This school year is unlike any other (besides for the obvious reason that I am in another country). At the beginning of a school year, I usually try to get back into the groove with balancing school work, sleep, free time, etc. In other words, pick up a routine. However, I have decided that that is too safe and easy this time. It would be too easy wake up, go to school, come home, go on a run, eat, do homework, then go to sleep and do it all over again. If I do that, these next 13 weeks are going to fly by in a blink of an eye with nothing to show for it (except good grades and good health of course).
I guess what I'm trying to say is that instead of thinking of how to get through the day or week, I should be thinking of ways I can make the most of the 24 hours in a day. As my favorite saying goes: "Wake up an hour earlier to get an hour more out of life" (I think I saw it on a coffee mug or something). What I really need to do is challenge myself to explore a little bit every day rather than come home right after class. There is so much to see in this city! Confession time: I have been here for 2.5 weeks and have yet to go to the Eiffel Tower. You can see my point.
I just got done having my bi-weekly dinner with my host family, and I can already tell my confidence has grown since my French classes have begun. I sometimes wish I was not doing a homestay program solely because it is a little uncomfortable at times, but I see now that it is a great way to test how much French you really know. I also get to have great experiences like watching the news with my host dad and having him explain the stories and his opinions to me. It's a pretty unique experience. Might have to make the 8:00 news the exception to the "no routine" rule. (PS. If you didn't know, the French really don't like their president. "We hate him almost as much as we hated Bush!" Classic.)
For those of you who do not know me at all and/or have never spent more than an hour with me, I am a notoriously picky eater. So, because I am in France, a country with some of the best food in the world, I decided it was my #1 goal to try a lot of new foods. I must say, I'm doing pretty well! I had my first grape the other night and I'm not exaggerating when I say I threw up a little bit in my mouth. But, I persevered, and had some again the next night. I am now proud to say I am able to eat grapes without any physical rejection from my body! The language barrier works to my advantage in this case because I am much less likely to tell my host mom the foods that I do not like. She asked me tonight if I liked fish, and it was pretty embarrassing to explain that I have never had it in my life. You would have thought I had three heads just by the way my Swedish host sister reacted. I blew her mind with one sentence; it was hilarious. PAS DE POISSON?!?! C'est impossible! My host brother's girlfriend is Spanish, so we decided we are going to have a multi-cultural dinner one night, and we are each going to make a dish from our respective countries. Any suggestions for the American dish are more than welcome! Oh, we also decided we are having escargot for dinner next Monday, so I'll let you know how that turns out. Wish me luck.
This past weekend I took my first side trip to Normandy! A girl in my program wanted to attend "the Olympics of the equestrian world" in Caen on Saturday, so a few of us decided to join her. Saturday was relatively uneventful for the rest of us, with the totally illogical bus system ruining any attempts we made at doing things around the town. Made me miss the Paris metro system. We decided to just kind of relax for the day. Our main goal for the trip was to take a tour of the D-Day beaches on Sunday. We didn't make any reservations for a tour, but the amazingly helpful lady at the World War II Memorial Museum helped us arrange a taxi to drive us around for 5 hours. It actually ended up being cheaper than a tour, and we could go at our own pace. I still can't believe how well it worked out for us!
It was an incredible day. To be perfectly honest, European History was the bane of my existence in high school, and now I wish I had a chance to retake the class. Isn't it a shame you learn about these events before you're actually mature/educated enough to care? Our taxi driver played informational podcasts about each location as we were en route, and it really helped jog my memory and understand the significance of each site. Actually being at the site of a major battle is spine-chilling. There are huge craters in the ground where bombs were dropped. It is one thing to see pictures and talk about battles in a class room, and it is a totally other thing to physically be on location. It was, in a word, captivating. And the fact that I have gotten the rare opportunity to visit such an immensely historical site makes me more thankful than ever I am able to take these trips. Thank you (again) Mom and Dad!
As expected, the most emotional part of the day was the visit to the American cemetery. There are 9,387 American soldiers buried in this cemetery. I don't know if I am just a visual learner, but seeing 9,387 white crosses/Stars of David in a row really helped me understand the bravery and valor of our troops. I don't think I grasped the concept of risking your life to save your country/ other countries until now. Admirable is an understatement.
Bisous!
Claire