Foxhunting, Flying Disc, and Peacocks

       It's pretty late here on a Sunday night, but I wanted to go ahead and get this post up so that I don't forget to do it later. It's been another busy week here in La Rochelle, but I think I'm falling into a routine. My British and American culture class is going well, and I have to write a short paper on Barack Obama. I'm also finishing up a project on the British foxhunting ban, which is a lot more exciting than I thought it would be.      

     Yesterday I went to the market, after eating free couscous for the second Saturday in a row, and bought some stuff for a romantic Valentine's day dinner. Rebecca and I dined together (my dinner her lunch) via webcam. While it wasn't the most romantic experience in the world, it was nice to enjoy a bit of face-time with her. Only one more month before her arrival here in La Rochelle!     

    My French class keeps adding new students from around the globe. This past week I befriended a Venezuelan student, named Milenko, who has been living in the Netherlands for the last year. Maybe after I start my International Negotiation class I'll be better able to broach the subject of our country's fiery rhetoric against one another. Until then I'm holding my tongue and sticking to conversations about French food and culture. 

     The wind storm that hit last Monday nearly blew the town away. We had eighty mph winds. It wasn't a hurricane, in spite of the wind and the rain, since the wind wasn't fast enough and hurricanes don't happen in the north Atlantic (at least they're not supposed to.) I blame Al Gore... not global warming, just Al Gore. 

      After a lengthy odyssey to find a flying disc (or a frisbee if you must use the brand name), Danielle pestered me incessantly to go out and toss the disc around. It was far too cold to do so for most of the week, and yesterday was no exception. Even so, I walked down to the beach and gave it a few good tosses. I can never seem to aim correctly with those sorts of things, and this particular disc was very slightly warped. This led to a lot of apologizing and scurrying to collect the misthrown disc, which soon developed a crack down the middle of it. Eventually this much maligned disc broke in twain, leaving Danielle crestfallen. Theo, on the other hand, was quite pleased to discover that half of a broken disc makes an excellent boomerang, but I think Danielle might have found him to be a little insensitive. 

        Afterwards we decided to go to the animal park and drown our sorrows in the antics of zany peacocks. This particular one decided to spread its feathers to intimidate a particular ornery rooster. The rooster didn't back down, but I didn't miss the incredible photo op. 

       I suppose I should push myself to do more exciting things this week.  It's rather difficult keeping a blog filled with interesting things when I spend most of my time in class doing boring things. In the spirit of entertainment, if anyone has suggestions for things they want me to photograph or write about, please let me know. I even have a skype phone number now, so if you want to give me a call or leave me a voicemail, feel free to e-mail me for the number. 

C'est moi, gratuit!

        Just a quick post today. The weather has been acting a bit strange lately. Saturday afternoon we were beset by hail, but only after my trip to the market concluded. I also discovered a place on the old port that passes out free couscous. It was fantastic, and I have a photo up above to prove that there is nothing quite so wonderful as a hot serving of couscous on a cold Saturday afternoon. I think it's a muslim organization that is passing these out, but regrettably they will cease to do so at the end of February. Until then, I have found my new favorite lunch for Saturdays. 

        My new class, British and American Culture, has been relatively uneventful thus far. Being the only American in the class means that I get called on frequently to give an "American" perspective. This also means that I know the names of about three of the twenty four students in the class, all of whom know me by name. No zany misadventures this week, I've been too busy with school. On Thursday night when I went out to a bar, I feared that perhaps I was going crazy. Everywhere I went people seemed to know exactly who I am and took pleasure in telling me so in English. After the fourth time this happened, I realized that these were people from my class.

       No zany misadventures for this week, but I did manage to finally open a French bank account. After giving them two forms of ID, my passport, proof that I paid rent, my fingerprints, blood and semen samples, and a piece of paper promising them my first born, the lady I'm staying with came with me down to the bank to prove that I was staying with her legally. Banks here are run very differently than they are back in the states. For one thing, you have to make an appointment with them before you can actually open your account. I'd complain, but given that our banking system is part of what led to an economic meltdown, I think I'll hold my tongue. 

Lundi est le nouveau dimanche...

       As the title indicates, I was far too busy this past weekend to post. So hopefully you will excuse my tardiness with this new post. It has been a busy week, both at school and socially. Yesterday the sun came out, but today the clouds are back again. Fortunately the sun lasted long enough for us to take a picnic to the park. In this particular park live a donkey, several peacocks, geese, turkeys, other birds, deer, and a many agreeable goats with their kids. Although not quite a zoo, we occupied ourselves watching the animals play. By far the most interesting animal in the park, an old woman chastised the many French people who fed the donkey's bread. "C'est mal pour leur santé." she said, answering the age old question of whether donkey's get sick when fed too much bread. After watching her feed several carrots to them, we assisted in retrieving some of the larger pieces of bread from the cage, utilizing several fallen tree branches to extend our reach. I fear our efforts were entirely in vain. When we left I noticed several children and their parents approach the cage, their arms laden with baguettes. I tried not to worry about sick donkeys as we walked to the beach and enjoyed our picnic. We rounded out the afternoon by going to the museum of natural history. Like most of the major museums, it is free on the first Sunday of the month. I find myself eager to return and see more of the exhibits. It was difficult to explore the collection in its entirety in only an hour. I enjoyed thoroughly their collection of stuffed animals (see above)

       In other news, I resolved to speak in French as much as possible when in public, even with my American friends. One of my classmates is a particularly loud and extremely talkative American girl, whose voice and appearance prompt les garçons to practically fall over themselves at the chance to practice their English. On the other hand I have met many an interesting French person simply by making an effort to speak French. Even if I speak French like a Spanish cow, it's still good practice for me. When I met the other student from my university, who arrived in class last Monday, I realized just how good my French skills are for an American. In spite of my best efforts to allay her fears, her adjustment to living in France has been, to put it kindly, quite challenging. Still I think she is making real progress as are the Lithuanian students in my class. 

      Last week was Chinese new year, which meant a large party at a bar in town. Named after my favorite Truffaut film, "Le 400 coups" filled with students. I found myself talking at length to several Chinese students. All of them seem astonished when I tell them that I have been to China. I suppose it's not a popular tourist destination for Europeans. Inevitably these conversations in broken French turn to politics, as it did with a young Iranian I met a few weeks ago. It might simply be the international response to our new president, but most of the people I meet love America. Our culture is without a doubt our greatest export, and they firmly believe the propaganda we spout about the "American Dream" In spite of our political differences, I am happy to say that I enjoy the company of these students. Truly my time over here is a unique opportunity to learn more about the world. 

      It seems as though the week has been more action packed than this meager post would lead you to believe, but I simply don't have the time to write any more. I'm on my way to my first non-French class. It's on British and American culture, which might very well be a waste of my time. Still, I think it will be interesting to discover how others perceive our culture and to discover more about the Empire that spawned us. Some of you might find it refreshing to learn that I don't spend all my time here adventuring, but writing about all the schoolwork I slough through makes for a pretty boring read.