Seattle

Just so that everyone knows, I'm home safe and sound. Well, the sound part is slipping a bit with wedding preparation, work, and trying to finish study requirements, but it'll all even out soon. At that point I'll try to wrap up the blog - maybe a couple different posts on Morocco and the coming home... but I don't have the time just yet...

Morocco Eve

It's always like this - the night before a big trip I'm anxious, and even though I'm tired I feel like I couldn't possibly go to sleep. I know I will, and so I should just go to bed, but it's like I'm afraid I'm going to miss something, forget about something if I let myself fall asleep.

My bags are packed, both of them really. My large suitcase I'm leaving behind in Grenoble, I'll recuperate it on my way to Amiens before heading back to the states. It's carrying all of my souvenirs and winter clothes (and I'm hoping that it's not going to be overweight!!!). My smaller suitcase is what I'm going to be living out of while in Morocco, and then Amiens/home. I can't forget my shampoo and toothbrush tomorrow.

There are a few things training around my room and closet, which haven't found their places in luggage. While I'm worried that I'll forget one of them, they help make the room still feel habitable. The little stuffed bunny from Easter is still on my nightstand, random things still litter my desk, along with my computer, my bag is still laying on the floor. But the hangers in the closet are empty except my clothes for tomorrow, and the shelves have been stripped of their contents - replaced by suitcases with layers of stuff. My train ticket to Amiens is waiting on a shelf for my return.

If I can get myself to turn off the computer, and my brain to slow down, the butterflies will eventually settle down, and I will be able to go to sleep. It's all about the first step.

My last week in Grenoble

I knew this time would come, and I knew it would be hard to believe that so much time had passed, but it doesn't cease to amaze me that my time here in Grenoble is so close to being finished! Today is Wednesday. Tomorrow I have class with Victor at the University. Friday I will be finishing up my packing. Saturday I leave for Morocco. An afternoon + two days + a morning = three days.

The weather has gotten a bit better in order to see us off nicely. Yesterday was gorgeous! I met up with Christian and we hiked up to the top of the Bastille for a picnic lunch. It was a good hike - translation, I'm a bit sore today!

Last night was our end of the program diner with API. We all met up at "Les dix vins" (The ten wines in English, but it sounds way better in French). Marie and Sarah from API were there to celebrate, but not Anna. She's on maternity leave (which is the reason for Sarah's job with API) and as a matter of fact just had here baby girl last Friday! Victor was there as well, and Paul will return on Friday to come with us to Morocco. Three students were missing, as they are taking advantage of exam free days by spending some time Nice - aka the Mediterranean.

I'm about halfway through the massive packet Victor gave us to read. Some information on Morocco, and a lot of poetry and introductions to the poets. We are going to meet all three of the poets we are currently reading.

Right now I'm kind of in an in-between mood. I know I want to go to Morocco, and I know that once I get there it is going to be amazing. However, at the same time I'm rather exhausted: I have just spent 5 months in France, culminating with 5 days of exams, topped off with trying to work out registration for Seattle U for Spring Quarter - it has been more complicated than it should me, plus I'm in a different time zone and can't knock down peoples' doors. At least I've got pretty much everything organized here. I think I'm going to have everything packed and ready without any real last minute crazed rush, which is rather impressive for me.

By the way, while I'm in Morocco, I really doubt that I'll have time to or the option of using the internet. Therefore no new posts, no uploading of photos. However, I should have time once I get to Amiens, and if not, I will really, really, really try my hardest to post stuff before my life in the states picks up again... Really, I'll try!

Exam update...

I'm done!!!

I just finished my last French exam this afternoon! The last five (school) days I sat a total of 8 tests: University and National language proficiency exams, plus finals for History of French Art, Vocabulary, Contemporary French Literature, and Twentieth Century French History.

I decided, for the National Exam, to take the next level down (B1) from where I was placed - the logic being that it's 50 Euros less expensive, and I'm not sure I could pass at the next level I've been taking classes (B2), mostly because of a 10 minute oral presentation, for which you are given 10 minutes to prepare from a short text, and upon which you are subsequently questioned for 10 minutes. Comparatively, the B1 oral was a cakewalk: I'm sure I passed! In fact, now that I'm on the other side, I probably could have passed the B2, but it's still more expensive...

So, now that I've finished all of my exams, my semester in France is officially over, BUT, the quarter (Seattle University time) is not yet over. SO, we have Victor's travel study class - boohoo! While I do have an enormously thick packet I need to start working through - should have already started working through actually - we'll be talking the actual class in Morocco. We leave the 22 of May. I'm terribly excited! But I plan on relaxing, reading some French BDs (comics books), and watching the French film series of "Les Miserables."

Life is good without stress...

Finals week(s)

So. Finals have started. We had our French language exams Thursday and Friday. This weekend I am going through my art history notes, because the final is on Monday, and as many times as the professor told us he does not want us to memorize everything, deep down inside he does. So I am diligently refreshing my memory of French painters – starting with classicism during the reign of King Louis XIV (17th century) all the way through the beginnings of modern painting (think Picasso and eventually abstraction).

On the Brightside, after Wednesday I will be finished with all of my testing - some people have exams through the next week. On the dimmer side, I have 6 exams squeezed into those three days! The DELF (the national French competency examination) is split into two tests: oral and written: Monday and Wednesday morning. Tuesday morning I will have off, but that means both vocabulary and literature in the afternoon. Monday afternoon will be the history of art final and Wednesday afternoon will be Contemporary French History.

Evidently we should get our grades mid June – just enough time to get over the trauma of exams before reliving it! But in the mean time, I will get to study Moroccan literature and culture, in country, for almost two weeks! Then I’ll come back to France, pick up what’s left of my 5 months in Grenoble, and head to Amiens to see the Avronsart family one last time before leaving the country. Juliette will still be in exams, but I’ll be able to relax a couple days before my flight leaves from Paris June 6 – Anne told me that she’d drive me to the airport, which is a huge relief to me. It wouldn’t be too difficult for me to get myself to the airport, but I would stress about it.

Here and Home

As my time in Grenoble starts to come to it's end, I find myself more and more sentimental. It's a complex mix of thoughts and feelings.

I miss home.

I'm anxious about finals.

I'm ready to be done with classes.

I'm excited to go to Morocco.

I know I'm going to miss my life in Grenoble.

I made a list of the things I miss from home:

backrubs, easily expressing myself, my family, my other family (co-workers, friends, Sunday School, the CDC, etc), my sister's bridal preparations, working, Seattle University, simplicity, doing my own laundry.

At the same time I made a list of the things I'm going to miss from Grenoble:

Claire and the whole family, day-to-day use of French (I need to find French books to read over the summer), a cafe et chocolat after lunch, doing something different with my life, Samira (my prof), the kids I babysit here, public transportation, reading in the garden, comic books.

Some of the things in each of the lists are silly, and some are more profound. For example, who would miss doing the laundry?! but it's the independence which that simple act represents that I miss. And my French professeur, Samira: she is, hands down, one of, if not the best, professors from which I have had the pleasure of learning.

I have to say, the outlook of "This is where I'm going to live for the next five months." is much different from that of "This is where I have lived for the last five months." (Okay, at this point it's only been four, but that's still significant!)

In just over one month, I'll be back in Seattle. While I know things there will have changed, and I know that I will have changed, it's tempting to think that life will go back to "normal" - not that "normal" actually exists! But I think I would be denying myself these five months if I were to say that. In reality, I'm going back, but to a new life. After-all, every morning we awake to a new day and new opportunities, whether we take the time to realize it or not.

Here's yer sign...

I can totally tell that our time here in Grenoble is winding down. The most obvious sign: I'm getting sick and tired of everyone around me! Okay, not really my host family, I'm actually growing more and more fond of them - leaving them will be difficult. It's the other American's with whom I spend so many hours of so many days - I've just had enough and need a change of pace. I'll be happy to be back in Seattle where I have a much larger social circle!

The second most obvious sign: FINALS!!! Starting very very soon - way too soon in my opinion - final exams will be upon us. This is not exciting (of course, I don't know anyone who likes tests) and rather frightening.

Sign number three is not as obvious, but at the same time, the most exciting of everything going on right now. Victor has arrived, and we've started talking about our trip to Morocco. This trip in the carrot dangling on the far side of the three weeks of testing. Once May 19 hits, that's all I'll have to think about, and that will be a very happy day!

France on lock down

I think most people have heard about the volcano which erupted in Iceland. I haven't heard of any injuries resulting directly from the eruption, but the resulting cloud of ash has shut down air-traffic all across Europe. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8625813.stm visuals from BBC News) Add to that the rail syndicate strike in France, and nobody is getting very far very fast.

My host parents drove all the way from Grenoble to Toulouse and back so that their son, Jean, could spend part of his vacation at home. I have friends away on vacation in Scotland, Ireland, even the Canary Islands; none of them can get flights back into France, because there aren't any flights into or around Europe. Victor (our other SU prof) was supposed to get into Grenoble tomorrow, but I don’t even know if he’s been about to get into the country, or even the continent! Maybe it's much better that I didn't go anywhere for this vacation - I don't know when I'd get home!

And in fact, I've been very pleased with my week off - j'avais bien reposé! Plenty of sleeping in, films most nights, reading out in the sunny garden during the day, and I even got to call my parents a couple times! Starting tomorrow, it’ll be back to the grinding stone, right up through May 5. Then, à partir du 6 mai, les examens finaux! Not looking forward to finals… but that’s how I’m going to get my grades, so I’d better’d buck up and get it done when the time comes.
Afterwards, I can look forward to spending a week and a half in Morroco with Victor and everyone else. That will be fantastic!

We’ll be looking at Moroccan, Francophone (refers to other French-speaking countries) literature with Victor (whenever he happens to arrive) beforehand, and potentially meeting up with some North African writers while we’re in the area.

Springtime!

I realize that, once again, I've been falling behind on posting. To catch everyone up to date, not much of anything in particular has happened in the last week or two!

Last weekend was Easter. My host family celebrated by attending the Easter Vigil (veillé de Pâques) with hot chocolate to follow. Easter morning we didn’t go to mass, though our record until then was complete (Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday). Instead we all slept in and had our breakfast together, complete with special sweet breads and crèpes. Of course, there was plenty of chocolate! Claire put together a very cute plate: a chocolate hen surrounded by chocolate eggs and the marshmallow Peeps the Easter Bunny gave me to share. (Thanks “Easter Buuny” – Marguerite especially liked the Peeps!)

The next day was Easter Monday, still a bank holiday here in France, thus no work (for most) and no school. It was a beautiful day! I’ve been spending more and more time in the garden, as the weather is tending to be more and more often agreeable; I finished a book sitting outside in the sun that particular day.

Our four day week pasted quickly, though every week seems to past faster than the last regardless. Thursday afternoon I went to the OFII (Office Français de l’Immigration et l’Integration –Office of French Immigration and Integration). As of September 2009, a student visa by itself does not suffice to legally study in France. My student visa is labeled: legal 60%. We had to turn in all sorts of documents proving our identity, lodgment, and health. Thursday I presented the final paperwork to the officials, who in turn put a carte de séjour (residence permit, like a green card) in my passport. My documents will be filled at the Préfecuture de Grenoble (the city’s administrative center) as a legal French resident. What does this mean? Basically I jumped through a bunch of hoops so that I won’t get in trouble trying to reenter the country in the future, because I didn’t do what the bureaucracy told me to…

In any case, that is behind me, and I’m looking out into a week of vacation! I don’t have anything specific planned; funds are a bit too tight to do anything very exotic. But the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and my host family doesn’t mind that I’m staying. Plus, I have yet to get much of a chance to check out the hiking trails around Grenoble – we’ll see what kind of trail heads I can find within walking/bussing distance of my house. I’m not about to go on any multiday expositions by myself, if I had a couple other people with me I’d love too, but solo is just asking for trouble!

Oh, and I cleaned my room yesterday, and am doing laundry this afternoon. I can be productive every-once-and-a-while!

Dimanche des Rameaux

I was busy the end of last week! Thursday night I went with API to the cinéma. Most of us saw “La Rafle,” but a few of us saw it with their class, so there was an alternate, “L’Anacœur.” Friday night I finally made it to Kelly’s house for dinner. Saturday was our excursion to Lyon with API. This morning our clocks lost an hour just in time for Palm Sunday. Oh, and the Easter bunny dropped off my box shaped Easter Basket a week early, since it was a special delivery.

“La Rafle” is a film portrayal of real life people and events: July 16, 1942, 13,000 Parisian Jews, men, women, and children, were taken captive by the Vichy government on Nazi orders and placed in Paris’s Vélodrome d’hiver (indoor bicycle racetrack), before being shipped off to the French camp, Beaune-La-Rolande, and later to their deaths. The movie was very difficult; we were emotionally exhausted by the end, crying before it was halfway through. And yet, it did not leave us with the impression that the world is evil. Instead, it reminded us that some people struggled against the persecution and terrors of the Holocaust, and, while thousands of people were beyond their grasp, they reached some people, and those few people were worth it! I feel that this film ties in appropriately with the celebration of remembrance and determination: the film’s opening falls in-between, International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27) and Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) (April 11).

Getting myself to the movie theater was a practice run for finding my way to Kelly’s house the next night – I have to take the C tram, instead of the B, aka she lives on the other side of town! Kelly is a former student of Paul and Victor – she came to Grenoble 10 years ago with the same Seattle University program I am currently following. She met a French guy, and ended up getting married, having three French-American children and living in Grenoble. (I believe this situation is my parents’ worst fear, so I would like to assure everyone now that I miss home too much not to come back. Seattle is my home.) Kelly would like to expose her children to as much English as possible, since they are surrounded by French, so she asked Paul if he would recommend one of his current students in Grenoble as a babysitter – he introduced me to her as his response. I went to dinner Friday night as a way of meeting the family (Kelly and Eddie plus two boys and a girl) and getting to know everyone. It was quite delightful, and I’m going back to play with the kids/play support troops for Kelly who will have hers plus two all afternoon by herself. Hopefully it won’t be pouring down rain, so we can go to the park across the street and play!

Speaking of rain, it rained all day Saturday. We left at 8:30 from Grenoble to spend the day in Lyon. It was raining while we were on the bus, then stopped as we drove into Lyon, but was drizzling a bit on our tour guided by some French students. For lunch and the afternoon, we were set free. Luckily for me, Michelle, and Christian, who picnicked on a bench, we had about a half an hour of dry, before it started pouring! We didn’t really know where to go, and we didn’t have a ton of money to spend on museums and restaurants, so we spent quite a bit of time in le Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste. We visited two churches in Lyon: St. John’s, which has an astrological clock, and la Basilique de, Notre-Dame de Fourvière, the interior of which is covered in mosaic. I didn’t really take many photos – between the rain and the cold, I was not inspired. Plus I kept getting rain drops on the lens of my camera the few times I tried.

France observed the switch to Daylight savings the next morning, so I am once again 9 hours ahead of Seattle. Palm Sunday evidently is almost as big as Easter here in France, at least for the church goers. The church I go to with my host family was packed! We started outside, and processed in, with our rameaux (branches). They don’t use actual palm fronds here; I guess they would have to ship them in from too far away. Instead, parishioners clip greens from their gardens – it looked to me as though everyone had clippings of boxwood, but I might have been mistaken. Claire gave me a piece afterwards, to put in my room. She told me that she always puts a piece of the rameaux in each of the four corners of the house. My sprig is hanging above the head of my bed.

Meike

I couldn’t get enough of the weather this week – it was absolutely gorgeous, and warm! It was over 60˚F the better part of the week, and almost hit 70˚ - this translates to the upper Celsius degrees by the way. It clouded over this weekend, and was raining this morning, but it has remained warm. Perhaps we have in fact left winter behind!!! I realized today that next week is Palm Sunday, which means Easter is just right around the corner… The forsythia in the garden here in Grenoble is in full bloom, is our forsythia blooming before Easter too?Marguerite is studying German, and her school has a sister school in Germany. Each year the Germans studying French and vice versa partner up as correspondents, and do an exchange. Marguerite’s correspondent, Meike, is here for the week, and Marguerite will visit Meike’s home sometime in April. Since the first day was a bit rocky for all of the students, with regards to integrating between themselves, a few of the Moms who know each other have been organizing little events, this way some of the girls can be together and therefore feel more comfortable. Yesterday, I got to profit from all this! Claire took Marguerite, Meike, me, and my friend Adrian to the ice rink (patinoire) at Grand Place to meet up with two other correspondent pairs. It was a ball! I love ice-skating (patiner / faire du patinage), it was Adrian’s first time, and there were absolutely no tears involved, even when we fell on our backsides (though I’m proud to say I myself am not included in the general “we”).
I can’t help but place myself in Meike’s shoes: I was just like her when I was in 8th grade. It was my first international trip, and it was with Mme. Asman’s eighth grade French class. This is of course the same class with which my dear friend Samantha is about to leave for France. Kinda makes me feel old…

Looking back, I did not know French, and struggled through that family stay, all four days! BUT, some of my most vivid memories from that first trip to France are of my host family and my snapshot of their life. I grew from that experience, and look, here I am, in France, once again!

I can't say awkward in French, so I did in English.

I should be studying or something school related, of course, but I cannot quite bring myself to do anything so atrocious. Therefore I will do something almost as productive – blogging is almost as good as homework, right? Kids, don’t use that one on your parents or teachers, they would never forgive me!

As fearful of the awkwardness this weekend presented me, from Friday’s side of things, it was actually okay. My host parents were out of town, at a church retreat this weekend, leaving me with the other kids and no one specifically in charge of cooking. Claire thought that I’d be out of town with API – there’s a trip to Dijon for all the students, except those from Seattle since our SU profs didn’t think the trip was worth our money. She was not happy when she found out that she’d be leaving me here almost alone – I think for my sake. I feel like she would have consulted me about leaving beforehand if she’d known that I wasn’t going with the rest of API.

While it was kind of weird to be in the house with just the three kids Friday night and then just Rémi Saturday night, it was okay. The weekend was very mellow! We all kind of just did our own things, and figured out meals as they came – Claire left a list of options which we worked from.

And now, Claire and Pierre-Jacques are back. They are going to vote (local French elections) and pick up Marguerite from her friend’s house (this is where she spent last night/today). We’ll have a more normal dinner tonight, as a family around the big table in the salon. I won’t feel like the Mom checking the doors before bed, opening and shutting the shutters in response to the hour, and tidying up the kitchen after everyone else. Though I have to admit, that I enjoy taking care of people – there was something satisfying about putting away the teakettle and jam jars after everyone had eaten breakfast and left the kitchen.

Ahhh, someone is playing horrible American music! It’s probably Benoît since Rémi tends to play a mix of classical, Disney, and old French songs. Hmm, but I hear "Pirates of the Carribean," so either they're switching on me, or I really have a clue! I don’t know where Marguerite’s music tastes lay, her brothers usually dominate the computer and CD players. I myself tend towards a mix of show tunes, classic rock, and alternative. I added some French to my repertoire today – iTunes classifies most of the songs as French pop. Thierry Amiel, Amel Bent, Pascal Obispo, Patrick Fiori, et Dalida.

Also today, I talked to a former student of Paul’s and I’m going to have dinner with her and her family this Friday. The point is for me to meet the family, the three kids especially, so I can start babysitting. Kelly wants her French, American children to be exposed to as much English as possible, since they live in Grenoble and are surrounded daily by French! Paul got us in touch, and while it took me a while to get in touch with her (my fault, not hers!) I called her today, and we set up dinner! I’ve been a tad worried about money, and being able to earn a bit here and there will be a huge weigh lifted off my shoulders. But I don’t want anyone else worrying about me with regards to money – I’ll be fine! I’ve got it all worked out, it just stresses me out, like a lot of people!

Boy, I’m hungry for diner! Our déjeuner was a bit more simplistic, sparser than usual, due to the lack of a real Mom. I guess a plate of spaghetti pesto and a banana isn’t enough to last me from 1:30 until dinnertime around 8 (it’s almost 7:30 as I write this, but it won’t necessarily still be when I post it). I did eat an orange I had left over from lunch on Friday – I’m not supposed to eat in my room, but I was really careful not to make a mess and I’ll destroy the evidence by throwing the peels in a garbage can at school – “Crafty Cress!”

I hope everyone was able to cope with Daylight Savings Time this morning! We, here in France, won’t spring forward for another two weeks. Therefore, until March 28, Seattle is 8 hours ahead of France, instead of the normal 9. I was confused earlier, thinking it was a 10 hour difference, the whole time difference is confusing enough without switching it back and forth! Thank you to Katie for helping me figure out what's really going on!

Narnia

Well, I thought spring was on its way: trees are budding, snow drops and primroses appearing, and my eyes itching like crazy! I woke up last Sunday morning to snow falling, and it continued to fall, fairly steadily, all day. My friend Adrian took up the search for two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam in order to banish the unending winter.

It was a truly quiet Sunday. We went to morning mass as usual. I’m working on learning the Lord’s Prayer in French. A couple rounds of Rummikub after lunch and café. Homework. We watched “Le Petit Nicholas” before dinner – I think the snow was making Claire feel a bit stir-crazy.

Saturday, I went with Claire and Pierre-Jacques on a hike. We went up into the mountains, and then through a rural area. Our path took us by a pasture with two Haflingers (I’m pretty sure that the horses were Haflingers). One of them came right up to me when I clucked at her, sniffed me, and then let me pet her. She really enjoyed having her forehead scratched, and would but my shoulder to ask for more when I stopped. We also saw an Appaloosa, a paint, and the filthiest donkey ever – it had dreadlocks!

Rewind to February 26 – the Friday after break. We met up with API right after our vocabulary class, many of us with sandwiches, as our class ended at 12:30. We all loaded onto an autocar, and drove about a half an hour away to the town of Voiron. This is where the liqueur, Chartreuse, is distilled. It has historically been made by the Chartreuse – an order of monks whose monastery rests in the Chartreuse Mountains. Today, there are a few monks who continue to mix the secret recipe of herbs, allowing the rest of the community to focus on prayer and meditation. The mixed herbs are then transported to the distillery in nearby Voiron, where the actual alcohol is distilled, using computers to monitor temperatures and such.

We toured the distillery, including a couple horribly cheesy films, and some terribly cheesy displays. However, at the end of the tour, we got to enjoy a degustation – a tasting. We had various choices: the standard vert et jaune – green and yellow – as well as a vintage green, mix of green and yellow, and other specialty liqueurs from the area. I tried the mix, as I tasted the yellow Chartreuse with my host family on a couple of occasions, and wanted to try something a little different. The yellow is very sweet, and the green has a very herby quality. All Chartreuse is best served cold, either chilled, or served with on ice, though with varying ideal temperatures. Of course the exit, as always, was through the gift shop – however, the prices for plain bottles was quite reasonable, however the gift boxes were rather exorbitant.

Our next stop was the Grand Chartreuse. The monastery is situated in the mist of these mountains, the site chosen by St Bruno, because of its desolation – he called the area a desert. Typically, we would have visited the museum, but as it has been closed for repairs, we hiked to the location of the monastery, and then climbed the hill beyond it, in order to have the best possible view. The whole area was magnificent! The monastery is closed to visitors – when the brothers have visitors (the occurrence of which is limited by the order) they meet their visitors outside of the walls of the monastery. From the hill, we could see the small, individual houses, which are in addition to the communal buildings within the walls. Each monk keeps his own residence and garden, aiding the practice of individual silence, mediation, and prayer.
On our way back down to the autocar, the clouds were breaking at the same time as the sun began to drop behind the mountains. The effect was a magnificent golden light, which would fall here and there, constantly changing and calling to attention different elements of the landscape. It was breathtaking, and I couldn’t take enough pictures. Unfortunately, a camera just can’t capture everything, and I’m not the best photographer either. Therefore, my photos are not nearly as grandiose as what we experienced!

Mal au pays...

I'm sorry for having not posted in so long. I seem to be tired all the time, and bogged down with homework. I think I just hit a point of being gone long enough, to want to go home. That's not to say that I'm giving up on the program, packing my bags, and catching the next plane home! I'm just homesick, and should really put my nose to the grind-stone and work my way through this rough patch.

In just over a week Victor Reinking (US prof #2) will arrive in Grenoble. Soon enough, we'll be to final exams (probably before I really feel ready...), and then after that we'll be off the Morocco!!! I might get to spend some time with the Avronsart family before I leave the country, and then once I get back state-side there's the wedding, and going back to the Child Development Center and St. Peter's (I'm excited for all of these things, just to be clear)!

I have a lot to look forward to - and a lot to enjoy right here and now, if I can just get my chin off my chest and look around. Someone give me a coup de pieds why don't they! Hmmm... it'll be dinner time soon, what's not good about life?! I could go for a good shoulder rub though, I'm kinda tense...

PS I really, really, really promise to post about the end of my vacation in Amiens as well as an API outing to the Chartreuse (yes it's also the name of the color).

Wednesday - Thursday

My time in Amiens absolutely flew by! I can't say how wonderful it was to see Juliette again, and to meet her brother, Julien, and mother, Anne, for the first time. They all took wonderful care of me, and I am so very grateful for their wonderful hospitality!

I left off at Rouen, so I’ll do my best to pick up the strings there in order to tie them all off neatly. This might take several posts – or one REALLY long one!

Wednesday was a very mellow day, which I enjoyed greatly! We just lounged around the apartment all day, without doing much of anything. Anne would have preferred for us to go out and DO something, to profit from our time, but in fact I think we did just that – at least I did!

The next day Anne took me to see Versailles. She woke us up early (aka before 10 am), so that we could get a better start on the day! Juliette and I took breakfast together, but she and Julien stayed in Amiens, as they each had too much work to spend the day away from home. Our first stop was at a boulangerie bio (organic bakery) – Anne buys as much organic as she can, as she is very health conscious – we picked up sandwiches for our lunch because everything in Versailles (also the name of the city which now surrounds the palace) costs obscene sums of money! We then left Amiens on the autoroute, destination Versailles. Amiens is in the region of Picardy, and Versailles is outside of Paris, in the region Île-de-France; the car ride was a couple of hours, especially because we got a little turned around a couple times. It was past noon by the time we’d gotten to the city, found the chateau, and parked, so we picnicked in the car with our really yummy sandwiches. If I had had my visa with me, I could have proven my status as a French resident under the age of 25, and therefore gotten into the museum absolutely free! But I didn’t want to carry my passport around with me (I figured it was safer that way), so I left it behind. I now know that I should always have it with me while traveling – yes Anne, I’ve learned my lesson well!

The chateau, built by Louis XIV from his father’s (much smaller) hunting lodge, has been turned into a national museum. We followed along as our audio guides told us all about what we were seeing – mine was in English, but the decision included much considering, and I almost chose French. We were not sure if we could take photos or not; flash was definitely not allowed, and every once in a while there would be a sign prohibiting photography, but everyone else was taking pictures. I think there were certain areas where photography is prohibited, but it was unclear as to where those areas ended. As a result I don’t really have photos of the interior of the palace (and the postcards were WAY too expensive!), but I took some of the exterior (lots of gold and marble as Anne said!).

The first rooms were filled with paintings – many of them portraits, and all having to do with court life. One of the portraits was of a man named Gaston (Gaston de France, brother of King Louis XIII), and of course all I could think about was Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”
We finished our tour, and stopped to look at the gift shop. I considered buying postcards, until I saw that they were 1,10€ each, almost $1.50 for one card! No thanks! (Postcards from a Tabac cost around ,50€ each) Anne bought one postcard, as well as a little book of “Les Fables de la Fontaine” (a collection of folktales, written in verse, which most every French person knows) which she gave to me. It was very kind of her!

After searching for the car, we left Versailles with one last stop before home. We visited an old school friend of Anne’s, who lives nearby. They went most of the way through school together, and have kept in contact. Every time they have the chance, they visit each other, and so we did. Bernadette and her husband, Louis, are both very kind – I think I remember their names correctly, if not, then I am truly sorry! We had a very nice gouter (afternoon snack), and I got to play with their 2 year old grandson, Alexis, for a while – we were matching and identifying the shapes of different cookie cutters and chocolate molds.

Anne called Juliette, right before we left, to ask her to get dinner started so it would be ready when we got home. I ended up playing car secretary for Anne, not nearly as easy in French as it is with my own mother in the states. When we arrived back at the apartment in Amiens, Juliette had indeed finished making dinner, so we sat down à table (this is becoming the phrase that rules my home life). I slept well that night!

I think that this is long enough for one post. I’ll post again soon with a recount of tomorrow's API sortie to the caves of Voiron and the Chartreuse monastery.

Rouen

Yesterday afternoon, Anne, Juliette, and I went to Rouen for a bit of sightseeing as well as window-shopping. Actually, Juliette ended up buying a sweater, but Anne and I stuck to "window licking" (lèche-vitrine is the French term for window-shopping, and literally translates to window-licking).

We detoured to Londinieres, so I could see Juliette's childhood house. My parents spent some time there last summer. Since it's winter right now, the house is closed up and dark, and the garden is rather sparse. But now I have a better idea of what Mom and Dad's pictures represent. Anne also took the opportunity to stop at her favorite butcher to buy some quality meat!

The drive was very relaxing: the sun was coming through the windows, there was classical music on the radio, and the countryside was rolling by outside the windows. At least, on the way there. On the way home, it was dark outside, and we took the autoroute (comparable to a freeway) which is faster as it bypasses all the small towns, but not as scenic.

To celebrate Mardis Gras, we made waffles last night (we decided that we'd had enough crepes for a while) and had cider. The first few waffles were failures, but everything tasted fine, and we all had a good laugh or two!

Adventure à Amiens

I am so happy I came to Amiens for my vacation! My friend Juliette and her family (brother Julien and mother Anne Avronsart) live here and are kind enough to host me for my week of vacances d’hiver.

I met Juliette four years ago, after pleading my family to host a French student for three weeks during the summer. I gave up my bed for a futon on the floor in exchange for the best decision ever – Juliette quickly became one of my best friends, practically a sister! She came back the next summer, and my family dragged her all the way across the US on our road-trip to Kansas, she and I slept in a tent every night, while Mom, Dad, and Katie slept in the trailer. There were many nights we stayed up, giggling like little girls, sometimes until we were told to be quiet; other people were trying to sleep.

That was three years ago. Mom and Dad celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this last summer by taking their first trip to Europe. Half of their trip they spent with the Avronsart family in northern France. Now it’s my turn, though I only get to spent one week, they got two!

Getting here was interesting though! I woke up at 6 in the morning to get to the train station in Grenoble on time – the train was to leave at 7:37. Little did I know that there were two trains, back-to-back, both bound for Paris. In other words, I got on the wrong train! It was 7:30ish when I discovered this, as the man I thought was in my seat actually belonged there, and told me that I needed to be on the other train. So I scooped up all of my things, somehow not leaving anything behind, and ran for the next train. Luckily, the conductors saw me, and kept one of the doors of the correct train open – once the doors close, they don’t open until the next station! I climbed aboard, the door shut, and we pulled away from the station. Close call!

That was the TGV to Paris, which took about three hours. After getting off the train at la Gare de Lyon, I used the metro (thanks for the billets Mom and Dad!) to get to la Gare du Nord; two stops away on the green RER line. After wandering around for 20 minutes trying to get out of the metro, and into the train station, I finally found my way. I checked at to make sure I didn’t need an assigned seat, figured out which platform, and got on that train. After a couple of minutes, we pulled away from Paris, headed north. This was a slower train, which stopped probably eight times before reaching the terminus at Amiens. It took me and Juliette about a half an hour to find each other at the station. It’s not very big, but there are two exits and somehow we passed each other the first time without seeing each other. I thought to myself as the train was leaving Grenoble that I should have given the Avronsart family my phone number, for exactly this reason, but it was too late by then! We eventually found each other; everything turned out fine in the end, and in this case, that’s all that really matters.

I was exhausted when we got to their apartment, so I ended up taking a nap for about 45 minutes, but felt much better after that – the combination of stress from the actual traveling, the early morning, and the inability to sleep the night before due to pre-travel nerves had wiped me out.

I’m not sure how often I’ll have time to post during this vacation – I have the feeling that the Avronsart family will keep be very busy. They have already sat me down so I could finish all of my homework, after taking me on a walking tour of the city center. There has been talk of gaufres (waffles) for Mardi Gras (we decided that we’d had enough crêpes), and a trip to Versailles in the near future! But no worries – I’ll take good notes, and report back as soon as possible!

Answers and Updates

I think I've been asked three times how many American students are here in Grenoble, so I'll venture an answer. I have to say that I don't know. There are four or five groups within API, so I'd imagine that there are 40-50 American students in Grenoble with API. However, there are other groups from the states who don't have anything to do with API. There's also a large population of Chinese and a fairly large population of Korean students, plus a few European and South American students. We take up an entire college within the university, so there are a lot of us!

My classes are going well. It's interesting to be in a class that's not entirely focused on grammar - I am at a level that I've learned pretty much all of the rules, now I just need to practice using them, and in better stylistic ways. Between Samira (my French prof), Paul (prof from the states), and my literature class, I've been keeping busy outside of class as well.

Paul will be leaving next Saturday - the same day I leave for Amiens. He's hosting his own Diner d'Adieu this Thursday. He's really using his departure as an excuse to take us out to a fancy resaurant for lunch. Victor will arrive in March, so we'll be a few weeks without an SU prof. However, Paul has promised to continue assigning reading and essays, even after he's left - thanks Paul! His class won't have officially ended, so he can actually do that...

les grottes de Choranche

Today I went on an excursion with API (the company with which we have our housing, insurance, and a few excursions contracted). We went, as a huge group of American students, to les grottes de Choranche – the Choranche caves in Vecors. The rendez-vous was at 12:45 (my family usually eats Saturday lunch around 1 PM, so we did some shuffling today) and we all got onto a charter bus which took us an hour and a half away from Grenoble. Our guided tour lasted about an hour, we had some free time (gift shop/café), and then the return bus ride. I ended up sleeping all the way home, so I didn’t touch the homework I brought with me, but I’ll have all of tomorrow afternoon.

The caves were discovered around 1875, by some of the villagers from Choranche, who were curious as to the source of the river which exits the cave. They discovered the first chamber, with its massive pool, and named it “Cou fin” – thin neck. This name is reminiscent of the term “bottleneck,” which is appropriate as the vast pool of water exits through a rather narrow hole, forming the river. Later on, further explorations followed, and now continue to follow. The specialty of these caves is the soda-straw formations. The vast number, length, and regularity of diameter set this cave system apart from others.

Also on display in the caves are a prehistoric species of salamander. The only place these amphibians survive naturally is in the Karst Mountains of Slovenia. The Olm salamanders live in aquariums in the caves in Choranche. From the Choranceh Caves’ website:

"Called the "living fossil" because it is one of the oldest species in the world and because it still has most of its original characteristics, Olm salamander is definitely the oddest of underground creatures. It is an amphibian that lives off micro-organisms and other cave-dwelling species and is the number one underground predator thanks to its size (up to 35 cm long). Like all cave-dwellers it has no eyes and is totally colorless."

I was very excited to visit a cave in France, particularly because visiting caves is a family tradition for me. Ever since Katie and I were young, my family has made a point of incorporating at least one cave visit into our summer vacations. Our first cave was Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana. Since then we’ve taken historic tours, with only our own candle light to guide our way, and I’ve even been swimming in a cave in the Philippines. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to visit a cave here in France, I couldn’t resist! While this cave tour was rather tame compared to what I really like, I was impressed with the work to maintain the integrity of the formations. I was also impressed with how the limestone formations were being to heal themselves from the no doubt generations of being soiled by contact with human touch – the dirt and oils on our hands leads to the discoloration of the limestone deposited by the ever flowing and dripping water inside the caverns. But there are many places within les grottes de Choranche where the discoloration is underneath new layers of clean white limestone. That was cool to see!

We also saw a very strange film in one of the galleries. It was projected on two of the walls – kind of a mix of a light show and movie. I noticed that there weren’t really many formations in that particular chamber, some of us were thinking about the potential damage from the sound vibrations and lights of the mini-spectacular.

All and all, I’m very glad I went. I also want to continue to explore more caves. If I were ever to pick up an extreme sport it would be spelunking! But, not while I’m in France.

Musee de la Revolution Francaise

I am sitting on a pillow, with my back against the radiator – I am gloriously warm right now! This afternoon was mostly sunny, and I sat in the sun streaming through the salon windows doing homework, until my reading caused my eyelids to droop, then I took a nap. All and all, this has been a swell weekend!

Thursday night, a local DJ invited all of the American students to “Back to the Future” – a gig he was playing in downtown Grenoble. He’s friends with Bryan’s host brother, which is the connection to American students! Quite a few of us met up downtown and found the place. It was a late night, but we all had a good time hanging out and dancing to electronica music.

Fridays, I only have vocabulary class at 10:30, so I not only did I get to sleep in, but I also got to hang out with mes amis the afternoon. We went to a great kebab shop in downtown, right by the McDonalds – which we’ve all sworn off, though Annie was yearning for a chocolate milkshake! The food was delicious – very Mediterranean: shaved, roasted lamb, focaccia bread, salad with red onions and tomatoes, fries, and tzatziki sauce. It wasn’t horribly overpriced either! Bryan, Adrian, and I then headed to the apartment where Adrian’s host family lives, to do homework, which I am pleased to say I actually accomplished! However, on the way there, we walked by a bookshop with cartons of books out front labeled: €1 par 2 livres – 2 books for 1 euro! I had to look!!! I found this beautiful old book, which happened to be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in French. I couldn’t resist – I love old books, especially handsome old books, and especially classics, plus it’s in French! So, I got a screaming deal on a fabulous book, plus another one for free! I’m still excited!

Saturday morning, we met up with Paul like most weekends, for an outing. However, this time we left the city limits! We met up between 11 and 11:30 at the bus station (Gare Routière). Claire thought I was crazy for leaving the house an hour early, but I explained that I wasn’t sure of how to get where I was going, so I preferred to be early. She understood, but asked me when I got home if I’d been early – I was about a half an hour early! But I explored the area a bit, and then saw Paul, who was a few minutes early, and waited with him for everyone else to show up. We took the 11:45 bus to Vizille, a village southeast of Grenoble. There, we had lunch at an alpine/Asian themed pizzeria, before visiting the Chateau de Vizille. Originally built for the noblesse, it became the summer vacation house for the presidents of the French Republic, up through de Gaulle. Now, the building houses la Musée de la Révolution Française, and the grounds are a beautiful public park. Entrance to the museum is free, though there are headsets to rent and the obligatory gift shop. We spent some over an hour wandering through the chateau, regarding paintings, sculpture, and artifacts pertaining to the French Revolution. My favorite, for its obscurity, was a painting of a man drawing Marie-Antoinette as she’d being carted past his window to her execution – bizarre.

We had just enough time after buying postcards at the gift shop, to stop for ice cream. Those of us who thought everyone else was crazy for eating ice cream when it was so cold had hot chocolate, or tea instead. I’ll wait for warmer weather for cold treats, thanks! Then we caught the bus back to Grenoble. Paul’s beautiful rental car took some of us home – those of us who live outside downtown. Paul and Victor are much more than just professors, they both defy straightforward definitions. I’ll be sad when Paul leaves, and very excited when Victor get here! If only Paul wouldn’t continue to assign us homework after he leaves – that’s just wrong! Oh well, I’ve realized that writing in French is one of the best ways to learn vocabulary and practice syntax – my journal is in French, I hope I can read it after a few years have gone by!

Well, I have classes tomorrow, so I’d bettered get to bed. My plan for the morning is: wake up, Pilates workout, shower, breakfast, to the university by 10:30. As long as I don’t hit snooze, all will go as planned – when does that ever happen?!

Musee de la Resistance

Haha! I figured out how to paste into blogger - I have to use the "edit html" window instead of the "compose" window. I'll see if I can use accent marks later.

Yesterday Paul took us to the Musee de la Resistance - a much more somber outing. I didn't bring my camera, and there weren't many good photo ops anyway, so there will be no pictures from this sortie.

The museum takes you through some of the history of the resistance, focusing on Grenoble. The role of France during World War II was very complicated, mostly because it was so fragmented. The northern part (near Germany and all along the Atlantic coast) was occupied by Nazi Germany. The southern "free territoy" was controled the French Vichy government and occupied by fascist Italy. Later on, near the end of the war, all of France would be under Nazi occupation. The two main groups of French people were the collaborators (Vichy government and supporters) and the resistance (underground fighters as well as people who refused to fight at all). Grenoble, located in Vichy controlled France, was a hotspot of the resistance movement.

One of the most striking images, for me, was at the very end of the exhibit. The was a column on which the words: liberte, fraternite, and egalite (the motto of France: liberty, fraternity, equality) scrolled though on a screen. This column rose up from a Nazi flag on the ground underneath. There were footprints all over the flag.

Afterwards, we did go out for a goute, but we dispersed to various cafes. I wound up going with Michelle and Chritian (the twins) to Pain & Cie. It is very open and cheery, an atmosphere which we welcomed after the somber museum.

Address for the museum's website: http://www.resistance-en-isere.com/mr/index/num/1/lan/1

La Bastille

There are no classes scheduled on Friday afternoons at the CUEF (Centre Universitaire des Etudes Francaise = University Center for French Studies). I don’t have a morning class Fridays either! So, with our free afternoon, we met up with Paul and climbed to the Bastille. Most people take the bulles – translated as balls or bubbles – the first urban cable car system in the world, to effortlessly get up to the top of the mountain. Paul took us the hard way, though we didn’t actually run the trail, or stop at any of the exercise points to do chin ups or jumping jacks, and the bulles aren’t working right now anyway! The hike was comparable to hiking Mt. Si and very enjoyable for me. We all enjoyed the great views and photos opportunities!

We didn’t spend much time at the top; there’s a restaurant and some exhibits, but we weren’t there to spend money. So we headed back down the many switch backs, through some mud and some snow. Like usual, we wrapped up our outing at a cafe. For once we didn’t go to Pain & Cie, but to a tiny tea and book shop on the other side of the river. (Most of Downtown Grenoble is on the south side of the river as the north side is the face of the mountain on top of which sits the Bastille.)

The cafe is called The Bookworm, and it’s run by two British women. We all had tea and scones – I had Chai, one of the few spicy things since I’ve arrived! The French have great spicy mustard, but other than that and black pepper, they don’t eat spicy foods: even their curry is sweet. When I get home I’ll savor every Asian and Latin American food I eat!

This afternoon Paul is taking us to the Musee de la Resistance. The Resistance refers to those who resisted Nazi Germany during World War II. The second world war had a huge effect on France in many different ways, and much of today’s culture, politics, just about anything, has been influence by the French experience of the war – when you say, “la guerre – the war” you mean la Deuxieme Guerre Mondiale – the Second World War. Anyway, I will most likely be posting more soon, and we’ll see which cafe we go to today!

B2.2

The results of yesterday's placement exam were posted this afternoon: I am at the B2.2 level. Translation: fairly high proficiency.

Most foreign students are in the general B level. A few highly advanced people (who've been living here for a year or two) place in the C level, but that's rather rare. Within B, 1 is the lower level and 2 is the upper level. Then, within B2 there's .0 .1 .2 and .5 - it's kind of a complex system, but that's the French for you.

I'm a little nervous about how high I placed (besides three other girls who placed the same as me, I'm the top of our group from Seattle U), but I'll try it out, and if it's too difficult I can be moved down.

We received the schedule of classes today as well. Each class meets once a week, for an hour and a half or two hours. Language classes are in the morning and culture classes in the afternoon. All of my language classes are assigned: Mondays and Wednesdays 10:40 - 12:30 and Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:30-10:20. We are to attend all (or the better part of) the afternoon culture classes (Contemporary French Lit, History of French Cinema, Francophone Literature and Culture, etc) for the next two weeks. After that, we'll each choose 2, in addition to the classes our program requires us to take: Contemporary French History, Vocabulary, and Paul Milan's class. Total, we'll be taking 5 afternoon culture classes.

This afternoon, we went to contemporary French lit, with M. Even. While it was difficult to understand the text, Albert Camus, right there on the spot, I enjoyed the professor. He is animated and asks for a decent amount of class participation - not what I was expecting from a French professor. I'll probably keep this course and sit the exam at the end of the semester.

Musee Dauphinois

I'm uploading new photos to Snapfish (link on the left) for those who are interested.

The snow, well slush for the past week, is finally starting to diminish! The sun has been coming in and out this afternoon, even though it was raining this morning as we headed to mass. I can actually see bits of blue sky right now!

Yesterday we went to the Musee Dauphinois, a former cloister which was turned into a museum for the Grenoble Olympics, after previously being turned into a military station as well as immigrant housing.

Mini lesson of the day:
dauphinois = from the Dauphine region of France (where I am right now); having to do with the dauphin (literally translated as dolphin, but referring to the heir apparent of France - way back when there was a monarchy!)

Well, my placement exam is tomorrow, so I'm going to get back to studying. Oh, irregular verbs...

Adjustments

It's been a few days since I've posted anything new, and it's because I've been busy. I haven't been busy doing anything in particular, mostly just trying to adjust to what will be my life for the next five months. It's been over a week now, but time has simply flown by! While it doesn't really seem like I got here just yesterday, I also don't feel like I've been here for all that long. (I guess I haven't really been here for a long time yet!)

The last week, I've been enjoying late mornings; taking my coffee and toast (cafe et tartines grilles) in the kitchen with Claire, after everyone has left the house. The tranquility of a quiet house and Claire’s warm nature make it easy to enjoy myself. However… starting Monday, I’ll have to start waking up earlier to get to my real classes – welcome to the real world! (Our class with Paul has been to prepare us for the placement exam. The idea is: the higher you place, the better students you’ll be with, the more you’ll learn.)

Everything is grey outside! The temperature has risen (had been -3, and now it’s +3) and the fog and rain have moved in. Look up: clouds. Look around: fog. Look down: slush. It’s worse than Seattle! The French word for slush, by the way, is neige fondue – melted snow. So creative the French!

I came straight home today, so I was a bit earlier than when I go with friends wandering or to a cafe after class. Since I had plenty of time before it got dark, and the family would expect me, I decided to walk instead of take the bus. (This is after taking the tram, which accounts for the better part of the distance between the University and home.) I timed myself between bus stops, for future reference: 4-5 minutes between, times three stops, for a total of 15 minutes, plus a few between the last stop and the front door. Not bad! I think I’ll do that again sometime, but for now I need to close the shutters.

Snapfish slide-show

* There is now a slideshow on this blog page, so you do not need to use Snapfish. I didn't realize the site would force you to make an account in order to view the photos. I left the Snapfish link for anyone who wishes to use it.


I couldn't get the page to use my Snapfish photos in a slide-show, but I posted a link to my photo album on Snapfish.

1) Just click on the link on the left side of this page (currently a picture of my bed as well as "Click here to view photos").

2) The link will take you to the Snapfish website where my photos are stored.

3) Once there, you can click "play slideshow" to view all of my photos. I'll add more whenever I take more!

Here's a rough outline of the house.

I'm going to attempt to put a slide show at the top of the page, so stay tuned for more photos!

It's all about relationships. (And SNOW!!!)

In class yesterday, Paul told us: « Si tu ne comprends pas le culture, tu ne peux comprendre la langue. » "If you don't understand the culture, you can't understand the language. In French, it's all about relationships! One of the best examples, culture wise, is of a typical French meal. The courses are arranged so the dishes contrast and complement each other as well as pairing certain foods with certain wines. The relationships between the looks, smells, tastes, and textures are all vital parts of preparing and enjoying the meal (too bad this stupid Americaine misses out on most of it!). This emphasis on relationships is carried over into the language: relationships of time, mood, and always sound!

On a lighter, much less academic note, IT'S SNOWING!!! There has been some snow on the ground since we arrived in Grenoble (Paris was frigid, but there was no snow). However, no snow had fallen until last night, and since it started it hasn't stopped. I have no idea how many new inches there are, since I've stayed inside all day with the family. The buses aren't running due to the snow, so class was canceled. So, I've been doing homework, talking (mostly with Claire et Marguerite), journaling, and of course meals take up an hour or two each (not including breakfast). It has been a relaxed day - like any good snow day! What is there to do, better than thinking about snow when you are surrounded by it?

Classe a commencé.

Just a quick entry today, I have homework tonight!

Paul's class started today, before the actual beginning of the semester. Right now class is part orientation, and part review for the placement test we'll take in a week or so. In the afternoon, we went to Carrefour, like the French equivalent of a Costco, without the bulk sizes. Maybe more of a giant Fred Meyer! Everyone got cell phones, SIM cards, minutes, whatever they needed. I ended up getting an entirely new phone - the one I was going to use, provided by the program, was too old and the SIM card didn't work! So the program bought me a new phone, with a new SIM card, and I bought some time - mostly to use here in France, and by texting, which is much cheaper than actually calling someone!

I'm a bit tired today, but I woke up at an appropriate time, with a little help from Claire. Tomorrow I'll use the alarm clock on my cell phone, so Claire won't need to be responsible for waking me!

It has been warmer today, but there's snow in the forecast for Friday I heard! Good thing I brought my good boots!

These photos are of my room. What you can't see is the massive closet behind me!

Puis-je vous aider? Day two à Grenoble.

This morning I thought I would get up early (miscalculation of jet-lag, due to said jet-lag), unpack and take a shower, all that jazz, before Claire (my host mother) took me into town to meet up with the rest of our group for the orientation. Unfortunately, I slept until 11 AM – the same time we were all supposed to meet downtown; this was when Claire woke me up, and called Marie (one of the API resident directors here in Grenoble) to tell her I was running late. It all worked out just fine, I missed a portion on the tour, but I arrived in time for lunch, the tour of the campus, and King’s Cake in the API office – all the important stuff!

I took the tram and bus home, it’s even easier than Seattle’s Metro, with Bryan and Annie. They got off at my stop, but walked from there. I took the bus, which drops me off very close to my house, maybe a ¼ mile, if that much. I got home, changed my pants, which were soaked from the snow/slush (wearing my hiking boots tomorrow!), and had some tea in the kitchen with Claire and Marguerite. When we finished, I meant to ask Claire if I could help her, she was putting away dishes: “Puis-je vous aider?” but it came out very garbled! She understood me, but said she was just about finished, and didn’t need my help, but thank you. I’ll try again tomorrow.

I’m sore, from lugging around luggage (I’ve never made the connection between those words before) yesterday. The metal tube into which the handle of my large wheeled bag retracts was bent when I picked it up in Paris, so I had to use the small handle on the top of the bag since I couldn’t pull out the long one.

Navigating through Paris was a slight challenge, but I was just fine. Once I found the RER (part of the Paris metro system) I used some broken French with a very nice women at a ticket window who marked on a map which trains to take and which stops I needed. Next, a very kind woman at an information station told me which exit (out of 17) to use to get to the train station. I bought my ticket, and then waited for about 4 hours for my train. I thought about going someplace else, but did NOT want to lug bags any further than I had to, so I stayed put. About an hour before departure, I found Annie, and then we found Nathalie and Maddy, followed by Isabella and Nicole. Yu Yeun, Nick, and Kristen were on the same train, but we didn’t see them until Grenoble. The TGV (train de grande vitesse = train of large speed, or fast train) direct from Paris to Grenoble took three hours, and our host families picked us up at the train station, assisted by Paul (our Professor from SU), Marie and Sara (API people).

Pierre-Jacque (host father) picked me up and drove to the family house in Corenc where I met the family and we ate dinner. Living in the house are: Pierre-Jacque (father), Claire (mother), Remi (son, 20), Benoit (son 17), and Marguarite (daughter, 13). There are three additional children, who are adults and have moved out. One, Clotilde daughter, is married and has a one month old baby boy. I don’t know much about the rest.

Tomorrow, our class is meeting up again, this time at the tram stop for the university, with Paul for class and a field trip to get cell phones and SIM cards. At some point we’ll go to a Carrefour, which Paul said is the French equivalent of Costco – we’ll see!

My mailing address here in Grenoble (actually just outside of Grenoble proper, about as far as Ballard from Downtown) is as follows:

10 chemin du renevier
38700 Corenc, France

I will also check my email regularly once my computer is hooked up to the family’s wireless network. I will also have a cell phone once I get a SIM card – though I’m nine hours ahead of Seattle, so calling (or texting which is cheaper here) can be difficult to schedule.

Airports

Hello everyone!

Well, I'm on my way. Mom, Dad, Katie, and Stefan dropped me off at SeaTac Airport this morning at about 4:20. No problems what-so-ever with security getting in, though I have yet to go through customs in France, but I'm not too worried.

Phase 1 of voyage a Grenoble is complete (SeaTac to Houston). Next up is Houston to Paris, then I'll catch a train from Paris to Grenoble where I'll meet up with my host family.

That's going to have to be all for right now - my laptop battery is about to die, so I'll post this before I loose it. No worries, there's more to come, I'm sure!