Castles, Caves, and Cointreau

After six weeks, there are things that I’ve begun to get accustomed to, like the 15 minute coffee break in between two hour classes, or 8:00 dinners; things I’ve begun to figure out, like which bakery has the best bread; yet there are still things I’m working on, like figuring out which day and time is best to do laundry.  About every two weeks I shove my dirty clothes into my suitcase, hop on a bus, and travel 25 minutes into town to the Laundromat.  Boy, was I lucky last year to only have to walk down the hall to wash my clothes.   The first time I went to the store to buy laundry soap, I stared at the rack for a good 15 minutes trying to figure out which was detergent, which was softener, and what box contained dryer sheets. The box of “2 en 1” was a safe bet.  Soap and softener in one, right?  At least, that’s what I was hoping it meant when I bought it.  The next challenge was figuring out how much soap to put in the machine, considering the box didn’t come with a measuring cup, nor did I have one handy in my purse.  Though all it took was staring at the detergent box, then at the soap compartments on the machine, then back at the box enough times, until I apparently looked confused enough for a stranger to feel the need to help me. He spoke very quickly in French, but I was able to understand that I just needed to put a bit of soap in the first compartment, then the rest of the soap in the second one.  Yet I still didn’t have a measuring cup, so I just eyeballed it.   After an hour and a half, I’m 12 euros poorer, but at least I have clean clothes!

 

Laundry days aren’t my only adventures.  Saturdays I go on excursions with the AHA group and other international students.   Our first excursion was to three different châteaux in the Loire Valley (the region where I’m living).  We visited the château Azay-le-Rideau, château Chenonceau, and château Chambord.  Each was different; all were beautiful. 

                                                           Château Chenonceau

 

The next weekend we went to Normandy (Northern France) to visit Mont-Saint-Michel.  Ever since High School when I learned about this place, I have been wanting go there so badly. A few years later, and I finally got the chance; I was so thrilled. Before Mont-Saint-Michel, we stopped at Saint-Malo.  The oldest part of the town was surrounded by a castle wall.  We could walk around the town on this wall, which looked out over the water.  Since this region is known for having delicious crêpes, we of course couldn’t leave without being sure this was a true fact. We decided to take shelter from the strong winds and warm up in a small café with a hot chocolate and a dessert crêpe.  We can now justify why this region is known for their crêpes!

                                                            Mont-Saint-Michel

 

Two weekends later, we went to the D-Day beaches in Normandy, starting the day by going to the Memorial Museum in Caen.  We then stepped onto United States territory for an hour as we visited the American Cemetery in Normandy (a cemetery for the Americans who died in World War II).  Even though I had been there before, it was still amazing and heartrending to see over 9,000 white crosses.  Next stop was Omaha beach – one of the landing beaches of the Normandy invasion. Then we went to Pointe du Hoc, which is a cliff top on the coast that was attacked during World War II.  Everything at this site remains as it was since 1944 – the bunkers and bomb craters are still present.

                                                          American Cemetery

The next Friday, we got a tour of the only place in the world where they make Cointreau. At the end we got the chance to taste pure Cointreau, Cointreau with ice, and Cointreaufizz (which is their new drink).   Not my favorite drink in the world, but it was interesting to try.  When we got back into town, a group of six of us went out to dinner and ordered five pizzas.  It was so delicious and everyone was hungry, so no pizza was leftover.  Leaving full and content, we walked to the other side of the river to go to the fair. It was fun going at night when all the rides were lit up.  Afterwards we went to a bar to warm up.  It wasn’t too crowded, so we could easily hear each other. The lounge area we sat in was nice and I was able to watch the soccer game while enjoying my limonade. =) 
          Then on Saturday we visited the Troglodytes in Angers, which were last lived in during the 30’s.  They are man-built caves, so the entire farm and all the houses were built underground.  Afterwards, we got a tour of the Langlois Chateau winery and got too see how all the wine was kept in the caves underground.  We finished the tour with a wine tasting of three different wines.   For dinner we went to a restaurant in a cave, and I at the largest dinner of my life.  It lasted 3.5 hours, starting with a course of a small pizza bread, mushrooms, and salad. Next came the most delicious bread in the world (that we could watch them cook in the fire place), more mushrooms, and beans. The bread was hollow, so you could stuff it with the beans or mushrooms.  I know that doesn’t sound like much of a main course, but when they keep coming up to you with the basket of delicious bread, it’s impossible to resist taking more. Next they brought us a slice of bread with melted Brie on it. Dessert was some version of an apple tart, followed by a course of coffee.  Thanks to all the bread I ate, I had never felt so full in my life; but it was worth it. Overall, a fun-filled weekend!

                                                  One of the homes at the Troglodyte farm

                                                                     Cave Restaurant

For Thanksgiving, all the students and their host families gathered for a big dinner, consisting of pumpkin soup, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, bread, vegetables, red wine, champagne, pumpkin pie, and coffee.  A slide show of pictures of us was presented, and some students sang and performed dances.  I missed being home with family and eating our traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but it was a great experience nonetheless!

Group excursions are over, but there are still more adventures to come!

 

"...I don't know, but we'll find out."

             It has been over 4 weeks now that I have been in France.  As I have figured out, there are many challenges that come with living in a different country; most of which involve adapting to their culture, daily routines, and way of life.  Having said that, you can imagine that the first couple weeks here were full of learning experiences.  But trust me, they are not about to end.

            Being in a foreign country, making mistakes is the easiest/most common way to learn. Well, for me at least.  Observing the locals also works well.  Since I’ve been here, my housemate and I have found ourselves constantly responding to each other’s questions with, “I don’t know, but we’ll find out!”  This has appeared so frequently in our daily dialogue that it is now basically our motto.

            “Does this bus go by our stop?”

            “I don’t know, but we’ll find out!”

            “What’s in your sandwich?”

            “I don’t know, but I’m about to find out.”

            “Do we bag the fruit ourselves in this store?”

            “I don’t know, but we’ll find out.”

            *Puts fruit in bag*

            “Where is our host mom taking us?”

            “I don’t know, but I guess we’ll find out.”

            I’m happy to say that the French people have been very nice with helping “lost” Americans.  The following is a list of things I have learned or observed so far while in France:

(If you sense there are stories behind some of them, you would be correct).

1)      French write on graph paper.  Normal lined paper doesn’t exist in schools.

2)      French women ride bikes while wearing skirts and high heels. I know, right?  I didn’t think it was possible either.

3)      Shopping baskets at the grocery store can be carried…or wheeled.  

4)      Many people wear apparel with the American flag on it. Shirts, jackets, pants, shoes, scarves, helmets - you name it. (If anyone needs a cute Fourth of July outfit, let me know.)

5)      It’s a bit difficult showering in a tub with no shower curtain to keep the water in.

6)      If needing to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, don’t try to be polite by quietly sneaking down the squeaky wooden stairs without turning on the light. Madame will wake up and yell to turn on the light so as not to fall.

7)      I don’t like squash soup.  Not the first time or the eighth time.

8)      Not all the number 12 buses go by my stop – including the last one at 8:11pm that turns around half-way and goes back into town.

9)      At some markets you weigh the fruit yourself; at others, the vendor puts the fruit in the bag and weighs it for you.

10)  It’s apparently unusual to not drink coffee or tea every morning.

11)  I can be mistaken for being German.

12)  No one says thank you when getting off the bus, nor do they wave at cars that let them cross the street.

13)  Don’t smile at strangers you pass. They’ll be confused and think they know you.

14)  Most places are closed on Sunday, so lunch for that day should be bought the day before.

15)  Dinner usually begins at 8pm, which is also when the news starts. Channel 1 news is a must-see every night.

16)  We go through five plates each for every dinner at home. In other words, 5 courses.

17)  What sounds like a fire alarm is actually just the doorbell.

18)  At school, the unlabeled yellow door is the women’s bathroom and the unlabeled green door is the men’s bathroom.  I guess pink and blue just didn’t suffice.  A lot of bathrooms are also unisex.  

            It’ll take a while to adapt and completely fit in (especially when a shop worker yells “Goodbye American women!” as you're leaving the store), but eventually it will happen. Part of the experience is learning the culture while being immersed in it.  That’s the fun part.  Every day is a new adventure.