Days 37-43

Mmm here we are again.  Way too many days to update about.  Not too much happened this last week, but this weekend was absolutely amazing.  It was just what I needed to get out of the city, and away from the homestay, for even just 2 days.

This past Tuesday was my long day of classes.  I won't even really comment on the Advanced Critical Thinking one because if you've read this at all you know how much I despise that class.  Presentation in there tomorrow.  Hopefully everyone has their shit together.  But anyway that night I went to the movies with Maggie and her friend.  We wandered around lost for quite a while before realizing the website told us to go the complete wrong direction.  We saw In the Air.  It was actually really good.  I didn't think I would like it but was pleasantly surprised.  Movie theaters are awesome here.  I don't even know how to describe the actual theater part except for the fact that the seats were as comfy as couches.  They also give you the option of salted popcorn or sugar popcorn.  Candy isn't really packaged candy like in the states, it's like the candy store and you just get what you want and pay by the weight.  We didn't do that but will definitely have to.  I love going to the movies because no matter where you are you can forget about everything for those two or three hours and just get lost in someone else's story.  Minus the french subtitles, I actually almost forgot I was in Paris.  The movies will definitely become a regular thing..considering this one was only like 6 euros and the one on Friday was only 4.

My post-impressionism class on Wednesday was at Musee Gustave Moreau.  It was his home his entire life and he gave it to the city when he died under the condition that they never get rid of any of his art.  That's saying something because the number of sketches was almost ridiculous.  You can tell how much he studied objects through them though because it's almost like stages and the last stage had more detail than one could imagine.  His paintings looked like they were glittering.  I don't know how he did it or what paint it was but it was absolutely amazing.  The house itself was a piece of art.  I've never seen such an amazing spiral staircase.  It was clear that he spent most of his time on the third and fourth floors, they were exquisite. The whole area had a story to tell. There were random doors our professor would have us stop at just because an artist was born, died, or painted there.  It's crazy to be somewhere where some of the most influential pieces of art were created. The rest of the day I took a nap and did homework.  I'm trying to be careful with money because of all the traveling I have in the next 3 weeks.  Budgeting here is difficult though. Oh! That night I did go to two of the girls' homestays to watch a movie and drink warm wine.  Tanuja made the wine and it was absolutely amazing.  The movie died half way through but it was nice to have a chill night with the girls.  That's the hardest part of the homestays...we can't just have people over and hang out.  So it's bars or nothing it feels like.  Their neighbors were cranky though and we may or may not have had the police called on us for noise...they were walking in as we left and gave us a look and then left.  Really...we were just watching a movie, not having a party. It was nice either way.

Thursday I finally got my international phone card to work so I got to start my day on the metro talking to someone back home, seriously the best way to start my day.  Once I got to school I had French and then went home to take a nap till Casey called me.  Casey, Tanuja, and I went to a Mexican restaurant by Casey's house.  It was amazing. They didn't offer a vegetarian burrito but when I said I didn't want meat he made something up I think.  There were like glazed veggies and potato chunks in it.  It was soooo good.  We're definitely going to have to hit up happy hour there.  After Sasha and I headed home.  She had to work but I just stayed up skyping with people back home.  I found my Rosetta Stone headset so I used that, turned against the wall, and was whispering.  The next day Dany told both Sasha and Maggie that she could hear me.  I love that she didn't tell me.  I wrote her a note telling her that I was sorry but I was really as quiet as I possibly could have been...the people I skyped with could barely even hear me!  And I tried to explain that unlike others I can't skype with family or a lot of my friends in the middle of the day our time.  She gave me a hug and said she understood and that she's going to get ear plugs.  I hope she actually does this time because I'm twenty years old and 3500 miles from home, I want to be able to talk to people at home.

Friday I didn't have class but met with Keshia to work on our project. We went to the restaurant next door and were there for like 3 hours.  I had the most amazing fresh squeezed orange juice of my life.  It took them seven years to get us our check but overall it was good.  We had kin?  I think that's what it was called. Red wine with fruit syrups in it.  That was pretty amazing too.  After that I went home to take a nap and do more homework.  After dinner Maggie and I decided we had to go out and do ANYTHING. So we hit up the movie theater right down the road from us.  We saw Shutter Island this time.  The theater wasn't AS nice as the other one but it was still a good time.  The movie was exceptionally trippy. Makes you think in the Fight Club kind of way.  I definitely suggest it and now need to read the book.  Dany wasn't home when we got back so I packed for the weekend and talked on skype.  It was nice to not have to tiptoe around for once.  I went to bed around 2:30 I think...just because I couldn't sleep.  I was laying in bed a while before that.

Now for the fun part.  This weekend we went with ISA to Normandy & Mont St Michel.  It was both an amazing experience and a great escape from all the stress I've felt from the homestay and Paris in general.  Saturday morning I got up at like 6:00 I think? And then once Sasha got home around 7 (she had to work the night before) we headed out to the ISA office.  They got us a nice double decker bus and our little group took over most of the bottom.  It was a 2 hour ride there and I think we all passed out for just about the whole time. Must say that sleeping on the bus is not the most comfortable thing in the world.  Finally we got to the Memorial Museum for WWII, Memorial de Caen.  It presented a lot of interesting information but I was really ready to see the cemetery and the beach.  We got a decent lunch there but it was expensive for what it was.  The two movies they showed us were pretty cool though. there were no words so everyone got to take their own perspective away from it.  That is particularly important when so many people from different backgrounds come to one area.  No one needs to be ashamed of their country's past. Anyway, I think we drove another hour or so to the Omaha Beach and the Memorial Cemetery.  It was breath taking.  I really have no other way to describe it.  I've seen photos of it for as long as I can remember, but to actually be there? Absolutely amazing.  It was also pretty cool to be standing on American soil in France.  We wandered around the cemetery for quite a while looking at the names and just admiring all the work that went into it.  I'm still not sure how the names are organized, I'll have to look that up.  But I definitely suggest that everyone try to make it there.  It makes WWII seen so much more real.  Seeing the names and what states they were from, the soldiers became real people. They were fathers, sons, husbands, neighbors.  It's just hard to comprehend what they were through for us.

After we wandered the 10 minutes down to the beach.  Sasha and I were the only ones who made it all the way out to the ocean, which was cold, but not as cold as I expected.  We only went ankles in though.  The sand felt amazing.  I tried to not think too much about all the people that died there.  It's such a beautiful place.  We spent a while just looking at shells, drawing in the sand, and taking pictures.  I found a full shell that still had the guy in it.  I assumed he was dead but left him there anyway, the bus would have smelt awful, I don't think anyone would have appreciated that. I love the beach though. Freshman year Doreh, Sarah, and I used to go to Sand Beach at midnight just to get away. There is something about the vast ocean that just makes everything seem better.  Plus I felt a little closer to home...though home was all the way across the Atlantic.

After we went to where the ranger memorial is.  It's so crazy what these men went through.  We read about how Germany thought they were safe because of the steep cliffs.  This did not stop the forces though.  The rangers made ladders and when they were cut or fell they just kept on going.  Over 200 rangers started the feat and only 90 lived to the end.  There were huge craters in the ground from the explosions and we got to go down into some of the shelters.  I definitely have a new found appreciation for our history from being in these places.  So many men gave their lives for the allied countries in that exact place.  The whole experience was incredibly humbling.

From there the ISA directors said they had a surprise for us.  We went to a farm where the best apple products are made in the country.  They make everything from cider to 40% apple alcohol.  We got to see how it's all made.  The products aren't sold in many stores because at the very least it takes 4 months after picking to make a product.  It smelt so good though.  We also got to try every level. The 40% was a little brutal.  They also make jams, honeys, etc. They were to die for.  Oh and there was candy too.  ISA at least knew that alcohol and food were the way to make us happy.  When we headed out from there we had ANOTHER hour to drive to the hotel. It was back in the town of Caen. But boy was it worth it.

Sasha and I walked into room 220 and were ecstatic.  The beds were big and comfy but more importantly there was a REAL shower.  We wouldn't have to hold the shower head while attempting to wash ourselves.  Taking a shower later on was heaven.  We just laid in our beds for a bit taking it all in.  We for once did not have to be quiet at night and I was thrilled to get a really good night's sleep.  After meeting up with 4 of the other girls we headed out for dinner.  I can't remember the name of the place right now, but it was so much fun.  The servers all wore cute hate and danced around singing the whole time.  We had sangria to start and 2 of the other girls and myself had escargo after.  I had tried it a long time ago but the others had never had it.  Sasha and I split a salad and pasta and I had an amazing dessert.  In between however the owner walked around with bottles of vodka and juice shots pouring them into everyone's mouths.  He actually even guessed which states we were from.  Getting mine, Texas, right, along with Anna and Mannat from Cali. There is no pictures of mine but there are of the other girls on my facebook.  It was so much fun. Ironically enough the ISA directors were at the table next to us, but that didn't stop us from having a blast, and by the looks of it they were having some fun to.  Dinner was for sure expensive, but so much fun.  I went back to the hotel to take the most amazing shower ever, watched a little of the Olympics, and passed out.  And I must have been basically dead because I didn't even hear Sasha come in or shower.

The next morning we got up at around 8 and headed to breakfast. It left a lot to be desired but I was happy to start my day with coffee which I hadn't in the last few days.  Can you say headaches??? I think I have a problem. Lol.  We were on the bus by 9, recapturing the bottom of the bus I might add.  And I think most of us were asleep by 9:30.  We had a 2 hour drive to Mont St Michel and the weather got progressively worse the further we went.  I found out when we got back last night that 55 people actually died in the storm yesterday.  I'm glad I didn't know how bad it was yesterday because it just seemed REALLY windy and rainy to us.  But anyway we got to Mont St Michel and I'd love to say that I was in shock because of it immediately, but it was too rainy to even look up at what we were running toward. The wind made the rain feel like needles piercing our skin.  Not the most pleasant.  We then climbed the 7 billion (haha) steps to the abby, taking pictures along the way of course.

None of us were too thrilled about having a guided tour of the abby.  But it proved to be very much worth it.  I liked how honest the guy was.  He even commented on how if the builders of the abby came back, which took almost 200 years, they'd be driven to alcoholism due to the tourism trap it has become.  After all the room where the monks used to sleep has been turned into a book shop.  We were watching the service going on and the priest made the weirdest arm movement asking us to move on, but no one was talking so it was a little unnecessary.  The only thing was that some people were taking flash photography....like really?  The rest of the abby however wasn't too badly ruined by tourism.  Our guide did tell us however that in the summer the place is swarming with tourists.  He told us a lot of little facts that were pretty cool.  Like there is a rosary there that was taken to the moon and the guy who had it gave it to them because the place felt so religious.  I must say I haven't felt that religious in quite a while.  It's amazing what man can/could accomplish with just his hands.  It did become a prison for a while after the monks left which I found interesting.  The bay? outside the mount is known for coming in at a meter a second and has the most extreme tides in the area.  A man died there in May because of either the tides or the quick sand there.  The guide told us people used to think the quick sand was the devil pulling people by their ankles to hell.  So crazy that things that made sense to people at one time.  Either way the abby was beautiful.  Another place I suggest everyone try to make it to...it is listed as one of the 7 wonders of the medieval world afterall.

After we faced the rain and wind again to find food.  We found some for not too expensive and then got to shop and explore some before heading back to the bus.  4 1/2 hour ride home to Paris...which I think actually turned to 5 or so.  They did surprise us with cute tins of cookies this time though. Haha.  We stopped halfway at a rest stop where we got food and I got a cappuccino thing.  It was nice to stretch especially after sleeping uncomfortably again.  When we finally made it back to Paris it was quite evident that it had been hit by the storm as bad as we were.  Was not until I talked to my dad and got messages from my cousin trying to make sure I made it back alright that I realized how bad the storm was.  It wasn't pleasant at all but I really had no idea it was that bad.

As far as today I'm updating this, obviously, and doing homework the rest of the day.  Tomorrow I have classes (presentation in one), Wednesday I have my post-impressionism paper due and then the Spain v France soccer game with Kirsten, Thursday I have French homework due and then it's the Ballet at the Opera house with ISA, then FRIDAY!  Friday I leave for Ireland with Tanuja and Julie...reminds me that I have to check in to the flight and print my boarding pass online...so strange.  But basically this week is going to be amazing.  We only have one week after the (with 2 midterms for me) then it's off to Italy with Sasha and I get to see Grace!!  Back from Italy and I get to see Grace again in Paris and then Audie and Lauren (from Alpha phi conference this past summer) those next two weeks.  So basically March is going to be a lot of fun, fairly expensive, and it's going to fly by even faster than February.  I'm excited for everything that it'll hold for me and before I know it I know I'll be home.  P.s. facbeook mobile really needs to figure itself out because the lack of getting to talk to someone lately because of it is just not okay with me. Lol (don't ask).

I'll be home in a day short of 4 months...a month and a half is already behind me.  Crazy how fast it's going...I have such mixed feeling about it.  Happy because I miss someone/s a lot but sad because this is a once in a life time chance for me.  I can only hope I'll make it back to Europe to see everything that I don't get to this time.  I do have faith I will though.

So there is my week in a nutshell.  I will definitely try to write again before Ireland cause otherwise I'll have way too much to say I'm sure.  I hope everyone has a blessed and amazing week.

Au Revoir.