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!
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.
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!
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!
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!
