Why not? I am here to experience things right?

Turns out crepes are pretty good. On Friday a group of us went to a creperie and had real French crepes. The crepe that I ordered was amazing. It was ham, spinach, cheese, and creme fraiche. The creperie was on Rue Saint Romain that is in the old city that runs along the Cathedral and all of the church buildings. The restaurant is surrounded by cobblestone streets and buildings that were built in the 1600's. It is just a strange to step out of a building and find yourself facing one of the places that Joan of Arc was questioned in (the cathedral). Rouen has beaucoup d'histoire. It is nice to have the opportunity to live here and experience it.
I feel like another theme of my trip is to try and to do things that I would never normally do. Generally these "new experiences" have to do with food. On Saturday night, I had potatoes with some sort of jelly on it (some random and unknown berry). Turns out that jam and potatoes is amazing. Now when we have potatoes without jam I am disappointed. Strange how that works out.
Another fun food experience was the night we had hot dogs. We had gone grocery shopping and she asked me if I like them. Recognizing them to be something familiar I was excited and replied positively. At dinner, we had our first course of salad and then she brought out the hot dogs... and nothing else. I am not sure whether it is something my family does, or whether this is common but I was really confused. I was going to ask for ketchup but then I stopped myself and thought, "no, I am here to learn what the French life is like. If they eat hot dogs plain, I will too."
I have found that the more willing I am to put myself out there and try new things, the more rich my experience here will be. Whether I am playing Wii with my host brother on the weekends or ordering some new dish at a restaurant I am learning. Another thing I am adding to my list is Steak Tartare, aka raw meat.

My Uncomplete and Unfinished List of things to do
1) Learn French
2) Buy a new coat (done)
3) Buy black boots (done)
4) Eat Steak Tartare

Fromage

How can something that smells so bad taste so good? I can't stop asking myself this question over and over again. For the last two days the group has bought lunch at a local grocery store or l'epicerie where $1 (.60 euro) baguettes and a variety of cheese can be purchased. It is both cheap and really delicious, a good deal for all. The picture of the cheese was an example of my lunch from Tuesday. Half the reason I came to France? To eat.

Rouen: The World Leader in Fog Production

Woke up this morning and the world was white. Apparently Normandy gets fog. I guess the whole being near the ocean and the channel has something to do with it. Who would have thought?
I am slowly but surely improving in my listening skills. Understanding my host mom's three year old granddaughter was quite a challenge for me at the beginning. Considering the language, the accent, and the fact that she speaks in the difficult language of a three year old, I think this is a breakthrough. I have had fun playing with her. She taught me that an octopus is une pieuvre when we were playing yesterday. A very handy word to know, haha.
Once I had arrived in France and had a chance to look around, I began to realized that there were a few things that I needed to add to my wardrobe. First I needed to ditch my bright orange snow jacket for a neutral colored coat. Next I needed to retire my salt stained (F)Ugg boots for a tasteful pair of black leather boots. Well it has been four days and I have been able to check the coat off my list but the leather boots still need to be purchased. If I am to integrate with the French culture I need to stop looking like an American tourist and adopt a more European style. It is like the scene in Sabrina when she arrives at the station in Long Island after two years in Paris. She is transformed into a chic, fashionable woman, no longer the girl "just over the garage." Like Audrey Hepburn (not a bad fashion muse I believe), I want to dish my American duds and accent and basically become French for four months. Je pense que c'est une bonne idée.

My Unfinished and Incomplete list of things to do:
1) Buy a coat that doesn't scream "I am not from here!"
2) Buy a pair of leather boots.
3) Learn to speak French.

Je ne comprends pas!

According to our schedule we have officially finished orientation. I do not know if I can accurately say that I am fully oriented or not but that is probably the aim of the program right? We received all of the necessary information on the fundamental aspects of this semester: bus schedules/maps, class schedules, the location of the cafeteria and the most important, our lunch stipend. However what we were mainly concerned with was the placement test that we took today. Considering that I only have one semester under my belt, I was assuming that I would be in group one. Wrong. I was placed in group two, the more advanced group. Apparently they are not going to be that much different but I am still feeling pretty anxious about it. I just figure it will push me that much harder to learn French. We'll see how that goes.
My schedule is pretty nice. I only have two days that have early classes. Which considering how close I live, I really don't have to wake up that early anyways. I can just jump out of bed and run to class. Our first day of classes is tomorrow. I am taking three sections of French, Introduction to literature, Grammar, and an oral expression class. I also have an African studies class, a History of Normandy class, and a French culture class. The last three are taught in English while the others are obviously in French.

We have arrived in Rouen! We got into Paris around 8:30 yesterday morning and were greeted by our program director Roy Caldwell. He met us with a bus and we immediately drove up to Rouen. It was about an hour drive. We were all looking pretty tired and disheveled by the time we got to Paris so I think our first impressions were a little scary.
Probably the best part about Rouen so far? The 70 degree difference in weather :) I wore flats and a spring coat today. It was just perfect. After freezing in Quebec, Rouen's winter is looking amazing.
I am staying with Madame Lasserre who lives in Mont Saint Aignan. It is very close to the school where my classes are. This means plenty of money saved on buses! The only thing is that I am pretty far away from downtown. It is about a 50 minute walk. I hope to get a bike so that I can ride it around instead of the bus. It is an apartment building so there are plenty of wifi (which my host mom calls "wee-fee") choices so I will be able to keep in touch with everyone.

Au Revoir Québec, Bonjour France!

Apparently Air Canada doesn't permit passengers to check-in more than three hours before their flight. This fact is unfortunate considering that Anel and I were dropped off four and a half hours before our flight is scheduled to leave. However what is fortunate is that the Canadians have free wi-fi. God bless Canada.
Our last two weeks have been busy, confusing and cold but overall good. One of the hard parts that I encountered after meeting my Quebec host mom was that she would go between Spanish, French and English once she learned that I speak more Spanish than French. At that point the two different languages were two completely different wavelengths. I would only realize that she had switched languages after she had already said something important. I have definitely improved since then but it took a few days.
Another adjustment was having to wake up early for school. We have to catch the bus at 7:40ish in the frigid cold every morning. This has made mornings difficult seeing as I am the worst morning person in the world. Trying to make small talk in French while it is still dark outside was quite a hurdle for me. I hate speaking in English in the morning which doesn't take much mental exercise. The one life saver? Coffee, the nectar of the gods, is brewed every morning in time for me to eat my breakfast. I don't know what I would have done if my host family didn't have a coffee maker.
In our program there are 8 students: Me, Anel Leon, Ben Burds, Thahitun Mariam, Ashley Benedict, Ethan Avallone, Jordan Marks, and Clara Metzler. There are five freshman, two sophomores and one junior. We break up into two different groups for French classes. I, having only taken one semester of French, am in the lower level. We learned a lot of practical French. Vocabulary for the doctor's office, hair dresser, restaurant, etc. However we still haven't learned past tense... I have picked up some of the basic rules but I would have liked to have it spelled out for me. Oh well.
We have learned a lot of the history and culture of Québec through our excursions that we go on each afternoon. Some of my favorites were going ice skating, Sainte-Anne de Beaupré, and going to Le Voute Napoleon which was a bar with local singers.
Overall, Quebec has been fun. However considering the recent temperatures I am glad to be leaving. When we arrive in Rouen, the temperature will be sixty degrees warmer. I am more than ready to leave the frozen tundra.

Quebec il fait frete! I am taking French classes at Le Petit Seminaire which is the best secondary school in Quebec. The classes are about three hours and are VERY laid back. We take "pause café" every hour where we basically just ask random things about Quebec. The more we ask, the longer our break is :) The teachers are really great and we are having a good time.
I am staying with Françoise Gil with another student, Anel Léon. We are having a ... interesting time. Overall it has been a cultural experience.
We spend our afternoons going on excursions. So far we have gone to the Parliament building, a couple of museums, and some churches. We have had a great time exploring but I can't wait to come back and just walk around. I can't enjoy the city to the fullest extent because the weather is so freaking cold.