St. Patrick's Day

If you are part of the world at all, you know that this past Saturday was St. Patrick's Day.  The only thing better than being in France on that day would be to be in Ireland, but that's expensive, dangerous, and mostly insane.  Anyways, I'm glad I got to spend the day with some of my lovely friends here in Vichy.  It was certainly a day to remember.  Here's the basic rundown in photo form:

Here we are at the park by the river in the afternoon.  It was a glorious day!

Next, we returned to our residence to create a delicious rabbit stew (yes rabbit)!  It was quite delicious thanks to my the lovely lady shown in this picture with me.  Her name is Merryn.  She's pretty much the coolest Canadian/person I've ever met (although all the Canadians here are pretty awesome).  Please note the clover on my cheek, compliments of my friend Adriana!

Soon after, we walked a short distance to a place called La Gaulois (I'm almost positive that's not how it's spelled).  As usual, we travel in a huge pack of English-speakers, so we got some weird looks, especially because we were all wearing SO MUCH green!

Sadly, that's where the picture trail ends.  After La Gaulois, we went back to the residence to hang out in the common room (and probably wake up everyone in the building).  Noteworthy events included 15 of our people getting stuck in our building's tiny elevator for 40 minutes (it's only supposed to fit 8 people), and the unexplained disappearance of a new friend (I'm still not sure about his whereabouts...but I think he's all right). 

As you can see/read, it was probably the most eventful St. Patrick's Day I've ever experienced.  Usually, I wear green and try not to get pinched into oblivion.  As for the rest of this week, more classes await me!  Then this weekend I get to meet the lovely Marie in Paris!  She's studying abroad in Italy, so I can't wait to hear about her adventures.  You can check them out for yourself at her blog.  Just click on the "To Italy" link in the sidebar!  That's all for now.  Au revoir!

La Solitude

Well, I think some of the shiny newness of being in France has rubbed off a little bit.  Now I have to start thinking about important things like my classes and travel plans.  It's difficult when you go to a totally new place and have to make completely new friends.  When I got here, some of the students had arrived a week earlier and had already formed a little group, so it's been tough to relate with them.

As usual, I'll keep going!  After all, I am in a gorgeous little town and able to have the chance of a lifetime.  Still, I am a little lonely.  I only hope I will find a close friend or two soon.  Who else am I going to tear up Europe with? 

I knew that this trip wouldn't be all good times, so I created this blog with the purpose of recording both the ups and downs of my experience.  Right now might not be so great, but I'm hoping tomorrow will be better!  Until then, I'll just enjoy the solitude.

J'ai Froid!

For those of you who are not French speakers, I'll translate the title of this post to you.  Translated directly into English, it literally says "I have cold."  However, in French it is the equivalent of saying "I am cold" in English.  I think the literal translation is the best description of what I'm feeling right now.  My hands are shaking as I try to type (oops, I just had to try to type the word "type" four times).  No joke.  I'm not just cold.  I HAVE cold.  It is me.  I am the cold.  I'm going to go grab another coat and then continue.

Part of this cold is due to the fact that I didn't learn how to fully close my window until late today.  Turns out it wasn't complicated but the window sits crooked on its hinges and you have to push it up to lock it into place.  Anyways, to get past this unbearable cold, I'd like to share this survival guide from my friend Marie's blog.  She is much more clever than me, so her post about surviving the cold is better than anything I could think up.  She's a natural Witmaster.  To see the original post, click here.  Here is an excerpt:

How to Survive a Cold Apartment
1. Wear lots of layers (including, but not limited to: sweaters, hats, scarves, blankets, long johns, etc.).
2. Put on more layers.
3. Wear, at minimum, 4 pairs of socks.
4. Make coffee; cradle hot mug as if it were your firstborn.
5. Laugh about how cold it is.
6. Complain about how cold it is.
7. Hug radiator.
8. Google frostbite symptoms.
9. Repeat Step 2.
10. Make a how-to survival guide to pass the time.

Mon Amie, Marie!

I like to think that I'm pretty cool, but really the thing that makes me cool is my fantastic friends.  I'm envious of my friend Marie, in particular, because right now she is breathing in the European air of Arezzo, Italy. 

Marie (on left) and me during Snowmageddon!

Eventually, I'll get to meet her in Europe for incredible adventures, but for now, I advise that you follow her blog, cleverly named "Que Sará Sará." Click here or check out the sweet link I've created for it over on the sidebar (courtesy of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in "Roman Holiday").   

Parlez-vous Français?

This is how I feel sometimes when I try to teach people French words.  Actually, this is how I feel most of the time when I try to speak French.  My Texan accent doesn't exactly mesh with the "French" sound.