Red Lobster meets... eats*... Escargots

Can I please stress how gorgeous it has been outside? Okay, thanks. It's been so gorgeous outside!!!

Last Wednesday we had a picnic. It was the five assistants in Lure and three from Vesoul who came for the afternoon. We walked far into the woods, along a nice walking/jogging path, and ate at a table placed there just for us. It was such a perfect day for a picnic. We all brought something, and my something was peanut butter and jelly. Since the box activity I did in class, I've had this jar of peanut butter. And since I've been done with the lesson, I've been eating the peanut butter! For some people, it was their first peanut butter and jelly sandwich. For others, it made us feel at home. But either way, it was perfect, I think, for the picnic. We also had fruit and chips and pasta and bread and some kind of smoked salmon spread, among other things. Really. It was a perfect day. I love Wednesdays! And this one was great.

Last week in class, I taught my students SMS, or text message, English. I taught them lots of different abbreviations for words and had them practice changing text messages from regular English into SMS English and from SMS English into regular English. Then, I had them write their own messages, and in some classes we had time for the students to write responses to each other. The kids were so creative! Here is my favorite one:

Hi Bob. How r u? Sup? I'm hungry. Uv eaten my piece of cake. 2moro can i eat ur lunch pls? C u l8r, n xoxo. -Max

Response: Hey Max! I'm fine. Thx! U r hungry? Me 2! lol n 2day I'm alone. U can go home 2 eat, n y not sleep? C u 2moro. xoxo -Phil

Haha It's so random, but I love it. In a couple of my classes, I had time to have them teach me some SMS French. And one of them made me laugh. I have to share. So I had them write the SMS French on the board, and I tried to fill in the regular French words (just as we had done with the English). So I was going down the list filling them in in order, doing what I could, and then I got stuck on pdt. Hmmm. I took a minute. The kids were chatting and excitedly watching me. The someone yelled out/suggested, "Pomme de terre!" (That means potato!) I laughed. Everyone did. Really that's the whole story. It's not THAT funny, but I thought it was at the time. Anyway, the correct answer is pendant. During.

Friday morning I left at 6 to catch my 6:22 train to Nancy. I liked it so much the first time I went, and it was December. I knew I wanted to go back sometime in the Spring, so Friday morning was my sometime. I didn't stay long enough to relax, but I did some shopping and enjoyed the busy-ness of the city. It was kind of cool to be riding the train with people that early, people who were commuting from Franche-Comté to Nancy for work.

Nancy was just a pit stop, really. The real purpose of the trip was not Nancy. So that afternoon, around 1 or 1:30, I trained it to Metz. I LOVED METZ!!! It really is up there with my favorite cities I've visited in France. I honestly can't tell you much about what there is to do there. I've gotten to the point where I just like to go places and enjoy them. Just feel the atmosphere of the city. And that's exactly what I did in Metz.

Metz has these huge signs that point toward the centre ville, the center of the city. They don't want their visitors to get lost! So I started out following those, but soon got distracted by park-ish-looking things. So I followed the park feeling. And you know what I found? A park. An awesome park! I don't even know if it qualifies as a park, but to me it was a park. I sat on a bench by the river (the Moselle) for a long time. Maybe 45 minutes. I had my backpack (which was rather heavy) with me all day, so it felt best to just sit and enjoy the livliness around me. I watched people walking their dogs, playing with their kids, throwing frisbees, and feeding the swans. It was so beautiful.

Next, I walked around the actual center. There were lots of people and lots of stores. But somehow I managed not to go shopping. I wandered around and then decided to sit at a café outside for a while. It was kind of awkward when I first sat down. At the table next to me was the same couple that was sitting on the bench next to me in the park a while earlier. And it's not a small city by any means, so I mean, what are the chances? But I sat there with a super refreshing Coke and enjoyed watching people. It was really right in the center of town, right by the bus stop and another amazingly beautiful park. :)

You know what I did after that? I think it was the highlight of my trip. I took an hour and a half nap in the park. I parked myself in the grass with all my things, faced the sun, closed my eyes, and fell asleep. It was soooo relaxing. I could hear people laughing and talking around me. I could hear this huge fountain flowing in the middle of the park. And I could feel the sun. It was really the best thing ever. Hard to believe that less than four months ago I was in Strasbourg, not too far away, freezing my face off.

After about 90 minutes, I went to get ice cream from a nice man selling it in the park across the street. And just when I thought my day couldn't get any better, it did. Do you know what flavor ice cream I got? Watermelon. Who the heck sells watermelon ice cream?! Quelle chance! I was lucky. Watermelon is my favorite. My bffs don't call me Betsy Ellen Watermelon for nothing. ;)

That night I couchsurfed for my first time. Now, you might think this is weird, but I stayed with a nice couple who are in their 50s and live very close to the center of town. Their names are Françoise and Jean-Louis, and when I arrived at the house, Françoise was already whipping up an amazingly delicious onion tarte. So I had dinner with them. The tarte, salad, bread, cheese, wine, and some kind of bread/cake-ish thing for dessert. Really, it was so nice. Jean-Louis is a dentist, so we talked a lot about teeth. Random, I know, but I asked him some stuff which led to a whole conversation about tooth care... and then the difference between going to the dentist in the US and in France. Basically, I should go to the dentist here while I can, since it'd be close to free, instead of waiting until June to go at home, where I'll have to pay upwards of $120. They were completely shocked by that.

That night, they took me to a concert at a church nearby. And you know how we got there? By bike. Yeah. I rode a bike for the first time in a long time. I rode my bike at home around the block a couple times last summer, but other than that, the last time was in 2007 in Versailles. It was kind of scary at first. Really, it was hard to control! But Jean-Louis was right. One never forgets how to ride a bike. The concert was a mandolin concert. It wasn't my favorite, but it was enjoyable nonetheless and was something cool and unique to do that night since I had no other plans! Two groups played. The first was about 10-15 people of various ages. I'm guessing they were people who attend that church, but I don't really know. But what really stood out to me was the conductor. It was a girl who was probably younger than I am. She was wearing short black shorts, a button-up and collared tank top, and shoes that looked like they were made for hiking. Her conducting was so distracting. Her arms were extremely expressive, and to be completely honest, I watched her more than I watched the actual musicans. And one of her bra straps kept falling completely off her shoulder. And she taped her music together into a long sheet instead of flipping pages in a book. She had two music stands to hold it all. It was just kind of funny to watch, and I could hear Françoise and Jean-Louis laughing together about it. We all kind of got a kick out of that. At the end, this cute little boy, probably about two three years old, went on stage while they were playing. It was so cute. He just sat there and looked at us all watching.

The second group was two men. One from... somewhere in South America, and one from the area. The one guy spoke French with a Spanish accent, so it was especially hard to understand him. They were REALLY good though. The South American guy played the mandolin, and the French guy played the guitar. The whole time, it just reminded me of Italy. And it made me really excited for my trip I'll be taking there shortly! Oh, and the little boy from earlier made his way to the stage again. But the guys kept playing. It was way cute. They did TWO encores. I was ready to leave. We got home around 11, stayed up and talked a bit, and then I headed to bed.

Next stop: Luxembourg. I was slightly worried because I'd left my passport back in Lure, but luckily I was never asked for it. Again, I had no clue what to expect out of this city. But I did what I do best and followed the signs and what I felt was right. And somehow I did it right. Again. I found the center of town. I found the tourists (which could be viewed as right or wrong, depending on how you want to look at it). After soaking in the excitement, I made it my mission to find a flag. I was so excited to have my Swiss flag that I knew I needed to start collecting all the flags of the francophone countries. And when else would I find a Luxembourg flag? Probably never. So now was my chance.

Finding the flag actually was a lot easier than I'd anticipated. It took no time, and I was so excited. And to my surprise, I found another one I'd be looking for eventually! I spotted a flag that was red, yellow, and black. Now, I knew Belgium's flag is those colors, but I didn't know in which order they were, nor whether they are horizontal or vertical stripes. So I asked the woman working if it was the flag of Belgium, and she said yes. So happily, I bought the flag.

I found YET ANOTHER park, sat on a bench, and read my book, which I've been trying to finish for ages now, for an hour. It was fantastic. And hot. And sticky. And sweaty. And kind of gross. But hey, I made progress in the book. Once I'd had enough and felt like my skin might regret the whole thing, I walked back to the center to find lunch. I had the most delicious panini. Well, it's actually a toss-up between that one and the one I had in La Rochelle in December. But it was sure up there! I walked by some more stores with flags, and I saw another flag, a different flag form the one I bought, with the same three colors as the Belgian flag. Red, yellow, and black. Hmmm, something was up I knew immediately that I'd purchased the flag of Germany. Should I feel stupid for not recognizing it, or should the woman who answered my question feel stupid because she's European and didn't recognize it? I don't feel very stupid. I my defense, I knew Germany's flag's colors and that the stipes are horizontal, I just didn't know the order of the colors. Being European, shouldn't that woman know better? So anyway, I explained, the woman apologized profusely, and she gave me my money back. I went back and got the right flag, and now I'm happy happy happy. Now I don't have to look for it later!

I really really liked Luxembourg. There were lots of people, but it felt very... elite. Even considering how many tourists there were. I was actually surprised by that. This was the first place I've been in quite a while where there were LOTS of people taking pictures. Presumably the stereotypical Asian with a fanny pack, sun hat, and camera around his neck. (Hey, it's the truth. I saw it!) But maybe the weather or time of year had something to do with that, too. It felt a little bit like Switzerland in the sense that multiple languages were everywhere around me. Yet at the same time, it is such a small country... it felt like... "Hi, we live in Luxembourg, but we're very open to new people and don't have to do our own thing. We understand that people around us are not from our country. And we're okay with being part of the European Union." HAHA!!! Did I really just type that as a way to describe Luxembourg. I think I did.

Regarding the language. I had no idea what to expect. But as it turns out, everyone there (people working places) spoke to me in French. Everyone greeted me in French. Everyone thanked me in French. Everyone answered my questions in French. Everyone but the girl I asked to take my picture. I asked her in French (because she was speaking French with her friend), and she responded to me in English. Multiple times. Thanks. I just spent the last 9.5 years of my life and thousands of dollars trying to be good at French, and you basically just said, "Hey, your French sucks. You should really speak English with the locals." Thanks for making me feel like it was all worth it. All the signs were in French. But then again, some things were in German. Like the restaurant menus. And lots of people around me were speaking German, or Luxembourgish (sp?). I wouldn't know the difference. But yeah. I knew it wasn't always French. For the most part, though, it made me happy to go somewhere outside of France and actually speak French. And since there were more tourists there than most places I've been lately, I felt like my knowing French was actually helpful/admirable. :)

That evening, Jean-Louis and Françoise picked me up at the train station back in Metz and took me to a movie. Tous les soleils. It was way cute, and I think it just came out a week or two ago. Go look it up if you want to know what it's about. I suck at movies, but I can, in fact, tell you it was cute. And it was really good practice for my French; they talked really fast. After the movie, we went to a seafood restaurant. And guess what I ate. You'll never guess. Escargots!!! Yeah. I, Betsy Sanford, CHOSE to order escargots for dinner. Okay, so I wasn't too surprised. I'd tried it before, last time I was in France, and I liked it. So I knew I would. It's just that last time I tried ONE escargot from someone else's plate. This time, it was a whole plate to myself. And you know what? I loved it just the same. I would order it again. And again. And again. It's really good. And it still tastes like black licorice to me. And I HATE HATE HATE black licorice. So don't ask how this all works, because I really don't know.

Before:

After:

Absolutely delicious. I know. Words you never thought you'd hear from my mouth. The girl who won't eat pizza, hamburgers, or spaghetti sauce.

That day, the sun really did me in. It was impossible to avoid, being outside so much. I didin't even think about sunscreen because normally, at home, that's not necessary for me until June or July when I lie out in the pool. So tomorrow I will be making a trip to the store to buy some sunscreen. I need it. I look like a tomato. Really. Or a lobster.

My lodging chez Françoise and Jean-Louis was amazing. I stayed in a room that you had to go outside to access. In other words, a completely separate building from the rest of the house. When you walk in, there's a garage-type thing. No car, just things you'd store in a garage. You have to walk up some stairs to get to the room. There was a desk, a bed, and my own bathroom. It was seriously way more than I'd expect from a host. But that's not what I'm getting at. Last night, as I was falling asleep, I was jolted awake by a noise coming from the garage below me. I was convinced it was one of my hosts looking for something. But when it didn't stop after about five minutes, I knew it wasn't a person. (In fact, I'd heard noises the night before, but since the garage door was closed, I knew whatever it was couldn't get to me.) It sounded like things were being moved around. Not actual animal noises. And for whatever reason, that night, the garage door was left open. So I immediately went through this huge list of possibilities in my head regarding what it could be. A mouse, a rat, a skunk, a weasel, a rabbit, a cat, a dog (very unlikely)... Then I was going over which would be able to get up steps. Could a mouse climb the stairs? I don't know. But then it came to mind... what if it was a bat?! AH!! A bat could definitely get up the stairs. So that night I slept with the light on in hopes that, if it were a bat, it wouldn't find its way anywhre near me. In the morning, all was fine. I almost, but didn't, told Françoise that I think she may have an animal living in her garage. I'm actually very convinced there is something in there, because two nights in a row... yeah.

This morning a had a nice breakfast with Françoise. I drank coffee from one of her brand new red and white polka dotted mugs that she proudly bought yesterday at the store. Had some bread with jelly and honey, and I was off. I spent about two hours walking around the local Sunday market, which is just around the corner form their house. I was so incredibly hot, though, because I was wearing my sweater. It was either that or get even MORE burned, which I definitely did not want to do. So the sweater it was. Even with my backpack. I scored some really cheap French music, books, and a DVD. It was a really great way to start the day because, as you all know by now, France is boring on Sundays. I ended my day sitting outside a café with a Coke and a pastry. Coffee would have been more appropriate, but it was just too hot out. And I made sure to sit in the shade. My skin really can't take any more. (I'll tell you, it's sunsreen for this girl now every day!)

And after three and a half hours coming back home, I'm finally back in Lure. It feels so good to come back. It really is my home away from home. And I love it.