Boat party

Michael stands in the front of the boat, and says that he’s king of the world within the first hour, or I give you my next paycheck. --Jim, "Booze Cruise", The Office

I live here and I'm confused as to what part of France I live in. It was finally cleared up today: I am in Lower-Normandy, in the Calvados region, in the city of Caen, which is the prefecture of Calvados. For some reason I thought Calvados meant Normandy plus some other areas, but no, it's a region of Lower-Normandy. Got it. In a month I will have my residential permit for Calvados, which will be nice to get out of the way.

Caen is a small city. Much smaller than I had initially thought. It has about half the population of Lexington in a much, much smaller space. I feel like I've seen almost all of the town, excluding the residential areas that aren't of much interest, and that makes me feel much more at home. Let me tell you, the French may be a wee bit behind on technology when it comes to internet access, but they are decades ahead of America on public transportation, even in a small city like this. It couldn't be easier to get around unless you just had a personal taxi driver.

Today the foreign students are being taken on a boat party, or, as we Office fans call it, a Booze Cruise! We're all very excited about it because we have no idea what it consists of. Hopefully pastries. I just got a loyalty card at my favorite patisserie today!

Today I was in an information session with all of the foreign students who will be staying here for the year. There were seven westerners, a handful of Ghanans, a handful of Koreans and Vietnamese*, and the rest were Chinese. Soooo many Chinese! They're the cutest and sweetest people in the world. I feel so sorry for the Asians because they struggle so much with French. The English, Spanish, and Italian speakers among us have it sooo easy. I admire them so much for being brave enough to come here, and I'm so glad they have so many others who speak their language so they won't be lonely!

I got my first postcard the other day! I felt so loved! Personal mail is like gold here. My friends were very jealous.

Hope you all are having a good day! I'm now off to bombard my parents with more e-mails about what to put in my care package.

A Holiday at Sea

Kylie and I are watching a movie on her bed and vegging out. Practice classes began today. Mine was far too easy, and so I hope to be moved to a higher level. After we took a test we did an activity in which we had to converse with a small group of people and then tell the class a few interesting things about one of them. Next to me was a man named Curtis. About him I said that he was from Vermont, he loves Nutella, normal things like that. . . and then he proceeds to tell the class that I am American and I love France, but the one thing I don’t love are the lack of toilet seats here. The toilet seats! After he asks me tons of questions about why I study French and what I like to do, that’s all he can remember to say! It was part of a long conversation in which our group (Erica, Courtney, Curtis, and me) talked about the differences between France and the USA. I was so embarrassed! I wasn’t complaining about the dorms or anything, but I’m sure it looked like I was a spoiled brat American to the teacher.

Today I felt like a real French girl because I went to a bakery and cremerie to buy a baguette and Camembert for dinner for Kylie, Erica, and I (Courtney doesn’t like cheese). That and a chausson de pomme from my favorite patisserie makes a great meal, though I’ve discovered that I am not fond of Camembert.

Classes are over by lunch time and we have the rest of the day to do as we please. This is kind of a problem because right now there is no homework, and nothing to do unless we want to spend tons of money. I’ll be happy when sports begin (oh my gosh, did I just say that out loud?).

(Two days later… it’s such a hassle to update blogs when you don’t have internet!)

Yesterday my friends and I visited the Abbaye aux Hommes, which is next to the Hotel de Ville (which we did not go into). William the Conqueror’s tomb is in the church, so we went to see him, or rather, his leg, as the rest of him was dug up and destroyed during the French Revolution. The church was gorgeous, dark, eerie, and reverent. And old. I can't stop thinking about the hands that made the castles, walls, and churches hundreds of years ago!

After that Kylie, Robert, and I took a bus to the beach at Lion-sur-Mer, which is an adorable town. The beach was cold and beautiful. There were tiny cave-like structures along the cliffs that we climbed on until an old French man either told us that the rocks would fall, that we would fall, or that we were not allowed to climb them, or a combination of the three. It was too windy to hear him! We spent a couple of hours walking and talking on the beach, then went to a little cafe to have cheese and baguette while we waited for our bus.

In other news, I'm in level B-1, which is almost where I wanted to be (B-2 would have been preferable). This permits me to do many things that I wouldn't get to do in the A level, and so I'm pleased.

And in yet more news, food is exceedingly difficult to find on Sundays!

Fete du Port

I have been in Caen, Normandie for about six days now. The first two were extremely rough, but I’m doing fine now. I think I am entering the “honeymoon” phase of study abroad. On Thursday and Friday we did a lot of registration sorts of things. We had to sign up for health insurance and obtain a student identity card and all sorts of things—most that we did not understand. Today we opened up our French bank accounts and signed even more papers that we did not understand. Oh well! Hopefully our new bank accounts will help us get our own wifi plans.

The town is gorgeous and clean. Walking to town involves going through the castle of William the Conqueror (Chateau de Caen, I think). The castle’s moat has long been dry and that and the rolling hills and gardens surrounding it are popular places for people to picnic and lounge with a book. Boulangeries and patisseries are everywhere. I’m rarely able to resist the temptation of citron tartelettes and pain au chocolat! Amazing food is everywhere. . . baguette sandwiches, gelato, kebabs, crepes. . . Even the cafeteria is pretty good, and McDonald’s has some pretty nice pastries as well. McDonald’s (which I only go to for the free wifi!) has four styles of hamburgers: American, Australian, British, and Canadian. We have yet to learn the difference, except that the Canadian burger has French fries on it.

Today Kylie and I went to a mall sort of place called Carfourre. There are shops and restaurants inside and a large, Wal-Mart like store. C’est tres americain! After lunch at a boulangerie we headed back to our dorm to rest and to get ready for a fete on the port. We got all dressed up, really, for no reason, because it was more like a little carnival, but getting dressed up is fun anyway. At the port children were riding a carnival ride and kayaking, and everyone else was listening to live music, eating, and shopping at the booths.

My parents called from home, My aunt and uncle called from skype, and Missy from where ever in France she happens to be. I love phone calls! I love hearing familiar, American voices. I listen to the Bob & Sheri show podcast all the time here because I listened to their show every morning when getting ready for school my senior year of high school, and even hearing their voices is comforting! As homesick as I can be, I am having a good time here and am looking forward to classes beginning.

Patisseries!

Don't worry, everyone! The culture shock is wearing off. I've met some great people, and have eaten some great food. I didn't know those first couple of days would be so difficult, but I'm glad I know what culture shock is now. I was discussing it with Erin and before we had these experiences we were pretty sure it was a myth. She's coming to visit soon, and I can't wait. I've met several girls in my dorm, and they're wonderful. The food is so amazing. I cannot stress that enough. And cheap, too!

Here's my dorm

Go to my flickr account to see pictures of my dorm: http://flickr.com/photos/seemmert/

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