And after all it was a great big world...

I am writing this blog post at my kitchen table in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

My journey back here was long and exhausting in more ways than one. It began at 6 a.m. in Angers when I said goodbye to my host family, got on a bus, and immediately began to cry. I knew that I would be sad to leave France, and I knew that I would be sad to leave my host family. I did not quite expect to cry for the entire four hour bus ride to the Paris airport, but I guess it was really just a testament to how great of a semester I had in France. My host family was unexpectedly the most perfect and amazing family that I could ask for in so many ways, and it's hard to say goodbye to close friends who I have lived with for four months without having any idea when we will meet again.

Once I made it to the airport and composed myself, I boarded a GIANT airplane only to come down with a severe case of motion sickness. I'll leave out the details of that miserable eight hour flight, and the two more to follow before I made it home to Cleveland, but it was surreal to finally be back home in my house and seeing my family and speaking ENGLISH!

This semester was a dream come true. It was time to come home, but I was sad to see it end.

I could write about all that I have learned this semester (which transcends the French language, although my French has improved a ton), or I could write about why I miss France. Instead, I'll tell you about my last day in Angers because I think it was a pretty perfect ending.

I began the day with my last final exam, and then I left my school for the last time.


I went with my friends Laure and Justine to our favorite Salon du Thé, "Le Dos de la Cuillère," which is just about the cutest place ever with homemade desserts and the woman who owns and works there always remembers us and which drinks we like to order. The desserts there change daily, but she saved the best for our last day - chocolate raspberry tart.


I went and sat with a few friends in the little gazebo in the Jardin du Mail, a park in Angers where we often hung out or had picnics.


Then we walked across the river to sit and take in my favorite view of Angers. You can see the castle and the cathedral and the river, and on a sunny afternoon there's nothing better.


I made my way to Louvigny, the best chocolatier in all of Angers, with whom my friend Katrina has formed a close friendship thanks to her macaroon addiction. I bought some French macaroons and chocolate to bring home.

Eventually I walked home to my French home for the last time, where I finished packing, then hung out with my host family. We watched some TV, made homemade ice cream, played badminton, then enjoyed dinner in the garden.


My life's chapter in Angers is over now, but the places I saw, the things I learned, and most importantly the people I met will forever remain important to me.

I don't like goodbyes. So instead, I will say, à bientôt !

Nearing the End

I have just four days left in Angers.

I do not know where the last four months go. I can't seem to decide if they passed quickly or slowly. In some ways it feels like I've been here forever, and in some ways I think that I just stepped off of the plane yesterday. The time has passed quickly, but I have gotten so used to life here that it's hard to even guess what I will miss or not miss or what will seem different upon my return to the USA.

I finished classes last Thursday. Kind of bittersweet, as classes at my school here are a little bit less than challenging. I do however, love my language teacher. Here he is with my friends Mackenzie and Dennis.



My last weekend in France was just about the best that I could have imagined, minus the fact that I had to take my first final exam on Saturday.

I started the weekend off with lunch with three friends at Le Favre D'Anne, a really nice one Michelin star restaurant in Angers. We splurged on one last great (amazing!) meal on a terrace overlooking the river and Angers' castle and cathedral. It was perfect. For more detailed information, you might want to check out my friend Dennis' blog. He's a much better blogger than I am, and he's kind of a French food expert.

Here's a picture of Laure and I at lunch, right before we ate our main dishes:



But the rest of the weekend included going to my host sister's orchestra concert and going on a brief shopping trip in centre ville with my host sisters.

We also had a small dinner party at my host family's house, which three of my American friends attended as well as some of my host family's friends. The French love long dinners, especially when they have people over their house: aperitif in the living room, meals with a few courses, followed by cheese, dessert, and then coffee, with plenty of time in between for chatting. The irony of how absurdly long their meals seem to us? They are such fast eaters! They eat each course very quickly, but they eat several courses. Seriously, on Saturday us four Americans were half way through each course by the time that everyone else was ready for the next one.

On Sunday, I went to mass at the French Church down the street from me one last time, followed by one last big Sunday lunch in the garden. (See my blog entry about Sundays).

Sunday afternoon our Notre Dame group had a fabulous goodbye picnic in a park I hadn't been to yet all the way on the other side of town.

Yesterday (Monday) I took another final, and another one today.

Tonight we have a going away celebration dinner at a nice restaurant in Angers, which I'm pretty excited about.

Still on my to-do list:
-lots of lasts, like visiting my favorite boulangeries for the last time
-still buying a few souvenirs
-three more finals
-fitting everything I came with (and everything I've acquired since) into my two suitcases!
-figuring out how to say goodbye to this country, this city, and most of all my incredible host family
-hopping on a bus at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning in Angers, only to arrive home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio and crash in my bed TWENTY-FOUR full hours later

I'll always have Paris

Last Friday, I boarded a train out of Angers and arrived at Paris' Gare Montparnasse for one last time this semester.

On Monday, I boarded my very last train and arrived home in Angers, where I still stay for another week and a half before flying home to the United States.

When I got on that train, I left a piece of myself behind in Paris.

It's that piece of myself that is still a sixth grader walking into her first ever French class and learning how to say "Bonjour." It's the part of my being that has known ever since that I needed to study in France during college.

It's that piece of myself that never wanted anything more than to see the Eiffel Tower and walk along the Seine.

That piece of myself was exploding with both enthusiasm and fear when I left I my home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio merely a few months ago with just two suitcases and one backpack, not having any idea what was on the other side of that great big ocean.

Sure, everyone has a desire to travel. But for as long as I can remember until the day I boarded a plane over here, if you had asked me that all to common "If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?" I would've said Paris. Without a moment's hesitation. It was not just any old destination. It was THE destination.

So why did I leave that part of myself behind in Paris?

That's where it always wanted to be.

It's happiest there, reveling in the dream of finally reaching that incredible city.

So I scattered it around...

In the Luxembourg Gardens, where Parisians hang out to talk or read or sunbathe.


With Les Bouquinistes (book stalls along the Seine).



At a Chopin piano concert in a teeny tiny Church in the Latin Quarter.



In the sunset view from the end of L'île de la Cité.



In the smallest of amazing details in the city; the bridges, the shadows, the sunlight.


With the wicker café chairs lining every sidewalk .



Amongst the gargoyles at the top of Notre Dame, my favorite view of the city.



Even around the old-fashioned Metro signs.



And of course, underneath the Eiffel tower.





When I got on that train back to Angers, I knew that I was no longer the little girl who could only dream of a far-off, magical city called Paris.

Now I can only hope that I never forget it. And never take for granted how lucky I am to be able to spend four months in France soaking up an incredible culture and learning a beautiful language.

What a NICE weekend!

In France, Ascension is a national day off of work and school, so two weekends ago I had a four day weekend.

And of course, May is the perfect time to hop a train to the French Riviera:



To begin, here's a little information about the South of France:

- It's full of Italian influences.

- It's colorful! If you've been to Paris (or even seen pictures of it) you know what I'm talking about. Angers is the same way. The buildings are all white/gray stone. Pretty, but lacking in color.

-The people speak French with a very different accent. I was proud of myself for being able to recognize how different they sounded. The Angers area of France, where I live, is the "accent-less" region of France. If you've heard French spoken before, you might have noticed that it sounds like they are making a bit of a choking noise in their throats when they pronounce R's. In Nice, they roll their R's.

-It's hilly! I really do love the Loire Valley and the area that I live in, but it's very flat, which does not make for amazing views. It also doesn't have the crystal blue Mediterranean sparkling in the sunlight like the Riviera does. In other words, I was in one of the most picturesque places ever.

We stayed right in Nice's old town, which is filled with colorful buildings and charming narrow streets right on the coast.



I especially loved the marketplace, which had my favorite outdoor market I've been to yet in France. That's saying a lot, considering that every town has at least one market.



We saw the mountains and the beach, and climbed a little mountain next to the sea:



This was the view from the top:



And of course, we ate great food.

The first night we went to an all you can eat mussels and fries restaurant right in the main market square. I'd never had mussels before, but what better place to try them then in Nice, right? They were delicious!



We took a day trip to Cannes, where the film festival was going on! There weren't any stars around in the middle of the morning, but we did see the red carpet.



From Cannes, we hopped on a ferry boat with amazing views of the coastline.



We arrived at the Island of Saint Honorat, a little island with an old abbey, vineyards, and amazing views of the Mediterranean.



On our last full day, we took a brief trip to a little town on the coast between Nice and Monaco called Beaulieu-Sur-Mer. That name, translated, means "pretty place on the sea." And pretty it was!



The last night of our trip, we went to a restaurant that specializes in olive oil. We had stopped by there earlier in the day because according to my guidebook the owner gave free olive oil tastings. After he let us try a few kinds and taught us all about it, we just had to make a reservation. Since Nice is so close to Italy, the restaurant had Italian-type food, with plenty of olive oil on every dish. I had ravioli niçois. (Handmade Nice-style ravioli)



I loved Nice. I also realized on the overnight train trip there and the all-day journey back home that France is pretty big. Even though it is barely the size of Texas, it takes a full day of train travel to get from Nice to Angers (which isn't even nearly all the way in the North!) France seemed pretty big and diverse to me after this lovely trip.

Fun Facts

As my time in France is winding down, I've been thinking back to my first impressions of France, and how all the cultural differences from the States seemed so interesting and striking to me.

Four months later, it has become a way of life.

Of course, I am still an outsider. I still don't dress like the all too stylish young French girls (and I will never wear high heels everyday like French ladies because I am already tall!), and I am not fluent in the language. But their everyday lives are no longer a mystery to me. Looking back at my early blogs about French culture and eating habits, and what they do on Sundays, I've realized that all the things I described have become normal to me.

Since I will be back home in less than three weeks, it's time to start preparing for a reverse culture shock upon my return to Ohio.

HOWEVER....

All that said, some little things never cease to amaze me and I still (although less frequently) constantly learn amazing tidbits about French culture.

Today, my language teacher told me that there are SIX CONTINENTS in the world. That is right, six. Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, and America. According to them, the Americas make up only one continent.

I told my host sister this evening that Americans believe there to be seven continents, and it blew her mind.

I just thought you might like to ponder that idea while I enjoy the last of my time on one of the six? - or seven? - continents.

FIRE!

No, this title does not mean that a have encountered any fires in France.

I would, however, like to note the fact that French people do not believe in smoke detectors.

Why would those be of any use?

Well, yesterday my house filled with smoke because something burned. But there was a lot of smoke. And no beeping smoke alarm. I found this to be pretty bizarre.

Luckily, my house did not burn down.

But it's funny how you take some things for granted. For instance, when I smelled burning and realized there was smoke rising up into my room, I immediately thought that the silence was bizarre. I had never realized before that in my 21 years of life in the USA, my brain has been programmed that smoke makes noise. When something burns in my kitchen at home in the States, the smoke alarm goes off. But when something burns in my kitchen in France, it is greeted by silence.

It's funny to realize how many little things could be different about life in France. On the other hand, I wonder if more people die in fires in France because there are no smoke detectors....

Spring Break Week 2: Spain

Back to recounting my spring break journey... here is a very brief recap of my many adventures in Spain, beginning with:

Madrid

After successfully avoiding the volcano in Iceland and landing in Madrid, I didn't really know what to expect out of Spain. I knew plenty about France before I arrived there, and I was excited to go to Italy based on all that I knew about the culture, the architecture, and the food, but I had only a vague idea of what Spain would hold, based mostly on two years of high school Spanish classes.

Luckily, I traveled there with two friends who are completely fluent in Spanish, so language was not a problem (although after making it through Italy, I could have survived in Spain as well).

The afternoon we arrived in Madrid the weather was miserable, so we mostly just walked around and tried to get a feel for the city. I did discover, however, that Spanish tapas are delicious.


On Sunday, I really got to know Madrid, starting out with the giant Sunday market with all sorts of colorful clothing and jewelery. Unlike in France, the Spanish love to be colorful. (French people wear mostly subdued black and navy blue.)

My favorite part of the city was El Retiro Park, a giant park in the middle of the city complete with fountains, lakes, palaces and gardens. (see photo)


Also while in Madrid, I experienced the Prado Museum which is filled with the masterpieces of Valezquez, El Greco, and others, as well as the Museum of Modern Art, the highlight of which was Picasso's Guernica.

After a few days in Madrid, we left for a day trip to...

Toledo


Toledo, Spain (the sister city of Toledo, Ohio!) is a small city just a 30 minute train ride from Madrid. It's quaint and old and surrounded with walls and set up on a hill, and it has one of the most amazing cathedrals I have ever seen (and I have seen many, many old and beautiful churches in the past few months).


It was great to go have another break from great big cities, and to get views of the Spanish countryside. I took an audio tour of the cathedral, then we wandered around the city for a few hours enjoying the pretty views and great architecture. Late in the afternoon I headed back to Madrid for one last night.

Valencia


On Wednesday I boarded a train from Madrid to Valencia. My friend Mackenzie also met us there after having taken a 30-something hour bus from Prague to Spain and having missed our visit to Madrid due to the volcano. Once again, I got so lucky!

Valencia is a pretty city right on the Mediterranean, and we even got to go to the beach. The old city is filled with colorful buildings, and we even climbed an ancient tower to get a view of the city.

The highlight of Valencia might have been the much anticipated paella dinner - paella is a rice dish made with meat or seafood, that's pretty typically Spanish, but it's a specialty of Valencia so it's the best place to have it.

Valencia was a great city to walk around in and take it easy, even though I was hardly there for more than 24 hours. The following afternoon it was time to board a train to my final destination....

Barcelona

Barcelona is really different from the rest of Spain, because it is in Catalonia, which has its own traditions separate from Spanish culture, and even its own language, Catalan. I actually seemed to understand Catalan because I picked out different words that sounded like French or the limited amount of Spanish that I know, so it was pretty neat.

And Catalonian culture is amazing! It was such a laid back, open, friendly atmosphere. Without our even knowing it, we arrived the day before Saint George's Day. So on our first full day in Barcelona, it was like a giant festival everywhere we went, and all kinds of important buildings were free and open to the public.

Here is the story of St. George, as told by our tour guide on our walking tour around the gothic quarter of the city:

He slayed a dragon to save a girl, and I guess from the blood grew a red rose. So on St. George's Day, there are roses sold EVERYWHERE on the streets and men are supposed to give a red rose to the girl they love. Also, it's national book day, so there are book vendors EVERYWHERE on the streets, women are supposed to give a book to the man they love.


It was a great day to experience the city, the culture, and it's flair, and the gothic quarter that we toured really is the historical center of the city.

On my final day of vacation, I went on another walking tour of Barcelona, this time focusing on the famous architect Gaudi.

Maybe you've heard of the Sagrada Familia, that really big Church that Gaudi designed and that they started building in 1882 but still isn't done? Well, it's really different, but really amazing, even as a work in progress. See those towers? They aren't even nearly as high as the tallest tower, The Christ Tower, will be when the work is finished. According to my tour guide, you will be able to see it from anywhere in Barcelona.

I also saw some very colorful and incredible houses that Gaudi designed for the rich and famous of Barcelona back in his day, and went to a park on a mountain high above the city. The Park Guell was designed by Gaudi and intended as a place for the wealthy to have houses. Gaudi himself lived there, but only with a few other people, and so it eventually became a public park. There were great sculptures, street musicians, and tons of people enjoying the perfect day and the views of the city and the Mediterranean from high above. The park was one of my favorite things about my entire trip, so it really was a great way to finish.

Now that I have come to the end, I must tell you that I took well over 1000 pictures during my two week trip, and that I have been using careful restraint not to overwhelm you and not to slow down my writing process with too many photos. But, as the grand finale, and because I loved Barcelona and the Park Guell so much, I'll leave you with a few images: