Normandy

Where do I start…well where I left off I was going to a movie with Louis. It was fun, we walked there and had a good conversation in French. I am gaining more confidence in my French (except when my host mom gets mad at me for asking “comment?” 5 times when she is asking if I have any clothes to wash…like 5 minutes ago). There was only one other girl who came with us, and after she came Louis (who is 16) and her just talked and I listened. We saw Miami Vice, which is a terrible movie, don’t see it. Anyways, that wasn’t very exciting…onto my trip.

We left about 3 or 4 o’clock on Friday for the country house in Normandy. It is about an hour or so north of Paris, west of Rouen. The Norman countryside is beautiful, with green forests, large fields, and plenty of cows. We stopped for a bit in a beautiful little town called Lyons La Forêt, which is 7 kilometers from the country home. We walked around for a bit and I took a lot of pictures (all told, 290 over the weekend). We then went to a supermarket and bought food for the weekend. Their supermarkets are definitely different than ours. You have to pay to get a cart, it is a lot smaller, and they don’t give you bags for your groceries. So that was a fun little excursion, but then we went to the country home, which is in Saint Honorine (you don’t really need to remember that, it’s very small). It was somewhat small, but what did I expect, a villa? There was a nice garden in the back where we ate twice, but there were also some annoying neighbors who made a lot of ruckus at about 12 at night while their friend were leaving (and I was starting my 3 or 4 hours of being awake because of ridiculous jet lag). Anyways, we ate that night outside so this is a good time to explain our typical meal.

We start with something small, like pâté (which is somewhat like meatloaf), then move on to the main course (usually meat, like veal or salmon). We then have cheese with bread, and then end with a desserty thing (say, melon or pineapple). After dessert there is coffee. I think my family is in love with that cider I was talking about, because we’ve had it with every single meal, not that I’m complaining as those of you who have spent a holiday with me know I could drink 3-4 bottles of sparkling cider. We also had some mineral water this weekend with dinner (which, although before I drink it I tell myself “I like mineral water,” I still do not like).

Anyways, so the first night I got probably 5 hours of sleep, and was awoken at 9 to go to Alizay (a small town about 15 minutes away) for their weekly town-wide garage sale ( I think that’s the best way to describe it). Basically people set up tables full of crap they’ve had for 20 odd years and try to sell it. There are old tractor parts, windbreaker suits, VHS tapes of mediocre movies, and really old books. It felt straight out of the 80s, and it didn’t help that on every streetlight there were speakers that played ridiculous American 80s music. So I walked around (laughing) for a while by myself, as my host parents told me to be back at 11:45, although I thought it was 12:45. So after about an hour of walking, I decided to get some food (first mistake). I got a sandwich with ham and a Orangina, but little did I know we’d be eating in the next 45 minutes anyways. Then I went down another street in the town and took pictures of the ridiculously cute Norman half-timbered houses (second mistake). I came back at about 12:10, and my host parents had been looking for me for about 20 minutes. My host mom was angry because she had reserved a restaurant in Rouen, and she didn’t know if they’d keep it. I decided to keep the fact that I’d already eaten to myself and let her only be mad at me being late and making them worried. Oopsie!

So off to Rouen! Old Rouen is beautiful, with half timbered apartments sitting above gaudy stores overlooking stone pavement. We went to a little restaurant and I stuffed myself to the rafters with Crêpes (remember, I had already eaten) and washed it down with guess what…Cider! We then walked through the beautiful streets in the rain. We tried to go in the Cathedral which is a monument to Joan of Arc, but there was a wedding…so we couldn’t. I did get to go in the Cathédral Notre Dame de Rouen, which is an archetype of Gothic architecture, with thousands of spires and big arched doorways. The inside is very somber and gray. I guess it was bombed out during the Second World War and the roof collapsed during a big storm in 2000. It’s so weird that has been so affected by war. In America we are so isolated from it, I mean we have Pearl Harbor and 9/11 and that’s basically it in the last 100 years. But Europe has seen so much. There are no towns or cities that weren’t touched. Every little town we drove through has a monument to those lost in the First and Second World Wars, and my host mom tells me that every city in France has one. Crazy…

By the end of the day in Rouen, I wanted to keel over and die. I was so tired that while my host parents were looking in an antique store I sat outside on a chair and fell in and out of sleep. We then had to walk back to the car and I fell asleep on the way back to the house. Then at the house I was watching TV upstairs and fell asleep. I woke up for dinner, then fell asleep about an hour after. This much sleep does not help one to sleep through the night. So again last night I got up around 12ish (I didn’t have a clock so that’s kind of a guess) and didn’t get to sleep till probably around 3. I am feeling better today, which is partially due to the fact that I got to sleep till 1 o’clock.

Overall, it was a good weekend. It is so weird finally being here and going to little towns that I could only dream about and seeing cathedrals I’d only seen in pictures. I am now in the “French only” part of my exchange. This weekend my host mom would speak mostly in English, which was kind of annoying because most of what she said I felt like I could understand in French. It was much better to talk to my host dad, because he speaks only a little English anyways so he speaks only French with me. So at lunch I asked my host mom to speak in French, so she said she would, although she has forgotten a few times so far (like when I couldn’t understand that she wanted clothes to wash she finally gave up and said it in English). It is good, but much harder when difficult things aren’t explained to me in English. I just kind of nod and say words in an inquisitive tone when I don’t understand. Not being able to express myself fully is going to be a good experience for me. I’ve realized that most of the time that I think I have something to say, in fact it’s just that I feel like I need to say something. Anyways, sorry this is really long, but this is as much for me as it is for you. I don’t think I said everything I wanted to, but I’m too tired to read back through it. I love you all.

Tchus!
Brent