Week 7

Patience, almost to Italy!

Wednesday: Thankfully I can report that today was a normal day. I woke up, had breakfast, got to see Guilhem before he went off on a big bird-watching adventure in the mountains (he's already on his 2 WEEK vacation), and Lionel took me to class. We had a nice class today and my teacher asked me again if I had changed my inscription to the B1 instead of the A2. :)
I had lunch with Roshanna and Erin (a ham and cheese baguette) and then we went to the second half of our class with our other teacher, Isabelle. To kick off the class, she went around the room doing an oral test. I feel like I did okay; at least, I did well enough that I left class in a really good mood. After class, I went upstairs to Cécile's office to practice English with Lucille and Emile. They were already on vacation too so they got to spend part of the day in their mom's office; something they were really excited about because it has a white board. At least we were able to use the space to our advantage- they brought a board game that we were able to sprawl across the desk, and Lucille took the liberty of drawing pictures and writing out sentences in English on the white board. Emile mostly just scribbled. Hey, whatever keeps them entertained for the hour and 15 minutes that I have them is fine by me. Afterwards, I headed to Chantalle's room in the dorms to meet up with most of our group to book hostels in Italy. We got a lot done- actually we had every night except for the last two booked within an hour! I took the bus home after this and had a little time to blog before dinner. While I was blogging, Lionel installed the family's brand new flat-screen TV, and it was huge. Christine chuckled at it after it was put up because it was balanced on a table that was an 1/8th the size of it. She said something like, "I think the size is a little huge, don't you?" And Guilhem replied back, "I think it's the perfect size for me." Spoken like a true teenager. While Lionel was installing the TV, I gave Guilhem permission to go through my iTunes and put any music he found interesting on his USB. A very simple interaction but this one made me grin from ear to ear. Guilhem was so excited that I had things like Enya, the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks, the Phantom of the Opera, etc. It made me so happy to share with him. :)
Dinner tonight started with a zucchini, garlic, and cream soup. After that we shared a light dinner of salad, slices of ham, tiny pickles, stuffed grape leaves, and piccalilli sauce. For dessert: a vanilla ice cream bar wrapped in chocolate. :)

Thursday: I woke myself up 20 minutes early today in the hopes that I would be able to finish my shipping paperwork after hanging my laundry. I was wrong. I was able to get all of my laundry hung but after eating breakfast and getting ready and whatnot, there just wasn't the time for my family's package. I was hoping to have the dang thing in the mail two days ago but I guess it will have to happen tomorrow. The same routine followed: Lionel took me to school, we had a pretty normal class, I ate lunch with Rosie, Erin, and a guy from our class named Steve, we finished our classes and then I went back to Cécile's office for our french lesson. We did a lot of talking and going over worksheets from my class, and actually ended up spending an extra half hour chatting (she thinks she owes me an hour for the day I was sick). Eventually, though, I had to cut her off because I was still determined to figure out the paperwork for my package and I needed to do more laundry/preparations for Italy. After all, I was leaving the next day!
Once at the house I got right to my blog, trying desperately to get the thing caught up before my trip. You, of course, know how this ends.... as I'm writing to you about a day that happened two weeks ago. haha For dinner we had the rest of the yummy zucchini soup and then enjoyed a really incredible crab tarte. Picture a soft, warm, flaky, eggy quiche with lots of herbs and Gruyère cheese inside and then throw in a little shredded crab... OMG! I didn't know that I liked crab so much before I ate this. With this we had an apple and endive salad and topped the evening off with very dense brownies made by our wonderful chef Guilhem. We each were given two but Christine "saved" her second one for breakfast the next day. Personally, I think she threw it away. They were filled with pan-melted dark chocolate and you could crunch little sugar granules every other bite. In a way, they were divine. Also in a way, they were so made by a thirteen-year old. No offense Sabrina. ;)
After this, I showered early, did my homework, and got the rest of my laundry in the washer. I was feeling really good about how the evening was going and was thinking there was no way I wouldn't get my box handled tomorrow when things took an interesting turn.... I was in my room upstairs (with the door closed, mind you) when I heard a scream/yell, rustling, and a dining chair being shaken back and forth across the floor downstairs. Guilhem was obviously throwing a fit but it quickly escalated into something I hadn't yet experienced from him- a real fight with Christine. I could hear Lionel using his man-of-the-house-voice to get Guilhem to calm down but he just wouldn't. He was yelling so loud about something that he could have been shouting right in my ear. As it always happens, this argument or fight eventually turned to Christine; and let me tell you, the two of them went at it like dogs. Christine raises her voice with Guilhem when he truly crosses lines or boundaries with her, but she NEVER uses the same yelling tone as him... until tonight. I cannot possibly tell you what they were saying but they were nearly shaking the walls with their shouting. Guilhem was screaming at her like she had just killed his best friend, told him it was fair, and then ordered him to go to his room without supper. And Christine was close behind him all the way up the stairs dishing it right back. They eventually ended up in his room just down the hall from me, and the volume of the yelling at that point actually made me a little nervous (another first here). Guilhem screamed at her to the point that I thought I heard him crying at one point, and Christine wouldn't budge from her position for anything. Things eventually calmed down just enough that I thought it was safe to exist and I crept quietly downstairs. When I got there, Lionel was sitting serene-faced at the dining table doing something on the computer. I'm sure he could tell by my expression that I was a little put-off by what just happened because he began to explain: "Nous avons eu un grand catastrophe dans la maison. Guilhem est presque mort. Christine lui a dit qu'il n'a pu pas avoir son DS." Translation: "We have a had a great catastrophe in the house. Guilhem is nearly dead. Christine told him that he could not have his Nintendo DS."   -_-

Week 7

I know what you really want to hear about is Italy but I must stay true to my blog format and comment on each and every day! Here's what you missed in the week leading up to my big trip~

Monday: Slept in a little bit today, then woke up and had my breakfast. I got myself ready and then Lionel and Guilhem got home for lunch. Today we had a really really incredible dish that I thought I was going to hate: tuna-fish loaf! It sounds gross, I know, but it truly was a savory, moist, fluffy pillow of mouth-watering goodness. The loaf came out looking rather pink and was dotted all the way through with different herbs and very small veggies. Lionel was able to cut it into slices but they fell apart when he tried to pick them up to serve. On top was a creamy cloud of whipped eggs, cream and fish juice. There was sauce on the side of natural yogurt, tomatoes, and some herbs. With this divine dish we had soft, steamed potatoes and zucchini, courtesy of Guilhem. We finished our heavenly meal with cheese and bread, fruit, and the usual coffee and chocolates. I was in a little bit of a dream-state after all of this but was able to focus just enough to read through my Business in the EU notes before our first exam. I then took the bus to school, picked up money from the first of six people who owed me for our plane tickets to and from Italy, took my test, picked up some more money from another person, and then walked to the post office to buy a packing box. I've been contemplating how best (and how cheapest) to send my mom and sister their birthday presents. Plus, I've had a growing pile of souvenirs for my family for about a week now. I decided to go with the large international box and thank goodness I did- it only barely shut, and that was after I removed all of the packing materials and plastic wrap!
I took the bus home next and set about to relaxing until dinner. By the way, I did okay on the test; I got a B. Now that I know how his tests work, I think I'll do better on the next one.
I was able to talk with my family a little bit before dinner tonight and then I started packing up my box. I was in the process of being completely frustrated with the shipping forms when Christine called me down for dinner. I guess the box will have to wait until I am peacefully in a food-coma.

Packin' it up!

For dinner, we started off by not having soup- a first! Tonight Christine served us cold, marinated Piquillo peppers topped with a little feta cheese. They were just like the peppers I had in Spain. Basically, they were delicious! We then had another endive salad and the ever-amazing bacon, egg, and Gruyère cheese tarte. Bread and natural yogurt/raspberry preserves followed. If this wasn't enough happiness, I got onto Skype shortly after that and was promptly read the Valentine's cards from my mom and sister. The rest of the evening went like this: Guilhem and I had a lively conversation about Harry Potter that was sparked by him wanting to watch the first movie (his favorite, because it gives the most detailed insight into Harry's world- something I must agree with), I took a shower and then I went to bed a little bit early. Isn't life swell?

Tuesday: Unfortunately today didn't start off great, and it wasn't because Tuesdays are my early days (8a), nor was it because I had just recovered from being really sick: I set my alarm an hour late. :( I got up with plenty of time to make it to class at 9a.... if only class actually started at 9a on Tuesdays. I knew it was completely impossible for me to make it to class on time so I played out the morning like normal and decided to show up to class an hour late. Please know, I am taking my classes very seriously and am not slaking off one bit. The only reason I felt it was okay to do this today is because it has happened before with multiple other students and my teacher has been very understanding about these things; well, if it's the first time. Since this was my first time showing up very late to class, it was a truly honest mistake, and because I know that I have made a very good impression on my teacher, I decided that I could be late this one time. Of course when I got there, I apologized and she told me that it wasn't a big deal. I felt so proud of myself for dealing with this problem with as much maturity as I could muster, and I had a double-shot of reassurance when I out-shined the rest of the class in our usual hour-long phonetics session this afternoon. :)
Towards the end of class, I knew my day was going to fully recover. But at lunch, I realized it was going to be amazing. I'm sure you've already guessed the reason why- duh! Food!! :) I had a totally fantastic Greek salad sandwich today, with strawberry yogurt, and a muffin that looked and tasted like a chocolate chip cookie. I could go on but we'll just call it a delicious lunch. :)

We headed off to the afternoon session of classes after this. So you know, there's an exam in mid-March here that all USAC students have to take called the DELF/DALF. Basically, you take a certain level of this test and if you pass, you get a diploma saying you are fluent at that specific level of french. It's a national diploma and it's good for life; you know what that means- everyone here is freaking out over what level to take! Well, everyone except me because I seem to be the only one here who does not have a French major OR minor. I went into the USAC office today to see what level my professors have recommended me for and to sign up for it. The levels start at A1 and then continue to A2, B1, B2, C1, etc. Ryan, one of our advisors, recommended that I take the A2. He said that I've been doing well in my classes but he worries about me taking a higher level because I have some of the least french experience under my belt of anyone in my classes. He had told me towards the beginning of the program that I tested into a surprisingly high level of French, given that I've had a three year hiatus from the language. Who am I to argue with him? And honestly, what does it matter to me if I take the A2? So I signed up! 

In class, Vuokko, one of my two professors, went around the room asking us which levels we had signed up for. She seemed surprised when I said the A2 and now I know why- she came up to me after class just to tell me that she thought I needed to take the B1. Her point was basically this: '1) you might not do fantastically well during the B1 but there's no way you'll totally bomb it, 2) you will probably do better on the test than the others who are taking it too, 3) what do you have to lose?' Well who was I to argue with her? The next day I went in and asked Ryan to change my inscription, so I'll be taking the B1 on March 14th, 15th, and 16th... bonne chance à moi!

To make this day even better, Roshanna invited me to go downtown with her to hang out and have dinner. I called Christine to let her know I wouldn't be home until late, and then we went off to enjoy the evening! It was a stunning day in Pau today so I got some great pictures of the Pyrenees. The two of us together also accomplished a few things downtown: we bought our train tickets for the coming friday from Pau to Nice and we walked along the Boulevard de Pyrenees (which just never gets old) to find a touristy shop where I could buy shirts for my dad and brother. We found a Renaissance/Medieval/Lord of the Rings themed shop with a slightly creepy, awkward man running the store. We talked with him for a little while and I mostly came to the conclusion that he was just a lonely guy. He still creeped me out a little but he was very nice; he gave me a two euro discount just because.

Afterwards, the two of us met up with our friend Joe who would also be going on our Italy adventure. The three of us enjoyed the view of the sun on the mountains for a little while and then we walked around to find a great place to eat. We were a little early for dinner in the downtown area so we ended up sitting at a Russian café (cleverly named "Café Russe"= Russian café) to have some coffee. I got a fancy cappuccino and happily sucked the thing dry.  

Ahhhhhhhhhhh

Enjoying the view; and the château!

My cappucino

When it was finally time for dinner Joe offered to take us to a pizza place he found with his buddies on his first night in Pau. The menu was amazing and it was also complete torture to have to choose just one; but I eventually settled on a blissfully creamy, cheesy pizza-pocket that was filled with onions, tomatoes, crème fraîche, cheese, ham, and chorizo. *slobber slobber slobber* We also decided at this dinner to keep Joe around because not only did he bring us to this treasure-trove of a pizza place, he bought us a bottle of wine to share. :)

You know I ate the whole thing!

Happy me :)

At the end of this glorious day, we had to face a little rain but I had my umbrella and made it to my bus stop in no time. Once at home, I was re-frustrated by my shipping papers and eventually gave up and went to bed. All in all, though, a beautiful day!