I got done early at the Museum of Decorative Arts on Thursday night, so I went to my school to meet up with a few kids at the tail end of Crepe Night (there was even a crepe left for me to make! No more nutella, but I discovered lemon juice and sugar is an amazing combination!). It was Jessica's birthday, so we went back to her apartment and hung out for a while. I left to go back home when they left to go out to celebrate. I didn't get to bed until a little after 2 am (because I didn't get home until midnight-ish and still had to pack and get ready!), so I ended up only have a few hours of sleep before getting up at 6am to have time to get to the train station.
I made it to Gare Montparnasse (the train station) with plenty of time, and got on the train without even needing to ask for help! I napped a bit on the ride down, which was 3 hours long. And Anne-Suzy was there to pick me up about 20 minutes after my train pulled in.
We then went and got some lunch and I got to try out my newly improved French skills. After that I had to accompany her to 2 classes (Portuguese and Spanish) and I met some of her friends, who all talked incredibly fast. Then we eventually made it back to Anne's house (which is about a half hour away by tram and bus in a cute town called Carbon Blanc) and I met her mom, who was leaving to pick up Anne's aunt from either the train station or airport. Anne and I then ate a quick dinner and got ready to go back into Bordeaux.
The view from Anne-Suzy's balcony
As I mentioned before, the Rugby World Cup is going on in France, and there was a game Friday night in Bordeaux. We didn't go to the actual game, but went over to one of Anne-Suzy's friend's apartment to watch it on TV. We then headed over to the town center where there was a big screen that had been playing the game. France beat Ireland, so there was much rejoicing. We ended up wandering over to an Irish pub, where everyone was gracious losers and just having a good time! And the night didn't end there! I then went to a nightclub with Anne and some of her friends, but by that time it was about 1:30 in the morning and I was exhausted. I hung back and just watched the goings-on there, and we actually didn't stay at the club very long. Anne-Suzy's mom actually came out and picked us up at 3am! That was really nice, especially because I was exhausted and my feet hurt more than they have the whole time I've been in Paris! I walked all over Bordeaux that night.
Anne and I at her friend's apartment!
On Saturday, we got up around 10 and had some breakfast and took our time getting ready. Around 2 Anne and I went back into town and meet up with her sister's boyfriend. We did some window shopping and then had hot chocolate at a cafe while I tested out more of my French language skills. We then walked to go meet her sister when she got out of work (she's doing vo-tech training to become a hair dresser) and then went back to their house. Anne, Laurence (her sister), Anne's mom and I then ate a quick dinner and headed out to pick up her aunt and go to St. Emillion- a cute little toursity town where a lot of the regions wine is sold. We just got some dessert. And I took a few pictures because it was a cute little town. But later that night, Anne tried to take a picture of me with her aunt's dog before heading home for the night, and sometime between dessert and getting home, my camera broke. The screen cracked and won't show any images. I was really disappointed, to say the least. I think I might order a new one online and have my mom bring it when she comes (which is less than 2 weeks!).
One of the last pictures taken while my camera was still functioning. A tower in St. Emillion.
Sunday was just another calm day, we hung out at home and Laurence did gave me a blow-out for my hair! She also had made fresh crepes for breakfast! It's the straightest it's ever been without using a straightener (she just used a brush and hair dryer). We had duck confit and fresh baguettes for lunch, and then I helped Anne with her English homework and we watched some MTV in French. Then I got dropped off for my 4:45pm train back to Paris.
All in all, it was a good and a kind of stressful weekend. It was quite a brain workout to try and speak French all weekend. Not to mention it was frustrating because I felt like there's no way I could ever understand how fast kids my age talk! But people kept saying that I could speak well, so I tried not to let it get me down too much. And my poor feet and camera got me down too, but the good food, and good time with Anne and a chance to explore a new city more than made up for it!
Now I should work on some homework (seeing as how I didn't do any all weekend) but it's so hard to find the motivation. Who wants to do homework when they're in Paris??
At least I get rewarded by having some cool classes. Today, in order to make up a canceled class from the first week, my advanced French class had our normal class, and then went on a boat tour down the Seine river for free to make up the lost time! It was a bit chilly, but way more fun than sitting in a classroom!
This is the statue that Parisians use to judge how high the water level is. Once the river was up to his neck!
The view of the tower from the Seine!
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