Christmas 2012

Last night, Christmas Eve, after a good Christmas movie, Shell and I headed to Midnight mass. The Church is right next door so it was only about a 10 minute walk in the rain. The service took place in a relatively small old church. There was a balcony behind us on which the choir sang and rows of rows of chairs for the people attending the service. We sat and stood in unison with the rest of the congregation listening to a lot of French and some Latin. The most fun part for me was getting to see the lyrics to the songs written in both Latin and French. I think I learned a little Latin. I also enjoyed listening to the sermon in French.

We stayed there for about an hour and then when everyone got up to eat the body of Christ we snuck out. When we got home we started another Christmas movie but weren't able to finish it before falling asleep.

We woke up this morning a bit before 10:00am and had a present fest. It was pretty fun with all the little things in our stockings and a couple of bigger presents. Shell made me a book box. She took an old French text and cut out the inside of the pages so that it is a secret box instead of a book. I love it!

Baby Jesus

The other day Rachelle and I were heading to lunch when we noticed a Nativity scene set up in a window. The room behind the scene was completely empty and a bit dilapidated. The Nativity scene had several figures obviously arranged around the center, however baby Jesus was nowhere to be seen. Taking in the abandoned room in which the scene was displayed we came to the conclusion that it probably just wasn't finished yet. Shell jokingly pointed out that Jesus wasn't born yet anyway.

Last night we went to dinner at a friend's. We noticed that they had a Nativity scene set up as well and lo and behold, baby Jesus was not displayed there either. In fact, he was hiding behind a tree. So we asked a native French person and she informed us that Jesus is not displayed until Christmas because he hasn't been born yet. Another boy added jokingly that they also have a Mary Giving Birth figure that they put in the scene right before they bring out Jesus. He then informed us that he had had to chisel the cradle off of the scene as it had originally been glued down.

Dinner was good fun. Our eggnog didn't go over as well as it might have, everyone had a small glass but no one was really into it like we were. On the bright side we got to take the leftover eggnog home. Afterward we played a great game of Dixit and made it out of there just in time to catch the last bus home.

Shell and I have been plowing through Christmas movies as well which is something I have never done before but it does add to the Christmas spirit. Happy Christmas Eve everyone.

Holiday Spirit

Well, Shell and I are both quite relieved that we survived the end of the world. It was all rather calm in any case. No fire or brimstone, a little chaos but no more than is to be expected as a human. I can't imagine why anyone would want to stock up on supplies to 'survive' the end of the world. For one thing, if the world ended, some canned soup and bottled water doesn't really seem like it would do much good and for another thing, why would you even want to survive it and have to live in a world of END.

Having survived, of course we wanted to do something extra special to celebrate. So we decided to make some holiday eggnog. Eggnog is a delicacy unknown to the French populace and thus you cannot buy the stuff in stores. Fortunately you can find some easy and quick recipes online and all the raw ingredients *cough-raw-eggs-cough* in the grocery store next door.

So we bought the heavy cream and nutmeg necessary and tried our hand at holiday beverage making. SOMEONE *cough-me-cough* accidently was stupid (not on purpose, I promise) and doubled the amount of sugar. So of course we had to double the rest of the recipe and we ended up with enough to bring to the Christmas dinner we are going to tomorrow. It tastes delicious and not entirely unlike 'real' eggnog.

(Oh, and of course we added a homemade label for the bottle we are bringing to the party tomorrow).

Ocean Dew

Yesterday I managed to do the laundry without any mentionable difficulties so I have clean clothes now which is good. I also have new boots now but that is unrelated to the laundry.

After Rachelle got home from work yesterday we went on a small shopping expedition where she and I both bought eye liner (because we needed it) and we looked at boots. I gave myself permission to buy one pair of black boots while I'm here because that is something I don't have and often regret not having. Rachelle found the perfect weather proof shoes for her and I found a likely pair of boots for me, however I decided to sleep on it before making a purchase. After shoe shopping, of course we were hungry so we hit the Carrefour that we right next door and stocked up on groceries. For dinner we had a delicious, cheap and easy vegetable soup and a delicious, cheap and easy salad. After dinner we played cards and watched an episode of French Amazing Race. There was a very Christmas atmosphere to the evening.

This morning I showered and tried on my new eye liner. Shell had a mid-afternoon break so we hung out in her apartment and studied the presidents for a little while before she had to head back to work. I took the Metro with her to her stop and then we parted ways and I made a couple of quick stops to buy some stocking stuffers I had spotted out earlier. On my way home I stopped and bought the boots I'd been eyeing and some rosemary for the potatoes I want to cook tonight. There was no spice called 'rosemary' on the shelf and I wasn't sure what the French word was. The closest I could find was 'romarin' and I wasn't sure if it was the same spice. On the back it said that the original name in French was 'rosée de mer' or in English 'ocean dew' but I figured 'rosée de mar' sounded enough like rosemary that it probably was the right spice. When I got home, I opened it up and smelled it and I was right so I am excited for my potatoes tonight.

Dimanche

Rachelle and I were talking about how every day in French ends with 'di' except Sunday, whereas there are no exceptions in English, all days end in 'day'. However, Rachelle pointed out shortly thereafter that in fact 'Dimanche' or Sunday, starts with the 'di'. This is just one example of the super entertaining things about which we spend our days conversing. She is working on her masters in linguistics so, like me, she finds words very interesting in both French and English.

Today, Dimanche, we slept in and woke up just in time to have a relaxed breakfast and make our matinée of Mama Mia. It was so much fun. The songs where all translated into French as well as the script and somewhat difficult to understand over the orchestra but the atmosphere of musical theatre was lovely and already being familiar with the story, I had no trouble following along. We had cheap seats in the 'nose bleed' section which turned out to be good for two reasons. First, we could look down on the rest of the audience, which was pretty fun and second, we were literally in the last row so I was able to stand up and lean against the wall in order to have a clear view of the stage (being short I often find that the head of the person in the seat in front of me annoyingly blocks my view). We had a great time and didn't even realize that the play lasted 3 hours.

Afterwards, we had dinner at a small pizza joint and then headed to Rachelle's favorite pool hall. We played several rounds of pool and made it home and into bed before midnight. All in all it was a lovely day that could only have been improved upon had we woken up a bit earlier and had a good morning part to the day. Tomorrow, Rachelle works in the morning and I intend to venture out on my own to find a laundromat as I have run out of clean undergarments.

Rachelle and I are planning a trip around the town in the next couple of days in order to get some good photos of the town, the architecture, and us. So expect some visuals in the near future.

Present Shopping

Today I wondered a bit more confidently considering how easily I didn't get lost. I tried to walk mainly on streets I didn't travel the last time and after scooting out Rachelle's Christmas present I got lost. Rennes seems to go on forever in a never ending expanse of streets and walkways lined with shop after shop of goods ranging from cheap junk to expensive chic. When I finally decided to go home, I had check a bus stop map to find out which direction to walk. I did end up making my way home pretty quickly after that, with a short stop to buy the Christmas present.

Upon arriving at home, I took advantage of the hour I had before Shell got back to creatively wrap the present. It is pretty big and there isn't any wrapping paper in Shell's apartment so I ended up just wrapping it in a trash bag. Merry Christmas.

Nothing too exciting happened today but I had a good day in any case. Tomorrow should be fun with Shell here all day and Mama Mia.

Mama Mia

Rachelle has everything right next door to her house. You want a home cooked hot meal? There's a restaurant that has a different option everyday. You need a late night, weekend convenience store that's even open on Sundays? There's one right next door. Big shopping center? Amusement park? Movie theatre? Train station? All conveniently located... next door. And finally, the most important for me, you want to see a musical? There's a theatre right next door. Thus, Shell and I have tickets to see Mama Mia on Sunday in French and I am super excited. I vacillated back and forth as to whether or not it was worth it to me to spend that money on the tickets but now that I've done it, I am really happy I did. I love live theatre too much to miss out on an opportunity to experience it. Especially when it's in French. Especially when it's right next door.

We didn't do much else of interest today. I slept in while Shell went to work and then when she got back we ran some errands which included going to four different libraries to return and check out books. She is a master's student now so lots of books are important to her. When we got back I showed her how to make mayonnaise because I noticed she had some store bought mayonnaise and I am under the impression that now that I know how easy it is to make at home and how yummy, no one should buy store bought anymore.

"Excuse me miss, will you adopt me?"

I had a wonderful romp around Rennes today. I was out walking about for almost 3 hours. It was pretty chilly, I could see my breath, however I was almost warm enough without a jacket on as I was walking briskly. Near the end of my walk I started to be a little chilly. I saw all kinds of neat little shops. I love it here. One of my requirements for liking a town is how easy it is to find your way around. I was able to walk all over and see streets and streets of shops and still find a direct route home. There are all kinds of interesting things in walking distance of the apartment, add to that the fact that the people here are  genuinely nice and I had a great day.

I found oodles of things I wanted to buy, if I didn't have as much self control I could be totally broke by now. I really should have made a list of all the things I wanted to purchase so I could refer to it later. I got a stocking stuffer for Shell (since she hung stockings) and found a good place to buy sushi makings.  I also checked out the movies playing in the nearby cinema and talked to a man about how we need to change the financial system to make the world a better place (he had some negative things to say about Obama).

As I was walking home, a group of boys called after me and then professed their love for me, one saying he loved my beautiful smile, the other asking if I would adopt him, and then both agreeing they loved me. A little while later a cute lone boy standing in a stairwell smoking a cigarette said, "Excuse me miss, will you adopt me? I can cook and clean and do laundry." I told him I could not adopt him but wished him luck. He told me how adorable I am and we parted ways. I guess 'will you adopt me' is a pick-up line in these parts.

Rennes

I got up at 8 to pop the chocolate cakes in the oven for breakfast. They were yummy if not my normal breakfast fare. I also enjoyed having dinner with Agathe as we just didn't have that much time together. After that I returned to bed until around 11:30 at which point all I had left on my schedule was to pack and head to the train station. Instead of waiting for the train I had planned at 4:00, I hopped an earlier one at 2:00. I sent a quick e-mail to Shell letting her know I'd be there earlier so she would know how to find me and pick me up from the train station. The train now comes equipped with outlets with which to charge your whatever. Last time I was here they had the outlets but they also had signs that said 'coming soon' so I was excited to see them working this time.

When I arrived I had enough time to grab a slice of pizza for lunch before Rachelle found me quick walked me home before she had to run to work.

Later in the evening we had a Tunisian pasta that Ghaylen made for us, it was spicy and had potatoes and chicken in it. And then Shell and I headed to a friend's birthday party and I got to meet several other students who are all in the linguistics program with Shell. I had a good time and got to see a little bit of Rennes (according to Rachelle, I got to see most of Rennes but tomorrow I do day time alone exploring).

Cake for Breakfast

Dinner was a yummy and simple boiled potato and melted cheese. Except the cheese is called Mont d'or and comes in a wood box that you put in the oven so in the end you have a box of melted cheese that you scoop over the potatoes. It was quite delicious. We also had, for an hors d'oeuvre, thin strips of raw beef covered in a yummy pesto like sauce and a discussion of why we don't eat raw meat in America.

We made a late night of it and Agathe has to get up early tomorrow. We didn't end up having dessert which was to be mini chocolate cakes with melted chocolate at the center. We decided to have them for breakfast so I will be waking up at 8AM to put them in the oven, having breakfast with Agathe and saying goodbye, and then returning to bed for as long as I want before heading to the train station. Life is hard.

Metro Madness

The Metro was super crowded today around the time everyone was getting off of work, surprise surprise. I went out to meet Kirill, an old friend for a drink. He was one of my older students last year and one of the only ones I actually became friends with. I left a little early so I could swing by the train station and buy my ticket for tomorrow, however the machines only take European cards (or at least only cards which have a special computer chip in them) so I was unable to buy it electronically (this was the same reason I was not able to buy it online). Instead of waiting in line and being late for my rendezvous with Kirill, I decided to buy my ticket tomorrow.

Kirill is going to school here and only had a small window of time in which to get drinks 6:15-7:15. So you can imagine how I felt when I exited the correct Metro station 10 minutes late and promptly got lost. After backtracking and finally finding myself, I found him at about 6:45 leaving us just half an hour to catch up. It was nice to see him and hear a little bit about all the people I haven't seen since I left France. As soon as we parted I headed back to the apartment to meet Agathe were we plan to make cookies and eat cheese (and then cookies).

Traveling by Metro takes so long. It doesn't feel like very long because the time you actually spend in the train going from stop to stop is not very long but all the walking to Metro stations and then around Metro stations and then waiting for the train, eats away at the time without me really noticing it.

My train ticket for tomorrow is going to be almost twice as much as it would've been had I bought it a month ago when I was planning my trip. I couldn't have bought it then however as I didn't know how long I'd be staying in Paris. I could do a ride share for about a third of the cost of the train ticket but it would take an extra two hours to drive there and I would have to spend that time cramped in a French car, so I've decided to count the ticket money as 'travel money' for the trip and splurge a little on a TGV (Super quick train), this being my only public transit option. If they had a cheaper but slower train, I would definitely go with that, I enjoy train rides and a couple extra hours on a train would be much more enjoyable than a couple extra hours in a car.

I am excited to head to Rennes tomorrow and see Rachelle. Rennes is the red A marked on the map. That distance from there to Paris is about 2 hours by train and 4 in a car.

Chèvre for Lunch

I woke up around noon to the sound of someone pounding relentlessly on the door feeling dizzy and disoriented. At first I let the knocking go, assuming someone who actually lived here would answer. Finally it occurred to me that I had the house key Agathe normally would use and maybe she needed to be let in. I answered the door. No one was there. The walls in these apartments are paper thin, it must have been someone knocking at some other door.

I got ready to go slowly, the dizziness lessening but never really going away. I considered that it might be because of the wine I had with dinner but decided to chalk it up to jet lag instead. I left the apartment and wandered the streets with the vague goal of buying a new clasp for my necklace which had broken when I tried to put it on. I found one place that said they could fix it if I brought it in, but I'm not sure I could find them again. I also had the goal of finding some goat cheese and a baguette for lunch. I had bragged to my friends about the all the cheap goat cheese I'll be eating while I'm here and I figured it was time to start. However, I didn't realize that finding cheap goat cheese in Paris would be so difficult. I easily found several places where goat cheese was sold, but for a higher price than I remembered it costing in my small northern french town of last year. Finally, after 4 or 5 tries, I found goat cheese for less than 2€ and I jumped on it. Now I am back at home and ready for some lunch.

These I saw while out today:
A condom dispenser on the street
Stores names, "Happy" "Good" and "Gossip"(in English)
Two guys playing "Gangham Style" on their phone

Other things of interest:
Agathe's apartment building is broken into 'half floors' starting with 'Entresol A' then 'Entresol B' followed by 1st floor A and then 1st floor B, 2nd A and 2nd B, etc.
There are at least two stores in my neighborhood that sell only prepackaged frozen foods from hors d'oeuvres to dinners and desserts, all in neat rows in closed freezers so the store doesn't get cold.

Is Paris Always Exhausting?

Well, after arriving in Paris feeling rested and excited I headed towards Agathe's apartment. When I reached the last Metro transfer point it was already 8:45AM and thus too late to catch her before work. So I changed course and headed towards her work. Upon arriving to find a dark and locked business, I found a Star Bucks and contacted her by e-mail. Change of plans, Agathe was away on an assignment and the boss would be in at 10AM to give me Agathe's keys.

At around 10:15AM I headed back to Agathe's work. The man who opened the door neither knew Agathe nor had her keys. The building housed several small offices so I sat down on a couch to wait. An hour and a half later, still no boss. I hit the Metro again and headed to Agathe's apartment in the hopes of finding her roommate there and able to let me in.

By this point it was 11:30AM and I was starting to feel exhausted and really ready to be 'home'. No roommate was in to greet me so I went to the Café that was conveniently right next door and had lunch while using their internet. Agathe informed me that her boss had changed her mind and would be at a different location with the keys. I was prepared to just wait for someone to get home instead of lugging my suitcase through the Metro system yet again, however no one would be home until 7PM and that was too long to wait.

So I went and found her boss. It wasn't too far away and the boss was nice and merely said hello, gave me the keys, and good day, no complicated French communication necessary. I hit the Metros for the final time and made it to the apartment where I realized Agathe had not told me which apartment was hers when the mailbox said B27 but none of the doors in the building had numbers next to them. There were only 2 doors on the second level but I was worried that if I tried the key in either door someone would open the door and demand to know what I was doing. So I knocked instead.

A young man opened the door and I told him that I had the house key but had not been informed what apartment it went to. He told me that above the mailboxes there was a list of who lived where. I thanked him and went down the stairs again to take a look at the list. It turns out the apartment was really on the 3rd and a half floor 'gch' which I took to mean on the left, since there were only two doors to each half level. I was right and the key opened the door to an empty apartment with an amazing empty bed with my name on it. (Literally because Agathe had left a note to me there).

I was planning on only sleeping a couple of hours but I turned off my alarm instead and slept until the roommate got home around 7:30. She is quite nice and has just left to have a drink with friends. Now I have about 5 minutes until Agathe should be home. She and her boyfriend have planned to cook a 'real French' dinner for me. Part of the 'real' part is eating late in the evening. For one I think that will work for me since I am still jet-lagged.

Paris

My flight to Paris is complete. It was pretty empty so I ended up with a window seat and the one next to it all to myself. I got pretty comfy and slept most of the way. We had a little drama, first there was something wrong with the caterer so we were delayed and then the Push team went missing so we had to find them before we could push away from the terminal. This made us about an hour late in departing. Right at the end of the flight someone lost their passport and someone else was hysterical, I think it was due to the pressure in her ears being painful. I was supposed to meet up with Agathe for breakfast before she had to leave for work, however due to my delayed flight I missed that chance. The backup plan was for me to meet her at her work were I could get the keys to her apartment and meet her there after work. 

I had a bit of a hassle finding my way around on the Metro, especially as it was rush hour as everyone headed to work and I was dragging my wheely suitcase. Thank goodness it was my small, light one and not my huge one. I made it to where Agathe works only to find it deserted. I headed straight to Starbucks where I checked my mail and had a letter from her informing me that her boss has her keys and will be in the office at 10 and that I should wait in Starbucks. Good because that's where I am. 

I had a yummy fresh orange juice and now just enough internet to last me until 10. I plan on taking a short nap and then exploring around Agathe's neighborhood. I don't really feel like I need a nap because I slept pretty well on the plane however if I want to be alive this evening with Agathe, which I do, I should get some more rest in while she's at work. Yay! I can't wait to lie down flat for the first time in 2 days.

New York

I successfully navigated and mostly stayed awake for my trip to New York. I got some good dozes in on the train ride into the city from the airport, had a lovely lunch and coffee and made it back about 15 minutes after my 2 hour early deadline. And here I am 45 minutes before boarding begins waiting at my gate. 

I met up with the English assistant from the neighboring town whom I met whilst living in France a year ago. She suggested we meet up in Little Italy, about a 45 minute train ride from the airport. Lunch was an intimidating looking, yet yummy, asian-fusion restaurant where I tasted some things I'd never had before and quite enjoyed them. 

Coffee and desert was found at a small café called Café Café which had a yummy cheese cake. We spent the time catching up and reminiscing about old times. It is strange seeing someone you've not kept in contact with for a while and probably won't see again for another long time. You end up telling each other random vignettes of your life. Small entertaining or interesting tidbits that may or may play a large part in the grand scheme of things. In addition you have to do a quick catch up, 'here's what I did since we last talked, here's what I'm doing now, here's what I plan to do in the future.' It is quite a different experience than hanging out with someone you see consistently and who has a fairly clear idea of what your life has been like. 

I feel like my trip to New York was a success (if only I'd been able to see Ally as well) and now I am flying to Paris. Two nights in a row on an airplane, shortened by the time change. I feel alright currently but hopefully I can get some good sleep this shortened night, I should've picked a seat by the window. When I arrive it will be 6:30AM and I have breakfast plans with Agathe. Then she heads off to work and I can take advantage of her bed well she is gone.

Back to France (and a few more blogs)

Hello,
I am again headed to France. A couple of weeks ago, it struck me quite suddenly that the term was almost over and I would be left with a month of unaccounted for time. So I bought a ticket to France because what else was I going to do with all that time? So I will be spending two days in Paris with Agathe (my french exchange student roommate of three years ago), and then the rest of my stay in Rennes with Rachelle (my old college buddy).

Several people jokingly (or seriously) asked me if I was going to blog again, and even more asked me to keep them updated with my doings. Well, I suppose the easiest way to inform everyone of what I'm doing is to add a couple more posts to French Coins while I am away.

I left today. I caught a 4PM shuttle to the airport because the alternative was the 5PM which might not arrive the required 2 hours before my flight. We hit a little traffic but ended up arriving around 5:30, a good 2 and a half hours early. The airport was strangely deserted. I checked my bags and waltzed through security (not literally) amidst friendly smiles and banter from the relaxed staff. There was no one in front or behind me in line. I arrived at my gate a full two hours to spare and was delighted to find outlets for my computer and free internet. So here I am.

I leave at 8PM and arrive in NY tomorrow at 8AM, their time. I have plans to meet up with friends but even if the plans fall through I am looking forward to getting outside a little and maybe finding a nice café in which to sip a coffee. Worse case scenario I plan to find a movie theatre somewhere and bunker down with a good film while I await my next flight. But I don't think it will come to that. My spirits are high, I have good books, movies, and my computer so I will be well entertained. See you on the other side.