Weekly Update

Sorry I haven't written much this week. Here's a day-to-day summary:

Monday: Went to class, did some homework, ate dinner with the family (veggie soup, grilled chicken with peppers and zucchini, ice cream) and then watched half of a made-for-French-TV movie about the life of Francoise Sagan, famous French novelist.

Tuesday: Went to class, did some homework, went out to dinner with Sam, Gerald and Kristen (who is in a different program, we met in travaux practiques) to this wonderful (but slightly expensive) restaurant called L'atmosphere. I ordered salmon and ravioles and it was great. Kristen and I split the house speciality dessert, which was also awesome, but we had no idea what it was. However, there was definitely chocolate involved.

Wednesday: Went to class, went to tutoring, went to the BU office to get the weekly newsletter, then went to dinner with Monica, Sam and Clare in Place Grenette. I got a really good pizza, but Clare and Sam's were so much better. They both ordered the Pizza Ravioles, which was basically just pizza crust with the regional ravioles on top. Amazing.

After dinner, I went to Kristen's housemates' "American Party", which they were throwing for all their international friends. There were probably about 70 people there, and it was crazy! Kristen and I retreated into her room with two other friends and we just hung out there and chatted for a few hours. Apparently the cops came twice (that's the mark of a REAL American house party) but we were inside being anti-social and not contributing to the ruckus, so no worries. I left around midnight with Suzy and Eric (who we were chatting with) because they both live close on the tram-line, so that was fun and also reassuring, because I do not like walking alone at night.

Thursday: Class, hung around at the house, got lunch at Pasta Via with Sam, went to the office for a halfway-through-the-semester check-up meeting with Marie-Eve.

Then I went to tutoring, which was fun. I've made a date with the family, so next Wednesday I will eating dinner there. Also, next Sunday is Ha-jeong's birthday! How much fun is that? I'm going to do a whole little birthday unit next week, and I'll teach her the happy birthday song, etc. Also, I'm going to try to find her a present, hopefully English related, this weekend.

Then I rushed home for the cours de cuisine, the pictures of which you've already seen. I'm not even going to talk about the horrific bone marrow experience. Just. No. Ugh. Suffice to say they scoop it out of the bone and spread it on bread. UGH.


Random bits that I forgot:

• Wednesday on my way to the party, a sketchy Moroccan man asked me for my number and asked if I wanted to get a drink with him to "help him improve his English". I told him I didn't have a cell phone that worked in France, and that he'd have to e-mail me. Which he did. And which I am NOT responding to. If I had thought faster, I would have made up an e-mail address.
  
• I have found out the name of the cheese that Christine and Claude affectionately call "le fromage de Jillian". I am going to acheter a TON of it. And eat it all. By myself.
• Mike Ryan sent me a lovely letter with some exciting news about the band possibly opening for Gaelic Storm!
• I got my absentee ballot.
  
• I'm going to Chamonix with Mary and her family the last weekend of October. That should be lots of fun.
• I've been introducing myself to everyone as "Jillian", because I realized that I've never liked the name "Jill". I mean, it's not a huge deal, whenever I talk to myself, it's always: "Wow Jill, that was dumb," or "Way to make a fool out of yourself, Jill", but when I really think about it, it's a pretty ugly name. And it's absolutely hideous with a French accent. So it's kind of cool now because a bunch of my friends only know me as "Jillian", which always sounds a bit bizarre to me, but I'm starting to get used to it.