week 3

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Study Abroad

I pretty much have the metro down now, a group of girls and myself took a train Sitges and its BEAUTIFUL! Train was easy to figure out thank God. Sitges was one of the most beautiful beaches i have ever been to. The weather is so nice here compared to back home. I have become obsessed with tapas, which are basically appetizers. I love patatas braves, aka fries with a mayo/hot sauce. Classes are going well, it’s weird that no one at home would be starting school yet. Also visited plaza Catalunya and got a good look around the gothic quarter!

eo-Gothic facade of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain

Week 6- Excursions

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Study Abroad

This week went by really fast. We had 2 big excursions and a small excursion to the Museum of Segovia. One of the things I enjoy about classes here is that our professors are all really helpful and try their best to help us fully understand what is being taught. Also, I only have class till 1pm which is nice and then at 2pm I have lunch.

I forgot to mention in my last post that I started teaching English at the non profit organizations Caritas and that has been going great. The feeling I get after teaching class is great. There are 3 of us girls from the program that teach the class. There are about 15 students each class and they’re all adults. I’ve really grown to get to know the people in class but I’m still working on learning names, I just recognize faces. Teaching the class is really helping me become more of a leader, I’m slowly enjoying being in the front of the class and teaching.

The museum of Segovia was really neat to visit. I especially enjoy going with my professors because they always explain everything really well. There is so much history in Spain and Segovia it’s unbelievable. Our next excursion was to La Montana. Here we were able to learn about the Spanish war and we saw where one war took place, we saw trenches and it was really cool to see with our own eyes where people fought and lived. The history part was really cool but the walk up was not easy. I can only imagine how soldiers were able to walk up with all their gear and everything. The walk down was way easier. To top off this excursion the view at the top was amazing! To see Segovia and the surroundings from the top of a mountain was so neat.

Exploring the battle site

Trenches

Really cool picture! follow the leader 🙂

Edu! my culture and civ professor. He’s Awesome!

My host mom continues to make delicious food for me, this week we had Paella again except this time it was made of Chicken and it was really good. Since I was home this weekend my host mom really wanted to spoil me and she made Tarta de Queso (Cheesecake) it was really good. I told her I need the recipe so I can make it back home. Any weekend that I am here I go to Sunday mass with my host mom and that is nice because I go out with her and she enjoys that.

Our excursion to Toledo was awesome as well. I know I’m expressing myself a bit much but everything I’m experiencing here is so wonderful and I’ve fallen in love with Spain! Toledo was a really cool city to visit, it was once the capital of Spain but it is now Madrid. Toledo is seriously built on a mountain and is surrounded by the Tagus river all around. We visited the Greco museum and that was neat too. To travel around Spain and Europe in general is really cool because their is so much history in this country!

The view of the city!

AHA Group in Toledo

The group from Oregon! they’re all from U of O

After our excursions I went out with the group and hung out with them. One night we went to dinner to La Juderia (a Jewish quarter where Jewish people lived) and we had Indian food at a nice restaurant. For it being my first time having Indian food it was really good. After dinner we went out to the bars and had a couple of drinks. It’s going to be different when I go back home because I’m of age to drink here in Spain but when I get home I’ll still have another year before I can drink. It’ll be different to not be able to tell my friends to just go to a bar and hang out since we wont be able to. I’m still not much of a stay out till 3-4am on the weekends even though. That is the common thing around here. It’s so interesting to see so many people out in the streets so late at night and to see little kids out with their families as well so late. They do have dinner at 10pm here so that is another reason they’re out so late but still. I still can’t stay up so late.

People out at night!

The life here in Spain is so much more relaxed and laid back. I’m really enjoying my time here it’s so different than the states. I feel less stressed and life is more tranquil unlike in the states everyone works and then goes home it’s like a non stop routine and here it’s so much less stressful. Midterms are coming up net week and then fall break! Time is flying. I’m halfway through my program.

Week 5- Paris!

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Study Abroad

Week 5 in Spain went well. I think I have fully adjusted to the culture and lifestyle here. Taking classes that are all in only Spanish is a really neat experience. I feel I am getting a lot out of this program. Now being here for over a month I have even begun to speak the Spanish spoken here, I’m catching on to the language.

This week a few of the girls from my program and I traveled to Paris for the weekend. Paris was amazing! We visited all the main big attractions so it was really fun. The Eiffel tower was breath taking. Going to the top of the Eiffel I’d have to say was the highlight of my trip.

The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower

WOU in Paris!

I went to the Louvre as well and saw the Mona Lisa

Traveling to France and spending some time there I feel that Spanish people are so much nicer and welcoming. Although I didn’t know the language and didn’t understand anything I feel that Spanish people are a bit more approachable even for people that don’t know the language. I did get to meet one of my friends cousins who lives in Paris and him and his wife were really nice.

It’s been quiet an adventure traveling in Europe especially with public transportation being our only way of transportation. Coming from Oregon where I live out in the country where public transportation isn’t really available I feel coming here I’m really getting a full experience of living life without a car. It’s the norm around here for everyone to walk or take public transportation. Not a lot of people use their cars, it’s just so much easier to walk especially in Segovia. My host family has a car but they never really use it. I’ve only been in their car once and that was the day they picked me up from the bus station.

My host mom is the nicest person, she absolutely loves me and treats me like I’m her daughter. Her cooking although took me some time to get used to I now really enjoy it and I’ve gotten used to the food here. I feel that I’m even more open to trying new foods. To be honest some of the foods I eat here especially vegetables I would never eat back home or even try. Although my host mom is all about the healthy food and I have times where all I want is a Coca Cola or some candy or junk food I really appreciate her for not having that in this household because it keeps me from eating so much. But I do go out sometimes and indulge in some sweets, we all need sweets in life. Something I noticed about lunch here is that we always eat plate 1 and then plate 2 of food. Plate 1 is always like a vegetable or soup and plate 2 is always a meat or fish. For the final plate it is either fruit or desert and we always only drink water in our meal. Back home we always just have 1 plate with all the food so having 2 plates of food here is a bit much for me. For breakfast though, since my host mom is still sleeping when I get ready for school I serve myself breakfast, I’ll either have toast or cereal with a glass of orange juice and a yogurt. The table in the kitchen is always set up for me with a plate, utensils, napkin and anything I may eat in the morning. I’ve heard from other students their breakfast is always a grab and go kind of thing or they make themselves whatever they want in the morning but it is never set up. I’d say I have a pretty great host mom!

Week 6 is fast approaching and I have 2 excursions this week. One to “La Montana” and the other to Toledo.

Week numero dos!

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Study Abroad

This week was filled with trying all kinds of spanish food that Barcelona has to offer. I tried Paella which is AMAZING. It’s a rice dish with chicken and vegetables! I was shocked to find out that Barcelona doesn’t have anything similar to mexican food or anything spicy; or it’s hard to find. I also went to Park Guell and it was breath taking! A bit of a hike but well worth it to see a view of all of Barcelona. It’s incredibly hot here! It will be like 80 degrees but feels like 90! Slowly getting used to it though. Learning how to ride the Metro system was surprisingly easy, its not hard to navigate so i’m getting the hang of it. Classes also started this week, I like them and they don’t seem terribly hard. Spanish is going to be a challenge though, one of my instructors doesn’t speak any english!

Park Guell

Paella

Park Guell, city view of Barcelona!

Park Guell

A little late start on this…oops.

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Study Abroad

Well, I completely forgot I had to do this! I’ve already been in Barcelona 7 weeks, oops. I remember the first day like it was yesterday. Being thrown into a taxi by myself by my mentor and not having any idea what to expect or what my roommates would be like; a little nerve racking. Week one was filled with meeting so many open and welcoming people! We had orientation, hiked up a mountain, ate a catalan meal, and took a day trip to Tarragona.

Mexico – Return Home

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Study Abroad

I have experienced some culture-shock back in the US, but not as much as I had thought. As I had been thinking, it is weird to be surrounded by the english language again, and by people of my skin color. I always drew looks in Mexico just because I was white, and with time I hardly noticed anymore. But now I am noticing that I’m not getting looks from everyone I pass on the street, and it is a little weird. But all in all I have transitioned back quite easily. While I didn’t miss American food, I did miss Thai food, which is my favorite type of food. My first meal upon entering the US was at a Thai restaurant, and it was one of the best meals of my life. But aside from a few small adjustments, I have pretty much gone back into my old routine. My weekly schedule switched back to my American schedule, and it’s just like before I left. It almost feels like I was two different people and I just switched back: Mexican Aaron and American Aaron.

By the way, this is what Mexico looks like during the rainy season. We were in Oaxaca on the coast when two tropical storms hit at once. At one point we waded through waist deep water where the road used to be to get back to the hostal.

This was the view of inside our hostal.

Mexico – Week 6

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Study Abroad

Week 6

After 6 weeks the program is now over. The last week was both fun and sad at the same time. It is sad to say goodbye, but lot of fun was had. Most of the group went out to a really nice salsa club. I have been taking salsa classes at school over the past 6 weeks, and I finally got the chance to try out my newly acquired skills. All in all it went pretty well and it was fun.

Lots of people are pretty anxious to get back to the states, but I honestly am not ready to go back. I suppose that’s a good thing, since I will be spending two more weeks in Mexico City and Oaxaca. Overall I had a great time in Mexico on this program. I kind of feel like I am moving all over again; this is my home I am moving away from. It doesn’t feel foreign anymore. Sure there are differences on the surface, but once you get below the surface people are pretty much the same. However, as incorporated as I may feel into this culture, I will always be regarded as an outsider because of my skin color. It is quite obvious that I’m not from Mexico, and that will always be a barrier. I guess this is perhaps what it feels like to hispanic people living in the US. Even if they were born in the US, they are often judged as Mexican.

Nimes, France

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Study Abroad

This morning I woke up at 7. I changed and ate breakfast and all that. It sucked getting up. I took a motion sickness pill and then headed to the bus. It took me longer to get there than I had planned but luckily I had planned to get there early. So it was all good.

We got on the bus and Cassandra and I were so exhausted we both just slept. Usually I look out the window to figure out where we are but this time I was too tired. We woke up in Nimes and then proceeded to be told that this is the place where Denim was first invented and that now they make a lot and export it. But do you see where the name Denim comes from? “De Nimes” meaning “from Nimes” became Denim.

We got off and went into this big garden thing where we were to walk around. It was really pretty cool. It was called the Jardin de la Fontaine.

Les Jardins de la Fontaine is a public park located in Nimes in the Gard . They are built around the original source dedicated to Nîmes Nemausus . Their architectural organization also highlights two monuments ancient major city, the Temple of Diana and the Tour Magne .

Les Jardins de la Fontaine was one of the first public parks’ of Europe and is still today one of the most remarkable.

Les Jardins de la Fontaine was made in 1745 on the basis of these remains. They made it possible to highlight two other Roman monuments have particularly stood the test of time, the Temple of Diana and the Tour Magne, both of which I went to. The project was led by Jacques Philippe Mareschal , military engineer of King Louis XV and director of fortifications in the province of Languedoc .

In the Gallo-Roman period , the area of Jardins de la Fontaine included including baths of the city (which you can see some remains).

Source: Wikipedia but translated.

It was really pretty. My tour guide was going too fast for me to follow though so Cassandra and I decided to just split from them to look at the garden at our own pace. It was much more enjoyable that way. I didn’t know that they used to be roman baths but I kind of guessed when I saw stairs leading into the big pond. It was really cool though. There were SO many fish in the ponds. They were also all connected so there was a ton of space for the fish. There was even two white and one black swan. They were really pretty and just added to the mood . We looked around the temple of Diana which was really in ruins but was also really well preserved when you think about how old it is, which is funny because we don’t actually know how old it is. The whole temple is a bit of a mystery.

The Temple of Diana (Temple de Diane) is a Roman site in Nimes whose ultimate purpose remains a mystery, as does the origin of its name.

Believed by some to have been originally built sometime during the reign of Augustus – others say in the 2nd century – it has been suggested that the Temple of Diana may have been a library.

Source: https://www.historvius.com/temple-of-diana-nimes-1603/

I think it is kind of cool that we don’t actually know what it was for. I think it is kind of fun to walk around it and just sort of guess. We walked up and down so many stairs my shins were starting to hurt. We had a bit of a problem finding the Tour Magne but we eventually found it. It was where the Romans made a big lookout tower kind of thing so that they could see enemies coming from far away. It cost money so we didn’t go up it but it was really cool. From far away from the city you can see the monument though because it is the highest point in the city.

It was really cool. We saw some stray cats on the way back down and it made me sad for them. Stray animals seem to be more of a problem here than in the states I feel like; or maybe they are just more under control in the states. I have noticed on the French Price is Right they don’t say to have your pets spayed or neutered. So maybe that is the problem. 😉

After that we went and found some lunch at a café. I also bought a cookie which was the best chocolate chip cookie I have had in a very long time. Then we found a gift shop so I bought a book of postcards for two and a half euros which is a very good price for 12 postcards. Then we walked by the Maison Carrée which was closed because it was Sunday but it was still very nice to see! It is one of the best preserved Roman temples to be found anywhere in the territory of the former Roman Empire and was built in 16 BC. It was awesome but there were a bunch of like teenage boys like climbing on the side of it which if it that happened on a US monument I think that the US would be ALL over that. But no one seemed to care or mind.

Next we found our way to the Arena of Nimes which was SO amazing! It seemed so huge and I was shocked that it is so old and still standing when you think of all the wars and people that have lived and could have destroyed it. It is pretty cool. Now they have added wooden benches and use it two times a year for bullfights and they even have added a removable roof. I think it is cool that it is still used for the purpose that it originally had. They used to do like exhibitions of men barehanded fighting lions and also exhibited animals like a zoo. In the middle of the day though there would be public executions by tossing people into the ring with a lion, or even attaching them to a stake and putting them in with lions or bears. It was pretty intense. The public at that point would all leave to have lunch so the only people who watched this part was slaves who were scared to guard their masters’ seats, sounds pretty scary to me. After that they would have famous Gladiator fights and then either let the loser live or die. It was pretty violent.

It was really cool to see the amphitheater though and the audio guides were kind of fun but not very informative. They were more for like imagining what it was like during the period but not really informative with information.

After that we headed back to the bus to go to the Pont de Gard.

The Pont du Gard (literally: Gard Bridge) is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gardon River[4] in Vers-Pont-du-Gard near Remoulins, in the Gard département of southern France. It is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a 50 km-long (31 mi) structure built by the Romans to carry water from a spring at Uzès to the Roman colony of Nemausus (Nîmes). Because the terrain between the two points is hilly, the aqueduct – built mostly underground – took a long, winding route that crossed the gorge of the Gardon, requiring the construction of an aqueduct bridge. Built in the 1st century AD, the Pont du Gard is the highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges and is the best preserved with the Aqueduct of Segovia. It was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1985 because of its historical importance.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_du_Gard

It was definitely cool to see but we spent a lot of time there looking at it. Cassandra and I walked the bridge so that we could say we did, but then after that we decided to just sit and look at it from far enough away that we could see the whole thing. I was glad for the break from walking. We both were. We even tried opening some acorns from an acorn tree just for fun. It was really a cool bridge but we were too tired to want to walk around it more.

Overall it was a really fun day but also very exhausting! But I thought the whole trip was definitely worth the 25 euros to go!

Kacy tries a Macaroon

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Study Abroad

This morning I woke up at 7:30 and said no shower I am too tired and slept in until 8. I wanted to sleep in even more. My stomach was not happy this morning so I was glad to have the tums mom sent. I had fruit and skipped my roll because I just wasn’t feeling like food was the answer. I got dressed and pretended to sleep for another ten minutes. Then said I could skip this class I haven’t ever skipped it and I get two free… I could just sleep all day until my night class… But then I decided to get my butt out of bed and go. Mostly just because I knew that I would be getting my test back and I wanted to see what I got on the one I did well on.

I went and it was kind of rainy so I wore my boots. I also brought my computer along to do some homework between classes. My back hurt though from carrying it to school. I should use my backpack when I bring my laptop… That would be smart of me… oops. Oh well. I got there and pretty soon Mary came in and sat by me and complained that her shoulder hurt from bringing her laptop today and I laughed and told her I was just thinking the same thing. We talked with another girl Cooper who was there about what she had heard about our professor and how hard he was of a grader. She had heard this class was one of the hardest the university has. That scared us.

Class started and we got our tests back. I got an A! Win! I was happy. We started talking about the Sacrophages or Sarcophagus in English of Arles. They are kind of cool and it is interesting to see the significance and influence of the different cultures. We moved our second exam to a week later because he originally had it planned on Armistice Day which we don’t have school. So that was cool. After class I walked with Mary to the other building. She went to check her mail and I went down in the cave to edit my paper and hang out. I ran into Cassandra and apologized for sort of ditching her yesterday because we were making tentative day plans but then I got told I was going to lunch and then the walk so that changed quickly but luckily I was able to tell her things had changed. She is starting to try and go jogging everyday to get ready for the Color Run in her state. That’s the 5k run where each K you get pelted with a different color of dust which is maybe paint or chalk or something? The pictures from it look cool but I would fall over and pass out in a white shirt with no colors on it. So I say “go Cassandra” when she tells me she ran for support because running is really not high on the things that “do not cause me pain/ can do them” list.

We talked for a while before she headed off to go fix her paper and then go to class. I stayed and bought a 50 cent hot chocolate from the sketchy espresso machine that was probably some of the best hot chocolate ever. I’m not sure if because it is French or because It was cold and rainy out and I haven’t had hot chocolate since I have been here or what. But it was delicious. I also learned the vending machine only takes 20 cent pieces without eating them. So that is good to know after already losing a few bucks to it. I sat down there a while until Julia came down and sat and sketched for a while. Will, Risa, and Christelle were there too and were being really funny so I joined in on their conversations for a while. Then I went to get lunch at the Chinese place. I got a different chicken this time and liked it better but they use too much sauce or should have asked if I could get plain rice because that’s all I really wanted. It is hard to get plain things here I have observed, which is unfortunate because I like bland and plain things. I know I’m in France and complaining the food isn’t boring enough. First world French Problems. It is a good deal though for 5.50 with a drink. Pretty good.

I went back and ate my two mandarins that I had brought from home. They were delicious and I am glad they are coming into season here. They actually look like little oranges too not like the smooshed down wrinkly ones at home but like real little oranges that are mandarins. They were good. After that I edited my paper and talked to Morgan about it and we both agreed it was harder than writing an analysis because we both hate writing imaginative and creative things. I do on occasion enjoy it but not when I am forced to. I am not really sure mine is following the format he wants because he didn’t give us a clear format so I hope it is fine. I saved it and then went to town to try and send a package. Unfortunately for me though the post office by the school was out of world envelopes so I couldn’t send it. So I went back to school to print my paper. I also printed my History documents for the rest of the lectures because I have learned I will not read them electronically. I have to have the paper in order to take them seriously because I like to highlight as I read. It was a lot of pages but I double sided and it wasn’t really THAT many but probably 45 pages, for the rest of the semester. I see why he wanted us to use it electronically though. When I went to print the printer started spitting out like 20 copies of some girls two page paper over and over again. Finally I figured out how to get it to stop. But that was more wasted paper than anything else.

I went back to the cave to start doing some reading for that class when Christelle asked if I had read my email. Apparently we didn’t have class tonight! Our professor was sick so that means we were free! That was pretty exciting! I was like are you serious? YES! Not that I don’t like that class but given the option to go or have the night free I wonder which I liked the idea of more! I was excited I went to Paul’s (Patisserie) and bought a Macaroon Speculoos flavored. I had never had one before and figured now was a good time to try. TO give my honest opinion, I was unimpressed. For how much people here talk them up I was expecting something a lot more amazing. I mean it was good but the whole time I was thinking, “You know this tastes like speculoos but not as good, I could have bought three packs of speculoos for the price of this and been much happier.” Also it made me really thirsty and I had no water. So then I went home.

When I got home I skyped Dad and saw some of mom before she went to work. Then Madame came home and was like oh are you finished for today, oh no you have class tonight and I was like actually it’s cancelled and she was happy for me. My parents said Bonjour to her, and then they left and Madame left and I watched some Project Runway before heading out to go try a different post office.

The post office I went to is the main post office in town and is next to the tourism building so they are fully equipped with envelopes and boxes and the like. The people there were really nice even though I had to ask three people for help they all seemed to be happy to help me which was a lot nicer than when I went to the other post office. Maybe I will just go there all the time! Also there was.. a change machine! TA DAH!!! WOW! That is a GOOD thing to know about here, let me tell you. They really hate when you don’t give exact change or give them more than a euro over the cost of something. I sent my package after only a bit of confusion remedied by the friendly staff and then went on my merry way. I passed by a store that I had seen before that had Christmas decorations so I went inside to poke. It was a really pretty store. It was like a home goods store with dishes and linens and cool decorations and stuff. It is a good thing I don’t live here or I would have bought so much stuff! It was just pretty and fun to walk around in. they had lots of colored glassware which I have always wanted. I think they are so cool, and I love color.

After walking around that store for a while I went to Monoprix to look for some carrots and some speculoos cookies. I walked around there for a while and found tortillas which are good to know where they are because mom is sending taco seasoning in a package that is coming. I didn’t buy them but I remembered that they were there. I paid and left and came back home to work on homework. Madame came up and started dinner which was TWO croquet monsiuers (grille dcheese with ham) and salad. Madame only had one croquet monsieur and a tomato and salade. But oh man it was too much food. I felt bad not eating it but I forced myself. I have eaten two before when I didn’t snack in the day but because I had it was like man I want to stop. I think I slowed down so much in eating it Madame knows I can’t eat two full ones. But if not, then next time we have them I will tell her I only want one.

After that I tried to Skype Thad but my internet doesn’t work in my room for some reason so after trying for fifteen minutes I gave up. I went to the living room and Madame was like you look mad did it not work? And I said no that the internet is the opposite of last time where it works in the living room but not in my room as opposed to last time where it only worked in my room and not in the living room. But it was all good. She told me I could call in the living room and I said no I don’t want to be annoying your show and she was like what show I don’t care about this it’s just on I am reading the paper. So I said sure. She told me she doesn’t understand English at all so it wasn’t a big deal to her. I said okay and called Thad. We couldn’t get the video to work tonight but it was good to talk to him anyways.

After that I started writing my blog post and Madame fell asleep watching Castle. It was good and when she woke up we had dessert of apple sauce for me and yogurt for her and Beebow. It was the perfect dessert after a big meal like that. It is almost impossible to get away without a dessert of some kind so it is good that fruits and stuff are considered dessert. We ate some speculoos too.

Tomorrow my lit class starts on the movie for the term which is called “Wings of Desire”. It should be good. It’s a 1987 Franco-German romantic fantasy film directed by Wim Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of the human inhabitants and comfort those who are in distress.

Castles and Stairs

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Study Abroad

Today was way better than yesterday but it would be pretty hard not to be. I woke up at ten to my alarm after my usual 8 o clock window fixing. Then I went and took a shower and used my new shampoo/conditioner that I bought at Carrefour. It smells much more like me so I like it. I wish I had different body soap because it smells weird. It was good. I have started putting on music when I get ready in the mornings and have the house to myself. It is nice. Then I got dressed and went to do my hair. My bangs have gotten long so I decided to cut them. I think I did a pretty good job. They don’t look freshly cut which was the goal but they are definitely shorter which is good. I should have cut them just a tad more but they suffice for now. You may be thinking why didn’t you just go get all of your hair cut? Well because that’s 30+ € that I would rather just save and let my hair grow out so I can take it to my friend Joe and he can have a field day with it when I get home. Plus that is pretty steep for a hair cut! No wonder everyone has long hair here! 😉

After I did that I packed up my stuff and went to school. My plan was to finish the last 30 pages of my Game of Thrones book but then Mom was on Skype so I messaged with her instead. That was good and then pretty soon Cassandra came in and was like what did you think of the reading and I was like what? And she was like the homework for this class? And I was like oh I didn’t do that. I was so done with school by the end of class yesterday I just didn’t even care. So she filled me in on what I missed. I didn’t miss much judging from what e talked about in class but I’ll get caught up this weekend. I just needed to not do any more work yesterday after all the horribleness that happened. But class was interesting. We are talking about the German Unification now.

After class I climbed all the stairs (all but one staircase I got pictures of for you Mom, and then was sad there was no slip of paper saying I had a package. When I got back down my backpack was ringing. I was like what Is that? Turns out it was my phone and I missed a call from some number that I did not recognize. I tried calling them back but go a machine that was about 10 seconds long in French and there was no way I could understand them they were speaking so quickly. So I decided it was nothing. After that we went to the new building and sat for a while before going to our classes. Kelan noticed I cut my bangs. He won the prize and was the only one who noticed.

Literature was alright. We had read A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings : A Childrens Tale. It was a good little story but I feel like the class discussion just went WAY too philosophical that like I was wondering if the professor got our class confused with his next philosophy class in the same room. It was just like too much. I understand like analyzing but it was too much.

After that I went down to the convenience store for a juice and the cashier lady was not in a good mood. I went back and sat in the cave and finished Game of Thrones. It was very good. Except now I have to read The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky which is not going to be nearly as exciting… But I have to finish it before I can read the fourth book. It was good though I liked it a lot.

After that I met up with Patrick and Cassandra and we went to Happy Hour at Woohoo. The pigeons kept coming over because I kept looking at them and because we have peanuts on the table they thought I was going to feed them. Cassandra is araid of birds though so Patrick and I would just not tell her and then she would like turn around and it would be like RIGHT there and she would freak out. It was pretty funny J. Or at least we found it very amusing. It was chilly so after we were done, we went back to the school and I grabbed my big B.K. book and we parted ways. I came home and bought 5 days of internet because I am going crazy. Then I started reading. I am about 30 pages in. But it starts on page 16… So really I’m like 15 pages in and so far it is dreadfully boring. But it is just back story at this point so hopefully it will pick up.

I stopped when Madame came home and asked how my day was and then immediately if I went to talk to the internet people. I told her I didn’t need to because this morning the internet started working again! A little white lie but it saves me the stress and her the stress and I knew the internet was a risk when I bought it. So this way is best I think. But then we had dinner which was 2 croque-monsieurs each, (Grilled cheese with ham) to be eaten with a fork and knife, we also had salad. Toujours salade, jamais Malade, as Madame says whenever we eat salad. It was a lot of bread and afterwards I got hiccups. Madame laughed at me. It is pleasantly getting cold here which I love. Maybe tomorrow I can wear a sweatshirt! I am meeting Patrick and Cassandra to go for crepes tomorrow for lunch. Then I can check my mail again.

I have my Skype date soon with Thad which will make it just under a week since we have been able to talk. It’s at 11 my time so pretty late but Madame says she doesn’t care as long as I’m not screaming or being obnoxious. She says it’s like if I had a TV on I can make that much noise. But I am excited. It has been too long.

I got online and talked to dad about my test. He said that I need to have FUN storming the castle. 🙂

Art work featured in my class that I really liked!

WOU Students Abroad

Author Archives: Study Abroad

week 3

Week 6- Excursions

Week 5- Paris!

Week numero dos!

A little late start on this…oops.

Mexico – Return Home

Mexico – Week 6

Nimes, France

Kacy tries a Macaroon

Castles and Stairs