Food is amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing

A lot to update today, this is what happens when I get lazy and don't write for a while....oh well, it will be a concise version. ;-) This weekend was great, it was les jours du patrimoine (like....heritage/patrimony? I'm not familiar with the word patrimony in english, but apparently it exists), so all the museums and old houses were free and open to the public. Very cool. The Capitol building is absolutely stunning on the inside, with beautiful works of art and frescos on the walls and ceilings. And we saw a lot of marriages too, it being the town hall and all. And this is one civil ceremony that I wouldn't mind having! And we saw a really pretty bride in a really pretty dress, so you can imagine that us girls were going craaaaazy for that. We also went to St. Etienne Cathedral, St. Sernin Basilica, The Museum of Augustins, and Raymonde Museum. The two museums were kinda of boring, because it's all just old roman stuff that people found in and around Toulouse, but they are both housed in very old and very pretty buildings, so that makes it worth while. Oohhh and in St. Sernin we got to go in the catacombs and it was creepy! Well, actually not because there were approximately 10 million other people down there. But it could have been creepy under different circumstances. And then on Sunday we went to the Prefecture (government type building....apparently where you go to get your driver's license too, but this is definitely not like any American DMV!) It's an old "hotel" (big fancy schmancy house) that has been decorated according to the times (18, 19th century, I think), and it also still used today for government receptions. But the craziest thing ever: so there are these beautiful gardens in a courtyard at the Prefecture, and all these people are milling about, and there are a lot of older people in large tour groups, kids, families, that sort of thing. All of a sudden, we hear a mic check and think "oh, there's going to be a concert in the garden, how cool!" So we're all ready to stick around and hear some classical music, maybe some chamber singers or something. However, then the large and incredibly ghetto DJ starts blasting some 50 Cent, L'il Jon, all those family favorites. Annie, Christine, and I were cracking up, and also very confused. Weirder still, no one else seemed even slightly phased. Like these old people are just walking around like they came especially to listen to this rap music. Hilarious.

So we had fun at night time too, seeing as how we spent our days doing educational things, it was very apropos that we spend our nights doing college things. Friday, we ventured to Place St. Pierre, which is right near the university, and there were so many students there, it was great. Very very fun. And then we were going to try to go to the infamous Bodega Bodega, but we headed there so late that they had closed the doors because they were too full (I guess that means it's a good place, right?) So then we tried our luck at a club called "Le Frigo" (ie. the fridge), and at first we got turned away, but then Miss Christine flirted her face off and made friends with the bouncer, so we got in and got an invite back for anytime we wanted! And apparently this club is fairly exclusive, so that's is pretty much amazing. Saturday night we just hung out at Christine's house because her host family wasn't there. Very good times.

On Sunday night, Megan Hess, who stayed with my host family two years ago, came back to visit with her mom and grandma, and I got to play translator, which was surprisingly fun! Her mom and grandma don't speak a word of French, and Megan was obviously busy catching up with the Marfaings, so I was filling in her mom and grandma about what was going on, and then translating questions between Valerie and Gauther and them. And I have to say, I did a really kick ass job. Anytime I speak French well I feel it's a personal victory and everyone should bake me a cake. Speaking of cakes, the Marfaings made the most delicious dinner ever, complete with delicious cake for dessert, and I thought I was going to die of food happiness. I am so impressed with the food here, because so far I really love everything that the Marfaings have made for me (lots and lots of little cakes and cookies....watch out world, Caitlin is going to get fat in France!) and we have discovered lots of little lunch places that are delicious and inexpensive, and also I am discovering interesting things at the grocery store that we don't have in the United States. All in all, French foods is amaaaaaazing.

And I'm really happy with how Skype is working out for talking with people (mainly Jason) from home. Skype is a program where you can talk free if the other person has skype too, and it's through your computer with your internet connection. Very easy, and you can't beat the price. Jason and I thought we would spend a fortune on international phone cards (he's in China), and it turned out to be much easier than I thought! And this morning when I was getting ready for school, I got a surprise call from Jason's roommate at Union, Carl, and we were both in love with the fact that it's soooo easy to talk to someone on a completely different continent! Yay technology!

And now I'm in the middle of choosing courses at the University, and oh, how I miss the organization of Dickinson. I thought that registration was bad there, DOC was so slow, you got waitlisted all the time. It's nothing compared to the lack of knowledge and disorganization here! I can't even find out what times classes are offered until this Thurday...and classes start next Monday! But apparently it's the thing to go to all the classes that you are interested in (that fit in your schedule), and then at the end of the week submit your final class schedule. And I think I'll be taking one class at the Dickinson Center. It's a literature class, which I'm not so interested in, but I heard the professor is really nice, and the center is so convenient for me to get to, and I'll get to have a small class with other Dickinson students, which will be a joy after the 200-300 person classes at the University! And apparently the thing to do there is to make friends with a French student, and then ask to photocopy their notes. I guess everyone does it, and the French kids don't mind helping out poor, not fluent foreign students. So I'll have to work extra hard to make some (smart!) French friends in class!

Well, after the amazing dinner last night, I got to bed kind of late (it was the typical "sit at the table for 4 hours" kind of french dinner!), so I'm off to bed. Bon soiree!