Où est la toilet?

Today I went to a yummy crêpe place with Jill and Joe for lunch! I had that crêpe I’ve been waiting for!

Let's talk about public toilets. I’m serious about this. In general, all public toilets are frightening regardless of being a germaphobe or not. However, they are necessary. Anyways, here in France they have these free public toilets just chillin’ on the sidewalk. Just a little room with a toilet and sink. They are very sanitary in the sense that they clean themselves after each use. The problem is, that you can’t tell when the little toilet room is ready. If you enter at the wrong time, you might get stuck inside while the toilet room self cleans itself... leaving you soaking wet and embarrassed... just like my housemate Gemma. After hearing her story, I’m too terrified to use them.  The city really needs to put some warnings on those things! I bring this up because Jill used one today and there was a little dance with the door trying to figure out how to close it and if the room was ready and washed. It was certainly one of those "you had to be there" moments.

While were on the topic of toilets, I have two more things to say about the French ones: 1) toilets are never in the same room as the sink or shower. They have their very own room which doesn’t seem sanitary to me...all that door handle touching. 2) Many toilets don’t have toilet seats. This is definitely an issue. I know toilets used to not even exist but in this day and age, seats are a necessity...right?

Differences between education systems

Today was my first day of classes. And it was stressful. I have a feeling the rest of the week will be like this too. So I started my day by making the commute to the DEFLE all alone. It was so sad without Jill! I had no one to giggle about how cute the little French kids are on their way to school! Nevertheless, I managed. 

So it seems that in France, the process of going to university goes like this:

1. Register to go to the school.
2. Jump through hoops to figure out which courses are offered and at what time.
3. 2 options:
1. Go to classes and sign up for the classes with the teacher.
2. Go to classes for a few weeks and then sign up and hope to be allowed in.

It seems like option 2 is the most common one.

However, at the DEFLE this morning option 1 was what was happening. I went to my phonetiques class and someone walked in and said that the professor wouldn’t be ready for another half hour. Really? When she finally did arrive her schedule of classes didn’t match ours so that created some problems. Then, she started realizing that the administration is making her teach at times that wouldn’t work for her. So she said some funny french complaints in the funny french way : “quelle idée”, “ c’est pas possible”, “putin”.... you get the picture. It just seems so complicated to do all this work by hand, each teacher trying to schedule each student’s time. It really made me appreciate the centralized and computerized system we have a Santa Cruz. It makes sure that you don’t have any classes overlapping and lets you know what your qualified to take. This French system is too chaotic!

Anyways, I think I got all my classes figured out. This semester I will just be taking French and cultural anthropology courses. But next semester I plan on taking physical anthro and psych classes. Oh, I decided last night, sometime after midnight, that I’m going to minor in cognitive science. This means I need to take a 5th year of college. Or just take a ridiculous amount of credits next year, walk for graduation, then do summer school and fall quarter. Uhhg, that would be too much. I just don’t want to spend money on tuition for a 5th year!

Thats about it now. Trying to get school all figured out. 

Sunday - le 11éme septembre

This morning we woke up to watch the rugby world cup match between Wales and South Africa. Gemma, our house mate, is from Wales so we wanted to support her. Sadly they lost in the last few minutes but I’m starting to learn a bit about the sport. Its insane how they wear no protection. They use their shoulders and heads to ram into people but they don’t wear shoulder pads or helmets, I don’t get it! The day before our host dad, Patrick, was watching a rugby game and he was freeeaaaking out! He was jumping up off the couch, throwing pillow on the ground, yelling at the TV, pacing back and fourth... apparently the English team cheats a lot. Definitely an entertaining sport to watch and watch others react to!

Went to the contemporary art museum for a little. There isn’t a new exposition right now so its just their smaller permanent exposition.

On the way back we stopped at the patisserie that we pass each day. We always want to go in but we know its a bad idea. We both got pretty desserts. It made me happy.

Saturday - le 10éme septembre

Today Gemma, Jill, and I went to an open air market/swap meet. I very much enjoyed it ( Do we say that in English for is that my French grammar coming through?). The market was around the St Michel church which is an immigrant neighborhood so we got to hear a lot of languages and see food for different countries’ cuisines! 

Then we went to the mall so we could go to the Walmart of France: Auchung. It was 3 stories high and had everything. NOW I know where to get things for less expensive. Unfortunately, cheap in France is expensive in the US. I want to support all of the little specialty shops but items there are so much more expensive!

Can we talk about H&M? I want everything. The clothing there seems so much cooler even though I know they’re the same in the US. Same prices too but with inflation I would be spending a ton on the same item back home. Dollar, oh why do you have to suffer!?

Want to know whats entertaining? A French bachelorette party. Singing English karaoke. It was something interesting to listen to at dinner, haha.

I have to say this now before its no longer true...

I've been in France for 3 weeks now and I haven't had a single crêpe or croissant.

Watch, tomorrow I will have one... or both.

I have had plenty of other sweet French treats such as panna cotta gelato, grapefruit sorbet, an assortment of colorful macarons, and the bordelaise canelé. Canelés are really good. They're not too sweet but they still seem like a dessert. Its the not-too-sweet part that makes it so easy to devour multiple in one sitting! The girlfriend of our host brother, Caroline, works at the original canelé shop called Baillardran. This is either a blessing or a curse for us because she always brings boxes of them to dinner and we end up eat all of them.

[Photo found here]

I first heard of canelés when Christina, Jill, and I went to a bar one of the first nights we were here. Christina just wanted to go to a bar because she was old enough here, and she chose what looked like the sketchiest one. It was completely deserted except for the few drunk hipsters outside on the sidewalk. We went in and it turned out to be a pirate themed rum bar. It would seem weird that Jill and I sat while Christina had a drink but it really wasn't. The bartender was really talkative and we had a great conversation going. We mostly talked about new American TV shows because he wanted to know new ones to download (not only does he run a pirate bar, he also pirates tv shows!). At one point I asked him what the word for cupcake was in French and he ended up going on a rant about how disgusting they are. He said they are too sweet and badly made, whereas French pastries are an art. He went on about the beauty of French desserts and eventually told us about the canalé. He said they were made for the king during the 19th century and that they had religious significance. The bartender started talking about the flavors and aromas: orange, rum, vanilla, and more. He obviously admired this dessert.


WARNING: My English grammar has gotten horrible because I've been studying too much french. Its scary how fast you can forget your mother tongue!

Castles, languages, and discotheques

On the 3rd of September we took an impromptu trip to a chateau outside of town. Thomas invited us and said we had to leave in 20 minutes so we got out of bed and ready in a rush. We walked to the bus station and met up with two of his friends from the allience française: Estrella from Spain and Bernard from Germany (but he's been living in Norway). At first we thought we were taking a bus but after it not showing up after 20 minutes we talked to someone who worked there and they said the bus wasn’t working today. After that we decided to go to the office of tourism to see if they had any schedueled tour of the place we wanted to go. They didnt but they gave us a list of rental car companies so we could drive there. We called the first one and they said they were out of cars. we thought they had given up but then they decided to take the tram to the train station to find a car place there. we found one but it didn’t open for another 40 minutes. So, we grabbed sandwiches and waited. At the café Bernard ordered an expresso by asking for a noisette. In french that literally means a small nut and since an expresso is small and brown like a nut, noisette is a nickname for it. Laughing like crazy, the waitress brought him a plate with a nut on it then returned a few minutes later with a coffee. 

The process of getting a car took about 45 minutes and since we were not going to make it back in time to return it for the day we had to rent it for the whole weekend. More expensive but they really wanted to go. Finally we had to find out who was going to drive: Bernard had no license, Thomas hadn’t driven for 7 years, Estrella hadn’t driven for 7 months, and Jill and I refused to drive because the laws are very different and we don't know how to drive a stick shift. Estrella it was. I was starting to feel like it wasn’t worth it but in the end, I’m glad we went. 

The chateau was so beautiful and it had rooms decorated from each century the castle was inhabited. The guide spoke so clearly I could practically understand everything she said besides the castle vocabulary. There was a room that I believe was for quarantining people but now when people stand in opposite corners and talked into the corner, one can hear the person on the other side of the room. It sounded like you were having a conversation with someone right in front of you, it was so cool! And in the kitchen there was a built in area to throw up in after they ate too much. Apparently a sign of a good meal back then was when it came back up! Gross but interesting how things have changed!

Before walking up to the chateau we wanted someone to take a picture of us so we asked a couple near by. It turns out they were Russian and Thomas of course knowns Russian so he got to use his language skills. Actually he got to use every language he knows! He spoke spanish with Estrella, German with Bernard, English with Jill and I, and French with all of us. It is so fascinating how he can switch languages every few seconds while staying so calm and natural. It was SO fun listening to all the languages and learning about how things are said elsewhere.

On the way home, we stopped at McDo and it was fancy, yummy desserts and lounge chairs!

After dinner at home, Jill and I went out with Gemma and met up with Christina. It was so fun! It was my first club experience and I loved it no matter how weird it was! We danced at a Cuban club called Calle Ocho, but it was so hot that I could seriously feel beads of sweat running down my legs...gross! While we tried to cool down in the street lots of people tried to talk to us to practice their English skills, the Moroccans were hilarious. We ran into Romain, walked christina to the tram, then went to another club/bar(?) called Bodega. There they sold GIANT mojitos for either 50 or 100 euros with really really long straws. People at different tables were connecting the straws and drink from each others' tables. It was quite entertaining. After discovering that I was from the United States, someone asked me if I knew of the city Santa Cruz and when I responded that I live there he just said "okay" and turned away. Wait where are you going?! I want to know how you know about Santa Cruz! Why is my small unknown city the first one you ask about when we're talking about the United States?! I didn't have much time to think about it before someone comes up behind me and kisses my back/neck. What the heck!?! Politely told the guy to get away from me but eventually I had to be rude. Oh well, it was a fun and interesting night!

l'auberge à chez Michaud

Friday was a ridiculously long day at the DEFLE. We had class from 8:30am until 6:30pm and it was SO hot. It wasn’t sweltering heat where you just feel uncomfortable, it was humid heat that lowers your body temp to the perfect temperature to sleep. It felt like you were wrapped in a duvet that just came out of the dryer... minus the comfort of it. Luckily in one of the classes we watched a French film to practice comprehension. We watched L’Auberge Espangnole which is the movie that really motivated me to do an immersion program abroad. It's basically about a French guy, Xavier (so french, right?), who goes to study economics in Barcelona because he needs to learn spanish for his future job. Eventually he finds a room in an apartment with a large group of eclectic people from multiple european countries and they all communicate in different languages. There are some underlying themes of identity and romance and such but that is besides my point. The idea of living with people from all over the world seemed like an adventure as well as a challenge to me and it sounded exactly like what I needed. So, when considering where I would live in Bordeaux when I was accepted to the program I instantly knew that I wanted to live in an apartment with other foreign students. I guess that movie gave me false hope because when I was looking at available rooms none of them had foreign students living in them! They were all single room apartments or in really inconvenient locations. Eventually I decided that a homestay would be a better option for me so I could get a feel for the culture and the French way of living. 


So, as of today, I have been living with the Michaud family for 5 days and it has been pretty nice. I will do a post about them later, maybe when I get to know them better. But this family actually has 5 private rooms, each with their own shower room that they reserve for students to rent. We all get to eat dinner with the family each night and have breakfast in the mornings so its a bit like living at a bed&breakfast...&dinner! Right now there are only 4 of us: Gemma from Wales, Thomas from Austria, and Jill and I from California. In a way, I feel like I lucked out and am living the way I envisioned after watching L'Auberge Espangnole. Soon Gemma and Thomas are leaving and two Spaniards and a french girl are coming so we will get to meet more foreigners. I'm excited!


Anyways, languages... my housemate Thomas can speak 5 of them. And I'm reeeeeeally jealous. That night Jill and I took a walk around town with Thomas. This was actually a big deal because he's always studying and never going out according to everyone else. So the three of us strolled along the beautiful streets and talked about our lives. We basically know Thomas's entire life now and it makes me wonder how I will possibly ever have the globe trotter life I desire when I miss my family so much. Thomas has been studying all over the world for years and only goes home for a short amount of time between each university stay. I would miss my family and friends too much to spend that much time away.... maybe i'll just bring everyone with me :)

Getting wise about wine

After class on Wednesday, our program went on an excursion. Our first stop was at a vineyard called Chateau Raymond-Ferot. The owner of the winery actually has dual citizenship in France and the United States because he used to work in wine commerce in San Francisco. We walked through the vineyard and he explained in French how they grow their grapes. I didn’t understand much but I did understand that sauvignon blanc is made from grapes that are really small and in compact bunches and the Sauternes are made from bigger grapes that are spaced further apart. Also, there was something about the ground being mostly sand because it used to be the bottom of the Gironde river... that might have been important to the type of wine. There was something about mushrooms too because he said champignon a lot.  At one point he picked some of the dried up grapes off the vine that were still had a little juice to them. He gave them to a few people and they said it tasted like candy. I was so jealous that I didn't get to try one! 

We took a tour of his garden full of exotic plants and birds including a black swan and a peacock. Finally, we entered the chateau. Inside we were able to taste the sauterne wine, and oh my it was amazing. It was like candy... even better. It was dessert by itself. I really don’t know anything about wine except that the older the wine, the better. Even without any knowledge on wine it would be obvious that this 2002 white wine was a good one. We also visited the cellar and saw all the barrels sitting there fermenting. There was some more  explaining in French, but I didnt understand at all and that worries me. 

Next we went to the home-turned-museum of the author François Mauriac. It was cute and had great views but, once again, I really didn't understand the guide. It takes so much brain power to translate that I end up getting exhausted and no longer want to hear anything in any language.

After the long bus ride back to school, Jill and I made our first commute to our new home! Even though it takes about 40 minutes it wasn't bad at all because its partially by tram, partially by foot, and there is a lot to see on the way.

Dinner ended up being hilarious. First of all, Jill and I learned that the words for "hockey",  "hiccup", and "okay" all sound exactly alike. So, when trying to say "I play hockey," one could hear "I play hiccup". Or, when hearing "I have the hiccups," one could hear "I have the hockey". It was funny at the time. When trying to explain the intensity of waterpolo to my host family I tried to say "they wear two bathing suits (maillot de bain)" but I accidentally said  "they wear two bathrooms (salle de bain)"! They're too similar, it was bound to happen! Don't even ask me how many times I've said crotte instead of grotte!

Je suis arrivée!

I’m in France! I’ve actually been here for over a week now but it is so difficult to find wifi(The French pronounce it “weefee”). I will try to condense this last week of discoveries and adventures into only a few paragraphs!


I began my trip by waking up at 3:30 AM to catch my first flight at 6:15 AM with my two giant suitcases, a stuffed carry-on bag, and my backpack ripping at the seams. After watching some of the of NBC for American Airline television shows, I landed in Boston for a 2 hour layover. Trying to keep myself occupied, I walked around the terminal and visited all the stores. However, it seems that my carry-on bag could not bear the weight of all my stuff being suspended from only two straps sewn onto flimsy fabric. So the inevitable happened: the straps tore away from the bag and I was forced to hug my bag to carry it at all. To make matters worse, I discovered that the train station that I booked my ticket from Paris to Bordeaux was nowhere near the airport and I was going to have to find a was to get to it. I did some research before boarding my plane to Paris to find out about a bus, slept almost the entire flight (thank heaven for neck pillows), went through customs, tried to fit everything from my broken carry-on into my suitcases, then finally found a bus. Coincidentally I ended up sitting behind two girls also from UC Santa Cruz on the bus so I finally had some company. It was evident when I boarded the bus that I would miss my train but I did not think that I would have to buy an entirely new ticket. Apparently I originally bought a non-refundable ticket so I had to pay 70 euros for another. Lesson LEARNED. I now understand why people travel light... trying to lug around multiple suitcases and take them up escalators is embarrassing when one reaches the top and falls then you trip over it with the second bag. It was a mess, don’t even get me started on trying to get them up stairs. Second lesson learned.


I slept most of the train ride but when I did wake up to check on my bags a few times, I saw gorgeous villages built from stone and I got really excited. When I arrived at the station there were more stairs. Really, why do they do this to travelers? My next task was to hail a taxi...which I had no idea how to do. Figured it out, listened to the driver’s French Bible radio, and listened to him insult my name. We drove through such a beautiful area: stone and tan brick buildings, colorful and decorative doors and shutters, balconies, flowers, cafés... then concrete buildings, more, and more of them. Wait, no! Where are you taking me?! I want to go back there to the pretty town! It turns out that the University of Bordeaux’s main campus is in a different, less historical city. Disappointed and tired I arrived to find more stairs, intense heat, and a dinky little room. Really, I’m not complaining, I’m just giving facts!


An hour after I arrived it was time for our picnic dinner which, in french, basically just means a meal you don’t have to cook, no blankets on a lawn. Over dinner I met some people but couldn’t pay attention because of a growing migraine. Soon after, I went to sleep for 14 hours only waking up once to an intense thunder and lightning storm. This sounds like I had a horrible time, but I was actually really excited the entire time. Traveling for a long time just makes everything aggravating.


I ended up hanging out with a few of the girls from UCLA: Jill, Christina, and Basha. We took a few adventures into the downtown area of Bordeaux because we wanted to, but also because the program did not provide meals and there was no frigo to store groceries. On our first dinner in town we did get a little confused though. We didn’t know what to do when we chose which café to eat at: do you just sit down or do you have to go inside and tell someone you’re there? While pacing hesitantly back and forth in front of Café des Arts we debated what to do while people stared at us like we were crazy. Basically we did the wrong thing, you’re just supposed to sit down and they will notice. We had a very bordelaise diner and with a bordelaise aperitif called Lillet. It was fantastic.


The rest of the week was a blur of information about school and differences between American and French culture. Aside from a slight issue with security that involved spending 7 hours at the hospital and police station, we always had fun in our free time and the adjustment to the new culture went well. 


The city is absolutely beautiful and I am so excited to be living here. I will try to update this soon with details on the excursions that have already happened.


à bientôt!