A Week in the Life

Well, as I have been informed by a (slightly maniacle) friend back home, I have inexcusably ignored my blogging duties. Really, I am sorry! This week has been a bit hectic so I haven't had much time to post. I plead on the grounds of a busy schedule! And laziness... Again, Sorry!

Lately, I've gotten bored of the whole "How about I try to wow everyone withToday I've decided to bore you with a run-down of my week. Just what you wanted. Mwahahaha!*

Language Games
Well, I can understand why you're surprised that this section is existant (not to mention first on the list of things I talk about!), I'm pretty surprised too! As you might suspect, it's pretty hard to make friends with such a language barrier... In fact, I've found it really difficult to find people who actually want to hang out with me like a regular human being. Let me explain!

One thing you have to understand about being an exhcange student: everyone is very welcoming. It's hard for students not to be excited over a new, oversees addition to their classroom, and for the first few days of school everyone around you is stuckin this starstruck "Woa! She's an American exchange student!" phase - it's pretty great! But after the first 4 days or so, the novelty America starts to wear off, and people just want to talk to you like a regular person. Yay! Wait. While this "routine conversation" is wonderful, it's actually really hard. It's a great feeling to be able to converse with friends and talk about normal things, but it's very difficult because, as a foreigner, there is a laundry list of difficulies that come with conversation:

1. Vocabulary: Obviously I don't know all the words in the French language, especially slang, so I am constantly asking people to explain the smallest words.
2. Speed: People talk fast! I suppose this is obvious, but it's a real difficulty!
3. Cultural References: Like every other country, France has it's own cultural references and jokes that one just has to learn in order to understand what is being said.
• Fun story: There is a popular song right now called "Bella" by the rapper Maitre Gims! Fortunately, I have now listened to the song and watched the music video, so I understand when people start breaking out in song when I introduce myself. But the first day on the bus was a bit awkward when I heard half the people rapping my name in a foreign language...

 So, with all these barriers, casual conversation is actually quite a feat for me, and sometimes real conversations are few and far between. Needless to say not everyone is willing to deal with my broken French day in and day out, and this makes it hard to make real friends. There are quite a few people who will let me follow them around like a mute puppy dog all day, which is quite kind and actually very relaxing! Howevr, I tried this for almost a week and as you can imagine, it's not very fun! While playing the mute puppy is both companianable and easy, it's a lonely lifestyle because you don't get to really interact with your 'friends'. ALSO, because mute puppies don't talk much, you don't progress your French! Not at all what I want!

Luckily, while I have suffered a bit from mute-puppy-itis, I have found some awesome friends (Pauline, Morgan, Clémence) most of whom are friends with my benefactor (I call her my benefactor because not only does she lead me to the bus, but also speaks slowly for me!) Pauline. They are so sweet and always help me with my French, while still having real conversations with me! In fact (let's be honest, I geeked out about this) one of my friends asked me to go shopping with her this weekend! I couldn't because my family and I are going to go to a parade in Rennes (don't worry, I'll get pictures there!), but nevertheless I am still ecstatic that someone actually asked to see me outside of school...

However, while I do have some pretty fabulous friends, there ares still some difficulties for me socially. The most frustrating aspect of my life right now is that I can't express myself. By express myself I don't mean that I am unable to say "I'm hungry" or "I'm scared", I am completely able to pop out those tiny phrases. By express myself, I mean that I am currently unable to express my personality. Right now, I rely on facial expressions and deeply thought out jokes in order to convey that 

YES, I DO INDEED HAVE A PERSONALITY!

Today, I litterally told one of my friends "Je ne sais pas comment dire en français... J'ai un personalité dans anglais, mais tu ne peux pas le voir en français! Est-ce que tu compris?" This translates as "I don't know how to say in French... I have a personality in English, but you can't see it in French! Do you understand?" I recieved a slightly bewildered "Oh, oui!" in return, but I'm gonna go ahead and say that she didn't understand... ;)
 
Academics
Not much going on here! Right now, we barely get any homework, which really baffles me. Comming from my school in the US, I was expecting at least 3 hours of work every night, but turns out that we rarely get assigned anything! I have taken two tests so far: English and Economics. "Wow!" you may say "English will be a breeze!" Ha! That's what I thought too, until my English teacher gave me back my test with a score of 11 out of 15. What?!?! That's not even a 75%! Obviously, I was pretty horrified, but when I found out that the 4 points were deducted not because of spelling or grammatical errors, but rather because I "misread the question", I was more annoyed with myself for making such simplistic mistakes! 73% is not the kind of grade I want to get in any class, expecially English. From now on, I'll work my butt off to prove to my English professor that I am indeed literate in my native language! ;)
Thursday, I took an Economics test - Yay! Wait, that's not right...
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! 
That's mor like it! It was pretty brutal. Luckily, I was allowed to use an English-French Dictionary! Also Economics is one of my favorite subjects right now (along with Math, in which I am 1 year ahead, woohoo!) so I pay special attention in that class. But there was one section where I literally had to write "Je ne sais pas comment ces documents sont similar, désolé!" which translates to "I don't know how these documents are related, sorry!". It was not my finest moment... However, before the test, the professor had told me to "do what you can" because there would be some sections that I missed. Hopefully that was the section!

Random Stuff
I just bought my school textbooks today; ohh yeah! I have put them in order of fabulousness (how excited I am for the class/to have the textbook - in freench!)

Most excited:

Math! I feel like a genius... Literally the only class :)

Economics! So very difficult, but yet reidiculously engaging.
Sidenote: you should all go to European Central Bank's website and play Economia... Go economics!

Excited:

Geography: the most underated of all classes! (Well, besides Math, which has forever been tainted for us. Nice going, Barbie!)

French History? Who wouldn't want that?

 Undecided:

I have only had one class of SVT so far so I'm not quite sure how I feel about it yet...

I AM LITERATE IN ENGLISH! I swear!

Funny little trinket I found in a candy the other day! It's a little comic, but I'll be honest, I have no idea what it means! Sure, I can read the words, but I don't understand the humor yet. If any of you have any ideas as to what it says, leave me a post!

Sidenote: I do appologize about the lack of interesting pictures in this post, the school schedule at Chateaubriand has really been messing with me (we get out at 6:00) so I haven't really been able to go out walking since it's so dark when I get home!

A Typical French Weekend? I hope so!

So, as you might have noticed, I have not posted for 4 *gasp* days! Well, this is mostly because I am just having a blast at school (once again: food, friends, it pretty much rules!) but it is also because I having been "saving up" my weekend for one big post! That's right, it's party time...

First, let's begin with Alessandra:
What?? Who's Alessandra? My friends, we have some catching up to do. As you may have guessed, the Girard Household is one that greatly appreciates people, culture and languages. So you shouldn't be surprised to know that I'm not the only exchange student with them! Alessandra, an exchange student from Peru (!) came to join the pack friday night! She is my fellow 16 year old, an extremely advanced Francophone, and probably the sweetest and most softspoken person on planet Earth. You could say that we get along well! She also speaks English and Spanish fluently, so I may also be benefitting from some much needed Spanish tutoring this week ;)

Saturday:
As do all super-awesome households, we started our weekend off with some superior culture: nutella and a french documentary! Before Louise trotted off to Horse riding, Jean-Yves, Alessandra, Louise, Madame Touffet (our neighbor) and I sauntered off to the local movie theater to see a truly inspiring movie: Le Chemin de L'École.

For an hour and a half, we followed the daily lives of four children who travel between 15 and 22 - most travel via foot, while one rides a horse - kilometers to reach their schools. If this documentary's subject matter wasn't touching enough, it's cinematography should be considered a piece of art.

After such an emotional (yet heartlifting) morning, we needed some merrymaking! Of course, we did frolick a bit in Combrough (My highschool's renaissance embossed neighborhood)...

But our chance for jollification came when we found out that the church (just one block away from our house) was hosting an accordian concert! I'll admit, when I first found out we were going, I was excited mainly because I thought that the accordian was a silly instrument - boy was I wrong! I never knew that one instrument could sound like an orchestra! We'll just say that after the first song I was converted to accordianism...

Our concert tickets:

Another Fun Fact: Dame (the complicated French version of checkers) and completely drained from Nain Jaune (Michigan Rummy, only Frenchified!)

Sunday:
By comparison, today was pretty relaxed! Besides getting my butt kicked at Dame, we mostly relaxed and caught up with one of the Girard daughters, Emilee. As a little celebration of Jean-Yves's birthday (which luckily fell on Saturday, the sunniest day this week) we gobbled down yet another version of the Galette (cake variety) and surprisingly, the delicacy never gets old! And guess what? This time I remembered to take pictures. Oh yeah!

Galette (#3!):

 
From the Left: Odile, (in the crown) Louise, Emilee, Me and Alessandra

The Lucky Fève-Finders!

FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!

As you may have guessed from this post's title (although the message was a bit cryptic...), today's blog is about food. "How very typical," you may snidely comment, "A young girl in France is writing about the delicious foods available in the region... That's never been done before, huh?" Well, you know what, alternate-universe-imaginary-buzz-kill? I'm going to write about the kick-bottom (heehee) food here in Bretagne! And you are going to like it, because there is a reason that exactly 60% of all books about France are food-based (I'm just kidding, I made up that stat!).

Why don't we start off with something we have talked about before? Galettes, as you may remember, are flaky, delicious pastries with tiny little prizes inside. But wait - there's more! There is actually another dish (which is a specialty of Bretagne) that goes by the same name of "Galette"! This Galette#2 is unlike its brother dish in that it is actually a main course. Very similar to a crêpe, Galette#2 is about a foot in diameter, and slightly more dense than a crêpe. yesterday, Jean-Yves made us some Galettes for dinner, and they were fabulous! Inside he baked cheese, ham, mushooms, and and egg. Yum! Yet again, I gobbled up my Galette before remembering to take a picture of the delicacy, so you will have to do with a lovely internet photo!

 Another cool aspect of French dinners (besides the supercool main course!) is that French dinners contain many "after dinner" extras. For example, right after we finish our soup/pasta/galettes/deliciousness at the Girards, Odile will  bring out the cheese plate, from which we pluck delectable slabs of cheese to eat with tornoff slices of baguettes. YUM! Here's a little teaser of what we enjoy every day after dinner...

After we dabble in the delights of cheese, we move on to our next little palette teaser: fruits and nuts. During this time, we often partake in some (very fresh) clementines, apples, or kiwis* paired with walnuts and hazelnuts that we shell ourseves! Usually, this our last course, but sometimes  we are treated to yet another dessert! Last night, for example, we grazed on a variation of French chocolate/caramel pudding.

*Yet another very interesting difference that I have noticed is that here in France, peeling one's fruit is very common manually done. Let me explain: When they eat an apple, Jean-Yves/Odile/Louise peel the skin off (With a knife! Very professionally too...)

School Lunches here in France are the polar opposite of the stereotypical American lunch. Not only are they fresh (and conatin many different courses, including salad and a succulent dessert), but they also are full of choices! You may choose between yogurt or cheese, between pasta with pork or rice and fish, and you can even choose between dessert or some fruit! And - as you may have guessed - a mini baguette is always available. (I'm not kidding, there are small loaves of bread that come with every lunch!) It is unreal... :D

My First Few Forays to French School

So, yesterday was my first day of school at Lycée Châteaubriand - and I have to admit it was crazy scary. Not only did I have to catch an unknown bus (okay, my neighbor Zeli helps me find it every day...), find all of my classes, understand all of my classes (I'll go into that later...), and explain to all of my teachers what's up, I also had to make friends :P Such a drag, that social life, huh? And all the while, I had to do these things in French! It was quite exerting, but I have to say the best first day ever!

First, I'll talk about my classes! Yesterday was in fact my only "full load" of the week, meaning that I had a class nearly every hour of the day. In case you can't make out my schedule (haha, it's in French and blurry), here is a little key!

• Olive green boxes signigy History/Geography
• Green boxes signify Economics/Social behavior studies
• Dark maroon boxes (for example on monday right after the short pink box and above the green box) signify english
• Light brownish-red box (there's only one, the first box on tuesday) signifies gym
• Dark brown boxes (for example the last two on monday) signify Spanish 5 (again, we'll get to that later)
• Black box (there's only one, on tuesday) signifies focus time, during which we may reattend a class to ask questions
• Yellow boxes signify French Litterature
• Dark green boxes (last on on friday or 2nd one on monday) signify Latin
• Blue boxes signify Physics
• Grey boxes signify biology

 Some Jolly Unknowns That Should Prove Interesting

• The big light pink box (on friday) is "homeroom", a class that I don't understand yet
• The tiny dark pink box (on monday) is also homeroom, but a different type(?)
• The red box signifies... Well, I have no idea!

A Couple Fun Facts!

• I am not taking Latin - I was allowed to drop it (for free periods) on account of it being a dead language! JK, it was too advanced for me... I have nothing against Latin!
• I am in Spanish 5... and have taken a grand total of half a year of beginner Spanish... hmm. Luckily my teacher is extremely kind and is having me do other (simpler) classwork etc.
• English is easy! Who knew?

Story Time!
MATH IS THE SAME. History tells us that, the transferable metric system tells us that, even Lindsay Lohan tells us that. Yet I was still indescribably happy when I found out that Math makes sense in French!

I actually turned to my friends* and tried to explain the plot of Mean Girls to them, just so they could appreciate it when I said "J'aime les maths. C'est la même dans touts les langues!" ("I love math! It's the same in all languages!")  Alas, no one turned to me and asked " If you're from Africa, why are you white?" Unfortunately, all I got were some blank stares and forced laughter in order to make me feel like they knew what I was talking about, and found it very funny. Come to think of it, the blank-stare-forced-laugh-incomprehension is probably exactly the same reaction that YOU, my blog buddies, are giving me right now... Ah, well.

*(that's right, I have friends! Sure, we communicate mostly by hand gestures, "oui"s and "non"s, and gutteral noises, but we're friends!)

I Made Friends?! What?!
Crazy, right? Fortunately for me, I guess chic French teens take pity on the blushing, overdressed, tardy American Exchange Student who communicates mainly by incomprehensive head nods and the occasional mispronounced "Oui! Eh, je ne sais pas... Désolé." ("Yes! Um, I don't know... Sorry.") It's pretty great. We've bonded greatly through my superb language skills.
But despite the language barrier (which I exagerate, but not greatly! I speak quite a bit, although with poor grammar. And - wow! - they speak back very slowly and simply so that I can comprehend) I have made friends!

First of all, there is Anaïs :) She took pity on me during the first hour of my first day (My luck is enormous!) and asked me to sit by her in History and helped me throughout the entire class, and all the other classes, since in France one's classes are all taken with the same classmates. I often look at her with a blank, slightly hysteric expression, and she rephrases what the professor said with simpler words. She's a life saver!

Then, there is Pauline! Pauline is also in my class, but we don't sit next to eachother (the way our classrooms are designed allow only 2 people to sit next to eachother). We ride the bus together, and that's how we first met! At the end of my first day, I realized that I didn't know where Zeli (my super cool neighbor who speaks crazy good English and helps me find my way blindly to the bus each day) was! I was going to be stranded in Combourg! Thankfully, Anaïs directed me to Pauline, who also lives in Hédé and is probably the most enthusiastic person I have ever met. Whenever I see her, she is laughing, no matter who she's with! And whenever we talk, she always makes a huge effort to ask me about the United States, which is really great for me (talking about the US gets rid of homesickness and lets me talk in the most simplistic sentences - and therefore builds my confidance/vocabulary). AND she listens to awesome music (some French, some English) and it's really fun when we translate for eachother!

Finally, there is Louise (not my host sister, though we're BFF's too!). Louise is one of the 6 students who contacted me via email before I came to Châteaubriand, and she is also friends with Anaïs. Yet again, we are in the same class! It's pretty great :) She's super musical, and we like a lot of the same things! For example...

• We both appreciate the genius of Grease
• We both love The Emperor's New Grove
• We both are Gleeks! (Although I only like the old seasons... I haven't broken that to her yet)
• We enjoy the same music: Lea Michele; the song Timber (but not Ke$ha or her other songs); and Les Miserables

So yeah, it's pretty great!

Note: I only mentioned a few of my friends, mostly because I don't want to misspell anyone's names! I will try to post some pictures of mes amigos (hey look, I do know some Spanish!) and me soon! Also, I will try my hardest to go see the Combourg Château soon (it's entirely intact, super close to my school, and so beautiful) and if it is allowed, I will take pictures. So far I've only seen the exterior, but it's pretty magnificent.

Galettes

I'm just going to talk just a teeny tiny little bit about "Des Galettes" or "King Cake". Ever since I arrived in Hédé, we have been eating  a LOT of Galettes (I don't know if it is a seasonal tradition, a welcome for me, or just a common desert, but I'll take it!). So far, the Girards and I have eaten at two different family friend's houses and at both we have had a Galette, which is a flaky pastry cake full of a sweet paste (the substance differs, one was almond).

Galette Example! (From the internet, because we ate our Galettes super fast!)

In every Galette, there is what is called a "fève", either a green bean or a small figurine. As the host cuts the Galette, the youngest diner adjourns under the table and tells the host who to give each piece of cake. The person who recieves the fève is the "roi/reine" or king/queen of the party! Odile (my host mother) turns out to be extremely lucky, and both times she has found the fève (in these cases a small bear necklace) in her slice of cake. The second time she gave me the little bear :) You wouldn't believe how happy such a little charm could make me!

My little bear:
I have named him "Girard" in honor of... well you know who!

A Trip Through Hédé

A day or two ago, I posted about my host family and about my town, Hédé. I've finally gotten around to taking pictures of Hédé, so here they are!

The Girard Home:

 The Girard Garden:

Our Street:
If you look at the end of our avenue, you can see the Main Street!

The Main Street:
As viewed from a regular street, and then from an alleyway

 The Local Theater: 
"Théâtre de Poche" or "Pocket Theater" (because of it's small size)

The Château Ruins:

The church:
From a few different angles...

And now some random photos!

The Ultimate Goal

So last night I was reading a book which is the fourth in "The Mary Russell Series" (I know, I shouldn't be reading in English, I promise that was the last time!). While reading, I stumbled upon a
quote that just embodies study abroad:

"Despite, or perhaps because of, my combined lack of sleep, physical tiredness, and psychic revulsion of the ubiquitous foreign language, I suddenly realised that I was able to understand virrtually everything that was being said. It was as if some internal mechanism had clcked on and the strange and laborious patterns fell neatly into place, so that even individual words that I did not
actually know were clear in their context
 -Mary Russell (Character in Laurie R. King's "Oh Jerusalem")

This is the moment I am striving for. This understanding is what studying abroad is all about! This is the moment that every exchange student dreams about!

Last night I had a little taste of this moment. The Girards (Odile, Jean-Yves, Louise) and I dined with a few of their family friends, and near the end of the night I just ended up listening because I was so tired/exhausted from mental translation. Suddenly, for about 2 minutes, I was just able to understand what they were talking about without translating in my head or conjugating verbs. Like Mary Russell, I found myself understanding words from their context, not just because I studied them in school! It was so awesome, but it inevitably ended when the convorsation turned less elementary. I still have a long way to go, but it's great to have a little taste of fluency! (Though I'm obviously nowhere near fluent right now)

Some Scary Things About Study Abroad

I'd like to take some time to talk about the ups and downs that I will be experiancing during my semester abroad. There is a widely known timeline called "happiness cycle" that is used to discuss the happy times and sad times during one's study abroad. Here's a picture!

Right now I am in what we may call the "Honeymoon Phase" meaning that I absolutely love and accept everything in Hédé. I'll probably start saying that everything in France is better than that in the USA, which is not fair. The two cultures are different, neither is better than the other. They're just different! But since I am on the happiness cycle, there will be times when I feel overwhelmed, fatigued by the language/culture adaptation, and possibly miss home. I will probably not inflect this in my writing as
1) Writing about my experiences definitely makes me appreciate them more
2) I don't want to bore you down with me being a teenage angst for a few days! And I definitely don't want to ruin such a wonderful experience by blogging such drivvle

So for now, I am flying high on the honeymoon phase, and I can't wait to see what the next phases bring, as they are part of this amazing experience!

Meeting my Host Family

So, today was the day! Well, actually, yesterday was the day... I'm just posting a tad later than I should have ;) Yesterday, at around 1:52 (13H52) Lucia and I took leave of Lille on a train headed for Rennes! Our host families both live quite close to the large city, and thus we were paired together on the train. I have to admit that I was inexpressably relieved to have company on the long train ride. Upon our 5:45 (17H45) arrival, Jean-Yves and Odile (My host father and mother) were there to greet me with a sign reading Welcome Bella!After Lucia and I said goodbye, Odile and Jean-Yves brought me home to Hédé-Bazouges, the enchanting little village in mid-Brittany where I will be living with them for the next 5 months.

Hédé (the short version of Hédé-Bazouges) is truly bewitching, as is the house where Odile, Jean-Yves, and Louise (my host sister! Yay!) live. All of the buildings are made of aged black granite and covered with ivy; the streets are a picturesque cobblestone; the main street consists of five petite stores with charming names like "Boulangerie", the general term for a bakery; we live less than a block away from an ancient church which rings on the hour! The most enchanting part of Hédé is the ruins of a medival castle which lie just outside the local theater. When I asked Jean-Yves about the ruins (in strained french of course!) he informed me that the Hédé château was constructed as a precaution against outside attacks on Rennes. Now nearly demolished, the Hédé château is now just a scenic compilation of circular stone walls and a towering stockade.

What is most exciting about Hédé is my family, I can't wait to get to know them better! Odile speaks so much english, which really helps me, as I am constantly struggling for French words. Jean-Yves speaks no english at all, which actually is super good because when we have conversations they are completely in French, and if I don't understand a word he will explain it to me in french! Louise is also very good at english, especially with slang words, like "gouter" which means "to snack" rather than "manger" which means "to eat". They are all so nice and welcoming, last night we even had bread and pasta with a side of meat because they heard that that was common in Wisconsin!

So far, the coolest thing I have experienced in France is the cheese. I know it sounds weird and stereotypical, but its true! After lunch and dinner Odile always brings out their platter of cheese (my favorite right now is a type of goat cheese called "chèvre") which we eat with slices of baguettes. Awesome enough for you? Well, there's more. Today, in addition to our little cheese desert, we also snacked (nous goûtons...) on some apples (pommes), walnuts (noix), and hazelnuts (noisettes). Then we partook in some coffee, dark chocolate, and some maple candy I brought. (Even though they raved about the maple candy, I don't think it was much of a hit, which I understand because maple candy is a bit too sweet for me too). It's pretty much as French as you can imagine, and I love it!

What's coming up: Monday is my first day at school (eek!), I'm scared, but at the same time I can't wait. So many of my future classmates have been writing to me, I'm just so excited to meet them!

French Graffiti?

Now, I've never been especially polar on the topic of Graffiti. I don't agree with the unauthorized alteration of another person's property, or with cheap gang tags. But a lot of graffiti is just hands down alluring, and no doubt artwork. So, I'd like to dedicate this post to a few spectacular pieces I have recently seen. I do want to state that I do not support the defacement of property, I just appreciate the art that stems from this medium.

My personal favorite: very close to the hostel we stayed at, and obviously the accumulated work of various artists. What I like most about this one is that it incorporates some 'thin' (non bubble letter) tags, which I usually dislike, but which when paired with eachother and other pieces, prove very appealing.

A silly little fish on the sidewalk of Lille! This made me laugh...

The first piece I saw in Lille: this is just a very small section of a vast expanse of wall that is covered in both illustrations and tags - very expressive.

This guy shows up everywhere! If you look at my first picture, he is in that as well. I also have a picture of a more controversial piece featuring him with a caption on his cap.

Look closely: the sphinx's eyes have been spraypainted so that he is crying. Obviously not a laborous piece, but a statement nonetheless.

Seen from montmartre: Not very visible in this shot, this building reads "internet" with a rainbow running down the perimeter. This mut have taken ages!

Sous le Ciel de Paris...

On Wednesday the 16th, our little gaggle of slightly French-fluent geese (well, besides Aidan, who is ridiculously fluent!) had the FABULOUS opportuity to visit Paris! Well, obviously we declined. NOT! Of course we sprung upon the opportunity, and clung for dear life. While there, our dearest Sophie (forever our role model)

Montmartre: a truly breathtaking monument, especially on the inside (I decided not to take pictures within the building, as there were many people praying and I did not wish to interrupt them)

 The view from Montmartre was breathtaking, you could see nearly all of Paris!

La Tour Eiffel (The Eiffel Tower): Just, Wow.

I now choose to describe the Eiffel tower in a list of appropriate onimonipias:
BAM! POW! SHAZAM! KABLOOM! WOWZERS!

The Champs-Élysées: Despite my ridiculously high expectations for this monument, the arch itself was still staggeringly powerful in person.

While picking up some lunch (and free-time shopping) by the Champs-Élysées, my dearest Melinda and I stumbled upon a fabulous candy shop, were we discovered the true beauty of des souris gélifié, or gummy mice. (For reference, the decapitated mouse is mine... I just couldn't resist the temptation!)

The Louvre: Once again, purely fantastic. After we gaped at the pyramids for a good twenty minutes, we visited the gift shop, where I was very nearly tempted into paying to go to the bathroom... One big difference in France: many public bathrooms actually charge users. (Hey, look, it's Melinda again!)

Notre-Dame: I was very surprised to find out that Notre Dame does not indeed have steps (As Melinda pointed out that the Disney movie purports the monument to contain stairs!) Another fun fact: do you see the row of statues running along the building? All of these are of the likeness of important church officials, except one, which is actually portraying the renovating architect! As for the interior, the various "Virgin and Child" and "Last Supper" art pieces were especially intriguing. Fun Fact: when we were walking to Notre Dame, I saw this guy on the street who looked super familiar! He stopped and asked - in english! - "You're from West High aren't you?!" Turns out he was in my ceramics class last year and is now backpacking through Europe. Crazy, huh?

After Notre Dame, we had some free time to shop (by this awesome sign!), Melinda and I actually became enraptured with a quaint little bookstore where we shopped for French books and school supplies for over an hour!

That was our day in Paris!