"Pulitzer and Hearst, they think we're nothing! Are we nothing? No!"

Well, the high schoolers are in strike. Striking is the national sport of France. I don't mind it as long as it doesn't affect my travel plans... but it has all of this week and it canceled a much-anticipated trip to Paris in November, so I guess I should just get used to it.

I'm so nervous about things going wrong this weekend in the coming-home process that I feel sick! What if I get to the airport too late, what if all of the transportation workers are on strike, what if, what if, what if.

Finalsyuck.

Well, finals week begins. I have grammar tomorrow, and I'm terrified! La grammaire, je ne l'aime pas :(. It is funny, though, when you go into a bakery and confuse the gender of whatever it is you want to buy.

"Je voudrais un eclair, s'il vous plait."
"Un eclair? Euhh, une eclaire?"

When I get this sort of response I only assume it means that there is something out there that is "un eclair" or "un galette" or "une beignet." I mean, if I say, no, I don't want une eclaire, but rather, un eclair, do they come out with something else? A small animal, perhaps? I guess I'll just have to try it sometime...

I learned how to make crepes!

Last Sunday my friend Mathilde picked me up from my dorm and we drove to her house in Courseulles-sur-mer, which is a cute little town by the sea. It was a great day. It's fun to ride in a car, for one thing! I never thought that I'd miss that because I'm not a huge fan of driving most of the time.

We went to the beach where we saw some WWII memorial trucs* (like on almost all of the beaches around here, as one would expect). We walked around her village for a bit and then schlumped on her couch at home, using REAL internet and swapping music. Then, we made good old American chocolate chip cookies, for which Mathilde chopped up some nice dark chocolate. The first batch was pretty good, but I think I added something to the second that made them turn out extremely flat and weird.

For dinner, Mathilde taught me how to make crepes. They were very easy to make, and of course having a good teacher helped! I put ham and Camembert in mine for dinner, and then had a chocolate crepe for dessert. Her father treats himself to raw oysters with a dressing of shallots and red wine vinegar every Sunday, and he let me try a couple of those. This is me schlurping one up!

It was so much fun. Mathilde and her family are very sweet, and it's always nice to get away from the old Tilleuls dorm room!



*French for "thingamajig."

A List For My Parents

And for all of the people who intend to cook me food over winter break. This is what I have been wanting since September 7, 2008:

--Homemade macaroni & cheese
--Kraft macaroni & cheese
--Homemade chocolate chip cookies
--Chocolate chip cheesecake
--Mexican food (enchiladas, fajitas, tacos, etc, etc, etc, with all the fixin's)
--Pancakes and/or waffles
--Bacon and eggs
--Biscuits & gravy
--Chicken fried chicken
--A full Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.
--Thanksgiving leftovers
--A pumpkin milkshake from Graeter's (this will be difficult since I won't be going to Kentucky!)
--Ale-8-1 (also difficult for the same reason!)
--Jayna's apple cake
--CHICKEN! You wouldn't believe how rare it is to eat chicken here.
--No-bake cookies
--Peanut butter and crackers
--Spinach dip (I miss you, H-Butt!)
--CEREAL AND MILK! Oh, how I have missed thee! I want Cranberry Crunch, Captain Crunch, and whatever other Crunches are lying around.
--Blue cheese steak
--PIZZA
--Toasted things, like toast, Pop-Tarts, and bagels


And maybe a treadmill, because I will need one to work all of that off...

I love you, family! Even if I wasn't able to eat a single one of those things in the United States I would still be just as excited to see you in seventeen days!