Bonjour tout le monde !
This morning, I woke up before my alarm clock around 8:15 because of all the noise the cars made outside the window. I caught Cedric just before he left to say goodbye, then I got ready and had breakfast with Annick. Annick braided my hair afterwards, and then Francoise came at 9.15ish. We hung out for a bit, and then went to the docks to catch the ferry to England. It took awhile to get through customs and everything, and Annick didn't see the lady at the UK window, so after French customs she sped off, and the lady yelled after her. Lol. Francoise and Annick made it through just fine, and I did too, but not before the lady asked me a hundred questions about where i was going, what my relationship was to these french people, if i had a job in the states, etc. It seemed a bit excessive, but whatever, thankfully I made it across the boarder. We drove onto the boat and then got out of the car and went up to the top so we could sit outside. It was nice out, and the sun warmed us up as we sailed away from Calais and onward to Dover. In Dover, we drove off the boat and Annick followed the cars in front of us to get a feel for driving on the opposite side of the road. She didn't understand the English all over the road signs, so that's where I came in! haha. We found the downtown area and parked a little ways away. Then walked around downtown Dover. We visited a church and wandered around a lot. We found a spot to eat lunch called C'est La Vie and we all ordered a sandwich and I got Dr. Pepper to drink! Wooo :) They don't have it in France, so I took advantage of the opportunity when I saw the bottle in the cooler. England is expensive we found out quickly, since the pound is stronger than the euro, and about twice as strong as the dollar. We went shopping after we ate, but didn't buy anything due to the poor exchange rate. Our parking meter ran out at 1.45, so we moved the car and drove up to the castle. It took us awhile to find the parking lot, since we missed it the first time and had to turn around to find it again, but we found it eventually. It cost 16 pounds per person, or about 32 dollars, to visit the castle, but my Frechies understood it to mean that it only cost money if we went INTO the castle, so we skipped the ticket booth and just walked in. Everyone had stickers except for us, but it started raining so once everyone had jackets on you couldn't tell anyway. Haha. When it got really bad, we went back to the car and waited out the storm. It didn't last too long thankfully, and we went back into the castle. The view of the city below was beautiful. We went to the restaurant to get a cup of tea/hot chocolate and then walked around until about 5, when we left for the return to France. This time, the road was more difficult to find, but once we did, it didn't take long to get through customs. The Frech patrol saw the French license plate and didn't even notice my American passport when Francoise opened the window. He just waved us on, which was nice. We had some time when we got to our spot in line, so Annick and I got out and took pictures and went into the little mall and I got magazines and Annick got a coffee for Francoise. Then we drove onto the ferry and headed back. This boat wasn't as nice as the one we'd taken on the way over; you could tell it was much older. We used some of the remaining Pounds we had to gamble on the ship, but after losing 5 or 6 pounds, we quit and just exchanged the money back for euros. Lol. We wandered around the ship awhile, looking at the perfume shop and stuff, then found a place to sit for the remaineder of the voyage. It wasn't as nice out this time, so we stayed inside for the most part. When we got back to Calais, we were one of the first cars out of the boat! We stopped by Elodie's place, got our overnight bags, said goodbye to Elodie, and then Annick dropped Francoise and I off at the town hall parkinglot, where Francoise's car was parked and we drove home, discussing my family and then French politics a little bit on the way. Pierre was there waiting for us with one of the neighbors who had been watching him. After a brief conversation she left, and we had omlettes for supper. Francoise bought me chocolate-pistachio ice cream cones, so I took one of those for dessert. :) Now I'm up in my room, looking at all my stuff sprawled out on the floor and wondering how it's all going to fit in my suitcase. I'll have to pack tomorrow and hopefully it will all fit okay!! Wish me luck!
a demain
miranda
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Day twenty-eight -Calais
I got up today around 8.45 and got ready to go to Calais! Annick came to get me at 10, and the two of us drove up to the sea. We got there around 11.30 and decided to go eat at a restaurant before going to the beach. We went to a place called La Mer, where Annick had mussels and I had chicken, and for dessert I had, of course, pistachio ice cream and strawberry sorbet. After we ate, we walked around for a little bit and stopped by a ferry company shop to check out prices for the ferry to England tomorrow. We found out it is much cheaper to take a car across than it is to go as a pedestrian without a car. I would have thought it would be the opposite, but whatever. Needless to say, we are taking Annick's car and we will drive in England. Hahaha. That'll be interesting. After that, we went to the edge of Calais and found ourselves a nice spot on the beach, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. The beach was nice and warm, with a cool breeze to keep us from getting too hot, but it was much dirtier than the one down south in Port-La-Nouvelle. The water was also much too cold for swimming, although I enjoyed laying in the sun, reading my French Cosmo lol. Anne Tartar joined us around 4 after she got off work, and then her parents came by a little later as well. At about 6.30, we left the beach and headed to Elodie and Cedric's house in Calais, where Annick and I are spending the night. We talked for awhile, then I showered and afterwards, Annick and I went online and reserved our tickets for the ferry tomorrow. Then we had the apparatif, and Cedric BBQ'd dinner. For dessert, he made chocolate mousse, which was wonderful. It had cooled off quite a bit by that time, so we sat outside and talked for a little longer before getting ready for bed. Tomorrow, Francoise will join us after she drops Pierre off at work and we're taking the ferry at 10.30! Sooo excited :D I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow!
bisous
miranda
bisous
miranda
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Day twenty-seven -Roclincourt
Bonjour !
This morning I woke up early (around 8.30 lol) and went to Annick's just before 10 to hit up the "sidewalk sales" that the stores were having in Arras. We ended up not having much time, but after we went to the train station to check trains for tomorrow, we browsed the pedestrian road. I saw Valentine from my class at Gambetta selling stuff at the bakery, so I bought 3 petit pain au chcolat. At RougeGorges, I found not one, but TWO swimsuits :D Woooh :) I've been searching since April for a good one! One of them was on sale 50% off and the other one wasn't, but it wasn't too expensive so I bought it anyway! Then we picked up Brigitte and stopped by grandma's house to fix her lunch. After that, we went to the Aerodrome in Roclincourt! Brigitte and I flew airplanes (with a pilot alongside us of course)! She went first, flying a small airplane with a helicopter-looking body, but normal wings. Then I flew a small, shell airplane.. I don't know exactly what it's called, but there isn't a windshield and stuff, it's all open. There are just wings and some poles and then two seats and a small engine and propeler. Since it gets really windy up high, I had to put on a suit and then a helmet, and I sorta looked like an astronaut haha. It was awesome though! I saw Roclincourt, the house, Mt. St. Eloi in the distance, and then we saw some of Arras, including the two Places and the Beffroi and all. It was sweet! The gusts of wind scared me a little because the plane tipped, since it's so light, but thankfully nothing went wrong and I lived! lol. Afterwards, we went to Thomas's kids' school's open house. We got there sort of late, but we found everyone else and ate, then watched the kids' performance. Brigitte and I left with Pierre and Annick right after the performances because it was really hot, and Pierre wasn't feeling well, so Annick brought him home. Then I relaxed for about an hour before Pierre-Antoine stopped by to see if I wanted to play bocce ball. Simon was at the Aerodrome with Helene flying, but he and his dad, Christophe, came to join us afterwards. Simon and I were on a team and then Pierre-Antoine and Christophe were on the other. They won 2 games, we won 1, but they were good games.. it was fun, although really hot! Afterwards, Christophe drove all of us back to his house for a drink. Arlette and Helene were there, so we all talked awhile and I went back home around 9.30. I had a quick supper (Pierre and Francoise already ate), then Simon stopped by to get me to go on a walk. Pierre-Antoine had homework since he's still in school, then Helene wasn't feeling too well, so it was just me and Simon! We walked through the fields, past the aerodrome, then he thought there was a path that led back to the road, but we couldn't find it, so we had to walk through the long grass to the runway, then followed that to the road. It wouldn't have been so bad except there were giant buzzing bugs flying all over the place and landing in my hair and on Simon and it was so gross! I hate bugs! Other than that, it was a nice walk though. We talked and the sun set, and the sky was nice and pretty! We followed the road back, and then I went home so I could pack and skype mick before it got too late. As it is, it's almost 12.30, and I have to get up sort of early once again to go to Calais tomorrow! Woooo :) It better not rain like they're predicting! It was supposed to be really nice through Wednesday! Grr. Oh well, we'll just hope for the best! I'll write again from Calais tomorrow.
a demain
miranda
This morning I woke up early (around 8.30 lol) and went to Annick's just before 10 to hit up the "sidewalk sales" that the stores were having in Arras. We ended up not having much time, but after we went to the train station to check trains for tomorrow, we browsed the pedestrian road. I saw Valentine from my class at Gambetta selling stuff at the bakery, so I bought 3 petit pain au chcolat. At RougeGorges, I found not one, but TWO swimsuits :D Woooh :) I've been searching since April for a good one! One of them was on sale 50% off and the other one wasn't, but it wasn't too expensive so I bought it anyway! Then we picked up Brigitte and stopped by grandma's house to fix her lunch. After that, we went to the Aerodrome in Roclincourt! Brigitte and I flew airplanes (with a pilot alongside us of course)! She went first, flying a small airplane with a helicopter-looking body, but normal wings. Then I flew a small, shell airplane.. I don't know exactly what it's called, but there isn't a windshield and stuff, it's all open. There are just wings and some poles and then two seats and a small engine and propeler. Since it gets really windy up high, I had to put on a suit and then a helmet, and I sorta looked like an astronaut haha. It was awesome though! I saw Roclincourt, the house, Mt. St. Eloi in the distance, and then we saw some of Arras, including the two Places and the Beffroi and all. It was sweet! The gusts of wind scared me a little because the plane tipped, since it's so light, but thankfully nothing went wrong and I lived! lol. Afterwards, we went to Thomas's kids' school's open house. We got there sort of late, but we found everyone else and ate, then watched the kids' performance. Brigitte and I left with Pierre and Annick right after the performances because it was really hot, and Pierre wasn't feeling well, so Annick brought him home. Then I relaxed for about an hour before Pierre-Antoine stopped by to see if I wanted to play bocce ball. Simon was at the Aerodrome with Helene flying, but he and his dad, Christophe, came to join us afterwards. Simon and I were on a team and then Pierre-Antoine and Christophe were on the other. They won 2 games, we won 1, but they were good games.. it was fun, although really hot! Afterwards, Christophe drove all of us back to his house for a drink. Arlette and Helene were there, so we all talked awhile and I went back home around 9.30. I had a quick supper (Pierre and Francoise already ate), then Simon stopped by to get me to go on a walk. Pierre-Antoine had homework since he's still in school, then Helene wasn't feeling too well, so it was just me and Simon! We walked through the fields, past the aerodrome, then he thought there was a path that led back to the road, but we couldn't find it, so we had to walk through the long grass to the runway, then followed that to the road. It wouldn't have been so bad except there were giant buzzing bugs flying all over the place and landing in my hair and on Simon and it was so gross! I hate bugs! Other than that, it was a nice walk though. We talked and the sun set, and the sky was nice and pretty! We followed the road back, and then I went home so I could pack and skype mick before it got too late. As it is, it's almost 12.30, and I have to get up sort of early once again to go to Calais tomorrow! Woooo :) It better not rain like they're predicting! It was supposed to be really nice through Wednesday! Grr. Oh well, we'll just hope for the best! I'll write again from Calais tomorrow.
a demain
miranda
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Day twenty-six -Roclincourt
This morning I got up at 8.30 to get ready to go to the market with Annick. She came to get me an hour later and we spent an hour or two walking around the market in Arras. Then I went with her to the grocery store to get some food. After that, we hung out at her place and had lunch, then looked up trains for Calais, the boat to England, and then trains for Amsterdam on Thursday as well. At 4, we went into town and met up with Brigitte. Annick showed us some stores with nice purses, since i'm looking for a white purse (although i still haven;t found one). Then we went to the beffroi and saw a bride and groom coming out. After that, we went to get a drink at the Couleur Cafe. After that, Brigitte went back to her place and I went with Annick to her mom's house to help prepare dinner. Then Annick brought me back to Francoise's house and I helped make a homemade pizza. Lola and Marius were there, and Simon and Claire came to get them a little while later. They stayed awhile and had an apparatif with us, then took off. Brigitte (my host mom's friend, not the Dutch girl) came by to say hello afterwards and then we ate supper. At 9, Pierre-Antoine came by to pick me up, and we walked over to Simon's house to get him and his girlfriend, Helene. The four of us went on a walk around Roclincourt and through the fields. Then we sat in the English cemetary and chatted til 11ish, when i came home. My voice is better today... I can talk again, although it cuts out often and i squeak, but whatever.. it's better than yesterday!! I'm really tired though and have to get up early again tomorrow, sooo
a demain
miranda
a demain
miranda
Friday, June 24, 2011
Day twenty-five -Roclincourt
This morning I slept in until around 10.30. When I woke up, my voice was still gone.. I couldn't even get a squeak out; all I could manage was a whisper. Francoise gave me warm milk with honey and some lemon, which was supposed to help my throat, but it didn't bring my voice back. It's funny, because I didn't do an excessive amount of talking or yelling, and my throat doesn't hurt when I swallow or anything--it's just the voice that's gone. I cough a little bit, but it doesn't hurt to cough at all. So strange. Anyway, Francoise and I had lunch, then I rested a little bit, and went online for awhile while she was at the townhall. Pierre came home from work at 3.30, and shortly after that, I went into Arras with Francoise to get some stuff from the office of tourism to send in a package to Veera's family. Then I went to Annick's house while my host mom accompanied Pierre to a retirement ceremony for two of his coworkers. Annick heard my voice and insisted on bringing me to her friend, Dr. J-P. I tried to protest, but alas, I ended up going.. J-P checked me over and told me I have laringitis (surprise...) and he prescribed a cough syrup, an inhaler, and an antibiotic since I'm flying out thursday and the elevation could cause me ear troubles or something like that.. i didn't fully understand, but it's more of a precaution than anything else i believe. Annick and I went to the pharmacy afterwards (the one in St. Laurent where the guy and the lady know my host mom and me and everyone that's come through her house lol) and I got the antibiotic and the cough syrup, but skipped the inhaler. lol. My voice has gotten a little better.. I can make noises and talk a little, but my voice cracks constantly, so I've been trying to rest it and stick to whispering as much as possible so by tomorrow it'll be all better :P After getting my meds, we went back to Annick's and Francoise and Pierre came to get me shortly after. We stopped by Simon and Claire's place on the way home, since I hadn't seen their new house yet, and then grabbed supper at McDonalds before coming back to Roclincourt. We at in front of the TV, and then I came up to bed. Hopefully my voice is back tomorrow!! I hate not being able to talk haha.
a demain
miranda
a demain
miranda
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Day twenty-four- Roclincourt
Hello world,
i'm going to try and keep up with my updates again. this morning we got up relatively early (around 7.45) to get ready and take veera to the train station. her train left at 9.28, so we left at 9ish in order to take pictures and say goodbye at the station. pierre, francoise, anne, brigitte, annick, and a girl from veera's class were all there. veera held up well.. pierre and the girl cried, but veera didn't break down until after the train left (as she told us later. her train was around 10 minutes late, but once it left, i went with annick to her house for the day. there, we looked at pictures from my camera (i have ones that date all the way back to last spring) and we talked a lot, about all kinds of things..i dont know if i said too much at some points(since she has a tendency to tell everyone everything she hears..)but oh well, nothing i can do about it now. oh and my sore throat from yesterday was still there this morning, then the pain went away, but it took my voice with it, so my voice has been scratchy at best all day. and after all the talking, i was forced to whisper. lol. samuel came over and hung out for a bit before leaving again... he bought a 5 dollar bill off me, haha.. then annick and i ate lunch (sam had left already). she made a chicken and peas and potatoes and it was so good! Plus there was a fresh baguette :D! after eating, we went down to her yard and laid in the sun, although as we got comfortable, a giant cloud covered the sun and stayed there for the duration of our "nap" haha. we went into town around 3.15. Annick had to stop by the pharmacie where she bought me some lysopaine for my throat (like cough drops) and then her prescription. then we went to get a drink at a the Couleur Cafe. Once we finished, we went to a couple stores...one with old lady clothes that was closing and neither of us had ever been in before, so we went to chekc it out, and then a jewelry store that was also closing. There, annick ran into an old friend and they talked for a good half an hour. There was a girl my age there with her mom, and i talked to them to keep myself busy. The girl's name was Amelie and she was really nice. They asked me questions about why i was here and where i was staying and what i was up to now and all the usual stuff and it was a good convo. She and her mom were really nice and invited me to Lille to stay with them if I want. we exchanged contact info and then went back to annick's to wait for francoise. she came 20 mins or so later, and we talked a bit before heading home. at home, i watched tv with pierre and helped him set up msn while francoise was at a meeting, and then when she got back, we ate supper together and all crashed in front of the tv lol. now i'm gonna hit the sack for real. i'm exhausted!
a demain
miranda
i'm going to try and keep up with my updates again. this morning we got up relatively early (around 7.45) to get ready and take veera to the train station. her train left at 9.28, so we left at 9ish in order to take pictures and say goodbye at the station. pierre, francoise, anne, brigitte, annick, and a girl from veera's class were all there. veera held up well.. pierre and the girl cried, but veera didn't break down until after the train left (as she told us later. her train was around 10 minutes late, but once it left, i went with annick to her house for the day. there, we looked at pictures from my camera (i have ones that date all the way back to last spring) and we talked a lot, about all kinds of things..i dont know if i said too much at some points(since she has a tendency to tell everyone everything she hears..)but oh well, nothing i can do about it now. oh and my sore throat from yesterday was still there this morning, then the pain went away, but it took my voice with it, so my voice has been scratchy at best all day. and after all the talking, i was forced to whisper. lol. samuel came over and hung out for a bit before leaving again... he bought a 5 dollar bill off me, haha.. then annick and i ate lunch (sam had left already). she made a chicken and peas and potatoes and it was so good! Plus there was a fresh baguette :D! after eating, we went down to her yard and laid in the sun, although as we got comfortable, a giant cloud covered the sun and stayed there for the duration of our "nap" haha. we went into town around 3.15. Annick had to stop by the pharmacie where she bought me some lysopaine for my throat (like cough drops) and then her prescription. then we went to get a drink at a the Couleur Cafe. Once we finished, we went to a couple stores...one with old lady clothes that was closing and neither of us had ever been in before, so we went to chekc it out, and then a jewelry store that was also closing. There, annick ran into an old friend and they talked for a good half an hour. There was a girl my age there with her mom, and i talked to them to keep myself busy. The girl's name was Amelie and she was really nice. They asked me questions about why i was here and where i was staying and what i was up to now and all the usual stuff and it was a good convo. She and her mom were really nice and invited me to Lille to stay with them if I want. we exchanged contact info and then went back to annick's to wait for francoise. she came 20 mins or so later, and we talked a bit before heading home. at home, i watched tv with pierre and helped him set up msn while francoise was at a meeting, and then when she got back, we ate supper together and all crashed in front of the tv lol. now i'm gonna hit the sack for real. i'm exhausted!
a demain
miranda
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Day twenty-two/twenty-three? -Arras/Roclincourt
Yesterday, after Brigitte and Veera got up, we hung out at the house for awhile.. Brigitte and I watched a couple episodes of Law & Order SVU online, joined Veera as she skyped with her family, and waxed eyebrows with Francoise! I've gotten to be pretty good at waxing by now, considering it's the third time i've done it with the girls. lol. Maybe I should just quit college and go to beauty school! Just kidding, haha, afterwards, Francoise took us to Brigitte's house where we got ready for La Fete de la musique. I met her host family, who is all very nice, and we helped her mom make croque monsieurs for supper before heading out into town. The music wasn't as good as i rememberd; there were a lot of heavy metal and screaming groups. Although it was still pleasant to walk around and listen to the different musicians on the streets. We ran into a bunch of people including the waiter from the potato place the night before (who recognized us and even remembered our names! lol), and people from school, like Amelie R, Marine, Alexandra, and Pauline. I also ran into Jeremy Debaisieux and Florent from my class L1/Latin class at Gambetta 2 years ago! That was cool :) We hung out in town until around one, then everything was pretty much over so we went back to Brigitte's where I spent the night.
This morning, we got up around 10 to go shopping! It was the first day of the "soldes" or the giant sales in all the stores in france! So once we were ready and had eaten breakfast, we went out to shop. We went to several stores, but all I found was a tanktop from Pimkie toward the very end, mostly because i was determind not to go home empty handed. How depressing? Ugh. For lunch we ate at La Flash, which is a cafe on the pedestrian road. I had a ham sandwich with lettuce, eggs, cheese, and mayo and it was deeeeeeelish! Then for dessert, i got two scoops of ice cream: pistachio and chocolate! lol. Around 5pm, after hitting up all the good stores twice lol we went back to brigitte's house, where we chilled until Francoise came to get us at 6. Back at home, I helped Veera pack her suitcase and then Thomas and Simons' families and Annick came over for dinner. We all hung out and talked and shared stories and it was fun. Marius went potty in his pants, and Claire and Simon didn't have extras and no one in the house is that small, so the best we could find were my pair of Soffe shorts lol! It was so funny. The poor kid was running around and had to hold them up the whole time to keep them from sliding down. Plus they came upt to his chest! it was cute though. After dinner, Simon, Claire, Lola, Marius and Thomas, Anne, Romane, Lou-Marie, and Lilian left for home. Annick stayed a little longer to chat, and she had me call my mom so they could talk (although since they don't speak a common language that doesn't really work too well, haha). I talked to my mom briefly afterward, and then said bye to Annick as she headed out. Tomorrow morning we're getting up (sorta) early to see Veera off at 9.28AM! I'll update you tomorrow with news as to how that goes, although I'm sure it will be (to use one of Veera's favorite words) "unpleasant" haha!
a demain
Miranda
This morning, we got up around 10 to go shopping! It was the first day of the "soldes" or the giant sales in all the stores in france! So once we were ready and had eaten breakfast, we went out to shop. We went to several stores, but all I found was a tanktop from Pimkie toward the very end, mostly because i was determind not to go home empty handed. How depressing? Ugh. For lunch we ate at La Flash, which is a cafe on the pedestrian road. I had a ham sandwich with lettuce, eggs, cheese, and mayo and it was deeeeeeelish! Then for dessert, i got two scoops of ice cream: pistachio and chocolate! lol. Around 5pm, after hitting up all the good stores twice lol we went back to brigitte's house, where we chilled until Francoise came to get us at 6. Back at home, I helped Veera pack her suitcase and then Thomas and Simons' families and Annick came over for dinner. We all hung out and talked and shared stories and it was fun. Marius went potty in his pants, and Claire and Simon didn't have extras and no one in the house is that small, so the best we could find were my pair of Soffe shorts lol! It was so funny. The poor kid was running around and had to hold them up the whole time to keep them from sliding down. Plus they came upt to his chest! it was cute though. After dinner, Simon, Claire, Lola, Marius and Thomas, Anne, Romane, Lou-Marie, and Lilian left for home. Annick stayed a little longer to chat, and she had me call my mom so they could talk (although since they don't speak a common language that doesn't really work too well, haha). I talked to my mom briefly afterward, and then said bye to Annick as she headed out. Tomorrow morning we're getting up (sorta) early to see Veera off at 9.28AM! I'll update you tomorrow with news as to how that goes, although I'm sure it will be (to use one of Veera's favorite words) "unpleasant" haha!
a demain
Miranda
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Day twenty/twenty-one- Roclincourt
I was exhausted last night, so I started writing this and then went to bed, haha. So this morning I'll finish it up for y'all :).
Soo, the train ride was interesting. It was dim when I got on, which I didn't expect right away, and I had trouble finding my seat lol. Then I got situated and the guy that came by and checked tickets of course had to announce to everyone that i was "americannnn..." with a fowl tone. And spent a full minute looking over my pass and passport, trying to find something wrong with it. Was that really necessary? Not like I can really control what nationality I was born into. Whatever, it got worse.. a guy got on a couple stops later and sat 2 seats ahead of me and HOLY CRAP did he smell bad! I don't even know how to describe this odor, but it was torturous. I could smell him two rows back, and it was a smell you never got used to. I tried my best to ignore it, but even still, I couldn't get comfortable enough to really fall asleep. There was no one sitting next to me, so I moved to the window spot. I managed to get a couple winks of sleep, but at most, it was only an hour at a time.. I probably slept around 2 or 2 and a half hours total during the night. In the morning I noticed there were levers to recline the seat further and put up a footrest. fml. Lol. The smelly guy also decided his legs were stiff and he needed to pace up and down the car at around 5AM. This seriously magnified the already nauseating smell, and I had to work to hold back vomit every time he passed me. Of course, since he was old, he walked really slowly too. Ugh. I breathed into my sweatshirt like a little kid does when someone farts. lol. It helped a little, and then the people behind me started spraying perfume, so that masked the rest of the smell while he was at the other end of the car. Although, it got just as strong when he came back to his seat. He got off at one of the first stops we made outside of Paris though, so that was a relief. I got about an hour of the trip without any stentch. When we got to Paris-Austerlitz station, I had two hours to take the metro to Paris-nord. Thankfully, the signs for the metro were pretty clear and a lot of other passengers were headed that way, too, so I was able to follow the crowd. There was also no changing lines, so once I was on, I got to sit there til I got to the next station. It went pretty smoothly. It also helped that it was early sunday morning, so there was not much of a crowd out and about. I was at the Gare du nord with a good hour and a half to spare, so I went to a cafe (the same one I went to with AFS prior my depart to my host family way back in February of 2009!) and bought a chocolate croissant and a bottle of orange juice. The cutest thing happened while I was sitting there.. a homeless person came in with a handful of change and tried to buy a croissant, but unfortunately they did not have enough. So a boy, around my age I'd assume, with a mohawk and crazy clothes (the last person you'd expect) got up from his table and paid for the person's croissant. It was ADORABLE. Seriously, this made my day. The homeless person wasn't quite aware of what happened, so they left all their change at the counter, even after the baker told them the boy had paid for their croissant. Then, a young girl got up, gathered all the change (except for a few pennies, which i never really understood why she left some of it..) and ran after the homeless person, returning it. How sweet is that? I was so touched by this act of kindness I wanted to go and talk to the boy and the girl (who were now talking to each other) and thank them for what they did, but for some reason, i just sat there watching them instead. A little later, I left the cafe and went to find a bathroom. The only one I could find was a pay-bathroom, so I decided to wait another hour and just go on the train. I sat down in front of the giant departures board instead, and people-watched some more. lol. It's fun picking out non-European tourists, and relatively easy actually. The Americans are always wearing their cool name-brand things like Hollister or Abercrombie or Pink, non of which are remotely French, and they often have college sweatshirts.. it's funny how bad they stand out, even though most of them carry themselves like they're the coolest people on the planet. Haha. I'm not saying I'm above this touristy crowd, blending in like a French person or anything, it's just amusing to see how ridiculous we look when we travel abroad. Lol. There was this one couple that really annoyed me though. This lady seriously had her man on a leash--She had him hauling around 4 luggage bags that were real Louis Vitton (which I never understood why you would buy, because traveling with something like that is just asking to get robbed), and there was one spot open on the bench, which she took, and then the guy put her luggage down, somewhat winded, and then she made him go buy her a drink. I don't know exactly what she was expecting, but he came back with an Orangina (which is delicious!) and he offered it to her, but she refused. He decided to hand it to her anyways, and as he opened it fizzed up and got a few drips on her expensive designer white pants. She was SO pissed! She didn't yell, though, she just got really bitchy-pouty and made him wipe it off her pants and then she sat there, sulking. She refused to even try the Orangina and he had to drink it himself. She was wearing a jacket that matched her expensive white pants, and a tan colored shirt that looked equally as expensive. Her hair looked like she'd recently been to a salon, and she looked like the kind of person that would marry for money and needs to flaunt wealth to feel good about herself. Then the guy was wearing a Louis Vitton belt buckle and some nice brown pants and a buttondown shirt. People like that need to loosen the hell up. Flaunting money = not cool. After the orangina incident, she was still thirsty, so the guy, carrying her luggage, took her to find something more posh than orangina. Probably a bottle of champagne or something. Anyway, my train came about a half an hour later, so I found my spot and the excited butterflies in my stomach began to flutter around as thoughts of returning to Arras filled my mind. My host mom was waiting in the lobby of the train station when I arrived, along withe the old mayor of the village and his wife, who was showing her a picture of his newborn niece they were going to visit in Paris. We stopped to get bread on the way back, and then I had about an hour to get ready before we went to Thomas's house to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately that wasn't enough time to really clean up, but at least I got to brush my teeth and fix my hair a little. My host mom brought Pierre, Veera, and I to Mount St. Eloi and she went back to Roclincourt to survey the triatholon that would be passing through town. Besides Thomas's family, Madame Noel, Cathrine, Annick, and Camille (Jacque's daughter) were there. We talked for awhile, and I gave Pedro back, and it kind of went by in a blurr because I was so tired. We looked at pictures from Thomas and Anne's wedding though, i do remember that. And we had the same dish for lunch as we did the first time I went to Thomas and Anne's house back in February 2009. Anne remembered how much I liked it! haha. Soon after eating lunch, Veera and I passed out on the couch. When we woke up, Francoise had come back and we talked for a bit and then went on a walk around town and fed the horse on the hill. Veera, Pierre, Francoise, and I went back to Roclincourt shortly after, and then I chilled for a bit before we had dinner. Annick and Camille joined us for dinner, and Annick and Francoise told us stories about when they were younger. They were funny kids, those two! Their dad was the town's schoolteacher, so they did a lot of crap at school, thinking they could get away with it haha. Their dad wouldn't put Annick, his daughter, at the top of the class, even though she should have been there, so annick poured ink all over the pretty blonde girl's hair that was first. Lol! And one time, Francoise swallowed a bunch of plastic ball things, and Annick burst out crying in class, thinking she was going to die! haha. Anyway, that led to Pierre pulling out his old photo album and we looked at pictures of him when he was little. Then Francoise got mine and Veera's folders with our application letters and pictures in them, and since Veera had to write hers in French, we went over it and had a really good laugh at all the mistakes she had in there. In particular, she used "man" to mean people, so she was all like "I know a lot of men and I love meeting men and I am good at talking to men and I hope to meet men in France that I can be lifelong friends with.." and on and on! hahaha. Then she used joui instead of joue, which means to fuck instead of to play, so she wrote about how she likes to fuck in the snow during winter instead of playing in the snow in winter. HAHAHA. Those were just a couple of the things that really stood out. Sadly (or fortunately maybe :P) my letter had to be written in English when I came, so there wasn't much good stuff to laugh about. My pictures are great though.. my friends have all changed and i look really young. lol. But yeah, after that, I tried calling my dad to wish him happy father's day and ended up leaving a message. oh well. i was tired, so i went up to bed right after that and skyped mick a bit before going to sleep. I slept in until noon today! woo :) it felt soo good! I'm still a little drowsy, but overall I'm feeling much better than I did yesterday. But yeah, all I've done so far is eat and watch some tv and then go on here, so I will update you tonight.
a tout a l'heure
miranda
So I never finished, because the internet wasn't working, so I couldn't even post this first half once i finished. But anyway, not too much else happened yesterday. Veera and I went to Brigitte's host family's house (which is in Arras) and then walked around town. I finally got stamps, so I can send the rest of my postcards I've written up! We also browsed a few "chinese stores" aka, stores that are run by chinese people and sell a mixture of cute clothes and wierd knock-offs. Lol. Around 7, Francoise came to get Veera and I, and then we went back and got ready to go out to eat. We went to a Potato place, and Annick and Samuel, as well as Brigitte, met up with us there. We got bread and pate, and then a bowl of onion rings, french fries, and fried cheese for the apparatif. I also had a limonade with grenodine. Then for the meal I had a 3-cheese baked potato, which was pretty good! It was so filling that I couldn't finish the whole thing (although nor could anyone else haha). For dessert I shared a chocolate mousse with Brigitte and then Annick had the waiter bring me a scoop of pistachio ice cream, even though i insisted i was too full. haha. I somehow managed to find room though. We talked for a long time and it was really great. I love going out with everyone lol. Annick got us balloons and a box of marshmallows, and the three of us girls also entered a coloring contest, although i would be seriously surprised if any of us won. lol. I made a pistachio-chocolate baked potato :P Brigitte came back to the house with us after supper and we watched some tv and then went to bed.
Today is the first day of summer, which also means it's La fete de la musique! Woooh :) There will be musicians all over the streets and I really hope it doesn't rain so we can be out late into the night. Then I think i'm spending the night at Brigitte's. If not, then i'll be at Annick's, so i'm not sure if i'll be bringing my laptop.. Sorry about this crappy updating lately, but this is the last night, i'm pretty sure. But not like anyone reads this anyway, so who really cares, right? lol.
a demain!
miranda
Soo, the train ride was interesting. It was dim when I got on, which I didn't expect right away, and I had trouble finding my seat lol. Then I got situated and the guy that came by and checked tickets of course had to announce to everyone that i was "americannnn..." with a fowl tone. And spent a full minute looking over my pass and passport, trying to find something wrong with it. Was that really necessary? Not like I can really control what nationality I was born into. Whatever, it got worse.. a guy got on a couple stops later and sat 2 seats ahead of me and HOLY CRAP did he smell bad! I don't even know how to describe this odor, but it was torturous. I could smell him two rows back, and it was a smell you never got used to. I tried my best to ignore it, but even still, I couldn't get comfortable enough to really fall asleep. There was no one sitting next to me, so I moved to the window spot. I managed to get a couple winks of sleep, but at most, it was only an hour at a time.. I probably slept around 2 or 2 and a half hours total during the night. In the morning I noticed there were levers to recline the seat further and put up a footrest. fml. Lol. The smelly guy also decided his legs were stiff and he needed to pace up and down the car at around 5AM. This seriously magnified the already nauseating smell, and I had to work to hold back vomit every time he passed me. Of course, since he was old, he walked really slowly too. Ugh. I breathed into my sweatshirt like a little kid does when someone farts. lol. It helped a little, and then the people behind me started spraying perfume, so that masked the rest of the smell while he was at the other end of the car. Although, it got just as strong when he came back to his seat. He got off at one of the first stops we made outside of Paris though, so that was a relief. I got about an hour of the trip without any stentch. When we got to Paris-Austerlitz station, I had two hours to take the metro to Paris-nord. Thankfully, the signs for the metro were pretty clear and a lot of other passengers were headed that way, too, so I was able to follow the crowd. There was also no changing lines, so once I was on, I got to sit there til I got to the next station. It went pretty smoothly. It also helped that it was early sunday morning, so there was not much of a crowd out and about. I was at the Gare du nord with a good hour and a half to spare, so I went to a cafe (the same one I went to with AFS prior my depart to my host family way back in February of 2009!) and bought a chocolate croissant and a bottle of orange juice. The cutest thing happened while I was sitting there.. a homeless person came in with a handful of change and tried to buy a croissant, but unfortunately they did not have enough. So a boy, around my age I'd assume, with a mohawk and crazy clothes (the last person you'd expect) got up from his table and paid for the person's croissant. It was ADORABLE. Seriously, this made my day. The homeless person wasn't quite aware of what happened, so they left all their change at the counter, even after the baker told them the boy had paid for their croissant. Then, a young girl got up, gathered all the change (except for a few pennies, which i never really understood why she left some of it..) and ran after the homeless person, returning it. How sweet is that? I was so touched by this act of kindness I wanted to go and talk to the boy and the girl (who were now talking to each other) and thank them for what they did, but for some reason, i just sat there watching them instead. A little later, I left the cafe and went to find a bathroom. The only one I could find was a pay-bathroom, so I decided to wait another hour and just go on the train. I sat down in front of the giant departures board instead, and people-watched some more. lol. It's fun picking out non-European tourists, and relatively easy actually. The Americans are always wearing their cool name-brand things like Hollister or Abercrombie or Pink, non of which are remotely French, and they often have college sweatshirts.. it's funny how bad they stand out, even though most of them carry themselves like they're the coolest people on the planet. Haha. I'm not saying I'm above this touristy crowd, blending in like a French person or anything, it's just amusing to see how ridiculous we look when we travel abroad. Lol. There was this one couple that really annoyed me though. This lady seriously had her man on a leash--She had him hauling around 4 luggage bags that were real Louis Vitton (which I never understood why you would buy, because traveling with something like that is just asking to get robbed), and there was one spot open on the bench, which she took, and then the guy put her luggage down, somewhat winded, and then she made him go buy her a drink. I don't know exactly what she was expecting, but he came back with an Orangina (which is delicious!) and he offered it to her, but she refused. He decided to hand it to her anyways, and as he opened it fizzed up and got a few drips on her expensive designer white pants. She was SO pissed! She didn't yell, though, she just got really bitchy-pouty and made him wipe it off her pants and then she sat there, sulking. She refused to even try the Orangina and he had to drink it himself. She was wearing a jacket that matched her expensive white pants, and a tan colored shirt that looked equally as expensive. Her hair looked like she'd recently been to a salon, and she looked like the kind of person that would marry for money and needs to flaunt wealth to feel good about herself. Then the guy was wearing a Louis Vitton belt buckle and some nice brown pants and a buttondown shirt. People like that need to loosen the hell up. Flaunting money = not cool. After the orangina incident, she was still thirsty, so the guy, carrying her luggage, took her to find something more posh than orangina. Probably a bottle of champagne or something. Anyway, my train came about a half an hour later, so I found my spot and the excited butterflies in my stomach began to flutter around as thoughts of returning to Arras filled my mind. My host mom was waiting in the lobby of the train station when I arrived, along withe the old mayor of the village and his wife, who was showing her a picture of his newborn niece they were going to visit in Paris. We stopped to get bread on the way back, and then I had about an hour to get ready before we went to Thomas's house to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately that wasn't enough time to really clean up, but at least I got to brush my teeth and fix my hair a little. My host mom brought Pierre, Veera, and I to Mount St. Eloi and she went back to Roclincourt to survey the triatholon that would be passing through town. Besides Thomas's family, Madame Noel, Cathrine, Annick, and Camille (Jacque's daughter) were there. We talked for awhile, and I gave Pedro back, and it kind of went by in a blurr because I was so tired. We looked at pictures from Thomas and Anne's wedding though, i do remember that. And we had the same dish for lunch as we did the first time I went to Thomas and Anne's house back in February 2009. Anne remembered how much I liked it! haha. Soon after eating lunch, Veera and I passed out on the couch. When we woke up, Francoise had come back and we talked for a bit and then went on a walk around town and fed the horse on the hill. Veera, Pierre, Francoise, and I went back to Roclincourt shortly after, and then I chilled for a bit before we had dinner. Annick and Camille joined us for dinner, and Annick and Francoise told us stories about when they were younger. They were funny kids, those two! Their dad was the town's schoolteacher, so they did a lot of crap at school, thinking they could get away with it haha. Their dad wouldn't put Annick, his daughter, at the top of the class, even though she should have been there, so annick poured ink all over the pretty blonde girl's hair that was first. Lol! And one time, Francoise swallowed a bunch of plastic ball things, and Annick burst out crying in class, thinking she was going to die! haha. Anyway, that led to Pierre pulling out his old photo album and we looked at pictures of him when he was little. Then Francoise got mine and Veera's folders with our application letters and pictures in them, and since Veera had to write hers in French, we went over it and had a really good laugh at all the mistakes she had in there. In particular, she used "man" to mean people, so she was all like "I know a lot of men and I love meeting men and I am good at talking to men and I hope to meet men in France that I can be lifelong friends with.." and on and on! hahaha. Then she used joui instead of joue, which means to fuck instead of to play, so she wrote about how she likes to fuck in the snow during winter instead of playing in the snow in winter. HAHAHA. Those were just a couple of the things that really stood out. Sadly (or fortunately maybe :P) my letter had to be written in English when I came, so there wasn't much good stuff to laugh about. My pictures are great though.. my friends have all changed and i look really young. lol. But yeah, after that, I tried calling my dad to wish him happy father's day and ended up leaving a message. oh well. i was tired, so i went up to bed right after that and skyped mick a bit before going to sleep. I slept in until noon today! woo :) it felt soo good! I'm still a little drowsy, but overall I'm feeling much better than I did yesterday. But yeah, all I've done so far is eat and watch some tv and then go on here, so I will update you tonight.
a tout a l'heure
miranda
So I never finished, because the internet wasn't working, so I couldn't even post this first half once i finished. But anyway, not too much else happened yesterday. Veera and I went to Brigitte's host family's house (which is in Arras) and then walked around town. I finally got stamps, so I can send the rest of my postcards I've written up! We also browsed a few "chinese stores" aka, stores that are run by chinese people and sell a mixture of cute clothes and wierd knock-offs. Lol. Around 7, Francoise came to get Veera and I, and then we went back and got ready to go out to eat. We went to a Potato place, and Annick and Samuel, as well as Brigitte, met up with us there. We got bread and pate, and then a bowl of onion rings, french fries, and fried cheese for the apparatif. I also had a limonade with grenodine. Then for the meal I had a 3-cheese baked potato, which was pretty good! It was so filling that I couldn't finish the whole thing (although nor could anyone else haha). For dessert I shared a chocolate mousse with Brigitte and then Annick had the waiter bring me a scoop of pistachio ice cream, even though i insisted i was too full. haha. I somehow managed to find room though. We talked for a long time and it was really great. I love going out with everyone lol. Annick got us balloons and a box of marshmallows, and the three of us girls also entered a coloring contest, although i would be seriously surprised if any of us won. lol. I made a pistachio-chocolate baked potato :P Brigitte came back to the house with us after supper and we watched some tv and then went to bed.
Today is the first day of summer, which also means it's La fete de la musique! Woooh :) There will be musicians all over the streets and I really hope it doesn't rain so we can be out late into the night. Then I think i'm spending the night at Brigitte's. If not, then i'll be at Annick's, so i'm not sure if i'll be bringing my laptop.. Sorry about this crappy updating lately, but this is the last night, i'm pretty sure. But not like anyone reads this anyway, so who really cares, right? lol.
a demain!
miranda
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Day nineteen- On the train
Hello world,
Today, I didn't do much of anything. Fanny and Hugo left town for a wedding this morning, so when I woke up, they were already gone. I slept in pretty late and took my time getting ready, then had lunch and called my host mom to tell her when I'd be arriving at the train station tomorrow morning. Afterwards, I packed my suitcase. Then I went on a short walk around town. I was going to go to the beach, but it was too cold and windy, so I just went back to the house and went online. At 4, the flower shop opened for the afternoon, so I went and bought a purple orchid and a card for Fanny and Hugo as a thank-you present for all they did for me :) After that, I hung out at the house and went online some more. Not too much else really to say, except I took a train from Port-La-Nouvelle to Narbonne at around 7.30, now I'm sitting here in the waiting room until 11 when my train for Paris leaves. I'll be getting there around 7.30 tomorrow morning, then transfering stations and taking the train to Arras from there :) I'm a little wary about transfering stations alone with all my luggage, and the night train is not going to provide me with the best night's sleep, but oh well. I can do it! ;D I'll write again tomorrow and let you know how it all goes!
a demain
Miranda
Today, I didn't do much of anything. Fanny and Hugo left town for a wedding this morning, so when I woke up, they were already gone. I slept in pretty late and took my time getting ready, then had lunch and called my host mom to tell her when I'd be arriving at the train station tomorrow morning. Afterwards, I packed my suitcase. Then I went on a short walk around town. I was going to go to the beach, but it was too cold and windy, so I just went back to the house and went online. At 4, the flower shop opened for the afternoon, so I went and bought a purple orchid and a card for Fanny and Hugo as a thank-you present for all they did for me :) After that, I hung out at the house and went online some more. Not too much else really to say, except I took a train from Port-La-Nouvelle to Narbonne at around 7.30, now I'm sitting here in the waiting room until 11 when my train for Paris leaves. I'll be getting there around 7.30 tomorrow morning, then transfering stations and taking the train to Arras from there :) I'm a little wary about transfering stations alone with all my luggage, and the night train is not going to provide me with the best night's sleep, but oh well. I can do it! ;D I'll write again tomorrow and let you know how it all goes!
a demain
Miranda
Friday, June 17, 2011
Day seventeen/eighteen - Port-La-Nouvelle
Sorry about not writing yesterday.. I was tired and I guess I just completely spaced it out. Yesterday I got up somewhat early and got ready, then caught the train to Cerbere at 8. I accidently hopped into a first class train, but whatever. No one caught me haha. I got there around 10 and ohhh my god is it pretty!! As far as landscapes go, I think it might be one of the most beautiful ones I've ever seen in my life! There are giant cliffs and then the sea below, and it's like an inlet then there's a bunch of docks and a beach and the water is chrystal clear. You can see the rocks below even from the bridge. I hung out there all morning.. til about 3 actually, climbing up to take pictures of the town and then relaxing on the beach and sitting on a rock with my feet in the water, listening to music. It was so nice. At around 3, I went to Coullioure, because Fanny had said it was a really pretty town as well. Although I only had an hour to take a quick tour downtown before the train left for Narbonne, I would have to agree with Fanny. The landscape isn't as gorgeous as Cerbere, but the architecture and the castle & lighthouse are really cool. An hour later, I met Fanny in Narbonne. We got my tickets reserved for Barcelona today and then to go north tomorrow so that I don't run into the same problem I did on Wednesday. The lady, Djamila was very sweet. She looked for everr for a ticket from somewhere close by directly to lille and then to arras, but unfortunately this weekend is packed and I am going to have to pass through Paris and change train stations.. Oh well, it would have been nice, but i can do it! Anyway, Fanny and I walked around Narbonne. She showed me the cathedral, some shopping streets, a section of road that used to connect to Rome, and the canal. We followed the canal all the way down to Hugo's work at the mall. As we waited for him to finish up, Fanny and I got drinks. Then we all drove back home together, had supper, and I went to bed shortly after.
Today I got up even earlier..around 6.45, and got ready for the day. I caught the train to Narbonne and then Barcelona at around 8:20. It was a pretty long ride--I didn't get into Barcelona until around noon. The train station is enormous. It took me a while just to find the exit even following the signs. Although on the way I ran into a tourist kiosk and decided to get a map and see where the closest, but still good, attractions were. Turns out there was a park about 10 minutes away on foot, so since I suck with maps, I decided just to follow some other touristy looking people, and sure enough they led me there. As I was wandering around the big palace looking building on a hill at the park, I ran into some other people my age. I had one of them take a picture of me with the city in the background, and then the guy asked me for directions. I had no idea, but i offered him my map so he could look for himself. We couldn't find whatever it was he was looking for, but he and his friend asked me if I wanted to join them for the day and walk around town with them. I figured I may as well, since I didn't know what there really was to do other than this park, and I had about 3 hours to kill, so whatever. My gut feeling trusted them, so I went with it. Their names were Lytel and Alytel (I think) and they were from Israel. The guy was nice--he bought me a bottle of water, got me a free trip on the subway, and then bought me watermelon at the market. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.. first we got the drinks and then took the subway to another section of town with lots of shopping and people in the walkways who were dressed up and entertained tourists. Lytel had me take a picture with him with a wedding thing and I was a bride while he was the groom... that was a little too far for me, but I just kind of went with it, haha. Then we went to a market with tons of fresh fruit, veggies, nuts, candy, and other stuff. It was really cool..and cheap! That's where I got my watermelon. After that, we went to a shopping street and browsed shops. I got some awesome touristy gifts for people, but that's it. After this, we only had about 40 minutes left, so we slowly made our way back to the metro and then took it back to Espanya, where I had originally ended up after following the tourists. We exchanged facebook info, then I said goodbye and slowly made my way back to the train station. It was 3.30 and my train didn't leave until 4.45, but I wanted to make sure I had time to get lost and then find my way again if necessary. Lol. I ended up not getting lost, so I took a little tour of a park with a bunch of fountains right next to the train station to kill some extra time. I'm glad I went to the station early, though, because it was quite a process! The station is by far the biggest I've ever been in. They had security checkpoints where they scanned your luggage and everything. Then we had to wait in a section, like a gate in an airport, and when the previous train has departed, the security people have you line up and they check your tickets and you go down an escalator to your platform, where you wait for your train to come. On the way back, I slept a little and then just did what I always do, and listened to my ipod. When I got to Narbonne, I changed trains and took one to PLN, where Fanny met me in the parkinglot. She got her hair done today and it looks so cute :D Hugo was waiting for us when we got back to the house.. I hung out for a bit and then we ate. And Camping 2 is on TV right now, so we're watching that. haha. Then I'll probably go to bed because I'm exhaustedd! ..and tomorrow night i'll be sleeping on the train, so I can't imagine myself getting too much sleep.
A demain!
Miranda
Today I got up even earlier..around 6.45, and got ready for the day. I caught the train to Narbonne and then Barcelona at around 8:20. It was a pretty long ride--I didn't get into Barcelona until around noon. The train station is enormous. It took me a while just to find the exit even following the signs. Although on the way I ran into a tourist kiosk and decided to get a map and see where the closest, but still good, attractions were. Turns out there was a park about 10 minutes away on foot, so since I suck with maps, I decided just to follow some other touristy looking people, and sure enough they led me there. As I was wandering around the big palace looking building on a hill at the park, I ran into some other people my age. I had one of them take a picture of me with the city in the background, and then the guy asked me for directions. I had no idea, but i offered him my map so he could look for himself. We couldn't find whatever it was he was looking for, but he and his friend asked me if I wanted to join them for the day and walk around town with them. I figured I may as well, since I didn't know what there really was to do other than this park, and I had about 3 hours to kill, so whatever. My gut feeling trusted them, so I went with it. Their names were Lytel and Alytel (I think) and they were from Israel. The guy was nice--he bought me a bottle of water, got me a free trip on the subway, and then bought me watermelon at the market. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.. first we got the drinks and then took the subway to another section of town with lots of shopping and people in the walkways who were dressed up and entertained tourists. Lytel had me take a picture with him with a wedding thing and I was a bride while he was the groom... that was a little too far for me, but I just kind of went with it, haha. Then we went to a market with tons of fresh fruit, veggies, nuts, candy, and other stuff. It was really cool..and cheap! That's where I got my watermelon. After that, we went to a shopping street and browsed shops. I got some awesome touristy gifts for people, but that's it. After this, we only had about 40 minutes left, so we slowly made our way back to the metro and then took it back to Espanya, where I had originally ended up after following the tourists. We exchanged facebook info, then I said goodbye and slowly made my way back to the train station. It was 3.30 and my train didn't leave until 4.45, but I wanted to make sure I had time to get lost and then find my way again if necessary. Lol. I ended up not getting lost, so I took a little tour of a park with a bunch of fountains right next to the train station to kill some extra time. I'm glad I went to the station early, though, because it was quite a process! The station is by far the biggest I've ever been in. They had security checkpoints where they scanned your luggage and everything. Then we had to wait in a section, like a gate in an airport, and when the previous train has departed, the security people have you line up and they check your tickets and you go down an escalator to your platform, where you wait for your train to come. On the way back, I slept a little and then just did what I always do, and listened to my ipod. When I got to Narbonne, I changed trains and took one to PLN, where Fanny met me in the parkinglot. She got her hair done today and it looks so cute :D Hugo was waiting for us when we got back to the house.. I hung out for a bit and then we ate. And Camping 2 is on TV right now, so we're watching that. haha. Then I'll probably go to bed because I'm exhaustedd! ..and tomorrow night i'll be sleeping on the train, so I can't imagine myself getting too much sleep.
A demain!
Miranda
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Day sixteen- Port-La-Nouvelle
Hey there,
As you probably noticed by the title, I did not make it to Germany to meet Julia. I was all set to go, had my suitcases and wrote a little note thanking Hugo and Fanny once again for everything they did for me. Then I locked the door and put their key in the mailbox as I headed to the train station. Although when I got there, the lady told me there was no room on neither the train from Montpellier to Paris, or the train from Paris to the german town (I don't remember how to spell it exactly haha). I tried to get one for tomorrow, but those were all full as well. I could have taken a night train to Paris, but from there the lady said my odds were not good. So instead of risking a night alone in Paris, I stayed in Port-La-Nouvelle. Unfortunately since I put the keys in the mailbox, I couldn't get into the house, but I could get to the entryway and the room where they keep there bikes outside of the door of the apartment, so I left my suitcase and backpack with the bikes and took just a water bottle, my brioche, a book, ipod, camera, and my important stuff like money and passport with me out and about. As I was walking down the street from the house, a bird pooped above and it landed on my forearm as it swung forward with my walking. It felt like water, so it took me a second to process what had happened. Lol, but when I did, I was really disgusted. I laughed at myself for a moment and continued my walk to the beach to wash it off, but a little later I remembered I had hand sanitizer in my suitcase at the house, so I turned around to go get some of that. After washing it off, I sent out two postcards (because the post office was closed and i only had two stamps), then I sat in the shade (because my sunburn kills!) facing the harbor and read my book most of the day while listening to my ipod. It was very relaxing and although the people fishing distracted me from my reading quite often, I really enjoyed myself. Around 4, I took a break to walk around the shops by the beach and grab a snack--a crepe with nutella and bananas! YUM :) Then I walked around a little more before finding another spot to sit down. Fanny got home and called me just before 6 to let me know she could let me in the house, so I went back and we chilled for awhile. Hugo was home shortly after, and the three of us talked and then went grocery shopping. Once everything was put away, Hugo made supper while Fanny and I watched TV. For supper, we had cheese pizza, and I tried my first raw oyster! Hugo made a vinegarette sauce that was pretty good, but the texture got me. It was like a big snot blob. Lol. But the pizza was delish and I liked the cabbage salad as well. Tomorrow, I'm going to take a train to Cerbere and then to possibly Carcasonne, if time allows. I'm going to meet Fanny in Narbonne at 4.30ish after she is done with work, though, so she's going to take me around that town. Then Friday, I might take a day-trip to Barcelona before heading back north on Saturday. I'm excited. Ever since Tuesday I've just felt so much better and free. It's great. Hopefully the trains work for me tomorrow!
Bisous
Miranda
As you probably noticed by the title, I did not make it to Germany to meet Julia. I was all set to go, had my suitcases and wrote a little note thanking Hugo and Fanny once again for everything they did for me. Then I locked the door and put their key in the mailbox as I headed to the train station. Although when I got there, the lady told me there was no room on neither the train from Montpellier to Paris, or the train from Paris to the german town (I don't remember how to spell it exactly haha). I tried to get one for tomorrow, but those were all full as well. I could have taken a night train to Paris, but from there the lady said my odds were not good. So instead of risking a night alone in Paris, I stayed in Port-La-Nouvelle. Unfortunately since I put the keys in the mailbox, I couldn't get into the house, but I could get to the entryway and the room where they keep there bikes outside of the door of the apartment, so I left my suitcase and backpack with the bikes and took just a water bottle, my brioche, a book, ipod, camera, and my important stuff like money and passport with me out and about. As I was walking down the street from the house, a bird pooped above and it landed on my forearm as it swung forward with my walking. It felt like water, so it took me a second to process what had happened. Lol, but when I did, I was really disgusted. I laughed at myself for a moment and continued my walk to the beach to wash it off, but a little later I remembered I had hand sanitizer in my suitcase at the house, so I turned around to go get some of that. After washing it off, I sent out two postcards (because the post office was closed and i only had two stamps), then I sat in the shade (because my sunburn kills!) facing the harbor and read my book most of the day while listening to my ipod. It was very relaxing and although the people fishing distracted me from my reading quite often, I really enjoyed myself. Around 4, I took a break to walk around the shops by the beach and grab a snack--a crepe with nutella and bananas! YUM :) Then I walked around a little more before finding another spot to sit down. Fanny got home and called me just before 6 to let me know she could let me in the house, so I went back and we chilled for awhile. Hugo was home shortly after, and the three of us talked and then went grocery shopping. Once everything was put away, Hugo made supper while Fanny and I watched TV. For supper, we had cheese pizza, and I tried my first raw oyster! Hugo made a vinegarette sauce that was pretty good, but the texture got me. It was like a big snot blob. Lol. But the pizza was delish and I liked the cabbage salad as well. Tomorrow, I'm going to take a train to Cerbere and then to possibly Carcasonne, if time allows. I'm going to meet Fanny in Narbonne at 4.30ish after she is done with work, though, so she's going to take me around that town. Then Friday, I might take a day-trip to Barcelona before heading back north on Saturday. I'm excited. Ever since Tuesday I've just felt so much better and free. It's great. Hopefully the trains work for me tomorrow!
Bisous
Miranda
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Day fifteen- Port-La-Nouvelle
Hey! This morning, the other two and I officially went our seperate ways. I stayed with Fanny & Hugo, and Vi and Lisa took the train to Nice around 10am. Hugo and Fanny worked during the day, so after I was ready, I went out and walked to the beach. I layed out there for a few hours and got a nice sunburn. Lol. Then I walked along the beach a ways down, before returning to walk out to the lighthouse. I sat and watched the boats come in and out and listened to my ipod. It was really calming and it was just what i'd needed. I went back around 2.30/3 and grabbed a pistachio/chocolate ice cream cone on the way. At the house, I unstacked and restacked the dishwasher, then went online for a bit and grabbed some food for a late lunch. Afterwards, I walked around some more into town and then along the port and i bought some postcards! I came back at 5.45ish, and Fanny came home shortly after. We went on a bike ride to the island of St. Lucie and got a beautiful view of the sea and the canal and then the towns of Narbonne and bordering villages. When we got back, Hugo came home shortly after, and then we got ready to eat. The entire family heard that I was on my own, so I got calls from my host mom and Annick and I talked to Veera on skype and anne on facebook and everyone has been nice about inviting me back. and Fanny and Hugo said I can come back south as well if i'd like. So, I am not alone! Although tomorrow I will be going to Germany to meet up with Julia from Concordia! Hugo helped me figure out which metros to take when I have to change stations tomorrow. So i've got it all figured out :) I'm excited. Hopefully the trains work out alright and it doesn't cost too much supplement to get to her town in Germany from here!
I'll let you know tomorrow! Wish me luck in the metro ;)
Miranda
I'll let you know tomorrow! Wish me luck in the metro ;)
Miranda
Monday, June 13, 2011
Day fourteen- Port-La-Nouvelle (France)
This morning, we woke up at 5.30 to get ready and take the metro to the train station to catch our train south. We made it to Montpellier at 10.30ish and decided to walk around and explore a bit. Vi snapped at me, and that was the final straw for me. There's been a little tension for awhile now, and tomorrow we will be parting ways--Vi and Lisa will be going to Italy and taking the original trip we planned (although they unplanned everything and it's just a giant mess now) and I will be visiting friends around Europe as I can, and going back to Arras once I've finished. I have been invited to go to Frankfurt to visit Julia from school, then the Parisien suburbs to visit Emmanuelle, Lyon to visit Mickael, and Kjersti (my roommate) invited me to meet up with her in Monoco or Tuscony next week when she and her friends go on vacation. My host mom also said she could hook me up with Anne's relatives in Barcelona if I want. So I am not worried; I have a lot of options. Plus, I really wouldn't consider myself to be missing out on anything if I just went back and spent the rest of the trip with my host family. I love those people as if they were part of my real family.
Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. In Montpellier, we went to walk around, and then we went into the Polygon mall. We had all our suitcases, and i didn't feel like shopping with it all, so I sat down and Vi and Lisa had me watch their baggage while they shopped. Since I was suitcase watching, I couldn't explore on my own at all, so I pulled out my laptop and talked to Pierre-Antoine and then Mick briefly. Two hours later, they came back and we went to the train station to catch a train to Narbonne, and from there to Port-La-Nouvelle, where we met up with my host mom's daughter, Fanny, and her boyfriend Hugo!! These two are seriously as wonderful as the rest of the family. We came back to the house and had a snack, and we have been invited to stay as long as we like, and they showed us where everything is so we can make ourself food if we want--or do anything really. We are supposed to make ourselves at home. They also brought us to the beach, where we walked along the shore, and then out to the lighthouse. While Fanny bought bread, Hugo caught a sea urchine and brought it back to the house so we could try it later. haha. He said it was a specialty and we had to at least try it (although this was a very small one). Their friends Katy and her boyfriend (i don't remember his name) were here, and they gathered their things and said goodbye shortly after we returned from the beach. Then Hugo and Fanny made us a wonderful supper and we talked awhile. It was lovely. After dinner, Hugo got us bikes and Fanny explained the different things we can do tomorrow while they're at work. Vi and Lisa are leaving at 10 something, but I plan on going to the beach and then spending one more night here before heading to Frankfurt to meet up with Julia (hopefully). We'll see what happens. I'm not too worried because now that I don't have to submit to anyone else's demands, I can just do whatever I want. And I am very grateful (and excited) to have friends to visit around Europe.
We'll see what happens. Tomorrow I am going to relax and enjoy myself, and then figure out how to get to Germany. Talk to you soon!
Miranda
Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. In Montpellier, we went to walk around, and then we went into the Polygon mall. We had all our suitcases, and i didn't feel like shopping with it all, so I sat down and Vi and Lisa had me watch their baggage while they shopped. Since I was suitcase watching, I couldn't explore on my own at all, so I pulled out my laptop and talked to Pierre-Antoine and then Mick briefly. Two hours later, they came back and we went to the train station to catch a train to Narbonne, and from there to Port-La-Nouvelle, where we met up with my host mom's daughter, Fanny, and her boyfriend Hugo!! These two are seriously as wonderful as the rest of the family. We came back to the house and had a snack, and we have been invited to stay as long as we like, and they showed us where everything is so we can make ourself food if we want--or do anything really. We are supposed to make ourselves at home. They also brought us to the beach, where we walked along the shore, and then out to the lighthouse. While Fanny bought bread, Hugo caught a sea urchine and brought it back to the house so we could try it later. haha. He said it was a specialty and we had to at least try it (although this was a very small one). Their friends Katy and her boyfriend (i don't remember his name) were here, and they gathered their things and said goodbye shortly after we returned from the beach. Then Hugo and Fanny made us a wonderful supper and we talked awhile. It was lovely. After dinner, Hugo got us bikes and Fanny explained the different things we can do tomorrow while they're at work. Vi and Lisa are leaving at 10 something, but I plan on going to the beach and then spending one more night here before heading to Frankfurt to meet up with Julia (hopefully). We'll see what happens. I'm not too worried because now that I don't have to submit to anyone else's demands, I can just do whatever I want. And I am very grateful (and excited) to have friends to visit around Europe.
We'll see what happens. Tomorrow I am going to relax and enjoy myself, and then figure out how to get to Germany. Talk to you soon!
Miranda
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Day thirteen- Paris
This morning, I got up and emailed my mom and stuff before Vi and Lisa came down from their room into mine. They cancelled all our hotels for the rest of the trip and we will be taking everything day by day. I cannot say I am extremely excited about this plan, but whatever. We'll have to just take it all a day at a time. Then we talked about where we were going to sleep tonight and what we were going to do about tomorrow and stuff. We finally settled on asking the guy if they could stay in my room for the night, and we had to give him a few extra euros, but he said ok. that leaves me sleeping on the floor with the two of them in the bed. We went to the Gare du Nord and tried to get to Barcelona tomorrow, but that was full. Then we tried Nice. And Verona. And London. And we ended up getting a ticket to Montpillier. So we don't know if that will be our final destination or not, but I think we'll meet up with some friends of mine a little further west, because it would be really nice to see them again since we'll be so close :) After we figured out all that stuff, we walked up Montmartre to the Sacre Coeur and shops and stuff. It was really neat. We went through the church as mass was starting, so we got to see the priest and nuns enter and stuff. We stuck around for a couple songs, but then headed out. We browsed the shops and tents and walked around several streets. We tried to find Moulin Rouge, but never did. It started raining around 6, so we headed back to the hotel and I bought a ham and cheese crepe for supper along the way. At the hotel, I packed and skyped marine and mick and veera. vi and lisa went to make phone calls and look for some food. Later on, i took a shower and made my bed on the floor out of the stained comforter and a wet bath towel from my shower. this should be fun..
a demain
miranda
a demain
miranda
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Day twelve- Paris
This morning, at 11.06AM, I left my host family behind and moved on to Paris. Maxime and his friend, Pierre, met us at the train station and helped us find our hotel. It's SUPER ghetto. I am really uncomfortable staying here, but at least we aren't on the streets. Our plan to sneak three people into a one-person room failed though, and we ended up paying for two shitty hotel rooms. But after we figured all that out, Maxime and Pierre took us through the Louvre. We saw egyptian, greek, and italian works--including the Mona Lisa (of course). Then we went to the Champs Elysees and saw the Arc de Triomphe. After that, we went to the Eiffel Tower, where we ran into Veera who was out on a meeting day with other people and her advisor while she's in france. That was cool. Then Maxime and Pierre tried to help me find a tabac shop so i could get more minutes on my phone, but the only one we found was closed, so they pointed us in the right direction and got us on the bus before saying goodbye. I'm so thankful for their help. We would have gotten completely lost without them. We went to the Gare du Nord and tried to get tickets to Switzerland on Monday, but the trains were all full, so now we don't know what we are going to do. We are thinking about cancelling all our hotels and just taking it day by day. I have also contemplated returning to Arras, since I would consider my time just as well spent with my host family. I miss them already! But I'm going to travel for at least a little while I've decided. I'd regret not exploring at least a little. I can always come back earlier if im not enjoying where we are and spend more time with them at the end of the journey. I will see you tomorrow though. I'm skyping mick til I fall asleep again.
miranda
miranda
Friday, June 10, 2011
Day eleven- Roclincourt
Today was our last day in Roclincourt :( It went by way too quickly.. i'm going to miss this family so much all over again. I got up at about 9.30 this morning and then got ready for the day and repacked my suitcase. Then i went online for awhile and when lisa and vi were up, we went downstairs and did laundry and hung out with my host mom. After eating lunch, we went to run errands.. first we went with her to the Mairie (town hall)/library. Then we went to drop off some stuff and pick up Pierre. After that, we stopped at the train station to get our tickets for tomorrow morning. It only cost us 3 Euros to get to Paris! Wooh :) Afterwards, we went to get Cortizone for Vi because she broke out. Once we finished the errands, we came back home and had a snack and chilled til Veera and Brigitte came home from their last day of school. I hung out with them while they ate snack, then helped straighten Veera's hair while we watched videos on TVJug or something like that. hahaha. some of them were really funny. I then went to get Pedro, my host family's mexican doll that is going to travel around with us, from Thomas and Anne's house. Then we came back and got ready to go out to eat. Veera and Brigitte went to the school dance and Vi, Lisa, and I took Annick, Francoise, and Pierre to a restaurant for supper. It was a rib place in the Grand Place. I had a cheeseburger and everyone else, except Pierre (i dont know what he got, it looked wierd.. lol), got ribs. Pierre got a bad stomach ache, so my host mom took him home after he was done eating, but Annick stayed with us for dessert. I dont know what we got, but we had cream filled balls that were pretty good. We gave Annick her cookbook that I found in the USA for her, since she loves to cook, as a thank you gift. Then Lisa commented on how pretty the glass bottle of water was, and jokingly suggested we take it. Annick took her bag out and shoved it in. Haha. Then Vi commented on the wine pitcher and we put that in her bag as well. The weightress brought another water, but in a pitcher this time, but annick was like "We have to get rid of all this and then we can bring it too!!" So we drank/filled up glasses with all the water and took the pitcher as well. hahaha. Then lisa grabbed my orangina bottle. we really made a clinky noise as we went up to pay. it's a miracle we made it out without getting caught lol. Boy, did we have a good laugh though! When we got to my host moms house, we showed her the bottles and she laughed too. Then we gave her the gift we bought her..the destress lotion and body stuff. Annick stayed and we chatted for awhile, then I called my mom and my dad and updated them on stuff since im leaving my host family's house. Now, I'm up skyping mick before I go to bed! I've gotta get up by 9AM tomorrow to get stuff ready and head out!
a demain!!
Miranda
a demain!!
Miranda
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Day ten- Roclincourt
I feel like absolute crap tonight, so you get a list of the days events today, sorry for lack of detail. Maybe i'll add more tomorrow.
-Up at 7.30, went to the train station to see off Andrea and Mafa, that was sad, even though i only spent a week with them.
-went back home; vi and lisa tried to go to london (but failed and stayed in lille)
-made jello with veera, then chatted
-brigette came over and we went through the stuff mafa and andrea left behind, then talked, and ate s'mores from the oven with substitute crackers for grahm crackers. then we watched Eurotrip
-francoise and i brought brigette home and then went to annick's for a moment to chat. Vi and lisa came in around 8.20, so we went to the train station to pick them up
-came home, felt sick, had crepes for dinner with jello
-got hot waterbottle, skyped mick, couldn't bare it so i took a bath, finished this blog so i could go to sleep.
a demain
miranda
-Up at 7.30, went to the train station to see off Andrea and Mafa, that was sad, even though i only spent a week with them.
-went back home; vi and lisa tried to go to london (but failed and stayed in lille)
-made jello with veera, then chatted
-brigette came over and we went through the stuff mafa and andrea left behind, then talked, and ate s'mores from the oven with substitute crackers for grahm crackers. then we watched Eurotrip
-francoise and i brought brigette home and then went to annick's for a moment to chat. Vi and lisa came in around 8.20, so we went to the train station to pick them up
-came home, felt sick, had crepes for dinner with jello
-got hot waterbottle, skyped mick, couldn't bare it so i took a bath, finished this blog so i could go to sleep.
a demain
miranda
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Day nine- Roclincourt
This morning I got up around 10.30 and got ready for the day before joining Veera for breakfast downstairs. I went on the computer and tried to repack and straighten up my bags a little, and then just after noon, we went into town to see off Annaline, the Sweedish girl from the 1ere ES class that hung out with Veera, Mafa, Brigitte, and Andrea. We got to the train station and all the foreigners exchanged gifts and hugged and we walked her to her train and then they hugged more and she cried, and people from her class were there and they cried too.. but none of the other foreigners cried. It hadnt sunk in for them yet. Afterwards, Marine, the foreigners, and I went to eat at a new italian place that was on the pedestrian road near the cathedral. it was good, but really expensive.. Then we went shopping a little. Veera and Mafa printed off pictures from the year for an album they made Pierre and Francoise. We got ice cream after that, and i had pistachio (of course). We sat out on the terrace for a long time then, just talking and trying to decide what to do. Veera had to go to the bathroom after about an hour, so Mafa, Veera, and I went into the Beffroi and we went up the stairs on the far left side before you go into the gift shop in the back (like Sabrina and I did 2 years ago). There isn;t a rope across that section, so we decided to play dumb if we got caught---which we did on the second foor! The guy asked us what we were doing, and we said we were looking for the toilettes, and he told us we had to use the ones on the main floor-the ones up here were just for workers. So then we went down and after peeing, we left and sat back on the terrace where we'd bought ice cream. Marine decided to leave, so we accompanied her all the way to her car over by Robespierre park. Then we went to the Furet du Nord quick before having Francoise pick up the remainder of us. We waited for her in front of Gambetta and danced and listened to Brigitte's ipod. At the house, we had a snack and then listened to more music. I went to my room and went online and they were next door in Mafa & Veera's room putting together the photo album and talking on skype. Thomas and Anne came over with the kids in the evening and they were followed by Claire and her kids and then Annick. Everyone had the apperatif together and Mafa and Veera gave their gift to Francoise and Pierre. It was awesome; there are over 200 pictures in it! We all talked for awhile, and then Claire and I went to go pick up Lisa and Vi from the train station at 8.30. We couldn't find them at first, but then we just kind of ran into them. They spent the night in Amsterdam, then went to Brussels and Lille today. Belgium!! not fair!! haha. Oh well, I'm sure I'll stop there one day when I revisit Arras. When we got back, Annick was almost done with supper, so we helped set the table and Claire left with the kids since they had school in the morning. Thomas and his family had already left. At supper, I had a good time talking and laughing with Veera and Mafa and Annick. hahaha. I'm sad Mafa is leaving tomorrow. I know i've only had about a week with her, but she is really a sweet girl and I've enjoyed getting to know her. We're going to make her more of Veera's cinnemon rolls to bring on the plane tomorrow, so I'm going to go help with that. Then I'm going to bed since it's already midnight!
a demain!
miranda
a demain!
miranda
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Day eight- Roclincourt
Last night, instead of watching the movie, we planned Vi's trip back to Amsterdam. Then three of us slept in a full bed and needless to say, there wasn't much room to move. My luck landed me in the middle, so every time i moved, i hit someone and woke up. And then i was hot, so I had to lay on top of the covers...but then it was too cold, so i didn't really sleep to well. haha. Then this morning, we got up at 5.45am to eat breakfast and get ready for school. At 6.50, we took the train to school. Vi stayed at the station and took the train to Lille, where she would backtrack the same route that we took to get here.
I went with Marine to school. We were early, so we sat in front for awhile and talked to some people. Sabrina showed up so I got to hang out with her for a few minutes before we went to class. First was history. It was with the same professor that I had last time in 1L. (I was in Terminale L this time.) We reviewed the Cold War and then September 11, 2001. Surprisingly, I didn't know too many of the questions she asked about the Cold War. But as soon as we switched to 9/11, I knew most everything. lol. After class, I talked to Mme Schoonere(?) a little, and then we had philosophie. The TL1 class was pretty nice. I guess I mostly just talked to half of the class..including Brigitte (the Dutch girl), Marine, Jeremy (not one of the ones in my previous class), Clement, Pauline, Marie, Alexandra (from my class in 1L1), as well as a few others whose names I can't remember (or never caught). I planned on listening in philosophy since i have always found it interesting, but never had room in my schedule to take it. I caught the beginning, which was "Do you have to follow the laws to be just?" or something like that. And then we started breaking it down, but people in class were talking to me, so I wasn't able to catch much more than that. After philosophie, we had a break, so we went to the CDI. I guess there was a rape in the bathrooms in there last year, so they are locked now.. Alexandra told me the story.. but anyway, we mostly just talked. But the guy that works there recognized me from before. Then I went with Marine to drop off a note for a professor, and then get a pass for the cafeteria, where we went right afterwards at 11. The food wasn;t awesome, but whatever. The fish was like minced fish..not fresh like i'm used to them serving there. And then there was rice and pasta salade (but it had a strong tomoato taste :/) and then baignets with chocolate inside!! that was by farrrr the best part of the meal. I've missed those a lot. After lunch, we had an hour of English. It was only with half the class (I think it was the 1st language option) and we played a game similar to Family Feud. There are two things that Brigette (who speaks English pretty fluently) and I noticed: 1)she said no to a "teeter-totter," but then said "see-saw" was up there (she didn't know what a teeter-totter was) and 2)later, for something that people exchange, I said trading cards, and she was like "yes" but wrote "business cards" so Brigette thinks she may have understood the action of trading business cards and not known that i meant baseball or pokemon cards. Our team lost anyway, but it was close and we were seriously out numbered. Everyone thinks she's a bad English teacher, but I didn't think her accent was THAT bad.. it's evident that she articulates and forces the accent a little, but she's not a native speaker so I won't make too much fun of her...i know my french accent is terrible, so i have no right to highly criticize someone's somewhat off english accent. And it's a british accent, so i really shouldn't judge. haha. After English, we went back to philosophie for two hours. The first hour we played a review game (but i just talked with the aforementioned people) and the second hour we had a "gouter" or snack time. That was fun, but i was very tired, so i didn't enjoy it as much as i might have otherwise. After philo, we had an hour of literature. I mostly sat there and doodled, being pretty tired by that point. At 4.00, we had a break, so I went into town with Alexandra and Brigitte. We went to look at Pimkie and then a Bijoux Brigitte. I finally found Chelsea a gift! wooo :) That's quite a feat, let me tell you. Veera, Mafa, and Andrea met us there and then we went to get some "petit pain au chocolat" 3 for 2Euros! After that, Veera and I went to catch the bus home at 5:15pm. I would have had an English class at 5, but no one went to class, so i didnt either. We had to wait for a while, which was unfortunate considering it was cold and raining and i was wearing shorts and a tanktop with a cardigan. But at least i had an umbrella in my backpack! Hahha.. the backpack was so big, everyone was making fun of it this morning, so i stored it in the "suitcase storage room" all day. Anyway, the bus came and i had to pay since i didnt have a bus pass, and when we got to roclincourt, i went to charge my phone immediately because vi was supposed to call me and tell me what they were going to do. Thankfully i got ahold of her via facebook and she informed me that they'd spend the night in amsterdam and return tomorrow evening. I was also reading emails and getting frustrated with some stuff, plus i was tired and stressed about a few things, so i started crying a little since i was in the room alone. Then, my host mom chose that moment to come up and tell me pierre-antoine was here to see if i wanted to go out tonight. so my host mom saw my red blotchy face and so did pierre-antoine. awesome. whatever...i brushed it off, and agreed to go get drinks tonight, hoping it would lift my mood. He left, telling me to be ready around 9. So I ate dinner with Annick, Pierre, and the girls, and then went upstairs to chill with Mafa and Veera until he came back to get me. We went to Baobab Kfe again! And he picked up another friend of his from school, Marie (i think?) and then we met Simon and his girlfriend there. I wish i wouldn't be in such a crappy, tired state, because normally this would have been really fun. I remember going to Baobab all the time with Pierre-Antoine, Simon, and then Antoine, and it was so much fun. But i was boring. And i wasn't a huge fan of the other 2 girls either, because they kept ignoring me, then when they wanted to say something to me (which was rare), they would talk either really slowly and articulate or they would speak english, and i was like Ummmm, I speak french....but whatever. I got dropped off at like 11.30 and now i;m skyping mick.
laterrrrrr
Miranda
I went with Marine to school. We were early, so we sat in front for awhile and talked to some people. Sabrina showed up so I got to hang out with her for a few minutes before we went to class. First was history. It was with the same professor that I had last time in 1L. (I was in Terminale L this time.) We reviewed the Cold War and then September 11, 2001. Surprisingly, I didn't know too many of the questions she asked about the Cold War. But as soon as we switched to 9/11, I knew most everything. lol. After class, I talked to Mme Schoonere(?) a little, and then we had philosophie. The TL1 class was pretty nice. I guess I mostly just talked to half of the class..including Brigitte (the Dutch girl), Marine, Jeremy (not one of the ones in my previous class), Clement, Pauline, Marie, Alexandra (from my class in 1L1), as well as a few others whose names I can't remember (or never caught). I planned on listening in philosophy since i have always found it interesting, but never had room in my schedule to take it. I caught the beginning, which was "Do you have to follow the laws to be just?" or something like that. And then we started breaking it down, but people in class were talking to me, so I wasn't able to catch much more than that. After philosophie, we had a break, so we went to the CDI. I guess there was a rape in the bathrooms in there last year, so they are locked now.. Alexandra told me the story.. but anyway, we mostly just talked. But the guy that works there recognized me from before. Then I went with Marine to drop off a note for a professor, and then get a pass for the cafeteria, where we went right afterwards at 11. The food wasn;t awesome, but whatever. The fish was like minced fish..not fresh like i'm used to them serving there. And then there was rice and pasta salade (but it had a strong tomoato taste :/) and then baignets with chocolate inside!! that was by farrrr the best part of the meal. I've missed those a lot. After lunch, we had an hour of English. It was only with half the class (I think it was the 1st language option) and we played a game similar to Family Feud. There are two things that Brigette (who speaks English pretty fluently) and I noticed: 1)she said no to a "teeter-totter," but then said "see-saw" was up there (she didn't know what a teeter-totter was) and 2)later, for something that people exchange, I said trading cards, and she was like "yes" but wrote "business cards" so Brigette thinks she may have understood the action of trading business cards and not known that i meant baseball or pokemon cards. Our team lost anyway, but it was close and we were seriously out numbered. Everyone thinks she's a bad English teacher, but I didn't think her accent was THAT bad.. it's evident that she articulates and forces the accent a little, but she's not a native speaker so I won't make too much fun of her...i know my french accent is terrible, so i have no right to highly criticize someone's somewhat off english accent. And it's a british accent, so i really shouldn't judge. haha. After English, we went back to philosophie for two hours. The first hour we played a review game (but i just talked with the aforementioned people) and the second hour we had a "gouter" or snack time. That was fun, but i was very tired, so i didn't enjoy it as much as i might have otherwise. After philo, we had an hour of literature. I mostly sat there and doodled, being pretty tired by that point. At 4.00, we had a break, so I went into town with Alexandra and Brigitte. We went to look at Pimkie and then a Bijoux Brigitte. I finally found Chelsea a gift! wooo :) That's quite a feat, let me tell you. Veera, Mafa, and Andrea met us there and then we went to get some "petit pain au chocolat" 3 for 2Euros! After that, Veera and I went to catch the bus home at 5:15pm. I would have had an English class at 5, but no one went to class, so i didnt either. We had to wait for a while, which was unfortunate considering it was cold and raining and i was wearing shorts and a tanktop with a cardigan. But at least i had an umbrella in my backpack! Hahha.. the backpack was so big, everyone was making fun of it this morning, so i stored it in the "suitcase storage room" all day. Anyway, the bus came and i had to pay since i didnt have a bus pass, and when we got to roclincourt, i went to charge my phone immediately because vi was supposed to call me and tell me what they were going to do. Thankfully i got ahold of her via facebook and she informed me that they'd spend the night in amsterdam and return tomorrow evening. I was also reading emails and getting frustrated with some stuff, plus i was tired and stressed about a few things, so i started crying a little since i was in the room alone. Then, my host mom chose that moment to come up and tell me pierre-antoine was here to see if i wanted to go out tonight. so my host mom saw my red blotchy face and so did pierre-antoine. awesome. whatever...i brushed it off, and agreed to go get drinks tonight, hoping it would lift my mood. He left, telling me to be ready around 9. So I ate dinner with Annick, Pierre, and the girls, and then went upstairs to chill with Mafa and Veera until he came back to get me. We went to Baobab Kfe again! And he picked up another friend of his from school, Marie (i think?) and then we met Simon and his girlfriend there. I wish i wouldn't be in such a crappy, tired state, because normally this would have been really fun. I remember going to Baobab all the time with Pierre-Antoine, Simon, and then Antoine, and it was so much fun. But i was boring. And i wasn't a huge fan of the other 2 girls either, because they kept ignoring me, then when they wanted to say something to me (which was rare), they would talk either really slowly and articulate or they would speak english, and i was like Ummmm, I speak french....but whatever. I got dropped off at like 11.30 and now i;m skyping mick.
laterrrrrr
Miranda
Monday, June 6, 2011
Day seven- Roclincourt
Coucou,
Today we got up early (for us) at about 8.30 to get ready so we could go into town when Mafa and Veera went to school. They skipped phy ed, so they started the day at 10AM. It was kind of yucky out, but since it had been nice all week, I was wearing shorts...not too smart, haha. It got really cold when it started drizzling, so we went to Monoprix and bought some snacks (I got a loaf of brioche and then some small chocolate chip ones). Most of the other stores were still closed so we went to the Belfroy. We stayed in there for at least an hour, then when we were leaving, we saw Veera, Mafa, and Andrea sitting in the entry way. I told them the story about how I had three petit pain au chocolat in the belfroy and made a mess, and we were all hungry for them then, so we went and bought some haha. After that, the girls had to get back to class and Vi and I went to Miss Coquines to do some shoe shopping. We waited out the majority of the pouring rain inside, but i ended up having my umbrella with so that was good. Vi and I each bought a pair of shoes..I got blue flats and she got some colorful roman sandals. Then we went to Gambetta and the rain had subsided so we stood under the awning and waited for the girls to come back out for lunch. Aurélie found me in the crowd and came up to say hello quick before she went to eat. She was one of the people I'd met 2 years ago, but I didn't know she was still going to school there. I also saw a girl who had spent the night after the party. Her name was Marion, i believe.. Anyway, after Mafa, Veera, and Andrea came out, we went to a restaurant across from the train station for lunch. I had a mushroom omlette and fries. Then for dessert, I had PISTACHIO and COCONUT ice cream :D!!! It was SO good :D! It took longer than expected, so the girls skipped math class and we ate up until nearly 3:00. On the way back, we ran into Monoprix to grab some chips for the "gouter" in Mafa & Andrea's spanish class. Sabrina came up next to me and I got to talk with her a little more. Then we got back to the school and I met up with Marine and Brigitte. Brigitte left, and Marine, Vi, and I went to Marine's car. Sabrina walked us over there. Then she left and we drove to Angieres, where Marine lives. I met her family and her dog, then we hung out in her room and talked and listened to music and such. I've been on and off talking on facebook and skype, talking to Mick and then emailing my parents. We had dinner at about 7.30/8.00. It was rice with some meet and veggie sauce, which was VERY good, and then salad. And I had two different cheeses (an orange cheddar cheese and brie) afterwards. Then dessert was a creme pie. Yum yum! Marine's taking her shower right now and afterwards we will watch a movie (if there's time) and go to bed so we can get up for school tomorrow! But as fun as that sounds, all i really want to do is talk to my parents or mick. i am so dumb.. fuck. why can't i just shake this off and enjoy being here?
ugh,
talk to you tomorrow, after school.
bisous
Miranda
Today we got up early (for us) at about 8.30 to get ready so we could go into town when Mafa and Veera went to school. They skipped phy ed, so they started the day at 10AM. It was kind of yucky out, but since it had been nice all week, I was wearing shorts...not too smart, haha. It got really cold when it started drizzling, so we went to Monoprix and bought some snacks (I got a loaf of brioche and then some small chocolate chip ones). Most of the other stores were still closed so we went to the Belfroy. We stayed in there for at least an hour, then when we were leaving, we saw Veera, Mafa, and Andrea sitting in the entry way. I told them the story about how I had three petit pain au chocolat in the belfroy and made a mess, and we were all hungry for them then, so we went and bought some haha. After that, the girls had to get back to class and Vi and I went to Miss Coquines to do some shoe shopping. We waited out the majority of the pouring rain inside, but i ended up having my umbrella with so that was good. Vi and I each bought a pair of shoes..I got blue flats and she got some colorful roman sandals. Then we went to Gambetta and the rain had subsided so we stood under the awning and waited for the girls to come back out for lunch. Aurélie found me in the crowd and came up to say hello quick before she went to eat. She was one of the people I'd met 2 years ago, but I didn't know she was still going to school there. I also saw a girl who had spent the night after the party. Her name was Marion, i believe.. Anyway, after Mafa, Veera, and Andrea came out, we went to a restaurant across from the train station for lunch. I had a mushroom omlette and fries. Then for dessert, I had PISTACHIO and COCONUT ice cream :D!!! It was SO good :D! It took longer than expected, so the girls skipped math class and we ate up until nearly 3:00. On the way back, we ran into Monoprix to grab some chips for the "gouter" in Mafa & Andrea's spanish class. Sabrina came up next to me and I got to talk with her a little more. Then we got back to the school and I met up with Marine and Brigitte. Brigitte left, and Marine, Vi, and I went to Marine's car. Sabrina walked us over there. Then she left and we drove to Angieres, where Marine lives. I met her family and her dog, then we hung out in her room and talked and listened to music and such. I've been on and off talking on facebook and skype, talking to Mick and then emailing my parents. We had dinner at about 7.30/8.00. It was rice with some meet and veggie sauce, which was VERY good, and then salad. And I had two different cheeses (an orange cheddar cheese and brie) afterwards. Then dessert was a creme pie. Yum yum! Marine's taking her shower right now and afterwards we will watch a movie (if there's time) and go to bed so we can get up for school tomorrow! But as fun as that sounds, all i really want to do is talk to my parents or mick. i am so dumb.. fuck. why can't i just shake this off and enjoy being here?
ugh,
talk to you tomorrow, after school.
bisous
Miranda
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Day six- Roclincourt
Bonjour tout le monde!
This morning we got up at around 10.30 and went downstairs to meet with two of the other girls who slept over last night. The others weren't awake yet, so we ate our breakfast and then i showered and stuff. When every one was up, we had lunch (a bunch of left overs from last night) and then I went with Vi, Antoine, his gf, and Pierre-Antoine to St. Cathrine to be in a parade with the new Albert, giant of Roclincourt. Vi and i threw confetti at the children in the parade and we found Veera and Andrea watching with Andreas host family. They marched in the parade with us for awhile, then Andrea left with her family and Veera stayed with us. I got to talk to her for a while as we continued on to the endpoint. It was really nice. She told me all about Finland and we shared stories of our experiences in France. We also decided next time i come to europe, i will start in finland, then we will go through sweeden, meet up with my roommate, Kjersti, in norway, then end in France with a visit to Francoise and Pierre :) Anywayyys, we ended at a big athletic field and all the giants gathered around on the grass. Then some guy made an announcement about the giant Cathrine's 10th birthday and each giant came up and faced her. idk why. lol. But after that, we ate sandwiches and drank pop and then disassembled the giant and left for home. Claire was there with Marius and Lola, and I played with the kids in the backyard along with Pierre and Vi. Then I talked with my host mom, Claire, and Annick (who was there as well). We ate dinner once the guests left, and after that, I came upstairs to skype mick, whom i am still skyping :)
a demain!
bisous
miranda
This morning we got up at around 10.30 and went downstairs to meet with two of the other girls who slept over last night. The others weren't awake yet, so we ate our breakfast and then i showered and stuff. When every one was up, we had lunch (a bunch of left overs from last night) and then I went with Vi, Antoine, his gf, and Pierre-Antoine to St. Cathrine to be in a parade with the new Albert, giant of Roclincourt. Vi and i threw confetti at the children in the parade and we found Veera and Andrea watching with Andreas host family. They marched in the parade with us for awhile, then Andrea left with her family and Veera stayed with us. I got to talk to her for a while as we continued on to the endpoint. It was really nice. She told me all about Finland and we shared stories of our experiences in France. We also decided next time i come to europe, i will start in finland, then we will go through sweeden, meet up with my roommate, Kjersti, in norway, then end in France with a visit to Francoise and Pierre :) Anywayyys, we ended at a big athletic field and all the giants gathered around on the grass. Then some guy made an announcement about the giant Cathrine's 10th birthday and each giant came up and faced her. idk why. lol. But after that, we ate sandwiches and drank pop and then disassembled the giant and left for home. Claire was there with Marius and Lola, and I played with the kids in the backyard along with Pierre and Vi. Then I talked with my host mom, Claire, and Annick (who was there as well). We ate dinner once the guests left, and after that, I came upstairs to skype mick, whom i am still skyping :)
a demain!
bisous
miranda
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Day five- Roclincourt
Hello world,
This morning Vi and I got up at around 10AM and got ready for the day. Then we headed downstairs and began preparing for Veera and Mafa's going away party this evening. Vi and I put drinks in the fridge, set up tables in the yard, and helped Veera and Mafa make their native dishes. Andrea (another exchange student from Mexico and longtime friend of Mafa)came to help make the tortillas & cheese, dips, and mexican cake. Veera, Vi, and I made Finnish cinnemon rolls and rice cakes with Veera. That took us all afternoon and up until the party at 8PM. I had to go upstairs and change because I got dough all over me. Haha. Anyway, the party was fun. Lots of people were there (around 50 or so?) including people from my class 1L1 two years ago--Alexandra, Amelie R., and Marine. Then Antoine and his girlfriend were there, so was Elise Caby, Vincent, and Pierre-Antoine..all friends from the village. I got to see Luc as well!! He's the playwright that lives in Paris and goes to Quebec on a regular basis. That was pretty neat. He gave me a copy of one of his plays. :) I mostly hung out with Annick, Pierre-Antoine, Antoine, his girlfriend, Elise, and Vi. We ate and talked and the last guests didn't leave until about 1AM. There are 6 girls still here that are spending the night. They are sleeping upstairs with Veera and Mafa, so we gave up our room next door to theirs and are sleeping in Pierre's room on the floor below for the night, while he sleeps in my host mom's room. But like I said, it's late..almost 2AM now! And tomorrow Antoine and Pierre-Antoine invited us to a parade, so we have to be up and moving by 2PM. haha.
a demain!
Miranda
This morning Vi and I got up at around 10AM and got ready for the day. Then we headed downstairs and began preparing for Veera and Mafa's going away party this evening. Vi and I put drinks in the fridge, set up tables in the yard, and helped Veera and Mafa make their native dishes. Andrea (another exchange student from Mexico and longtime friend of Mafa)came to help make the tortillas & cheese, dips, and mexican cake. Veera, Vi, and I made Finnish cinnemon rolls and rice cakes with Veera. That took us all afternoon and up until the party at 8PM. I had to go upstairs and change because I got dough all over me. Haha. Anyway, the party was fun. Lots of people were there (around 50 or so?) including people from my class 1L1 two years ago--Alexandra, Amelie R., and Marine. Then Antoine and his girlfriend were there, so was Elise Caby, Vincent, and Pierre-Antoine..all friends from the village. I got to see Luc as well!! He's the playwright that lives in Paris and goes to Quebec on a regular basis. That was pretty neat. He gave me a copy of one of his plays. :) I mostly hung out with Annick, Pierre-Antoine, Antoine, his girlfriend, Elise, and Vi. We ate and talked and the last guests didn't leave until about 1AM. There are 6 girls still here that are spending the night. They are sleeping upstairs with Veera and Mafa, so we gave up our room next door to theirs and are sleeping in Pierre's room on the floor below for the night, while he sleeps in my host mom's room. But like I said, it's late..almost 2AM now! And tomorrow Antoine and Pierre-Antoine invited us to a parade, so we have to be up and moving by 2PM. haha.
a demain!
Miranda
Friday, June 3, 2011
Day four- Roclincourt
Today Vi and I both slept in pretty late again. I think I was ready for the day around noon, and Vi around 12:30. At 3 we went into town and stood around outside the high school where I found Sabrina and her sisters. I didn't tell Sabrina I was coming back to France, so when she saw me walking toward her, she stared at me for a moment, and you could see the realization spread across her face as I came closer. She ran up to me screaming and threw her arms around me and we hugged for a long time. Then each of her sisters followed suit. We talked for quite some time. Then we saw my French teacher, Mme Dejaghere and I talked to her for a bit. She was also surprised to see me. Sabrina took me to see Wendie in front of the train station, where she was talking with a friend. Wendie had about the same reaction as Sabrina. I had told her I was coming, but i never updated her on the exact dates. After some time, we went back to the school where Sabrina met up with Camille and Camille's girlfriend. I got kind of sick of hanging out with those two, so Vi and I went into town. But just as we got to the post office on the other side of the school, Annick joined us and took us to the Petite Place for a drink. Vi and I both ordered a glass of Orangina. Then we browsed a few stores, including my favorites: Promod and Miss Coquine. We walked to Annick's house and relaxed in her garden and enjoyed an 'apperatif' as we waited for Francoise, Veera, and Mafa to finish shopping for the party tomorrow. We talked and reminisced, and then Annick made me call my mom. I talked with her for a few minutes and then went back into the yard with Vi. When my host mom showed up with the girls, we went back home and had dinner (pizza!). Then we watered plants and went up to bed! Now I'm just on facebook, trying to catch mick before i get to sleep.
a demain!
-Miranda
a demain!
-Miranda
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Day three- Roclincourt (France)
I didn't post yesterday due to a lack of internet, but I wrote this up on a word document:
Day 2
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
3:40 PM (US time)
Last night was fun. Five of the guys in our room of the hostel we stayed at walked around town with us. We went to a Kebab restaurant (on the main street) and then to a bar, where the guys ordered Heineken since it's fresh out of Amsterdam. Vi and I were tired and had to get up early the following morning (4.45AM!) so the guys walked us back to the hostel around 11. When we came out of the bar, the sun had completely set and pretty much all the windows in the red light district were occupied by women in lingerie seeking 'business.' One guy was talking to one of the strippers and he said in Engilsh "How about you wear what I'm wearing and I'll wear that!" and the prostitute replied in a thick accent "Are you a homosexual?" haha. We got a good laugh out of that! I tried to discretely take some pictures, but they didn't turn out too well. The best way I can think of to describe the red light district of amsterdam is to compare it to a giant sex shop. You have cinemas and live porn and gay porn and toys/contraptions beyond your wildest imaginations. There even was a peep/live sex show directly next door to our hostel. Ha ha. Pretty ridiculous, but also quite amusing, in my opinion.
I slept really crappy last night.. I didn't get to sleep til about midnight, and didn't have much of a problem falling asleep once I finally laid down. However, I woke up when the first group of guys came back to the room at just after 1/1.30am and people continued to come back until about 3, during which time I was unable to fall asleep. I wasn't able to fall asleep until about 3.30! I kept thinking about how much I missed everyone back home and how sketchy hostels are (even though I knew (hung out with) 7 of the 12 of us in the room). I missed my parents terribly, and also Mick. Of all the trips I've taken since middle school, I've never really had a problem with homesickness. But here we were, the first night in Amsterdam of a 30-day trip and all I could think about was going home. There was a point where I was even indifferent as to whether or not I made it to Arras to visit my host family!!! Anyway, like I mentioned, I finally made it to sleep around 3.30. But at 4.45, Vi got me up and we threw on some clothes and cleaned up a little before setting out for Arras!!!!!!! Woooo! I was so excited! Vi had to have been thinking I was the most annoying thing on the planet: the closer we got, the harder it was for me to contain my excitement. I was going to see my beloved second family and close friends that I haven't seen in 2 years. We took the first train at 5.53am out of Amsterdam Centraal to Antwerpen Centraal. Then we had five minutes to catch the connecting train to Lille Flandres at 8.05. On this trip, there were not too many people, so Vi and I sat in a a group of 4 seats that faced each other and put our feet up. Big mistake. The ticket-taker came by and literally yelled at us. We thought he was joking, so we lightheartedly appologized and said we wouldn't do it again. He asked me "Do you do this at home, put your shoes to the seats?!!" Then he hit us lightly (but with anger) across the face with our train tickets and threw our passports down, which slid across the table in the middle of us to the window. Once again we appologized, not realizing how big of a deal this was to him, but before leaving us, the grouchy man threatened to charge us 12(I think?) Euros for each shoe that touched the seats from that point on. A little over the top there, I think…
Anyway, we got to Lille around 10 and Vi and I wandered around, past the cathedral and to a cell phone shop where I learned how to recharge my cell phone. I had to get a new SIM card, so my number changed, but it was less expensive than I was anticipating and I couldn't have been happier to have a way to get in touch with my host family. Then we strolled on over to the grand place(?) where we bought baguette sandwiches and large chocolate croissants. We sat by the fountain and ate, taking in the scene around us. When we couldn't eat any more, we went back to the train station and checked the time of the next train to Arras. It was at 12.25, so we had an hour to kill. I got in touch with Annick and told her when the train was leaving, so she, Pierre, and my host mom would be waiting for us in Arras when we arrived. Then we wandered again. Vi had always wanted her first alcoholic drink to be japanese sake, so when we came across a japanese restaurant, we thought we would go in for a quick glass so she could check that off the list. Neither of us was hungry in the slightest, so we were just going to drink and leave. Our server was really pissy when she brought the sake and we tried to give the menus back declining her food offer. We ended up ordering the cheapest thing on the menu--one bowl of white rice. She wanted us to get more, but that was 1)all I would ever eat from there since I don't like susi 2)the only thing I could squeeze into my full belly and 3)the only thing we were willing to pay for. We had 10 minutes to eat it, so thankfully it wasn't a long wait. Vi had to drinks of her sake and decided it was nasty, so she couldn't drink anymore. And the smell alone was enough to keep me away.. Haha. We paid and ran out the door, sure that we would never be welcomed in that restaurant again. It was just across from the train station, so we were on our train within the next 5 mins or so and were ready to head out. It took us a long hour and ten minutes to get to Arras, (which is about a half hour away) because we had to stop at EVERY station in every small village along the way. Ugh. Anyway, 13.35 I was running off the train and down the "voie" to where my lovely family was waiting. I was so excited to see them I almost started crying! We had to hurry back to get ready for Pierre's birthday party though, so we didn't stand around long. The house was the same as I remembered it (except for the remodled bathroom upstairs). The people looked the same, and were just as warm and welcoming (except Annick got a perm). I was thrilled to be back. I met the two exchange students that were staying with Francoise now: Mafa (mexican) and Verra (finnish). Both of them are super nice, and they speak almost perfect French. I am slightly jealous. Lol. Mafa was diagnosed with a bad case of strep throat this morning, though, so she spent most of her day in bed, sleeping. Pierre's birthday party went well: I got to see the family that lives in the area (Thomas's family, Simon's family, and Annick) and then Pierre-Antoine stopped by for a bit at the end. Thomas's twins don't really remember me, but they were only 3 so I can understand.. Marius (who was 1) has gotten so big! And he is adorable! Romane didn't seem to remember me at first either, but then she invited me to play "spies" with her and Pierre, so I knew she remembered me then, and gladly accepted her offer ;). Being back was sort of weird at first, I felt kind of left out of their lives because my French has definitely gotten a lott worse, and so much has happened over the past couple years &Francoise has 2 exchange students who have been here since August (Verra) and December (Mafa), so they have become part of the family by now. Don’t take that the wrong way though...I really like both Verra and Mafa. They're really sweet and funny and fit well into the family, so don't take this as a statement of jealousy. But after Verra left with Bridgette and Andrea (girls from the Netherlands and Mexico, who are also pretty awesome) to go to a party and spend the night at Andrea's, I felt much more included by everyone and we had a lot of fun catching up and laughing and reminiscing. I tried to translate as much as possible to keep Vi (who doesn't know French) up to speed. After a dinner of a local dish (a cheesy pie) and some desserts, the family headed home and Vi and I went up to bed. I am so happy to be back. Now it almost feels like I never left… my life here and my life at home are so seperated, so it feels like it just picked up where I left off in July of 2009. I'd have to say that all that homesickness went away once I fell asleep at 3.30 this morning..i am going to chalk it up as being overtired and unable to sleep. So to keep that from happening again, I should probably get some rest..a demain :)
Today, I slept in until just before 1, and Vi was sleeping until 2.15! We were pretty tired haha. I also slept through the night, which was good. I got ready and went downstairs to eat with the family. Annick and hers/my host mom's mother joined us. Then I went into Arras with Vi to meet up with Marine at 3/3.30. The three of us had a drink at a cafe in the Petite Place before heading over to the park by Lycee Robespierre. We talked and taught Vi some French, lol. Then Marine had to go, so Annick brought us back to Roclincourt. We went to chat with Arlette, Christophe, and Simon for awhile, and then Pierre-Antoine came as well. They told us about the new giant the town made and the exchange students Arlette and Christophe had taken in over the past couple years. After a good hour or two, we went over to Pierre-Antoine's house to say hi to his parents. Then we headed home for dinner. Today was a holiday, so there was no work or school, but tomorrow everything is back to normal, so everyone went to bed soon after dinner and Vi and I are online. Tomorrow Anne and Annick are taking us shopping :)
I'll update then!
bisous
Day 2
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
3:40 PM (US time)
Last night was fun. Five of the guys in our room of the hostel we stayed at walked around town with us. We went to a Kebab restaurant (on the main street) and then to a bar, where the guys ordered Heineken since it's fresh out of Amsterdam. Vi and I were tired and had to get up early the following morning (4.45AM!) so the guys walked us back to the hostel around 11. When we came out of the bar, the sun had completely set and pretty much all the windows in the red light district were occupied by women in lingerie seeking 'business.' One guy was talking to one of the strippers and he said in Engilsh "How about you wear what I'm wearing and I'll wear that!" and the prostitute replied in a thick accent "Are you a homosexual?" haha. We got a good laugh out of that! I tried to discretely take some pictures, but they didn't turn out too well. The best way I can think of to describe the red light district of amsterdam is to compare it to a giant sex shop. You have cinemas and live porn and gay porn and toys/contraptions beyond your wildest imaginations. There even was a peep/live sex show directly next door to our hostel. Ha ha. Pretty ridiculous, but also quite amusing, in my opinion.
I slept really crappy last night.. I didn't get to sleep til about midnight, and didn't have much of a problem falling asleep once I finally laid down. However, I woke up when the first group of guys came back to the room at just after 1/1.30am and people continued to come back until about 3, during which time I was unable to fall asleep. I wasn't able to fall asleep until about 3.30! I kept thinking about how much I missed everyone back home and how sketchy hostels are (even though I knew (hung out with) 7 of the 12 of us in the room). I missed my parents terribly, and also Mick. Of all the trips I've taken since middle school, I've never really had a problem with homesickness. But here we were, the first night in Amsterdam of a 30-day trip and all I could think about was going home. There was a point where I was even indifferent as to whether or not I made it to Arras to visit my host family!!! Anyway, like I mentioned, I finally made it to sleep around 3.30. But at 4.45, Vi got me up and we threw on some clothes and cleaned up a little before setting out for Arras!!!!!!! Woooo! I was so excited! Vi had to have been thinking I was the most annoying thing on the planet: the closer we got, the harder it was for me to contain my excitement. I was going to see my beloved second family and close friends that I haven't seen in 2 years. We took the first train at 5.53am out of Amsterdam Centraal to Antwerpen Centraal. Then we had five minutes to catch the connecting train to Lille Flandres at 8.05. On this trip, there were not too many people, so Vi and I sat in a a group of 4 seats that faced each other and put our feet up. Big mistake. The ticket-taker came by and literally yelled at us. We thought he was joking, so we lightheartedly appologized and said we wouldn't do it again. He asked me "Do you do this at home, put your shoes to the seats?!!" Then he hit us lightly (but with anger) across the face with our train tickets and threw our passports down, which slid across the table in the middle of us to the window. Once again we appologized, not realizing how big of a deal this was to him, but before leaving us, the grouchy man threatened to charge us 12(I think?) Euros for each shoe that touched the seats from that point on. A little over the top there, I think…
Anyway, we got to Lille around 10 and Vi and I wandered around, past the cathedral and to a cell phone shop where I learned how to recharge my cell phone. I had to get a new SIM card, so my number changed, but it was less expensive than I was anticipating and I couldn't have been happier to have a way to get in touch with my host family. Then we strolled on over to the grand place(?) where we bought baguette sandwiches and large chocolate croissants. We sat by the fountain and ate, taking in the scene around us. When we couldn't eat any more, we went back to the train station and checked the time of the next train to Arras. It was at 12.25, so we had an hour to kill. I got in touch with Annick and told her when the train was leaving, so she, Pierre, and my host mom would be waiting for us in Arras when we arrived. Then we wandered again. Vi had always wanted her first alcoholic drink to be japanese sake, so when we came across a japanese restaurant, we thought we would go in for a quick glass so she could check that off the list. Neither of us was hungry in the slightest, so we were just going to drink and leave. Our server was really pissy when she brought the sake and we tried to give the menus back declining her food offer. We ended up ordering the cheapest thing on the menu--one bowl of white rice. She wanted us to get more, but that was 1)all I would ever eat from there since I don't like susi 2)the only thing I could squeeze into my full belly and 3)the only thing we were willing to pay for. We had 10 minutes to eat it, so thankfully it wasn't a long wait. Vi had to drinks of her sake and decided it was nasty, so she couldn't drink anymore. And the smell alone was enough to keep me away.. Haha. We paid and ran out the door, sure that we would never be welcomed in that restaurant again. It was just across from the train station, so we were on our train within the next 5 mins or so and were ready to head out. It took us a long hour and ten minutes to get to Arras, (which is about a half hour away) because we had to stop at EVERY station in every small village along the way. Ugh. Anyway, 13.35 I was running off the train and down the "voie" to where my lovely family was waiting. I was so excited to see them I almost started crying! We had to hurry back to get ready for Pierre's birthday party though, so we didn't stand around long. The house was the same as I remembered it (except for the remodled bathroom upstairs). The people looked the same, and were just as warm and welcoming (except Annick got a perm). I was thrilled to be back. I met the two exchange students that were staying with Francoise now: Mafa (mexican) and Verra (finnish). Both of them are super nice, and they speak almost perfect French. I am slightly jealous. Lol. Mafa was diagnosed with a bad case of strep throat this morning, though, so she spent most of her day in bed, sleeping. Pierre's birthday party went well: I got to see the family that lives in the area (Thomas's family, Simon's family, and Annick) and then Pierre-Antoine stopped by for a bit at the end. Thomas's twins don't really remember me, but they were only 3 so I can understand.. Marius (who was 1) has gotten so big! And he is adorable! Romane didn't seem to remember me at first either, but then she invited me to play "spies" with her and Pierre, so I knew she remembered me then, and gladly accepted her offer ;). Being back was sort of weird at first, I felt kind of left out of their lives because my French has definitely gotten a lott worse, and so much has happened over the past couple years &Francoise has 2 exchange students who have been here since August (Verra) and December (Mafa), so they have become part of the family by now. Don’t take that the wrong way though...I really like both Verra and Mafa. They're really sweet and funny and fit well into the family, so don't take this as a statement of jealousy. But after Verra left with Bridgette and Andrea (girls from the Netherlands and Mexico, who are also pretty awesome) to go to a party and spend the night at Andrea's, I felt much more included by everyone and we had a lot of fun catching up and laughing and reminiscing. I tried to translate as much as possible to keep Vi (who doesn't know French) up to speed. After a dinner of a local dish (a cheesy pie) and some desserts, the family headed home and Vi and I went up to bed. I am so happy to be back. Now it almost feels like I never left… my life here and my life at home are so seperated, so it feels like it just picked up where I left off in July of 2009. I'd have to say that all that homesickness went away once I fell asleep at 3.30 this morning..i am going to chalk it up as being overtired and unable to sleep. So to keep that from happening again, I should probably get some rest..a demain :)
Today, I slept in until just before 1, and Vi was sleeping until 2.15! We were pretty tired haha. I also slept through the night, which was good. I got ready and went downstairs to eat with the family. Annick and hers/my host mom's mother joined us. Then I went into Arras with Vi to meet up with Marine at 3/3.30. The three of us had a drink at a cafe in the Petite Place before heading over to the park by Lycee Robespierre. We talked and taught Vi some French, lol. Then Marine had to go, so Annick brought us back to Roclincourt. We went to chat with Arlette, Christophe, and Simon for awhile, and then Pierre-Antoine came as well. They told us about the new giant the town made and the exchange students Arlette and Christophe had taken in over the past couple years. After a good hour or two, we went over to Pierre-Antoine's house to say hi to his parents. Then we headed home for dinner. Today was a holiday, so there was no work or school, but tomorrow everything is back to normal, so everyone went to bed soon after dinner and Vi and I are online. Tomorrow Anne and Annick are taking us shopping :)
I'll update then!
bisous
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