Mustard, Roads and Owls

So, here we are! It still doesn't feel like real life-- I don't think it will until classes start. But Dijon has been lovely so far!

The weekend was kind of strange because it was completely free. I think it's bad planning on the part of the program that we get here on Friday afternoon and then have all weekend alone in this new city, new house, new everything. But I met up with friends a couple of times and we went to a cafe on Saturday night, and I settled into my room. (It's weird to not have very much stuff! It didn't take me very long to unpack at all.) Monday morning we had the placement test (the professors told us, it's a test, not an exam-- this was supposed to be comforting) to see which level of classes we will be in. We were all a little nervous, but it was MUCH less scary than we thought (thanks for exaggerating, Michel) and didn't take too long. I actually kind of liked taking it-- it was nice to be back in a classroom and to have a task to do and something to think about. I REALLY want classes to start, can you tell? :P

After that, we went back to the Centre Condorcet and met up with Nathalie. We went to a pizzeria for lunch, which was a miracle in like ten different ways. We got pizzas, and they were the size of regular smallish pizzas in the US but they were individual! I was so hungry, I ate almost the entire thing. It was the best "French" food I've had yet. ;) Then we all wandered in and out of shops for a while and ended up at a cafe, which said it was a glacier-- ice cream place. We really wanted ice cream, but when we ordered it, they said they don't serve it in the winter! So I got a crepe au chocolat instead, which was good, but I am not the biggest fan of crepes. I would rather just eat the chocolat that's on top :)

I was feeling kind of down so I went home after that. Yesterday was my worst day so far in terms of homesickness, but I think it's a combination of adjustment and not having classes/anything to do and being tired. I know I just have to wait for it to pass when it happens, and it's part of the experience, but it still isn't fun. I even was missing the SUB yesterday... and that's scary! However, my mood improved and we all went out to a bar for Emily's birthday. This was my first real bar experience (since obviously I can't go to them yet in the US) and I have to say I don't think bar-ing is really for me (big surprise, I know). It was very crowded and smelly. We had fun talking though, and we met some real live French people who were actually our age! They kept asking us over and over if we wanted to go smoke cigarettes outside and we were like NON, but it was cool to talk to some locals. By the end of the night, everyone was very ready to leave, so we went home and I was very glad to get in my bed. But now I have been to a bar!

Today was much better than yesterday. I slept until 11:20 and met Kathryn for lunch (we tried to meet the others, but they didn't have cell service in the restaurant, so Kathryn and I found a little place and I had a delicious cold pizza). We took a tour of Dijon from a very funny guide who thought we didn't understand French so she kept trying to repeat things in English. We got to see all the old areas of Dijon, including streets and buildings that date back to the 12th century! We went inside Notre Dame and saw the Palais de Duc, and it was a really pretty tour. We learned some fun facts, like that Dijon famously makes gingerbread, and they make it in huge slabs that you can eat over a period of years (I think I understood that part correctly) because a woman made some gingerbread at the beginning of World War II and said she would open the tin when the liberation occurred, and it didn't happen for four more years. We also got to have a mustard tasting! There was everything from chocolate to citrus to herbed mustard, as well as good old spicy mustard-- which was a little too spicy for me! Some of it was good and some strange, but the flavors that were good were REALLY good. Also, Dijon has a major thing for owls, which is because there is a magic owl on the side of a building (I think it's the back of the Notre Dame), and you touch it three times with your left hand and make three wishes, and they will come true within the year. We all touched it and wished hard, so we shall see!

me touching la chouette!

Afterwards, we went back to Condorcet for tea and cookies and relaxing, and once we had all warmed up enough to fathom the thought of going back outside, Courtney, Emily and I walked back downtown and ended up spending way too long in H&M, but it was super fun and I made a few good purchases. We went to the FNAC after that (literally pronounced funack, do not ask me where it got its name but you have to go there to buy cell phone minutes and it's kind of like borders but with more technological stuff) and then finally we returned home. It was a very fun day, and my host mom and I had a good dinner. She loves to talk and luckily we can find things to talk about. She also was excited that I had gone shopping and wanted to see my purchases, which was really cute, so I showed them to her and she was very enthusiastic.

We have activities for the rest of the week and find out our classes on Friday. Free weekend again, and then (finally) classes start! I don't know what or how many of the non-language (like not about grammar or writing) classes I am going to take, but I am thinking about theatre, economie and l'histoire d'art! We'll see!

a lovely medieval street... to think all this history is right downtown!