And this is for you Mother:)

Every morning at 7:10 I leave for school. And I am always greated by a flock of pigeons. I don't like those birds. They are ugly and annoying. When I return from school, usually around 7pm - once again I am welcomed into my courtyard by the birds.

Here it comes Mom...there is a man who stands at his window and feeds the birds! He throws food down to the ground and sometimes if he's lucky the pigeons will come to his window!

Anyone who has good taste in movies knows that there is a bird lady in Mary Poppins. She sits on the stoops and feeds the birds. Pigeons flock to her. This is my mother's favorite movie!

Feed the birds!

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Shout out to my man

The three things I'm about to write pertain to John.

1.
When John was little he was lactose intolerant. Now he doesn't like or eat anything with milk, cream, cheese, creamy things in general except for pizza and ice cream.

I love milk, cheese, cream etc. In the states I would drink a glass of milk a day.
Well, the milk here has UHT. A hormone that allows it to have a shelf life around 6 months. It's bizzare. The milk sits out until you want it cold. Well, it turns out that I am allergic to the milk here. I cannot eat the ice cream, or any tartes made with cream etc. It is so sad. I'm like Johnny now.

2.
I made an apple pie tonight. It's not a normal apple pie though. Grandma, you will be proud. I made the crust from scratch! The part that reminds me of John is the filling. He made us an apple pie (from memory) using his Mom's recipe. He used oatmeal in his. So, for my filling I used apples, apple sauce and instant apples and cinnamon flavored oatmeal! It turned out great!

3.
Arnulfo bought a wine tasting kit. Along with the white wines, we ate my pie. There were 6 of us doing the wine tasting! Arnulfo bought the wine tasting kit because he now has become more interested in wine after drinking it with me and learning the little info I know! It reminded me of the wine tasting kit that John's dad has. So there we go. Three things that pertain to John:)

Bilbao, Spain

One week ago I was on my way to Bilbao with Anne to meet up with her (and mine now) friend, Colleen. Bilbao is in Basque country - do some research if you don't know what it is! We went to the beach the first day (Saturday) with Colleen and some of her friends! It was only 60 out so we didn't go swimming, but it was gorgeous and drank champagne on the beach! That night we taught her roommates how to play beer pong before we went to a night club! Americans are the only ones who pre-game and have drinking games - so it seems. People don't go to the night clubs until 2am! I wanted to go to bed, but was forced to go. It was fun.

Sunday we went to the Guggenheim museum! It was very cool to see! They had a whole exibit/floor on Murakami! And of course, the best part was the Murakami Louis Vuitton collection and paintings!

Monday. Anne and I took a day trip to San Sebastian! It is a cute little beach town with great views, gardens, beaches, shops and cafes! It was a gorgeous day at the beach! That night we went to my favorite part of Bilbao that reminded me of a european Gold Coast!

We left for Lisbon on Tuesday via bus. It was the most comfortable, beautiful and peaceful 12 hour bus ride. The country side of Spain and Portugal is amazing. Green hills, mountains, trees, farms, animals, lakes, sunset etc.

Moon

It's only 9:20pm and I'm already in bed and ready to go to sleep!

My day started with me cramming onto the metro and then the bus with everyone else who was on their way to school and work. The man next to me on the bus was watching something on his phone and laughing/moaning. It was weird. The man on my other side was whispering the words of the newspaper as he read. I thought to myself, is this how it is in Toulouse or is it just public transportation in general.

I had class all morning. I am understanding French a lot better than when I first got here, but I still cannot understand it at all when it is spoken fast. I'm starting to get the hang of writing notes in French while trying to listen at the same time. I mostly catch key words and not really the small words in the sentance. Instead of having class from 1:45-5:30pm we got to work in our groups for our reports. I am writing a report with three other students on Agriculture Paysanne. It is only supposed to be 4-5 pages and ours is 9. The hardest part for me is the writing. I am able to find information and read it, but then when it comes time to put it into my own words, I struggle. Luckily though, my other group members understand a little English and they have me tell them in English what I'm trying to write, and then they will re-write it in French!

I got home around 7pm and had fois grois with a warm baguette from down the street! And ate left overs from last night...pasta with a yummy sauce I made! People here never have left overs. I always do.

Right now I am laying in bed looking out my window at the most beautiful full moon! My very French feeling day is ending how it should. Fairy tale like. Me being content in the safety of my own room and bed with the moon shining in! Good night Toulouse.

John's Spring Break 09

John came to Toulouse!

Lucky me, I have a boyfriend who is willing to travel all the way to France for his spring break! Not bad!

We had a relaxing week because

1) I had class

2) John was sick

3) Toulouse isn't exactly a Paris.

-Johnny tried Moules-Frites!

-And he came to my french class with me!

-We took a few nice long walks around Toulouse!

-Made dinner with my roommate

-Went out to a bar/pub

-Went to Pau, France for the weekend!

Pau was both of our highlights for the week! John's neighbor has a friend who owns a Chateau in Pau. Henry the 4th lived in the Chateau, but now it's a vineyard and winery! The first night we got there, Dave (the owner and friend of John's neighbor) took us on a tour of the Chateau! And, of course, we got to taste his red and white wines right out of the vats! It was awesome to be tasting the wine at least a year before it would even go into the bottles! And, was good! Argon was added to the white wine, thus making it full of gas. It tasted like sweet peach champagne!!! John and I wanted to bottle that one right then and there!

That night Dave made pizza and it was great! It's hard to find good pizza in Europe, especially in Spain!

The next day we went cross country skiing. I love skiing. I have been doing it since I was little. The mountains were beautiful and the drive was gorgeous! That night Dave had his neighbors over for dinner! The man was from England and the woman from California, but lived in the UK and France for the past 20 years. It was perfect. They spoke French and English! For dinner we had an aperitif, fois grois, salmon cakes, duck, fresh veggies, dessert, an after dinner drink and then coffee and tea! It was one of the best meals I've had in France!

The week John was here went by so fast that I don't even know everything that we did! These are just some of the highlights!

Mallorca, Spain

I just spent the weekend on an island off of the coast of Spain! It was a wonderful weekend! The first day was sunny and around 60! We watched the sunset on the beach and ate tapas! Anne's friend Tom met us there. He also brought 3 other students who are studying with him in Wales (they all go to Iowa). Later that night, Colleen who is Anne's and Tom's friend from high school came in from Bilbao, Spain. Everyone was fun to hang out with! In two weeks Anne, Tom and I are meeting Colleen in Bilbao for her birthday and then we are going to Portugal!

The second day on the island Coll, Anne and I took a bus to a different city tucked in the cliffs along the coast! It was picturesque. A tiny harbor with cafes, shops and beaches! We had lunch overlooking it all and then went on a hike! That was a perfect day!

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