Malaga and Sevilla

Wow!
I feel like the past week in Spain was just a dream now... as soon as I got back to Nantes, I have a pile of work waiting for me and I think this is the first chance I have had to breathe! Not that I am complaining of course, I just had a week off. But that is the reason I am posting so late!
Barcelona was amazing and beautiful, and before we knew it we were on a RyanAir plane bound for Malaga, in the South of Spain in the Andalusia region. If you are interested in travelling to Spain, I would highly recommend this region because it is beautiful and sunny and warm!
Malaga has a population around 500 000, so it was the smallest of the places we visited. It was also very charming and cute. We were only there for a few days, but it was a lot of fun. Instead of posting pictures directly in this post, I am going to post my best Spain photos in a separate post, since I didn't get to add any Barcelona ones to the first post.
In Malaga, we did a lot of walking. We walked to the beach and hung out there for awhile since it was so beautiful, and we also went on a walking tour. It was just us three and the guide, so it was pretty fun. He was very knowledgeable and had a lot to tell us. Malaga is the birthplace of not only Pablo Picasso, but also Antonio Banderas. Pretty cool. We learned a bit about the Spanish Inquisition and the life and times of the Spanish monarchs.
One story that I found particularly amusing centers around Christopher Columbus. He came to ask the King Ferdinand if he could have money to check out the new world. The King said no. Columbus hung around for a bit and then asked again. This time, he was granted his wish. Why? Well, Ferdinand wasn't terribly attractive but his wife Isabella was. Rumour has it that Columbus and her had a little something going on, so Ferdinand wanted to put a stop to it. What better way then sending him half-way around the world? Well the story doesn't stop there. Columbus did his whole discover America thing and eventually returned to Spain. Isabella eventually died around the age of 40 from symptoms that seemed like syphilis, though that was never confirmed. Funny thing is that syphilis is thought to have originated in North America; so how did she get it? Well, Columbus also died of syphilis. Coincidence? Who knows.
There were many more stories, but I found that one interesting. You don't always hear these stories in school!
After Malaga, we journeyed to my favourite city, Sevilla. It has about 320 days of sunshine a year, and I don't think I saw a cloud in the sky the entire time I was there. It was amazing. Clear blue skies, 26 degrees, and the most amazing architecture. A lot of the architecture is a fusion of Christian and Muslim, or Moorish architecture. I wish I could remember the name, but it was a little strange so I don't remember how to spell it.
Our hostel was amazing and organized lots of events; we did them all! An amazing tapas tour, where we got to go to three different places and sample their various tapas, a flemenco show (dance, voice, and guitar), walking tours, a pub crawl, and learning how to make paella, as well as a BBQ night. The city itself was just amazing. It was sunny every single day and the buildings were incredible. Even though it was a tourist destination, it didn't feel as crazy as Rome or Amsterdam, or even Barcelona. It was just incredible.
I will be putting up pictures tomorrow, probably.
All in all, my week in Spain was incredible... good food, good friends, good weather, amazing sight, and all around good times. I hope I can go back to see more of Southern Spain someday!

Barcelona!

So I apologize that I won`t be able to attach any photos when I blog over my break, but I promise that I will put some up when I am back in Nantes.
After a slight airplane delay, my two friends and I made it safely to Barcelona on Friday evening. Our hostel is pretty chill and we have a room to ourselves, so that is nice. We went out for a walk on the first evening to Las Ramblas, the pedestrian strip in the city. It was pretty lively. In some ways it reminded me of Rome because of the people selling ridiculously cheesy things.
Yesterday, I woke up earlier than my travel companions so I went for a quick walk down to the port. We met in the lobby at 11am for a tour of Montserrat, a mountain near Barcelona. Our hostel organized the tour and it was really great. Only two guys (an Australian and an Irish) showed up along with our tour guide, so we had a pretty relaxed day. The view on Montserrat is absolutely incredible. I can`t wait to post pictures! We had to take a cable car to get to the top, and I was slightly terrified but we made it up in one piece. We got to do a bunch of hiking around and checked out the view as well as a monastery for a few hours before heading back down to the catch the train. We had about 45 minutes to kill, so we went to this sketchy looking shack on the side of the hill, which was actually a little cafe and was pretty cute. I mean, it was rustic. We all got some hot or cold drinks and the Irish guy ordered a tapas (appetizer) and beer combo, except he didn't know was the tapas was... and it turned out to be snails. He ate them all though! I tried one and they were pretty good.
We were pretty wiped from all the fresh air, so we crashed on the train ride back. We had originally intended on grabbing dinner out, but decided to save money and make our own meal in the kitchen; we`re going to eat out tomorrow instead. Our hostel organizes bar hops every night of the week, but we weren`t feeling up to it last night, despite everyone telling us to come because apparently they were going to the best dance bar... 5000 people and 6 different rooms with different music in each one. But there was no way we were going-- they weren`t leaving for the bar until midnight and then not going to the big dance place until around 2am!!! I guess the Spanish party pretty hard... not quite my style. Now I know why "siesta" is a Spanish word! We stayed in, played some cards, chatted with some people, and were in bed before midnight. Solid.
This morning, we all woke up to find some churches. Jody and I went to an International English church and Siobhain went to a Catholic cathedral. Our service was awesome... quite the international crowd, but there were a lot of Americans. The service was in English and the music and speaker were both awesome. It was a really great way to start off the day.
After that, we met Siobhain outside of the Santa Maria Familia cathedral, a famous cathedral by Gaudi which is always under construction. I actually need to look him up, since I don`t know anything about him other than he was incredibly talented. After the cathedral, we spent the rest of the day wandering around the Parc Guell, another creation of Gaudi`s. It had some really fantastic architecture. We spent quite awhile in there, especially after the sun came out and it warmed up a bit.
To end off, I went for another walk down by the docks since it was sunny and I wasn`t ready to head back to the hostel. There were lots of people out and it smelled like an ice cream store... I loved it.
Tonight, we are going to go out for dinner and then maybe meet up with some friends from Nantes who are also visiting Barcelona.
Bye for now! Hope everyone had a great weekend !

Reading Week!

Well, this is a quick post to say so long for now... tomorrow begins our winter reading break! Two friends and I will be voyaging to sunny Spain, where we will hopefully get lots of warm temperatures. Barcelona, where we begin, is supposed to be 12 degrees and sunny tomorrow. Not bad! We will be there for a few days, then voyaging to the Andalusia region in southern Spain. We are staying in Malaga (temperature next Wednesday... 18!!!) and Sevilla, but also will be taking day trips to places like Granada and maybe Cadiz.
When I get back, I will write a few posts to sum up my adventures, complete with pictures.
I am looking forward to seeing all the beautiful sights in Barcelona and well as climbing Montserrat, watching the sunset in Malaga, exploring the beach, sampling the tapas, viewing the stunning architecture in Sevilla, doing some hiking, and not to mention the flamenco dancing! I am excited to experience a new culture and meet new people. If only I knew Spanish...
Adios!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hello everyone and welcome to February 14th, aka Valentine's Day! Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I hope that you take a moment to enjoy the holiday dedicated to love. I will be celebrating by watching Titanic in 3D this evening with a few friends (in French!!).
I have been following the Book of Common Prayer online, in preparation for my job this summer, and here's what it has to say about the tradition:

Valentine of Rome (d. 269)
A Christian priest in Rome, Valentine was known for assisting Christians persecuted under Claudius II. After being caught marrying Christian -couples and helping Christians escape the persecution, Valentine was arrested and imprisoned. Although Emperor Claudius originally liked Valentine, he was condemned to death when he tried to convert the emperor. Valentine was beaten with stones, clubbed, and, finally, beheaded on February 14, 269. In the year 496, February 14 was named as a day of celebration in Valentine’s honor. He has since become the patron saint of engaged -couples, beekeepers, happy marriages, lovers, travelers, young -people, and greetings.

Poor St. Valentine.
Anyways.

Of course, Christmas isn't the only day that we should celebrate Jesus, Thanksgiving isn't the only day we should be thankful, our birthdays aren't the only day we should be glad we were born, and Canada Day isn't the only day that we should realize what a great country we have... Likewise, Valentine's Day shouldn't be the only day that we show people how much we care about them! So go tell your friends/family/boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband/random stranger that they are awesome. And make a point of doing so every day!

Progress

I thought that it was time I give people a little look into the main reason why I am here this year: learning French!

Since all my posts are in English, I haven't been able to express how I am doing with my second language. So here we go: I can definitely say that my French has improved considerably this year (this is not meant to "toot my own horn", but rather to share progress and assure my parents that I'm getting better!). I mean, obviously it has to, since I am in France and all. But it is very difficult to notice a change within yourself, because change happens slowly and you aren't always able to pick up on it. I have noticed in the past few months that I understand almost everything I hear in French and that I am able to communicate quicker and easier then before. But the moment that I realized just how much I have progressed was when I was sitting on the tram this past week. 

Now, a little background. 

In Canada, when I am taking the bus to school without friends, I keep myself amused by eavesdropping (look out!). I don't do this intentionally; rather, when you're all alone on a bus with no music and no book to read, it is only natural to accidentally hear other people's conversations. Anyways, it is something I often have done without meaning to while riding public transport, but it was something that just wasn't happening over here. It is very difficult to jump into the middle of someone's conversation when you don't know the context, and it is difficult to know the context when you haven't mastered the language.

Well, surprise surprise, last week on the tram, I was standing around minding my own business when my brain decided to listen in on a conversation. In French. I was happily eavesdropping, and then I realized what was happening and completely lost my train of thought, since I was so happy that I was able to jump in at a random part of someone's conversation and understand them. Over the past week I have been able to do that too; hear a conversation and be able to understand exactly what is being said. No translation required!

For those of you who have learned a new language, I'm sure you can agree that one of the most difficult things in language learning is learning how to not translate directly from your language, because often the sense of words of phrases is different. When you arrive at a point where you don't have to directly translate, and you begin to be capable of understanding that some things have a certain sense, you know that you are on the way to learning the language.

Another thing that this experience has taught me is that unless I continue to immerse myself in French, I will not master the language. That is why this year has been so good... I am one step closer. I don't just want to be a teacher who skims by and doesn't really have a grasp on the language... if I want students to be interested in French, then I better be interested and immersed in it myself! It is such a beautiful language, and I have truly learned to love it (though I would take conversation over grammar class any day... haha). When you learn a new language, a lot of new doors get opened for you. You just have to choose which ones you want to take, and which you want to leave. Being here, I have realized the importance of doing little things, like watching the news in French or reading French books, to improve your language skills. Even if you don't always speak French, by listening and reading your oral skills will improve. 

Lastly, if I have one regret it is not giving 100% in my high school and university French courses. Yes, I did my best and always did my homework, but to give 100% it is necessary that you go above and beyond... like reading French books, watching French movies, making sure you understand your homework corrections, ensuring that you don't forget grammar over the summer... things like that! So if you are reading this and are taking French... if you want to stick with it, learn to love it and use it as often as you can!! If you don't use it, you'll lose it!!

Anyways. That's my progress story thus far. 

This week is pretty busy school wise: we have a test and two assignments due tomorrow and exercises and a test on Thursday. "Busy." Just not compared to Canada!

sub-note: I apologize for any grammar/spelling mistakes. The better I get at French, the more awkward my English becomes...

Should have worn sunglasses.

Since I last posted, nothing terribly exciting has happened; just the usual! I had class Thursday, then in the evening a bunch of our group went out for a 21st birthday. We are going out for dinner to continue the festivities tonight. Yesterday, I slept in a bit then ran for 1hour and 38 minutes! So good, except I fell once one the ice (you will see why later on). After working on a group project, I did a quick grocery store trip to search for maple syrup... because it was that time again: pancake time! The bible study girls and I, along with a French girl and a German girl who we met at the retreat, decided to have a Bible study/games night/pancake fest, for the girls who had never tried Canadian pancakes. It was successful and delicious!
Today, after successfully spending the majority of the day cooped up in my room doing homework (yes, it's true) and watching a Francis Chan sermon on youtube, I decided it was time to break out and go for a walk. It was sunny and the sky was blue so I figured it was time for some fresh air. We are unfortunately still in sub-zero temperatures, which is cold, but it was a beautiful day nonetheless. I realized that I have never taken pictures of my neighbourhood or where I run, so I brought my camera with me. I mean, I have posted pictures of all the places I have travelled, while forgetting to show you all what I see every day! Oh, and my title comes from that fact that I regretted not wearing sunglasses on my walk. It was bright.
So here is a little collection of photos I took on my walk today, of everyday sights that I get to take in. Enjoy!

One of my rez buildings.

The bourgeonniere plaza ( in the distance) where there is a bakery,  a grocery store, and more!

My nourishment for the walk, a chausson de pommes. It`s like applesauce in pastry. This doesn't happen often, so I have to take advantage of when I treat myself!

Walking onto campus

We have a little castle on our campus.

I ran into a crazy group of (teenagers? young adults?) people who were chanting and yelling. One was wearing a banana costume.

The Erdre river, with some ice.

Little bridge I run on. Snow!

Death paths (where are you, sidewalk salt???)

SDF tent city. I hope that these are abandoned, because it is too cold for tents right now.

Every time I run by, I imagine myself owning the top apartment, which overlooks the river.

Graffiti everywhere.

Boats and the river, with the cathedral in the distance.

Poetry, the cold, and some tasty dinner!

Today was a lovely sunny day, if not rather chilly. We were up bright and early for our history class, where we learned even more about the ever-famous Charles DeGaulle. Today, our teacher described his relationship with the French people as that of an amorous relationship... filled with a honeymoon (lune de miel!) stage, a divorce, and a permanent rupture. It was an interesting analogy. He was a true nationalist, that is for sure!
After class, we booked it back to the campus for a part of our literature class. We had an hour taken off of the class this evening so that we could go to a poetry reading by one of the poets we are going to study. Well, I have never been to a poetry reading before... and you all know how I feel about "weird" expressions of art (the play in November)... so let's just say it was interesting. The woman was 55 years old and looked awesome for her age, except that her hair was unreal... it was like a nest. More on that later. Well, first she told a story and literally none of us were able to follow her. She was explaining something she had done with her book, a kind of key code with colours and numbers... we were lost. Then she read an excerpt from a poem and once again we were completely lost. Even in English, when reading poetry often I have to analyse a text for quite a while before I can understand it. Today, I had no text to regard and it was in French. And since we had no text, the author did weird movements to represent different punctuation... for example, she tapped her hair stick on the table for a period, raised her eyebrow for a comma, and did a wiggle for a question mark. At the end, she played some Spanish song and threw uncooked spaghetti noodles on the ground. Some stuck in her hair nest. We were confused.
The one positive thing I can say about the experience is that she was very much passionate about her poetry, that was evident. And you could tell that there was deeper meaning behind the poems. I would love to figure them out sometime...
Anyways. not much to say about the afternoon... so I'll skip on to dinner.

I know that this might look gross, but it was actually delicious! I have recently fallen in love with brussels sprouts... like seriously, they are delicious. So I tried out a recipe for warm winter chickpeas from my favourite food blog. (link http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/12/warm-winter-chickpeas/) I modified the recipe slightly; I used olive oil instead of butter, and not as much. I also cooked the bacon, blotted the pan of the grease, but used the same pan for the brussels sprouts, mushrooms, and chickpeas to keep the bacon flavour. I also didn't have nutmeg, so I used cinnamon and it was surprisingly delicious. I also didn't have the nuts, but it was fine without. Finally, I cooked some quinoa to go with it, to get more protein! It turned out delicious.
Have a great evening!

What happens when it snows...

This morning I woke up to a lovely light dusting of snow on the ground and not-so-lovely sidewalks that had not yet been sanded. I am surprised that I didn't wipe out! I was at the tram stop on time as per usual... but the tram was 15 minutes late, due to the "snow". Then, the doors wouldn't shut because of the ice, so we all had to get off and wait for the next tram. I felt like a sardine. I arrived 25 minutes late to my placement but luckily my host teacher was understanding!
I found it all very amusing.
Especially when I grabbed a copy of the free "Direct Matin" paper and saw this on the cover:

"The cold grips France."
Note the light dusting of beautiful snow. Now, I do understand the issues over the snow.... I mean, we are well equipped in Canada and we  get snow without fail every year, and usually a lot of it. It has been 3 years since Nantes has seen snow, so I am not surprised that they weren't ready for it. But even all over the 1/3 of France that got hit, it's just a mess. Homeless people have died of hypothermia and there is a risk of power failures... not to mention the transportation mess! It definitely makes me appreciate the fact that we get each season to the fullest in Ontario; that way we are prepared for anything (unless you are Toronto and call in the army during a snowstorm...).
And a quick side note, when mentioning homeless people the French have a term that they use: les SDF. It stands for "sans domicile fixe" or without a fixed home.
Anyways, enjoy your weird weather (I hear it is +7 chez moi in Port Elgin) and I will enjoy my weird weather too!

Ecclesia Campus!

I just got back from a truly fantastic weekend! Shout out to my catholic bible study friend Siobhain for inviting us all.
Three friends and I headed off the the city of Rennes this week for a French Catholic student retreat, called Ecclesia Campus. We honestly had no idea what it would be like, but it was our first Bible Study field trip so we were excited.
And it was SO good.
We took a bus bright and early on Saturday morning. We had to meet downtown at 6:45am. Naturally I set two alarms to ensure that I woke up by 5:30 so that we could leave at 6:00am. I remember waking up to my alarm and the next thing I know it is 6:05 and Siobhain is knocking on my door. I have never gotten ready so quickly in my life. We managed to make it on the bus just in time, no thanks to my falling back asleep!
We arrived safe and sound in Rennes with the group from Nantes and found our way to the downtown conference centre. The weekend began with an address by the mayor and a couple of talks, followed by some sweet worship music provided by a band called EssentCiel, who came from Grenoble (I think). They even wrote a song specifically for this event, which was really catchy. It was really remarkable to be in a huge centre with 2500 other French students all praising God! It has been awhile since I have had an experience like this, so I was really excited.

The centre

After eating a picnic lunch (which was very generous!) and meeting some new friends from Bordeaux, we came to the piece de la resistance... the flashmob!! It was not quite like a real flashmob, since it wasn`t in a random crowded place, but it was in public outside of the centre and it was all filmed. Pretty fun, and I have never done one before so I had a blast!

The flashmob begins!

After the flashmob, we went to ateliers (I think it means workshop) that we had signed up for. I signed up for "etudiants etrangers" (foreign students) which was about helping foreigners feel welcome and how the experience of leaving your home country affects you. To be honest, I didn't get a ton out of it because it was a lot of what I already knew. But on the flip side, I met some really nice people: 2 guys named Philippe and one named Florent who I went to the next event with. Philippe, who was from Paris, convinced me to join them for some sort of choral event put on by some sisters in a nearby cathedral. The last time I went to a catholic service was the last time I was in France, and to be honest it kind of freaked me out... everyone knew what to do and say and I thought it was strange, in my 17-year old mind. This time, I absolutely loved it. It was beautiful listening to the sisters sing and actually be able to reflect during the worship, rather than just focusing on how fun the music is. It kind of gave me a new appreciation for tradition. I also found it really wonderful how everyone knew what to say and do this time... I guess all the traditions are quite universal, so no matter you are in the world what is said and done is the same, just in different languages. It was remarkable to see so many christian students so dedicated.
Anyways, after this, we found my Canadians and ate a tasty Bretonne dinner of sausages in gallettes! Tasty. Oh, and it was outside and I froze. But it was all good because after dinner it was concert time!
And the concert was amazing! It was put on my a French band called "Glorious". They are similar to Hillsong United in style, but on a smaller scale. It was awesome though... all of us were dancing around and singing along to their very catchy songs. I almost bought their new album, but I'm glad I didn't because I can get it cheaper at Fnac! So the concert=amazing.

What an awesome way to finish the day. If you want to give them a listen, type in Glorious in google.fr (not google.ca or .com) and follow the link to their webpage. After the concert, we made our way back to the rendez-vous point to find out where we were staying for the night. We were being put up with various families, but we didn't know who yet. We were lucky enough to be put all together with the sweetest lady who lived just across the street. She is a sister who has lived in Rennes forever, and was so accomodating. We each got our own room and in the morning she made us coffee, hot chocolate, bread and jam, and fruit for le petit dejeuner (breakfast). Oh, and she came and woke us up to make sure we made it on time which reminded me of when I was younger... she knocked on my door at 6:30am, said good morning, and turned on the light so I couldn't fall back asleep. When I was younger and had to go to day care, this is what my dad always did to wake me up, so I found it oddly comforting despite the fact that I just wanted to crawl back under the sheets!
We also woke up to... snow! It snowed overnight and stayed right throughout the day, so the French were pretty excited. Something weird that they like to do is throw snowball at cars while they're moving... it's bizarre.
We made our way to the cathedral for a morning service, and then attempted to find our conferences. Ours was way the heck away and it was freezing, but luckily a man who had hosted some students the night before took pity on us and drove us to the school where the conference was. It was pretty interesting; there was a Taizé brother (this community north of Lyon) and another priest who shared their personal stories and took questions. Afterwards, forced with another long walk back in the freezing cold and no buses in sight (after all, it is a Sunday), we went out on a limb and stuck out our thumbs to "faire le stop" (also known as hitch-hiking!). We got picked up by a nice couple who took us to the lunch spot. They were supposed to host some students but ended up not having to. First hitch-hike=success!
Lunch was great, if not ridiculous. Try to feed 2500 hungry students and it becomes pretty insane... we had to wait a bit because they were making more croque monsieurs, and the crowd got restless. But I met some nice French people to talk to (and a German who spoke fluent French). Did I mention that I got to speak French all weekend and it was awesome?? After another delicious meal, we made our way back to the cathedral for the closing mass. It was pretty nice again, but really long and we didn't have seats so it was rather cold and uncomfortable. My friend Philippe got to be on of the procession people, so that was pretty cool! It also went on for like... 2.5 hours... so yeah, kinda long. But still really encouraging.
I had been trying to think of that word all weekend to describe the event. Sometimes when you're learning a new language you can't think of words in your own language nor the language you are learning. I kept trying to think of this word and I finally thought of it while taking a very hot shower (after not feelings one's feet for 12 hours, one is entitled to a very hot shower). Encouraging. It was encouraging to see so many young people my age with a spirit for God. Even though they weren't protestant, I believe that despite our religious differences, when it all comes down to it we believe in the same God. So for me it was wonderful to feel the community that I have ever only felt in Canada. I think that a lot of people, myself included before this weekend, have a perception that Catholicism is boring or too rooted in the past. Well, this weekend definitely helped to completely tear down these assumptions for me.
But, after that very long post, I must say that I am exhausted from the weekend and need to head off to bed. But before I do, here are some lyrics from the main song we sang by EssentCiel:
"Unissons nos voix, unissons nos coeurs, unissons nous: pour bâtir, pour créer, pour servir, pour aimer, un monde nouveau"
(Unite our voices, unite our hearts, unite ourselves to build, to create, to serve, to love a new world)

Gonna be a bright sunshiney day!

What a gorgeous day!
I have gotten over my negative feelings towards the cold weather for a few reasons:
1. It only feels colder because there is no snow. (This is what I tell myself)
2. It would not feel as cold in Canada because I would be so much better prepared.
3. I'm in France... I've got nothing to complain about. (which makes me think about other things I take for granted... like God, living comfortably, having an awesome family... etc. seriously, life is good.)
4. Last night the sky was so clear that I saw stars, and today it is the most gorgeous blue-sky-and-sunshine day, despite the chill.
Ever since I started running over here, I've been meaning to bring my camera with me so that I can take pictures of where I get to run. Today I was kicking myself because it was such a beautiful day and my camera wasn't with me. I swear, everything I ran past was photo-worthy: the icicles (never spelled that before... what a weird word.) on the trees by the river, the brightly coloured birds in the forest, the trees covered in vines, the way the sun shone through the trees, the picture of the river with the sun rising behind it... yeah, it was incredible. My brain is full of mental pictures. Oh yeah, and I ran for 1 hour 22 minutes today, and it felt GREAT. I am loving it. I think I can actually call myself a runner now!
Believe it or not, I have 3 projects to work on that are coming due in the next couple of months! I know... shocking. They are all group projects. The first is a poetry analysis for literature, the second is a presentation on Olympe de Gouges for history, and the last is a dossier of sorts about a "topique francaise, enquete nantaise", or a cultural research project on a French theme with a focus on Nantes. My group will be looking at the cultural importance of bread in French society. Since I will be looking pretty in depth at these three topics, when I am done them I will share what I have learned!
Speaking of things I have learned... last night on the tram ride home, my friend and I had the name of one of the tram stops explained to us. The name is "50 Otages" and it is named after 50 French martyrs who were killed in WWII after a German officer was assassinated. Pretty interesting.
On another note of learning, I have discovered the website "pinterest" through some friends and it is rather addictive. I didn't really understand it before but it is pretty cool. You basically create bulletin boards where you can "pin" different photos that link to websites you like. So for example you can have a recipes pin board, where you can post favourite recipes. The fun part is that you can follow other people and they can follow you, so it is a really cool file sharing website.
Tomorrow morning I have to be downtown at the ungodly hour of 6:45am for a weekend focused on Godly things. The girls in my bible study and I are going to Rennes, a city near Nantes, for a Christian youth/young adult retreat where we will be participating in discussions, seminars, worship services, and reflection time with 2500 other French students. We are taking 2 buses there. I am really excited to meet other French Christians and to get to speak French all weekend!
To close, here is a link to a really good article on the Globe and Mail.com. It speaks about the importance of study-abroad and I must say that I agree with it. The part that I really thought was good was when the author wrote, "Dr. Traves worries the public still sees study abroad as frivolous, making student travel a tough political sell." I think this is something that many people think... and to be honest, it is true that my program over here is not as demanding as my courses at Trent. But the value of what I have learned inside and outside the classroom is honestly priceless. To quote the article again: “It exposes you, it transforms you, changes you as a person – you never see the world in the same way again,” (what a participant said). Well said. Enjoy the article!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/university-leaders-want-more-canadians-to-study-abroad/article2325034/

Winter, go back to Canada please!

Yes-I will admit it- I`m from Canada and I do NOT like the cold!
Not that I don`t like things associated with the cold... things like skating, skiing, snowshoeing, tobogganing, hot chocolate, snow angels, etc. are all quite wonderful! I just dislike being cold.
And apparently neither do les nantaise! We were greeted in Nantes this morning with a wind chill that made it feel like -8 degree C. Tomorrow morning it is supposed to feel like -14. NOT GOOD. It would be bearable if I had all my winter gear... but I don't... so for now I'm planning to not exit warm buildings unless it is necessary!
Which I did actually manage to do this morning... despite feeling a little under the weather this week, I got for a 50 minute run this morning. It felt great, but I will have to bring more kleenex next time... I had to stop and blow my nose almost every 5 minutes!
Anyways, I'm probably being pretty boring at the moment. No one wants to hear about the weather and runny noses.
But not too much has happened since I got back on Monday. I had two classes yesterday, and they both went quite well. We have been learning about the famous Charles deGaulle in history class. My Dad had been asking me over Christmas what the big deal was with him, why the French like him so much. Well, I can now say that not all the French like him, but the overall sentiments towards him are positive. Yes, he may have left France just before it was defeated by Germany in WWII. But he did it so that he could better coordinate the resistance movement from a city that wasn't under German control. I guess he made a pretty famous radio broadcast on the BBC to encourage the French to not collaborate. After the war, he was proclaimed President. He later decided to retire as the President, but was brought back under some controversial events during the Algerian war. Now there is an airport named after him. That was pretty brief and I probably left some key info out, but you get the idea.
One exciting thing did happen today though! My two friends and I finished booking our hostels for Spain! We are going to Barcelon, Malaga, and Seville, with day trips to Montserrat, Granada, Cadiz, and maybe Gibralter. We are crossing our fingers for warmer weather!! After Spain, I will be going to Paris the first weekend in March for my half-marathon, and then not really any traveling until my parents come!!! Which I am very excited for. I will go into more detail about our plans the closer it gets... but I am very much looking forward to it.
I hope you enjoyed my random ramblings today! I honestly had nothing to write about and still managed to fill a decent sized post. No wonder my grade 1 teacher called me chatter-box...