I went skiing in the Alps on Saturday and for someone who only had been skiing once before (10 years ago) I was doing pretty well. The first run was basically on my butt the whole entire way down but by the end of the day I was doing really well. It was so hard to see though because of the clouds and it was snowing so I could only see about 10 feet in front of me, which makes skiing kind of difficult. But I think I will be going again sometime real soon once I get back from my trip.
I have been preparing for my trip but the location will be a mystery so my parents won't have a heart attack worrying about me while I am gone, even though everything should be fine. Since where I am going I don't think I'll be able to access the internet readily you won't be hearing from me until the 21 or the 22. I get back late on the 20 but then my host brother is taking me to a football (soccer) game on the 21.
Just to let you know you should be prepared for a REALLY long entry when I get back so you can hear all about my travels in *******!
Classes are going really well by the way. My language teacher is so funny, everytime someone makes a mistake he pretends to shoot them and he makes a sound like he is dying. Today I got shot.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
French Health Care
This week I had my first encounter with the French Health Care system. After finally being convinced that I needed to go to the doctor I went and was told that I have bronchitis. So I was given 4 different prescriptions that have all helped so far. However, I think I now have a cold, which makes me wonder if I am going to be perpetually sick in France, which would not be fun (although the doctor was quite nice).
Also, I moved down to a different level this week and I am loving it. The teacher is really nice and animated and which makes me actually want to go to class and as a bonus this level has no Friday class so I have long weekends every weekend.
On Friday, Victor took 4 of us into one of the mountain ranges near Grenoble where we saw a church and a monastery. The church was amazing. On the outside it looked like a normal church in a little French village, but inside it was filled with modern art. The whole church was done completely by one artist and it took him over 30 years. All of the stain glass, the sculptures, and paintings were done by him and it was his own personal take on the Bible. It was really fascinating.
The monastery was really cool too. Since it was a monastery we were not allowed in, but after a little hike up a hill (in the snow) we were able to see a little bit inside of the wall surrounding it. According to Victor, Pope John Paul II really liked going there. These monks make their living by distilling this liqueur called Chartreuse. It takes upward of 130 different herbs to make it and only two monks in the order know the recipe at any given time. Victor bought us a little bottle of it and it sure helped with my cough. It is said to help extend a persons life but I was not so much a fan of it.
Last night, my friend Cat's host sister was throwing a party at her house because her parents were going to be away (don't worry, the parents knew about the party). It was interesting to how different French parties are from American parties. It was definitely a cultural experience. Everyone tried to practice their English on us and they were all surprised that we were in France to learn French (which didn't make sense to me at all).
That was pretty much it for this week. Hopefully my posts will become more regular when I am not as sick.
Also, I moved down to a different level this week and I am loving it. The teacher is really nice and animated and which makes me actually want to go to class and as a bonus this level has no Friday class so I have long weekends every weekend.
On Friday, Victor took 4 of us into one of the mountain ranges near Grenoble where we saw a church and a monastery. The church was amazing. On the outside it looked like a normal church in a little French village, but inside it was filled with modern art. The whole church was done completely by one artist and it took him over 30 years. All of the stain glass, the sculptures, and paintings were done by him and it was his own personal take on the Bible. It was really fascinating.
The monastery was really cool too. Since it was a monastery we were not allowed in, but after a little hike up a hill (in the snow) we were able to see a little bit inside of the wall surrounding it. According to Victor, Pope John Paul II really liked going there. These monks make their living by distilling this liqueur called Chartreuse. It takes upward of 130 different herbs to make it and only two monks in the order know the recipe at any given time. Victor bought us a little bottle of it and it sure helped with my cough. It is said to help extend a persons life but I was not so much a fan of it.
Last night, my friend Cat's host sister was throwing a party at her house because her parents were going to be away (don't worry, the parents knew about the party). It was interesting to how different French parties are from American parties. It was definitely a cultural experience. Everyone tried to practice their English on us and they were all surprised that we were in France to learn French (which didn't make sense to me at all).
That was pretty much it for this week. Hopefully my posts will become more regular when I am not as sick.
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