Books, Books and More Books!

As you may recall, though my French oral communication skills are progressing, my reading skills have proven... less than satisfactory. And while this unfortunate complication has helped me discover new-to-me genres (Graphic novels, Anime), it has been extremely frustrating for me to find myself without my usual reading materiel - my beloved novels. I am by no means an avid reader anymore (high school has ironically stolen me away from my paperbacks), I do love the refuge that a novel presents. So, finding myself here with bountiful free time on my hands and libraries full of books that I literally could not comprehend was positively vexing. But then - and this is the part you have been waiting for! - something happened. Something magical, something wonderful! I can read.

I'm not going to lie, I don't know what this something is. If I were to guess, I would say that it is simply time. I've been in France nearly four months now, and I suppose something just clicked. Of course, I'm no speed reader or French literature analyst by any stretch (let's be honest, I still have no idea what 1/3 of the words mean...) but I can understand a basic novel story line and I can connect with the characters! And boy am I pumped! I've already devoured two books in the last 3 weeks, John Green's superb The Fault in Our Stars (under the French pseudo Nos Étoiles Contraires) and Divergent (with an equally surprising French title of Divergente). Yes, I know both books are originally English and that I should be reading actual francophone novels to really progress my French, but hey, we have to start somewhere right? In any case, Odile has just loaned me a real francophone book called La Traversée or The Crossing which ironically chronicles the experiences of an American University student as she explores the Bretagne region... Sound familiar? Now, if you excuse me, I have to get on with Divergente 2!

Birthday

Friday was my birthday!

No big deal or anything... BUT I TURNED 17 IN FRANCE!!! I was totally chill about it... NOT! I was psyched - and let's just say that I everyone knew why... How did I calmly and casually let people know? Well, I took the suave and subtle route of touting jiffy bars (delicious homemade peanut butter rice crispy treats covered in chocolate) to school as a treat... But hey, word might have also spread due to my friends' persistant hollering of "Joyeux Anniversaire!" every time they saw me. Either way, it was a well known fact that Friday the 16th was my special day!

As if my day wasn't already exceptional, I recieved amazing birthday wishes from my family back home! Emails, skype calls, and even paper letters (this is how we know that it's the 21st century guys; getting paper mail from overseas is blowing my mind) from my family came flooding in all last week showering me with American love! Needless to say, I was touched. One very special package (hint: jiffy bars were included) came bearing a very important item - a crazy sweater for my friend Margaux (whose birthday was on the 15th)! Do you like it? I feel as though it perfectly encompasses the Madison flavor...

My day was brightened even more by the ridiculously thoughtful gifts from my friends and family. In France, birthdays (while celebrated) are not as gift heavy as they are in the US, so I didn't expect any sort of presents. Yet I was still blushing from the overwhelmingly kind gifts from my family back home (Thank you so much!) when the immense generosity of my French friends and family was once again revealed. I must have characterized the laid-back French birthday tradition, because not only did my friends and family shower me with love and affection, they also delighted me with their phenomenally thoughtful gifts, which featured anything from classic kindheartedness (one of my friends gave me this beautiful rose from her garden!) to inside jokes (not to brag, but a hamburger phone might have completed my 'Juno' collection!). Right now, I just want to shout from the rooftops "Thank you!", but seeing that rooftop promenades are not a particularly common sport here in France, I suppose that blogging is the best way to send my infinite thank yous out into the universe!

Thank you!

Merci à tous!

Egocentric

Today, I would like to talk about egocentricity.
Why? Because I'm Dr. Oz, that's why.

See, this is what I'm talking about. Was that witty cultural reference meant to be ironic or am I simply so abomibally self absorbed that I equate myself to television's finest pediatrician? I for one know that I meant to be ironic, but does anyone else?

As foreign curiosities, we exchange students spend a lot of time talking about our lives back home and our experiences in our host countries. And honestly, this is normal - as funny-accented foreigners with (at least in my case) strange style, the people around us are exited to know more about us! They want to know about our friends, our food (ahem, ahem peanut butter, and general cultural norms back home. Even more intriguing is our seemingly bottomless inventory of embarassing moments in their country! For the most part, being the center of attention is a blast; we the exchange students have the opportunity to indulge in some culturally-appropriate nostalgia, share funny stories, and (perhaps most importantly) people don't mind when our grammar is far from phenomenal. As for our listeners, they get to enjoy hearing about a strange, faraway land with it's silly customs and food (again: peanut butter, PB&Js are a mere fairy tale here!) as well as a few embarassing narratives about a 17 yearold mixing up the words for "witch" and "sucker"... So, yeah! It's win-win, right? Well, not exactly.

While it is a blast recounting funny moments and US oddities, one must remember that it is not always quite as intriguing to listen to them. It's easier said than done, but as an exchange student, it is imperative that you regulate how much you talk about yourself and your experiences. At first, you are the only topic your new friends will want to talk about! They want to know everything; from your favorite color to why you decided to come to *insert country of choice here*, from your childhood stories to your dreams for the future, from funny curiosities in your country to stereotypes about theirs (hint: if you know about mean stereotypes about their country, don't feel obligated to share them! All this could ever produce is hurt feelings).

Obviously, you should indulge in this type of conversation, especially at the beginning of your stay or at the when you're getting to know someone! At these early stages, it is exhilerating for both you and your acquaintences to share (or in their case, learn) about you and your exotic culture. But as you progress in your relationships, the call for "me,  me, me, my country" dialogues (also known as monologues! *ahem*) diminishes. And while the sudden drop in "Tell me more about you!" questions might be a tad disheartening at first, you have to realize that this isn't because your friends don't like you! On the contrary, the stage that comes after "me, me, me" conversations is a million times better. Once your monologues have turned into conversations, that means that you are no longer in the indroductory phase of your friendship. Your conversations are no longer between a foreigner and a native, but rather between two friends; your conversations are real conversations, rather than one-sided dialogue! It's a wonderful phenomenon when you and your friends know each other well enough that the best conversations don't depend on crazy, lengthy stories, but rather on a shared interest and some witty back and forth!

Of course, it's always fun to share stories from your loony life - I mean, it is your life and what makes you, well, you! "More about me" excerpts are cheeky (I don't know, I just felt the need to use the word cheeky...) all the time, both in your home country and abroad. But if you ever have trouble figuring out if a "This one time..." comment comes across as egocentric, just ask yourself whether the comment adds to the conversation in more ways than just allowing yourself to speak!

What I've been doing all Vacation

For the past two weeks, I've really been busy with work... NOT! As I may have mentioned before (By which I mean: yes I have gone on and on about this topic), I am on spring vacation! Not to rub in anyone's faces or anything (we have two weeks of vacation rather than one...), but I've been having a poppin' time. Now that my break is almost over (*sob*), I think it might be nice to reflect on my wonderful break, and what better way to do that than blog about it, am I right?

My Fabulous Break

Summerized in Bullet Points

• Jersey: I visited the island of Jersey!
• Babysitting: Monday and Tuesday last week I babysat for the most adorable children ever! What made the job really cool is that they lived in Texas for 4 years, so they are bilingual! The entire time we communicated in a funny mix of French and English since sometimes they remembered the French word and not the English, and vise versa! (Also, you know... I'm not exactly a professor at French!)
• Movies: I went and saw some really cool films at the cinema with my friends and family. The first film is entitled Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait au bon Dieu, which translates to "What Have We Done to the Good Lord?" This film was absolutely hilarious and enlightening; featured a very conservative couple whose four daughters marry into very different cultures. 

The second film (which I saw just a few days ago) was Divergent. OH MY GOOD GILLY GRUMPKINS, THAT MOVIE WAS AMAZING. It blew me away. It knocked my socks off. I literally came out of the theater winded! For the next 20 minutes I babbled like an absolute freakball! My poor friend Clemence had to calm me down! There is no doubt that I will be returning to the theater (or *ahem* this lovely thing called the internet) for a reviewing. Of course, I was a quite heartbroken when I read that Shailene Woodley does not consider herself a feminist. But hey, I don't want to ramble on about such an unrelated topic (JK feminism is always relevent! I will no doubt go into more detail about this topic on my other blog)

• Shopping: What did you expect? I'm in France, I love fashion (though I am admittedly not very gifted with style... #whenIworeshortsandkneehighsocksallsixthgrade #thatasymetricalhaircut) and I am located dangerously close to a metropole...
• Vannes: Last weekend, my host family and I took a mini-vaycay to the city Vannes to visit some extended family! Unfortunately, I was under the impression that my camera wasn't working (Yep. I'm not even going to explain the embarassingly obvious remedy... using the memory card) so I don't have any pictures! But trust me, it was awesome!
• Biking: As I have been buddying up with my dear amigo Clemence over break (have I name dropped her enough?), and since she lives in the neighboring town, I have been partaking in some independent transportation! Taking the bus, walking and biking! Personally, my favoite mode of transport is by bicycle, and though I got lost on my first junket to Clemence's (heehee luckily she wasn't mad I was an hour late!) I've now mastered the route!

• Picnics: Do you remember the local château where I spent most of my time last vacation? Well, I still hang out there, but only with friends and food! (well, more food than usual...)
•  Swimming: Yes, I have been taking quite a few trips to my school pool and a pool in Rennes. In fact, two days ago, Odile, some family friends and I went swimming in the sea! It's still fairly nippy out, so we sported some really chic wetsuits...

So, that's what I've been doing all break! You may remember a gross difference between how I've spent my Spring Break and how I spent my Winter Break; namely, during Winter Break I was breaking down (Haha, so very punny!) and during Spring Break I have been building up (I don't know, it felt like a good analogy in the moment, but obviously I've proved my pun-skills to be in dire need of practice)! Last break, I was freaking out about my lack of friends, my slipping language skills, my dwindling time left in France (If you haven't enjoyed my angsty ramblings of study abroad woes and are so inclined, do read How to be Sick in France: A Novel, it's really quite good... NOT!) and thusly, my Winter Break kind of sucked.

But despite the stinkiness of my last break, this bad experience actually really helped me make Spring Break all that much better. Because I was nervous (okay, terrified) of repeating that inferno of dispair, I was all the more motivated to keep myself busy. And really, busy was all I needed. I have found that, by making sure I have a plan each day, I can succeed in not only driving away the angsty thoughts but also in just plain having fun! It doesn't matter what I'm doing (one day Clemence and I just vegged out with ice cream, pizza and movies), as long as I have a plan/purpose.

Now, this doesn't mean that I can't have lay-low days (yesterday was a solo-veg day in fact), it just means I have to keep them in moderation. For me, moderation meant only one day of solo-vegging in 2 weeks, but for everyone it is different. I just so happen to need human interaction (in French) to keep my spirits up, so I limited my solo-veg time to a very small number. I'm sure there are people who can easily take half of vacation just re-charging, but for me, recharging means hanging out with my host family, my friends and doing fun stuff!

Jersey Shore?

No, not New Jersey, Jersey! Don't follow? Well, here's a map:

Yes, last Saturday Odile, Louise, a family friend and I took an amazing trip to the Brittish Island of Jersey! This entailed a 4 am wakeup and a long boatride, but I assure you, it was worth it. Not only is the language of Jersey English (let me tell you, it was a great feeling to be the translat-or not the translat-ed), but the island also holds a gold-mine of attractions that just beg for attention! My personal favorite (and ironically undocumented) activity was shopping in the main square!

We started off the day with a real English breakfast: bacon (OMG HOW I HAVE MISSED IT), eggs, sausages, tomatoes, hashbrowns, bagels, and even some blood pudding (I personally did not partake in this gory grub), and tea. It was absolutely delicious, and though my companions were a little fazed at the incorperation of meat and potatoes into the morning diet, I was greatly pleased for the carnivores delight! While I do love me some good French bread, I was raised on a non-carb breakfast, so French mornings have been a little protein-deficient for me lately!

After our good-old-English morning, we set off for some sightseeing!

Among other things, we encountered:

The local market! Filled with book, pastry and produce vendors, this little taste of island life was right up our tourist-y alley!

Mont Orgueil Castle: While we did not tour the inside (it was closed for the day), the gardens enclosing the rocky-top fortress were beautiful.

The Beach! While the paths leading down to the shoreline were steep and rocky, it was well worth the work!

Um, yes. Phone Boothes! Fun fact: phone boothes come in different colors around the world. In most of Great Britain they are red, Ireland green (I know right!), and in Jersey they are yellow!

Concale

The day after easter, Jean-Yves, Marie-Claude, Isabelle and I decided to visit a nearby fishing city: Concale. Among other assorted escapades (mostly including marvelling at exhorbenently priced local art and gluttoning up at nougat shops) we fearlessly traversed the cold, april shoreline which, though still frosty from the rainy Brittanic winter, was quite a sight to behold.

Perhaps our most entertaining hijinks included the nibbles we found on the rock beach! Now, don't flinch when I tell you this, but we ate oysters right out of the ocean! Literally. We would scoop them up off the shore and EAT them. It was pretty crazy...

Just before returning home, we decided to stop by a local rock penninsula and get in some climbing time (though personally, the sightseeing kind of distracted me from the hiking!)

And don't worry, I got my beauty sleep! Yes, that would be me, sleeping in the car... Photo cred goes to the ninja Isabelle for capturing on camera the wild Bella in her natural habitat...

Saint Malo

As you may remember, I had a pretty poppin' time a couple weekends ago (4/12/14). I had a sleepover, went shopping and just enjoyed myself! But wait - it gets better! (On that note, It Gets Better is another great organisation...) On top of a superb sleepover, terrific thrift store finds and a report card to remember, my family took me to Saint Malo! Now, this name may not mean much to you, but at my school, if you want to have a fun weekend, you take a trip to Saint Malo, a semi-nearby coastal beach city. To put it plainly, Saint Malo has everything: a beach, historical monuments and a thriving shopping center enclosed by ancient battlement walls. So, yeah, it was a rocking time. Though I didn't take any pictures at all of the city itself (I'm sorry, I just forgot! I was a little wrapped up in the whole "giant shopping center" awe... Also, you're probably sick of seeing pictures of nearly identical French city streets...) I took a buttload of pictures of the beautiful sea and battlements. Hope you enjoy!

From the battlements, we could see Dinard, a city we visited at the begining of my time in France!

The tomb of Chateaubriand:

Right next to the tomb of Chateaubriand there is another structure ???. What is interesting about this island is that the path is constructed in such a way that, when the high tide comes, the path disapears underwater! This means that, though people can visit the island, if they don't cross back over before high tide, they are stranded on the island until low tide comes again! Of course, there are tourist-aid boats that can get them to shore earlier if need be, but isn't it a bit scary to think you could be stranded there? My friend Morganne told me that once, she and her mother had to wait on the island for 6 hours because they didn't return to shore fast enough!

While walking along the beach, there were thousands of mussels washed up on the rocks.

For the most part, they were all living!

When we entered the city, we stopped in a nearby church and listened to the amazing folk band, Babord Amures. They were so talented! Needless to say I have sufficiently stalked them on itunes...

After we finished with our time at St. Malo, we passed by a neighboring village St. Suliac

Heehee... I have no idea what this is, but it's shaped like a tiny person!

Finally, on our way back home, we stopped to visit a historical monument, which overlooks the sea. The monument was built as a commemeration to all the fishermen who never made it back from the long voyages.