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Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux
October 6th 2008
Published: October 6th 2008
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CanelesCanelesCaneles

NUMMY. And everywhere here.
Ok, so I STILL haven't really taken any pictures (I want the people here to think I'm cool, not some bewildered American tourist), so I'm including, for your enjoyment, google images of things I've been eating here. Although these are not the actual items I consumed, they look pretty much exactly like them. MMMmmmm... aren't you jealous?

The first and most important item is this caramel-y, vanilla-y, slightly crunchy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside confection of perfection, the canelé. Canelés are Bordeaux's signature pastry. I had my first one today, and so now I feel like an official resident of Bordeaux (even though that paperwork won't officially go through for months). I'll let the captions describe the rest.

Today I met the middle school kids at St. André. They were hilarious. The first class was told to prepare questions for a mystery guest today, without being told anything about me (they're learning things like "what is your name? What is your favorite color? What is your quest... ok maybe not that one). They were kind of bored until someone asked where I was born, and I said California. They all sat bolt upright in their
Bread galoreBread galoreBread galore

Every 100 meters or so there's a bakery.
chairs and went "Whoa!!" in astonishment. THEN all the hands started flying up. The someone asked what my job is, and I said I was going to be their English assistant. Then started the excited whispering and more hands. I felt so loved. One boy asked if I was married. Another asked, "What is your phone number?" Haha. They are 12, by the way. Their questions were fantastic. Someone asked if I like music, and when I said yes, they started asking about specific bands, most of which I haven't heard of because they are French, but one girl asked eef aye like zee Jonas Brozzars. I said no, not really, and the girl next her said "Ouai! Je t'y ai dit!" (roughly, "Yeah! I told you so!"). Haha. They also asked if I like Barack Obama and if I like George Bush. Everyone here (in Europe, in general) is pro-Obama, so my answers made them happy. They also asked if I like McDonalds. One person asked if I like Nutella. Haha, so random. The second class was equally great; they were 13, so their questions were slightly (only slightly) more complex. I got, "who will you vote for?" "Do
Galette/crepe saleGalette/crepe saleGalette/crepe sale

A crepe made with buckwheat filled with savory stuff. The one I had was egg, beef, onions, mushrooms, and a garlic-butter sauce. And cheese, of course.
you see celebrities in California?" "Who is your favorite actor?" "How tall are you?" (which I could only answer in feet and inches which means zero to them, children of the metric system). Both classes asked if I can speak French. That's tricky, because they're not supposed to speak French with me EVER, so I really don't want them to even know I can. But I don't want to lie to a bunch of wide-eyed 12 and 13 year-olds, so I just said "I'm learning". My French is so bad, too, that if they heard me I might lose some credibility.

I also ate in the school cafeteria. Let me tell you, it was a way different experience than cuisine a la Iron Horse Middle School. My (three-course) meal started with fruit and a selection of cheeses (I chose brie), then moved on to a choice of salad, ham, more fruit, or pâté, (all garnished, by the way) then the main course, which was some kind of vegetable stew with potatoes and an egg soufflé, and of course, a big chunk of baguette (my roommate said she read an article today that said that the average French woman eats
Crepe sucreCrepe sucreCrepe sucre

Sweet crepe, mine have been with chocolate, raspberry sauce, vanilla ice cream, and Chantilly.
3/4 of a baguette per day. French men eat a whole one). And the kicker? It cost €3. Apparently the food at Camille Jullian is even better and also costs about €3. Amazing. Apparently French kids never bring a bag lunch; they either eat in the cafeteria or go home for lunch. I can see why. Oh, and they get an hour and a half. That sure puts our 35 minutes to shame. But then again, they have class until 5:15pm and go to school half day on Saturday sometimes. So, I guess we didn't have it so bad afterall.

So that was today. The weekend was good, too. On Friday we went to orientation during the day, which was mostly painfully boring and not at all useful (and it lasted 8 hours... but we got another awesome school cafeteria meal; it was at a lycée), but I did meet some more people, including two Scottish guys, two British guys, a Spanish guy, a British girl, a guy from Oklahoma, and a guy from Florida. The guy from Florida actually did this program last year, so he was rather interesting to talk to. He says when he got here
Pain au chocolatPain au chocolatPain au chocolat

basically, a croissant filled with chocolate. This is the pastry I purchase most frequently. It costs usually 95 Euro cents.
last year he had only had 3 semesters of French (for comparison's sake, I had the equivalent of 6), so he was pretty lost. And now his French is pretty good, so I'm encouraged. After the long day went and got a drink at a bar on the river, and then dinner at this rather disappointing Portuguese place. Let's just say the service was terrible and we all ended up smelling strongly charred meat. But even if the restaurant was a bit underwhelming, it was fun. I met a couple other people there too, also from our group. Apparently there are over 200 language assistants all together, and about 100 of us are English language assistants (English, American, Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand..er?). There are also Spanish (from Spain and Latin America), Italian, German (from Austria and Germany), Russian, Portuguese, Arabic, and Chinese assistants.

On Saturday I went to Ikea, which was great. I got a fantastically warm and fluffy duvet, a warm and fuzzy throw blanket (warm is key, my room is still freaking COLD), and a fitted sheet. Apparently Europe doesn't do flat sheets. So, I'm using the lame baby pink see-through one that
CamembertCamembertCamembert

French staple cheese. Every French person has a wheel of this in their fridge. Mine is Monoprix brand (think, Target brand, that's how every-day this stuff is)
came with my room, and it doesn't so much go with my snazzy dark purple sateen bottom sheet. Oh well. I wonder if I can buy a flat one from a US Ikea online and have it shipped? Probably wouldn't be worth it. I want to go back and get some more decorative stuff (and some meatballs), because I couldn't carry more than the aforementioned bedding (we took the tram). At night we went to an underwhelming concert and then out for drinks and a scrumptious late-night meal at this Italian place (I shared a goat cheese, tomato, chicken, honey, and creme fraiche pizza and a bottle of wine with Meghan and Aleksandra). MM.

Yesterday I went to a flea market in the morning. I bought something there, but as it is a Christmas present for someone who will likely read this, I will refrain from mentioning what it is. There was some pretty neat stuff there though, as well as a lot of crap. Then we went to the Sunday market on the river where we were overwhelmed by music, food, wine, food, produce, food, spices, and food. So much food. Hot food too. Crepes, oysters (they're big
Croissant aux amandesCroissant aux amandesCroissant aux amandes

literally croissant with almonds. The ones from Bioche Dore (a chain here) look just like this. They're my mom's favorite.
here... too bad I don't like them), kabobs, paella, steak, pastries, bread, veggies, meat, seafood, cheese, jam, honey, wine, cider, eggs, you name it. And it was absolutely packed with people. Also Sunday was "a Bordeaux sans voiture" day, which means "in Bordeaux without a car", so they had all this bike stuff for sale and rent (and some dumpy-looking expensive used bikes for sale that I decided not to buy). Later on we went back into downtown for drinks and dinner at a crepe place.

Which reminds me. I know I've said it before but this place is visually amazing. Stunning. One of the English teachers was showing me a book about Bordeaux today and there was this beautiful picture of a plaza in Bordeaux, and I thought wow! Look at that! And then I realized the crepe place we ate in last night was in the picture. I was there last night! And then there was a picture of the inside of a beautiful cathedral, and when I asked the teacher where it is, she says, oh that's Cathedrale St. Andre. That's right downtown! I walk by it all the time! All this breath-taking stuff is right
Vin rougeVin rougeVin rouge

I've consumed a lot of this. I have to. It's regional research.
here! I hope I never get used to it, never take it for granted. It is just UNREAL.

Tomorrow I plan on buying my year-long bus and tram pass (€176, yay!) and getting a city bike (€170 deposit, woo!), so it should be a pricey day. But I don't have work, so I'll be sleeping in. Awesome. I just realized this a very long blog about not a whole lot, so I'll be signing off. I hope everyone is enjoying American life these days, and is registered to vote and all that good stuff (except all you republicans... ignore that last sentence... j/k). I miss you all.

A bientot,

-Lisa

P.S. A new girl moved in today, her name is Lizzie and she's from er.... crap. I forget. Michigan? Maybe? Well, she's American and went to George Washington University in D.C. She seems nice. Except we now have FIVE people sharing one mini fridge. GREEEAAAT.



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Tarte saleeTarte salee
Tarte salee

A savory, quiche-like tart, very common here. Most have cheese, egg, and veggies, some have salmon or ham or some other kind of meat. Usually a restaurant will serve a "tarte maison", or house tart, whatever they've made that day.
The au laitThe au lait
The au lait

Tea with milk (and sugar), plain and simple. It's definitely more British than French (French people drink coffee), but I still have it all the time.
Salade chevre chaudSalade chevre chaud
Salade chevre chaud

literally, hot goat cheese salad. It's a green salad with warms toasts and thick slices of warm, gooey goat cheese. MM.
Vin blancVin blanc
Vin blanc

I've had less white that red, but still, it's pretty good here.
BiereBiere
Biere

Ok, so that's just "beer" in French. They have Budweiser here. Ick. They also have a lot of other, more interesting beer, too.


7th October 2008

Maybe not the same bud!
Is it really Budweiser (as in of the Anheuser-Busch variety) or is it the Czech (Budweiser Budvar) or German version? If it's either of the latter, I'd say your okay (especially the Budvar, I've had it and it's pretty good). But if it's American Bud.....blech! I hope no one drinks that in France.....oops, wait, they support a zillion organizations and charities in my city, nevermind, drink Bud everyone!!! It's the king of beers!

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