Strasbourg and Offenburg

So this past weekend the boys worked their magic on us girls and convinced us to head out of Dijon and go to Strasbourg--and I'm glad we did! Strasbourg is a really neat little city on the border of France and Germany (but in the french part). The first night we got there we headed towards a chinese resto (soo good) and then out for a bit to catch a match du football (our friend Alex watches ALL the time!) Saturday we woke up early and headed around town...the archetecture was amazing!! There was a Catherdral that took 200 years to build-so pretty. There is also a quarter called "Le Petit France" which was full of interesting archetecture and designs. In the afternoon the boys split off from the girls and walked around a bit more while we went to the Chocolate museume....A tram, bus, and 10 min walk later we managed to find this treasure on the outskirts of the city...I learned SO much about cholocate! (and of course got several free samples :) ) That night I was able to meet up with Liz Butterfield (she's a 'sler at Kohahna) and we had a very nice meal :)

Sunday we woke up early again and headed to the train station and hopped on a train to Offenburg, Germany. It's a small typical german village about 45 Kilometers from Strasbourg...every thing was closed since it's monday morning..but the town is full of funn statues an cool buildings...so we got to do fun things without anyone looking at us all crazy. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon there then headed back to strasbourg. We got our bags, did some homework and jumped on the train back to dijon. I was able to do all of my homework by the time i got back so that was nice.

I need to clean my room in a bad way and do my laundry...so I suppose I am going to do that tonight. Tomorrow night is the Lyon v Barcelona game (which for Alex is huge) so I am looking forward to spending a night with everyone watching it. (plus the pub we go to to watch is is FILLEd with goodlooking french boys!! hehe)

Paris

So I ended up spending the weekend in Paris...St. Valentines day in Paris...how clichee! but How many times am I going to be able to say I did that?? Hehe

Friday night we went to our first match du football.. It was Dijon contre Boulougne (another french team ranked higher) and we won 1-0! It was really fun and since the french love to give students discounts it was only 2 euro 50 to get in.

Saturday morning we jumped on a 630 train and headed to Paris. It was me, Bethany, Camille and Brandon...we ran around all day and did the whole free walking tour thing...then in the afternoon we avons marche sourtout le tour eiffel....

At night we met up with some people we met earlier and hung out in the latin quarter...we ended up at a Scottish pub because there was a big rugby game contre scotland so everyone was there watching it. We met some really nice boys in kilts who spoke with heart melting accents :)

We headed back to our hostel, slept in a bit, and continued on sunday with galavanting around paris. We went to the catacombs and the musee d'orsay. I got to see my favorite work of art--La petite danseuse par Edgar Degas! We eventually made it to the train station, and on the 1h45 train ride all did our homework only stopping to ask another how to conjugate certain verbes.

I'm feeling a little better...still no voice which is getting increasingly frustrating because its already hard enough to communicate here!! But I expect a full recovery by the time I post this :)

No class so I actually have time to write...

the OSU crew

some of the girls
making dinner for the boys


So apparently I have changed languages from English to franglish. That's where I start forgetting how to say words like "street" and insert "rue" instead. So a typical conversation with me would include phrases like "do you want to go mange parceque I haven't eaten in like 8 heurs" and "What time does your cours get out--do you want to rendezvous apres? We can jump on the internet et get some cafe." Also--I have trouble typing. So this takes me forever.

Classes are going well...still hard--still long.

the gang and I headed to a dijon match du football ce soir (tonight--see what I mean!!) and then Paris early in the morning---Paris on Valentines day--isn't that wonderful?!

the weather is STILL aweful. rainy/snowy/cold. Spring is coming though...I can feel it.

I still don't have a voice...which is funny by also frustrating because i'm already having enough trouble as it is communicating.

I'll through up some pictures that have been just of day to day stuff..

Happy Valentines day everyone!!

sha lala

Classes are going well....they're hard...but they told me if its hard it means I'm in the right level...if it were easy I wouldn't learn anything. I'm taking a lot of classes (electives too)--including 2 theatre classes (in one we talk about samual beckett and the other we're actually doing a show--how cool is that?!?) as well as a history class. My profs are okay...some harder than others. The class length is what kills me...2 and 3 hour classes. and we only get a break if our prof smokes and needs a ciggarette.

The whole not having internet thing is very frustrating because I'm in class all day and then don't have the energy to come back and do real life things (which is why its taking me so long to respond to e-mails, everyone)

My friends are good and i get to talk to Liz almost every day so that's nice..yesterday we had a mini metaphysical with each other ( I had the suggestion of strep and her apartment at home caught fire (everyone and everythings ok)) and i came across this nifty passage in the lesson this week:

Citizens of the world, accept the “glorious
liberty of the children of God,” and be free! This
is your divine right. The illusion of material sense, not
divine law, has bound you, entangled your free limbs,
crippled your capacities, enfeebled your body, and de-
faced the tablet of your being.

and it worked so well for us both--its so nice to have her so close.

I miss my friends and Kaydee ladies a ton--but the kids i met here are awesome. we're having a good time together--i think we're FINALLY going to make it to paris this weekend..it will be nice to get out of Dijon for a few days.

oh crap. class starts soon.

GRAND BISOUS A TOUS

checking in...

Well...there's not much to talk about..I haven't really been up to much. The homesickness is wearing off and my friends are awesome. We've just been running around town, settling in and hanging out. The food is still awful but I bought some spices and lemon juice in hopes of making it a little better. Last night I cooked dinner for the boys (spaghetti--duh) and it was nice to actually eat a meal that I enjoyed. I have been hanging out with the kids from OSU too and they're pretty rad. Its very nice to have something familiar. Hm...what else.. I got to talk to casey yesterday on skype which was awesome...and colin the other day too. Liz and I are going to Normandy next weekend I think just be tourists...it should be a ball.

I guess that's all for now...

grand bisous a tous

By the way...if you all want to send me some love (or some macaroni--blue box Kraft spirals please!) here's my address:


Trelawny Buley chambre 426
residence international de CIEF
6 rue Marechal leclerc
dijon-Ville
21000 France

packages ARE allowed (hiiiiint hiiiiint)


<3

Dijon and Beaune

Gooooooood Morning!

I suppose you all are sleeping at the moment while I'm getting ready to go get some lunch...but before I do that I thought that I would write a little bit about the city!

This week was orientation week of sorts and so we got to do some really fun things. The first thing we did was take a trip to Beaune. Beaune is a city about 40 min south by bus of Dijon and is considered the eiffel tower of Burgundy. Its where all the vinyards are located and there is a midievle hospital called the L'hotel dieu--nicknamed le palais du pauvre (palace for the poor) it was opened so that the poor would have a place to go and get treatment for whatever. It is still used today as a retirement home--which is kinda cool. Pretty much though, its famous pour the archetecture--the roofs are made with yellow, white, black, and red tiles that the burgundy region is famous for--and the trend a commence a l'hotel dieu. it was a fun city--and dad! they have a store there called Beryl...I've actually seen it around Dijon too (its a clothing store) so i took a picture for you.

The next day we did a tour of Dijon (its about a 10 min bus ride downtown) and that was neat. you all should wikipedia it--its very medievil and famous for des chouettes (owls). It's beautiful there and its so interesting to run around town with my friends.

Life is getting easier and I'm not crying so much any more--and my friends are great ..we're thinking about getting on a train in a few hours and heading to paris for the weekend. I got my class schedual and level today and oh man, did I luck out! I placed level 4 (Go me!) so I get to take a bunch of culture classes and not so many grammar and writing (hehe!) and...get this...NO CLASS ON FRIDAY!!! so Lizzy and I can travel around europe together! I have about 4 hours of class a day--but thursday I have class from 9-16:30 which stinks but no class on friday is def. worth it. the food is still terrible but I guess thats not all a bad thing. Well. My tummys growling--time to go get a sandwhich

grand bisous

Dijon

Hello all! It’s Thursday and I’ve been here for what seems like not time at all. My days have been busy with exploring, meeting friends, and getting settled. Let’s start with dorm life: Thankfully with some help of French fabreeze my room no longer smells like onions. It’s pretty cozy now that I have pictures and posters up. After a trip to Carrefour—the French equivalent of Wal-Mart—Its pretty useful. There isn’t internet there though so that’s kind of an issue. There’s wifi on campus but it’s a good 15 min walk to the closest hotspot. By the way, the French say wifi “wee-fee” which cracks me up. The food here sucks and is practically inedible. Fortunately I have a human garbage disposal who sits with me at meals so no food goes to waste ☺ For as much as we pay to come here they’re pretty stingy. For instance—they give me a cup for water (it’s slightly larger than a dixicup) and if I want soda or such I have to pay 1.5 euro for it.
Good news…I am making friends. There are several people that I like to surround myself with. And its fun when we all go out around town and things in a group of 20 but there is a group of 4 or 5 that I tend to hang out with more than others. There’s a boy from the Netherlands which is awesome and he speaks perfect English, german, dutch and is on his way to speaking French which blows my mind. He’s awesome. There are two boys from Kentucky that are super nice and have the relaxed mentality. (Don’t worry Dad—they both have girlfriends) and then there’s another girl from Arizona who goes to ASU that’s chill and fun to hang out with. Its amazing because even in 5 days my French has improved immensely. In conversations we all go back and forth between English and French smoothly and naturally which is wonderful. I have no doubt soon it will be all French. I like the people here.—but I often feel lonely because I’m so used to be surrounded by people who I’m already comfortable with. It sounds crazy but all I want right now is a big hug.
The weather has sucked. snow, rain, sleet, more snow but today the sun FINALLY came out. Which is great! I am looking forward to galavanting around town this afternoon. Tomorrow perhaps I will put up more pictures of the towns and explain the city. But the sun is calling me outside.

oh, and belles doing great. shes meeting friends and seeing sights. But sometimes I catch her tearing up a bit. she sends her love aussi.

Grand bisous à vous tous!

Dijon

Belle and I made it to Dijon finally!! Il est tres froid! I left Lizzy on at the train station where i proceeded to pratically have to RUN to my train ( you only get 15 min from when they announce the arrival of the train to when it leaves--and being in car 18 with three bags was brutal) luckly for me some very nice dijon rugby players carried all my bags :) Once on the train, I watching a movie and before i knew it I had arrived (again, they only told me we were in dijon once we had stopped--about the third one in) the rugby players helped me off the train and took my 50 lbs bags down the stairs for me..such nice men! i wandered around for a bit...asked information..asking random people...but no one had heard of my program and knew nothing of the bus that was supposed to be picking me up from the train station. Finally after about 15 min of walking around I sat down to give up and decide my next course of action--but a little frechmen came over and waved a little flyer in my face " CIEF?" "OUIOUI" I practically yelled--Stephan is one of my profs--and I hopped on a charter bus and headed for le residence international. At le residence I was shown to my dorm room (one that smells of onion and dirt)..meeting only korean, japonese and some chinese folk on the way. No english. After a good cry and a long nap I opened my dorm room door and started unpacking. I heard some english in the hall, poked my head out and a few girls came down to talk to me--they have a group from Kentucky who came together who took me and few canadians under their wings and formed an English speaking posse I guess (ha!) it was very helpful when they all were going through the same thing I was and I tagged along to find some Wifi (the dorm is internetless) and we've been travelling as a pack together to find out what we are doing and when. Today, we took a placement test to find out what classes we will be taking. Tomorrow we are heading out to Baune--which Stephan says is the Eiffel Tour of Burgundy. After that, we have more tours and orientations and we start class on monday--what a week! But I am finally getting settled but definatly missing the comfort of home. I'm sure that I'll adjust soon and the time will fly by--but until then I will just have to deal with the homesickness--thank God I have spent many a summer comforting homesick kids at camp--I know just what truths to tell myself :)

Well, I have to go take my oral exam now...goodbye for now..