So last Sunday night when we returned to Dijon after Prague, it was raining and cold. The yucky
weather continued until Friday, when it suddenly warmed up and the sun came out. I had originally planned on going to see a movie at the 2pm cheap showing, but it was so nice outside that I decided not too. And I'm glad I did, because when I got back to my room I had a text from my host father Joseph telling me he was going to take the family dog Hendrix for a walk along the canal and asking me if I wanted to accompany him. My host family really enjoys going for walks "in the country," which basically means anywhere outside the Dijon city limits (it could be 20 minutes away or an hour away). In this case we drove to a little town along the l'Ouche (the river which flows through Dijon) and walked along the canal. Here in this picture you can see the ecluse (lock), one of many along the l'Ouche. Hendrix was super content, apparently they didn't take 
him for a long walk last weekend while I was in Prague and so he was even more antsy than usual. On our left was Chateauneuf, one of the many chateaux in the region. After the walk Joseph and I drove up the village which surrounds it and walked around a little. It's amazing how picturesque it is. People still live in this medieval village and Joseph said that it's not yet overrun with tourists, which pleases me to hear. I really enjoy talking with my host father Joseph. He is very patient with my French and interested in discussing current events. He is very curious about other countries and cultures and likes to compare how we do things differently or the same. He has many friends who are from Russia and he has been there and to the Ukraine many times, so when I add Morocco and he adds Russia, we have four very different societies to compare. Below is a view from top of the hill behind the chateau.
Then yesterday (Saturday) it was encore beau (beautiful outside again) and so I took a bike ride to Lac Kir. I went for a run on Friday morning but I was still super sore from Discjonctes pr
actice on Thursday night. There were only 6 of us there and we played non-stop. But I think it was the best I have ever played. There will probably be lots of people there for practice tomorrow night because France 3 is coming to do a TV spot on us. I will try to find out when it's going to air/see if I can access it online to show you all. Anyway, Saturday I went for a bike ride. There's no really easy way to get to the bike trail/walking path along the l'Ouche (which passes by Lac Kir), but now that I know how to navigate Dijon on my bike it's not so bad. There were fewer people out than I expected, considering it was such a nice day. Lac Chanoine Kir is named after the mayor of Dijon who invented the famous aperatif involving white wine and creme de cassis. This guy had so many good ideas!
Yesterday afternoon was homework and a little bit of shopping. I picked up some flowers for Orane, who currently has the flu. Noelle doesn't think it's H1N1, but I am washing my hands a lot all the same. I haven't really been keeping up with the news in the U.S. (except when I take planes and they offer American newspapers, when I devour the entire thing), so I'm not sure if H1N1 is still spreading there, but it definitely is here in France. They released the vaccine a few weeks ago, but apparently the French people aren't keen on vaccinations, because the government has been using scare tactics to try and motiviate people to get vaccinated. Noelle got one a few days ago because she works at a hospital with the employees and with elderly people who are particularly vulnerable. She felt pretty bad for 48 hours after getting it, no fun.Last night I hung out with some people from Les Discjonctes and their friends. Rémi (the one in the picture) and Yoann have an apartment not far from my house and they invited me and Lucie (another Discjoncte) and some of Yoann's friends over for a little soiree. I am really pleased that I got a chance to
hang out with them. One of my big goals for the next 3 weeks is to spend as much time as possible with my new Dijonnais friends. I will have the chance to hang out with Wake people for the next year and a half, but I will only be here for another few weeks. And although it's exhausting, it's so useful to spend an evening speaking nothing but French, particularly the familiar kind of French that's used in conversation. It's interesting, everytime I hang out with Dijonnais like this, someone always asks me, without fail, what Americans think of France/the French people. I guess it's not really a surprising question, but the regularity with which it is asked is interesting to me.Alright, time to get back to work. Love to you all! I hope everyone is getting all geared up for Thanksgiving. Here we're having dinner at a restaurant called "au café Mayence" which closes down for the evening and serves a Thanksgiving buffet for the Americans living in Dijon. Dr. Barbour is going to make sweet potato casserole according to my mom's recipie and I am going to make chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Carolyn's family, who is coming to visit her this week, is bringing all of the ingredients to make pumpkin pie. I'm excited! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, by far, and if I can't be home to celebrate it with my family I at least want to celebrate it here.
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