Happy Valentine's Day

Wow! It's been almost a week since I last blogged for which I totally apologize! Every time I had the time and wanted to blog the internet decided not to work...naturally...but it's okay, I no longer have mini panic attacks when the internet doesn't work! I think that's a sign that I am finally getting settled. It's pretty crazy to think that a month ago today I left to embark on this journey! I must say that this past month has been so different than I could have ever imagined and I have learned so much. I can't even begin to think of what the next 4ish months have in store!!

So anyway, last time I blogged I was heading to Sarah's to celebrate her birthday. That day we also did some planning for our February break travels! We originally wanted to go to Italy but that ended up being far more expensive than we expected and now we are officially going to Brussels, Belgium!! And I am going to Amsterdam, Netherlands after that to celebrate my birthday with my friend Joyce who is studying abroad in Scotland this semester!!

We had a good time at Sarah's her host mom made an absolutely delicious quiche with salmon, we had tomatoes and finally pasta of some sort with a very yummy sauce. We of course had cheese and bread and then dessert was an apple baked good of some sort. (I wasn't a fan of that). I have discovered that Chevre might be my favorite cheese here. Particularly the aged chevre. Chevre is made of goat's milk. After dinner we played some card games and learned that Sarah has quite the competitive streak.

Sunday I slept in and then met Grace to walk (in the snow!!!) to Mme Coates for a brief lunch before heading to the movies. We saw Alceste a Biciclete which is apparently a modern spin off of the Misanthrope of Moliere. I didn't understand everything (obviously) but I understood enough to be disappointed with the ending. You see, the French don't do happy endings, they think they are too unrealistic. But I enjoyed the movie all the same.

Then we went out to coffee (or hot chocolate in my case) to discuss the film. It was a very good discussion but unfortunately because we went for coffee I was unable to go to church which was somewhat disappointing for me. I then came back to the seminary and spent some quality time with Ingvild. I can't remember for the life of me what I ate for dinner that night...oh well, mustn't have been anything good.

Monday pretty much totally consisted of classes. I met all my new classmates and I memorized a poem by Victor Hugo so that was pretty cool. Then we had dinner with everyone and it was egg rolls and rice so it was delicious!! It seems like every meal they make is delicious!! Then there were crepes for dessert. Sarah came for the first time and I think she liked it a lot. Uncle Fred (who no one seems to know why he comes) said that Sarah and I have different accents in French. I am really intrigued by this since we don't have different accents in English. Grace and I wonder if it's because I studied Spanish first.

Tuesday I had language class essentially all day, with a bit of a break midday. I came back to the seminary for a bit to do some homework and unwind. During my time of unwinding Ingvild was in need of a friend so we spent some time together and to get her mind off of her troubles she walked me to class, which I enjoyed.

In my language class we play this "game" where everyone has made up a character and we all live in an apartment together. Since my grandma's name (and maiden name) are very French I decided that my grandma would be my character. My professor liked it a lot. We were also introduced to a new song that contains a poem we have to memorize by next Monday. If you want to look it up it is called L'invitation au Voyage by Leo Ferre.

Yesterday was a good day, I went to class I had language class and Theater which basically took up my entire morning and then I came back and read for my Gordon class later in the evening. I also had more hot chocolate with Ingvild. Then I made an early dinner for Grace and I of egg sandwiches  (very exciting I know). Then we went to our Gordon class where we learned about Postmodernism which essentially just blew my mind to pieces. Is reality real? I unfortunately have to do it again tonight.

Today I went to journalism class in the morning (I'm still loving it!) Then I went out to the flower market to buy flowers for Grace, Sarah, and Ingvild. On my way I saw some strawberries and since they are so hard to come by here, I bought some to treat myself on the this Valentine's Day. I plan on dipping them in Nutella :D Also on my way there I got hard-core checked out by this elderly gentleman...he actually stopped in his tracks to watch me walk by...super awkward. Why can't the young guys do that? I'm kidding, I'm kidding.  Then I had to go to history class...not my favorite by a long shot. Now I am going to fill out some applications and then make dinner again for Grace and I. I will never wait this long to post again, I leave out all the fun details when I wait this long!