Weekend in London Nov. 24-26

So my first trip to England was awesome. Jenny and I caught a bus direct to Nantes Atlantique on Friday after classes. Our flight on Ryanair left at 5:30 PM and since we gain an hour in travel, we arrived at.... 5:30 PM! No problems with our carry-on baggage though now you have to put all liquids/toiletries in a gallon sized zip-lock bag. I had read about the new regulations, so we were prepared for that. I just love flying and traveling, and all that good stuff. We did get hit with a rather large unexpected expense immediately upon arriving at Stansted: a 25 pound (or 50 dollar) round-trip train ticket from Stansted into London proper.

We took the Stansted Express into the Liverpool station and then took the tube to our stop at South Kensington. We had booked a Meininger hostel in the very posh Kensington neighbourhood. Too bad neither of us can read a map to save our lives and we ended up walking around for an hour and a half looking for it (especially considering it was only 5 blocks away). I have no shame when it comes to asking for directions, and that is how we finally found our way. 2 random things to note: their street #s ascend on one side of the street while the other side descends; that was part of the problem we had when trying to locate the hostel, though mainly it was our lack of map-reading skills. The other thing is that the lights go from red to yellow and then to green. Also had to learn quickly that you have to look to the right when crossing streets since they drive on the opposite side! The streets actually even tell you which way to look!

We checked into our hostel around 9:30 PM and then took the tube to Picadilly Circus (probably like NY's Time Square). The town is busteling, and I've never seen anything like it. Even in San Francisco, I don't think there's the same kind of energy. At any point in time, you are bound to hear anywhere from 4-6 different languages being spoken. It truely is an eclectic cosmopolitan city. I was surprised at how clean and beautiful it is too. We even took a picture of the (dog) poop-free streets..... something lacking in France. We were starving so got a midnight snack and headed back to the hostel for some sleep around 1 AM.

On Saturday we woke up at 8:30 and enjoyed our complimentary continental breakfast. It was so nice to have wheat bread! The breakfast was pretty great, and being free, I'd say it was fantastic! We were ladies on a mission, and ran all over town seeing: Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, Kensington Palace, Parliment and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Cathedral, Buckingham Palace/The Changing of the Guards, Scotland Yard, Trafalgar Square, and finally Harrod's.

Harrod's blew me away. The first thing we saw was a 600 dollar jar of Creme de la Mer face cream. Other jaw-droping items were a 15,000 dollar espresso machine, 40,000 dollar toy Hummer car for kids to drive, and the "Silver Room". They even had a polo section in the sports and leisure dept. Not Polo as in Ralph Lauren, polo as in they sold saddles, briddles, brushes etc... What dept store sells horse tack?! It was fun nonetheless to go through all the floors and gawk.

I guess we had luck to go right when the Christmas decorations were up because the city was just stunning by night. We did, however, get monsooned and spent much of our time wet and cold. My umprella even flipped inside out at one point from the strong wind. We headed over to Arsenal around 4 because Jenny is the biggest sports fanatic I have ever met (and this says a lot coming from my family), so she wanted to go to a British pub and watch Arsenal play. It was fun and something I would never have done on my own. Unfortunately, the got demolished loosing 3-1. We then headed across the street for a fish and chips dinner- yummy and cheap!

Then it was back to Picadilly Circus, a walk around the theater district and to the Virgin Mega store. I held out even though there were some CDs I would have loved to have. I could spend an entire evening in a Virgin store, and since I've been without my iPod pretty much since arriving here (my 6th and brand new one died about a week after I arrived leaving me nearly suicidal), I had fun just playing CDs. Jenny found one (Embrace) that isn't released in France or the U.S. so picked it up. I was exhausted and wanted to get a good night's sleep so we could wake up early and see some more stuff before heading back to the airport at noon.

We got up at 7 for another breakfast on Sunday and then went to see the London Tower and Bridge. I think this was one of my favorite sights even though we got drenched on the walk to the tube. We hung out around there and (gasp) hit up a Starbucks. I can't bring myself to get anything there, but sat with her while she had her mochachino or whatever and we had a nice chat before getting ready to catch our train back to the airport.

We had a seamless trip home and were back at the foyer by 7:30 PM. Unfortunately the night came with some sad news. Jesse is moving out. She ran into a French friend from when she studied Angers who is teaching English in Nantes and was looking for an apt. She found, I guess, a great loft in the center of town and Jesse's going to move in with her. I'm happy for her b/c I think she's been unhappy, but it is really sad to loose one of my closest freinds here. Ppl are dropping like flies; Zara went home to Ireland for break and didn't come back, another girl left 3 days after arriving, and another assistant left 2 weeks ago. It's sad that most people don't just love it here. I'm so thankful to have this experience and am really enjoying teaching, getting to know my students, being able to see so many things, but if you asked me if I'd recommend traveling to Nantes, I'd probably say no. I'm just not in love with this city, and am really starting to get down about not having "French" connections. I'm trying to put myself out there, but I guess I'll have to come up with some new strategies. It's fair to say that this experience can't compare to my time in Costa Rica. I just don't have the same passion for the language or culture the way I do with Spanish and South America. Even so, I know that once I'm back home, I will miss this city and it's people so try to remember that and enjoy the good things.

It's about 5:30 PM here and I have to go and talk to the directors of the foyer about rent and the CAF (govt. aid for housing). We probably won't get the money until March, and that's just too late. Plus the money goes directly to the foyer, not us, and I don't think there is any guarantee we'll see it if it doesn't come until March. Anyways, it's kind of a mess we're going to try and get squared away if possible. I'll post picures from the trip ASAP. Love to everyone. Gros Bisous, Elizabeth

A Sad Thanksgiving

So yesterday was Thanksgiving, and it was unlike any other I've spent. I always have Thursdays off, so it worked out well for me. Woke up and did 2 loads of laundry, cleaned a little, and Jesse cooked us up some breakfast potatoes. We spent the afternoon walking around and treated ourselves to a Turkish lunch. She had a kabab; me, a hot vegitarian sandwich consisting of good bread, scrambled egg, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and "sauce blanche" which is similar to indian yogurt with herbs.

It was a gloomy day, and we all felt a little sluggish. Maybe it was a little saddness knowing we were missing out on a big day and thinking about friends and family at home. It was just odd b/c no one here even knew it was a special day for us Americans. So, we crawled up in my bed to watch Meet the Parents. Ironically, I had one of the most pathetic dinners ever last night: boiled potatoes, mache lettuce, and a stale baguette with Fanta soda to drink. You might think "stale baguettes in France?!" I don't know what the craic is with this (this is an Irish expression), but we really do get served stale baguettes in the cafeteria at the foyer. Needless to say I dreampt of mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie last night. I hope you all had a wonderful meal surrounded by loved ones.

I got to school at 9AM as scheduled, but there were no students. I have actually never met this group of kids b/c they either don't get sent to me or don't show up. I don't know which. It blows my mind that the French govt. is paying for us to be here (we will eventually even get up to 80 percent of our rent paid for by govt. aide), and then they don't use us to the fullest. I will definitely have my 10-12 classes, and they are some of my favorites. This class has an emphasis on cinema, and they are a fun group of kids.

Jenny and I will head down to take a bus to the airport here in Nantes this afternoon, and should arrive in London at Stansted by 5:30PM. We'll check into our hosetl in Kensington and try to catch a free general bus tour by night. Tomorrow will be filled with touristy things, and we will be in a pub to watch Arsenal play by 6PM (Jenny is the biggest sports fanatic I have EVER met). I'm very much looking forward to this weekend and will hopefully have some nice pics to post next week.

Alright, I've got to run off to class. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Bisous, Elizabeth

Pictures From Last Weekend Nov. 10-12

-The other assistants (from L to R): Courtney, Jesse, Zoe, Jenny, Louise, and me!

-Jesse and me at 911. The bouncer was a sweetheart, bought us a drink to share, and dressed us up when we asked if he'd take our picture.

-Jesse and me having a random Thursday night dance party in my room!

-Zoe, Jenny and me.

Wanna Go Down Like London London London?!

I had a great day of classes today. On Wednesdays I have my only class of premiers (which are juniors). All of my other classes are seconds (sophmores). The difference in ability, confidence, level of English and everything is astounding; you'd guess there was more than just one year difference between them. This week, I have been talking about Homecoming, explaining what it is and going over vocab like: rival school, jock, double days, semi-formal, to have a crush on, pre-party etc... I go over everything and then have them write a skit using the vocab and perform it in front of the class. Today's kids did a great job, and it was really fun for me to see what they came up with.

So.... I'm randomly going to London next Friday after classes!! We got the tickets for 1 cent each way. The whole thing was under 40€ after taxes, and we're flying directly from Nantes to London. No 22 hour layovers for me this time! I'm really excited b/c I've never been to England, and I won't have my Monday morning classes that week, so it couldn't have worked out any better. I have tomorrow off which is nice in one way, but does kinda throw you through a loop since it's in the middle of the week. I don't know what I will do yet other than go to the library. Guess that's it for me. I'd love messages from you all (:

Bisous, Elizabeth

Another Week Down

So, it's a new Monday and I don't really even know where last week went. It just flew by! No kids for my Monday morning class again (last week or today), so that's a pretty easy start to my week. On Tuesdays I only have class from 8-10, and it's really nice to get up early and then have the rest of the day to do what I please; I honestly don't know what I did. I think I just walked around town and did some grocery shopping. We were supposed to have another reunion/orientation in La Roche Sur Yon on Wed. (which is about a 2 hour train ride from Nantes), but there was a grève (strike) with the trains, so we couln't get there. We were just devistated (not quite, since the first one was a joke!). So, this gave me 2 days off in a row, which seems rediculous, but I'm not about to complain. I think I work on average 9 out of the 12 hours per week; last week I worked 6!!

On Thurs. Jesse and I decided to venture out at night. I had wanted to check out this place called Tex Mex, which is a free club/bar that has dancing. Yeah.... too bad all the kids were about 15-18. Seriously. I guess there is something to be said for having age restrictions on clubs like we do at home; it's just not fun for us, and I feel really REALLY old. Plus, don't they have school in the morning? It was a Thurs. night. I just don't get it.

So, since we had made the effort to go out, we tried another place called 911. This ended up being my favorite place we've been so far. It's themed after NYPD, which is a little odd to me, perhaps even capitalizing on the events of 911, but the bouncer was really nice, they had a great live musician, it was a good crowd, and smoke was down to a minimum. It's also an oxygen bar (We have these in SF too), but the idea of paying for pure oxygen and then being in a bar filled with smoke when you're done with your tank just seems stupid to me. Anyways, Jesse and I had a great time, and didn't end up getting back until 3am.

Oh, I forgot on Thurs. I had been invited to accompany some English classes to see The Importance of Being Earnest. It was very well done, the performance was just for our school, and it was really nice to see some of the profs outside of the classroom and socialize a little bit with them; they are all very energetic and so nice. When I was there, Sophie invited me to her house for dinner (crepes) on Friday night, so of course I did that. It was great to have a night full of speaking only French. I got back just after midnight and then met up with friends to go out to another club called Quai West b/c Zoe had some free passes. WOW! This ended up being interesting to say the least.

There was a long line, so we joined in. Again, the kids looked like immature 8th graders! There was a group of thugish boys in front of us (literally one of them had braces and probably weighed 80 lbs). They started talking trash to us saying we are in France (duh!) and should be speaking French. Sadly, my current impression of the French is that they are quite racist- and proud of it to boot. We explained that we do speak French but when we're in a group of only English speakers, we speak English to one another. This went on and on for a while, and I was very quickly fed up and just waited in scilence. Jesse was pretty worked up (b/c we get comments like this quite a bit, not to mention that my French is probably 10,000 times better than their English ever will be). At one point he said something rude and she replied with our classic and beloved phrase JE NE CARE PAS! Haha. I loved it. Then their little girlfrieds cut in front of us (another classic French move)!!! Normally, I'm quite passive, but we made a remark about the line starting around the corner, not that they cared. When more people came to cut (by now we'd been waiting 20 min. to get in), I finally said it wasn't ok.

Little trampy girl: Eeey ça va!! Ils sont avec nous. (Hey it's cool. They're with us).
Moi: Eh, no ça va pas! Vous avez deja coupés. (Uhh, no it's not cool. You've already cut).

In the end karma won out and they weren't let in b/c they didn't have IDs. We had to laugh at this one. Once inside, we had fun. They were playing fun music like Grease, old-school Michael Jackson and.... the Pointer Sisters. I thought that was a little random, but everyone danced. We didn't stay for too long b/c the music quickly turned to house, but it was a fun outing nonetheless.

Saturday was a holiday (Armistice Day, I think) and I didn't do anything. I've been going non-stop since getting back from Italy, and it finally caught up with me. Yesterday I cleaned my entire room, did laundry, did some lesson planning, and went on a great 2.5 hour walk along the Loire, over the little island, and into the woods with Jesse and Zoe; this seems to be our Sunday afternoon tradition, and I like it. Tonight is the first night of Yoga! It's an hour and a half class, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm off to teach now. Bisous, Elizabeth

Rest of Pics from Italy

Pictures from my last night in Milan. We had a great dinner starting off with these oysters. Marco and Adela came over too, also with their dog.

Sunset at Riomaggiore

Pictures from the balcony of a little restaurant in Riomaggiore Oct. 30, 2006

Riomaggiore through Manarola

Monterosso to Vernazza

Vernazza to Corniglia

Italy Part Deux

MILAN PART 2

Ok, so it’s been a while since I’ve written and I feel a little behind, confused about events, and once again complaining about the keyboard adjustment, but life is fantastic-so hey! I don’t even remember where I left of from Milan, so here goes; I think all I did was my first day.

On Friday I slept in and then went to the Museum of Science and Technology, Leonardo Da Vinci, which was fabulous. It was a really nice way for me to spend the afternoon alone just taking my time. Company is great and I’m so glad the way things worked out for my trip because it certainly wouldn’t have been anywhere near as amazing without Teseo’s hospitality, but it suffices to say I am able to take advantage of time to myself (which I get a lot of here and enjoy).

That night Marco (another friend from Costa Rica) had called to say he’d meet me to go out to Wish, the club where Teseo currently DJs. He came to pick me up (on time!- what’s with all this punctuality??) and we headed downtown. Wish is a very modern feeling hip restaurant/bar. I met a girl, Amber, from San Francisco who also lived in Marseille for a couple of years and she invited me to head over to another club, but I wanted to see Marco since he couldn’t stay that long due to a recent knee surgery. As it turned out, things ended up pretty good for me b/c I met 2 British women who came to Milan on a 1-year contract as nannies 12 years ago and never went back! They were really fun, spoke beautiful Italian, and took me under their wings. It didn’t hurt either that they seemed to know everyone, so we headed to the newest club that had just opened. The club was spacious with tan velvet curtains, spiraling stairs, and what felt like a haze in the air (No, it wasn’t the smoke; you can’t smoke in public places in Italy). So the whole feel was kind of romantic and wispy. There were little loveseat type couches with tables and Andrea and Sandra had a friend who had reserved one with a bottle of vodka. Vodka with sparkling lemonade seemed to be the drink to have.

We stayed for a little bit and then planned to meet Teseo at “The Club” when he was off work. As it turned out it cost 20 Euro to get in and they didn’t feel like spending the money, and I didn’t have it, so we just hung outside in the little courtyard. Teseo met up with us around 3:30 and we just chatted and acted like idiots. At one point a guy came around to sell roses and Teseo acted like he was allergic and was sneezing and acting like he was having an attack due to the flowers. I don’t know why but we all thought this was hysterical (even the vendor, who had probably never seen this particular tactic to avoid making a purchase). We didn’t get back to his house until after 5:30 and ended up listening to music and playing on the Internet until 8AM so obviously I slept much of Saturday day away. I think it was about 3PM when I ventured out just to walk around and explore a little. I took an espresso at a little café and just sat and wrote some postcards and letters. There were sooooo many ppl around enjoying the day; I couldn’t believe it. I ended up at the Museum at the Castle just as it was closing, so I couldn’t visit that, but there was a big festival in the park so I checked it out and ended up doing a big dance in a circle with maybe 75-100 people. It was fun, and these are the experiences that you remember. I think this was daylight savings day here and the sky was just amazing. I’ve never seen purple sky like Milan has. My pictures couldn’t quite capture it and look blue rather than the musky purple of being there in person.

CINQUE TERRE

We headed to Cinque Terre late on Sunday night and arrived close to midnight after about a 2 hour drive. I was sorry not to be able to see the surroundings but happy to be arrive to this legendary place. There’s a tunnel when you are on the way to Teseo’s town (Moneglia) that is only one way, so each side has to wait 15 min. for the cars on the other side to pass through. To me, that’s a sign of a quaint little area. We got out to stretch our legs and let Rasta do the same. His house is adorable with another garden of herbs, olive trees and a nice little grassy area where I ended up laying out to read (I’m reading Dalva by Jim Harrison) in the sunshine when I woke up on Monday morning (ok maybe it was closer to the afternoon. It’s vacation after all!).

Monday Oct. 30, 06
I love the way we broke up the 5 little villages; on Monday we headed to the train station and bought our tickets to the town the furthest away, Riomaggiore. It must have been close to 80-85 degrees, and the train was hot and stuffy. We were the only ppl on it, so we pulled down the windows. I actually got some nice photos from inside the train. There were some tourists still visiting the area (mainly Germans and Americans), so the trails were still open as well as the tourist shops. After giving Rasta some water, we headed down to a little dock and had a swim (I think it was Oct. 30th, and I was swimming in the Mediterranean!). Rasta was the first in and had a nice little swim. Luckily I always bring my goggles so I got to see some fish and a lot of sea urchins. We got out to dry off a little and do a little hike.

The sights are just amazing, and looking back at the pictures I can’t believe I was actually there. There’s a serenity to being in a place so ancient and (relatively) untouched that is humbling. We had a good walk, but got up to the top/end of the path only to find a closed and locked gate. In the end, we ended up just hopping over it and Rasta was small enough to pass through the gap. I know, I’m such a rebel.

We ended up just where we started in time to find a little café on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean to have a glass of wine, snack and watch one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen (definitely the best since leaving Costa Rica). It was the perfect end to a wonderful first day in 5 Terre, and I wanted it to last forever. Since it started to get a little chilly and I still had on a somewhat wet swim suit, we headed over to the next town, Manarola, to take the train back to Monelgia by way of Via dell’ Amore (path of love).

I think we got back to his place around 8, and stopped at a little market for the most amazing raviolis (with walnuts inside and a white cream sauce. Yummy!!). Teseo did pork chops (I think… meat really isn’t my specialty) with rosemary and wrapped a thin white pork fat on top to bake in the oven. I have to admit it looked pretty good. He also sautéed up some mushrooms, and to my surprise they’re growing on me; maybe I’ll be a true vegetarian after all. His neighbor makes his own white wine from vineyards on the property, so we for sure enjoyed that (he had left 3 six-packs on the steps, and Teseo says he always does this). We stayed up late watching TV (according to Teseo this is the best way to learn a language and I guess he’d know since he speaks English, Italian, Spanish, French, and German. Funny that Christain and Alex said the same thing to me when I was in Costa Rica). They have a sort of Survivor-type show on that is pretty popular and The Beach was also on, so we watched that. Lucky for me, I’d seen it a very long time ago and could sort of follow the storyline. It was another late night, but by this point I was getting used to it; I just don’t get how they do it.

Tuesday Oct. 31, 06 Happy Halloween!
I started off my day the same as on Monday reading a little bit outside; it’s a gentle hello to the morning, and in my opinion, the ideal way to start your day. We did Monterosso to Vernazza, which was a fantastic hike. It was so funny to me that everyone had hard-core hiking boots (even poles) and official gear while we did the hike in freakin flip-flops!

Rasta is such a good girl and everyone we came across just fell in love with her. She is so well behaved and gets along with anyone (other dogs and cats included). It was really nice for me to be around a doggy since I miss Pokey and the kitties so much. This day she found a rock early on the walk and carried it around the entire time, all the way back to the house. Such personality!

Midway through the million or so stairs we were climbing, I saw relief ahead from a man selling fresh organic lemonade, limoncello (spelling?), and white wine. I was glad for an excuse for a little rest; we stopped and chatted with him and had a glass of lemonade. This guy was a real character, had set up a little tent with green netting for shade, and a portable radio playing Whitney Huston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”. He recognized that I wasn’t Italian and asked Teseo how it was that we were there and knew each other. It’s so fun to be able to say, “Oh, yeah, we know each other from Costa Rica, and now I’m in France, so it wasn’t so far to visit”.

We finished up the hike and ended in Vernazza, which is adorable. Again, I got some really great photos (Well by this time Teseo had sort of taken over saying “I’m becoming a photographer”, so I can’t really take all the credit). I love this town for its colors (the plants, buildings, and little array of cheerful umbrellas, apparently just as resistant to admit it’s Fall as I am). We walked around, had a nice view of the sea, and grabbed a slice of pizza. Then it was time to head back. We had a great dinner at a local restaurant in Monelgia including gnocci for me and a plate of seafood to share. It was great, and they served an olive oil produced right in that very region.

This night left me with some memories that I think will make me laugh every time I think about it. There’s only so much you can do besides read watch TV etc… when it’s just 2 ppl in an isolated area, so I suggested playing cards. I tried to teach him Gin Rummy since it’s a good game for 2 ppl and not too complicated either…. or so I thought. Haha. Maybe I’m not great at explaining, I don’t know, but it ended before we even started with Teseo saying, “Elizabeth, even if you explain me in Italian, I still don’t understand”. So then he tried to teach me one called 7.5 but he didn’t have the first clue of how to play the game, and after an hour of starting over and over again as he’d remember a rule (like, oh yeah, you’re supposed to be betting!) we gave up. I don’t think he ever even figured out how there was a winner, only that the King of Diamonds is the “mata” and changes dealers. So in the spirit of acting like idiots I decide to do my one (somewhat decent) card trick that I learned from a substitute teacher in 5th grade. He was impressed and said he had one of his own and comes out of the bathroom with a little vanity mirror that he balances on the top of his foot in order to cheat and read the card I pulled. Nice. Another one involved rubbing some canned dog food on the card I chose and smelling all the cards in the deck to see which one it was. This had me rolling, and I’m laughing to myself even now as I type this (but perhaps I’m just delirious due to still not sleeping much and the fact that it’s 1AM).

Wednesday Nov. 1, 06
Vernazza to Corniglia. Three more tickets (yes the dog has to have one too) at the train station, and we were on our way. I think this was my favorite portion of the hike going through little paths, walls, and beautiful landscape as usual. The weather had started to cool off a little, which was welcome to me since it was an uphill hike and real workout; we actually put on sneakers this day. But it was still nice enough to have a little swim in Vernazza before starting out. I guess I should consider myself lucky b/c Teseo as well as the 2 other fools swimming in Nov. all got stung by a jellyfish. I’ve been stung 3 times in my life, and that’s enough for me, thank you very much. Funny that Rasta didn’t want to go in this time…. I wonder if somehow she knew.

We hiked for the better portion of the afternoon, and arrived in Corniglia just as the sun started to set. There was a great little balcony overlooking the sea and we enjoyed the sunset with other visitors. I especially liked this spot b/c you were just on top of the cliffs overlooking the entire sea (I guess on clear days you can even see Corsica). We found a great little wine bar and sampled some wines from the region as well as a sweet liqueur (maybe kind of like Muscat) that is ONLY produced here. It was delicious, and I thought this shop was just great. We were served a little dish of fantastic olives, some chips, and random aperitif-type crackers.

This was our last night, and I was sad to even think of leaving this magical spot. I feel so lucky to have been able to see one of the most wonderful places in the world, and to have great weather in this off-season on top of it. I was a little pent up and frustrated with France before the vacation (I had even brought A Year in the Merde to save for my anti-French days and had such a bad one before going to Italy I read it in that day!). We had a great dinner at a little restaurant in the hills, strictly locals. The food was awesome, and it was dirt cheap. We closed down the restaurant, and I’m sad to say I enjoyed the food so much I never had room left for desert- not even gelato!

BACK TO MILANO
We headed back to Milan around 3PM on Thursday b/c it was time to return the car and Teseo had to go back to work. Thank god I decided to pull out my ticket to see what time I had to be at the airport on Saturday b/c… surprise! my flight was at 6:30 AM on Friday, not Sat.!! I don’t want to even think about what might have happened. I don’t know how I got the dates so mixed up, but luckily it all worked out for the flight and it also worked out that Teseo didn’t have to work that night either.

We arrived in Milano around 5 and after Teseo dropped of the rental car, he said he was going out to get some fish and would be right back. He had invited Marco over for dinner which was nice b/c he is the one that was so great in CR and would take us out fishing on his boat all the time. Well 20 min. later Teseo came back with the entire sea! At this point I knew I was in for a treat. We started off with enormous oysters that I couldn’t get enough of. It’s always such a treat to have your favorite foods fresh from the sea/garden prepared with such care. I guess I’ve just been lucky and spoiled with that my whole life. Then Marco arrived with Adela (also from CR) and their dog whose name was Patato I think. She was a sweetheart. Now it was on to mussles with celery, onion, a little red hot chili pepper, garlic, and some tomato sauce. Marco and Adela had also brought 2 pizzas with them (b/c, “Americans don’t know about real pizza”), so by now I was getting full… not too full, of course, to pass up on the next dish- fried calamari and a vegetable (kind of like swiss chard, I’m not sure. It’s called costa in Italian).

I showed them my pictures from Costa Rica (gotta love Shutterfly) and we all had fun reminiscing. Lucky them… they all get to go back in about a month. They were also nice enough to help me figure out how I would get back to the airport at 5AM the following morning. Being that we calculated I’d have to be up and out around 3:50, I just stayed up. The cab arrived (on time!), but it was interesting b/c the meter was already at 11 Euro when he picked me up; not too sure what that was about and since he didn’t speak English I couldn’t ask him. I wonder if it was a rate to come at such an odd hour or if perhaps he charged me for the time to the house. I realize now that this is the first time I’ve really traveled somewhere and not spoken the language. It sucks and I vow to learn at least the basics if ever I go to another non English/French/Spanish speaking country. Though I’m also going to look into the possibility of taking Italian at the University here in Nantes since I’m determined to learn it (how great would that be for when I go in Feb.?) and it would be a really good way to meet more French ppl.

THE TREK HOME
After taking the cab to the bus stop I had about a half an hour wait for an express bus that went directly to Malpensa airport. Got there, waited another half hour and an hour later I was in Paris. Ugggg. It was freezing and I had quite a trek ahead of me from the airport, to the train station, on a train to Montbarnasse (too tired to look up the spelling now) and then a metro to the TGV station in Montbarnasse. Ay ay ay. I will avoid ever doing this again like the plague. Another 40 min. wait and I was on my way to Nantes. Finally some sleep and since I was the end of the line I didn’t even have to worry about missing my stop. I can’t tell you how badly I wanted to just take a cab from the garre back to the foyer, but I stuck it out like a champ, hopping on the tram and walking the rest of the way.

I was so happy to see Zoe and hear all about what’s been going on here and with everyone else this past week. Last night we were finally all reunited (Jesse got back at 11:30 PM) and we headed out to The Loft for a night of dancing. I didn’t realize how much I missed the girls and the little family we have here until we all saw each other again. Today I did a thorough cleaning of my room, laundry, had a nice walk along the Loire with Zoe and Jesse, and just caught up and got prepared for the upcoming week. We have our second orientation in La Roche Sur Yon on Wed. but there is talk of a greve (strike, on the trains), so who knows what will happen. I’ve ambitiously planned to go for a run with Jesse at the park tomorrow morning before work, so I should try and get some sleep now. I signed up to do Spanish classes here at the foyer just for the practice, and yoga starts next Mon. night. I look forward to having some planned activities and a little more structure (one of my resolutions along with being pushy and not letting ppl walk all over me upon my return to France). Bonne nuit! I miss you all. Bisous, Elizabeth

Pictures from Milano

Some pictures from Milan: Teseo's terrace, The Nacional Science and Technology Museum, the Duomo, park, and Castello Sforzesco.