Noël (et marché de Noël)

Merry Christmas everyone!

I understand now why people get lonely around Christmas- thinking of all the family traditions, happy memories... Fortunately for me, I have a really great host family and I got to take part in their family traditions.

In France it's not stockings by the fireplace but souliers (shoes) under the tree. Christmas dinner lasted four hours, and consisted of salad, lamb, green beans, bread, cheese, exotic fruits, cake and chocolate. After that we played board games late into the night... and then another long game session today. Tomorrow I'm going to Portugal with my host family!

Following are the photos of the Christmas market at Montbéliard.

This last photo is of the cake we served yesterday. Remark the tiny fire in the fireplace.

Wintertime fun!

Something cool happened over here- snow! For some reason, I got really excited about this. I know it's just snow, but... it's french snow!

I took part in several wintertime activities- Christmas markets, an AFS party in Dijon, and ice-skating with my friends. It's been jolly! Besançon has all its decorations up and I will be admiring them as I join the crowds in late-in-the-game Christmas shopping.

This was one of the first days that it really snowed. Big feathery snowflakes drifting down in clouds as I walked to the bus stop. It was really magical.

At the AFS party in Dijon we got to walk around a little before dinner.
Wow. All I can say is wow.
Dijon is beautiful. It's a little unreal to see these medieval buildings that are now cell phone stores or high-end fashion boutiques. There was the smell of hot wine mixing with smoke and crisp air, fountains and carousels and castles and a ferris wheel. And then we went back inside for a multicultural potluck and a pretty awesome dance party.

A few days later I went ice-skating with friends from my lycée. Gagnam Style on ice.
Oh yes.

Walk around the block

Not much has been happening. I'm sorry. School is typically from 8 or 9 o'clock to dark (6 o'clock), and while I'm learning a lot, I haven't been getting out much. My biggest accomplishment this week was watching an episode of the very popular "Joueur du Grenier" and UNDERSTANDING IT. Yes!

So anyway, today I took a walk around the block. Cars honked at me, a man on the steet corner yelled at me unintelligibly, my fingers were freezing, and I took these photos:

Besançon (finally!)

I kept going to centre-ville and forgetting to take my camera!

Well, here are some photos of Besançon at last:

Reflections after the rentrée

I wish I could say that I didn't have the time to post an entry because I was busy doing exciting things, but this was unfortunately not the case. During the second week of my Toussaint vacation I spent a great deal of time with my good friend Monsieur Voltaire, and other than being "contrôled" on the bus there were very few events of interest.

Coming back to school yesterday, I discovered that I had worked too hard on an unimportant assignment and had not even begun the two-page essay on the connections between Humanism and the Age of Enlightenment. Luckily for me, my literature teacher is very nice and will allow me to turn it in late. But first I have to start it.

Yesterday I was riding the bus home at six o' clock in the dark and thinking about all the homework that I wasn't going to have time to do, and I started to get really stressed. It's not easy for me to not turn something in. I can't help but worry about it. But then I remember that I've only been in France for two months and that being confused and tired is understandable. Even permissable. As my good friend Monsieur Voltaire reminds me, I am living in the best of all possible worlds. It's called France. What am I complaining about?

Paris

 They are somewhat out of order... but that's the way it is.

Above is the loverly Paris appartment that we got to stay in

 There is an interesting mix of graceful beauty and stripped-down rattiness in Paris.

 Bicycles you can rent

Vive la France!

 Ummm... I don't know what this is, but I thought I'd include it anyway.

 We didn't actually visit the Eiffel Tower but we saw it peeking out here and there.

 My last minute Halloween costume

 La Seine

 Contemporary art of some sort- it didn't really fit in with all the old buildings.

 I took a lot of pictures of random people. Parisians are interesting!

 There was a sign on the side that said 'JEUX DE BALLONS INTERDITS' or something like that...

 There was a bird on a lamp. Therefore I took a picture.

 Another old building, another French flag

 I'm going to stop trying to justify why I included these picures.

 This is the Louvre, but we didn't go in because of WAY too many people.

 So much awesome fashion! Aaaaah!

 We visited the Centre Pompidou instead of the Louvre which turned out to be REALLY cool.
I got to see a real Picasso!

 This portrait was my favorite. "Jeune Finlandaise" by Sonia Delaunay

 The Sainte Chapelle at Château Vincennes

 They don't make 'em like they used to, eh?

 This worn off painting was on the wall in a cell in the castle.

 This is the king's bedroom. I think.

 The paintings are an exhibition of Francois Schuiten.

 Paris seen from the château

 Ah, the rascally rascal.

 Our appartment was on the sixth floor. There was no elevator.

And this was the last photo I took before saying goodbye to Paris.