Ireland + Avignon

Bonjour! Ça va? (Hi! Hows it going?)

I can't believe its been almost a month since my last post....Man, there is so much to update on!

( I wrote this blog over a few days...so its more like a long journal entry,

you'll see what I mean once you start reading)

I just finished watching Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et La Bete) in French with Thea and André. It's so much fun watching Disney films in French! We stopped half way through the film because Mammy made crêpes. Generally around 4pm everyday we have what is called a "Goûter" where you have coffee or tea with something sweet and you sit and chat. So today, our Goûter was Nutella or strawberry jam crêpes with Chocolat Chaud (hot chocolate). Yummmm!

I was really happy this morning because I woke up early (9:30am...haha its Saturday ok!) and gave Mammy a French manicure. She is going to Spain tomorrow for the day with her Senior Citizens group (they have excursions once a month). She always goes to the hair salon before an excursion, and I told her I wanted her to feel extra special and asked to give her a manicure.

After the manicure I started helping her prepare lunch. So far she has not allowed me to help her in the kitchen because I don't think she trusts me and she doesn't want me to do any work (a motherly thing here in France). But today she finally let me help her! hahaha It was a huge step for me! We made mashed pumpkin, which tastes kind of like mashed sweet potato, and a walnut salad.

Two weeks ago we had our Fall Break. I went to Ireland with my friend Veneta and we stayed at her family friend's house. The Bulgarian couple, Petya and Duychin live in Blessington, a town about 30km south of Dublin. It was perfect! I couldn't have asked for a better vacation. The location was gorgeous--right next to Blessington Lake and the Wicklow Mountains. It was exactly how I envisioned Ireland: 20 shades of green, mist, and rolling hills. Petya and Duychin were amazing. The whole week we were there they took us to so many different places: Kilkenny, Glendalough, Dun Laughaire, Waterford, Dublin, and around Blessington. They also cooked delicious Bulgarian meals --in which I learned how to make an awesome salad and I actually made it this week for lunch here in France! Shopska Salata!

Veneta and I went to the Irish Pubs just about every night in Blessington. The town is really small, and the main street has approximately 20 shops, in which 7 are pubs hahaha! Our first night, I remember thinking "oh my goodness! This pub looks exactly like an Irish pub from the movies!" We ordered a 1/2 pint of Smithwick's (we can't finish a whole pint...haha) There was a live band playing Irish music and many people in the pub were singing, I think it was someones birthday?

Last picture before we go our separate ways for Fall Break!

Yay! We arrived in Ireland!

The Wicklow Mountains and Blessington Lake - Blessington, Ireland

Stone Circle near Blessington

Notice our awesome rain boots that we bought

(essential for Ireland's rainy/misty weather!)

Kilkenny Castle

Owned by the Butler Family from 1391-1967

Kilkenny, Ireland

Glendalough - Monastic ruins - 6th century

I thought this was one of the most beautiful sites

and really enjoyed the drive through the Wicklow Mountains

Dun Laughaire

(pronounced Dun Leery --- roll the 'r')

I didn't think there was much to see here,

 except the nice view of the Irish Sea

Coming back from Ireland, I was super emotional. After having spoken English for an entire week, it was definitely harder transitioning back into French mode. This upset me very much, and made me think a lot about my experience here thus far. Everything started to irritate me, especially the other students from the Institute. We were spending way too much time with one another in school and outside of school and even though our levels of French had improved, I still felt way too connected to English. I made a few changes, such as incorporating French podcasts on my iPod, cutting out a lot of English music, turning off the internet more often at home, walking home from school and walking around the city to become more familiar with my surroundings, and sitting at cafes by myself just observing and writing a few postcards.

I think what I needed the most was just to be by myself for a while. I was able to observe people's interactions and write down my thoughts. Everyday that I walked around I noticed new things I hadn't seen before. Everything just became so beautiful. I found myself literally looking up at the buildings, noticing how different the architecture is for each one!

So that is one aspect of my reflections.

Another is just how close I have become with my family here, it almost brings me to tears starting to think about me leaving in a month. Something about being apart from Andre, Thea, Mammy and Pappy during that week of vacation made me feel so much closer to them upon my return. I keep thinking just how fortunate I am to be living in this family.

So these past two weeks have definitely been a ridiculous emotional ride. But it was very much needed.

I needed it to truly reflect on what I have learned and what I want out of this experience.

I needed it to appreciate and love my family.

I needed it to find peace.

I needed it to finally feel comfortable living in this city.

Le Place de l'Horloge

The main plaza in Avignon

(I did a lot of my thinking in a few of these cafes)

Le Palais de Papes-- What Avignon is known for!

Home of the Popes from 1309-1377

La Rue de la Republique

The main street in Avignon!

(~ similar to Chicago's Michigan Ave.)

Happy Halloween!!

Me, Skye and Veneta made Halloween cookies

with the decorations my parents mailed me!

Erik, Mammy, Marie, Pappy

Everyone absolutely ADORED them

"They are soo pretty! They are soo good!

Give me the recipe! You have make more!!!"

They were gone in 2 days!

Well, this has been a nice update for me. I gave myself a few days to finish it :)

I miss you and I hope you're all doing well!

<3, Jenny