as things were dying down, which won't load for some reason so I'll have to show you it in person!<br />
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We got back to the apartment and ate this really good Argentine dish that Flor made while we waited for her friend Adriana to arrive from Montélimar for the bike trip the next day. That night Flor, Adriana, and I planned our route to Geneva. It would be full of epic failures and wins, for sure, but in the end we...well I guess you'll just have to read about it in the next post! :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-8611565340389858912011-10-20T12:04:00.001+02:002011-10-20T15:59:20.652+02:00Stage à Grenoble et Autrans<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBCy0ga5bhMZthkFN9oHntqq9bRqsvkuJ6dZ1qsZF2U3yJA-DzfNl0j_r90HEu2PUTmKY1NX_zzBxhlouTpWbHqpu20IkEkd7pAMEZ1olROG1TGK-k9uon0_1cpWkNwv167LuBft_RWEQ/s1600/cookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBCy0ga5bhMZthkFN9oHntqq9bRqsvkuJ6dZ1qsZF2U3yJA-DzfNl0j_r90HEu2PUTmKY1NX_zzBxhlouTpWbHqpu20IkEkd7pAMEZ1olROG1TGK-k9uon0_1cpWkNwv167LuBft_RWEQ/s200/cookies.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i said i was gonna make some of my mom's <br />cookies, and i did. they. are. delicious.</td></tr>
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LONG POST AHEAD. YOU MIGHT WANT SOME COOKIES FOR THE WAY.<br />
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I've been without internet since Sunday evening. It's been awful! Also it's been wonderful. Thankfully I was so busy the whole time that I think even if I had internet access I wouldn't have been on at all. Ok...who am I kidding, I probably would have at some point. I'm an addict. There, ARE YOU HAPPY?! Anyway...here's the story:<br />
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Remember that awesome party I was at? Well I got in contact with Morgane, the girl who I met there who told me I could crash at her place Sunday night if I wanted, and her offer was still on the table! So Isabelle helped me find a ride down to Grenoble there using this site that serves as a ride share throughout the country. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDuo_GYod05rn9PSipctZyUgGtPPEgyd7SlVD7NkZTFt82PFaSBnzFc3lNYv6iDxnuHbPmNQ2DcOluZonf2D6VnmAqD9zLKqB5dv9fhTIQqGM4Fyu8Sh9YuNHXfOY_nUipZgbPZ-33aRk/s1600/grenoble_tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDuo_GYod05rn9PSipctZyUgGtPPEgyd7SlVD7NkZTFt82PFaSBnzFc3lNYv6iDxnuHbPmNQ2DcOluZonf2D6VnmAqD9zLKqB5dv9fhTIQqGM4Fyu8Sh9YuNHXfOY_nUipZgbPZ-33aRk/s320/grenoble_tower.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">at night, this tower turns on its BLUE<br />
lights! it looks so cool, but I never<br />
managed to get a picture of it, sorry! </td></tr>
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I met Rémy - a twenty-something year old guy who works in Grenoble during the week and comes to the Annonay region to visit his family on the weekends - in Davézieux and he brought me all the way to my friend's place in Grenoble for only 8€, a trip that would normally have costed like 20€ and lots of stress. He was a really cool guy. We talked about a lot of stuff on the way down, and then he helped me find the tram I needed to take. I got his phone number in case I'm ever in Grenoble again, and then we shook hands and said goodbye.<br />
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I was waiting at the tram for like 15 minutes before my friend showed up, and then we rode it to at stop that's right in front of her apartment building. Her roommates were really welcoming. One guy was Spanish and the other guy was Bulgarian I think, and they hooked me up with a blow up mattress and blankets and stuff. Morgane made me and her a spinach pie thing with goat cheese - SO good. Then we ate pasta, and we ate cheese and bread and chocolate for dessert. She's so nice! They're all students at the university in Grenoble, and she had to be up around 8 and I had to be up around 9 so we both went to bed pretty early.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ge3IbfAciPgVL5Y0fvSvmxYVh9ksU_aSiuW-L1dQepW6Zn6Fu6Pefmw3ozROD9_FJ1dlhQ5tcRoi078yq1TWL27v8kHPVVtuXAg_ZD_Rv-U7ZMzi5Che2uBnjML_Ex3vuj6uMoOZ9ewy/s1600/grenoble_tram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ge3IbfAciPgVL5Y0fvSvmxYVh9ksU_aSiuW-L1dQepW6Zn6Fu6Pefmw3ozROD9_FJ1dlhQ5tcRoi078yq1TWL27v8kHPVVtuXAg_ZD_Rv-U7ZMzi5Che2uBnjML_Ex3vuj6uMoOZ9ewy/s320/grenoble_tram.jpg" width="320" /></a>I woke up the next morning, folded up my mattress and blankets and stuff, wrote Morgane a quick thank you not on a paper towel, and headed out towards my rendez-vous point for the Académie. I didn't have time to eat breakfast, so I just hopped on the tram (which I didn't know you were supposed to pay for until after I got off and saw the ticket machine) and rode it down to where Morgane told me to get off. Except I got off a stop too early so I had to walk to the next stop to make my transfer to where the building we were meeting in was. <br />
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I had a few minutes before we were officially supposed to start, so I went out looking for food. I found a supermarket about 29 steps from the tram stop, and because my middle name is Othello I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat for about 10 minutes. I settled with about a pound of white grapes which have green skins, but are named white because the wine they make is whine, even though it's more of a golden color than anything, and anyway it only cost me like 60 cents. Supply and demand, eh? The same amount of grapes would've cost me my right hand. I didn't steal them...we don't live in the Middle Ages, I just mean they'd be expensive. In case you were confused.<br />
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So I brought my green-skinned white grapes back to the meeting place, signed off on my name at a table of English teaching assistants, and checked out where my room would be for the night. Bellcombe 4, in a room with three other girls. Turns out that my advisor, Jean-Noël, placed me in that room because he thought that I was a girl because my name is Casey. I don't know how he decided that, but what else is new. I hoped they wouldn't be too freaked out. <br />
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I was just standing around with like 250 other kids in this room while everyone else showed up and signed in when I saw Holly. A friendly face! We mingled with some of the other assistants, and I saw some of the others from the Ardèche region (are you starting to remember these names?!). We met a handful of other people while we were waiting to go into the auditorium. I ended up sitting in the auditorium with some LDS kids (HOORAY!) I had met on Facebook, and some other girls who they had met before. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3qeKSsOvu8pzv9uVH8I_yYF6l-a0iMBAZOVWHlpVl28ymMT2-qKSHVkH1OE6uF6XrtnPgulqbjTyYyumBlWtJPyeAbckokpYHyDKZjPRGBLt-T1LJWSQi_jvA15_DeUnAMHyLqKB872I/s1600/grenoble_auditorium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3qeKSsOvu8pzv9uVH8I_yYF6l-a0iMBAZOVWHlpVl28ymMT2-qKSHVkH1OE6uF6XrtnPgulqbjTyYyumBlWtJPyeAbckokpYHyDKZjPRGBLt-T1LJWSQi_jvA15_DeUnAMHyLqKB872I/s320/grenoble_auditorium.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We sat through this really long and really boring informational meeting about stuff that everybody already knew. They let all those who were in the European Union out to lunch so the others could stay and ask questions about financial stuff. Since I had already taken care of everything like that I decided to opt out of that session with my new friends Trevor and Ashley to go get lunch. We had an hour and a half to kill, so we walked down a ways to this boulangerie in search of food. I got a salmon quiche, a diet coke and a strawberry tarte, which I forgot to take a picture of because I was so excited to eat it :(<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcvECGBRqM9XqnLVhWr6YCQSe4DGFfMsE9pLhqtaDmQYhDLe1O4FHP4dDPLNNuV0dZOhdnAnVos12O7yDf2lOiQsAI7N44Fd7PszN50gF5julD74pILh8ZH01pqypLjA40jNWtWsfGFmQv/s1600/grenoble_quiche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcvECGBRqM9XqnLVhWr6YCQSe4DGFfMsE9pLhqtaDmQYhDLe1O4FHP4dDPLNNuV0dZOhdnAnVos12O7yDf2lOiQsAI7N44Fd7PszN50gF5julD74pILh8ZH01pqypLjA40jNWtWsfGFmQv/s320/grenoble_quiche.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">salmon quiche. try the next time you're in grenoble.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The quiche was to die for. Anything that comes out of your every day, every couple shops down bakery is amazing. Even the coca-light tasted like diet coke. I mean, it <i>was </i>diet coke, but sometimes people thing they'd taste different. Nope. Tasted like America. Look at your hand. Now close your eyes. Now imagine you have succulent strawberries and crème de la crème sliding down your pallet as you chew on a soft, cookie-esque crust. Now stop. Close your mouth and open your eyes. Look back at your hand. Sadly, you're not actually eating a strawberry tarte, but if you were in France you could have been like me and actually had that experience. I'm on a couch writing my blog - hooah!<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
We went back to the auditorium for a couple more hours of boring stuff. This one guy from Spain or Italy stood up and addressed the people who were speaking to us and was like (in French, and not as sarcastically) "Hey just wanted to say thank you for everything, but a few of us were confused because we got a paper that said we were required to come here, but that everything would be free. Well we had to pay for our train tickets here and then we just had to go out and buy lunch, so we were kindof upset about that." I think the majority of people were pretty shocked, but also it was kindof true. I got lucky with my ride down, but some people had to pay like 40€ to get down to Grenoble. I still that it was a little rude, but I also see why he was upset. Even then, I wouldn't have had the cahones to address these people who were hosting us for the night in front of over 250 people.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqH307JrDG6TsVOXagvPz80Dbo6z-UhpmXdOYR0FfaAF1eZCrY60u2X1BHQKoxjBP095ni-e-qhtO1xnofdOjTbYDgh5fTz4Rk1_WVfaoaYMnfs9E2BWEplZzH5C-tXQHwXPrz2i9M_AkW/s1600/grenoble_doodle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqH307JrDG6TsVOXagvPz80Dbo6z-UhpmXdOYR0FfaAF1eZCrY60u2X1BHQKoxjBP095ni-e-qhtO1xnofdOjTbYDgh5fTz4Rk1_WVfaoaYMnfs9E2BWEplZzH5C-tXQHwXPrz2i9M_AkW/s200/grenoble_doodle.jpg" width="200" /></a>After all that, I didn't really walk away from that with anything, except for new friends and a sweet page of doodles. The six or seven us headed out of the auditorium to the busses that would take us up to Autrans, the little resort town where we were having our training the next day. The drive up took like 45 minutes, but it was beautiful. I hated the windows of the bus because they made taking pictures a pain in the beezy. I wanted to stop the driver every 5 minutes so he could let me out so I could take pictures outside. Too bad I never act on those impulses. I'm only impulsive when I want something of little to no value on the internet. It's easy for me to spend my money when I can't see it in my hand.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMs37IBdB31UJ8ZmXjBJgNfBNxeVRYHYNdbYJj8QqdsyUsZ5ysvH3B-K5DMVpv0YVP77CrlEl_SLUpXehjvqNsW1pszoMGNaSwdfcHZTUaP0VvHjEqMARd5D-HEbc14qL9q59R6F5BHwc/s1600/grenoble_cityshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMs37IBdB31UJ8ZmXjBJgNfBNxeVRYHYNdbYJj8QqdsyUsZ5ysvH3B-K5DMVpv0YVP77CrlEl_SLUpXehjvqNsW1pszoMGNaSwdfcHZTUaP0VvHjEqMARd5D-HEbc14qL9q59R6F5BHwc/s320/grenoble_cityshot.jpg" width="212" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidb4-blKzq83ZT7-hrzk-W_yy5_8dVf1uWcZJaiO4_R9eAtSI6BV2Yktyp7veGEgmbDjzKZC7VrU_EASea_L2PDYFhvzy_zBBo46Gu1LMa5Of6_MmdOJVNpwlZRZ04YFxhImeRzPWZdiPR/s1600/grenoble_autrans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidb4-blKzq83ZT7-hrzk-W_yy5_8dVf1uWcZJaiO4_R9eAtSI6BV2Yktyp7veGEgmbDjzKZC7VrU_EASea_L2PDYFhvzy_zBBo46Gu1LMa5Of6_MmdOJVNpwlZRZ04YFxhImeRzPWZdiPR/s320/grenoble_autrans.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anyway...we arrived and checked in to our rooms and had a couple hours before we needed to be back for dinner. I met the three other girls in my room, one who I already knew from Ardèche, and they weren't weirded out and neither was I! I guess there were a couple rooms that were co-ed, too. So Trevor, Ashley, Mia and I split up from the rest of the group and went looking for a hiking trail. We didn't really find one, so we just climbed up the nearest hill until we had a good view of the town and then we headed back down. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jHIHtsAM0B7d6LPpcRItOyZuz_Hx1Q7wa12YrYvCqmzZ6ulobCcMCRxnJl9T31JLd_3s6p8ciH0V9SetV3y3yMBwpeloEc_IB8xkOh7n0grLm4BtPQLLMGCK45ySBRVduQfDBv7c5oYl/s1600/autrans%2528small%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jHIHtsAM0B7d6LPpcRItOyZuz_Hx1Q7wa12YrYvCqmzZ6ulobCcMCRxnJl9T31JLd_3s6p8ciH0V9SetV3y3yMBwpeloEc_IB8xkOh7n0grLm4BtPQLLMGCK45ySBRVduQfDBv7c5oYl/s640/autrans%2528small%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We met up with the other kids we met and sat a table of eight in this big mess hall. Dinner was bread (obvi) and salad followed by rice and green beans with rolled up fish in this really tasty sauce that I couldn't identify any part of. It was white and salty. Does that help? I didn't think so. For dessert we ate yogurt and grapes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh92aQeejPlXp_55zvKWJ036OzsZySDoW78YRdpkhjXpSanbziwi8CyKWSUvkTSPtaq4ZKTx2NqoxxGp8X0LpfsyPIeWgGSgJy3N2cbFUQiNAnO2FUJlhU9I-RrH224zEfBgtWMJZKZz_g3/s1600/grenoble_dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh92aQeejPlXp_55zvKWJ036OzsZySDoW78YRdpkhjXpSanbziwi8CyKWSUvkTSPtaq4ZKTx2NqoxxGp8X0LpfsyPIeWgGSgJy3N2cbFUQiNAnO2FUJlhU9I-RrH224zEfBgtWMJZKZz_g3/s320/grenoble_dinner.jpg" width="320" /></a>Our little group met back in a room to play this card game called phase 10. Before I joined them I ran into an assistant who also lives in Annonay! She teaches in the high school that Anouk goes to, which is why I had never met her. It would've been great to know there was someone else in my city my age before though, like on my birthday when I walked around in the rain by myself. #selfpity<br />
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Her name is Ashley and she's from England as well. She's way cool! I guess she goes down to hang out with some of the assistants in Valence on weekends, so hopefully I'll be able to tag along sometime.<br />
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After a couple hours of phase 10, we figuratively threw in the towel and went back to our rooms for the night. The other girls were already asleep when I got in, so I just went straight to bed. Not straight to sleep, however, because the people next door thought it'd be cool to stay up drinking until all hours of the morn. I think they were the ones who skipped breakfast.<br />
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Which, unfortunately, they didn't really miss out on. They had plenty of bread cut up, and even had corn flakes out accompanied by hot milk. Here's the thing. Hot milk + corn flakes = salty mess of not good. Of course, they took out the cold milk after I already ate a bowl, so I wasn't really feeling another one. I had a couple slices of bread and butter and what I think was raspberry jam.<br />
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Everybody split up into elementary school and middle-high school, and then split up again according to departments. Along with the other Ardèche people I met in Privas, I went to a room where we met up with the head over the department Drôme, Rosine; the assistants in the region, and Jean-Noël, the head over my department. We went through like four hours of different workshops on how to better teach the students. It was fun and repetitive at the same time. <br />
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Between the hours of workshops we went to lunch. I lost a lot of my group, so I ended up sitting with some random people and one girl from my group, but we had a good time! We ate chicken in a curry sauce with a salad and steamed carrots and potatoes. There were little yogurt cups and cheese for dessert. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6hoT9dmRDNG5BzfuXt-hi9TdGAA39jU-7LwmJw6TfbtHvi0aFmlJvk8z33NyCNsGfpDjOS4toqLTRDlCUzfX4lmeDRCoRt4n_bMYCpDKNGhYzRaozfOtla-OKR5oYpBU7mi0FaNM6VEU/s1600/grenoble_lunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6hoT9dmRDNG5BzfuXt-hi9TdGAA39jU-7LwmJw6TfbtHvi0aFmlJvk8z33NyCNsGfpDjOS4toqLTRDlCUzfX4lmeDRCoRt4n_bMYCpDKNGhYzRaozfOtla-OKR5oYpBU7mi0FaNM6VEU/s320/grenoble_lunch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD-GIjuPDHhn-rKk2dJg-h0AeQrQUjWjuP0XLyKumSfpoQskO77T_5OP7CaxZGILc-fzLNzTgvnXnZhFpmLP4srsUN1KAstibSdEF2gp15XYGTKYq9awrB7Q5D2NRkoc7mw-ONWSV9LkEN/s1600/grenoble_cheese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD-GIjuPDHhn-rKk2dJg-h0AeQrQUjWjuP0XLyKumSfpoQskO77T_5OP7CaxZGILc-fzLNzTgvnXnZhFpmLP4srsUN1KAstibSdEF2gp15XYGTKYq9awrB7Q5D2NRkoc7mw-ONWSV9LkEN/s200/grenoble_cheese.jpg" width="200" /></a>After lunch the directeur had everybody sit on the steps of the welcome building for a picture and then then thanked us for being awesome, and then mentioned that there was a bus leaving early for those who lived in Ardèche, which meant me! Hooray! My friend Stephanie had already bought a train ticket back, but she lives close to Jean-Noël so he just let her ride with him (he's just a swell guy, I'm telling you), so she gave me her train ticket! So many nice people here. I caught the first bus out of camp, got to the train station and followed Holly, my friend Beccy, who teaches in Tournon (near Valence, about 20 minutes away), and my friend Ashley from Montana (who teaches in a tiny town WAY away from everyone else, I feel real bad for her) to our next train, which had about 3 minutes to catch. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2vnI7bjWgvvMPpqUbyGrsyUks-d_aIUGgg23t3QJHBw_QZHXSJ61ia7DtH7HSdV5V-9uBbtg8Rdg1rEgPfVsu9LKh5YldTUCcBMLIJ7vbTsMh0MWAazhJNiW0dXl2fkoM9s4V2wn_8sSL/s1600/grenoble_grave_home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2vnI7bjWgvvMPpqUbyGrsyUks-d_aIUGgg23t3QJHBw_QZHXSJ61ia7DtH7HSdV5V-9uBbtg8Rdg1rEgPfVsu9LKh5YldTUCcBMLIJ7vbTsMh0MWAazhJNiW0dXl2fkoM9s4V2wn_8sSL/s320/grenoble_grave_home.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frodo must be on another adventure, because he didn't<br />
answer the door...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Stephanie's ticket was for 8:30, but it was like 5 so I needed to exchange my ticket. I had to pay 3€ to have it moved up a couple hours, but I thought that was still a pretty good deal for a ticket home! Well we barely caught the train because I was taking forever, but finally we were on. When the conductor was taking my ticket, he asked for my train card that I used to buy the ticket. Well I didn't buy the ticket, Stephanie did, so I didn't have it...so I ended up having to pay him seven more euros. But still, 10€ for a train ticket wasn't too bad.<br />
<br />
We said goodbye to Ashley in Valence, and then Holly, Beccy and I headed off to our next train, which I still needed to buy my ticket for. I couldn't use my debit card in the machines in the station because it's a different set up, so Beccy had to buy my ticket and then I had to pay her with cash. We barely made that train too! Holly and I said bye to Beccy at her stop, and then the two of us headed to Péage de Roussillon to catch a bus to Félines, where Isabelle would pick us up. The bus driver in Péage was waiting on a train to get in, which was late, so we left about ten minutes later than we had expected. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkWCaEmqVgru8lTZWMXve9jKrqUPAYht0C0L_hAiR1QBSINl1gcWuPvEoVMVmvSEX97maIc4ypw_CP-Kyfyxvxjk1KIImhHY2rdoB3z3KjF1YsqVdbrFAJ9EKYHqXdhlFBtUM3ec07p7Lg/s1600/grenoble_mule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkWCaEmqVgru8lTZWMXve9jKrqUPAYht0C0L_hAiR1QBSINl1gcWuPvEoVMVmvSEX97maIc4ypw_CP-Kyfyxvxjk1KIImhHY2rdoB3z3KjF1YsqVdbrFAJ9EKYHqXdhlFBtUM3ec07p7Lg/s320/grenoble_mule.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
Funny story. On the way to Félines, we talked a little bit with this Catholic guy who got on the bus and sat in front of us. He needed to use my phone, but because I only had like a minute's worth of credit left on my card I told him sorry but I needed it to talk with Isabelle. So Holly let him use hers, and he was on the phone saying that it was Brother Somethingoranother, and so when he was off the phone I just asked him what religion he was, in the small chance that maybe he was LDS. He said he Catholic, and then invited us to something that was happening the next day in this church that is supposed to be really pretty and one of three of its kind. <br />
<br />
Well anyway Holly and I got to talking about religion a little bit, and I was starting to explain about being LDS as we were getting off the bus when I realized I had left my phone on board. The bus was long gone. So we were gonna call Holly's host mom, but then Holly's phone died. So we went looking for a payphone, but you need a specific card to call with it. We didn't know if we were in the right spot, or when Isabelle would get there, and suddenly everything that we thought could've gone wrong might go wrong. We freaked out a little bit, but then 15 minutes later or so Isabelle rolled up and took us all home. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDlrltBaCXRyhvMeFg-zIhooDWw-xjSPOxNyWRD5W3bN67OBpwlq4N-SrZwveAol5Jkz2NKgj2alJitCK2eHC6fbVVtSehFRvo4kTyP1Ajcf_gk4dact9iDxH5ik4p6BPpEI1uGSyyYig/s1600/grenoble_vine_house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDlrltBaCXRyhvMeFg-zIhooDWw-xjSPOxNyWRD5W3bN67OBpwlq4N-SrZwveAol5Jkz2NKgj2alJitCK2eHC6fbVVtSehFRvo4kTyP1Ajcf_gk4dact9iDxH5ik4p6BPpEI1uGSyyYig/s320/grenoble_vine_house.jpg" width="320" /></a>After we dropped off Holly we went to check the bus station to see if the bus would be there, but it wasn't, so we just went home. We were planning on coming back the next morning, but then Isabelle got a call from my phone, from the bus driver! He found it, and happened to call the right person. He had just called her and gotten across where we should meet tomorrow and at what time when the phone he hung up on Isabelle for some reason...I know it was because the phone was out of credit, because when I got it back today I had a text that said "you ran out of credit!" Good thing I didn't give it to the nice man on the bus!<br />
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Holy cow, if you're still reading this...I appreciate it. Maybe you just came for the pictures. That's ok, too.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0hCvK5IN3sSaMkmiLjIr2MeEm6Oz7niUWBfRpi-f_w5NX0UghAKGUsS8pfxKl3r9xUVX27jNvs8awCSrtq01R15FdOryL8J2JV7B8wXXXLbJ6tHVGm_sPR1mfZ6Edrrwri1XVscGq1I0/s1600/sunrays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0hCvK5IN3sSaMkmiLjIr2MeEm6Oz7niUWBfRpi-f_w5NX0UghAKGUsS8pfxKl3r9xUVX27jNvs8awCSrtq01R15FdOryL8J2JV7B8wXXXLbJ6tHVGm_sPR1mfZ6Edrrwri1XVscGq1I0/s320/sunrays.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">if it looks like i photoshopped a lightpost out of this...it's<br />
because i did.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
Today it rained, but I went and picked up my bank card and came home and bought a new phone plan that will allow me to use my phone from America, so I'll have unlimited internet and texts, and 2 hours of call time for only 20€ a month! It's pretty sweet. I also bought Skyrim. 11.11.11. Why aren't you here now?!</div>
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<div class="p1">
I'm trying to figure out what to do for the next two weeks, because it's all saints vacation. Italy? Switzerland? I guess you'll find out in the next post!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-22577978753445096112011-10-16T18:33:00.001+02:002011-10-18T23:22:01.847+02:00Soirée A La DiscothèqueSO. Story time. I realize I'm jumping into it without my usual "blah blah blah, here's the story:" Forgive the discontinuity. Also forgive me for not bringing my camera, but I wasn't sure what environment I'd be in. The last thing I would want is for my camera to get stolen or have any combination of drinks spilled on it, so I just left it at home.<br />
<br />
I work with a woman named Fabienne, and we're pretty good buds. She teaches K-2nd grade at Bernaudin. Anyway she telling me that she had a daughter about my age who lives in the area, and if I didn't have much to do on the weekends she would tell her to contact me. I told her I never had anything to do, so last week I got a text from Marion, Fabienne's daughter, inviting me to a soirée. <br />
<br />
How cool is that? This girl I'd never met, and who doesn't know me at all, invites me to a party with her and her friends. I get all this undeserved attention for some reason. Well, as it turns out, she spent a year in Germany and totally knows what it's like to be in a foreign country where you don't know anybody. One of the nicest thing that's happened to me since I got here.<br />
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This Saturday, the 15th, was the big night, and I didn't do anything all day except be kinda nervous to meet new people. Isabelle gave me a ride down to the cinéma to meet up with Marion around 6, and I was there a little early so I sat down and waited. <br />
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There were three other girls standing on the other side of the cinéma talking amongst themselves who looked kinda sketch, but I try not to judge and I didn't know what Marion looked like so it very well could've been her. Maybe two minutes after I sat down one of the girls came up to me and asked me what my name was and told me I was cute. I was very flattered, but I was also very, very uninterested (to put it politely). Thankfully, it wasn't Marion. I entertained them for a few minutes while I waited, and she asked for me phone number. I gave her the right one, but I'm changing back to my phone as soon as I get my bank credit card so I'm not sure how long that friendship will last...<br />
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Eventually the three girls left, and a couple minutes later I saw a girl standing a little ways from where the other girls were and we kindof had that eye contact where it was like, I think you're that person I'm supposed to meet here...? I was very much reminded of when I got off the plane in Lyon, looking for Isabelle and Anouk. Anyway it was definitely Marion, and we did the whole bise thing (the kiss on the cheeks) and we were officially acquainted! <br />
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Quick lesson on meeting people, even though I've been over this before. When you walk into a room of people, like at a party, you say hello to EVERYONE. For girls you do la bise, and for guys you shake their hand. Short and sweet, but it's no man left behind. Also, depending on the region, you can kiss like 2-4 times, switching sides every time. In my region we only do it twice, once on each side. I think in Grenoble it's three times, because I met a girl who's from there and she did it three times and was like, "oh yeah, it's only two here." In French though. Obvi.<br />
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On to the party. Marion and I met up with her friend Alexandre, who brought his friend Morgane, the girl from Grenoble. Alex is from a small town outside Valence, which is like 20 minutes away by car.<br />
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Quick antidote. He told me about this tradition in small towns in Ardèche (remember the lesson on geography), where, around the age of 18, the guys form a 'conscrit' (basically a a group) with those who were born in the same year as them. On the first weekend in May, they basically go caroling from door to door until someone invites them in for drinks. They drink and sing and when the conscrit leaves, the family who invited them in gives them all money. Then the conscrit goes on to the next house that will invite them in, where they'll drink and sing and get paid and leave and keep doing it until they're pretty much plastered. This group of guys sticks together throughout the next 2 years doing the same thing on the first weekend in May, and then after the second year they take all the money they saved up from going door to door and they all go on an extensive vacation during the summer. It's so cool!<br />
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So anyway, Marion, Morgane, Alex and I all drove up to St. Étienne to go to Marion and Alex's friend's apartment. We met five other guys there: Romain (who owned the place), Morgan (a boy - no "e" at the end), Mikel, Vivian (also a guy), and Sébastien. Then Romanne (a girl - notice the "e" at the end), Christopher, and his girlfriend Meghan showed up a little later.<br />
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We all sat around in the living room, eating pizza, chips, and drinking. I stuck with the multi-fruit purée juice. So good. Even though the first thing most people learn about me here is that I don't drink, they respect it and are always hospitable. I got to chat with most everyone, and we were all having a good time. A couple hours later, maybe around midnight, I was starting to feel the tired. Pretty thick actually. I was probably crashing from the liter of sugary fruit juice I had just consumed, and I noticed some other people were starting to slouch in their chairs and on the couch. Unfortunately, in France, when you're starting to get tired at a party that only means one thing: time to go dance.<br />
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Roman, the host, rallied everyone together and ushered us out the door into the street to go to a club that was nearby. At first the bouncer wasn't going to let us in because there were too many guys and he could tell they had been drinking, but they told him that I had come all the way from America just to go clubbing, and he thought that was funny so he let us in. There was no one inside.<br />
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In France there are little discothèques with a bar and a smallish area to dance in, and then some benches with little tables to drink at. The DJ's at these places usually just play classic French and American tunes (I heard Michael Jackson, AC DC, and Prince) instead of heavy techno stuff, where you would have to go to a much bigger club to find. So for the next three and half hours we were at this little club in St. Étienne dancing and taking lots of pictures and just having fun.<br />
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On the walk back home Alex and I talked about the difference between clubs in the States and the kind of music we listen to. He was pleasantly surprised that I'd heard of Daft Punk and David Guetta, because the last American he met only listened to country haha. <br />
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By the time we got back and were ready for bed, Meghan's boyfriend was missing, so we all stayed up and waited for Alex and Romain as they went out looking for him. He came in on his own like 20 minutes later, and then we waited for Alex and Roman to get back. Meghan was pretty pissed about Christopher being gone and they got into this big argument, and I'm pretty sure they broke up. <br />
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The moral of the story is that if you wanna party with the French, don't plan on going to sleep until around 5 a.m.<br />
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We woke up around 9:30 and were on our way back to Annonay around 10, and as soon as I got back I went to sleep. Now I'm waiting for Isabelle to get home so she can take me to meet with an unidentified character to make the two hour trip to Grenoble, where I'll meet up with Morgane and her roommates so I have a place to stay for the night. That way I don't have to get up at 6 in the morning tomorrow and take a bus for 4 hours and hopefully make it to the training center by 10h30 (that's how they do time, by the way), which is when we're supposed to start. <br />
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Big couple of days ahead of me. Look forward to lots of pictures!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-18543906607108357882011-10-14T00:35:00.000+02:002011-10-14T00:39:17.458+02:00St. Étienne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoV9xObDbRHqZT20CEktb0MWjgjJ38mYgjHHYUJINf7Ypbtkhd1O1WT5VU32m-DiIyKPEK4t7I_9saRs9G9u69PLs4Fx3HBcwAt0x_coOn543R5QG-jNcXoVlpCtCIAeqWMVNyn8vQZ3X/s1600/church_st_e%25CC%2581tienne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoV9xObDbRHqZT20CEktb0MWjgjJ38mYgjHHYUJINf7Ypbtkhd1O1WT5VU32m-DiIyKPEK4t7I_9saRs9G9u69PLs4Fx3HBcwAt0x_coOn543R5QG-jNcXoVlpCtCIAeqWMVNyn8vQZ3X/s200/church_st_e%25CC%2581tienne.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
Encouragement: LOTS of pictures in this post. Unfortunately, Blogger (the website I run my blog off) is pretty awful with the whole picture wrapping (getting the picture to fit around the text) and so it looks super cluttered. Oh well. Also this post probably won't be as long as the amount of pictures I have spanning down the page, so we'll just see how this goes. Friendly reminder: to make any picture bigger and more beautiful, just click on it! That makes pictures like the panoramas especially pretty. On Wednesday morning, Isabelle, Anouk and I got up and left around 9 am to go pick up Isabelle's mother to take with us to St. Étienne. Then we drove out like 15 minutes to go pick up Holly in Charnas, and I sat in the middle of her and Anouk in the back seat for the next hour and a half as we drove north through the mountains towards St. Étienne. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATeslTe5aFl8uNDP76SInD4FIDxAHvOF6E49dDIkWapg_pzakklF1g0mTP4isZKJtXpgCtJoOy_9WCVZInvBTJ15fMB2bOWpahe13vO_BQLd4S3dTxbSoweg76mmo64CH3_K74N1rCwEC/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_statue2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATeslTe5aFl8uNDP76SInD4FIDxAHvOF6E49dDIkWapg_pzakklF1g0mTP4isZKJtXpgCtJoOy_9WCVZInvBTJ15fMB2bOWpahe13vO_BQLd4S3dTxbSoweg76mmo64CH3_K74N1rCwEC/s200/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_statue2.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
The drive was awesome, even though half of it was spent underneath a line of fog. When we broke out of it, the sun was shining bright and the trees looked beautiful now that they finally had color. I was super uncomfortable basically the whole time because every time we took a turn (I think I counted 748) I had to use my hamstrings to push my knees up against either the front seat or the passenger seat to keep from smashing the girls on both sides of me. By the time we reached St. Étienne my legs were so dead.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpFFvTnxnji1ul-lsDUsxMGrKMuJDPK4JUkr4yq1h6krJSDDvS-dLft11V1-aNlmqK217igElp2SoQ2yq3CC9Ngpz_2J9Kblh7XBM_K6oIYasMbJMlWLQrBG8m5XDA6UX4VXZpkeXYcMI/s1600/set_e%25CC%2581tienne_turn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpFFvTnxnji1ul-lsDUsxMGrKMuJDPK4JUkr4yq1h6krJSDDvS-dLft11V1-aNlmqK217igElp2SoQ2yq3CC9Ngpz_2J9Kblh7XBM_K6oIYasMbJMlWLQrBG8m5XDA6UX4VXZpkeXYcMI/s320/set_e%25CC%2581tienne_turn.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuE2Mqk_SxBuD2m9irG-4GVVkpu7TQ-FYJ_w7lONqemuFGpR21pB-DAlLyrkc1M5jiI-7grZpkiL61Dqsi1WjpTDcw6vQd5aVKzqGUPZAloiRNHXtXJzQhTl96PY7RE5TSXE2-iu0WQeUf/s1600/st%25E2%2580%2593e%25CC%2581tienne%25E2%2580%2593statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuE2Mqk_SxBuD2m9irG-4GVVkpu7TQ-FYJ_w7lONqemuFGpR21pB-DAlLyrkc1M5jiI-7grZpkiL61Dqsi1WjpTDcw6vQd5aVKzqGUPZAloiRNHXtXJzQhTl96PY7RE5TSXE2-iu0WQeUf/s200/st%25E2%2580%2593e%25CC%2581tienne%25E2%2580%2593statue.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjYyJZvD5aWKJgVLzCzm7RBikDKnTuHiUiFNRX_-5V77l0_sG5autvTCmxfsfpULTUQEeWMCAtDt5BlJYB9okzFrjbPpznEM3D7h7Q6P9YMcKCrntUM-uHJXEFHFNDhelcoGcx1nGxuCn/s1600/stain_glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Anyway at first glance it didn't look very big, but Isabelle dropped Holly and I off at literally the most southern edge of the city and it took us an hour to walk to the city center. Shops are EVERYwhere.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjYyJZvD5aWKJgVLzCzm7RBikDKnTuHiUiFNRX_-5V77l0_sG5autvTCmxfsfpULTUQEeWMCAtDt5BlJYB9okzFrjbPpznEM3D7h7Q6P9YMcKCrntUM-uHJXEFHFNDhelcoGcx1nGxuCn/s1600/stain_glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjYyJZvD5aWKJgVLzCzm7RBikDKnTuHiUiFNRX_-5V77l0_sG5autvTCmxfsfpULTUQEeWMCAtDt5BlJYB9okzFrjbPpznEM3D7h7Q6P9YMcKCrntUM-uHJXEFHFNDhelcoGcx1nGxuCn/s200/stain_glass.jpg" width="200" /></a> I didn't get any great pictures just because...ok I don't know, I didn't think they were super interesting, but basically there were just roads going every direction with shops lining the whole street. We didn't really know what we were doing, but after a look at a tram map we decided to head north towards the cité du design, which we thought sounded interesting. Turns out it was closed because they were changing exhibits. Bummer! Not too far from there was a stadium that fits 36,0000 people, and I think that's where St. Étienne's soccer team plays, so I wanted to go have a look. We found it, I took some pictures, and we left. What do you think of it? Not quite the size of our football stadiums, but it's still pretty sweet looking, I think. We left the stadium in search for food.<br />
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On the way back to the center of town we stumbled across this section of town that was <b>covered </b>in graffiti. Every wall, everywhere. These pictures aren't a hundredth of what was there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUBT7xeNg-2gXM_fXf2wq73K_OXaAotcIkttcjoMXAVECXPtJh8jQYMX0gBz-iuH0pfHBd-pGo8V2ASu5hJkyHioXb8t307kGFBIUctPC029Oco-0kEkQrlGHHVufA4rnQHx2aVmII6zx/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_dessert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUBT7xeNg-2gXM_fXf2wq73K_OXaAotcIkttcjoMXAVECXPtJh8jQYMX0gBz-iuH0pfHBd-pGo8V2ASu5hJkyHioXb8t307kGFBIUctPC029Oco-0kEkQrlGHHVufA4rnQHx2aVmII6zx/s200/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_dessert.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OTELX7QW5E9FAZx0CJSx0NYuUCAhibbg9jNc23WChHELcxVlx4GevLP6hAoSkb-cRJqkfWOPK7q2Nb7M43y2yFQeQNJebw9_o53QYRDnpVomStDgwwQ95Qzjm-xJbifuG30dQO5Y2KzC/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_lunch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OTELX7QW5E9FAZx0CJSx0NYuUCAhibbg9jNc23WChHELcxVlx4GevLP6hAoSkb-cRJqkfWOPK7q2Nb7M43y2yFQeQNJebw9_o53QYRDnpVomStDgwwQ95Qzjm-xJbifuG30dQO5Y2KzC/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_lunch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OTELX7QW5E9FAZx0CJSx0NYuUCAhibbg9jNc23WChHELcxVlx4GevLP6hAoSkb-cRJqkfWOPK7q2Nb7M43y2yFQeQNJebw9_o53QYRDnpVomStDgwwQ95Qzjm-xJbifuG30dQO5Y2KzC/s200/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_lunch2.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUBT7xeNg-2gXM_fXf2wq73K_OXaAotcIkttcjoMXAVECXPtJh8jQYMX0gBz-iuH0pfHBd-pGo8V2ASu5hJkyHioXb8t307kGFBIUctPC029Oco-0kEkQrlGHHVufA4rnQHx2aVmII6zx/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_dessert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Y7e5aiv3f3yMyLA1LqFH5bmRKI_Q5fsUXKj2yYYUud4hhlC4ZMaFViiCVdRnI3B1gXbtHhH4zP-xTSYpSNacH6jUJZLxcovuWo-brgVfQsQV_H7Aog62fj1Ms01Ded6QtSdEm9r7B6gB/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_lunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Y7e5aiv3f3yMyLA1LqFH5bmRKI_Q5fsUXKj2yYYUud4hhlC4ZMaFViiCVdRnI3B1gXbtHhH4zP-xTSYpSNacH6jUJZLxcovuWo-brgVfQsQV_H7Aog62fj1Ms01Ded6QtSdEm9r7B6gB/s200/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_lunch.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
We made it back to the city and ate lunch, and by then it was like 1:30. There were a couple places side by side that all had pretty similar menus, but we picked one that didn't look super packed and went inside. The waiter read us the daily special, and I didn't really understand anything he said except that it sounded like a three-dish meal with lot of food that and a dessert, and we both decided that it seemed like a good deal. Most of the dishes were between 13€-16€ and that was only 13.50€, plus the tip is included in the price. Also, I got the whole meal, and Holly opted out of whatever was the first dish. So the waiter comes out a little while later with what I thought was the dessert for some reason, because I thought whatever they strew across the side of the plate was chocolate. It was some kind of soy sauce or something, and the dish inside was a really, really tasty seafood cake. I used bread to soak up what I couldn't fit on my fork until the waiter came and took it away. I could've eaten at least four more. Holly and I got our dish of what was beef, noodles, and some marinated vegetables. It was really good! After that, we got a dessert of a layered vanilla and chocolate crème with the consistency of pudding with little cake bits in the top layer and tiramisu bits in the bottom with the chocolate. I think I left that restaurant feeling more full than I've been since I got here. SO GOOD.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDpTA0wpf_iIJkUlBVcQGpP4tqMF3ijVlHruyvePpCRmbSHopoh5oAg4cygctv6ytYAmuq39CCMJcLKjkmYs4QMUTLzvKP7Y20TjBcM4AlGlV0cDoRhUObpk5ZfEeo4SKpiiM6ogUV7YN/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_graves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDpTA0wpf_iIJkUlBVcQGpP4tqMF3ijVlHruyvePpCRmbSHopoh5oAg4cygctv6ytYAmuq39CCMJcLKjkmYs4QMUTLzvKP7Y20TjBcM4AlGlV0cDoRhUObpk5ZfEeo4SKpiiM6ogUV7YN/s200/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_graves.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RFfF6ymxm3lqR6s0R99wPkqYwrV_o5d8bMuFny_KMArdE0whmdVbrMxq4cnztKqwYMBSpFeyzVZrGYuJjLvD44jklm5HggZQt-OunVdzIt6DIMC9yPL04MQx6uFqvqXQEn0pvO7y-1Xa/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_angel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RFfF6ymxm3lqR6s0R99wPkqYwrV_o5d8bMuFny_KMArdE0whmdVbrMxq4cnztKqwYMBSpFeyzVZrGYuJjLvD44jklm5HggZQt-OunVdzIt6DIMC9yPL04MQx6uFqvqXQEn0pvO7y-1Xa/s200/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_angel.jpg" width="132" /></a>After lunch, I wanted to go see this massive cemetery that overlooks the city because I've never seen anything like it. We had to hike up about 2159 stairs to get there, but after that meal I definitely needed to at least work off maybe the cake bits in my dessert to feel better about myself. Anyway it was worth it, the cemetery was enormous and I couldn't have possibly imagined what was there. I don't think there was a single tombstone that didn't accompany an actual tomb right there with with it. There were also several little house-like things, I can't remember what they're called. We walked around for probably 20 minutes or so and got lost, but we made it out eventually. There were tombs from the late 18th century there! I wonder how expensive it'd be to have even a small tomb made and kept clean for you. There were literally thousands there. Crazy sauce. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vASCJMJBhzZvyhh_mIkeLy2pOySk9_S1s8Fbw1zFpSlWUtTMMrd-Y7mEFcrnVyyHpIEu4etsaQ1aSxwZ6e-sGP8A-Yl1kO5r5NxRC_5YIIeSNxWlONQryG12H2KqWrFhGj2xcuehozOx/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_panorama%2528small%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vASCJMJBhzZvyhh_mIkeLy2pOySk9_S1s8Fbw1zFpSlWUtTMMrd-Y7mEFcrnVyyHpIEu4etsaQ1aSxwZ6e-sGP8A-Yl1kO5r5NxRC_5YIIeSNxWlONQryG12H2KqWrFhGj2xcuehozOx/s320/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_panorama%2528small%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuBWeXOo1FG5-qqEIkT_wcK2NwT_z-kgfB-wLS_6e8pohpVSPtrsTGAROMmTJbtvLuqZ0_SqVrxRSKzsvHc_R470_A_Cy5foSNBWluK5_U2Wg6VYG2mi3vVmFcKVm3gyUhxK7gQhlIcef/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_stairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuBWeXOo1FG5-qqEIkT_wcK2NwT_z-kgfB-wLS_6e8pohpVSPtrsTGAROMmTJbtvLuqZ0_SqVrxRSKzsvHc_R470_A_Cy5foSNBWluK5_U2Wg6VYG2mi3vVmFcKVm3gyUhxK7gQhlIcef/s200/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_stairs.jpg" width="132" /></a>We descended back into the city to head back to meet Isabelle to go home. About halfway down the stairs I took some pictures of what I thought we make a good panorama of St. Étienne, and it turned out ok I guess. I like the one of Davézieux better, and I can't wait to make one of Annonay because it will be even more awesome.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbBY6XbKUSSRVrkE3pZPEld7wu6dJiXPCNTaYJrqB935rYt0UG5QdqDGxSrswWhIZIle0aICUCphPxAU2ORHWBWmtYk8RO9pHkUXAzx6_kwApMmXlBF7nkBnFsPtGBVo-LfrZ_IGDuB70/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_lady_liberty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbBY6XbKUSSRVrkE3pZPEld7wu6dJiXPCNTaYJrqB935rYt0UG5QdqDGxSrswWhIZIle0aICUCphPxAU2ORHWBWmtYk8RO9pHkUXAzx6_kwApMmXlBF7nkBnFsPtGBVo-LfrZ_IGDuB70/s200/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_lady_liberty.jpg" width="120" /></a> Anyway, I think it was around 5:40 by the time we were in the car on our way back to Annonay. An hour and a half later we got home and had a refreshing drink of some fruit juice or another, and then I went with Isabelle to drop off Holly back in Charnas. She really does live out in the middle of nowhere, I feel bad...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKd3xOqjw7jk8On1UnLanCqyGL8VfqklXNnfIXGPT52AFvvGgIJh9XxPpqmkNdNI1ZHDS6iGsSJU5yElOH8bO45I0nA6Hyhd0oJF3tsV36KYhfKqmxboONQWylwfdbjYD6Gipqz-d-uiCp/s1600/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_impression.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKd3xOqjw7jk8On1UnLanCqyGL8VfqklXNnfIXGPT52AFvvGgIJh9XxPpqmkNdNI1ZHDS6iGsSJU5yElOH8bO45I0nA6Hyhd0oJF3tsV36KYhfKqmxboONQWylwfdbjYD6Gipqz-d-uiCp/s200/st_e%25CC%2581tienne_impression.jpg" width="200" /></a>So today is Thursday. The weather was pretty weird outside, black clouds and sun with blustering wind. I didn't really go outside though. I played volleyball tonight, but it was more just a practice than anything. There were only eight of us there, opposed to the 30 from Monday. I got to know some of the other players though, so I'll be more comfortable when I go back to play next week. I should probably learn some of the names though instead of just the faces...<br />
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I don't have any plans for tomorrow. Maybe I'll make mom's cookies. I hope they taste the same with French ingredients. I'll be in touch!<br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-57799096056290629342011-10-13T16:50:00.000+02:002011-10-13T16:50:56.242+02:00Premiers Jours de Travaille/Vollé-Ball/Le Groupe de Jean-LucWarning: long update ahead and a lack of pictures. As in no pictures. Basically this week has been pretty crazy busy, except for Sunday where I did nothing. I went to my first day of work and got to play volleyball! Also, one of the teachers invited me to sit in on one of his band's recording session at his friend's house, because I told him I play guitar. So here's the story:<br />
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On Monday, just like last week, we left the house around 7:40 to drop Anouk off at her high school and then to get me to Bernaudin on time. I started off in the kindergarten-level class, and all we did was sing 'row, row, row your boat' which is basically impossible for 5 year-old French kids to learn. Then I went to the 1st-2nd grade class where we prepared an 'American' breakfast of toast and jam, waffles and butter, corn flakes, scrambled eggs, diced sautéed potatoes, and some fruit. I tried to explain everything in English, but even that was hard. Most of the time I just say it in English and then translate, which is actually really fun for some reason, haha. After that I went to the 3rd-5th grade class where we went outside and did sprints. And by we I mean they did sprints while I said, "runners, on your marks. Get set. Go!" for an hour. That was pretty fun too. <br />
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After that I was done at Bernaudin, so one of the teachers gave me a ride to Vissenty to eat lunch with the Isabelle and the other teachers. I started in the primary class there as well, which was pretty awkward because the teacher there has no idea what she wants to do as far as teaching English goes. That puts me in a rough spot, because I'm just an assistant. I didn't bring a weekly lesson plan for the 5 year olds, that's her job! So I just sang 'row, row, row your boat' with them a couple times and then answered some questions and then left. Thankfully I'm only in there for half an hour, otherwise it would've been awful. Hopefully she has something figured out for us to do by the time we come back from the All-Saints vacation.<br />
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Anyway, I went to Jean-Luc's class after that. He's great. We sang the "how are you?" song, which is nice...what I mean is that I could write a better song in my sleep. But the kids love it and they're learning from it, so that's what counts. During recess Jean-Luc asked if I wanted to go with him on Tuesday night to his friend's place and hang out with them as they recorded some songs. They write kid's songs and just silly stuff for family members to enjoy, but they also play at youth festivals and stuff, it's really cool! I told him I'd love to go. <br />
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After recess I went to Denis' class, where we reviewed months, how to say your birthday, and colors I think. I left to go to Isabelle's class of 1st-2nd graders, and they had a ton of questions for me that were just hilarious. I got "do you know the months in English? Do you remember them?" and like, "do they have trucks in America?" "Do you know Barak Obama?" I don't know, I wish I remembered all of them that made me die inside of laughter. I just did that for an hour, and that's my last class for the day, and I'm usually home by 4:45. That's what all my Mondays will look like!<br />
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On Monday night, after a dinner of frozen French cheeseburgers that were actually pretty good, Isabelle took me to go play volleyball with a club that one of her friend's belongs too. I was a little nervous because I didn't know if they were super legit or anything, and I had never been on a real team before and I didn't know if I would even be allowed to play. Basically I had a blast.<br />
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There were probably 30 people there, and I think I met every single one, even if only with a hand shake. They loved that I was American, of course. One of the guys named David kindof took me under his wing while and warmed up with me, and by the time we started playing I was feeling pretty great. The team I was on and the one we were playing against consisted of pretty average players I would say. It was perfect for just having fun. I played pretty well, too! I still don't know if I'm necessarily on a team or not, but I guess I'll figure out as the week goes on. They play on Mondays and Thursdays, but at different gyms. <br />
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After we were done playing, one of the guys from one of the teams playing on the other side of the gym invited me over for a beer the following night and gave me his address and everything. I told him I'd prefer an orange juice and he was ok with that, haha. I was bummed though, because I really wanted to go hang out, but I had already told Jean-Luc that I'd go hang out with him and his bandmates. I hope we can still get together sometime later, I guess I'll just talk to him either tonight (Thursday) because I won't be home in time on Tuesday because I'll be on my way home from Grenoble from my training thing. I also have his phone number, so maybe I'll just call him. Using the phone still scares me though.<br />
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On Tuesday we left at the same time in the morning, but I went to Van Gogh this time. I sat in the first teacher's room, who also happens to be the directrice (basically a principal who also teaches a class), until she was ready for me to come outside to do something in English with the kids. I really didn't know what to do, so I resorted to playing Red Rover. Do you remember that game? "Red rover, red rover, send so and so right over..." Anyway, that was pretty fun!<br />
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Then I went and answered a bunch of questions from another teacher's classroom. There were a bunch of funny questions, as always, but I don't remember all of them. One was, "are there bridges in America?" After that I went to a class of handicapped kids, and all I did was introduce myself for like 5 minutes because usually I'm supposed to read them stories and they didn't have any books yet, so I just went and ate lunch. Isabelle prepared me some kind of traditional dish that was like tomato covered hamburger and short breadstick-like things, but I really don't know what it was...<br />
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After I was done with lunch at Van Gogh I caught the bus to Bernaudin, where I spent the whole afternoon in the garden helping the kids with pulling up trees, planting flowers and seeds, and raking up strawberry plants. I actually really enjoyed that, even though I kinda struggled with teaching English at the same time. I just did what I usually do, said something in English and then translated. <br />
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I got a ride to Vissenty (to meet up with Isabelle to go home) from Fabienne, the directrice, and she asked me if I wanted to teach her 19 year-old son private English lessons for 20€ (about $30) an hour. I said yes. So now I have an extra flow of cash coming in on Wednesday afternoons!<br />
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I ended up just getting a ride from Vissenty with Jean-Luc to his place for a bite to eat before we headed out to meet up with the other bandmates to carpool out to the drummer's house. I met Brice (pronounced Breece), Xavier (Zavee-ay), and then we drove about 25 minutes to Bertrand's (Bear-trahn) house. They just record in his basement, which is sound proofed and everything. Brice brings his iMac there and they record with some software that I've heard of but can't remember what it's called, Jean-Luc plays bass, and Xavier writes the songs, plays guitar and sings. I just sat and listened in with headphones as they recorded the vocals, guitar, and drum tracks. They're a great band! We also ate this really good homemade bread with this smoked-duck paste, another kind of meat paste, sardines in mustard, and chocolate. France's national futbol team was playing Bosnia to qualify for the European Cup, so we also had that streaming on Bertrand's laptop while they were recording. They tied, which means they move on and Bosnia has to play another game to qualify. It was a good game!<br />
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SO. That's what happened Monday-Tuesday, and then I went to St. Étienne, which I'm writing another post about because this one would've been forever long if I hadn't split it up. Ok bye!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-77339175823441590672011-10-09T18:43:00.000+02:002011-10-09T18:43:21.091+02:00Mon 21em AnniversaireAs far as birthdays go, turning 21 definitely wasn't the worst birthday of my life - but there have been better. Here's the story:<br />
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I woke up, took a shower, and walked out into the kitchen to get breakfast. There was about two teaspoons of milk left, so I finished it off with a spoonfull of Boules de Miel (honey balls, which are actually pretty tasty, though I can think of no comparison in the states...). That didn't necessarily whet my appetite, so I went into the cupboard for a slice of bread with nutella. <br />
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Right as I was finishing eating, my host mom came in the door and gave me a birthday present! I was so surprised. I mean I didn't know what to expect, but that was really nice of her. It was a pullover and an Adidas t-shirt, both are super comfortable and I wore them for the rest of the day.<br />
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My host mom and sister left for a while, so I was home by myself for a couple hours just farting around and being bored. Eventually they came back and we ate lunch of some meat sauce wrapped in a big noodle with melted cheese on top, it was really good! They also made a chocolate marble cake and a raspberry tarte that was really, really good. Then they left again.<br />
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I was being bored again, so I decided I should go for a walk and maybe I would by myself a nice watch or something (I've been looking into getting a watch for some time now). I brought my trusty camera along with me, which was unfortunate because after like 10 minutes it starting raining and I had to tuck it uncomfortably under my pullover.<br />
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I went to several of the local stores just browsing for stuff I didn't want or need, just keeping an eye out for a watch. I went to...maybe 6 stores, none of them had anything! Finally this one store, InterSport, had a couple of really expensive digital watches, which isn't exactly what I'm looking for. I did spend a little more time in there though because they have this huge section just dedicated to soccer. It's so European! There's a big wall of authentic jerseys from all around Europe, tons of soccer balls (and a San Antonio Spurs basketball because Tony Parker is a Frenchman who plays for them), cleats and shorts and everything. Also it's really expensive.<br />
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I walked around this mall type store (the one with the groceries) and found some decent looking watches, except I wasn't hooked by any of them so I decided to check the other shops inside the store. I finally found a shop just for jewelry and watches, hooray! The watches were no less than 100€. I found the perfect one, too! :( I decided I would just look it up when I got home because I was sure I could find it for cheaper. Turns out I can't find it at all haha, so now I'm just looking all over for a classy watch and also a sporty one.<br />
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I walked back home, but on the way I was feeling kinda sorry for myself so I stopped in a little food mart that I hadn't been in yet, and met up this giant wall of cookies. Cheap, delicious looking cookies for a Euro or less. Or more, also. I didn't know what I was looking for, but I saw this box of 9 Nutella-filled shortbread cookies and decided that that'd suffice. I ate them all on the way back.<br />
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When I finally got home after being gone for roughly three hours my family was back, and we ate a dinner of hashbrowns. I tore up some turkey lunch meat and that made it a little more interesting, and then I finished off the raspberry tarte. I'm starting to get used to not really eating anything for dinner, but I also hate it because I love to eat until I'm stuffed...<br />
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Well I pretty much spent the rest of the night on Facebook chatting with friends, and then I Skyped home and they sang me happy birthday and I blew out candles on a cake they made for me that I, unfortunately, didn't get to try. One thing about France is they don't really add glaze or sauce or toppings to anything but maybe salad, so my chocolate cake, although delicious, was a little dry. <br />
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That's it! I'm 21! I'm extremely grateful for the abundance of birthday wishes I got and for my family for making me food and such, and even though it wasn't the best birthday in my life I have much to be thankful for :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-23885227538192730492011-10-07T23:33:00.000+02:002011-10-07T23:46:55.150+02:00Après Midi à AnnonayI was right, I am writing another post today. Who knew? I knew. Anyway. I didn't really have any plans for today until last night Holly (the English girl my age who's also an assistant teacher) mentioned she was going into Annonay to go to the bank and asked if I wanted to meet up for lunch or something! I haven't figured out the busses yet, and I hadn't been into town yet by myself on my bike, but I figured then was as good of a time as any. Well there was a little confusion, and we didn't know when or where we were actually meeting up, but here's the story:<br />
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I finally I got the impression that we were gonna meet at this bank by my house. That was a relief, cause it was cold and I didn't wanna bike in the cold, and then bike back uphill in the cold. Or get lost, or a number of other things. So I went to the bank and sat outside for like 20 minutes waiting, when I finally texted Holly to see if I was in the right place. Turns out I misunderstood, we were actually supposed to meet downtown, and she was already out waiting for me. I felt so bad, because I had to walk all the way back home, get my bike and then bike all the way to town, and it took me probably 30 minutes to finally get there . What's more, as I was biking it started raining. Then my bike chain fell off. Then I got lost. I asked some sketchy looking girls if they knew where to find the place I was looking for (I love speaking French to people now, hooray!). </div>
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I wasn't too far from la Place de Cordeliers (where we were meeting) so I just kept riding my bike in hopes that I'd get there eventually, which I did. Holly and I grabbed some stuff from a patisserie, I got a pizza with ham and mushrooms and a fruit tart thing, and she got this goat cheese spinach puff thing (I would've taken pictures, but I didn't bring my camera due to the rain and biking). Everything was super tasty. And it was only 5 euros! </div>
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We walked around a little bit, but she needed to be somewhere kinda soon so we didn't get very far, and then we said goodbye and I headed towards home. I got about two minutes up the road when one of the links on my chain split and caught on the chain guard, which made it impossible to bend back with my fingers. So I just broke the link and took the chain off so I could at least roll the bike home instead of slinging it across my back for the next hour as I walked home. Ten minutes into my walk, however, I looked up to see my host mom walking towards me on the sidewalk! I was all...?! </div>
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She happened to have just picked her daughter up from school and was on her way home when they saw me walking, so they pulled into an auto-shop just off the street and waited for me there. We stowed the bike in the shop (they were nice gentlemen) because the bike wouldn't fit in the car and we drove home, where I was able to wash my grease-caked hands using laundry soap. It works really well!</div>
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So basically it's been a pretty crazy day. After I got home I just chilled in my room and played guitar and tested out the recording quality on my Nikon, and it's way good. A lot better than using PhotoBooth! Maybe I'll post some videos later...? I've been in here doing that basically since then...I had leftover quiche and pasta for dinner and a chocolate yogurt for dessert - so good. And right now I'm going to eat some sour patch kids my mom bought for my plane ride. </div>
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Twix the cat really likes me. I realize I'm making the same face in most of these. It's a joke.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLIWsbSg3tnwU308EJpG4DUDa06OrMDqC-jesmW1Ln0d0YLo4I72DHOykuRFE3c0KYE2FMkRL_E8HJb6xvdbi4qpkWptlVhYULPnfoFdjHCOe0MoUWZR52euUhTyfamNbQYbaNsbwf30Z/s1600/Photo+on+10-7-11+at+8.11+PM+%25232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLIWsbSg3tnwU308EJpG4DUDa06OrMDqC-jesmW1Ln0d0YLo4I72DHOykuRFE3c0KYE2FMkRL_E8HJb6xvdbi4qpkWptlVhYULPnfoFdjHCOe0MoUWZR52euUhTyfamNbQYbaNsbwf30Z/s200/Photo+on+10-7-11+at+8.11+PM+%25232.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this actually really hurt.</td></tr>
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Tomorrow is my birthday! I wanna try making this delicious cinnamon roll/pancake <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2MI1cg/www.recipegirl.com/2011/03/01/cinnamon-roll-pancakes/">recipe</a> that I stumbled upon, but I don't know if half the ingredients even exist in France...ok I'm sure they do, but I haven't seen them in my home yet. Other than that, I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. Probably not a whole lot...Twix and I will play.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-69647018987201313402011-10-06T20:56:00.000+02:002011-10-06T20:58:29.206+02:00Les Autres EcolesToday I went to the other schools I'm teaching at to meet the classes and whatnot, and now I have a much better picture of what I'll be doing throughout the year. I'm getting a lot better at keeping a conversation two-sided, rather than just answering to all their questions with a 'oui' or 'non'. Anyway, here's the petit story:<br />
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Typically my work days (Monday and Tuesday) will look like this : wake up at 7 or so in order to get to my first school by 8:30. I teach there until 11:30, when I go home for lunch. Then I go to my second school to teach from 1:30 to 4:30. That's it! In my first school there's only three classes, so I just go to each one for an hour. The second school there's four classes, so I go to each one for 45 minutes. Then in the last one there's seven classes, it's huge! I think we're gonna work something out where I go to three classes one week and then the other four classes the next week. Not sure yet.<br />
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Anyway today I went to the first school and the third school just to observe classes and whatnot, and to ask the teachers what they had in mind for me in the upcoming weeks, also when I should go to which class. The first school, Bernaudin, is small but really fun. There's pre-school age kids there, but also 3rd-5th graders. The directrice there, Fabienne, is really into teaching her 3rd graders English, and they know quite a bit already! They sing a handful of songs like the ABC's, rain rain go away, etc. I hope to add to their repertoire. Nadège, the teacher of the 5th graders also has a pretty good thing going with her class, although I haven't really been blown away by anyone's English yet (obviously, the kids are still in elementary school...).<br />
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So then I went to my last school, Van Gogh (pronounced Van Gog). That place is enormous compared to the other schools...there's two floors and a huge field for playing in at recess. I stayed in the 5th grade class there the whole three hours because...well...I'm a sucker for the more intelligent kids, and they like me more I think. We played soccer together at recess, I scored a goal and they flipped. I feel like an all-star in all the schools! The kids love me...I think it's just because I'm an American and I speak both English and French haha. <br />
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There's a whole lot going on as far as trying to get my schedule straight goes. Here's a picture to help you better idea of what I'm talking about:<br />
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Really, that's basically all that will be happening for the next seven months. I'll post an update when something interesting happens, but it might not be for a week or so when I go to St. Etienne or when I go to Grenoble for my training/welcoming thing. I'll probably end up posting something tomorrow haha.<br />
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The good news is that I bought a power block for my xbox (because the US one wouldn't work, obvi, and using a power converter wouldn't work either because the voltage doesn't match up i.e. there's too many coming in from the wall for my US block to handle and it would short out. also, buying a transformer so that I <b>could </b>do that would be unreasonable and expensive. So.) for like 20€, which is HUGE savings (thanks ebay.fr) and it came in today and I plugged it in and it works! I can officially look forward to playing Skyrim. I realize I'm in France but...I've been waiting for this game for as long as I've been studying French :PUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-16876820741912890012011-10-05T13:32:00.000+02:002011-10-05T18:07:45.037+02:00Une Journée Passée A PrivasSunday was pretty uneventful, I think I literally sat in room all day besides when I went to eat breakfast and lunch and dinner. I think dinner was actually more eventful than anything else that happened that day, and then today I went to Privas to take care of a bunch of administrative stuff and to meet the other assistants in my region. Here's the story:<br />
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So last night for dinner we had crêpes. When most people think of crêpes, ok most Americans, they probably think of something sweet. Well turns out, the French love to eat crêpes with lots of stuff! Last night we cut up slices of ham, then put grated cheese and a few drops of crème on ours. Granted, we also had like four different types of jams and jellies, granulated sugar and, of course, Nutella. Isabelle had this six-crêpe making griddle and probably cooked up close to 30 crêpes, and we ate just about all of them between the three of us. It was awesome. Best meal yet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmsT05hY65QwWJpWDSTpxfhc5W2p84GGGsYxERZFL318gWz9dEnNxtUz8nwiDZDdlrWgPSNO7r-dZgZIKEEjKbVKfZjA5YVdG2OryWxSYo4Xh6QjjtxR08ipaSsVeNbc8jZt5SvR4qgFQ/s1600/dave%25CC%2581zieuxsign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmsT05hY65QwWJpWDSTpxfhc5W2p84GGGsYxERZFL318gWz9dEnNxtUz8nwiDZDdlrWgPSNO7r-dZgZIKEEjKbVKfZjA5YVdG2OryWxSYo4Xh6QjjtxR08ipaSsVeNbc8jZt5SvR4qgFQ/s320/dave%25CC%2581zieuxsign.jpg" width="320" /></a>Ok, another quick lesson. First there's my town Davézieux, which is a 'commune' outside of the city Annonay, which is at the very northern border of a region called Ardèche (I would compare it to a county maybe?), which is in the south-eastern part of the 'académie' of Grenoble, which is in the south-east part of France (I would compare it to a state, in proportion to the size of France). SO.<br />
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The day after I had crêpes I had to go to over a hundred km (over 60 miles) to a city in the south of my region (Ardèche) called Privas. I was thankful to be able to make the trip with the other English assistant, Holly, who's from England! She's awesome. Super open and friendly, and really good at French! She was dropped off at my place and then we got picked up at the post office.<br />
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At first we were going to have to take a really complicated bus route down there and back and it would've taken forever. But turns out that one of Isabelle's friends who I played pétanque with, named Olivier, was going down to Privas that day, so we were just gonna have to catch a bus to Tournon, the city he lives in, and meet up with him there, then find our way back. Well it also turns out Isabelle's cousin works in Tournon but lives in Davézieux as well, so she picked us up at the post office and drove us to Tournon, where we switched cars and left with Olivier toward Privas. <br />
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Olivier is retired and renting out his deceased parents' apartment in Privas, where he grew up. He's got quite the story to tell. He's traveled all over the world and has met so many people, it's crazy. He hosted this girl from Iceland who didn't speak a word of French, and two months after she got to his house he said she was pretty much fluent. Now she speaks seven languages fluently (go figure). Anyway, we just talked about a bunch of stuff like that that helped me to open up out of my quiet, American shell and ask questions and participate in the conversation. I would say it was a milestone in my adventure so far, because I actually held a legitimate conversation for like an hour!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXHkqrpqKfuTTKZGTJhCwff11dKUK4260V6KK4jKPOqVnbujDGV5_wYnwxcsxaMdUN7_yeK-uS5UO81etIMssCq4NwWN45NtTGvvyaXDtZJHosjSPjp7ZL8WkhJst0YOT1AJUYVQCwVU4/s1600/privassteps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXHkqrpqKfuTTKZGTJhCwff11dKUK4260V6KK4jKPOqVnbujDGV5_wYnwxcsxaMdUN7_yeK-uS5UO81etIMssCq4NwWN45NtTGvvyaXDtZJHosjSPjp7ZL8WkhJst0YOT1AJUYVQCwVU4/s320/privassteps.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a long stairwell in Privas</td></tr>
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The drive down was beautiful, but I didn't really get any pictures. It's impossible to catch everything on camera, especially in a car. You just have to see for yourself! There's a lot of Roman-Greco architecture down there, like aqueducts and such. Very cool. We arrived in Privas a little early, so Holly and I walked around a bit before checking into l'inspection. We met the other six assistants: a guy from Chicago, a girl from Arizona, a girl from Canada, and three other girls from England. We also met Jean-Noël Breney, who overseas all the assistants in Ardèche. He's really funny, speaks English pretty well, and has a beautiful home. After going through a stack of paperwork, the seven other assistants and I went to there for lunch of pasta, sausage, bread, cheese, grapes, and drinks. He lives on the side of this mountain-ish hill, with pear trees and a giant meadow that goes off into a valley between the mountains in his backyard. It's unbelievably pretty there. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRnuIvOUXwxLuMTW2iRal0rKIwy6o-tYk5VB0YcCDZevSmZlPJAotlD3QJQKlSVFtOqhMAvFCzEaXo47zKY4j8reJsKSagwmE-uvqTa9_qTEN3k7gPCMo__EcUgTAxC6_vfr8f8gFeofVg/s1600/privasmemorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRnuIvOUXwxLuMTW2iRal0rKIwy6o-tYk5VB0YcCDZevSmZlPJAotlD3QJQKlSVFtOqhMAvFCzEaXo47zKY4j8reJsKSagwmE-uvqTa9_qTEN3k7gPCMo__EcUgTAxC6_vfr8f8gFeofVg/s320/privasmemorial.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a war memorial in Privas</td></tr>
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Another stack of paperwork awaited our return from Monsieur Breney's house, and after we took care of all that we were free to leave. The last 'turns out!' moment of the day was that Pascaline's friend, a directrice in a school in Vernosc (close to Davézieux), was in Privas and headed back to Davézieux! It was definitely a day of luck. Then I found 20 dollars. I mean Euros. Not really...but...you know...<br />
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So we headed back to Davézieux where Pascaline picked up Holly and I rode the rest of the way with Claudine, Pascaline's friend. She's way nice, and she likes history. So. There's that. I was way tired from the day's journey, so I pretty much got home and went to bed. We ate mashed potatoes for dinner haha.<br />
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Today (Tuesday), I went to school for the first time! It was so much fun. I was pretty nervous about meeting everybody, mostly cause of the language thing, but everything went better than I expected. There's four other teacher's at Vissenty (the school Isabelle works at): Dominique, who teaches K-1st grade, Isabelle, who teaches 1st and second, Jean-Luc, who teaches 3rd and 4th grade, and Denis, who teaches 5th grade. When I say they teach two different grades, I mean they do it simultaneously, in the same classroom. They'll set one side up with an activity to do, and then teach the other side. Classes look just like they do back home too, for the most part.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVou8DWUWc22GB-Qlx-lk9-EK0CzlpTaC67AlMXEa5493RQH83qhnUVe_jGJwao9_gnv7ns2qO23t2FwgO1ILgGEKIZTbFt1qFAVDHl176mhy8ogvFjziNS54B33Mh4lTc_aU0oGZgsaey/s1600/arbre2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVou8DWUWc22GB-Qlx-lk9-EK0CzlpTaC67AlMXEa5493RQH83qhnUVe_jGJwao9_gnv7ns2qO23t2FwgO1ILgGEKIZTbFt1qFAVDHl176mhy8ogvFjziNS54B33Mh4lTc_aU0oGZgsaey/s200/arbre2.jpg" width="139" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cool tree at Jean Noël's</td></tr>
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So I started off in Isabelle's class, who actually had a music class with the music teacher, Christophe. He's really funny too! Their teaching method's are so old-school, too. Maybe it's just because they're more rural, but the teachers are lot more strict on the students than in the States. As in, they'll grab them by the arm and yank them around or give them a light smack on the head or what seems to be verbally humiliating them in front of the class, but I think that's just a culture thing. The kids don't seem to mind be handled at all, and the verbal stuff they shake off like nothing, and the other kids don't tease them or anything afterwards. I feel like that's how it used to be in the States before we started babying all our kids. ANYway.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RFNlfdCJCYfl3YyuzIarKIZyxVyLthWV7MjNqyAQZ90MokZROUUA3SWe1EbSGQ3O4T6e91_3HXu73c0ygSBqN3e1ZkyJ37nkmW3L_CP8eFvwL8RwekGy-gbEB-kpFtx3jglquEVu8m4J/s1600/arbre1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RFNlfdCJCYfl3YyuzIarKIZyxVyLthWV7MjNqyAQZ90MokZROUUA3SWe1EbSGQ3O4T6e91_3HXu73c0ygSBqN3e1ZkyJ37nkmW3L_CP8eFvwL8RwekGy-gbEB-kpFtx3jglquEVu8m4J/s200/arbre1.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">another cool tree...</td></tr>
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I went to Denis's class next, and that was a big change. His kids are older and more mature, and they were really excited to meet me. The first thing they wanted me to do was just speak English. I spoke kinda slowly and started with basic stuff like "my name is Casey, I'm from Washington State, I'm here for seven months, etc." and they didn't understand much of it haha. So we did a sort of session in English and then the teacher would ask what they understood and then translate. He understands pretty well from what I understood of his translations. So that class is fun, and I'll probably get the furthest with them as far as actually teaching English goes.<br />
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They have recess like four times a day, on top of an an hour and a half of a sports-directed session. I followed Dominique's class out to this high school where they met up with a gym teacher there and worked on this séance's (session's) theme: athleticism. So for an hour and a half these kids just ran around a square, and then threw a maybe 2 pound rubber ball as far as they could haha. <br />
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I went back and hung out with Jean-Luc's class, and they were the most funny of any of the classes. There's this kid in there, Alexandre, who loves me. He and this other kid ask me questions about everything in America (in French, though). Here are some of the questions I got : "Are there glasses in America? Contacts? Do Americans drink alcohol? Are there volcanoes? Do you have cell phones? Do Americans play video games? Is the weather nice in America? Do they play sports?" It was really hard to respond seriously, and I'm not quick enough with my French to joke around yet. That's why I wanted to teach in a high school, but oh well. This is better for my French anyway.<br />
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That class is pretty great too, I'm excited to work with them. Jean-Luc has a guitar he says I'm free to use whenever as well, so that will be perfect! I hadn't thought about how I was gonna transport my guitar to my schools if I needed to, but now I don't need to worry about it. At least not at Vissenty...anyway, class was out at 4h30, and then I headed back to Isabelle's for a while before we went to play pétanque again. I think we play every week! Same thing as last time - play a game, then eat and drink. Repeat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKk8gy0kWicufaBGFCWuE0d11ECBfsAh2G_coT7XmPhuU7cuVNe8GPxzF2-ayQ9rwcj5ESM2IGsSbN0YWQ8dNZL-76hrL1dJ9h3AtHAwdveGtcMHttqa_8VkJ829iLi7lYTgRTA-77hyQp/s1600/groupe%25CC%2581tanque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKk8gy0kWicufaBGFCWuE0d11ECBfsAh2G_coT7XmPhuU7cuVNe8GPxzF2-ayQ9rwcj5ESM2IGsSbN0YWQ8dNZL-76hrL1dJ9h3AtHAwdveGtcMHttqa_8VkJ829iLi7lYTgRTA-77hyQp/s320/groupe%25CC%2581tanque.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my pétanque friends, from left to right - Françoise, <br />Isabelle (also my host mom), Gislin, Thierry, Pédro, et Alex</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhofJqDhuaExU7RfT-cWEwbhGBcU40iWNEy2sG6xktPk7yWWWJfTx2ilZ-sVxiPlNZFtCNl1RghPiyXvW3LxtF8hL53frYqDRk8_HVXnJMzekq-GuAF0kqXddaIP2vCwmAgCGsEXiNJrlwP/s1600/mepe%25CC%2581tanque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhofJqDhuaExU7RfT-cWEwbhGBcU40iWNEy2sG6xktPk7yWWWJfTx2ilZ-sVxiPlNZFtCNl1RghPiyXvW3LxtF8hL53frYqDRk8_HVXnJMzekq-GuAF0kqXddaIP2vCwmAgCGsEXiNJrlwP/s320/mepe%25CC%2581tanque.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me playing pétanque!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DpFXFdkzoDhe2_iabdzkNyH2XF7fy2vZ_wAZgBscKuOOnRLZbL8sGdRMKGdeMQp1OhFo2t5op9j9PMo44timGu60izCP8kPPGRYcvk-HupwsMVY-KDuhOMlZsbIaSOzUynlwQUL6TD_S/s1600/pe%25CC%2581tanquefield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DpFXFdkzoDhe2_iabdzkNyH2XF7fy2vZ_wAZgBscKuOOnRLZbL8sGdRMKGdeMQp1OhFo2t5op9j9PMo44timGu60izCP8kPPGRYcvk-HupwsMVY-KDuhOMlZsbIaSOzUynlwQUL6TD_S/s320/pe%25CC%2581tanquefield.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">so the idea is to get your balls closest<br />to the little green ball. this is a picture<br />of me winning the round :)</td></tr>
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Tomorrow I go to the bank to open up an account and to get a credit card, and then I go to the inspection in Annonay to send off about a million papers. Then I go to my other schools on Thursday to get to know teachers and students a little bit, and then I only work Mondays and Tuesdays, three hours in one school in the morning and then three hours in the afternoon in another school. Then I have Wednesday through Sunday off. EVERY WEEK. woop woop!<br />
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Geeze, long post. Sorry! That's what happens when I don't update this daily...<br />
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Travelin' Man might quit with the 3rd person sign off. It's kindof tacky and I'm running out of things to say haha.<br />
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OK BYE.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-31915030612575777722011-10-01T02:38:00.000+02:002011-10-01T02:40:35.660+02:00Soirée PétanqueBiggest mistake yet : didn't bring my camera to this birthday party for my host mom's co-worker and/or friend. Not exactly sure of their relationship actually, but here's the story: this afternoon Isabelle picked me up and brought me to get lunch with her coworkers, and we went to this buffet style restaurant where they had a bunch of à la carte items set up on this giant table. I also left my wallet at home because I thought we were going to play boules (pétanque) and that the lunch was the next day. Turns out they were on the same day! So Isabelle paid for me and I met some of her friends and it was really fun. I'm still in that "let everyone talk around me while I try to understand any of what they're saying" stage.<br />
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Afterwards I walked home and Isabelle went back to work, and I just played guitar and chatted with some people on Facebook or something. Anyway around 6 Isabelle picked me up again to go play pétanque, is a really popular game in France (it's a lot like bocci ball), but apparently it was also a party! There was lots of alcohol, and Isabelle brought a liter of Coke for me haha. I drank the whole thing. <br />
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I'm ticked because I didn't realize how fun it was going to be and how fun the people were going to be and I REALLY wish I had had my camera with me. It was just me with like 15 other middle aged French men and women. No worries though, I guess we're playing again Tuesday so I'll bring it then! I'm pumped. I'm not too shabby, but some of the guys I was playing with are unbelievable. Imagine throwing a 2 pound, tangerine sized ball of metal 15 yards at another ball and hitting it. EVERY time. That's what these guys do. C'est incroyable. Expect more French in my posts by the way...<br />
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So we played probably 15 games, and after each game we would stop and eat bread and cheese and sausage, and after a couple of games they uncorked the wine and opened up the beer and I threw back some Coke. Then after a couple hours we ordered pizza. And kept playing. Then we had cake. And kept playing. I kept thinking we would be done and then they would say "allez!" and we would go play again! This lasted from 6 to 1. That's 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. That's 7 hours. I loved it.<br />
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The people I met were super friendly. I noticed that no matter where you are, whenever someone new enters the place they always greet themselves <b>every</b>one. I shook hands and did 'la bise' (the kiss on the cheek thing, which I have down now, like a boss) with all those people and we never exchanged names. They come right up to you and say 'bonjour' and shake your hand and go to the next person. You're automatically friends, no homme left behind. Then, later, your name kind of gets shared by people who found out from someone else, or maybe they'll ask you. Mostly Isabelle would tell someone, then they would tell the other people, and it went on from there. They say my name like kah-zay haha. I would say my name, and they would say "comment?" so I'd spell it out and they'd go "oohhh kahzay!" So...basically I have a stage name now. <br />
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I also found out one of the guys I met, Pédro (am I the only one who thinks that's hilarious...? He's SO French, too...), is going to give me a bike for free tomorrow. How awesome is that? No hour long walks to work for this guy.<br />
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Anyway, since I was partying for half of the time I was awake that's all that really happened today. I don't feel very good from all the stuff I ate and drank. Should probably hold back on the Coca from now on...<br />
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Travelin' Man issss...blleeeggghhh!!! it's a good pain...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-54859854808589748302011-09-29T23:59:00.000+02:002011-09-30T00:02:05.103+02:00Une Petite Promenade<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQO6pdekjFvjTfN29C6nnssukroTJwKbVNAFuZpWzlllnVIQ8LwnJTV4XFdB1MtsD7aSz6s7nNE6NSdMJNKQA4Vd_WHuGh45a4YHahBG324LS6oVlz2s1r2ss95mdFz0o8mkLRXkwJkDWB/s1600/DSC_0040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQO6pdekjFvjTfN29C6nnssukroTJwKbVNAFuZpWzlllnVIQ8LwnJTV4XFdB1MtsD7aSz6s7nNE6NSdMJNKQA4Vd_WHuGh45a4YHahBG324LS6oVlz2s1r2ss95mdFz0o8mkLRXkwJkDWB/s200/DSC_0040.JPG" width="132" /></a>Today I had the place to myself for most of the day. I needed to take a little parcel to the post office, but I decided I should stall and play guitar for a while. Basically I was just nervous about needing to communicate with someone by myself so I kept putting if off until I put on my big boy shorts and grabbed my camera and headed out! Isabelle had given me directions the day before, but I double checked myself with google maps before i left. It was only like a 10 minute walk, tops. I got some pretty decent pictures of the church that is just around the corner, and then I went to face my fears.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7EY7tGkqLhojctvN1m-m4vX4Y_7sUoMgKQpGjVhlk5KyTrNHh3ftOYa50-ie5fn4c2l7g6acM4l7bD529qU6WsyUvp2nUHKELVDJgmbZtqpGyRK3NZ9shwMSzas8tzIo6VEDOZVmn5_v/s1600/DSC_0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7EY7tGkqLhojctvN1m-m4vX4Y_7sUoMgKQpGjVhlk5KyTrNHh3ftOYa50-ie5fn4c2l7g6acM4l7bD529qU6WsyUvp2nUHKELVDJgmbZtqpGyRK3NZ9shwMSzas8tzIo6VEDOZVmn5_v/s200/DSC_0021.JPG" width="132" /></a> I didn't know her name, but the poor lady who helped me at the post office must have thought I was mentally challenged. She didn't ask if I was from the U.S. or anything, but she asked me about something about needing something on the computer and I had no idea so I just said "non," but when she gave me an inquisitive look I changed my answer to "oui." That one worked. Then, since the French credit cards only have a chip that they scan, I couldn't pay with my debit card and I haven't exchanged any my cash for Euros yet, so she was telling me to go withdraw money from the ATM outside, but it didn't register until after I asked her to repeat herself like three times. Finally I went out and took out some money so she could get rid of me. She was very nice.<br />
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I left feeling a lot better and worse about everything at the same time. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to communicate up to speed within a couple weeks. I'm discouraged that I can't be myself because of the language barrier. I'm a pretty big pushover, so if I don't understand something I just go with it instead of asking for clarification. I will get better!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS75MeY1fIJHBbmDPqGGJswRX5aFD5OTNf0LuklexQ0Z3ThNxbiu57xRT0tHskr-P7NYBmeeKA1P7A7BWC-BrLtGJORjN9aAqVVzufYT3qP5ANeZwtrar56Oz-qS-i-QBrdhJavJ0P8Euw/s1600/DSC_0034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS75MeY1fIJHBbmDPqGGJswRX5aFD5OTNf0LuklexQ0Z3ThNxbiu57xRT0tHskr-P7NYBmeeKA1P7A7BWC-BrLtGJORjN9aAqVVzufYT3qP5ANeZwtrar56Oz-qS-i-QBrdhJavJ0P8Euw/s200/DSC_0034.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeV7G7aLY-VbmEKYrcFSY6PxzGZPUOoengNFqArsvBj-j8an5_lpsfhc8h5nWandMk8CfRjuhrcJQley8FtKILcWCSNMQ7sV9MMpZkJ7Gcuveo-ofPxeGz_SJCs0mDnv6YcTmYcipQTdOG/s1600/DSC_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeV7G7aLY-VbmEKYrcFSY6PxzGZPUOoengNFqArsvBj-j8an5_lpsfhc8h5nWandMk8CfRjuhrcJQley8FtKILcWCSNMQ7sV9MMpZkJ7Gcuveo-ofPxeGz_SJCs0mDnv6YcTmYcipQTdOG/s200/DSC_0035.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeV7G7aLY-VbmEKYrcFSY6PxzGZPUOoengNFqArsvBj-j8an5_lpsfhc8h5nWandMk8CfRjuhrcJQley8FtKILcWCSNMQ7sV9MMpZkJ7Gcuveo-ofPxeGz_SJCs0mDnv6YcTmYcipQTdOG/s1600/DSC_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Anyway, I left la poste with nothing else on my agenda for the day, and it was only like 11. So I gave myself a little tour of a small part of city. I walked past the post office another 10 minutes to the CarreFour, which is pretty much a French Wal Mart. I walked back and stopped at this big warehouse looking building called Grand Frais, which is actually a big, fresh fruits/vegetables/meats/cheeses/lots of other goodies. I walked back towards home and took a breather over a lunch of leftover plain minimacaroni that I missed out on last night due to my epic nap, and the last slice of pizza we had the first night. It's weird. I really don't like cold pizza...but I could it here for days. <br />
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I played some more guitar and then I headed out again to go the opposite way that I had before in search of some other photo subjects. I walked a ways out without finding anything, but I had the idea on my way back to try to make a panorama of the city. I took 3 pictures with my 50mm lens, but that would've been weak sauce, so I whipped out the 300mm lens and got 8 pictures of what I thought would make a cool shot. When I got back I spent probably two hours or so lining the pictures up and, making the colors look similar, and finalizing the shot. I thought it turned out pretty good for not using a tripod!<br />
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Isabelle and Anouk came back while I was working on it, they seemed pretty impressed with it. Hooray! We ate dinner, which consisted of flaky delicious bread with melted cheese inside (like a GOOD hotpocket), rice, and fresh tomatoes. It was great. Dinner here isn't quite as big of a deal as in America. They usually eat a little for breakfast, a lot for lunch, and then a little for dinner. <br />
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So that's about all that happened today. Another early night I think, I've been yawning since like six and it's only 21:45. Not a bad sleep schedule, from like 11-8, but that makes it kinda hard to stay in touch with people back home. Isabelle invited me to go play "pétanque" with her and her co workers, which is kinda like bocci ball I think...then Saturday she invited me to get lunch with them too. So that should be fun! And probably pretty awkward! Hooray!<br />
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Travelin' Man is working up an appetite for language learning. And for sleep. First, sleep...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701024284368998773.post-71545209775514070332011-09-28T18:42:00.000+02:002011-09-29T07:31:05.241+02:00Departure/ArrivalI made it! I guess that's kindof a "duh" thing, but I really was having nightmares about suicidal pilots and hearing about planes crashing around the globe (a Russian hockey team and a tourist plane by Everest). Not to mention all the other things that could've gone wrong in the airport or on the way to it or from it. Anyway, the point is that I'm safe and sound in my new French home. Here's the story:<br />
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The last couple of days in the US really dragged on. 98 degrees, I mean percent, of my friends were gone, and the closer I got to leaving the more I wanted to stay. My last day was mom's birthday, and we went out to Red Robin (yumm). I got the most American thing I could think of - a Whiskey River BBQ Burger. After I got home I went to Rebekah's for a while to say bye. Saying goodbye to friends and family has been the worst part of this journey thus far, next to the limited communication with my host family. Working on that...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpfkuKZenyUjacQ11V8LPYmBJhy2mbZEnimZOGQRr-mOQ26JCxxRKI1r1jA-fy6vjW9QoEsfKt3xADKtyaAHEB7EVnL1wGWMiUX0YfHrPd89Mj1vxNA6vTxudlKJ7FSz7pnNA4C5RkYyB/s1600/DSC_0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpfkuKZenyUjacQ11V8LPYmBJhy2mbZEnimZOGQRr-mOQ26JCxxRKI1r1jA-fy6vjW9QoEsfKt3xADKtyaAHEB7EVnL1wGWMiUX0YfHrPd89Mj1vxNA6vTxudlKJ7FSz7pnNA4C5RkYyB/s200/DSC_0181.JPG" width="200" /></a>I had to wake up and say bye to the siblings before they left for school on Monday, which meant getting up at 7. Then I took a 3 hour nap and got up for my final preparations. Finally, mom and dad drove me to the airport in Pasco. One of my bags was overweight by 6 pounds, so I had to take out some shoes. Then, the lady didn't know if I was riding Comfort or Economy class, so she just assumed Comfort and didn't charge me for the extra bag, which would've cost an arm and a leg but I was already willing to pay it. So that was awesome.<br />
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I said bye to mom and dad in front of security. Big mistake. The security girl knows I'm a crybaby now. That would be mom's fault for crying first! But then I went through no problem and sat down at one of the 4 gates. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLho1ukBXTqhipK3wUaAaAAD3gVBmP2dvoioC7TFjA9J1bsAqP3CYLMveI3MqNoa9MZMFZ4tH62tUxlKg5CzHIQ8VeemZLl3zJXlrV1RQ1jQ7JcDbzw8eF55eGzPQ1cmT8Z788vccC2C75/s1600/DSC_0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLho1ukBXTqhipK3wUaAaAAD3gVBmP2dvoioC7TFjA9J1bsAqP3CYLMveI3MqNoa9MZMFZ4tH62tUxlKg5CzHIQ8VeemZLl3zJXlrV1RQ1jQ7JcDbzw8eF55eGzPQ1cmT8Z788vccC2C75/s200/DSC_0194.JPG" width="200" /></a>The first flight went smoothly, I had my own bench and I was in Seattle within an hour, where I had a 3 hour layover. That was where I realized I had left my phone charger at home. Of all the things. I HAD to leave something behind, everybody does. I just wish it was just about anything else. I only say that because guess how much a phone charger is in SeaTac? If you guessed $65 you were exactly correct and you deserve one of my mom's cookies. I was appalled. SIXTY FIVE DOLLARS. I could've gotten a way cheaper one when I got here but I just wasn't sure how close the nearest cell phone store is (turns out it's only a 5 minute drive away) and I didn't know if I would need my phone to call my host mom once I got into Lyon. Obviously I'm still upset. Who wouldn't be? Rich people. That's who.<br />
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In the airport I sat next to some twenty-some-year old guy who was going to Berlin to look for a job and who had only been studying German for a month and a half. I commend his bravery. I'm having a hard time with six years worth of French!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8zIn9sxBkL5hDoU20A3gCeSh4ACONomAvZEKL6bJA7soIr_xSegVwyYEuZ5dfCBmM4rAnDKsi25rWbh7pDvGzy0SvSZvfvNBMi2dWmWjT519zjbJSLAwf20kF6n1RwLMvHZncbfjnBWF/s1600/DSC_0212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8zIn9sxBkL5hDoU20A3gCeSh4ACONomAvZEKL6bJA7soIr_xSegVwyYEuZ5dfCBmM4rAnDKsi25rWbh7pDvGzy0SvSZvfvNBMi2dWmWjT519zjbJSLAwf20kF6n1RwLMvHZncbfjnBWF/s200/DSC_0212.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
On the plane I was placed next to a 23 year old Norwegian was being sent back home because his school, Green River, wouldn't accept his credits from Norway. He said it was Norway's fault though, so he's not mad at us. It sucks though because he was planning on staying in the US for the next three years and he had only been there for a month. His English was solid. His secret? Hollywood. They have subtitles in Norway instead of dubbed shows, so I guess that really helps. Good to know! We didn't talk for super long; the plane wasn't full so he got up and found his own bench. Which left me with my own, which was great! I was able to sleep for maybe an hour or two during that flight. I watched Kung Fu Panda 2 and can't really remember what else occupied that 10 hour flight. I know I spent a good amount of time looking out the window. Watching the sun rise at 35,000 feet is pretty incredible when you're flying over a sea of rolling clouds. It was beautiful, but impossible to catch the fullness with my camera. The in-flight meal was pretty tasty, and there was a lighter snack towards the end. Not quite what I had flying United two years ago, but it was good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLYihXOieg7qqVIaIWlzpAdh3-Tbszte2YDo8kWsJgxXzcRH4DKaynswAJ4PB-UtuP7DZQLR-MVYiP3J3Nc32xPMN4151jFDnxxlWliieegJ7vmk8lCFSAWEzdqwHAe0rgD34zrah6blY/s1600/DSC_0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLYihXOieg7qqVIaIWlzpAdh3-Tbszte2YDo8kWsJgxXzcRH4DKaynswAJ4PB-UtuP7DZQLR-MVYiP3J3Nc32xPMN4151jFDnxxlWliieegJ7vmk8lCFSAWEzdqwHAe0rgD34zrah6blY/s200/DSC_0209.JPG" width="200" /></a>I landed in Frankfurt and went off to look for my last flight into Lyon. I found out that it was in Gate B, but that was all the board said. No gate number. I happened to overhear some French guys walking by me so I asked them if they knew anything, and one guy said I just had to wait for it to show up. So I did, and it did. I found my gate and sat down for a few minutes before we boarded. It was another quick trip, just a little longer than from Pasco to Seattle. The view was awesome. Europe's layout of land is so much different than the United States. I tried to get some pictures, but you just have to see it for yourself. They served this soft, twisty pretzel that was cut in half (hotdog style) and had a garlic butter spread in between, it was delicious. <br />
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After being pounded with German since Seattle, I was very thankful to finally hear nothing but French when I landed in Lyon. I was super nervous to meet Isabelle and Anouk. I had no idea what I would say or what they looked like or what they would say or if I would understand them or if they would understand me or if my accent would be ok or if my luggage would fit in their car or if I looked or sounded super American or if I smelled bad or if they smelled bad or a lot of other things. Needless to say, my head was spinning.<br />
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I got off the plane, got all my luggage, and carted it out to the entrance to the airport where about a million people were waiting for the arriving passengers. I kept my eyes peeled for a tall blond woman and her tall daughter because those were the only descriptions that I had, but didn't see anyone. There was a short blond woman with a sign that had "Glayman" written on it, and in my confusion I misread it for "Garland" and asked if she was Isabelle. She wasn't. Maybe ten minutes later I was standing there waiting for someone to show up, when they did! At first sight of them, all my worries were forgotten. They looked and smelled totally normal. After an awkward exchange of la bise (only awkward because I didn't know what side to go to first and there was a couple hesitant movements towards to same side), we walked and talked and pushed my bags to their car, and it was just really fun. <br />
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Isabelle is actually really funny, and so is Anouk. I wish I understood everything they said though. That's been kindof hard. Most of the time Isabelle says something I just nod or say "ok," unless it's something important that we're talking about and I don't understand I'll say "comment?" or "j'ai pas compris." We had a little talk about that over dinner last night, I said I would probably say a lot of things that don't make sense, so they should tell me to repeat it, and they said if they said anything I didn't understand to repeat that, so at least we all know I'm just an idiot haha. I'm learning though, and by the end of the month I'm hoping I'll be pretty much good to go. I can't wait to see how much improvement I'll have gone through by the end of the year!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3yMzJa8Gw71TJOw7dE2jWCLlQRRLjEaYZXjafhKFP3_Mn9XTymiwEb2DitWrc_caxSuAJZETGxrZFDFOsEk0q6V3NIuVUH1RryG2X9xmXratHTZpp17CaMDHdafnsRnG-Nplfn1zcaXj/s1600/DSC_0226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3yMzJa8Gw71TJOw7dE2jWCLlQRRLjEaYZXjafhKFP3_Mn9XTymiwEb2DitWrc_caxSuAJZETGxrZFDFOsEk0q6V3NIuVUH1RryG2X9xmXratHTZpp17CaMDHdafnsRnG-Nplfn1zcaXj/s200/DSC_0226.JPG" width="200" /></a>Their house is great, with a very open living room connected to the kitchen. They have a nice flatscreen TV with cable, a Wii, and a nice PC and WiFi. I was really worried they wouldn't have that, but things just keep working out in my favor! Then there's like two stairs that go down to my room, which is sweet! It has a vaulted ceiling and a second floor with a desk and a big bookshelf. I also have my own bathroom with a sink, toilet, and shower. Awesome. Except for the scary looking, translucent spiders with gangly legs and small bodies living in the corners. I'll take care of them eventually, but maybe we can be friends. We'll see. There's also a big sofa and there's even an out of tune piano in the room. There's a sliding glass door that goes outside that has automatic blinds that shut with the push of a button. My bed is also super comfortable, even if it's not very big. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9uJRgklhWjk_p_RXZ3hZ-nqShYScWqdinQBdeYcjlCxurBVuow-jl8Z3YAu8197pnQ6TYaYMazKvhFzl7ImOVDodVqM1mx_U9Xt-PRm2Gr_xqWhsz9ESeaJvuCpFsQ585J_sjkCRxSTo/s1600/DSC_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9uJRgklhWjk_p_RXZ3hZ-nqShYScWqdinQBdeYcjlCxurBVuow-jl8Z3YAu8197pnQ6TYaYMazKvhFzl7ImOVDodVqM1mx_U9Xt-PRm2Gr_xqWhsz9ESeaJvuCpFsQ585J_sjkCRxSTo/s320/DSC_0235.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9uJRgklhWjk_p_RXZ3hZ-nqShYScWqdinQBdeYcjlCxurBVuow-jl8Z3YAu8197pnQ6TYaYMazKvhFzl7ImOVDodVqM1mx_U9Xt-PRm2Gr_xqWhsz9ESeaJvuCpFsQ585J_sjkCRxSTo/s1600/DSC_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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I had an authentic French experience this morning when I was woken up by not one, but TWO different roosters right outside my window. At 7:30 in the morning. Pretty sure I can look forward to that for the rest of the year. Today Isabelle took me on a little tour of Annonay, which is beautiful to look at from far away because it's tucked on a hill. The surrounding area is also very pretty and very green. I live pretty close to the schools I'm working at. Did I mention that? Schools? Plural? Even though my work paper I got from France says I'm only assigned to work in one school, Isabelle says I'm working in 3. Little urked about that. Not really much I can do about that though. C'est la vie! So I also live just two and a half miles (4 km) from the city center and only a mile from a mall. If you know anything about </div>
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French malls, which I'm pretty sure you don't, then you would know that they're also a grocery store. It's actually really cool. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrBdJhnaO9LlBZQISuTEo-evF-Xy09Z7-4WzwTAOdb4Z1FOL58tPjvO68aS8F1X3YI0N-Y3RSViopDAtxYieICCRwHFy4tCuMPYnD8jBsgNNE7zC5LVJw-ujHVO_T6AhsTQLiJtw3UKoG/s1600/DSC_0233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrBdJhnaO9LlBZQISuTEo-evF-Xy09Z7-4WzwTAOdb4Z1FOL58tPjvO68aS8F1X3YI0N-Y3RSViopDAtxYieICCRwHFy4tCuMPYnD8jBsgNNE7zC5LVJw-ujHVO_T6AhsTQLiJtw3UKoG/s320/DSC_0233.JPG" width="320" /></a>Cats. They have two cats. I'm allergic to cats...so far it hasn't been so bad though. Granted, it's only been a day. I just kick them out of my room and hope they didn't try to make a nest in my blanket. They also have a guinea pig that's five years old and doesn't eat and a rabbit without a name (they just call it 'lapin' which means rabbit).<br />
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That's pretty been the last two days. Super eventful, which is why this post is so dang long. I need to eat and take a power nap before we go to the post office to photocopy and send off my immigration papers. <br />
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Travelin' Man is hungired (hungry+tired).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0