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Hello all! Well, what have I been up to for the past few days? Today was my first day of classes, which was pretty exciting... and a bit scary. My first class was francophone literature which was at 9:45, so not too early which was nice. On the tram ride up, though, there was a message about there being a strike tomorrow. Lovely. So, the first class was good (once I found it--good thing I left lots of time). Not only is it a small class and the professor seems nice (and she speaks really clearly and slowly) but it's about half international students which was initially disappointing, but it's really quite reassuring. I signed up for some presentation which I'm sort of regretting, and I feel bad for the poor girl ho got stuck with me... Oh well, too late to change it now. Spent an hour hanging out after class and then found my art history class which... was not quite as exciting as I was hoping for. It's a decently large class, and the prof is Italian I believe (which is actually nice, because he speaks slowly, but his accent is a bit tough to follow at times), and the subject matter...? Apparently the entire bloody class is about Middle Age mozaique designs [Wow, I just spent a good five minutes trying to figure out how to spell that in English--mosaic, apparently] So, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I mean, maybe it'll be fine, but it's just not really up my alley, and it's just a lecture... Gah. I dunno. Also, I'm not sure how to sign up for it. UPC doesn't have a nice unified electronic system for things like this, I'm afraid. So, that was three hours, and then I ran off to my phonetics class which nearly put me to sleep. Why hello, phonetic alphabet. Looks like we'll be learning the entire thing. Oh boy... So, one day down. I officially don't like Tuesdays, but at least the rest of my week is pretty light.

Nothing terribly exciting happened during the rest of the weekend. There was a concert at Saint Pierre cathedral on Saturday which I went to, and that's where the pictures are from.

It was in the late afternoon, so you can see the light of the stained glass windows reflected on the opposite walls which is super cool.















The beautiful organ that I was expecting to hear play, but didn't :( As Rob pointed out, it would have been basically impossible to play it with an ensemble, as was done--so, they used a little chamber organ. It was a nice concert, though.









I went on a really epic shopping trip yesterday, and not only bought proper tupperware (we've been using a mishmash of glass jars in odd shapes) but a glass pan for using in the microwave (I've been borrowing one from Mme Cesari) as well as cheddar!! I was really happy to find it, mostly just because it's so familiar and comforting to a homesick Vermonter. It's this really bright orange, though, which is different from what we buy at home. Speaking of home, I've been trying to do some thinking ahead about what I'm doing for winter break. It turns out that I have a 2-week break, which is enough time to come home, although I'm not convinced it's a good idea. I'm not sure I'll want to come back if I go home. Can everyone just come and visit me here during christmas? Please?

Also, if you're reading this, please a. let me know if you are, because I'm never sure if anyone's actually looking at it, and b. let me know how you are! I'm writing this to keep my friends and family updated on my goings-ons, so please return the favor--I'd love to hear from you all...

As per usual, the amount of stuff that has happened since my last post makes me despair about ever getting it all written down. But, I'm sure going to try. I guess we'll go chronologically. So, after successfully buying my tickets on Monday (for 94 euros, which may seem like a lot until you realize that if I didn't have my youth pass it would have been twice as much; it's good to be young), solidifying plans and packing, on Tuesday, Sealia and I headed off to Paris! So, trains are apparently very different from planes. a. They actually run on time and b. you only need to get to the train station about 20 minutes before your train leaves. Interesting. So, the trip took about 3 and a half hours and we were in Paris before 2:00. We spent the rest of the day hanging out with Sealia's family who were kind enough to take us in for a few days, and played Monopoly and barbies with Lea, their 7-year old daughter. So, not only was this my first real experience with a French family, but it was my first experience with a proper French dinner! So, dinner was a meat and then a veggie dish, with plenty of bread and wine as well (I actually managed to drink a glass of red wine). Then there was fruit, then cheese (it tasted rather like cheddar which made me really, really happy) and then dessert. All of this took at least an hour, at which point I was ready to be rolled away from the table. Whew.

On Wednesday we went into Paris proper with Lucien (Sealia's "uncle"--it's complicated) and went to the Louvre, although only the Egyptian and Sculpture exhibits, and then to a museum dedicated entirely to plaster molds of great sculptures, primarily cathedral facades.

Taken from under the glass pyramid. Too bad the sky is so gray... Actually it was gray (and chilly!) the entire time we were there, which was quite the shock after Montpellier.










Venus de Milo! I wouldn't say that she's the most beautiful sculpture in the world, but certainly quite nice (minus the lack of arms). There was a giant crowd around her which was pretty intense.














Actually not quite sure what this is, but it's one of four that are very similar and were moved into the Louvre for protection.











On Thursday, we spent the entire day walking around the city. I wish I had had a pedometer so I could figure out just how many miles (er, kilometers) we walked. Of course, we started at the beautiful Notre Dame.














You can't really tell from the photo, but there was a concert going on when we got there--good timing, huh? It was really cool, actually, and sort of made the space come alive. It really is easy to imagine how the people of the 12th century believed that cathedrals were a place in between heaven and earth.












Next up was the Sainte Chapelle (apparently called the Holy Chapel in English) which was commissioned by... Louis IX, I think. Anyways, it's practically all stained glass and defies gravity and most of the laws of physics. It's amazing.









The last stop of the day was les jardins de Luxembourg, which were really lovely, and had this to one side.











It's rather depressing how few of my photos make it onto this blog... for more, find me on facebook, or coerce someone who is friends with me to show you the photos.

So, that's my trip to Paris in a nutshell. I got a train back to Montpellier first thing Friday morning (all by myself, too. I was impressed) and was back by about noon. I must say, I like trains. They may be slower than flying, but it feels so much more natural, somehow. Anyways. So, Friday evening was Rosh Hashanah, so I made it over to Mira's host family's house for dinner at 9:00. They were very nice and seemed happy to have me there. I wish I could do a proper analysis of the differences between RH here and at home, but I realized that for the last few years, it's been too difficult to miss school so I haven't gone. There were a bunch of blessings over a number of fruits etc. which was interesting. Also, I could barely distinguish their Hebrew from French. Hm. So, as the house was pretty far from town, they put me up for the night and I headed back to my apartment early this morning. Overall, the French win for hospitality.

Let's see. In other news, I realized that putting my schedule together was indeed too easy, and that it needs to be rearranged so I can get a literature class that's actually French literature instead of literature that's taught in French. Oh well. The potentially good thing here is that I may end up with classes only on Tuesday-Thursday. Pretty cool, huh. Also, classes start this coming week which is terrifying. I mean, I can't even hold a conversation with a 7-year old, so how am I supposed to read college level texts and write papers? I guess that this is really the "trial by fire" part. I think I'm going to be burned to a crisp...

Well, it's been another ridiculous week. I wonder if things will ever settle down. I seriously hope so. So, this was the last week of prestage classes which is pretty wonderful. Not that I wasn't benefiting from them, but this whole waking up at 7:15 every morning was starting to kill me. I'm just not a morning person, period. Let's see. The highlight of last Tuesday was making my microwave quiche, which I'll bet that most of you have heard about already--it was just that exciting. Also, I went synagogue hunting for about an hour and a half, wandered into the sketchy part of town, asked directions, Finally found the the right street, the right number... and there was most definitely not a shul there. Weird. Ah well, I'll live. Oh, and I finally got my LCL bank card which is pretty exciting--it makes me feel like a bona fide Frenchwoman to have an account with a French bank. I mean, there's no money in my account, but that's not the point.

On Thursday, the entire group descended on Amy's house to figure out our course schedules. It was rather intense. You see, at MHC, to sign up for classes requires going online, typing in the classes you're interested in, and pushing the 'sign up' button. Well, something like that. Here, even finding the course catalog is a challenge, as it literally needs to be hunted down, and every department has its own catalog... Yeah. So, by the end of the afternoon, everyone was in a mild state of panic. Somehow, amazingly, I managed to figure out my schedule really easily. The timing is really awkward, but I can take everything I need. Here 'tis:
Monday: Nothing. Weird.
Tuesday: Art History 12:15-3:15, Corrective Phonetics 3:15-5:15 (Looong day)
Wednesday: French for Foreign Students 5:45-7:15
Thursday: French for Foreign Students 3:45-5:15
Friday: French Lit. Seminar 11:15-12:45, French Lit. Lecture 1:15-2:45

A few exciting things happened on Friday. First of all, I got my schedule all worked out which was a big relief. A little later, I went to fiddle for a bit at the bookstore and met a French girl who's a few years older than me who said that she wanted to do some sort of language exchange so she could keep up her English--perfect! I feel a little bad that she'll have to suffer through my French, but it'll be a great opportunity. We'll be meeting a little later today, in fact. Friday finished up with dinner at the Dollhouse, which was lovely :)

Now, for Saturday. We had our exam at 9:00 am which was evil incarnate, but at least now it's over and done with. It went very well until the end when we did listening comprehension. The recording was terrible quality, and it was very long and the questions were out of order, to boot. So mean. That afternoon was our last excursion to Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful villages in the area.

So, Guilhem was apparently the cousin of Charlemagne, and did all this fighting in Spain against the Muslims until he turned all religious and founded an abbey (yes, an abbey). About 100 years later he became a saint, but the town didn't take his name for another three centuries.








Medieval watch-tower at the top of a nearby hill. Of course, I see this and think... Minas Tirith!












In case you couldn't tell, it's a bit touristy.

















l'Abbey de Gellone, fonded by Saint Guilhem. Apparently it has a piece of Christ's cross, too. Great architecture, at any rate.















Organ! Rob, this one's for you.

















The other exciting event on Saturday was being taken out to the opera! The last rehearsal for the Magic Flute (which I bought tickets for a few days ago) was open to the public, so Mme. Cesari took Muoyo and I, as well as her daughter and granddaughter to the show. It was really quite exciting to go to the opera for the first time, especially to see the one opera that I know and love. So, it was very good, although really very long (even though it was abridged). There were subtitles above the stage which was pretty cool, although of course they were in French, so I still wasn't 100% sure what was going on. But yeah, it was very cool.

So, I just got back from the Foire aux Associations, which was pretty intense. Literally every single organization in Montpellier was there to advertise itself. It was fun, though, and now want to join about a dozen different groups. I feel like I should be getting involved with something very traditionally "French" instead of tap dancing or something, but I guess that so long as there are French people involved, it's French, right? Oh, and I'm officially on break for a whole week! About time, too. Still busy, though, and on Tuesday I'm off to Paris! Still need to get those tickets, though...

Okay, I finally have some time to post again. It's been a crazy week, so let's see if I can actually remember any of it... Let's work backwards, shall we? Today was marked (so far) by me skipping one of my classes which was wonderful and provided a much needed break, buying my youth train pass so I can get discounts on trips (although I was dumb and didn't start it until the 13th, so I can't buy my tickets to Paris until then... crap), buying a gigantic jar of nutella (I'm psyched), and preparing to make a quiche. In the microwave. It'll be... an adventure.

On Sunday we had our second excursion, to Avignon. I'll admit that it was not the most enjoyable trip I've even had mostly because a. we left at 8:15 which is much too early to be up on a Sunday and b. Avignon is apparently the Chicago of France in that it's always windy, and Sunday was no exception. It was bloody freezing in the morning.

So, ten points to anyone who can point out the exciting part of this photo... anyone?
Mountains!!! I haven't seen mountains in weeks. I was pretty pleased. In other news, this is Avignon.






















The exciting bit about Avignon is that the Pope lived here for a while. Didn't quite catch why, but he (well, multiple) built this amazing castle, and me being the art history/architecture geek that I am, couldn't help but take pictures of the vaulted ceiling...













... And the piers. It's just so brilliant that it makes my brain ache.

























After we left Avignon proper, we went to a vineyard for a little tour and then a wine tasting. Right now is the middle of "la vendange" which is the massive grape-picking season. Also, we got to see some wines that were in the process of fermenting which was pretty cool. It doesn't look all that appetizing, though, because it's opaque and very fizzy. Tastes really sweet, though.






Let's see. On Saturday evening, after going to a lovely dinner party I went to a little bookshop which is right down the corner from my apartment (I think it's called The Globe, although I can never remember) for an acoustic music night. There were about five musicians and it was really nice. I played for a bit as well, although it didn't go terribly well. Not awful, but just not great. There was one point when I did a downbow, hit the little table in front of me where I had put my music, and had my bow nearly jump out of my hands. Needless to say, that threw me off a bit. The exciting part of the evening, though, was that there was another fiddler there, named Lucile I believe, who did French folk songs and even tried to teach a dance! Afterwards I talked with her a bit and asked her to send me some info regarding folk dancing in Montpellier. I'm so glad to be a bit closer to finding the folk scene! Other than this, my weekend was fun and very full. On Friday we went to the last Estivales (I can almost drink a glass of wine without shuddering, so I'm very pleased with myself) and then to a club, which was a new experience for me. It actually wasn't quite as much fun as I had been hoping it would be--guess it's just not quite my place, but it was a good experience nonetheless. Also, I had my first daiquiri which was rather tasty.

And before the weekend... Wow, that was a long time ago. Classes have been going well, and I actually did well on a quiz which was rather heartening. For grammar we had to write stories, and my group came up with something very... original... concerning a dead, Egyptian princess who happens to have been Cinderella's stepsister, and she needs to weigh her heart against a feather... yeah. I dunno either. On Friday in our lexique class we had to argue a court case, but we got to make up the back story so it ended up being ridiculous and a lot of fun. My group was trying to prove that M. Martin had indeed been murdered by his wife, and used evidence such as the illegitimate child and cocaine usage as proof. Good times. Also, we ate at the cafeteria for the first time which, despite being very civilized with three courses, baguettes and pitchers of water, had terrible food. I'm hoping that it'll improve once the school year starts. Other than that... Well, I finally got postcards in the mail after a few days of trying, we went to see a Mucha exhibit at the museum, I've developed a strange obsession with the Phantom of the Opera, and I've discovered how to download movies. Also, I need to start planning for what classes I want to sign up for, my trip to Paris next week, and Rosh Hashana which is next Friday (although I found a girl who's staying with a Jewish family, so hopefully they'll be able to adopt me for the holiday).

And, I've momentarily run out of things to say, so I'll finish this up before I type my fingers off. Au revoir!

The rest of the weekend update. So, on Sunday we took a field trip to Nîmes which is a city about 45 minutes away in a generally eastwardly direction. It was with the whole group which was a little intense... too many "like OMGs" as Sealia put it. Apparently it was Roman occupied back in the day, so there was bits of Roman architecture everywhere, including a bloody...

Mini-Coliseum! It's amazingly still intact, although there's obviously been a lot of restoration. Apparently during the middle ages all the portals were sealed up and it was used as a fortress of sorts--some of them are actually still sealed. Also, seeing Roman architecture done right (aka by the Romans, not the Renaissance-era Italians) makes me really happy.






Les Arenes, from the very tippy-top. We had to climb up these huge stairs to get there, which was intense, and my thighs are still sore from it. I think that they actually have events there sometimes, like bull fighting and possibly fake gladiators as well. I swear, this region must have a serious identity crisis--It's in France, but it used to be a Roman territory, and was also Spanish at one point...





So, not only was there a mini-Coliseum, there's a mini Parthenon! Very cute, and again, in amazingly good shape (although I don't know how much has been restored).










And, last but not least, the Pont du Gard, the aqueduct which ran into Nîmes. A lot of the tour went right over my head, as it was in rather quick French and I was tired, but there was some great story about how in the 18th century (I think) they came up with this story about the devil helping to build it in return for taking the first soul that crossed it, and he was foiled by someone chucking a rabbit onto it. This was supposed to explain a bunny-shaped marking on the side of it, which was, in reality, vulgar Roman graffiti. Oh boy.


So, we returned from Nîmes around 6, a rather tired and sandy (we had gone swimming, which was lovely--imagine, fresh water!) bunch. I got home, and decided to make fried rice for dinner. There were a few issues with this decision. A. the recipe was for 6 people, and my biggest skillet is about omelette-sized B. said recipe used measurements of cups and tablespoons, and my measurements were liters and milliliters C. fried rice requires a lot of stuff to go on at the same time, and I have two burners and no working space and finally D. I had no soy sauce. However, despite the difficulties, it came out decidedly edible and I was very happy.

A bit of a story about the soy sauce: So, I had a lot of leftovers from this meal, so I decided that I had to go out to Monoprix and get some soysauce, or I'd never be able to finish the remaining 5 portions. So, I got there and went into the condiments aisle. It wasn't there. So, I found a clerk to ask the whereabouts... and realized that I had no idea what the word for soy sauce was. Oops. So, we basically played charades. I'm looking for something, but I don't know the word for it. You put it on rice, it's brown and salty... They had no idea what I was talking about. Finally I hit upon the phrase "cuisine chinois" and I was directed to the exotic food aisle where it was sitting happily, right next to the instant pancake mix, microwave popcorn and the maple syrup (which I really wanted to buy, but it was expensive, and I wasn't sure what I would do with it anyways except look at it and get homesick). So, that was Monday's adventure.