Last full day in Angers

I'm sitting on the floor right now surrounded by my mostly packed back. Its amazing how much stuff I have acquired over my 4 month sejour in France. I even found the cork from the first bottle of wine I bought. During these past four months I have learned a lot, and I do not regret a single minute that I have been here. I was able to experience 5 different countries but also get to know France, the country that I've been dreaming of since I was a little girl a heck of a lot better.

Angers had become my home. Not just a place for me to keep my things, but some place that I felt comfortable, safe. And me memories I have made are irreplacable. Today I bought flowers for my host mom and she loved them. Just something as simple as that has made me overwhelmingly happy. I even got invited to one last meal; lunch tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure its not under my program, but out of the generocity of my host family's heart. Especially within the last month or so I've gotten really close to my host family. I've been playing badmitton with Quentin and conversing as if I was a part of the family.

This makes me realize how lucky I am. Not only do have have good friends from my stay in France, but I'm also thankful for the friends I have back home that even though I wasn't there, didn't forget me. I am so thankful to my parents for giving me this fantastic opportunity, not only to discover a whole new world, but myself too. I know that I"m capable of so much more than I have given myself credit for. And I have my boyfriend to thank. Four months apart in a relationship is hard enough as it is, but when we had to go for days sometimes without talking he still stood by me and I to him. Our relationship is stronger because of it. And my relationship with my family and friends is too.

So pretty much the Angers chapter is almost complete and I couldn't be more satisfied with it.

Bittersweet

Today I realized that I only have 10 days left in France... its quite bittersweet. I've grown to love the family I'm staying with and really feel like Angers is my home. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was freaking out about coming here. some thoughts:

1.) I've found out that I have made some wonderful friends while being here. These are people that I will never forget and that I will always have a soft spot in my heart for. Being thrown into a foreign country and not knowing anyone, I've been forced to be more outgoing. But also that people like me for who I am and I don't have to be fake. I can be my normal Kayleigh, and still be accepted and build great friendships.

2.) When I first got here, I wanted to go home. Being in another country was hard to do without having those I love right by my side. Now, I know that I CAN live on my own, and that I have the ability to adapt to a situation, no matter how scary it may seem at first. I'm a stresser, thats for sure. But under the circumstances with travelling to different countries and being in two countries (Italy and Romania), I surprisingly didn't freak out. Although we're still working on the time thing, I still must be early.

3.) I'm looking forward to going home and finally be back with my family and my friends, but above all Chris (the bf). Having to be seperated is a really hard thing to do in a relationship, but for the most part it has just made our relationship stronger. Knowing that he's at home waiting for me is a really good feeling and I can't wait to see him.

4.) I only kinda completed some of my goals. My french has improved by A LOT, and I've gotten to travel to two of the countries I wanted to. Didn't make it to Spain or Portugal, but Ireland and Romania were so much more enjoyable than I could've imagined. I also failed at that whole start running thing. The fact that I have to walk everywhere, and that the weather is cold does not make me want to get out my running shorts and shoes. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut I will work on that when I get home. I've also been willing to try things. Foodwise I've found out that I like leeks, couscous and tabouli and I terribly miss my hummus and mexican food.

The best part about being abroad is that while I've had the chance to discover who I am, I realize that I am no different from the person I was before. The surrounds don't make me act differently or think differently. I'm a hell of a lot more comfortable with myself. Thats the only difference. Other than the fact that I have some pretty new dresses and shoes.

So its now down to 10 days, two hands, a week and a half and I'll be returning to the ever varied and changing United States.

Bucharest and the Carpethian Mountains

First trip to Eastern Europe and it was very impressionable. Quite a bit different than the westernized world that I'm used to, but I really enjoyed the few days I got to enjoy of it.

Piper, Emma and I arrived in Bucharest, Romania on Friday night and were greated by Vlad which Peeps knew from a group at KU. It was really nice to have someone who was willing to show us around a bit and help out especially since I don't think we would have ever come to Romania, if he were not there. The night started out by heading to our hotel then getting money from the bank. Right now Romania has been in the E.U. since 2007 and are slowly progressing towards using the Euro. So we figured that Vlad had the conversion down since he had been there for a few days, but after a few errors on all of our parts, we took out what we thought was $60. After rethinking it a little bit later we realized that it was more like $600 that we each took out, more than enough. A few minutes after this realization I received a phone call from my dad telling my that my account was over drawn and the bank called. Well of course they did! Moral of the story, I have a lot of euros right now after exchanging most of the money I got out.

After that everything else went up hill. We went and met up with Vlad's friends who were all really nice and lucky for us they all spoke english. We got some foods to eat and they showed us one of the gardens in town and the Parliament building that was built during the Communist regime. It was HUGE. The second largest building to the Penatagon. Like really big! But cool at night. Being from a western nation its hard to believe that so little time ago this country was Communist. Just being there you can tell that it is changing from what it was a few years ago. The divide in class is very obvious, and at times the racism for the gypsies is very potent. We encountered some gypsies and it was actually pretty sad because they were mostly children asking for money, but in cases like that its hard because most likely the money you give them will go to someone else and they won't see any of it.

AFter that we headed to a bar and hung out for a while. It was really nice to talk to the guys we were with. They were friendly and open which was not what we had expected. We felt comfortable asking about Romania and how it works because honestly, none of us knew anything about Romania. The night was really nice and we ended up back at the park just playing around and talking until the boys walked us back.

On Saturday we just spent the day enjoying Bucharest and walking around. The city was so different from what I had expected. The mixture of the western architecture with the modern was really intesting to see. And all the churches were fantatic. I believe the main religion is Orthodox, but I could be wrong. Around the center of Bucharest they have these bushes that are carved and those were all pretty interesting to see the different shapes that they became. Overall Bucharest is a really pretty town, and not touristy at all.

Sunday was probably the best day! We got up early and headed over to Vlad's grandma's place for some breakfast. She really was a sweet woman and the breakfast was fantatstic complete with meats, cheeses, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and toast. mmmm good. AFter that we headed of the the Carpethian Mountains in the Transylvania area. And it was beautiful. I don't know if I've ever seen anything like it. There was still snow at the top but it was really warm and sunny at the bottem. We stopped off at a little town called Busteni and climbed on the mountains a bit thanks to a walking train. The views and all of it were breathtaking. I really can't describe how beautiful it was. Everything was so green and the air was so fresh. I love it and you can't help but be happy by it. It was definetly a day I will never forget and I am so glad that we got to climb up. After we had a specialty for lunch called mici. It is pretty much meat with spices in it that you eat with bread and mustard. It was fantastic! Well all the food in Romania was delicious. AFter that we looked around the town a bit more and headed to Brasov, or rather the tourist area a little bit further into the mountains. In the winter they are huge ski mountains but when we went it was warm so all the snow was melted but still a little chilly. That too was beautiful and it was a lot higher in elevation I think. We started climbing up a train near one of the ski runs but decided to let the boys go and we just took another trail and sat and enjoyed the view until they came back from the top. Even just sitting there the view was breathtaking. It was like no other mountain range I'd seen ,or maybe its just been a while since I've seen any mountains, i don't know.

Going to Romania was a really good experience. It was eye opening and quite interesting to experience an eastern country even just for a few days. I loved the experience

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Cooking Class, Romania?, and Soiree International

The past week or so has been a pretty busy one. Last week was my second to last full week of classes! I can't believe how fast the time has gone! It seems like I just got here....wow.

Last Friday, I went over to Piper's house to meet her and Emma so we would make some dinner. The minute I reached the doord, Piper answered and asked "How do you feel about going to Romania for our 4 day weekend?" So Romania it is this weekend. I leave tomorrow. After a few little problems with booking we are flying into Bucharest (the capital) and will leave on Monday. A nice little 4 day trip! I couldn't be even more excited! I think it is going to be really interesting to see an eastern European country. Romania has been in the European Union since 2007, but their economy is still not up to par, so they don't have the euro yet. Which is good for us, because things will be quite inexpensive. Its ironic though, because my french host family lived in Romania for a few years, so they were excited for me to go!

Last saturday I went to a cooking class and learned how to make Poulet d'Angevine and Crepe Suzette. It was a pretty good time!! The chicken dish has mushrooms, onions, shallots, and a white wine cream sauce. It was yummy! I can't wait to make it back home for my family and friends of course. The crepes too were really easy to make! The hardest part though is getting them thin and even in the pan. That takes practice but since I love crepes so much I'm sure that I can practice whenever I want and people won't complain. With the crepes we made orange cointreau butter. mmm.. soo yummy.

Tuesday was our Soiree International at the Catho. A bunch of students performed various dances and skits and music. A few kids from the states did a two step and it was really fun to see friends up on the stage performing. I invited Quentin (the 15 year old in the french family) to go with me. I seriously want him to be my best friend. He is adorable!!! But i think he really enjoyed it and it was so much fun to go with him.

So I go home in about 2 and a half weeks. Thats crazy... the time has gone by so fast and i feel like my french has improved so much. It will be weird to return to the states and not speak french. I've gotten so used to being bilingual on a daily basis. Its a great feeling to know I have improved so much. I know that I'm going to be sad to leave my french family. They have been so amazing to me, and I know that I'm going to try to keep in touch with them.

More updates upon my return from Romania!

Rain Rain

Ever since I can remember, I have loved the rain. The smell of wet cement or the sound of thunder after some nice lightning. IF its just a good pouring down rain, I love to play in it with friends, or go for walks. The rain hardly ever ruins my day, and I love to sit in and watch it through the window. When I have my own house, I hope to have a porch, a nice covered porched where I can have a swing and watch the storm. Or even a big window where I can see the rain spatter against it, making it blurry to see. Falling asleep to the rain is my favorite.

The rain makes me happy.

Birthday!!! and the few days around it

My birthday was yesterday. I turned 20!!!! YAY! If it wasn't for the friends I have here it probably would've been miserable.

Thursday was the beginning of the weekend here in France. May 8th is the end of the war in Europe and a national holiday which means a 3 day weekend. Thursday night a bunch of us went to a bbq at the Lac de Maine. Piper, Cate, Emma and I decided to walk while most others took the bus. We are so much better people for it. We were able to enjoy the beautiful weather and walk along the river/lake. On the downside it took an hour to walk there. We finally made it and enjoyed some sausages on baguette (because there are no buns here) and chips. Along with beer, wine and of course brie cheese! It was really enjoyable to just hang out with friends.


On the way to the spot where the bbq was we saw this jungle gym thing. It was not a jungle gym for little kids. The thing was huge and really tall!!! We climbed up it and it was a good distance above the groudn and not the easiest thing to climb. But sitting up there and singing songs was probably the high light of the evening.

We finished of by walking back along the river and sat by the side to finish our beers before heading home.

Friday was my BIRTHDAY!!!! which was pretty awesome! I went to Nantes with friends. The train ride was the wonderful 40 minute one. Once we got there we tried to go to the Musee des Beaux Arts de Nantes, but because it was a National holiday, we had forgotten that most museums would have been closed. Luckily enough the Chateaux was open. Which was good because it had just been refurbished for the past 15 years, so this was the first year it was reopened. It was interesting. They talked about slavery a bit and it showed the French racism that still exists today. Instead of talking about how bad slavery was, they showed the more positive pointsof how lucrative the slave trade was for the white man, calling them wise. We were glad to go anyways because it was kinda cold and had started raining. We denied the weather and all (except Cate) wore dresses and sandals. The afternoon got a lot warmer and we enjoyed it sitting in the Jardin de Plantes which was beautiful. Dinner that night we went to a creperie that was in my France guide book. The meals were quite interesting. I ended up getting a crepe with some sort of green sauce (don't know what it was) and fried roll things with meat from tiny lobsters in them. In addition, the chef puts one of the lobsters on the plate. That kinda freaked me out. But none the less it was a pretty good meal. We finished the night back in Angers with dessert drinks (passoa, cointreau, and pineapple juice.. yum).

Today I was able to sleep in late. I met Emma around lunch time and we did a bit of shopping. After which I proceeded to take a three hour nap. I felt bad that I hadn't talked to my host family in a few days, so I went downstairs to make a cup of tea to hopefully run into one of them in the kitchen. To my surprise, Brigitte had made me a chocolate cake and they got me a present. They were so sweet and kept saying that 20 was a big deal. So I sat with them for an hour while we just talked. It made me so happy that they had remembered!!! And I got one of the prettiest picture frames.

After that Piper and I went over to Emma's for chocolate cookies (yum!) and rum and cokes. With which we enjoyed watching "O brother where art thou!". It was the first time I watched it and really enjoyed that movie!

Recent photos:
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First 3 day weekend

Last weekend was French Labor day so we had a three day weekend. I was really glad that I decided to stay in Angers. It was fun to see all the people in the streets for the Manifestations. (They are the rallies that people gather in the streets to make lots of noise and have flags and all that stuff, but they are peacefully. Different from the strikes) but they are so interesting to see since we don't have anything like that back in the states. Everyone was just friendly and they all had these flowers. I wish I would have gotten the name of them.

After that I pretty must stayed around the house and did homework and cleaned my room until Piper and I went out for a few pints of Guinness, and proceeded to be disappointed by them because they were not nearly as good as in Ireland.

Saturday was probably my favorite day of last weekend. Piper and I went to the Market in the morning and bought lots of fresh fruits and veggies and we bought some fresh chicken and made a fantastic dinner later that night. With chocolate and mixed berry crepes for dessert! mmm yummy!

The afternoon was spent laying at the lake, well practically. I got a little lazy from already walking 45 minutes so I just layed down at the side of the river. It was so pretty and peaceful. I tried to work on my tan but no idea if it did anything. I have tan lines so i'm trying to get rid of those.

Then after dinner, Piper and I went to see "Coco Avant Chanel". It was a really good film! I didn't understand all of the dialogue but I understood the plot and what happened!!

So this upcoming week should be fun. AKA my birthday is in 3 days!!! I'm super excited!!!