Christmas Dreaming

Christmas Dreaming

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, I'm officially in the Christmas Mood. Yesterday after English ended, Alejandra and I went to the €2 store to see if we could find any Christmas decorations... We were in luck. It was overflowing with red and green and gold, ornaments and garlands hanging from every shelf. We decided not to go overboard and bought a little fake poinsettia, a baby christmas tree and a battery-operated candle to put in my window. We headed home listening to and singing Christmas songs for the whole ride.

Needless to say, our fellow bus-riders didn't all appreciate our beautiful voices.

Alejandra's stop is just a few away from mine, so we ride the bus together most afternoons and on Wednesday and Friday mornings. She lost her iPhone earlier this month so she's adopted my iPod and she's putting up with my odd music choices. That said, Christmas music was loaded up on Sunday night, so bus rides have been filled with "Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer"s, "Here Comes Santa Claus"s and "White Christmas"s.

Alejandra's host mum is going away the week before we get out of school for Christmas holiday, so she needed a place to stay - I've acquired a roommate. We plan to decorate my room for the occasion and on the 22nd we both leave. Where to? That's a story for another post...

Quick Note

Just a quick note:

It turns out I have reached my quota of gigabytes on my blog, meaning I don't have the space to upload more pictures (woops).

OF COURSE, I don't want my readers (if you exist) to go without visuals, so I have uploaded the photos to my Flickr account.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Yours in Dysfunctional Technology,

-L

T-Day

Thursday was Thanksgiving. Obviously. But what really is an SYA Thanksgiving, you ask? Well...

We started off the day with the usual schedule: I had Langue, Culture et Société Françaises, Littérature and Histoire. But to be honest we were all so giddy with excitement and a little sadness to not be home on such a family holiday. One of the girls had suggested we all dress up nicely for the occasion (as we would at home) so the boys broke out the button-down shirts and ties and the girls wore skirts or dresses.


After a LONG waiting period, we began to walk to lunch at St. Vincent, the local high school we go to for lunch. Usually, we start lunch at 11:30 and get back to school for 1:00, but on Thursday we started our lunch at 1:15. Needless to say, we were more than ready to go into the room that the chef at St. Vincent had prepared for us to begin our feast.

We started with a butternut squash soup, followed by some turkey, odd orange potatoes (not sweet potatoes, mind you), and green beans. It wasn't exactly a gourmet meal, but we were all happy to be in the holiday spirit. We got back to school in time for afternoon classes but no work really got done - Who has the motivation to do work on a holiday? Of course, SYA students are hard workers and we were back to the homework and studying on Friday.


On Friday afternoon, as soon as school ended, Wes, Grant and I walked a half a mile up the road to the SuperU to buy ingredients for Saturday's festivities. We filled up the shopping cart with spinach, apples, green beans, chicken (it's really tough to find turkey before the Christmas season in France, I'll tell you that much) and all sorts of goodies and walked back to Wes's house, weighed down with grocery bags

Grant left for tennis, so Wes and I began the preparations. I chopped up innumerable onions, he ripped up a baguette into millions of breadcrumbs, we figured out how to use French bouillon cubes (it oddly resembles jello..?) and Wes attempted to make an apple pie. We put the preparation away until tomorrow, I wished Wes and his host parents a bonne soirée, and I headed home.

Up the next day:

My alarm didn't ring, but somehow I managed to make it to school by 8am, to leave for Mont. Saint Michel for the second time. We toured the Abbey, took tons of pictures, had crêpes and were back home for 5pm. I hopped on the number 9, rushed home, showered, whipped up a pumpkin pie mix and hopped back on the bus.

Quick Tip: Don't talk to a pumpkin pie in English on a French bus. For that matter, don't talk to it in French, either. In fact, don't talk to your pumpkin pie at all, if you can help it. People look at you as if you have three heads.

I got to Wes's house and helped Wes, Grant and Will who were attempting to throw together the finishing touches on the meal. I sautéed green beans, put together a gravy, whipped up some cream and together, the four of us had a perfect meal on the table by 8pm. We gave thanks, ate too much, cleaned up, ate my stellar pumpkin pie, cleaned up the desserts, and relaxed in front of the TV, all ready to explode. It was a good night, to say the least.

Alors,

I've decided not to make Thanksgiving dinner for my host family today, because some of them are going to a concert and I don't have any of the ingredients I need. The LeGac Thanksgiving: Postponed. For now, at least.

Now off to do homework. Work hard, play hard.

Yours in Dysfunctional French,

-L

p.s. I'm getting overwhelmingly excited for Christmas. USA, here I come

Cooking

T-Minus 1 Day. Getting closer...

Today is Wednesday. Back in September, three of my friend and I signed up for a cooking class taught at the home of our pronunciation teacher. The available dates were a few Wednesday in November so we'd been anticipating our classes for a while. Last week was the first of the four.

We found her apartment after wandering the streets around school for a while and entered her cozy home. After dropping our bags, we got right to work, making Tarte Tatin. Tarte Tatin is difficult to describe - an upside down apple pie? Something of that sort. We began by peeling and chopping up apples, 2 each. We then cooked them in caramel until they were each perfectly "d'oré" (golden). We then put them into tiny pans and covered each with a blanket of pastry and popped them in the oven. While our Tartes were baking, we began to make pear pastries. They were extremely easy to make and took no time at all. After cutting out pastry designs, we covered each with pears and caramel and popped those in the oven, too. The smell was absolutely heavenly.

We tasted our Tarte Tatins, died and went to French Pastry heaven, came back to Earth and began on the next recipe. Tuile d'Amande. My favorite.

Tuile d'Amande is so easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious. A quick mix of flower, sugar and butter, whipped into a paste, spread on a baking pan and left in the oven until golden brown. When it looks ready to you, grab it out of the oven, and quickly cut it up and leave it to cool or eat it while its hot.

If any readers want the recipe, feel free to comment on the blog and I'll gladly post them!

Today, I have my next class. I seem to remember her mentioning something about macarons... I'm overwhelmingly excited.

I asked my host sisters if they wanted to help me make Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. Mathilde and Clémence seem really excited and are taking me supply shopping on Friday afternoon. Now to find a turkey...

More details to come on the holiday festivities!

Yours in Dysfunctional French,

-L

Countdown

Thanksgiving doesn't exist in France.

Ok, I know you already knew that - it's an American holiday, I totally get that. It's also one of those things that you don't know you miss until it's gone. Who knew that you could miss Paper Turkey Cut-Outs?

Fortunately, I'm actually going to have 3 Thanksgiving meals.

1) We are celebrating the holiday together as a school. On Thursday afternoon, we will all sit down with turkey, potatoes, stuffing, the works, and give thanks for what we have. 

2) My friend Wes and his host family (who I love dearly) invited me to a Thanksgiving dinner at their house on Saturday night after our trip to Mont St. Michel. Wes, however, thinks that he is incapable of making a Thanksgiving dinner and he figures that his host parent's haven't a clue so Friday night will consist of Thanksgiving preparations with him!

3) Of course, I can't forget my own host family. My mum brought over pumpkin pie filling when I met her in Ireland, so I'm fully prepared to whip up a meal for my host parents and four host sisters. Now to prepare a menu...

We truly have so much to be thankful for. There are only 60 kids in America who got this opportunity - to dive into the French culture and to fully immerse themselves with the goal to learn a different language. It takes a lot of courage to take yourself out of a comfortable environment and wind up in the middle of a completely different one. But I'll tell you more about what I have to give thanks for after the festivities.

And thus begins the countdown to T-Day. Wish me luck - I'm an amateur cook at best so this should be interesting...

Yours in Dysfunctional French,

-L

Travelling

Today I woke up at 6:45. So much for Holiday Sleep-Ins, am I right? I showered, dressed, made sure all my bags were in order and jumped in the car with my host mum, Maryvonne. We drove to the Gare (train station) and after bisous, she left me on Platform 4.

I climbed on board and made my way to my seat. I had tons of space, because the person who was supposed to be in the seat next to me decided not to show up. Hey, works for me. I read "En Attendant Godot" (my French Literature book) and slept for the 3 hour trip to Charles De Gaulle - time well spent.

I then navigated through the airport, found my gate and boarded the plane to Ireland. Another hour and a half flight. I was through immigration in about 5 minutes (ah, the perks of being an Irish Citizen) and out the door to meet my uncle.

My first experience in independent travel: Success.

Yours in Dysfunctional French,

-L

Results

Last night, I set my alarm for 6:45am.

This morning, I woke up and JUMPED out of bed - I opened my computer and opened up to my homepage, the New York Times... and there it was. The news that Barack Obama will be the president of the United States of America for the next four years. It was so cool to be discovering such big news halfway across the world.

I hopped on the 7:12 bus with my friend Alejandra and we made our way to the Franco-American Institute of Rennes. It's in the center of the city and is actually the only Franco-American Institute in France. There we met the Consulate of the United States for the West of France and heard speeches from people giving their opinions on the outcome of the election. We also watched Obama's speech streaming live from the United States. There was a small breakfast for all in attendance and we all took an American President Trivia Quiz... most of which I knew... I promise..

The rest of the day was spent running errands, and getting ready for my trip tomorrow. Off to Paris and then Ireland to meet the family. But more on that later..

Yours in Dysfunctional French,

-L

The Loire Valley

On Monday, we hopped in the buses and embarked on our second overnight voyage. It was truly amazing. From châteaux to gardens to cathedrals, we truly got to experience the Chateaux of the Loire to their full extent.

Rather than a photo, I prepared a video to capture the experience. Enjoy as I attempt to dabble in videography.

for better quality: Click Here

Yours in Dysfunctional French,

-L

Elections

It's been weird to experience the American elections abroad. Now and then I'll hear the occasional political garble about Obama vs. Romney, but all in all it has been quite downplayed. According to my host family, the election was a much bigger deal in 2008, when there was the possibility of the first black president and, even bigger, the replacement of George W. Bush.

To discuss the elections, Groups 1A and 1B, which I am a part of, walked from school to one of the local high schools, Emile Zola, to talk with  group of students our age about their opinions. Although we strayed from the topic many, MANY times, as teenagers so often do, it was a really different experience to see the American Election through the eyes of those who are not citizens of the United States.

The general opinion was Pro-Obama, but there were many views to be heard and stories to be told. After the discussion ended, we ate lunch at the high school with the French kids and played soccer in the school yard - fully immersed into real French culture.

Here's to seeing how the results play out - And I'll only find out when I get up at 6am to catch the bus to the Institut Franco-Américain for a Result Breakfast on the 7th. Unless I stay up until 4am... Not likely..

Yours in Dysfunctional French,

-L

Been A While - Mont St. Michel

I apologize profusely for my lack of posts.

Things have been very busy here - school work's picking up and we get more and more tests added to the calendar each day. It's stressful but SO worth it. It's amazing to live abroad. There's so much freedom while at the same time you are living in a controlled environment. I feel so ready and able, exploring the city whenever I want to with my bus card.

Recently I've discovered the malls and shops that exist in and around Rennes. This is terrible for a girl on a budget but even the window shopping is fun. Little trinkets catch my eye and I can't help but admire them, even from afar. From a tea shop, to little boutiques to quaint cafés, one can find absolutely anything as one wanders through the streets. And hey, a girl can dream...

The other weekend we traversed the Bay of Mont St Michel. 60 teenagers and their teenage host siblings walking 8 kilometers knee deep in freezing cold, muddy water and quicksand. A recipe for disaster. But it was amazingly enjoyable. I met so many new French teenagers my age, talked with them and became more confident in my ability to carry a conversation. We got back around 8pm after a VERY long day and I hung out with some of the host siblings, who were more than eager to tell us about what life is really like for French kids - we soon came to see that their everyday lives didn't really differ from ours - maybe I'm transforming into a French teenager after all?

Yours in Dysfunctional French,

-L