Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Louveciennes




This is the town that Delphine grew up in and I haven't seen it in 10 years. Many things are of note here: La Machine à Marly, an aqueduct; the subject of many famous artists as well. Its a suburb of Paris and I give it 5 pains au chocolats for charm and warmth. Pictured: The Marly Machine; a painting by Pissaro and how it appears today.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Delphine


I arrived at Delphine's today. Our friendship is so phenomenal due to its longevity. We have not seen each other in ten years but have remained in contact. The story begins in 1993 when she was an exchange student that lived me and my family. We are the same age and finished high school and college at the same time, etc. 5 year later, it was me who was the exchange student in France but in a different region. After my studies, Delphine and her family hosted me for 3 weeks and showed me Paris for the first time. That was the last time we saw each other in person. We've seen each other since then via pics or webcam. We took a small tour of the town of Versailles today and stopped at a café with a view of the Palais of Versailles.

Paris






I arrived in Paris Saturday afternoon and I spent 2 full days here by myself. I took care of the essentials first: find a hotel and buy a carnet of metro tickets. I went to the Eiffel Tower first, then the Invalides, then back to the hotel.

Day 2: I went to the Arc de Triomphe first to watch the prep of the Tour de France arrival. I then moved on to the Père Lachaise Cemetery. Later that evening, I met up with colleagues for dinner in Montmartre. It was so fun to rendez-vous in Paris because I have "people"! One of the colleagues left to go back to the hotel which left Pierre et moi. We walked around Montmartre to take in the monuments lit up at night. We took the same metro line but had different correspondances so we said our goodbyes on the metro. I went back to the hotel and packed up my stuff to meet up with Delphine the next day.

My host family


I have had the best time in Angers and I owe a great deal of that enjoyment to my host family! My last night in Angers, they put on a special dinner to mark the occasion with hesitation of course. They went so out of their way to offer gifts as well (pictured). They took me to the train station the next morning so I could go to Paris and be with Delphine (more on that later). They did not just drop me off at the train station, they stayed with me the entire time reviewing all the fun times we had. They insist that I return with my husband and stay with them because they will always be my family! Time has gone by so fast here.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Exams



My time here in Angers is coming quickly to an end. I had an exam today in the conversation class that consisted of reading a newspaper outloud. The goal being linking letters and intonation. It also contained a composition--I know, conversation class, right?--the subject: describe your time here in Angers; the catch: use as many words and expressions that have been given as part of the content of the course. For starters, I have a list of hundreds of metaphores and another list of idioms, proverbs and yet another list of words in general. After the exam, we all asked each other how many expressions we employed. Most of my colleagues used 15-25 expressions for 2-3 page paper (hand written). I came in with 46 expressions. Do what you will with that piece of information ;) Pictured: proof that some academia took place here!

Castles!






Monday was another excursion for our program and we visited Amboise and Chenonceau. Both are lovely in different ways--despite the rain that invaded our parade. Amboise is only partially visitable because most of it was destroyed--prior to our arrival by about 400 years. Its the resting place of Leonardo daVinci's remains as well.

Chenonceau is still lovely with a different history. Not one of physical brutality like Amboise, but of the people with whom its associated. Breath-taking gardens and beautifully furnished of period items.

La Rochelle



I spent the weekend with 3 colleagues/friends at the seaport town of La Rochelle. Its a beautiful town with lots of sights, sounds and beaches! It has not been typical summer weather since I arrived in Angers but luckily we found sunshine at the beach. We left Saturday morning by train and spent Saturday and Sunday away for a reprieve--not htat its been gruling. We went to the aquarium, cave (wines again) and along the old port where there was plenty of festivities going on to be taken in and enjoyed.

La soirée...encore




Last Friday night, as I mentioned was the annual program party. We had an amazing time together with our families. It was particularly interesting to put names with faces that we had been hearing about throughout the duration of the program. We started the evening with an apéro of champagne mixed with fruit and then moved to the tables. We had paté, duck, potatoes, salad, cheeses and a cake with fruits and glaze. As for my prediction: we left at exactly midnight! Pictured are my colleagues and profs.

Friday, July 20, 2007

La Maison de Vin

Yesterday, I rounded up a group to do a tasting of regional wines--no sense in drinking alone. A group of 6 of us went to the Maison de Vin to taste the local products. We must have tried 10 different wines that vary in viscosity, color and grape. We have wine everyday at lunch at school but since its basically a cafeteria its hard to say if its a good appelation or not. I would guess the latter because though we eat in a dining room its not quite haute cuisine. The wine attendant was very informative and had a good time with us, as we were a lively group even before the sampling. The region is known for rosés principally but that's a wine for women (or so says my father). The main appelation is "Anjou" or "Layon". Again, before I left people asked me if I would be near wine country--newsflash: France is a wine country.

La soirée


Tonight is the annual soirée sponsored by the university. It will take place at St. Gemmes at 19:00 (7pm). If being "socialized" in France has taught me anything, I estimate that we will eat, drink and be merry until at least midnight! I'll let you know particularly after having made a prediction ;). The occasion is for all students (that's me) and all the host families. There will be "ambiance" to say the least.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Au Cinéma

Sunday, I went to the movie theatre with my host family to see a French film. The film is called Dialogue avec Mon Jardinier starring Daniel Auteuil. Its about a painter on the brink of divorce who is reunited with an old classmate. He is hired as the painter's gardener. Many odd conversations ensue and cause the painter to think about things in a different way sometimes being a profound way even provoked by a simple statement made by a simple man. Fantastic! I give this film 5 chocolate croissants!

Excursion with the Catho






Monday, our program went to Guérande, La Croisic and La Baule all found in Brittany. Guérande is a lovely city with a Medieval feel since its surrounded by ramparts. Its claim to fame is salt--for gastronomy not for melting ice on roads. We enjoyed a lovely morning walking around seeing the church, salt museum and various shops that all seemed to be centered around salt mainly.

La Croisic is a seaport on the Atlantic coast. We did not have much time here but what we did see was charming. We had crepes for lunch accompanied by cider which is a specialty in Bretagne and Normandy as well.

La Baule was the last stop for the day and the down point due to weather. It rained most of the time but we were only there for a few hours. Instead of being in the rain, we moved into a café for the remainder of the time there. Its claim to fame is the longest beach in Europe which we went to take a peak at--why not we were already wet from the rain! We normally hang out at Le Kent but as we were not in Angers, another café was needed. It worked well too--shelter and beverages. Those are the basic human needs last time I checked. So here we are left to right and round the tables: Jaclyn, Ramona, Pierre (frequent partner in crime of mine), Naomi, Shannon (another frequent accomplice of mine), me and Timotha.

Mon Anniversaire--Part Trois





The reason I'm rambling on and on about my birthday is because there are many events tied to it because its the national holiday in France. As a result, we did lots of things. Saturday, my actual birthday, we went to Doué-la-Fontaine to see a rose exposition. This town has many underground caverns and caves which makes the exposition far more interesting than just going to a garden shop for example. The roses were a part of shapes that were turned into a large display.

After the expo, we had dinner in a subterranean restaurant called l'Ammonite. The restaurant is in a cave and has various sections that are more intimate than others. Our little cave had 3 tables and one must reserved a couple weeks in advance to get a table. My host mother wanted to do something special for my birthday and this is what she chose. It was an amazing experience and I absolutely loved it! This is not really a fine dining experience as far as food is concerned its more for the ambiance really. For the dessert course, my host mom brought candles in the shape of numbers to show my new age. They also gave me gifts, as if dinner and the rose expo wasn't enough!

Mon Anniversaire--Part Deux


Friday night, in celebration of la fête nationale, Angers has a fabulous display of fireworks. This isn't an ordinary fireworks display. Its more of a lights and sound show where music is played during the fireworks and the lights are coordinated with the sound. In addition to all of that, the castle is lit up with coordinating colors as well. I went with my host family and our neighbors and my friend, Beth! We really enjoyed ourselves because we had all the essentials--a picnic, à la française, seats in front of the Maine river and funny people! This is a picture of the castle of Angers and the view from which we saw this spectacular display.

Mon Anniversaire--Part Un


We celebrate everyone's birthday at the Catho at lunch time. We all eat together in a large dining room for the 35 participants and 6 profs. After the dessert course and before the coffee is served, the person with the birthday that day (or soon if it falls on a weekend--as was my case) is presented with flowers, a card signed by all and "bises" (kisses on the cheek that the French are so known for). After the presentation , everyone sings. My bithday was celebrated on a Friday (day before my actual birthday). After the pomp and circumstance of the presentation on Friday, I went out with some friends to visit an old church (i know, they're all old here) and to our café, Le Kent (pictured in a previous post "Cuisine Part Un").

La Catho


La Catho is short for l'Université Catholique de l'Ouest. Its highly acclaimed in France as a university and there are other branches too. All of my classes take place in the Palais Universitaire (pictured). Angers plays host to 20,000 students per year! Fortunately, this program is small enough au Catho that we're not numbers. The Catho hosts University of Northern Iowa for the summer and has for the last 40 years.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Cars and Drivers



I have always said that the French consider pedestrians as "hood ornament decorations" However, Angers has improved the view I have of French drivers--a little/un peu! An observation, if I may, about Americans: if a sign is posted that says "no parking" or something to that effect, 9 times out of 10, no one dares to park in forbidden zones. We are the land of the free, right? The French excel at employing any liberty known to man as the first word of their national motto happens to be "liberté" (followed by égalité and fraternité). Parking is not an exact science here to say the least. Drivers park their cars where they fit and fortunately the cars, for the most part, are small enough that they can be placed almost anywhere. If there is not enough street parking, any sidewalk or fire hydrant will do, or perhaps, any combination thereof!

Here in Angers, drivers are pretty calm and forgiving if a pedestrian is in their way. There is a law here in France that forbids driving through a crosswalk when a pedestrian is in one or about to cross the street. The Angevins (ppl of Angers) adhere to this for the most part unlike Parisians--yikes--where one might be truly taking their lives in to their own hands!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Wine


If you're a wine lover, France is the place to be. There are so many good options to try that are not very expensive if you are a novice. Par contre, there are some very expensive wines here as well but even the less expensive ones suffice. We attended a wine seminar on Monday on campus that was presented by one of our professors, who says that the wines of New York are exceptional--woot woot!

To be raised in France, one is accustomed to reading labels and appelations. To be raised in the USA, one knows when to use ketchup. Its funny on one hand and sad on the other depending on your perspective of course. One of my colleagues recently made pancakes for her host family to share her American heritage (I dare not use the word "gastronomy"). Everyone at the table thoroughly enjoyed the pancakes but the man of the house asked what wine would be appropriate to serve with this dish. This is how the French (particularly the men) think about meals. Its like a fine wine: one must take time in a to savor the aromas, spices and flavors of a meal, accompanied by the appropriate wine, bien sur!

Before I left, many people asked me if I would be near "the wine region of France". I tried not to have a perturbed and dumbfounded look on my face because there are so many regions of France are viticultural. Most Americans know some names like Bordeaux or Beaujolais but do not have any concept as to what that means. More on that later!

Monday, July 9, 2007

My Host Family


When I first heard about the option of living with a host family, I jumped on the opportunity because there is no quicker way to learn culture than that. A few months later, I received the name of my family in the mail...only me I tell ya! Only I could be paired up with someone named Bidet. I thought that this must be some gigantic joke or something. Turns out no, that is really their name and no they did not invent the porcelain bottom-washing apparatus. My host family, on the other hand, is the greatest! We spend time together every day laughing and talking. My host mother is Marie-Edith and her daughter is Marie-Laure. Its just the girls and its been such a pleasure thus far!

French Meals


Saturday, my host family played host to not only me, but 4 other couples for lunch. The total at the table was 11 people. Lunch was set to begin at 1 o'clock in the afternoon and I have known the French to be firmly planted at a table for meals. Most dinners on a daily occurence at our house, as an example, last 2 hours on average. I guess I was expecting a similar duration because of this previous knowledge (us educators like to call it schema theory). However, wrong was I. The lunch was most enjoyable until I realized that it was dinner time--standard French dinner time that is--7pm.

The meal consisted of salad with guacamole and melted chevre cheese on toast with an apéritif of sweet white wine. Followed by, salmon with a white butter sauce and dry white wine followed by a second white wine. A second main course (and 3rd course if you are counting) of duck and peas with a dry red wine. Next course, cheese platter of brie, camembert, chevre, roquefort and morbier with a different red wine. Dessert was a coconut cream cake. Coffee was served shortly thereafter with chocolate. Lastly, champagne. That makes a total of 6 courses and 6 wines in 6 hours. Sounds like a lot of time to digest but in actuality, I was tipsy by the second course or perhaps the third--don't remember. For those who know me well, you know I can tolerate 1 glass of whatever and that is the end. As "lunch" continued and I got more "festive", my French got faster which all things considered isn't all that bad. Its Monday as I write this and I have just finished detox. C'est la vie!

Puy de Fou

















This past weekend I attended a spectacular light and sound show that is defies explanation--I'll do my best though. The show takes place in a Medieval Village that consists of windmills, a pond, houses, a church and a mansion. The show takes place after sundown and various parts of the village are lit with lights to create light or even shadows to add to the drama of the plot. This particular plot revolved around a family that spanned generations and we got to see how a different family member coped with various issues including harvest, tempest, revolution, victory, etc. Truly a show worthy of attention and attendance.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Cours de Conversation

I have already mentioned that I'm taking a conversation course and that I was placed in the highest level. So far, we haven't had a lot of homework but we have had some. We have been given the task of finding out phrases/idioms that use animals and body parts to express various situations i.e. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse, etc. Thats been fun to discuss with my family and we get a kick (one of our idioms) out of these expressions especially à table. I also had to choose a newspaper article, read it for comprehension, prepare a summary and pick out 5 words that are essential to the comprehension of the article. I chose an article about a recent summit in Brussels where new French prez, Nicolas Sarkozy, presented his ideas of political reform. I was in the mood for some light reading, I guess ;). I had my presentation today where I explained the article and the important vocabulary. I also had an oral critique, where I was given the task of reading a paragraph for pronunciation purposes. I did pretty well, though I was interupted by the prof to fine tune certain words.

Now, we have to find expressions that use the word "coup" and there are quite a few. One of my colleagues asked our prof at the table today for a "coup de rouge" referring to the red wine he couldn't reach. So now we're are in the process of searching (read: casually coming across) such expressions.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Weather


To be perfectly honest, the weather has not been great since I arrived. However, its still France, my homeland. The weather has been unseasonably cold actually with an average temperature of 17°C which is close to 63°F. Its been pretty chilly with lots of wind as well. Fortunately, I thought enough to bring a jean jacket and I wear a scarf which is à la française. Its been rainy the last couple of days too which has inhibited my cafe activities fortunately.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Daily Life


Well, I start my day pretty early for vacation--normally at 6:30am. I get myself ready and then have breakfast with my host mom with lively discourse as a main dish, as always. I get on the city bus to go to school. Once I am at the Catho, I have a class called La France Contemporaine followed by a program get together for singing and announcements. Then I have another class, Conversation, which has gone well so far and another colleague of mine told me we were placed in the highest level--say what you will. This is all before lunch. Lunch comes around 12:30 each day in a large dining room with all profs and "students" alike. Its served course by course like all French meals complete with red wine from the Loire Valley and of course bread. At 2pm, or 14 o'clock for us, I have nothing else that demands my time but cafes, museums, parcs and castles. I know, again with the castle thing, but you have not yet heard where my classes take place...in a castle. TA DA! Thats the advantage of loving castles and having the fortune of being in the Loire Valley for some time. After class today, I went to a cafe with 2 other colleagues to read for homework and consume another Orangina. I did not see the actual castle today, but there's always tomorrow though I did see a couple gothic cathedrals. May sound like I am becoming complacent to you. Au contraire! Still love the castles and cathedrals that are standard issue here. After working on some homework, We walked around a park in the middle of the city because dinner is not served until 7pm, 19 o'clock for me, so I have some time to wander. Its truly La Vie En Rose. Which, CL, is no longer playing au cinema--zut alors!!!

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Coffee With Zee Nuns


Since I posted info about food/drink I should mention one particular occasion in which I had coffee. This past weekend, as I mentioned, I went to Saumur with my family to visit the castle there and will be there for another 50 yrs under construction. My host mother is a widow and her husband came from a family of 12 children. Needless to say we have lots of visitors at our house! One of his sisters is a "sister" aka nun at a convent in Saumur. Since we were already there, we stopped in for une petite visite (everything is "petit" here because one musn't exert oneself). When we rang the bell (really was a bell attached to a long string), a nun appeared to greet us who knew my host mother because there have been several family gatherings at this particular convent (go figure--these nuns are party animals). Her sister-in-law, the sister, was not there unfortunately but we were welcomed anyhow to enter and have some coffee and cookies with them. We entered and sat at a large table with 3 aging nuns, antique coffee sets and a plate of cookies. They were very lovely, actually, and made fine company for the late afternoon. One of them gave me a souvenir book of the abbey and chapel and gave us a tour of the school attached. Who would have thought I'd be drinking coffee with nuns at a convent?

This post is dedicated to no one other than Jan--winks and hugs to her!

Cuisine Partie Deux


One of my profs explained to us on the first or second day that happiness for the French passes by the mouth. Really, its true, its not just food to the French, its a ceremony of fine cuisine and gastronomy. They will never admit that they have fast-food restaurants that are in fact French enterprises. I have had wonderful meals so far both with my family and at school. I tried boudin for the first time: sausage made of pork, blood and parsley. Its safe to say that its not my favorite thing that the Germans introduced to the French and they should have kept it on their side of the border. However, we have had shrimp, croque-monsieur (grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with a creme fraiche on top), grilled sausages (that were not boudin), creamed spinach, salad with a mustard sauce or raspberry vinaigrette, bread, bread, and more bread! The French have a saying that compares anything sad to a day without bread. This morning for example, I had croissants with chocolate inside for breakfast. My American side says "what did I do deserve such a sweet surprise," but the French side of me says "Bof, its France and I can do whatever the hell I want!" I like my French side better because its a bit more logical ;) I raise my bowl of coffee and chocolate croissant and say "Vive la France" because I can.

Cuisine Partie Une


You are probably wondering what I have consumed here since the French are so known for their cuisine. Well for starters, lets talk drinks. I start every day with a bowl of coffee that is strong enough to melt steel and will probably come home with an ulcer or two. My host mom is obsessed with coffee and that tells you that I drink coffee all day equally as potent as the aforementioned bowl of coffee, though in espresso size cups because after all: easy does it, right? When I have the occasion of going to a cafe, once a day or every other day, I order Orangina because its my fav drink ever. My family is not one to consume wine on a regular basis but not to worry--we drink on campus everyday, comme il faut/as one should. As strange as that too may sound, I have lunch everyday on campus in a dining room with my colleagues and profs. Its nothing short of eating, drinking and being merry.

Castles



So far I have been to 2 castles: Saumur and Angers. Both are really incredible looking from the outside and just unlike anything we have in the States. Saumur was closed and we were told that it will be for 50 years for reconstruction--the French are never in a hurry for anything. I am not complaining though because my family took me there and they did not know either. The chateau of Angers was a visit planned by my university yesterday and was really amazing. The towers and gardens are worthy of note especially.