Sunday, October 9, 2011

Team Poppin'

La Cathedrale de Chambery


group pic - in Chambery

ANOTHER fountain with Emma and Adam

diots - a specialty dish of Annecy

making blood sausage

making pastries

fresh apple cider
pre-show to the parade
more cow bells
Me, Elita, and Molly at the Chocolatier - a little bit of heaven


Diots and Tartiflettes - Circle Share Time


WE LOVE AMERICANS - COME GET FREE BREAD

PARADE




love his shirt

inside the chateau - sweet art exhibits
CHEESE
 This weekend has been incredible.  On Saturday Emma and I left Echirolles at 6:30 to catch the 7:30 bus for our day trip to Annecy with CUEF.  So early!  We stopped in Chambery to check out the chateau, grab some breakfast, and do a quick tour of the village.  Then we finally arrived in Annecy.  It was the “Le Retour des Alpages” aka a HUGE festival honoring the heritage of the area.  It was incredible.  The streets were lined with tents upon tents of people showing off their trades.  People making blood sausage, pastries, and cider right in front of our eyes.  The atmosphere was something I’ve never experienced – so rich with tradition and full of delight. Everyone was so cheerful and happy to be there. 

Emma, Molly, Elita, and I ended up separating from the group after running off to a Chocolatier to get some yummy hot cocoa.  It was a cold, rainy day, but somehow we timed everything perfectly and weren’t cold all day!  The rain ended up being a fun obstacle to overcome – added a little spice to the day, a little challenge. Don’t worry, Team Poppins kept poppin’ all day.  We went for a wonderful crazy walk through the park and along the water where we broke out into show tunes and scared a couple away from us by squeaking our rainboots on the slippery park benches. 

We also perfected a new technique of eating.  We never actually ate lunch because we were constantly snacking.  Emma calculated that we sampled, drank, or ate something every 30 minutes we were there.  So much deliciousness.  We made a ridiculously long list of food we tried; instead of writing it down I’ll provide pictures next entry.  Enjoy becoming green with envy.

We kept coming back to one of the vendors that sold roasted chestnuts.  The people there were super funny and loved to ask us questions about America and tell us about French traditions.  I told them I was sad I didn’t see many berets thus far.  They sympathized.  Apparently the kids don’t wear them very much.  We came across another stand who recognized our accent and kept shouting, “We love America, take some free bread!  Bring your friends!  We love Americans!”  So funny.  I was proud of how much we talked with the locals in French (or in English if they insisted)! 

Mid-afternoon there was a parade of farm animals.  It was remarkable to see flocks of duck, sheep, goats, and cows being herded down these narrow streets that were filled to the brim with spectators.  There were also live performances with bugles and long horns. I got some pretty amazing videos. 

Unfortunately, my plans on Sunday to do the road race got canceled because Molly and I did not have necessary medical documents.  When I asked my host dad if these guidelines were strict, he confirmed and ranted about how the French government has stupid, overly strict regulations which I have definitely noticed!

It ended up working great however, because I got to sleep in and then hang out with Emma all day!  It was the best.  First, we went for a run and tried out all of the exercise equipment along the side of the trail.  My favorite exercise was of course the abs workout.  Then we laid in the grass, which is the most luscious and cushiony grass I have ever felt.  So much bonding.  We spent all afternoon doing homework with a quick break to the park to take pictures.  The snow in the mountains was particularly beautiful today.  It is getting very cold here, so there is a lot more snow. 

During a tea break, Emma shared with me the material she was reading for one of her classes.  She told me about how two French authors, Camus and Satre, used to be friends back in the day.  She explained how Satre was an existentialist, aka he didn’t believe in God and believed in living for the sake of the moment without any thought of fate or the afterlife.  Cammus apparently denied being existentialist even though his literature appeared to have hints of it.  So interesting!  I love learning about the background of the French authors!

Other updates:
I got to skype with my family today, since Tom and Minal and Aunt Ann were visiting my parents in Portland for my mom’s birthday.  It was super nice to see them but made me miss them a lot.  I’ve been thinking about them lately, especially at dinner time when I set the table for 5 people - Élie, Elliot, Nicole, Robert, and I.  It’s hard not being able to communicate with them regularly. 

Tonight, I dined alone with Nicole and Robert.  It felt really great to consistently talk with them all by myself without the help of Élie or Elliot.  We chatted the whole dinner as well as before and after.  I’ve improved so much from the beginning, when I could barely understand anything and could barely talk for 5 minutes!  We discussed the specialties of food in the different areas of France, my family’s new move to the Portland area, pâté in comparison to cretons, and the primary election that is taking place as I write!  This is the first ever primary election in France.  Usually, the party picks the candidate; however, this time the people get to choose.  My family was super excited!

I’m bonding hardcore with Nicole and Robert.  They are like my grandparents now.  I love it!  Robert is so adorable and winks at me all the time.  It’s super cute and always makes me think of Macy when he does that.  I love it.

One other sweet update is that today I asked one of the other students in my class some questions about the homework on fb chat.  Because she is Chinese, our only common language is French.  It was exciting to see how well we could communicate!  I’m thinking I may try to set up a get-together with the peeps from my class.  I want to try to learn from the other students in my class.  We’ll see if it works out…

PARAGLIDING ON TUESDAY.  Unfortunately, no Berlin with Kaitlyn next weekend but hopefully I’ll go visit the Chateau in Vizelle, go hiking, and perhaps a day trip to Switzerland!

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