Paris! And the following week...

    Friday was a day to sleep in, clean, do laundry, and pack for Paris! I had an extremely good time eating dinner with a few other students here, and the conversation lasted well into the night. It was actually kind of funny, because as soon as dinner was finished, the girls started to clean and talk about music and share pictures, while the three of us guys started talking politics, culture, and economics...

    Saturday morning we boarded the bus to escape to Paris at 8am.  I packed light (which was difficult for me of course), ate some strawberry apple sauce, and talked about authentic Mexican food (which we are ALL craving, it's serious) and culture for a good portion of the bus ride. Three hours of driving through flat countryside that kind of resembled Texas & Oklahoma (with much prettier trees, of course), and then we were greeted by La Défense. It was a very beautiful and welcoming site, entering the city limits to the sight of the taller buildings. However exciting it was to see La Défense, it certainly couldn't compare to seeing La Tour Eiffel. I think it must have been comical to our program director Benoit to listen to us 'Ooh!' and 'Aah!' at every tourist attraction, and I know that the French students were laughing at us. But on your first visit to Paris, 'the city of light,' and the most romantic city in the world, I think it's okay to enjoy being a tourist (at least the first time). =]

    The bus dropped us off at Place de la Concorde (where the guillotine was located during the revolution, and also where the Obélisque de Louxor stands), and from there, we walked through the Jardin des Tuileries (and all of its peddlers trying to pawn off mini Eiffel Tower keychains and random fedora hats) to our meeting place at the Musée du Louvre (with its cool looking glass pyramids). From there, we were given a two hour break to grab a bite to eat and see some sights. My group walked up Avenue de l'Opéra and sat down to eat at a small Parisian chain café called Brioche Derée. The mixed fruit tart that I had as my dessert tasted like the most amazing Starburst flavor you can imagine, but then again, maybe it was just the fact that I was on cloud nine from eating at a café in Paris...

    After everyone finished their food and coffee, we quite literally across the street to the Opera House (L'Opéra Garnier or Opéra national de Paris). Words can't describe the beauty of the place. I had never seen such an ornate building in all my life (until the Louvre, that is.. but I'll get there). One of my professors had said that only in Paris could there be so much gold and it not look completely gaudy... She was definitely right. The building was covered in the most meticulous decoration. This, again, is another situation in which I just have to let the pictures speak for themselves. Anyway, walking inside the building and finding ourselves at the base of the lobby was spectacular. I couldn't believe the amount of marble in the place. I kid you not when I say that modernity hasn't tampered with the building as a whole, walking through the corridors you could imagine it just as it would have been when it was completed in the late 19th century. There were high, painted ceilings, elaborate tile mosaics, hard wood floors, gold detailing all along the walls, and mirrors every third wall or so to make the place look even larger than it was. 

    I think by the time I left L'Opéra it finally started to sink in that I was in Paris. Walking back to the Louvre, I stopped into a small candy store and it was fantastic! There were free samples of chocolate or strawberry filled cookies, chocolate or caramel bricks, etc. etc. etc. At that point though, I was only in the mood for free samples (I was still very full from lunch). 

   Back at the Louvre, the group had to go through a minor metal detector checkpoint, and then we took the escalator down to the underground lobby beneath the glass pyramids of the plaza. The underground lobby was huge, and it was connected to the three main galleries: Richelieu, Sully, and Denon. I knew that I had to see The Mona Lisa, The Winged Victory, the crowning of Napoleon's wife and other works by Jacques-Luis David, Napoleon III apartments, Venus de Milo or Aphrodite, as well as the medieval mote that once supported a castle where the Louvre stands. I paired off with Ashton, a girl in my program, and we raced through the museum to find all of the important pieces, stopping frequently to take in the ornate ceilings (which are masterpieces in themselves). Seriously, throughout much of the museum I found myself looking up as much as I was looking at the artwork. The massive building its self is a work of art. We also had fun making our own commentary about the works...

    "Oh this is just the world's largest tea kettle.. um, well, my grandmother actually donated this from her collection a few years ago, so... that's what that is..."

    Immediately after this picture was taken, a security guard appeared out of nowhere... "MADAME!!!!!!!!!!!!" and then us: "Oh, uh oops.. uh sorry, desolée!" and then we ran away. Well we didn't quite run, because that wasn't allowed either.

   Shortly after, as I was walking and talking about how badly I was craving a frito-pie, I missed the first step in a long stairwell that led to the basement and nearly died.

    "So these are just waxed figures of Beyoncé's Dreamgirls... They're actually on loan right now from Madame Tussauds... Actually, the one of the left is Beyoncé herself..."

    "And these are just some tapestries that I made one day when I was bored after a trip to Hobby Lobby... No big deal."


    In all seriousness though, the coolest thing that I saw in the museum was Marie Antoinette's last letter to her sister before her death (when she and her husband Louis XVI were beheaded in the revolution). It was an amazing thing to read, we had to translate it from it's original French. Wow. On the contrary, I thought that the Mona Lisa was very over-rated. Honestly, you get a better view of it in pictures on the internet. I would like to say that at both the Opera House and the Louvre, it was very tempting to jump certain velvet ropes and see restricted areas! I didn't, because I didn't feel like being removed from the Louvre... but it there were many places where it would have been really cool, Napoleon III's apartments, for example.

    Later in the afternoon, we exited the Louvre through the large glass pyramid in the plaza and walked back through the Jardin des Tuileries to Place de la Concorde. There I bought my first French crêpe! Jambon et Fromage. It was delicious! I love crêpes! When the bus arrived, we got on and rode to our hotel a few blocks north of the opera house across the street from Gare Saint-Lazare. I had just enough time to dump by bag in my room and change into a dress shirt before I had to get back on the bus to go to dinner.

    The plan for dinner had been to eat at a nice restaurant called Monte Carlo... I guess our reservation fell through or something, because we ended up at the French equivalent of Golden Corral... Only at Golden Corral, you get to pick what you eat, and at this buffet, we were served in courses. It was kind of funny to see all of us dressed up for a traditional French meal, and then sitting in a buffet eating roast beef... The service was terrible, and since it was pre-paid, if we wanted soda we had to pay out of pocket. It was all okay though, because we had amazing fresh fruit tarts for dessert, and also we were a block away from L'Arc de Triomphe, and we got to see the Champs-Elysées.

   After dinner, we all rode the Metro back to our hotel (for free because the swipe machine was broken and stuck open). Now, people say all sorts of things about the Parisian Metro system, but from my experience, it was much easier and less crowded than the New York City system. I mean, they both smell like human excrement, they both have rats, they both can get sketchy at night, they are both cesspools for germs and homeless folk, but the Metro is just more conveniently placed and less crowded. It made navigating the city much faster and it was so much cheaper than taking a cab (I'll elaborate on the cab situation later). Anyway, we got back to the hotel and the girls changed out of their heels. We all  then bought bottles of champagne, beer, Desperado, etc. and headed out to the Eiffel Tower to hang out at the park underneath.

    Walking up on the tower was just plain overwhelming. It seems so much taller in person, and it was so bright all lit up! We found a spot in the grass beside the tower and started drinking, talking, dancing to music, and taking pictures. The tower did several beautiful light shows while we were there. It was a little sketchy to be drinking out in the park with peddlers all around offering us cigarettes, snacks, and bottles of everything for a cheap price, and from different areas of the park wafted the smell of marijuana.

    Really, the whole time I kept asking myself it it was actually happening. I mean, most of this trip has just seemed like a dream anyway, and having a kick-back in front of the Eiffel Tower like it was no big deal wasn't really something I ever thought I would do at twenty one. Anyway, needless to say it was pretty epoch, and definitely one of those moments that made me feel "infinite," like in my favorite book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

 








  
     The Metro apparently closes down at random times, we heard that it closed at 1am, so a few of us left the Eiffel Tower at around 12:30. When we reached the station it was already closed, so we decided to walk until we could hail a cab. The funny thing about Paris, is that apparently, you are not supposed to hail cabs on the street. You can try, and you might find one that will take you, but in general you are supposed to call them or go to a cab stand. So we ended up walking an hour and a half back to the hotel. I didn't mind the long walk, in fact, I actually kind of enjoyed it! I got an amazing picture of the Eiffel Tower all dark and the moon shining brightly beside it.

   The next morning, our group had a boat tour to go to at around 10am. It was fantastic. Apparently, one of the best ways to see Paris is by boat on the river Seine. We boarded, and listened through the ear piece in English to the narrated tour of what exactly we were seeing. Thankfully, the majority of the major historical landmarks can be seen from the river, and I'll never forget the amazing sights that I saw one after another out the side of the boat. We passed the Eiffel Tower of course, the pedestrian bridge that can be seen in the new movie Inception, numerous historical bridges (one even made with stones from the Bastille), Place de la Concorde, the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsey (where all of the impressionist art is), Invalides (where Napoleon is buried), two pedestrian bridges (where couples buy pad-locks and etch their names into them and lock them onto the bridge forever. very romantic), Notre-Dame de Paris, etc.

   After the river tour of Paris, I took the Metro to the Latin Quarter and at on Rue de la Huchette. There were many Greek restaurants (with excellent looking seafood shown in the windows), but we chose to eat at a restaurant that served French cuisine. It turned out to be such a good idea! Here, you order from either the menu or the carte. I prefer to order from the menu, because it seems like a much better deal. For example: a guy in our group got only spaghetti for 12euro, but I got a three course meal for 13euro, which included many options for the three courses. I chose onion soup, poulet champinons (chicken with mushrooms), and a delicious fruit tart. As savory as the onion soup was, one of my friends had the mussels and I was VERY jealous. I tried them, and the seafood here is on another level!

    An hour and a half later, we walked just a block across the bridge to the Ile de la Cité, to Notre Dame. I had a brief conversation with a chinese tourist after he and his wife took a photo next to me about his experience with American business. He knew of San Antonio, and his English was much, much better than his French (because at first, I spoke French to him). There were a lot of French scouts outside of the cathedral and they all welcomed each and every tourist passing through.

    Once inside, it was really a hallowed place. The ceilings were unbelievably tall and the stained glass windows were immense and gorgeous. I ended up in the prayer area towards the front of the building and donated the two euros for a candle. I'm not exactly religious, but who would pass up the opportunity to light a prayer candle in Notre Dame de Paris? I'll send that message out into the cosmic void with warm thoughts and admiration for the effort that it took to construct the building over two centuries. It was quite interesting to tour the cathedral while taking a class of the "history and evolution of global processes," which is mainly a world history class with an emphasis on European history, particularly France.

    Regretfully, we didn't have time to climb to the top of the cathedral, so we ran back to the RER (a subway train line), and raced to Invalides. We were on a serious time crunch and had only 40 minutes to make it to the museum and back to Place de la Concorde to make our bus back to Angers. We ran to the museum, saw Napoleon's tomb, ran back to the train station, and rode back to Place de la Concorde. We made it just in time (thanks to our literally running through Invalides).

    The drive out of Paris is a vulgar bitch. I'm just saying. We were stopped for probably an hour and a half in traffic, and what was a three hour drive into Paris turned into a five hour drive back.

    Monday, I went through the routine of business class (after waking up late because my alarm didn't go off). Then in French, I hadn't finished my homework and had a very hard time with the day's lesson. But all was made right again when later that evening I cooked the Tex-Mex that I had been craving for so long! Guacamole, burritos, and chips and salsa!! YUM! It was the perfect meal to take my mind off of the long day! It did make me a bit homesick though.

    Tuesday, I sat through my European history classes in the morning, and then had a cheese tasting in my culture class. It was everything you would expect a classy French cheese tasting to be. We tasted the cheese from the fromagerie from the weakest to the strongest (the weakest being mimolette, the French equivalent of cheddar, and the strongest being moldy blue cheese). From there, with a full stomach, I went to the English language library to volunteer at a game night. It was okay. I actually thought my table was pretty boring because the native English speakers (one Britt and two from Indiana) dominated the entire game. But there was pizza and coca (Coca-Cola), and everything was just fine.

    Today, I woke early to go out to the market for the first time. I walked across town past the gare (train station), to Rue de Lafayette where the market was. I bought a kilo of green beans, a melon, bananas, a crêpe, and a pastry for under ten euros (remarkable), and then headed to school for yet another French class. This time I was prepared though!

    Afterwords, I had my first McDonald's experience in France. Of all the places in this damned country that I would expect some good old American air conditioning, McDonald's didn't have it!?!?! I ordered the Big Mac (on white, because here you can choose between white or wheat), and I ordered the regular frites (fries), instead of the special fries which were potato wedges, really. It tasted just like home. MMMM. I'm still enjoying it even now, hours later. They only give like two ketchup packets and one packet that says it's a dipping sauce for the fries, but it tasted more like tarter sauce to me. On the whole it was a great day to eat some good old fashioned American McDonalds. Even though there were some small cultural differences (like the names of the food, the different foods offered like the I Love New York Crisper, and the fact that they serve beer at McD's here), it was still a touch of home. MMM.

    Tonight, I once again volunteered. We have a program called Jam Club, which is actually at a lounge called the Jam Club. It is an English speaking social club for the French to practice their English with students. It was okay, I had a beer and we played Taboo and Charades. Nothing to special, and only a few French people actually showed up. Later though, back at our residence we had yet another Wine Wednesday, which was yet again, a smashing success. People from the CDEF Notre Dame (the American University) program showed up this time to socialize with us. It was very fun, and as I type this, I still have a small buzz. Now I'm in bed for the night, snacking on chips and salsa, and also some crème caramel... I'm still loving France, and even though at times I do miss my own culture (and 24 hour fast food), I am so thankful that I'm experiencing France. I will truly miss it when I'm back home.

    I will be wine tasting tomorrow, and then going out to my first boîte de nuit (night club). Then Saturday I'll be in Versailles visiting the palace of Louis XIV!! More to come later!
  
Loving France,
Kev

PS: I think this whole public urination thing is starting to rub off on the other boys, as several of them peed off of the balcony tonight at Wine Wednesday. Also, the French are very shy and conservative when it comes to talking about gossip or sex. Shopping at a French market is very inexpensive and exhilirating. And I am enjoying this new found taste for French wine and fashion. And SO many people stink of BO on the street, definitely a reinforced stereotype.

Jours 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14...

Ok, wow. All of the days are beginning to run together here in Angers.

    I guess I left off after the festival on Saturday night, so Sunday is where I should begin...

    After going out with everyone Saturday night, Sunday was a very mellow day in comparison. I set out on my own in the afternoon to get a glimpse at the festival in daylight, and it was such a good idea! I didn't think any more people could have fit into those crowded streets, but I was very wrong.

      First of all just let me say that no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to wrap my mind around how much shit is actually in these streets. When I say shit, I mean actual feces (mostly from les chiens). I'm serious. People just let their dogs squat right on the sidewalk and no one picks it up. Every day you have to watch where you step, and usually there are foot prints through and around the merde. I literally walked past a dog pooping on the sidewalk today. ?? Anyway, I had dodged several land mines that morning.

   Back to the story (sorry). The first show that I walked into was that of the same acrobat that I had seen two nights prior. This time however I watched him scale the entire cathedral and then tight rope walk across the plaza. It really was a sight to see, especially because all of his moves were choreographed beautifully to this ominous sounding music. Once the show ended, I walked down the long steps in front of the cathedral to the plaza below. There I found an area of small street vendors. Crêpes, wine, etc. There was also a small museum set up at the base of the hill. It was called, "The Museum of Daily Life," and it was very interesting! There were small interactive booths for people to create their own photographs. I don't exactly know how to describe them best. One had bed sheets stretched across at different levels, one had clothes pins hanging in it, etc. All around the place there were pieces of artwork involving everyday people and ideas. I just have to post pictures, because this description pales in comparison. 

  As I walked around the city, I saw a Spanish dance performance, a French musical, some more dancers, some kind of homeless street prophet, a comedian, and a whole lot of dog/horse poo. 

    Monday was a very average day, nothing out of the ordinary. I caught up on the current season of Weeds and watched a bit of Modern Family in between my classes.

    Tuesday was a day to remember! Classes were typical, but that night I went to my first French soirée at a townhouse close to my residence. One minute I was drinking Crémant de la Loire (it was champagne, however, only wine from the region of Champagne has the legal right to be called champagne, so I guess technically this was a 'sparkling wine'), and a bottle of wine, and the next minute I was sitting in a rooftop courtyard drinking a Desperado. Desperado is the equivalent of a Four Loco in Austin... It is beer mixed with tequila and a flavored energy drink. Cheap. Effective. Not nearly as disgusting as Four Loco. 

  

   Politics definitely came up at this party, and of course I was eager to hear what the French had to say. There was also the inevitable back and forth swapping of cultural stereotypes and societal norms. I even had the chance to talk to a Chinese ex-patriot about Tiananmen Square, Taiwan, Tibet, Communism, and the Beijing olympic protests in France. It was probably the most interesting conversation I've had since I've been in France. I picked his brain and here is what he said in a nut shell: 'Oh well' about Tiananmen Square (and its censorship), Taiwan will reunite with China, Tibet will never be autonomous, Communism is the only choice that the Chinese people have for stability, and that the French protest of the Beijing olympics REALLY upset the Chinese (and him in particular). Wow that doesn't even begin to do the situation justice. 

   After more drinks and shenanigans, we went out to a bar with billiards and a dance floor and had an even better time. I think I must have spoken more French Tuesday night than I have the entire time I've been here, collectively. The only downside was that I was deathly sick by the time I returned to my dorm, a combination of too little to eat and too much to drink.

   

   The next morning I had to wake up for a meeting at the English Language Library. There was a tour of the library and a description of the volunteer services that our group would be doing there, and then we all got library cards.. It was raining as I left the library to go to French class across town. Ashton and I shared my umbrella on the way. We stopped in a boulangerie to pick up sandwiches and drinks, and then for about five minutes we ate each other's sandwiches without even noticing. Throughout the entire walk to campus food was falling out of our mouthes. Lettuce, ham, cheese, all falling to the ground as we attempted to eat. I ended up sitting out of French class because I wasn't feeling well. You have to understand that the classes here are much more laxed than they would be at home. Apparently it was for the best, because the professor decided to postpone the pop quiz planned for that day so that I wouldn't miss it. 

    I know that now this will sound ridiculously irresponsible, but Wednesday night was Wine Tasting Wednesday, and after some recouping, I was ready to give my new 2007 Côtes Du Rhone a try! It definitely didn't disappoint, and now I have a new favorite. Dry, deep red, and not acidic at all.

 Thursday, is always the longest day of the week. We have the same professor from 10:30 to 6:15, and it definitely gets tiring after the first two classes. After getting out early today I went over to the train station and got my 12-25 card, which is a student discount card that will get me at least 25% off all of my train tickets here for the next year. I am officially free to travel on the weekends! This weekend is a two day Paris excursion! Of course pictures will follow. I was also craving Tex-Mex like CRAZY, and was only satisfied when I found a Taco Bell hot sauce packet hidden in my luggage somewhere. MMMM.

   Tonight the group went out for college night to our regular places. Falstaff, Le Kalypso, and SOFT. It was fun, we danced with some people from Ireland and sang along to all of the English songs. The most interesting part of the night happened after we got back to the residence. Right outside of my window there were people streaking through sprinklers and yelling at the top of their lungs. That was to the right, to the left was some helpless guy passed out in a puddle of his own vomit. We all got together in the window and I threw a water bottle out to his friend to make him drink it... I guess that was a mistake, because instead of sitting the guy up and making him drink some water, the guy's friend poured the whole water bottle on his face and kicked him. The guy's two friends called an ambulance, and as soon as the (annoyed) paramedics arrived to load the guy into the ambulance the two friends ran away. 

The lesson here: People here will not keep track of the amount that you drink. If you do get sick, they have absolutely no idea how to properly handle the situation. And when they have dumped you off onto someone else, they will ditch you. We just watched in amazement. 

It's almost 4am. My feet stink. People are still singing outside. It's bed time! Sleeping in tomorrow, no class!

Kevin

Jour 9...

So, like I said, last night was our first night out at the festival here in Angers.

     A group of us ventured out into the crowded streets that had been littered with horse shit land mines. On street corners throughout the city at all times there were different acts going on. Some were theatrical, some were artistic expressions, comedians, musicians, and acrobats like the guy pictured to the left. It was really an amazing site to see the narrow streets of Angers filled with all types of people, all speaking French. Buildings like the Château d'Angers and the cathedral were all lit up in different colors, and countless flaming torches lit the streets. On our way to see the fireworks we stopped to see this acrobat pictured on the left, and then we stopped to see a few other small acts, mostly musical, some theatrical (which means I didn't understand them what so ever).

     We finally reached the show, which was situated right on the bank of the river. In front of the boat where the fireworks were being launched was a stage where about ten guys were beating drums and creating the coolest tribal music. I wish I had a picture of the actual event, but I didn't have my camera with me last night. So yes, these first pictures are not mine. =[

    There was a very modern and large opera house across the street from the show so we took the elevator to the rooftop terrace and watched the show from an elevated vantage point. It was magnificent. The music was synchronized perfectly with the fireworks. The MASSIVE crowd was very vocal with their approval. And from the rooftop, there was the perfect view not only of the firework display, but the beautifully lit skyline of Angers, as well.

When the show had finished, the French students forced me and one of my fellow Americans, Katie, to try our first raw oysters. They weren't bad... They just tasted like mushy clams. I wouldn't order them for myself, that's for sure! Afterwards, to clear the taste, we bought some delicious licorice candy from a street vendor. It probably sounds lame, but I had the time of my life just walking through the streets with my friends and the rest of the city folk. I should point out that the festival was different from any that I had ever been to in the U.S. There were no carnival rides, no cotton candy, and no headlining rock or country band for everyone to drink beer to. It was ARTISTIC. It almost had an honest quality about it, because it wasn't cookie cutter. It was talented people expressing their talents in the street.

   I went back out to the festival tonight, but it was nowhere near the same! Tonight, basically everyone in our program went out, and it was very hard to keep everyone together. I actually don't think we even finished watching one performance. A lot of walking though. Given the fact that we had been drinking wine and beer together I guess we were fairly content to simply stand in groups in the street. I had a good kabob panini and had even better conversation, so the night was an overall success =]
      Ashton, French Paul, Myself, and the British ex-patriot Natalie are pictured to the left.


    I might be going to a rugby game tomorrow afternoon, but I'm sure I'll be writing about it soon enough! Bonne nuit!
Kevin

Some more things to know about my stay here:

• I need a reusable water bottle. 
• I miss Tex-Mex. 
• It is becoming easier to listen and comprehend what people say when they speak French.
• I live across the river from the Hospital, and the European emergency sirens are SO ANNOYING! WEE OOO WEE OO WEE OOO WEE OOO, all the time. 
• Laundry is so expensive in my building, and the washing machine has no cold or hot setting, only a plethora of small buttons with pictures of cups containing different numbers on them (wtf?). 
• The steamer that I brought for my clothes is a life saver, love it. 
• I'll be in Paris next weekend!

La première semaine des classes! Jours 5, 6, 7, & 8...

This week was the first week of classes, and it couldn't have gone much better in my opinion =]

     On Monday we woke up early to go pick up our bikes from Vélocité, which is a free service that the city provides. People living in Angers can literally take out a city bike (vélo) for free from a few days to up to six months! I know, awesome, right? Biking to and from school shortens the time of the trip by a third, and it is so much fun to ride down these narrow streets (except for the cobblestone streets in the "médiéval" part of town near the château).

    We rode all over town that first day, which came back to bite us in the ass the next morning because the ride to campus is almost entirely up hill. (Which is a challenge at 8:00am, let me tell you)

    I also had my first French IV class on Monday.
French IV was a make it or break it deal, because it's no secret that I'm not the best at parle-ing le français... But as soon as we met our professor, Marie Legagneux, (who is just as fashionable and beautiful as you would expect French women to be) all of the worry was wasted. She is SO helpful and the class is mixed with the French III class, so most all of it is a review of grammar.  The best part though is that our textbook, workbook, and audio cd's were FREE! (the French I classes paid $250 for their materials...)


    Monday evening, everyone rode bikes up to the massive Carrefour on the edge of town. It was raining heavily, but we were all still excited about our new bikes! The place was surprisingly like a Super Wal-Mart, which I didn't really expect here, but apparently these super stores are quite common. They are typically placed on the outskirts of the towns.

    Anyway, the slip up of the day happened in the check-out line. I greeted the woman at the check out stand (which apparently you are not supposed to do, because that "establishes a familiarity that does not exist"), and though she was a little thrown off, she said her day was going well. I was almost perfectly through the check-out when she came across my bag of green beens (hericots verts) which I had forgotten to weigh. She very nicely allowed me to run back through the store and weigh them and print the bar-code, but when I returned, she was giggling with the girls in line behind me. I had no idea what they were saying, but they were all smiling, so I didn't sweat it too much.

   Tuesday, there was a nation-wide strike by the public services of France. Teachers, bus drivers, train conductors, safety and hospital workers, bankers, postal workers, etc, closed up shop and marched in the streets across France to protest the government proposed pension reforms that would effectively raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 in an effort to curb the countries national debt. Only a few trains ran, and all postal services were closed, from what I could tell all of the other services were still running to a certain extent. It was so interesting to see such an intricate part of French culture, people taking a political/social stand together and fighting in each other's best interest, not the government's

 We all experienced the strike (la grève) on our way to class, as the main avenue that we take to school was blocked off. Thousands and thousands of people here in Angers were chanting and began a march across the city. The line of protestors stretched for probably two miles! Needless to say this was a hot topic in our international business classes on Wednesday morning! We were reading the New York Times cover story on the strike when it was still 2am in the States.

   Wednesday night was the first of many 'Wine Wednesdays' that our group of St. Ed's students decided to create. With all of the cheap local wine labels available here, we decided that in order to find the ones that we like the most, we'd each bring a bottle to Wine Wednesday and we'd have a tasting.

    This is all fun and games for the Americans.. but you should know that here in France, it is a BIG faux pas to get drunk off of wine, or to even drink wine outside of meals. Wine is such a large part of their culture that our program director made a very passionate (heated) informative announcement about this aspect of French life.

   That same day, the French St. Edward's students began arriving at the residence. They are part of a program called First Year in France, through which they will spend their Freshman year here in Angers, and then spend the next three years at St. Edward's in Austin. When the first few of these guys arrived and heard about our little party, they laughed at us. For real. Just confirming that it isn't just a generational thing; the French really do take wine very seriously.

  Anyway, Wine Wednesday went of without a hitch and it was a blast! You've heard of "in vino veritas," right? Well, I would agree. People get real with you when they're drinking wine. There was never a lag in the conversation at the six conjoined tables that we had commandeered in our residence plaza.

   Thursday, yesterday, was  the longest day of the week. Class began at 8:30am and even though everyone was still exhausted from their bike ride, and still yawning, we started an interesting discussion on globalization (when are we not talking about this in some form or another at St. Ed's). We had a short coffee break and then watched a very interesting documentary called "Mondovino." It was about large American conglomerates attempting to take over the French wine industry which would change the traditional wine growing lifestyle here. The point of the film was to use the wine industry as an example of the impact that globalization is having around the world, but specifically in France. I was in love with the film (especially after my morning espresso).

   For lunch, we had a pizza party to officially meet and welcome the FYIF students. It was a lot of fun getting to talk to them, but they all want to practice their English, while we all want to practice our French! And the language barrier with some of them is... extreme. One already stands out though, and his name is Paul. Oh Paul.

   That afternoon for our culture class, we all ventured out to the train station (La Gare d'Angers Saint-Laud). We figured out how to buy tickets and learned what else we should and should not do. From there we sat out at a café and enjoyed delicious café au lait. One thing is for sure: I hated coffee before coming here, and for some reason, I'm loving it here. I think it's because here a café typically comes in a demi-tasse, or half cup, which is much easier to finish. To order a café that comes in a mug you would order a café grande. For some reason it just tastes better than any coffee I ever had in the states. At the café it was reinforced that there is no tipping here in France, the tip and the tax are both included in the total. And, a lot of places here will not take a plate until everyone at the table is done eating. The waiters will hover but will not bother you like in the U.S. If you want something, you ask, and if you want the check, you have to ask for it, because they'll let you sit there forever. The reason is that they don't want to ruin your dining experience. 

   After the café, I got some good shopping in at H&M. The fitted dress shirts there were on sale for ten Euros, so I bought two. I bought a pair of shoes so that I can finally fit in with all of the French, and I also bought a sweater. I think I'm slowly but surely learning how these French men dress themselves. At the café there had been what we assumed to be a club of some kind reading poetry to random people in the square, and at H&M there was another group outside chanting loudly in the plaza. It's such a weird thing to see demonstrations like these in the streets multiple times a day!

  Last night, we took a hand full of the French students out with us for college night. We started off at one of our favorite places: Kalypso. Kalypso has amazing flaming Cointreau shots. Now, I've done flaming Cointreau (a delicious orange liqueur made just outside of town) shots in this bar before. What you do is, light the shot, slap your hand down over the top of the shot, wait until the fire goes out and the cup sucks onto your hand, pick up your hand and flip the shot upside down, then flip the shot back over and take it. I have done this twice successfully in the past, mind you. Last night however, the bar was very crowded and our row of ten flaming shots were sitting lit on the bar for over a minute. Now, If you're going to slap your hand on one of these things, it should be within ten seconds of lighting it (before it gets too hot). After a minute and a half of being on fire, you can imagine how hot the shot glass and the Cointreau inside was. I successfully made contact with the shot, and then could not get it off of my hand fast enough!! I still took the shot, but afterwards, quickly made it to a sink for some cold water!

   What resulted from that shot was a third degree burn in the shape of a ring on my right palm. It is kind of hilarious, and it will be a very cool looking scar. Lesson learned? YES! There will be no more flaming shots in my future. It will be a fun, forever story of the time I spent here though.

  Today I visited a French pharmacy for the first time to get this thing checked out, and I had a very cool experience. Margot, one of the French students came with me to help with communication. For less than 15 Euro (10 dollars less than my co-pay to see my doctor at home) I was checked out by a physician, given information about the burn and how to take care of it, and received all of the necessary bandages and things for it. Can I just reiterate that I this was a pharmacy visit? I didn't even need to go see a doctor, and paid nothing except the low price of the medication and bandages.


    The physician did rule out my joining in on the kayaking excursion that everyone took today. But I then again, would three hours of continuous rowing sound appealing to you if you had a bubbling wound on the palm of your dominant hand? I thought so. I had no qualms about staying home! =]

   So today, I cleaned my room, did laundry, went downtown to exchange more American cash (which was a long process because no one spoke any English, but I was so proud of myself for successfully communicating!), ate out at a café, visited a patisserie, started my weekend's homework, and most importantly RELAXED! (which is probably the easiest thing to do here)

This post is already very long, and this is the (extremely) condensed version! Tonight, we are all going out to Les Accroche-Coeurs, a week-end long festival in town.
Pictures to come!

Kevin

Jours 3 & 4...

        Yesterday was an excursion day through the Loire valley to the Abbaye de Fontevraud and to eat lunch in a troglodyte restaurant.
    
       The countryside was just as beautiful as the abbey in my opinion. There were fields upon fields of grapes and ripe sunflowers. One thing that I learned on the road was that the highway systems here are private, which means we passed through probably two toll booths.

The history of the place was overwhelming. First constructed in 1105, the complex has several architectural styles: primarily Romanesque but some Spanish and other styles had been constructed later. Napoleon had the place converted into a prison, and it remained one until the mid 20th century. It has since been refurbished and there was no sign that it had once been a prison. The humorous part of the tour came when we were walking through the garden and found several different plants once used by the people there, one of which was Canabis Sativa (for it's useful fiber of course..)

After the abbey, we drove to the troglodyte. 

        A troglodyte is a restaurant inside of a cave. In this specific region there were many limestone quarries that people had turned into either houses, or they used them for growing mushrooms (champignon) and snails (escargot).

        Our meal consisted of mostly mushrooms served in several ways, pulled pork, bread with ham and melted cheese, oysters, salad, and an amazing apple tart for desert!

Today was Sunday, which meant that everything was closed! So a group of us decided to picnic out at the Lac de Maine. We ate and got into the lake! In the lake we splashed around and categorized each other by drink.. I was obviously Long Island Iced Tea. ;) Afterwards, we sat by the river and talked. It was a pretty laid back day (like every day here), but no less interesting.

Kevin

Le deuxieme jour...

Each day has been fairly eventful thus far..

This morning there was a small orientation on campus for schedules and such (no classes on Friday!).
Afterwords, we took a fun walking tour of Angers, and at sandwiches at a beautiful park (but what park isn't beautiful in France??).

After two trips to the supermarché, Ashton and I cooked a brilliant dinner of breaded chicken, salad, and baked potatoes with local wine =]

Tonight a few of us went back out to le boîte and a few bars and let me tell you, it was a night to remember.

After taking shots and dancing we walked over to one of the same pubs from yesterday and rocked out to "Empire State of Mind." The French tolerated this. The very next song was "Don't Stop Believin'" and the French had simply had enough =] The song was immediately changed to an apparently popular dance song that the entire bar started joining in on. It was so much fun to join in the crowd and dance with them though, even sing a few words here and there.

After cooling off outside we were told to take our beers inside because of the police. So we made it to the back of the bar. As I'm standing behind this overweight lesbian that definitely looked like a man, and who had also peed her pants, another girl proceeds to throw a drink in her face. This lesbian was acting a fool, obviously. Of course, the salope dodges the drink and I see it coming toward my face as if it were in slow motion.

The drink hit me with my eyes open and holy shit it burned, but at the same time it tasted like candy. The girl who threw it didn't notice until I turned to one of the St. Ed's kids and said: "Putain! Merde! C'est mon deuxieme jour dans France, et déjà!" She apologized in english and the lesbian who had peed her pants continued her drunken shenanigans. Aside from the drink situation, the night was a complete blast!  The girls that we met from Minnosota that are studying with CDEF at UCO (which is the campus that I'm at and CDEF is the typical exchange program) were a lot of fun and they invited us to a picnic on Sunday, so we'll see.

As of right now, I'm sticky and tired. I'll be up in 6 hours to start this ride all over again! Tomorrow should be exciting though because there will be an excursion! More later, and pictures are on Facebook!

Kevin