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Published: September 14th 2009
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This is the Center for Applied Linguistics...or simply the CLA...where we take class everyday :) Bonsoir a tous!!
I know I said I would write tomorrow once I get home from Germany...but I know I will be too tired! I'm just sitting here waiting for my hair to dry a bit so I figured I'd write. Silly me didn't realize that the voltage here in France is a little high so I basically almost blew up my hair dryer last week...
I'm not as frustrated as I was yesterday so I will re write what I wrote! haha
I had a wonderful weekend...full of excitetment and new discoveries! Friday night was great... we went to dinner at this adorable little place and then went to an orchestra concert in the center of town! It was the music festival this past weekend so the center of town was full of festivities! We stayed out pretty late just having a great time together and then took the bus home. No creepers this time! YAY! Saturday morning was the first morning I've slept in France. I slept til 10 and I felt like a new woman! haha I had breakfast and an awesome convo with my 9 year old host sister before heading out for the
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Beautiful roses from the garden. :) day! Me, Jackie, Teri, and Firas all went to see this amazing cello and bass concert. It was unbelievable. I really miss playing the viola... 😞 After the concert we went to lunch at a Chinese resturaunt....mmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!.....then spent the afternoon sitting along the river drinking wine. It was pretty fantastic!
Sunday was our second excursion!!! We first went to saline royale d'arc et senans...where they produced salt! The landscaping buildings were absolutely beautiful...you'd never know it was used for salt. All around the outside of the buildings were gardens. I have always loved gardens and art...but i've never been truly moved to taken back before. This time...I was. Walking into a new garden was like walking into a new world...it's something I can't even put into words. It was absolutely breath taking. 😊
After the gardens, we went for a wine tasting!!! We tasted five wines...three of which i loved. We had champagne, white wine, red wine, and two wines that could clear any nasal cavity. The one was so awful I had to spill it out. I've never found a wine I didn't like...I was slightly depressed! The last cold cure tasted like raisons soaked in rubbing
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Some friends during our picnic!! alcohol. The owner saw me drinking it and I made sure to smile after every sip like a fool even though my mind was like "HOLY &^@#%!@(MISSING)&*#" After a few he caught on and was like...you know you can just spit it out!! haha I was a trooper and finished it! 😉
We went on a picnic after the wine and OH MY GOSH...the view was incredible. We saw the entire region, mountains, cows, and the Swiss Alps. Beautiful. Before leaving the house that morning, my host maman prepared a lunch for me. As we were leaving she said " I really hope this is enough for you." Keep that in mind as I tell you what was in it. Get ready... Two sandwiches....both on baguette...one was a cheese sandwich and the other was a pate, lettuce, and pickle sandwich. I know...it doesn't sound so good..but it was great!!! I also had a quarter of an entire watermelon, a bag of chips, two mini cakes, and coke. Needless to say, I definately didn't starve!!! She's such an angel! We finished the day by visiting the home of Lois Pasteur ( doctor who invented the rabies shot and pasteurization!!). It
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Replica of Monet's house :) was really neat...but we were all so exhausted from the day. All in all, yesterday was a wonderful day. 😊
Today we spent the day observing a high school. Our group was divided into three groups and the six in my group went to Charles Nordier High School. it was definately a different experience. The students are in school until 5:20 pm. Because of this they have a 15 minute break every 2 hours and a 2 hour lunch period. During this time, we explored the city around the school while the students socialized, smoked, and enjoyed "special time" with their significant other. It's still amazing to me that the French are so open with their personal desires!!!!! The content of the classes were great. They are learning so much about the worl and each other's economy that it makes the US look bad! They were talking about Obama and our economic crisis better than we were! It's amazing and sad at the same time. They are much more advanced within their content than I realized.
The bus was way too crowded coming home tonight...I could only look in one direction and luckily the woman I was facing
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Me with the lycee (high school) in the background! is a familiar face on the bus! She looked at me and smiled which made me feel at ease. All of a sudden, she started picking her nose and ate her booger. Yes, she was still looking at me. I was horrified! You know, I'm getting used to the bad breath, BO, and non-human smells, but I'm sorry...eating your boogers just isn't going to fly with me! I would have gladly given her a tissue followed by a squirt of purell.
Well I'm off to bed! Tomorrow is going to be a long day!!! Take care everyone!!! Miss you all!!
Bisous!! XOXO
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Aunt Barbie
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hello
Hi Alana, It's great hearing about all your adventures! My personal favorites are "their smell cancelled each other out" and the dog poop episode. Sounds like you are having a wonderful time. Stay safe and know we are thinking of you!!! Love, the VA Yudd's