Vacation sweet vacation! It didn't really feel deserved, though, as I'd only had 16 days of classes and then got a 10 day vacation. But... I don't think I'll complain.

The first half of my break was pretty low-key which was nice and balanced out the fun and games of the second half.

The exciting event of Tuesday was meeting some interesting people in the park. I was just wandering around, taking advantage of the warm weather when I stumbled across two guys jamming, one with a medieval oboe (kinda like a bombarde) and the other with a didgeridoo. Needless to say, I hung out for a while :) Also, at one point they were trying to guess where I was from--the first guy said England, the second said that of course I was German... And it wasn't until the third guess that they got it right. I was pleased. Anyways, it was really cool to meet them, and I invited the guy with the oboe (named Mathieu) to jam with us on Fridays. This is the band he plays with, which is pretty darn cool: http://www.myspace.com/compagniesoukha

Wednesday evening I finished the UAF--the application for the summer internship at le Chateau de Chantilly--which was a GIANT relief. Everyone wish me luck!

And on Thursday.... Sealia and I hopped on a train and went to Carcassone! (Although the whole "leaving" part nearly didn't happen due to an alarm clock malfunction). It's a small city about an hour and a half west of Montpellier, which is home to la cité médiévale de Carcassone which is a totally intact castle--moat (sans water), drawbridge, ramparts etc. It's all there, and super awesome. We spent the day wandering around the city and then spent the night in a nice little hostel. It would be really cool to come back in the summer, as a lot of things were closed because it's the off-season now.
FREAKING CASTLE













Can you imagine trying to attack this place?













Hey, moat!













Because every castle needs a good cathedral.

















Wandering around in the evening... A few minutes later we found the coven of witches and did some human sacrifice.











My compliments to Sealia's awesome photography skillz.










So, we were supposed to go to Ireland on Friday afternoon, but seeing as this is indeed France where striking is the national sport... Yeah. All flights were canceled because of the air controller strikes, so Ireland was out of the question unless we felt like swimming. We were.... MOST displeased. But, at least we managed to get back home by that afternoon, so that was good. Also, it was Friday, so we at least got to spend the evening at an Irish pub :) It actually ended up being quite the jam, even though it had technically been canceled because Brian was off in Slovenia. It was only five of us, but included Mathieu who had brought his bagpipes!! Also, I got to dance a scottish with Titouan which was a lot of fun.

Saturday was my first trip to a farmer's market just at the edge of the centre-ville, which was really cool. It had pretty much anything you could think of and felt very... Cultural, to boot. Lots of people, lots of color, lots of interesting things to buy and (mostly) eat. And now it is Sunday evening, my break is officially at an end, and I didn't do half the work that I should have. Such is life.... But hey, tomorrow might be a Monday, but it's also the first day of MARCH! That's practically SPRING! :)

So, it seems that all of the exciting events of the past week revolve around either dance, music or food. Maybe this should tell me something about my life, of late. Hmmmm....

First of all, we can start with the best Valentine's day ever. No, seriously. As Sophie wisely pointed out, why reserve Valentine's day for being mushy with your significant other when you can be mushy with your friends? So, that's just what we did--Got dressed to the nines, descended upon a flower-and-heart-strewn apartment and had an Amazing dinner. Good times :) [Photos will be uploaded when I figure out who has them; I need to get in the habit of actually bringing my camera places, I think]

Monday afternoon charged us with the great task of eating une galette au roi, because these things simply cannot be left to languish. So, as the youngest (who'd have known?) I got to cut it up and decide who I liked enough to give a piece to. Now, the fun thing about la galette is that there's a prize baked into it, and who ever finds/chokes on it gets to be the king/queen for the day. Now who should find it, but yours truly!

Isn't it pretty?











It's a little hard to see, but I have a crown!
(Photos grace à Sealia)










School, blah, blah, blah... I should probably start doing some work, one of these days, but seeing as I'm now on vacation... [Yes, vacation. I've had a total of 16 days of class, and I'm on vacation. Hell yes.] Oh, I think I went to the WORST contemporary art museum ever to exist on Thursday. Seriously, it was miserable. It was all the type of art that has no title, no explanation and no apparent logic which always feels very... Selfish. How do I know that someone didn't just throw together a bunch of paper napkins and dice, and declare it art? For me, it's not art without an apparent thought process from the artist.

Thursday was my first time back to the Occitan dance since the fall! I got there early and learned a few tunes (er... tried) and then spent the rest of the evening bouncing back and forth from my fiddle and the dance floor. There was one man who sang a few Occitan songs for us, which was really incredible.
A group of college students getting together in the Occitan studies classroom to play and dance the night away. Oh yes. (Again, not my photo).











Also, if you're curious about Occitan music, listen to this.

Friday was, as per usual, the FitzPatrick's jam which was, as per usual, a lot of fun, and Saturday was spent, as per usual, recovering from said fun.

After trying four different recipes... I WIN THE EPIC BROWNIE BATTLE.
It still needs some tweaking, but it was neither semi-solid, burned to a crisp nor super greasy, so I say it was a success.









So, I intend to use the next week getting some school work done, catching up on ballet classes and then, on Thursday leaving for Carcassone and then on to IRELAND! I can't wait. Also, if all goes according to plan, we get to stay with a friend of Sealia's father, a Mr. O'Shay which would be awesome :)

Frenchification:

It occurred to me, early yesterday morning while getting dressed, that I seem to have adopted a few French habits--Completely by accident, I assure you. This realization was sparked when trying to decide which scarf I wanted to wear: black, white or dark blue. It then struck me that I don't think I've seen my neck since the beginning of October, because I always have a scarf on, in true French fashion. So, this made me think about other ways in which I've been "Frenchified." (Is it just me, or does that sound like a Bushism?)

1. Scarves, as already stated. I feel terribly naked without one. Anyways, I don't want to tempt the vampires of the world.

2. Bread: For some reason, it now feels downright morally wrong to buy anything other than a freshly-made-that-morning baguette. Processed bread just seems to be, well, not bread. Also, not nearly as tasty when covered with nutella. For better or worse, I don't feel quite the same way about pastries v. cookies, which is probably good for my wallet and my arteries.

3. Conservation: I can't really claim that I now have the heat perpetually turned to "penguin" and wear my parka indoors, like the rest of the French population, but I am a bit paranoid about hot water, especially when it comes to using the washing machine... As in, turning it up to 40 C to wash my towels makes my palms sweat.

4. Makeup: Putting on makeup used to be reserved for going out on the weekends, when I felt like looking especially nice. Now, it goes on for classes. Yikes.

5. The "Sound Bubble": While Americans have a "space bubble," the French have a "sound bubble," in that it's considered awkward when you can easily hear someone else's conversation in public space. Will I ever have a phone conversation while on the tram? Heck no.

6. Time: At home, time is that evil entity that is always against us, no matter if it's too much, too little, or it's just the word "time" which is probably giving you a panic attack at this very moment. In France, however, possessing time is the single most important thing in life--Why bolt your dinner when you can enjoy it for the entire evening? Why run when you can walk? Why get a to-go cup when you can sit in the café and savor it for two hours? In France, you learn to take your time.

Another week, another post. Or, something like that, at least.

So, I have just finished with week #3 of classes, and things are going well, although the sheer number of presentations I need to do this semester is a bit overwhelming--FIVE (although, one down, so only four to go!). However, that's balanced out by the fact that I've had to pay all of 10 euro for my books. Hell yes. Overall, a number of my classes make me want to doze off, but none of my classes are bad, so I'm not going to complain.

Let's see. Last week started off most culturally... With a trip to the opera to see Othello! (On a Tuesday evening, for about 4 euro, no less). It was very good, although not done in traditional-opera-style, as in there was a full orchestra and chorus on stage, and then the singers were in front, not doing any acting and not in costume. Hm. Also surprising was that the opera was absolutely packed! On a Tuesday night! Three cheers for the French!

Friday evening was Siobhan's birthday party, and we celebrated her 21st accordingly. Good times :)












On Sunday, Mme. Cesari took me, Haruko and her other tenant Blaire out on an excursion to Maguelone, a town about half an hour from Montpellier.

Why hello, Mediterranean. Also, hello snow-capped mountains in the distance.












Cathedral de Maguelone! The windows are super cool (and no, not original).
















It's an old Romanesque fortified cathedral, built in the 11th century. This thing is SOLID. Seriously, when the Apocalypse comes, that's where I'll be.















Holy crap, PEACOCKS! No, I'm not sure what they were doing hanging around the cathedral, either.











Time for a nice, afternoon stroll by the Mediterranean, don't you think? Me too.
















How about a nice siesta, too? Yeah? Okay.













SO PRETTY.

















So, right now I'm trying to get over a cold as fast as possible so I can have a good weekend! I have an epic grocery-shopping trip planned for tomorrow, and then the jam in the evening. On Saturday I have a language exchange with a woman named Stephanie which should be fun. I'm hoping that we're at about the same level of language proficiency, or it'll be a bit awkward. And Sunday is... Valentine's Day, which tends to be mildly depressing, but hopefully it'll be alright. Also, I've finally started planning for my February vacation! Hello, Ireland... :) I'm pretty psyched. Now I can be a proper fiddler!

Week two back in Montpellier marked the beginning of classes... Which I can't say that I was all that excited for. Not only was I nervous about my classes (just being unsure about how much work to expect, and being worried about maybe being the only foreign student), but after one semester at UPV, I have a good sense of how things work (or don't, as the case might be) and I don't really like it. (I promise that I'm not feeling quite so pessimistic anymore).

So, classes:

1. French Lit, "Arts and Ideas." The prof for the lecture seems entertaining, although he wants us to do a lot of reading, which I'm hoping is more of a recommendation than an actual necessity. The discussion part, "Poetry and Painting of the 19th Century," seems really interesting, although I'm still not sure how I feel about the fact that there are a total of 5 students in the class. Could be awesome, could be awful. I do, however, get to do a presentation on the Symbolist Movement, though, which is pretty awesome.

2. Art History, "French Painting of the 15th Century." Prof is not only nice, but she's Organized. Holy crap. We're spending the entire class on Hours and Psalm books which I feel might get a bit old, but could be interesting. I'm pretty scared, though, because it's a L3-level class which is basically the last class before students go for their Master's, so... Yeah, I feel like everyone's way ahead of me, although the only grades are a 20-minute presentation and an hour-long exam, which seems totally do-able.

3. French Civilization. I'm not even sure exactly what the class is about, but I love this prof (and she likes me) so it doesn't even matter. The class is mostly brand-new-to-Montpellier American students, though, which is a little odd. I mean, I know that's where we were a few months ago, but it really does seem like a big difference. I guess that just means that we've made a lot of progress.

4. Art History (Modern Art). Yes, more art history, although this is modern art which is... Well, good for me, I'm sure. It's for American students as well, but it's taught more like a French class, aka a 3-hour lecture. Luckily, next week we're going to the museum. Also, it's not taught on campus which is awesome because I'd rather not go there more than necessary, but not-so-awesome because I'm not sure if I'll even be able to find it alone. Hm...

So, classes took up most of my time and energy this week, but there was still room for some adventures and fun. First of all, on Thursday I decided to go and try out a taekwondo class, because I'm looking for something to get involved with. It was pretty intense, but a good class. I did manage to get a blood-blister about 20 minutes in, though, which was unfortunate. Nothing that a pair of scissors, a bandaid and some tape couldn't fix, though. They seemed nice, although I'm not sure if it's the most convenient way to make French friends, though. I haven't yet decided if I'm going back or not. There was also an adventure concerning... Brownies. Two, in fact.

Specimen A: Brownies in a wok. It seemed like such a good idea...












... Until it wasn't.













What's another not-so-great idea?
Specimen B: Microwave brownies. While Specimen A was practically charcoal, Specimen B was more of a pudding-like substance. Was damned tasty, though. [Thanks to Sophie for modeling the not-quite brownies]

I've decided that the pursuit of the perfect not-made-in-the-oven brownies will be my goal this semester. I shall succeed!!




Post-brunch photo. Damn, we're cute! [Photo courtesy of the wonderful and talented Mlle. Carrie Morgan who declined to have her picture taken]










And now, to enjoy my remaining hours of freedom before the week begins anew... (Only a three-day weekend? What is this?!)

So, finally, a non-special-edition blog post!

My first week back to Montpellier was one half the "relaxing/catching up on sleep/hanging out with my girls" part of my winter vacation and the other half the "classes are about to start/why is my schedule such a mess/how do I fill these requirements/what am I doing this summer/why is my brand-new violin broken" part. Needless to say, the former was somewhat more enjoyable than the latter, but everything is more or less worked out, now.

Highlights: Catching up with my friends who I hadn't seen for a month, meeting the 5 girls who are new to the program, discovering the wonders of Book and Bar, finally breaking down and buying kitchen utensils (including the infamous purple wok), having a really good interview for the summer internship outside of Paris that I'm hoping to get, going out for tea with Brian, and going to the first Irish jam session at FitzPatrick's in nearly 2 months!
Welcome to Fitzy's, and the Friday night jam! There's usually about that many of us taking over the corner, with one little table with 5 pints of Guinness on it... And one Apple Frost. Mm-mm.








That's me! (I'm usually the only girl there). Brian's in the green shirt next to me.
[Photos courtesy of the lovely Sealia with her awesome brand-spanking-new camera]








The not-so-highlights of the week contained my violin breaking (No one will understand this, but I'll tell the story anyways--So, there was something wrong with the nut that held the tailgut in place, so whenever the strings were tightened and I started playing, it would pop off and the strings would go everywhere and the bridge would fall off. So, this could have just been fixed with a bit of super glue, but the problem is that when there's no pressure on the bridge, there's less pressure on the soundpost, so then it fell over which is decidedly not easy to fix...) which ended in me taking it to a luthier which was aggravating seeing as I had had the violin for ONE WEEK. Argh. I was not pleased. Other than that, there was just a fair bit of stress concerning my class schedule and general unhappiness at the prospect of returning to UPV (I must say, as much as I love this city, this school is driving me crazy), but what'cha gonna do?

Travel log: An American leaving America
(Don't worry, this one won't give you ulcers)

9:00 am EST--Gotta say, it's never fun to begin what you know is going to be a very, very long day.

11:00 am--Time for the farewell stroll around town. Tah, Newfane, see you in a few months. Be good while I'm away, okay?

12:00 pm--And they're headed off to Boston! It entertains me that my mother and sister seem to be stressing more about their own post-dropping-Emily-off plans than I'm worrying about mine. Hm.

2:30 pm--Hey Logan, did you miss me? Checked my two bags, the bigger of which weighed in at 50.5 pounds. Man, I know how to push the limits.

3:30 pm--Said a minimally tearful goodbye, and then went through security, for which there was no line. It felt way too easy. The lady who looked at my passport, though, mentioned that a really, really cute boy had just gone through security and that I should go and look for him. I was amused. Unfortunately, said cute boy could not be located.

4:30 pm--And, boarding...

5:15 pm--BYE AMERICA!

6:00 pm--And hello Montreal. We're even ahead of schedule. Wait, that happens? Seriously?

6:45 pm--Had to do a bit of wandering, but eventually found my gate for the next leg of the journey and... Had time to kill? Weird.

8:30 pm--Boarding the flight to Paris. You know, I'm actually cautiously optimistic about all of this. Things seem to be going well.

6:40 am France time--All of a sudden I'm terribly exhausted but can't sleep, really sad to be leaving home and pretty pissed that I get to spent 5 hours hanging out in Charles de Gaulle waiting for my train. Joy. :(

8:15 am--You know the worst thing about being sick while traveling? Well, one of the worst things? That when the altitude changes, not only did my ears hurt like bloody hell, but I could feel the pressure in my sinuses, which gave me the unpleasant sensation that my head was going to explode. Not so fun.

9:00 am--Immigration was quick and easy, and bag-finding wasn't too bad, especially considering that all I had to do was say "merde, c'est la mienne!" and someone would grab it off the belt and hand it to me.

9:30 am--Walked halfway across CDG to get to the train station. God, my hands hurt from dragging that thing around (of course, it wasn't until later that I remembered my gloves). I had been hoping to maybe exchange my 13:00 ticket for something earlier, but no such luck. Looks like I have some time to kill.

11:00 am--SO. BORED. (And cold, too)

1:00 pm--Finally on the bloody train! Last leg of the journey, nearly there...

5:00 pm--MONTPELLIER! It was so weird getting off that train and all of a sudden, after being in unfamiliar places for so many hours, to be back in my city. It didn't feel real, actually. They say that a place doesn't really become home until you return to it. Think that that might be true. I ended up walking from the train station back home (maybe 3/4ths of a mile) which was pretty damn nasty. It's uphill, too. Dear God, did 13 rue de Cannau look good!

So, I still need to do some settling in (aka, unpack and get groceries, details, details) but overall things feel good. I'm glad that I have a whole week to get back into the swing of things before classes start up again. Oh, and I met my new housemate, Haruko, who seems really sweet and we're going out to lunch tomorrow. Also, she's as fascinated by microwave cooking as I am--that's a good sign. And now, after 31 (very nearly) consecutive hours of being awake... I'm going to bed.