What I'm Really Doing Here...

I suppose it's time that I share what I'm actually doing here, no? My full time job is of course being a student at the University, I take 21 credit hours a week. Everyday I wake up between 7 and 8am and am at school for at least 3 to 6 hours- always with a 2 hour "sieste" (which is the time where the whole country is put on pause and goes to sleep/ eats in the comfort of their own home or elsewhere).

I take 9 hours a week of "general language"- in this class we cover everything between grammar and conjugations, translating poems, to practicing our "expression orale" in debates, or sharing our opinions with endless subjects (politics, French food, French culture, the environment, homosexual rights, smoking, China, 'taboos' in France and elsewhere, traveling, fashion, wine, weather, our homework, film and music, and one of the most common topics of "why is French grammar so strange? How is conjugating this verb right? Why are there so many irregular verbs that I have to memorize?!" Overall- it's a very fun class. At the moment our class is writing a small newspaper, my group is covering "Où sortir? Vivre ta Vie à Angers": where to go in Angers to eat like a local, and where to have fun or just relax in the city. I get the amazing job of researching restaurants, cafes, bars, cinema, bowling alleys, the multiple parks and fountains, cheap places to eat, historical sites, etc and am getting credit for it ^_^ Bon Chance, non?

I also take 3 hours a week of "oral expression" where it's one big conversation between the international students. 3 hours of "writing competency" where we are lectured on endless vocabulary, 3 hours of grammar where we do endless exercises and practice our grammar (obviously), and finally 3 hours of "oral comprehension" where we listen to clips of TV programs, or radio excerpts, or staged discussion on CD's and do our best to understand them, and then we'll continue to listen to the same track for the rest of the class until it's crystal clear. These classes are kind of tedious, but I truly believe that I've already dramatically improved my French skills and I can carry on conversation with my homestay or professors or shop vendors entirely in French- THAT is an amazing feeling.

Another fantastic thing about this program is that there are students from all over the world here being bonded by French language and culture. For example, Sam and I have made some pretty good friends whom we visit a lot in our free time- our nationalities span from Italy, Greece, New Zealand, USA, France, Korea, Japan, China, England (Liverpool), Irish, etc. It's natural for us to switch between English and French in our conversations. I'm learning about other cultures as we share stories from our homeland.

On another note, I had lunch with my "famille l'accueil" or literally "the welcome family" or more familiarly my homestay and her brother, wife and children for a very large lunch.
Here's a general idea of what a traditional family dinner/ lunch is in France... It begins with the whole family sitting around the same table with wine and bread laid out on the table (literally ON the table- your bread never goes on your plate). The host after a long period will put of "l'entrée" or "hors d'œuvres" or appetizers which can range from sausage and crab bites, or vegetables chopped with other vegetables in a vinaigrette- but there's always several things to taste on the table. Next after some more wine the host will bring out the main dish, or "plat du principal" which usually has meat, potatoes, and vegetables- or other times a pasta dish. Next, you have a salad and a cheese platter is placed in the middle of the table with several different types of cheeses from different regions of France- Chevre (goat), Camembert, Swiss, Brie and many versions of it, and there's always a cheese that I have no idea what it is but always surprises me with a new taste!

Les Photos! (Copyright Samuel Demski, LLC)

My family! The next three pictures are of Veronique, Breno (12), Elcio (15), and of course the dog (11). The following picture is of Michelle and Pascal Poupard posing for the picture! Their dog is hiding somewhere. And the rest of them are thanks to Sam who went around today and took pictures of several different places in Angers.
The first picture of the city is the Fountain in the Jardin du Mail- this is where a huge outdoor market is on Saturdays. The following is obviously the beautiful castle, the river in which it overlooks, and the centre ville which surrounds the castle.
The last picture is of our University! It's very old, and very charming to walk around.

We'll add some more when the time is right! Enjoy!

Ma Famille, et Mon Université

The past few days have been focused on exploring!

Exploring the ways of our French families (their behaviors, what's okay and what's not); exploring this beautiful and historical city with all of its mysterious cobblestone walkways between the tall buildings; exploring the cafes, the shoppes, the cheap places to eat and get a quick coffee; exploring the French way of THINKING. After those first couple of nights in Angers, I found myself on a somewhat normal sleep schedule, and also resorted to having my dreams in French! That's a good start to embracing the language, no?

About my family: Madame Veronique Beziau picked me up just outside of Sam's homestay two nights ago now with her old, "gentille" dog named Mali. Sam and I, of course, practiced our French and began to collect a lot of information about her. Veronique is a nurse at a psychiatric hospital, traveled a lot when she was younger (for example Nigeria, Africa), is an absolutely amazing artist, and adopted two starving children from Brazil (Breno and Elcio)- she's a very compassionate woman. My house is very small, but very charming. When you look at the entrance- it looks like a very simple wooden gate, but once you open that you enter a very winsome garden. Once you continue into the house, its a little crowded but comfortable and the walls are thoughtfully decorated with Madame Beziau's artwork! She ranges from abstract paintings (that you could find at the DIA for thousands of dollars), to crafty art hanging from window ledges and in the bathroom and kitchen and artifacts she . Breno and Elcio are really sweet kids, actually yesterday morning Elcio- the 12 year old- guided me to class through the rain.

Last night Madame Beziau made Sam and I a really traditional dinner. We sat down and there was one plate with crab, and the other plate with some sort of dried sausage. She showed us the bottle of wine we would be drinking, and this bottle of wine (A 2006 Chateau D'Avrille- Coteaux de l'Aubance) should only be used with l'appertifs (appetizers). It was a white wine that was ridiculously sweet- it tasted like a dessert. After the appetizer we had a bowl of soup (very similar to the carrot, potato mush that Michelle Poupard made for us, and then we had a traditional French entree called "un omlette". It was just like our breakfast omlettes, but with hoards of mushrooms and shallots- we ate this with a side salad with a simple vinagerette. Another French tradition with their meals is to eat from a cheese tray after dinner. I'm still boggled by the idea that there are some 364 types of cheeses in France, I feel like every time I eat cheese with our families- its a new and different type. Dinner time (so far) has been a feast with lots of talk about politics, culture, and entertainment.

About my university: our first day at school was yesterday. A massive group of Americans, Europeans, and Asians gathered in the main hall of the university- it was very entertaining to listen to all the different languages all at once and now that by the end of this semester we would all be united by one language. We entered an amphitheater and began a 4 part test: the first part was listening comprehension (listening to radio and TV blurbs and using multiple choice to answer questions), then reading comprehension (read and respond), then logical responses, and the grammar. Overall it wasn't too bad.

Tomorrow Sam and I are going to go around a take pictures of this beautiful city if the weathers good- so look out for pictures on this blog later on!

Our First Days in France!

The moment we landed in Paris, Sam and I had been awake for at least 24 hours- and obviously very exhausted. Our empty stomachs and confused demeanor magically found themselves on a train through the beautiful countryside of Le Maine- Loire. Luckily the train had a little cafe on it so we scarfed down a sandwich and a water and passed out for the rest of the ride. We met a girl at the train station who was from New York, and ironically was on her way to the Universite Catholique L'Ouest as well! Once we arrived in Angers, we stood outside la gare (the train station) like we were kids again on the sideline of the soccer field- waiting, and hoping to be picked first by the French team... it seemed like every man walking by us could be a "Pascal Poupard".

Eventually a woman identified the other student and took her away, so just Sam and I sat there- waiting & wishing. Our exhaustion and jet lag was creeping up on us when a stout, middle aged man wearing glasses that exemplified his eyes to be twice the normal size within the thick black frames resting on the peak of his nose. "Anglaise?" We responded with bright smiles and followed him into a taxi with his 4 foot, plump mama who spoke not a word of English. He brought us back to his very stylish flat and introduced us to his little, French, 6 month old puppy named "Ratatouillie". She prances around with a lot of attitude, but is extremely shy. They offered us coffee (but isnt anything like the coffee we get in the States- they are very smal cups of coffee, like espresso, but extremly strong. Pascal refers to out coffee as "Jus du Causette" or "Sock Juice") He showed us a hotel very close to his flat, and we passed out until 11 am the next day.

The next morning we woke up totally exhausted still from jet lag- but eager to explore. It was Saturday when all the outdoor markets were bustling- selling clothes, fish, seafood, freshly butchered beef and pig, chickens, every type of fruit and vegetable that grows in that region, jarred delicacies, etc. So naturally, Sam and I bought a huge bottle of water, two kiwis, two bananas, and two clementines for under 3 euros and had a feast on a park bench overlooking to giant fountain that was in the center of the market. A nice introduction to France, non?

Soon after we met up with Monsieur Poupard who showed us how to use the bus system, where the university is, and le centre ville (the downtown) was. Downtown Angers is absolutely beautiful- perfectly preserved medieval streets, cathedrals, and a fantastic castle that overlooks the river. He also showed us where to buy really cheap sandwiches and Panini's that your eat-on-the-go basically, its much cheaper than sitting down at a cafe or a restaurant. We ordered a footlong panini with chicken and this amazing cheese that I've never has before (I'll be saying that a lot actually considering the fact that France has something like 364 different types of cheeses), a pop, and a pain du chocolat (a croissant stuffed with chocolate or Nutella) all for less than 4 euro.

We came back to his flat and visited for quite some time, and drank MORE coffee. Everytime we see Monsieur Poupard he offers us a cup of coffee- which is several times a day. It amazes me how much coffee, bread, cheese, wine, beer, etc that eat but still remain fit, with perfect skin and complexion- they really are beautiful people! They also served us some homemade soup- kind of like a much of carrots, potatoes, and peas- it was so perfect.

This morning we woke up exhausted yet again- but were very excited to go to Poupard's flat at noon- we were going to meet the family! His brother and his wife with their 5 children (between the ages 2 and 11). We had a blast trying to communicate with the little French we know- talking about politics, film and TV, and mostly about music. Michelle Poupard (Pascal's mother) made this interesting meal of some sort of... I don't know what else to compare it to but coleslaw- but with peas, and carrots- wrapped in a thick slice of ham. And then we had sausage and a rice dish! It was really good!

It's the start of a really good trip- I can't wait to meet my French family (in two days)and continue meeting people, and exploring this beautiful culture and its language (and might I add the cuisine ^_~).

A Bientot!