le weekend

This weekend I ventured off to a few quaint towns with the C.I.D.E.F. (International Students). We went to St. Malo which is an old fisherman town on the beach and after that we went to Mont St. Michel which is an Abbey and little village on an island. The trip was okay, at first they plopped us down into the town of St. Malo and it really just seemed like they wanted us to purchase something. I can do without a pink and white "St. Malo" airbrushed sweatshirt or dragon sword so my friend Josh, Lauren and I made our way to the beach for the whole time. Some of it was truly great. We stumbled upon an old swimming pool perched up on the beach and numerous little islands surrounding the town.
I think the best moment of the entire day came when we were all walking quietly looking at the rocks. I was looking for a heart shaped rock to add to the collection my brother and I have going for our Mom (Boulder, CO and the Virgin Islands). That was the most sincere moment of the day because the rest of it felt so contrived it was basically unenjoyable. Earlier I said, "Well this is a quaint town." Josh responds, "It is...and they know it is." I think that's a great way to sum it up. They turned a fantastic place into a shell of a fantastic place. As soon as you begin talking about the beauty of something you start "framing it" so that you are no longer taking it in but instead rationalizing it and trying to capture it. As for Mt. St Michel, a grand tower and town on and island almost have to be taken in by yourself to be truly enjoyed I think. Nonetheless it was very amazing to see and I have never witnessed anything like it.

What does Kansas have to compare to these ancient, ascetic places? Us Kansas kids asked that question as we were all marvelling at the castles and giant walls. Kansas is sort of like anything in the sense that if you had never seen anything like it before it is pretty amazing (except for Manhattan/Topeka/Wichita). How beautifully open is Kansas on the whole? How neat is it to witness nearly every weather phenomenon in the course of a year? It is conversely interesting to see a "new" place like Kansas in a strange comparison to Europe. The beauty of a place can vary greatly and I love to see the various versions. It is difficult not to compare the new things I find to what I know as familiar. I don't think I am necessarily going to be spoiled by the beauty of Europe when I return, instead I will be looking for it with my eyes open wide.


For Sunday I went jogging with my roommate Jun who is getting the hang of being here (he actually just came back from the wine caves and is full of slurred things to say!) and our communication has switched over to a form of French/English and telepathy. Well it is either telepathy or apathy from me I haven't decided! He is a nice guy to have around and he has made his own friends very quickly. My vintage velo is finally fixed up and ready to go and I feel like the cool kid in class who has a car before turning 16. It feels too easy to get around town not having to rely on the bus and I now that the bike is working it has been the best 50 Euros I have ever spent.
When I bought the bike the older gentleman insisted my host mom and I come in for drinks, snacks and conversation. It wasn't like purchasing a used item in America where it's a handshake, a quick monetary exchange and you're off. This was a process to be sure. Fortunately the minute the pedal broke my host mom called him back and he offered to come out on his day off to fix it! I am basically covered with a warranty on this bike during my stay because of the friendliness of the seller. He threw in a 12 euro lock as well.

This week I have a much better idea of what to expect out of classes and my schedule so I look forward to being alert and ready for them. I was caught off guard nearly all of last week because it was my first full load and I wasn't ready for classes taught ENTIRELY in French. It is tough because when I need to know the meaning of a word I can't just be told it in English, it usually entails some charades and confusion. Foreign language has the potential to be very frustrating so I am working overtime to keep from getting worked up. I have this obscure but clear visual of two sort of test tubes connected to my ears when I am in class. As soon as I get lost in a sentence or frustrated at all they begin to fill with blue liquid. If I get completely frustrated the liquid rises rapidly. So basically I have to keep my mind open and the tubes empty (or at the least keep it from rising) if I am going to learn anything. As soon as they fill up I stop taking things in.