Long week

Its been a while since I last wrote. Thats because I normally write on Wednesdays, but wednesday was my birthday and I didnt have the time to write:)



Before I write about my week, I have another interesting fact: people here actually say Oh la la (or sometimes just Oh la (I think its the manly version:D)), however, they dont say it when they are happy, like I had previously though, or when they are in awe. They say it when they are frusterated or fed-up.



It has been getting colder here, and fairly windy. About 35-45 degrees fahrenheit, depending on the time of day. Apparently, the French dont believe in heating buildings much; both my house and school have been about the same temperature as outside! I only brought one pair of thick socks, so I havent changed my socks in three days:). Haha, tomorrow though, I am going shopping with Laurie, Laura, and Chloé and I and going to buy slippers and warm sweaters!



Monday and Tuesday were pretty uneventful, just school and home and sleep.

Wednesday was my birthday. I had four hours of school; two of math, and two of acro sport, where I learned we will have to present our four and two person figures next week, and that also marks the end of acro sport (yay!), next up is badmitton, which I think will be a little more fun. After school, I came home and ate lunch with my host parents and Laura. Claire then told me where I could find a supermarché (super market, grocery store) to buy ingredients to make an american style cake, because she had a lot of work to do that afternoon. That was just fine for me, I have missed baking:) So I decided to make a recipe from my Grandmas cookbook which is called Johns Easy Chocolate Cake. Yes, it is easy if you are in the US using cups and teaspoons, but here, all they use are grams. So I translated it as best I could, and set out for the supermarché. It is about 5 or 6 blocks from my house, and I found and bought everything all by myself! When I got home, I realized that 'sucre poudre' in not, in fact, powdered sugar, but granulated sugar. So, I had to go back to get some 'sucre glace', (powdered sugar). The cake turned out fine, I didnt set a timer because I have no clue how, and so I overcooked it a little, but everyone really like it. The 'everyone' who came to dinner, was my host parents, Laura, Théo, Théos girlfriend, the godmother of Théo, and the godmother of Victor. We had cheese stuffed redpeppers for appetizers, and then meat for dinner, with four different kinds of sauces my host mom made, it was delicious. The meat was uncooked, completely (but just at first;)), it was really interesting, because Claire set a electric griddle in the middle of the table and put just a little bit of salt on it. Then passed around the plate of meat (beef, duck, and fowl), then everyone just stuck their piece of meat on the griddle and let it cook as long as they wanted. I thought that was a pretty nifty way to make everyone happy with their meat. Afterwards, we ate cake. Since we couldnt find any birthday candles, they lit seventeen small round candles and set them on a plate. Claire took pictures, so I will upload some later. I received a livre de gateaux (dessert cookbook) from the godmothers of Victor and Théo, perfume from Michel, and a Tshirt with the saying 'les temps de ceries' on it, which means, 'the time of the cherries' which is a very well know saying and has historical roots, but I didnt understand the full explanation. It was late when I got to bed Wednesday night, about 12:00 am, which is the latest I have stayed up on a school night yet. Usually I just go to bed right after dinner because I am so tired:) Over all, my birthday in France was a very fun and memorable day.
On Thursday, it was pretty much just a normal day. Though at lunch, we were sitting next to the line of students waiting to get their trays and I heard a girl talk. The strange thing is, I could actually understand her, so I got really excited! But just then, Ingrid turns to me and says, 'do you see that girl over there?' (the same one I could understand) 'she is an exchange student too', and I asked her how she knew, she said it was because she talked so slowly and had such a strange accent!!! There goes my happy moment:) Anyways, I actually have been able to understand more and more in class and even when my friends talk rapidly, just not everything yet.
This evening, my host mom made a yummy pot of seafood, there were very small shrimp (the size of my pinky), normal shrimp, octopus, some smushy white thing I didnt understand the explanation of, and it was all in a really yummy sauce. I asked what the sauce was made out of, and Claire told me white wine and crème fraiche, and then stopped. I asked her if that was all, and she said no, but didnt say what else, so maybe its a secret, I dont know. Then we ate green beans with a red sauce. Then fromage, and then some Alaskan Polar Bear Kisses. Because, today I got my birthday box from my parents:D!!! It was very exciting. I got a 72 oz costco size bag of chocolate chips and when Claire asked it if was so big because it was for the whole year, all I could do was laugh:) I was finally able to tell her that my family goes through one of those in two weeks, but I dont think she believed me! I also got a necklace, cards (thank you to everyone who wrote in them), other candy, and pictures!! I showed my host family the pictures and they were very impressed with the Alaskan wildlife (a moose in my front yard) and the scenery (the moss hills and blueberry bushes at my cabin).
Tomorrow, I am having a small party with my friends from school and hopefully one AFS student, Sophia, whos host mom my host mom is talking to right now, trying to work things out because she lives in a different town. My host parents said they are going to go to a movie and dinner, while I have my party. For the party, I am going to make a American dinner, though I havent really figured out what yet, and dessert. Chloé said she would also bring some dessert, which was supposed to be a surprise but she said it in French really fast and though I wouldnt understand, but I did:) (I told you my french has improved!). Sunday, my host family is hiking up a mountain. I was told it is four hours to the top, we will have a picnic and then three hours down. It is a two hour drive each way. I was also told I didnt have to go, but that 'say no to nothing' voice in the back of my head told me I should go:) So, I am going, along with the AFS student (hopefully) who will spend the night because of the distance between towns, I think, though my host mom is STILL talking to her host mom! Anyways, I will do my best to NOT forget my camera this time, take some victory pictures when I get to the top, and post them later. Now it is late and I am tired, so I should go to bed, if anyone has any idea on a easy American meal, I would love to hear them. I think I will check this in the morning before going to the store to get ingredients. Please leave a comment, I need ideas:)