Sunday, July 19, 2009

Last Tuesday we ‘feted’ Bastille day. In the morning, I slept in, did some homework, and then hiked the Bastille with Alex M. We decided to go behind it and explored some caves carved out by the army in 1844 to be able to attack the enemy if they tried to approach from behind. We then ate lunch at the top, and hiked back down. It was fun, Alex and I are a lot alike. She’s an education major, so we talked about how awesome learning language is, the effect technology has on children (this seems to be a recurring theme with me), and how we will raise our future kids 
Around 5 a small group went to watch the military parade. For those who missed it, well…you didn’t. I’ve seen one before in high school, so it wasn’t an issue of something that the French just do differently. It was bad. And incredibly boring. After an hour of nothing, we left. We then got sandwiches and ice cream and wasted time chatting in the park. Around 9 we ran into some others in our group. They had gone to the nearby lake that day, and wound up having to hitchhike back home because their bus never showed up! I don’t know if I could have done it.
At 1030 we watched fireworks in the park. It’s interesting because everyone was standing, and no one was actually allowed in the park, but stood at the entrance to watch. The fireworks were not a letdown. They had music playing that fit the ‘mood’ of certain parts. Interestingly, they played several American songs, like Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” and the theme to Star Wars. I feel like French fireworks are superior because they really have an aesthetic value that isn’t trying to just light off as many at once as possible, but it’s more artistic and tries to convey a message.
Afterward, we trotted over to the Jardin de Ville for the “ball”. It was just a band, and not a very good one, and no one was dancing. I was a bit upset with my grammar professor for having gotten my hopes up. So, we didn’t stay and instead everyone went home.
Wednesday was the soccer tournament. I was really excited, and didn’t know anyone who was doing it, so I was curious to see how it would all go down. When I got to the meeting spot, I took my survey of who was there, discreetly judging how good they might be. The only people there was a group of about 10 Spaniards with team jerseys juggling. And they were good. Real good. I started getting really nervous that if these were the only people playing, I would be really embarrassed. I then had an internal debate with myself whether or not to stay or to pretend like I hadn’t come for the soccer and just leave. But I stayed. And it was so fun! It turns out that a bunch of other random people were playing too, several of whom never even played soccer before. And the Spaniards ended up being not as intimidating in actual game-play. I was on a team with 4 guys- one from my program, one from Belgium and two from Denmark, and 2 girls- one from Germany and the other from Sweden. It was really nice to interact with people from other countries. We haven’t really gotten the chance because they are taking a different type of course here. Our team got 3rd place, and the two games we lost were only by 1 each. It was really fun, but difficult. It’s hard to play anytime you put new players together, but to have different countries’ style of play added to that, AND different languages and phrases for communicating expressions, it was interesting. By the end though, we were playing pretty well, despite the heat.
Thursday was the petanque (bocce ball) “tournament”. I put that in parentheses because we only played one game. I was partners with Alex M, and we lost in a close match against some Frenchies. Afterward, we ate lamb and sausage.
Friday I had planned to go to Chartreuse, but since the trip to Vercors on Sunday was cancelled due to lack of interest, I decided to use that whole day coupon for a full day of Chartreuse this coming Sunday. Therefore, what had once been a packed weekend ended up being only a trip to Marseille on Saturday. So, Friday I took it easy, didn’t do any homework, and did some light shopping. I ended up only buying one small thing for 1.50, so it was mainly just a way to use up time. That night I went to bed before 10 because I had to wake up at 5 the next morning.
Saturday was pretty good, not my favorite excursion so far. We stopped in Sisteron on our way, another waste of time. We got to Marseille around noon. It’s in the south of France, on the Mediterranean. It is also where the Chateau d’If is located, immortalized in the Count of Monte Cristo. However, since it was so windy that day, and the chateau is on an island, we could not go because it was too choppy for the boats. So instead, Nicki, Brittany, Alex PR and I went shopping for touristy things. We went in a Pastis shop, which is a type of liquor that smells like black licorice and is really strong. We also realized that Marseille is famous for soap. And crickets. I bought a few gifts, then we went to a chocolaterie which opened in 1760. I bought a few pieces, they were good. Finally, perused a craft marché where I bought a pretty bracelet. At 4 took the bus up the hill to Notre Dame de la Garde. It’s a basilica that was created in honor of Mary to protect the town against…some disease. It had an amazing view of the ocean, and the church itself was gorgeous, but very different from others in Europe. Instead of stone façade and gothic architecture, it was covered with gold mosaics, stripes, and lots of color.
Next we headed to the beach for a quick look. It wasn’t good weather to go swimming, so we just got our feet wet. On the way back to Grenoble we stopped in Aix-En-Provence for around 2 hours. A group of us opted for a sit-down dinner. I had shrimp and noodles since we were still close to the ocean, and I felt a need to get seafood. It was good. Stephanie also made a good rule that we only speak French the entire dinner. After we finished eating we “flâner-ed” a bit, and I ended up getting tiramisu gelato-so good! I didn’t end up getting home until 1:30 that night, so it was a long day.
I was kind of glad Vercors was cancelled so that I could sleep in Sunday. I had a very boring, homework-filled day.
This week has dragged by really slowly in terms of school. I’m ready to be done. I almost skipped today. I find that I’ve been getting really tired at around 930 at night—am I getting old?!? We started our second optional course though this week- Tourism and Business (the vocab class wasn’t offered…neither was translation….), so it’s been somewhat of a good change of pace.
Tomorrow I’m going to Lake Paladru after class, and Friday night I leave for Montelimar to watch Lance in the Tour de France!!!!
Things I miss about the US (besides the obvious friends, family, and boyfriend):
• Window screens
• Refrigerated milk in containers larger than a soda can
• Stores being open on Sunday
• Not everything being organic
• Meat that you can cut without cutting the plate first
• Pain that you can cut with a knife--- wowwww, pain means bread in French. I only caught this when reading it for the 3rd time
• Bathrooms that have both toilet and shower and sink in the same room. With more space than a closet
• Internet/tv
• Sunscreen not costing 25 dollars
• Things being open at lunch time
• Air conditioning. Or at least fans
• Not being begged for money every time I sit in a park
• Not everyone smokes
• More punctuality and organization

I’m not sure if I can think of much that the French do better:
• Fireworks
• Cheese
• Family dinner
• Working 35 hours a week for a higher minimum wage
• Taxes and tip already included in the price
• Gelato
• Not being fat
• Dressing somewhat nicer
• And of course, a rich history with amazing sights



That’s all for now, I hope everyone’s well!