Week Three

Friday: Sorry I never got around to posting about friday ON friday. Not a ton happened that day but a couple of interesting things: In class, the pace finally picked up as everyone took it to heart that we needed to be participating. And at the end of the day, Iñaki- the guy who made a scene in class- apologized to everyone for his behavior yesterday. He said it first in french and then in english and it seemed to be very genuine. And after, he went up to the teacher, shook her hand, and kissed her twice on the cheek. He tried to walk away but she pulled him into a hug- it was very sweet and made us all feel completely relaxed in the class again. So, hopefully there will be no more class drama; just good stories about my french slowly progressing. Actually, I did get a bit of a compliment from one of the advisors, Ryan (who is also my Business in the EU teacher): he wanted me to verify that I was in the right level of french classes because he thought I tested rather high for someone who hasn't taken any college-level french. :)
I must say that dinner was rather epic tonight. We started off with aperitifs in the living room by the fire place. There was that sweet spanish wine again but there was also a new addition: Lionel's homemade black current wine. It was delicious but comes out so sweet and thick (and very very light on the alcohol) that he added another red wine to it for drinking. With that we had some little snacks like tortilla chips and these tasty peanut-flavored puffs while we listened to piano music. Such a splendid way to start a great meal!

Dinner consisted of that most classic and most copied of french dishes: fondue. Yes, it was totally delicious and completely different from any fondue I've seen made in the States. There was this heating contraption that sat in the middle of the table; it had a hot plate on top and six round heating impressions underneath. On top, Christine set a casserole dish full of seasoned, boiled potatoes and underneath is where we fondue-eaters would slide our individual melting pans. Basically, you put a big slice of fresh fromage in your pan and then you set it in one of the heating indents. Then you just wait until your cheese is melted to whatever consistency makes your mouth water. After that, you eat the most delicious cheesy potatoes you could possibly imagine. I had two slices of deli meat with that (a salami and some sort of ham) but it was all for show.... I just wanted the cheese!

Our table: you can see the fondue stand in the middle, Guilhem being a ham, Christine scolding him, Lionel pouring my wine, and Emma and her boyfriend Guillaume 

The little pans filled with happy, melting cheese

My plate :)

Hate me. I would if I were you

Another lovely day in Pau. I'm so excited to go to Bordeaux tomorrow! We're starting off with a tour of a winery in Sauvignac where we'll also be treated to lunch, and then we have about four frees hours to check out Bordeaux. I'll have pics up asap!

As always, thank you so much for reading. I love and miss everyone!