Day 88: Pau, France

The French are dirty stinking cheaters.  You can't trust 'em.  More on that later.

Today was pretty good.  I woke up and did a little trumpet that went pretty well, and I had some breakfast and took a shower.  Class today went pretty well.  We learned something new which was exciting for me.  We discussed a new verb tense, plus-que-parfait.  This is really stupid.  It is basically an entire verb tense to explain things that happened before other stuff that already happened.  This led me to an important discovery.   The French are intentionally making their language harder than it needs to be, simply so they can watch people fail to speak it.  Maybe because the French military has never won any sort of war, battle, or engagement; or maybe because nobody really respect the French language any more, but the seem to be compensating for some other short coming by making French has difficult as they possibly can.  Whatever the reason, there is way to much "stuff" in the French language.  For lunch, I went to La Vague alone, but ran into Forrest and Angela, and then Rehana and Matt joined us well, and we had a pretty good lunch.

After class, I went home and practiced for a while, and had a pretty good session.  I sound terrible.  You would all LOL if you could hear me.  Unless you are my parents.  You guys would probably just be pissed that you spent like $4 million on trumpets and band and lessons and college and I sound like THIS.  Anyway I tried to go get crepes, and somehow, crepes turned into kebabs, which is what I had for dinner.

We had a nice sun set today.

I walked to get kebabs with Rehana, Erin, Courtney, and Jenny.  It is pretty chilly out, but it is not too bad. 

Rehana, Jenny, and Erin waiting on our kebabs.

We had relaly great kebab sandwiches and then went across the street to Le Garage.  Tonight was the Christmas Pub Quiz.  It was a quiz, about Christmas, in a pub.  We won a couple of prizes in the raffle part, but our team was not in the top three.  I'll tell you who WAS in the top 3.  FRENCH PEOPLE.  That's right.  French people.  Probably the same French people who realized we were American, and probably knew more about US pop culture than them, so why not copy our answers? It's cool.  I'm not mad.  It was actually a really fun night, and we all had a great time. 

Me and Courtney at Le Garage.

Day 87: Tuesday

So today.  When I woke up.  I didn't think to myself, "Oh my god, I am so stupid.  Why did I set my alarm an hour early?".  And I didn't think, "It is like 5 degrees in the damn room! Why would I forget to turn my radiator up!?" I wasn't even upset that it was Tuesday.  The only thing I thought, in my first waking moment was "[whimper] I don't want to go to literature tonight. [pout]".  Heart wrenching, I know.  Immobilized by the sub-zero temperatures in my chambre, I just kinda pulled my computer into my bed and hung out on the internet.

When I walked to class, it was very cold out.  Just a little warmer than freezing.  I was fine, except I have a large hole in my jeans, so my right knee was very cold.  Class was actually surprisingly pleasant AND educational.  Our Tuesday teacher, who is typically not very nice OR good at teaching, led a really good class, and it went by very quickly.  For lunch, I went to La Vague with Forrest, Angela, and Kate, and we had a nice lunch and a good conversation.  The afternoon class was similarly good, and it was turning out to be a pretty good Tuesday.  But then, I suppose, all good things must come to an end.  It was time to go to literature.  Having ruled out a ritual suicide, I decided I better go to class.  However, I was happily informed by Breanna that MY CLASS WAS CANCELLED!! NO JOKE.

Yes.  This is a giant photo of fireworks.

Somehow, this Tuesday became one of the best days EVER.  I don't understand what happened, but I don't really care.  I am not going to complain.  In celebration, I did absolutely nothing, and it was awesome.  I practiced just a little bit, and ate dinner with my family.  Pablo is very sick, with whatever I had, but his is way worse.  I'm curious if this is something that is quickly evolving, because every person who has had it in the house has been a little sicker than the one before.  Just curious.  Overall, it was a very surprisingly good day.

Day 86: Pau, France

Today was pretty good.  I woke up pretty early, around 9h, and did some stuff in my room and played a little trumpet.  I brought most of my laundry up, took a shower, and did some more playing.  I noticed today that some of my old habits are already starting to creep back into my playing.  It is amazing how easily things can start to revert.  I went to lunch at La vague, and then I had class.  It went pretty quickly today. 

After class, I went home and was getting ready for soccer, and Laura asked, if I wanted to go see a movie, it was cold out today, so I decided on the movie.  We saw The Ides of March, with George Clooney and Ryan Gosling.  It was pretty good, and very heavily laced with political commentary.  It almost got in the way of the film. 

Here's Laura and Courtney waiting for the movie to start.

 So this movie theater is really small, only two screens.  Our tickets only cost us 3.80€, which is pretty dang cheap for here.  I guess this is kinda the equivalent to our $1 theaters.  Except the seat here were really, really comfortable, like arm chairs.  Or beds. 

In the united states, $1 theaters are in crappy old movie theaters.  Here, they are in renovated churches.

After the movie, we were all really tired, so we just all went home, and now I am doing some homework before bed.

Day 85: Pau, France

Today was really boring.  Honestly, I'd stop reading.  I'm only writing this so there will be a "Day 85: Pau, France". I woke up this morning around 9h and I had breakfast with my family.  They went out somewhere for a bit, and I did some laundry and practiced trumpet.  I am nervous that my jeans will not be dry in time for class tomorrow.  I just kinda hung out for the rest of the day, and then, I ate dinner with my family.  Now, I am writing this blog, wearing a beret, because all the serious French bloggers wear berets.  My trumpet is going pretty well.  I am playing all the way up to an E in the staff now. I bet I can play a G by April. 

My blog will go viral in France as soon as people find out about this photo.  Just wait.

Day 84: Pau, France

So today, I woke up, and I felt so much better, it was ridiculous.  This probably stemmed from the fact that I slept for about 12 hours, and didn't wake up until like 11h30.  I was really excited, and I literally jumped out of bed and went to my dresser to get dressed.  It was a really good decision to get dressed and not like, go to the bathroom.  Having become suddenly vertical after spending half of a day horizontal, didn't go so well, and had my dresser not been right in front of me, surely my face would have been having a close encounter with the floor.  At this point, I decided I'd rather take a shower, so I did, because I do what I want.

When I finished I went down and made myself some soup and ate it with bread for lunch.  Then I went back to my room where I stayed for the rest of the day.

My entire day.

If you think this is a stupid picture, you are probably right, but in fact, the most exciting thing about my day was that I put new sheets on my bed, and played a little trumpet.  It turned out I wasn't completely better, so I took a nap in the afternoon.  I got up and was doing some reading, and I fell asleep again, and slept from 8 to 10 or so.  Then I woke up and listened to Auburn(War Eagle for Life!) get trashed by Alabama on the radio. Auburn did ok. They still had some sort of chance until the 4th quarter, and then it was just a blow out from there.  This is sad, for me, but happy for the state of Alabama, which will once again be in the BCS title game, and have a Heisman Trophy winner.

Then, I went to sleep.

Day 83: Pau, France

Today I woke up and I finally felt better. 

JK.  I felt horrible.  I really wanted to go to class, but there was no way I could.  I was just too sick.  I couldn't even really play trumpet I felt so horrible.  For lunch, I went to La Vague, and I'm not sure what the meat was, but I couldn't eat it.  I ended up eating a tiny mushroom "crepe" and some boiled spinach and some kind of grain, like buckwheat.  It was a really fantastic meal for me. 

After lunch, I went to class.  I was supposed to give a presentation: Dallas, TX. But because I am sick, she postponed it.  We basically did nothing in class, mostly, I think, because we had a practice TCF Exam this afternoon.  The TCF is an exam issued by the French government to see how well foreigners know French.  It is a lot of fun.  The exam is 90 minutes of continuous, progressively difficult questions.  It was not easy.

Sure it LOOKS spacious, but once there was a person in every single seat(there would have been two more people between the closest two), it was pretty cozy.

After the test ended, I just went home, where I am wallowing in misery, because I feel like crap.  I did add a note to my range though.  Now I can play a D.  It doesn't sound so good, thought.  Oh well. 

If you want a post card, give me your address.

Day 82: Pau, France

"Thanksgiving...the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty. In France, by contrast, there are three such days: Heir, Aujourd'hui and Demain."
-Michael Dresser

Today, when I woke up, I discovered that I was sicker than I was yesterday.  I debated not going to class, but I did.   Mostly because this is the class that is giving a very small performance 2 weeks from Monday, so I didn’t want to miss.  It was a good thing I came, because there were two other people gone.  After that class, I was feeling pretty bad, so I gave my homework to a friend to turn in and I went home.  I made myself some vegetable soup from the store and took a nap/watched a movie.  The movie I watched was l’Auberge Espagnole, which I watched probably 2 months ago.  I was curious how much comprehension would be, and it was a lot better.  It was nice to have made at least a little measurable progress.   I felt a lot better after eating and resting.  I also played quite a bit today.  I played for  about 10 minutes maybe six different times.  It is still a huge struggle to get it right, but I am making progress.  I bet I’ll be out of the staff by January. 

Before dinner, I went to the bookstore in Leclerc and bought two books.  I think reading in French will give me more good practice. 

I started this, and it is really, really difficult.  I need my dictionary like 8 times a page.

This book is absolutely hysterical. Really.

 

After dinner with my host family, I just read some more and did a little homework.

 

Day 81: Pau, France

So. My skip class to rest and get better plan went really well, until I got up this morning, and I was worse.  I decided I just wasn't trying hard enough, so I just stayed in bed.  I didn't feel any better, so I decided I better play some trumpet.  A had a few moments of brilliance, but mostly it was more of the same 'robot-demon-cat-caught-in-a-blender' type sound.  I took a shower, which made me feel a little better, and then I went to class, because I didn't want to miss any more.  Class was pretty easy.  We just spent some time work on a practice TCF exam.  These questions were much more difficult than the last time.  Hopefully the test goes ok.  After class, I went to the supermarket to buy some soup to cook for dinner.  I turned out to not need it because my family had soup for dinner.  It was good.  Now, I am going to go to sleep, because I feel really bad. 

Day 80: Pau, France

Boy, 80 sure sounds like a big number, especially compared to the 49 I have left.  I know they'll dwindle quickly.  This morning, I got an e-mail from the USAC office about end of semester procedures, and it made me very sad that that is only 3 weeks away.  At least I don't have to fly home right away.

This morning, I woke up and felt very tired and groggy.  As I got ready, I realized I actually felt pretty sick.  As I am very concerned about such matters, I decided it would be in my, and my classmates' best interests if I stayed in bed.  So, in bed I stayed.  It didn't help that it is Tuesday. I actually slept for several more hours before I got up.  I did some trumpet, and continued reading Mockingjay.  For lunch I just went to the grocery nearby and got some couscous and a sandwich.  When I was leaving, I was told that I have all of the same symptoms of the recently ill(and still recovering) Thom.  So at least this is kinda legitimate.   I came home, and I ate and took a nap, and then I finished Mockingjay.  Not bad for a few days work.

I really do recommend these books.  To anybody who likes fun, and isn't uppity about things like books.

I did to my literature class, having missed it on Friday, I didn't want to miss again.  It was not too bad, but I did feel horrible.  By the time I got home I felt legitimately sick, and actually almost fell backwards off the steps as I was unlocking the door.  I generally feel pretty terrible(sore throat, congestion, fatigue and dizziness and a headache) so I am going to sleep.  Goodnight.

Day 79: Pau, France

So, today started pretty late, because I was still up at 4:00 am from reading that book.  So, it was probably 11:00 before I really got up and did anything.  I spent the morning finished the homework I should have done last night, took a shower, and played trumpet.  I am progressing SO SLOWLY.  I am getting bored and frustrated, but I still think this is the correct decision.  I just have to keep on keepin on. 

Anyway, I had a good lunch at La Vague, and then class was pretty good.  The three hour class always seems to drag a little, but today was better than normal.  After class, I headed home, and did not play soccer.  I was really tired, and it was cold out.  I had dinner, which was very good, with my family, practiced, and wait for it...wait for it....wait for it....Are you really still waiting?...I'd have left to go to YouTube or somewhere fun....Anyway, since you've probably forgotten, you are waiting to find out what else I did this evening.  Well, today is your lucky day, because I am going to tell you.  I started reading the next book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay.  Unfortunately, this book, too, is really good, and I read the first two sections and only stopped because I was too tired to read anymore, at like 3 am. 

Day 78: Pau, France

Despite the fact that it was Sunday, I actually managed to get up at a pretty decent hour, probably by 9h00.  I took a shower and then I played trumpet for a little bit.  At around 10h30, I walked into town to meet up with Megan and Jayna.  We(finally, for me) went on a tour of the Chateau de Pau.  It was the childhood home of King Henri IV.  The tour was pretty boring, mostly due to the very long winded guide, but it was till very beautiful inside.

This is thought to be the most accurate likeness of Henri IV. 

Almost every vertical surface in the building has some sort of tapestry.

Here was a waiting room for guests of the nobles.  All of the woodwork has been trimmed with gold.  It was quite ornate.

This ebony/ivory sewing table was a gift from Queen Victoria to somebody's wife.

This was basically the family's living room. 

His majesty's bedroom.  More tapestries.

Fancy desk.

The beds are elevated because it is warmer higher up.

This is the room where Henri IV was born.  Supposedly, this totise shell, an exotic gift was his crib.  It was meant to be a symbold of longevity, which seemed to have worked at least moderately well, since Henri lived to be nearly 60.

Part of the Chateau's exterior.

Me, Jayna and Megan in front of the house.

Part of the chateau's property. 

After we finished the tour, I walked Megan and Jayna back to their hotel and said goodbye.  I then went and got myself a Cassoulet for lunch.  I went straight home afterwards and took a nap.  Luckily, I got home in time to still be totally useless for a good part of my Sunday.  I mostly just read for most of the day.  Earlier in the week, I started the hunger games, by Suzanne Collins, and was really enjoying it.  I read about two thirds of it, and I finished around 23h 00.  There was some trumpet mixed in there, also.  The book is really engaging, and while not the highest literature, it is very fun. 

The movie comes out in March, and I am pumped.

After, I finished the hunger games, I borrowed the sequel from the internet.  It was great, and I ended up staying up until 3h 30 to finish it.  It was definitely a better story than the first, and much darker.  She is much better at developing characters than say, J.K. Rowling.  But then again, so am I.

Don't worry, nobody ACTUALLY catches on fire. 

It was a pretty good Sunday, and it was a great visit with Megan.   I think just three Sundays left in Pau.

Day 77: Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges - Gargas, France

Today was the third and final excursion organized by USAC.  It was a very enjoyable day.  At 8:30, we met on campus and took a bus to Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, which is about 2 hours away.  It is a tiny medieval city, with only about 250 inhabitants.  It is perched on a hill, and had some fortifications, but not much.  We started with a tour of the cathedral in town.  It is exceptionally large for a town of it's size, and was a very nice building.  

In the town square, just in front of the church.

Part of the church.

The vaults were quite wide, and there was a lot of light inside the building.

Very cool pattern, all done with play tiles, in the floor.

Looking down from the upper city and down to the city below and across the country side

Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges is also home to a collection of Roman ruins.  Because the city is half-way between the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, it was a major city on the trade routes.  At one point, there were about 5,000 people living here.  There isn't much left of the ruins, especially because they were all scavenged for stone, but it was cool to see them. 

Looking down into what is left of the amphitheater, built into the hillside below the city.

Looking across some of the ruins back towards the village.

This is the marketplace, one of the largest excavated remains.

This is the remains of the baths, one of the essential components of any major Roman city.  To the left was the actual bath.

After we finished, we went to a very nearby restaurant for lunch.  We ate at Le Rastelier, a small restaurant on a farm.  We had a really great 5 course meal for lunch.  We started with a delicious soup, which definitely had pumpkin and celery, and I think also had potatoes.  We then had salad with ham and really wonderful, fresh tomatoes.  The main course was roast chicken with potatoes and caramelized onions.  It was fantastic.  We we then served some locally made cheese, and for dessert, we had an apple tart, that was really a lot like apple pie.  

Our chicken cooking as we walked in.

Really good soup.

Really good salad.

Really good tart.

Old farmhouse.  Doesn't it look quite French?

After, we took a fifteen minute bus ride to visit the caves at Gargas.  The cave features a large collection of prehistoric mural art.  There are countless geometric etchings in the walls, 100 animals carved in the walls, and 231 painted hands.  The cave art dates from between 27,000 and 29,000 years ago.  It was very cool to see stuff that old.  Pretty difficult to conceptualize.  Photography of any kind was prohibited, so I didn't get any pictures, but here are some websites:


http://www.donsmaps.com/gargas.html
http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/clottes/

When I got back to Pau, I went home and my family was already eating dinner, so I made plans to meet up with Megan and Jayna.  They were headed back form Toulouse, so it gave me some time to play.  For dinner, they both really wanted to go back to to Chez Maman for crepes.  We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table, but it ended up being a really great dinner.  We ended up spending about 3 hours eating and chatting.  It was a nice evening. 

Jayna and Megan

It was nice to do something different, and it was a really fun day.  Only three Saturdays left in Pau! :( 


Really sad.

Day 76: Pau, France

I was very, very tired this morning.  For some reason.  Don't know why.  I managed to make it to class, basically on time, and besides being very sleepy, it was ok.  For lunch, I went to La Vague, and got a lot of food, which made me feel full and energized and generally much better.  The afternoon class was fun.  Our teacher is really good about not trying to really teach much on Friday afternoons.  I appreciate how aware she is.  We learned some French hand gestures, and then we just talked about French bread and berets and our own cultures.  It was fun. 

After class, I went home and showered and and then did just a little trumpet before I went into town to meet with Jayna and Megan.  The plan was to go visit the chateau, but it turned out to be closed.  This was a bummer, but it wasn't so bad.  They were both just excited that it was 1.) Not raining, and 2.) not dark at 5pm.  We walked around Pau a little more, and stumbled upon Georgio's ice cream truck.  He is just getting rid of the last of his stock.  I told them we had to get some and that it would be the best ice cream that had ever had.  They both agreed that it was, in fact, that good. 

Le Place de Chatueau, with the Pyrenees in the background.

Once it was late enough, we went to eat, at the Italian restaurant I ate at during an opera rehearsal.  I had a menu which included a salad, lasagna and dessert for 18.50€.  The salad was a fresh mozzarella salad, and it was significant for two reasons.  It was the best mozzarella cheese I have ever had in my entire life.  It was so good, and just dissolved in your mouth.  My mouth.  It also contained the best olives I have ever eaten in my entire life.  There were not too salty, and had a great flavor.  Very good.

Best salad I have ever eaten.

The lasagna I had was very good.  It was just lasagna bolognaise, so it was nothing particularly unique, despite the fact that it was one of the best things I have ever tasted.  The dessert was also great.  I got a creme brulee and a cafe.  It was very, very good, but incredibly rich.  Overall, a really great meal. 

Yum.

After dinner, I just came straight home, and now I am going to go to sleep.

Day 75: Pau, France

Today was a pretty good day.  I woke up early to do a little bit of trumpet.  It is still going really, really slowly, but it is also going alright.  I do think I am making progress.  I think I will need to start judging my progress on a week to week basis, in order to maintain my sanity.  My elective class was ok.  We continued preparation for our performance in the second week of December.  It will make us famous. 

After, class, I ran home and grabbed my OFII forms.  That is the Office Francais de l'Immigrations et de l'Integration.  Had to get a medical examination in order to gain permission to stay in France.  I walked to the medical center with Rehana and Laura. (Our appointments were arranged alphabetically.) 

While I was waiting, I was paroozing some magazines, and I found this photo of Kate Middleton bashing a small chile over the head with a frying pan. 

Laura is showing off her OFII letters.

The appointment was a lot of paper work, a chest X-ray(good news: I don't have tuberculosis), and a quick visit with a doctor. 

Here is the fancy room where I got my chest X-ray.

after the appointment, we walked back, and I practiced for a little while. Then I met up with my friend Megan.  Megan is a friend from high school, and she is currently living in Aberdeen for work.  In Houston, she works for Mustang Engineering, but she is currently contracted with a company called Talisman.  Go figure.  Megan was sent here with another girl from her company, Jayna, who is also visiting Pau.  When I met up with them, it was too early for dinner, so I showed them a bit of the city.  It was a little chilly, but a nice evening. 

This is le Palais Beaumont, all lit up at night.  It was built by English aristocrats in a century.  Probably the 19th. 

 After the tour of beautiful Pau, we went to get crepes.  Laura and Jenny met us there, and we all had a great meal.  Chez Maman was closed for vacay for the last month, so I was happy to be back.  Megan and Jayna really liked it, as they should.  We then all went to Le Garage for some drinks.  It ended up being a really fun night, and we had a great time.

I would say this picture accurately captures everybody's personalities.

Here is Megan with Erin and Courtney in the background.

I ended up being out until almost 3am, but it was a very fun night.  It was great to see Megan, and Jayna is very fun as well.

I took a few pictures of this box of cigarettes because I find the different approach to packaging and warnings very interesting.

"Smoking kills"

On the other side: "Smoking creates a strong addiction, don't start."

This is standard on all cigarette packaging.  There are other messages, but every box is packaged the same way. It would be nice to see the US act as responsibly.