The day started pretty normally. I had my French language class (CIEL) from 9 to 11:30 a.m. with the other Holy Cross girls. Afterwards, the 8 of us went out for a celebratory birthday lunch at Flam's, a restaurant famous for their Tarte Flambées. For those who are as unfamiliar with Alsatian cuisine as I was just two months ago, Tarte Flambées are basically huge, delicious thin-crust pizzas traditionally topped with creamy fromage blanc, onions, and bacon bits. It was so nice to have lunch as a big group (and indulge in a little comfort food). Another great thing: Flam's is a pretty inexpensive restaurant! Even though each of us ate one Tarte Flambée, a soda, and a warm chocolate brownie, it ended up costing just 5 euro per person! Perhaps this lunch will become a weekly tradition....
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| My Tarte Flambée with mushrooms! So delicious! |
After lunch I had my American Literature class, and unfortunately, I also had to give an oral presentation. Luckily it was in English, so it wasn't as terrible as it could've been (I'm not at all looking forward to all the French presentations I'll have to give this semester. They're creeping closer). Apparently I don't have a "French" presentation style, though, so I'll have to figure out exactly what that is for the next time.
Also, this is the first birthday in my life that I haven't spent with my parents. It felt a little strange not to eat my birthday dinner with them, but happily I was able to chat with them via Skype for a good 45 minutes, which took the edge off the tiny bit of homesickness I've had for the past week.
Birthday dinner with my host family ended up being quite a grand affair. There were seven of us total: my host parents, their youngest daughter Leticia, Ella and her parents, and me.
I haven't mentioned her before, but there is another student living with my host family, and her name is Ella. She comes from a college in Kentucky and she's here for three months (early-September through early-December). Although she's not always around (some of the other students from her college were placed in apartments, so she eats dinner/sleeps over there several times a week), Ella is super sweet and it's been great having her here too. Anyway, Ella's parents happened to be visiting Strasbourg for an extended weekend, and they were invited to my birthday dinner.
I've heard that it's always a little bit awkward when the host parents meet the real parents, and the experience did not disappoint. It didn't help that Marlene and Raymond know almost no English aside from a few random phrases, and that Ella's father knows only one phrase in French: "Je voudrais une bière s'il vous plait" (translates to "I would like a beer, please" -- imagine that with a deep Kentucky drawl, as well). Luckily, Ella's mom could speak a little French, and Leticia knows English pretty well, so dinner wasn't as painfully awkward as I first imagined it to be.
As it was a celebration, we started out with some champagne (the real stuff--from the Champagne region of France) and some Alsatian wine. For the dinner, Marlene made a salad along with a traditional dish full of potatoes, carrots, and three types of meat--pork, chicken, and lamb. And to top it off the night, we all had a slice of cake topped with raspberries!
Although the dinner lasted over two hours, it was anything but boring. Conversation topics ranged from Alsatian vinegar to the translation of "moose" into French to Discovery Channel's Shark Week to how two cats in Germany attacked their owners and infected them (...I don't even know how or why we covered all of those topics...). And the French/English dictionary that always sits near the dinner table was quite well used as everyone tried to look up the proper vocabulary! It was a very fun night, and a great end to my 20th birthday abroad!
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| Chocolates courtesy of Ella and her parents! |
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| Delicious Macaroons from Kat! |
Today was a little snap back to reality, though. For my part-time job, I need to open a French bank account, so this morning, Malou took four of us HC girls to the bank. I actually felt very grown-up opening a bank account on my own--and in a foreign language as well! And I'm pretty sure I didn't get ripped off... Malou was busy helping the other girls when the woman at the bank was explaining all the options available to me, so I was actually on my own, but I'm 99% sure that I chose well... We shall see, I guess. At any rate, I have a French Bank account now!
Also, I realize that all the pictures in this blog post are of food. Well, one of the things I love most is good food (I was definitely placed with the right host family, as they are fellow lovers of deliciousness) and France just happens to be a great place for us food lovers to live! Also, the chocolates and the macaroons were so pretty, I just had to take a picture! However, this last photo is from last Saturday (October 5th) when Kat, Melissa, Marissa, and I journeyed into Germany and found this beautiful little forested river-walk. I wanted to add it in as well! If I wanted to I could get all philosophical and say that as I wrapped up my teenage years to turn 20 years old, I needed to reflect on my life, hence the river-and-tree reflection photograph... but, nah, I actually just really love this picture. However, I am thankful for having the opportunity to live and study in France, and I'm thankful for all my awesome friends and family... and I'm thankful for all the exquisite French food!
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