21st Birthday!

Hello all,

Yesterday was my 21st birthday and I thoroughly enjoyed it here in Dijon. In the morning Kara, Carolyn, and I went for a run to locate our host family's houses. My host family's house is about a 20 minute walk from where we're staying right now. It looks really cute! I can't wait to move in when we get back from our trip to Provence on Sunday evening. I've talked to my host sister via Facebook chat and my host mother via email and both of them have been very welcoming.

After breakfast we went to Orange, the cell phone store, to try and get our cell phone situations worked out. The Orange store is similar to the Apple store in that once you enter you enter your name on a greeter's list and then they call you once it's your turn. An hour later all three of us (Kara, Carolyn, and I) were very frustrated but we had functioning phones. I was able to use the cell phone I bought in Morocco and all incoming texts and calls are free for me. Next month I will hopefully qualify for a bonus which will allow me to send free texts anywhere in France.

Afterward we walked around the market, which is set up on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Along one stretch were stalls with WWE wrestling t-shirts and plastic hair accessories and I had flashbacks to the souks of Morocco. *Shudder* But further along there were plenty of fresh produce and flower stalls, much prettier. Inside "les halles" (an enclosed market) were butcher counters and cheese vendors and more produce stalls. Yet again I thought back to the souks of Fez where the butcher counters are open-air (read: exposed to flies). It's interesting how to sell the same item the U.S., France, and Morocco can have very different styles of markets.

In the afternoon we had our first official session with Dr. Barbour. We're using a room in the "Maison Diocesaine," a building which houses both offices and living quarters for Catholic priests and nuns. It's a really beautiful building and it has a gorgeous garden behind it.

For dinner we went to La Table Marocaine, a Moroccan restaurant on the same street as our hotel. I spotted it on our first night here, and I have been wanting to try it. Even though we ate a lot of couscous in 7.5 weeks, I have been missing it. The proprietor of the restaurant is a Moroccan so I got to practice my Arabic a little bit. I had the "couscous agneau traditionnel" (lamb couscous prepared in the traditional way) and it was delicious. We went out to dinner as a whole group and they surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I am so happy with the dynamic of our group here. Everyone made an effort to make me feel special on my birthday (especially Kara) and I really appreciate it. They all really liked the Moroccan food - and want to go back. Unfortunately Dr. Barbour couldn't come with us, but she wants to go again.

Tomorrow we leave for Provence! We'll be there for four days and we're going to Orange, Arles, and Nimes (I will upload a map with these cities on it when I get a chance, I'm also working on getting accents on my keyboard so I can spell everything in correct French). Part of our course is that for each excursion a few students have to present the material about our destination before we leave and then lead discussions during the trip. Wright, Jen, and I signed up to do Provence, so I did research on the city of Arles and its sites and today the three of us met Dr. Barbour for lunch to review the highlights. I think it's really cool that we're going to see Roman ruins in the south of France. When I think of the Romans I think purely of Italy, but after this weekend I will have seen Roman ruins on two different continents and countries (neither of which is Italy).

Now we're off for a quick dinner to go and then see Harry Potter 6 in French (I plan on seeing at least one real French movie while I'm here, but tonight we're going for light and easy). I am very excited!

Musee d'Archeologie et autres choses

Hello all,

Today has been excellent so far. First, I should describe my evening last night. The Wake group went to Dr. Barbour's apartment for an orientation and dinner. The orientation is for the French history and culture course that we are taking with her from now until the beginning of October. At this moment my roommates Carolyn and Kara are reading our homework for tomorrow out loud (practicing their pronunciation). The readings are photocopies and from "La civilisation française en évolution I." The course also involves preparation and reaction papers for our excursions to Provence, different parts of Burgundy, and the Loire.

After reviewing the syllabus, Dr. Barbour served us a local specialty, an aperatif called "kir." It's made by mixing creme de cassis (a liqueur made with mascerated blackcurrants) with a sparkling white wine (produced locally) and served in champagne flutes. *This is a picture of Peter pouring the sparkling white wine into the flutes with the creme de cassis to make the kir.* It was very good. The hors d'oeurves and the aperatif together were the first of five courses that Dr. Barbour served. The next was gazpacho, with a very strong fresh-tomato flavor. Similar to my experiences in Morocco, I have really enjoyed the tomatoes I have eaten here in Dijon. After the gazpacho came the "entree": turkey brochettes with spicy rice on the side. For all of the courses served as the table we had a red wine from Savoie, an area near Dijon. Next came the salad and cheese, combined into a single course. The salad was just fresh lettuce with oil-and-vinegar. There were three kinds of cheeses, but all reminded me painfully of those I ate in Morocco the night before I got food poisoning for the second time. Since that night even the smell of Brie makes me nauseous. I still enjoy goat cheese, Feta, and hard cheeses, but soft cheeses like Brie make me feel ill. Hopefully I can get over this with time, because that encompasses a lot of cheese! Finally, the dessert. Yesterday was Kara's 20th birthday so we put candles in the tarts and sang to her. The tarts were apricot and prune and they were divine. Dr. Barbour also served coffee and chocolate (although I could only manage the second). Luckily all of these portions were very small, or I would never had room for them all.

Dr. Barbour's apartment is big and beautiful. It overlooks a pretty square too. I really had a great time last night. Our group seems to be getting along very well and Dr. Barbour invited her friend Dominique (who is a native of Dijon) to join us.

This morning I went for a run around 8:30am. It was nice and cool outside and there were plenty of people everywhere, walking to work. Then, all of us gathered downstairs for breakfast together. How is it that the French can make a sumptuous breakfast out of a basket of croissants and baguette? By serving them with thick, creamy butter and sweet apricot and raspberry preserves, of course. Along with orange juice, coffee, tea, or hot chocolate (you could have any or all of those options), my hunger was pleasantly satiated. The food is so fresh, you can tell it was prepared that morning! We ate together because we wanted to organize our trips for the weekends we have free, beginning in October. We took a preliminary list of where everyone wants to go and threw out some potential dates. We're going to check with our other friends who are abroad and make more final decisions soon.

After breakfast we did our homework for Dr. Barbour's class. Before we knew it it was time for lunch, so we went in search of a cafe near the Musee d'Archeologie where were were supposed to meet Dr. Barbour at 1:45pm. We found one called Cafe Verde, in a little square with half a dozen other cafes. After consulting the various menus, we decided this one had the best selection for prices equivalent to the other places. I think we made the right choice. For 6 euros I got a "salade Italienne" with tomatoes, mozzerella, and basil over a bed of lettuce and drizzled in olive oil. It was delicious and refreshing. Lunch was delicious, but we all experienced the inevitable language flubs while trying to order. Compared to most Americans, my French is excellent, but I come here and think that I should really have enrolled in beginning French. Under the pressure of ordering the verb tenses always get jumbled and I probably sound very silly. I hope that I can improve, because I hate sounding like an ignorant American.

After lunch we met up with Dr. Barbour at the Musee d'Archeologie. We had a guided tour with a woman named Marie-Laure. Her name made me chuckle because the text book we used in high school featured an obnoxious pre-teen named Marie-Laure, the younger sister of the book's protagonist, Mireille. This Marie-Laure was not obnoxious and was well informed on the archeological findings that the museum housed. These were all from the civilizations around the "source du Loire" (now called Saint-Germain). Mostly they were the offerings given to the goddess Sequena, who the Gauls believed would cure their maladies. The museum is housed in an ancient church. I really like it when historical buildings are used for museums. Not only does it seem to be more efficient (you're preserving them both, right?), but modern museums often come across as sterile to me. I think having the objects in real spaces makes them come alive.

After the tour Carolyn, Kara, Mary Kate, and I went to the "Orange" store to get phones and phone plans. Mary Kate already has hers, and Kara has a phone but just needed to buy a plan. I was able to buy a French SIM card to put in the Nokia brick I bought in Morocco, so I didn't have to buy a new one. La victoire!

For dinner the gang trouped over to Les Halles, the covered marketplace. There are a bunch of little cafes around it, and the one where we ate dinner was good and moins cher (less expensive). I had osso bucco and a glass of Chianti. I can't emphasize enough how excited I am about our group here in Dijon. Everyone is very friendly and interested in getting to know the rest of the group. We aren't required to go to meals together and hang out together, but everyone seems eager to do so. It's really very encouraging.

Day #1 in Dijon

Bonjour!

Although I'm still a bit jet-lagged (la peine de la décalage horaire - "the pain of the time difference"), today has been a wonderful first day in Dijon. Last night we had dinner at a small cafe called "Les Grands Ducs." It is on the Place du Palais, a large square in front of the duchal palace (during some periods in French history the duke of Burgundy was even more powerful than the king). Last night there were nine of us: Carolyn, Kara, Carleigh, Jennifer, Mary Kate, Peter, Wright, Dr. Barbour, and I. Another guy is supposed to be joining us, but he ran into problems with his visa. For dinner I had a croque provençal: crusty bread topped with tomatoes, basil, and goat cheese. The crudités on the side reminded me very much of Morocco (fresh corn, cubed beets, shredded carrots, and cabbage).

I am very excited about the dynamic of this group. Everyone seems very friendly and easy to get along with. After dinner last night Dr. Barbour gave us a brief tour of the Centre Ville (city center). I can't believe I am going to be living here for 3 1/2 months! It's like a fairy tale town. The buildings are a melange of different architecture styles, but all look quaint and not quite real. We had an official guided tour this afternoon and seeing even more of the city reinforced my awe.

I think Dijon is going to be the perfect size city for me. It is bigger than I expected (for some reason I was picturing a rustic town rather than a full city), but it seems very manageable. Our tour guide told us that 150,000 people live in the city proper and another 100,000 live in the areas surrounding Dijon. The lack of industry (as in industrial buildings) makes it very pleasant. *This picture is of Place D'Arcy, one of the main squares in the city and a meeting place our group uses frequently. The arch in the back right is the entrance to Park D'Arcy* For lunch before our tour we went to a cafeteria called "Flunch." It was pretty simple stuff, but all very fresh. Apparently "Flunch" is a chain throughout France. We have seen a few American chains here already - McDonald's (predictably) and Subway. But seriously, with all of the cafés and boulangeries and pâtisseries and viennoiseries, I cannot even fathom why someone would want Subway. A viennoiserie, by the way, is a place where they sell the pastries similar to croissants or brioche. I asked the lady who worked at a sandwich shop in the Gare de Lyon because I had never seen the word before.

I just can't believe I am going to be living here. I think I am in a little bit of shock at how all of this ancient architecture and history also go with so many modern amenities. I think after traveling to Morocco my standards have changed a bit. Obviously France is very different from Morocco, but since that was my most recent adventure, it's the measuring stick which first comes to mind.

We had a funny moment last night at the café. Apparently a few people are getting married soon because we saw two bachelor parties and a bachelorette party. The bachelors were both dressed up in ridiculous costumes (one was wearing a dress and a wig and the other was wearing a caveman outfit). The bachelorette was wearing 70s disco clothes and had her friends doing a choreographed dance routine in between the rows of fountains in the center of the Place. One of the bachelor parties sat down at tables near us outside the same restaurant. It was pretty funny.

So tonight we're having an orientation and then dinner at Dr. Barbour's apartment. Tomorrow we officially begin our 6-credit hour Wake Forest class with Dr. Barbour. Right now it is time for a nap.

Bisous,

Lauren

P.S. Please feel free to post comments or to email me.

The Start of a Great Adventure

Saturday, August 22nd

Well here I am, in a little hotel in Dijon, France. I would say it's difficult to believe that I am here, but a solid day of traveling has convinced me that yes, I am finally at my destination. This traveling involved a plane, a bus, a train, and a taxi, but all of these went as well as they possibly could have. Unlike Morocco, all of my travel plans have gone smoothly so far. Not only did my direct flight from Cincinnati to Paris leave on time, but it arrived early. My luggage arrived with me (how novel!) and was already on the conveyor belt when I got to baggage claim.

Carolyn (another Wake student, she lived in my suite last year) was waiting for me in the Cincinnati airport, and we met up with Kara and Carleigh in the Paris airport. We've been traveling with them ever since, and managed to find the bus which took us to the Gare de Lyon (a train station) and then we figured out how to buy tickets to Dijon. The Gare de Lyon is gorgeous! I wiah that the U.S. had train stations just so we could have an excuse to have all of that wrought iron and those big windows.

Today involved lots of waiting, but I am just thrilled to have arrived here safely. At 7pm tonight we're meeting at a restaurant for dinner with Dr. Barbour and the rest of the group. I will probably get a phone this evening or tomorrow morning.

Bisous (kisses),

Lauren