Week 4: Europe Part 2 (Brno)

This week was spent mostly in and around Brno.  Benjamin, Papi and I went to a tea bar and met Papi's friend Tina on Tuesday evening to play Settlers of Catan.  The tea bar was amazing - there were board games everywhere!!!  They were all in Czech, but we already knew how to play Catan, so that didn't matter.  I ordered a lovely cup of apple and ginger tea, and then shared another one with Benjamin.  The tea was full of loose apple and ginger chunks floating at the top, served with a spoon and something I've decided to call a 'tea pipe' (which consists of a tea ball like strainer at the bottom, attached to a metal straw with a tip at the end).  I was so impressed with it, that I bought one to take home!  

On Wednesday evening, Papi and Benjamin took me to the ballet.  It was in the Mahen Theater built in 1882 after the Brno city theater Reduta burned down in 1870; Benjamin shared with me that it was one of the first public buildings in the world lit entirely by electric lights!  The building was beautiful, and our seats were excellent.  We were in a private box, at the back of the seating on the main floor, in front of the stage, with a fantastic view.  The ballet was Sleeping Beauty, and was very impressive.  My favorite dances were in the second half, during the wedding of Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming, where guests were celebrating with dances.  There was a couple of cats with a faux fighting and frolicking sequence; then a pair of swans with impressive leaps, spins, and lifts; before Little Red Riding Hood took the stage followed by the Big Bad Wolf with a cute routine where she runs and he chases her.  The dancers were lithe and graceful, the costumes beautiful, and the music from the live orchestra was wonderful.

Ben and Papi's friend Tony arrived on Thursday evening,  and we celebrated by having dinner at a delicious devil themed restaurant, where we shared a trough of different meats.  There was so much food that 3 full grown men and I could not finish it completely, so we took the rest to eat later.  Then we wandered through downtown Brno, walking towards a bar to play Carcassonne and enjoy some beverages.

On Friday evening we all went to watch an ice hockey match.  Our tickets were for standing room only, but that's the area where the biggest number of fans seemed to be concentrated.  There were so many people crowded in, but we managed to find space for all four of us.  It was very exciting and we all enjoyed it.  Every time they scored a goal the crowd went wild! Brno won 5 to 0.

On Saturday we experienced a wonderful comedy of errors.  We had thought to take a bike ride together, and as we were preparing to go for breakfast, Papi was putting air in the tires.  Unfortunately the tube in the bike tire burst, so we had to change our plans.  We headed outside the city, intending to take a boat to a nearby castle on the lake. We made it to the dock just as the boat was leaving.  So we decided to walk around the lake instead, and on the way we found a mini-golf course.  We played a round, and then kept walking around the lake.  We stopped at a little pub to have a few drinks and play some cards, and then headed back to Brno.  We ate dinner at the same Czech restaurant, and then to an absinthe bar where we played Catan, but many of the pieces were missing so I managed to make some new ones that worked.

Sunday morning we attempted our bicycle trip again, this time with great success!  We went to breakfast while Papi rented a replacement bike, then we met Anna at her flat before riding across town to the bike trail.  The fall colors were brilliant, and the weather was perfect.  We pedaled along a canal for a while, stopping to try out a mini zip-line and have a few pints, then followed a stream past lots of quaint homes.  We paused by a little lake and found a memorial where someone had left some mushrooms.  Then we headed back to Brno, stopping at the same pub for a few more pints along the way.  We ended up back at the Music Lab for Board Game night, only to learn that it was being cancelled.  We stayed and played cards anyway, before Benjamin and I left for a Zouk Party.  The studio was across town, but we eventually found it after getting only a little lost.  The music was a mix between Lamba-Zouk and the Zouk mixes I was used to, and we danced.  Ben worked with me on connection and I followed his lead, grateful for my patient and persistent partner.  After an hour or so be both admitted to being tired and returned to Papi's flat.

We began our trip back to Toulouse on Monday afternoon.  After a lunch of Indian food, we took the tram to the bus station, then the bus to Prague, then a flight to Toulouse and an Uber back to the flat.  The whole adventure took about 9 hours.  I spent a quiet Tuesday recovering my energy by sleeping most of the day.  Benjamin made Ch-Ch-Ch (chevre cheese, chorizo sausage, and champignons mushrooms) for dinner and we watched a couple of French movies - one about life and death, the other a love story.  It was a relaxing evening!

This week I'm looking forward to visiting the circus and a weekend in the Netherlands.  Have a wonderful time - I'll post again soon!

Week 3: Europe part 1

I arrived at the flat of my good friends Greg and Suzanne in Dusseldorf, Germany late on Monday night.  We spent a little time catching up before we all drifted off to bed. Tuesday was a German holiday, so the children had a day off school.  We ate breakfast together, then spent a lovely day playing games, watching shows, talking, and generally enjoying each other's company. Us girls went on an adventure looking for cake - which we found at a local bakery.  We also saw an awesome spider sitting in it's web, waiting to catch a meal.  Suzanne made us a delicious dinner, the children went to bed, and the adults laughed together while watching Scrubs.

In the morning we walked to school together, then went for coffee at a favorite shop and enjoyed interesting conversations in the cozy back room of the cafe, before visiting the toy store to check out the local selection of games and other toys.  I resisted the urge to buy a new game, but barely. There are weight limits on my future flights, and I need to be mindful of them!  Suzanne went to work, and the kids came home from school. We played boardgames after they finished their homework.  We went as a group to drop the kids off at karate then Greg and I went shopping.  I ventured out on my own and got a bit lost, but caught up with them again just before they returned home.  We had an interesting and delicious dinner of steak, pumpkin pancakes, and roti before the children went to bed and the adults enjoyed more Scrubs.

Thursday morning we walked to school again, and I said goodbye to the kids, then to Greg before I rode the metro to the train station with Suzanne.  It was a COLD morning - I've forgotten how cold autumn can be in Germany! We stopped by Starbucks for hot beverages before Suzanne went to work and I caught my train to Heidelberg to visit my cousin Kyle and his fiance Angela.  She was starting a new job, so for most of the day it was just Kyle and I.  He made me a cup of tea when I arrived, and we chatted for a bit before we went to lunch.  I told him all about my visit to Europe so far and then we watched an interesting show on Netflix.  When Angela arrived we went for sushi to celebrate her first day and she told us all about it.  Then we had some very interesting discussions about dialects and why I say things differently than much of my family (I say caramel as THREE syllables)!  Then we said good night, and how happy I was to visit with them.

I woke up at 5:15 am Friday morning and left as quietly as possible to make my 5:47 am train to the airport.  I was half asleep and boarded the wrong tram, only realizing it when I was across from the train station, perpendicular to where I wanted to be.  I got off the tram and found a place where I could 'parkour' down to the street that led to the far entrance, embedding some vegetation into my pants in the process.  But I stuck the landing and made it to the train station in time to catch my train.  I arrived the Frankfurt airport, bought myself a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, then went through security, boarded my flight, and landed in the Czech Republic.  Benjamin's flight from Geneva (where his work conference was held) landed 30 minutes before mine, so he was waiting for me in the baggage claim.  We worked together to figure out the public transit system and arrived in downtown Prague, where we met his friend Papi and Papi's friend Gilly, who was hosting us for the night.  We had lunch at a lovely Korean restaurant, where I discovered plum tea, and then went back to Gilly's flat where everyone else telecommuted while I took a nap.

I woke up in time for us to explore the city.  I found a gingerbread museum and Ben bought me a gluten free gingerbread cookie.  We saw the castle and churches, lots of swans and shops, saw the astronomical clock chime the hour, then paused for a drink at an Irish pub to wait out the rain. We met up with Gilly and her friend Hector from Spain, as well as Benben, Papi and Benjamin's friend from Paris who had just arrived, at a Mexican restaurant that served excellent mango margaritas and mole enchiladas.  After dinner we all went out to an underground bar.  It was a rad little place with live music and cheap drinks; so popular in fact that we waited outside for nearly an hour to get in.  But we didn't mind because we were in good company and the club turned out to be worth the wait.  It shut down around 3am, but we kept the party rolling at a different bar near Gilly's flat, where we chatted and discussed until 5:30am when we all finally went to bed.  We slept for a while, then Gilly made us eggs and served them with fresh fruits and vegetables.  So good!  Afterwards Papi, Benben, Benjamin and I boarded a bus for Brno - where Papi lives.  It was a short ride and we arrived in time to drop our stuff at the flat and then go out for some traditional Czech food.   It was delicious!!  After dinner, we meet Papi's friend Anna who gave us a tour of her favorite places in the city.  We had a few late night drinks before calling it a night.

      

We slept late Sunday morning and then went to rendezvous with Benben's friend Dana.  We had lunch at a local restaurant where I ordered mushroom soup and salad.  It's mushroom season here, and there are lots of fungal dishes to choose from!  Dana works at a bookstore, and had to collect some comics from an art event, so we joined her.  It was very intersting - all kinds of different styles of art from live painting to music, workshops on drawing and interactive art, as well as presentations by local artists.  We walked around the city and saw some very beautiful architecture.  As the next day was Benben's birthday, we decided to start celebrating with a mini pub crawl.  Dana took us to a little villiage with lots of art and charm.  They were finishing their harvest festival and we joined in.  Then we went to a few other pubs around the city taking in the scenery.  We had dinner at another traditional Czech restaurant, then discussed what exactly 'traditional' food is.  We ended the evening with some absynth at a bar near papi's flat.  As Benjamin had to work in the morning, he called it a night at midnight.  I was tired, so went back to the flat with him, while the others continued to celebrate.

 

Monday morning, while Benjamin stayed behind to work; I went with Papi and Benben to meet Dana for breakfast.  We decided to visit a few of Dana's favorite locations outside the city, including a swimming hole.  She went in, but we stayed bundled up on the shore.  We saw lots of different kinds of mushrooms all over - so many and such variety! We drove to an arboretum and soaked in the beautiful surrounding as we walked through nature, admiring the scenery and enjoying it with all our senses.  We visited an enourmous cathedral on the way back to Brno, and enjoyed the daily lunch specials at a local resturant close to the bus station.  We said goodbye to BenBen as he returned to Paris, then Papi and I went to collect Benjamin for a dinner of Pho and an evening of live Jazz music.

Tuesday has been a quiet afternoon of catching up on my french lessons and this blog, while both Benjamin and Papi telecommute.  Papi attempted Tom Ghai soup, and I quite enjoyed it.  I'm looking forward to an evening of board games at a little tea shop around the corner, and perhaps visiting the conservatory accross the street.  I will keep posting!!!

Week 2: Toulouse, France Part 2

Week two in Toulouse started on Wednesday, October 27th with a solo trip to the farmers market near Benjamin's flat.  Armed with a list of items to purchase and the smattering of French I have managed to acquire, I put on my backpack and headed out.  My first stop was the vegetable stand Benjamin prefers.  There was a rather cranky woman ahead of me in line - I accidentally bumped her, then pardoned myself in french, but she didn't seem very impressed.   I waited for my turn before realizing that all the vegetables I wanted to purchase were on the other side of the stand.  There were a bunch of patient ladies by the tomatoes, where I made my selection, passed them to the man at the scale, asked for some pasteque (watermelon) to go with my tomates (tomatoes), and paid.  Then I made my way to my preferred cheese stand, Brigitte et Bernard.  She is always lovely and patient with me.  I requested some Rochefort Papillion, cent cinquante grams (150g), and she smiled as she sliced of the correct amount of cheese.  I also ordered two small pieces of chevre, motioned that I was finished with my order, and paid.  She smiled and wished me a good day.  My final task was to ask for some 'poitrine de porc, fumee' or smoked bacon, 1 cm thick.  I chose a butcher that I liked, and was lucky enough to see the cut of meet I wanted right in the corner! I made asked for my cut of meat, pointing at the one I wanted.  Then things were a bit challenging, as I tried to explain how much I wanted.  The didn't understand my 'un cenimeter', so we mimed our way through, the butcher indicating with his knife the different widths I could have.  We finally understood each other, and he sliced.  His assistant took my payment, and wished me a good afternoon - in English!  All in all I was quite proud of myself.  Mission Accomplished!  After work Benjamin took me to meet some of his friends who have recently been blessed with twin boys.  I wasn't able to communicate much, but I did get to hold one of the babies.  He was sleeping and so sweet!  There was also an adorable little girl there too, not much older than the babies, and she was quite playful.  It was a lovely evening!

On Thursday evening, Benjamin and I went to our dance class.  This weeks lesson was on connectivity and frame.  The follows were all blindfolded, and I was one of the models to show the exercise.  It was very interesting - I was able to tell which leads were dancing with me by their unique styles (it was a small class), and at one point I felt three hands leading me, as my partners changed.  I think my technique is improving.  I'm learning to slow down and listen, not anticipate as much and just be in the moment with my partner.

Friday was a lovely experience - Benjamin prepared racalette.  He has a device with little trays that you melt cheese in to drizzle all over your meat, potatoes, vegetables, and in my case fruit, as I insisted on including apples and pears on my plate.  Then we played Carcasonne again and watched a French movie called 'Demain Tout Commence' (Tomorrow Everything Begins), about a man who reluctantly accepts being a single father, only to discover how much joy his daughter brings him as she becomes the center of his world.  It is a sweet, sad story that was wonderful!

Saturday again started with the farmers market to buy fruit, vegetables, and cheese - but Benjamin did most of the talking.  He had purchased several types of cheese, dry meats, and pate then organized a tasting for me.  He ordered the cheeses from the mildest to the strongest.  My favorite was in the middle, a hard aged cheese with an interesting texture.  We didn't eat them all, and took several of the cheeses to the potluck at the dance party that evening.  We stayed fairly late, and I was excited to go dancing twice in one week!

Sunday was very special.  We went to an 'American iner' for lunch.  It was amusing to see how french people interpreted American food.  We went for 'brunch', which was a meal in three parts.  Part 1: orange juice (with ice) and choice of hot beverage (coffee or tea).  Part 2: Breakfast sandwich (English muffin, egg, American cheese, bacon, and ketchup). Part 3: Choice of dessert - Pancakes, Typical American Cake, or Pain Perdu (what we would consider French Toast - literally 'lost bread'. My friend explained this in a comment on my last post - thanks Tess!).  I went with the Pain Perdu, and was surprised to receive a hambuger bun - complete with sesame seeds, that had been dipped in egg batter and fried, then served with ice cream, whipped cream, and caramel sauce!  Benjamin laughed at the puzzled expression on my face, and I laughed at the interpretation of 'American French Toast'.  Then he took me to a  natural history museum - I LOVED it!!!  From the minerals, to the fossils, to the re-articulated skeletons, the specimens of insects and the taxidermy animals.  It was very cool.

Monday Benjamin worked from home because he only had a half day as he was flying to a conference in Geneva, Switzerland.  I was flying to visit my friends in Germany.  After a simple yet filling lunch of tomato, goat cheese, and fresh basil salad (he also made himself a watermelon and Rochefort salad - which even his friends think is strange but he enjoys.  The textures clash to me...), we left his flat and headed to the airport together.  We were lucky that our gates were close together.  His flight left and then mine, an hour later. A train ride and a tram ride in Germany, and I arrived at the flat of my friends, ready for a few relaxing days of good times, great laughs, and wonderful people!

ps Please forgive my French spelling and missing accents - I have yet to figure out how to make them with my American keyboard and I dislike Benjamin's French keyboard as too many letters are in the 'wrong place'! ;-)

Week 1: Toulouse, France Part 1

I woke up on the morning of September 20th, my first full day of this French adventure.  Benjamin, my host, took me to the local farmers market before he left for work, after which I returned to bed to sleep until lunch. When he returned after work, Benjamin let me ride his bicycle, and we went for a ride along the canals.  It was beautiful!!!  The sun was beginning to set and gave a lovely golden glow to the autumn leaves.  We rode for about an hour, and right around the time I started to get sore, we returned 'home'. We had a lovely curry for dinner and then I went to bed, still a bit tired from the transcontinental traveling.

 

The second day I managed to stay awake until lunch, but fell asleep for a few hours after, still recovering from jet-lag.  I practiced my french and unpacked a bit, excited that we would be going to dance class that evening.  I had fallen in love with Zouk, a latin dance from Brazil based on the lambada, while living in Abu Dhabi.  It's considered a sensual dance because you use your senses to communicate with your partner - you hear the music, you see and feel their movements.  It's a wonderful experience, and my friends I'd met in Portugal were the instructors.  I had a lot of fun dancing with them again!

The third day I only took an hour long nap, after studying all morning and before I decided I needed coffee. Benjamin took me to the store to purchase necessities, and then we had a nice quiet evening.   watching an interesting French movie - The Untouchables, about the friendship between a paraplegic and his caretaker.  It was touching and actually quite funny!  I did my best to converse with him about it in my halting French. Then we watched The Fantastic Mr. Fox, also quite funny.

We returned to the farmers market on Saturday morning, my fourth day in France.  We purchased fresh produce and eggs, before exploring what other items the vendors had for sale.  After a simple yet delicious tomato salad for lunch, we set off for the near by city of Carcassonne.  I was SUPER excited about this adventure, because one of my favorite board games is Carcassonne, named for it.  Our first view of the walled city was breath taking - we turned a corner and suddenly there it was in all it's glory.  Awesome.  We parked and hiked up to the entrance, paused at the tourist center, then began to explore.  I found a copy of the board game in one of the souvenir shops and bought it.  I talked Benjamin into playing Carcassonne IN Carcassonne with me!  Then we wandered around a bit more before sitting down to dinner at a restaurant named for Camelot and King Arthur's round table, where I tried one of the local dishes:  Cassoulet - made from duck, white beans, and bacon.  It was delicious - I really enjoy French food.  Julia Child was NOT wrong...

My fifth day started early, becuase we were going hiking in the Pyranese Mountains.  We were a bit worried about the weather, but the forecast predicted it would be a nice day, so we ventured out.  It was lovely!  Quite steep for the first hour, and a much different terrain than I'm used to - lots of loose rocks, but I adapted, and was rewarded with brilliant scenes of sunlight streaming through forest and illuminating green landscapes.  We climbed up and up until we burst onto a meadow, completely surrounded by towering cliffs (which Benjamin called a cirque), with a streaming waterfall drawing us to the center.  We paused in the middle of the field on a huge rock by a stream flowing from the waterfall to enjoy our lunch and the surroundings.  Then we hiked the rest of the way to the falls, taking in all the beauty around us, before heading back down the trail.  I definately want to return!

   

Day six, Monday, was another quiet day for me with lots of studying and another long nap - it takes quite a while to beat jet-lag!  I practiced my French with Benjamin in the evening.  He says it's getting better, which is encouraging, but I still have a long way to go.  I have to ask him to slow down a lot, and many of the words sound exactly the same to my ear and I'm trying to use context clues to determine meaning.  I'm only right about a quarter of the time, but it's a start!

I finally ventured out on my own on Day seven, to explore Romonville, the suburb of Toulouse where Benjamin lives.  I found the local market and bought ingredients to make myself gluten free French Toast.  Ha!  I wonder what it's called here?  Then Benjamin and I rode bikes to the Metro Station, and went into the city to go to a Beat Box Quiz night, where the hosts started laying beats layer by layer until someone in the crowd guessed which song they were performing.  Everything from French songs to Lou Bega, Eminem, and FatBoy Slim.  Very entertaining!!!  

The next week promises to be just as entertaining.  I'll keep writing!!!

Adventures Between Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

I embarked on my journey to France at 5:45am Monday morning from my sister's house in upstate New York.  She drove me the hour to the train station in Syracuse, then hugged me goodbye before I boarded the  a train bound for New York City.  The train ride was beautiful - all mists and fall colors, reminiscent of something from a fairy tale! New York City was very crowded and busy but I still managed to run some errands around Penn Station without getting too lost, then took the metro to JFK International airport.  

I had purchased a ticket with Norwegian, a transcontinental budget airline - they weigh EVERYTHING (max 20 kilo for checked bags and 10 kilo carry-on total).  I was 4 kilos too heavy, so I had to rearrange and pay $60 for being over, but the ticket was so cheap (and I was bringing 3 bottles of wine and 6 cans of beer as gifts for my host), so I really can't complain about the additional charge.  What I can complain about is security.  I hate TSA in the USA. They're inconsistent and overly strict. I had brought a lovely squash bisque to eat for dinner before I boarded my flight, but it security did allow it through, and because I didn't want to throw it away, I was escorted back out to the check-in area and had to go through security all over again, without my bisque which I defiantly ate while waiting in line.  The flight itself was uneventful; I had a pleasantly short conversation with my seatmates before the plane departed and we all fell asleep. Norwegian charges for everything but water, so no meals or snacks were provided.  As I knew this ahead of time I had packed some snacks, but it didn't matter as I slept most of the flight.   

I had planned 2.5 hours between landing and the departure of my train from Paris to Toulouse, which I thought should have been enough time. We left and landed only slightly later than scheduled. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time to get through customs quickly. My luggage was fairly fast, too. There was a slight hiccup when I attempted to purchase the metro ticket from the airport to the train station in Paris, when my debit card was declined (apparently because it's foreign), but the assistant helped me by escorting me to where I could pay with cash.  I took the tram into the city, and then managed to haul all 35 kilos of my luggage up and down flights of stairs to make my connections, too!

The trouble came when I was trying to leave the metro and enter the train station. Because my bags kept getting caught in the turnstiles, I elected to use the special gates for people with luggage or prams; the are open to let you in, but they close behind you and only open again after you deposit your ticket or scan your card.  I thought I could scan the QR code on my train ticket, but it didn't work - neither gate would open. I couldn't get through or back out the way I came.  I had to shout for help until someone came along to let me out, but it took a few minutes and but the time I figured out where my train was, it was time for departure and they'd stopped letting people on. I arrived in time to beg to be let through, then watched the train leave without me.

I was directed to the ticketing office.  Because I had gotten stuck in the metro gate, they put me on the next train for free, which was very kind because my ticket was non refundable. Then, while waiting for my next train, I was trapped in a bathroom stall, when the lock on the door jammed. I tried to open it several times then started knocking on the door until the attendant came and opened it with a screwdriver.  I spent the rest of the time sitting in large open spaces until the platform for the train to Toulouse was announced.

I was a bit confused when trying to find my carriage (the train was actually going to two different destinations), spilled coffee on myself in all the excitement, but finally found my assigned seat, only to discover that it was occupied. Wanting not to cause a fuss, I chose am empty seat close by (which I preferred anyway), and practiced my French during the 4 hour train ride. My host was waiting for me upon arrival, drove me to my new home for the next 6 weeks, and prepared a lovely late dinner for me.  Then, having traveled nearly 4,000 miles in 36 hours, I finally curled up in a comfortable bed and slept.  I had finally arrived and this was going to be a wonderful adventure.

Oh - I almost forgot to mention a most auspicious sighting!  When we arrived at my host's home, I saw a wild hedgehog - my favorite animal!  SO COOL!!!

Viva La France!!!

Hello again,
Wow.  It's been a VERY long time (years) since I've posted to my blog and a bit's changed with me, but mostly things are the same.  Last time I wrote, I was beginning my adventure in Abu Dhabi... And what an adventure it was!  So much so, that I didn't find the time to write about it.  In short, I met quite a few wonderful people, made amazing friends, and participated in some pretty cool things from Parkour to Zouk (and other forms of Latin dancing), TWO different choral groups, lots of boardgaming and meetups, cultural experiences, travel, and teaching some incredible kids.

So, as the title of this blog post implies, I am embarking on an adventure in France. Why France? I'm glad you asked... It all started back in December, when I decided that I wanted to teach in an International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Program (MYP).  I firmly believe in the principles of the IB, and I've been teaching 5th grade in the Primary Years Program (PYP) for 3 years, but I have always been partial to teaching middle school students, and as AISA did not have an MYP, I submitted my resignation and began looking for MYP positions, figuring that six months would be plenty of time to find a new job in my desired program.  Turns out, I was wrong.  The school year ended, my 5th graders advanced to middle school, and I did not.  I found myself unemployed...

You're probably thinking, "Ok, so you're unemployed. What does that have to do with France?" Again, I'm glad you asked!  Well, when it became apparent that I would not be finding a teaching position this school year, I decided to take a 'gap year' and work on getting some additional certifications at the secondary level, which I hoped would help me be more employable in the long run.  Thinking that it would take a year of schooling to attain these certifications, and because I missed my family, I decided to return home to beautiful Washington State, USA. The plan was to substitute teach while I took online classes and studied.

"But that still doesn't explain WHY FRANCE!" Right.  Well, at the end of the school year I had scheduled lots of travel opportunities, because I didn't know what my future held, and I wanted to take advantage of being on the eastern hemisphere.  One of my destinations was Portugal, for a weekend of dance workshops, where I made friends with some people from France.  I met them again a month later in Spain, and followed them home to Toulouse.  We had such fun together that I was invited back.  As I am currently jobless, I have plenty of time on my hands, so I decided to take the opportunity to immerse myself in French culture for six weeks, with people who will help me learn the language and enjoy what this country has to offer!