Wine, Cheese, Police Officers, and Other Necessities

Wednesday nights are karaoke nights. It goes without saying that, of course, I will be there. Every Wednesday.

I took the placement test in the morning, finished the oral interview around noon, then hung out in a room with a bunch of other Anglophones swapping stories and surfing the net (conveniently, I have lost all traces of internet at my house. Coincidence? I think not.) I lurked at school to escape the weather ( first, a string of days with weather that I would sell my first born to be allowed out in, followed by a shorter string of days with weather I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Lucky me, out on a bike, in a skirt, during the latter.) Afterwards, I napped until karaoke time. Oui, la vie est trop dure--life is too hard!

I met some friends at the Hoegaarden (hilariously pronounced with a French accent) just south of campus and we enjoyed the karaoke show, then met a couple of gendarmerie (innately Greek-godlike French police officers, with muscles and badges and everything!) We went to a discothèque and danced until 5:30 am (oh, to be young again!) and then, again, biked home in the dark/wet/skirt.

Thursday was rainy, too, but we had a noon potluck to which were invited a bunch of French students, so we hung out in the warm of the Faculté des Lettres and spoke frenglish (or, franglais). Afterwards a French friend of mine, A, invited me to her apartment because her landline phone company offers free international calls on Thursdays. I got to talk to my dad, who was just leaving for work while I was basically finishing my day, which was bizarre and wonderful. I was standing on A's balcony for the conversation, and had the sun been out I would have been able to see clearly the entire panoramic chain of Pyrenees mountains forming the southern border of Pau. Too cool.

Thursday night I had my last cooking class, a bittersweet affair. We started with foie gras (don't tell my friends in PETA, but I secretly love the stuff) and a rosé wine; then had magret de canard (duck, which I accidentally relayed to my French friends as 'connard,' which basically translates as asshole) and green beans with red wine; followed by brie and cherry preserves and a cheese typical of the Béarn region, accompanied by a sweet white dessert wine. We had to pay extra for the course, but I say it was totally worth it--it worked out to 20€ per class, but you could easily spend 20€ on foie gras alone! Not to mention wine... I met a bunch of my British friends at a bar afterwards, then biked home (again in torrential rain: is this a new theme? I like the old one better!)

On Friday we had French culture class at 12:30, and right in the middle of that class The Authorities posted our French level assignments. I had taken the test to the best of my ability on Wednesday, but I hadn't really sat up to study or fret about it--I figured, I will test where I belong and I'll be totally happy with that. After class we went to sneak a peek at the lists...

...and I had been placed in the absolute highest level, Level 11 out of 11 Levels, le niveau le plus avancé. I was thrilled, shocked, proud, and a little bit conscious of everyone else's hatred directed at me (there is only one other USAC student in that level :\). I called my mum to share the news, then biked home for dinner with my host grandparents who are here for the weekend.

I spent my Friday night babysitting for my friend Marina's host parents kids (no, Paul, the kids are not mine!) which was a ton of fun. We basically spent the whole night watching Disney movies dubbed in French and sneaking bonbons without the kids seeing. T, the 5-year-old boy, helped me with my homework (armed with only a highlighter), while M, the 2-year-old girl, just screamed 'NO!' at every proposition. We all fell asleep, collectively, at midnight. Translating all the time really wears a girl out!

When their parents arrived home, the mum told me there was one seat left in the car for the trip to the regional Cheese Festival this Sunday. I am stoked, and I'm tempted to not eat anything till then so I can fill up on the best cheeses in the land. I'll try my hardest to post pictures when I can :) Until then, know that I'm having entirely too much fun on entirely too little cash. Oh, France. Oh, shitty exchange rate.