Thus far, everything is working out with my new French bank account (see my very own "carte bleu" and checkbook below--complete with the prefix "madamoiselle" and a picture of the Arc de Triomphe in the background). In order to activate my new bank card, I decided it was offically necessary (for financial matters of course) and finally time to do a little shopping.
For the past few weeks, I have been organizing all of my paperwork for a certain "rendez-vous" I have tomorrow in Angers with the secretary of the university. Since the French system of education is MUCH different than ours in the United States, I was unaware that after you are admitted to a university/school, you have a whole bunch of documents you need to feel out and mail-in (yes, mail-in--French schools have not yet completely turned over the Internet) in order to CONFIRM your spot in the program. Due date of these documents for my university: July 13, 2011--aka the day of my departure for France. Hmmm, il y a un petit problème (there is a small problem here). Luckily, l'Université catholique de l'ouest is somewhat used to dealing with foreign students, so hopefully there will be no problem straightening out my situation, hopefully.
Other than organizing my paperwork, my days have been consisting of reading, watching French movies, doing crossword puzzels on the beach, going shrimp fishing (yes, true story), and cooking. Here are a few photos that I took during my days living at the beach with Benoit:
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| My lovely book of crossword puzzles. |
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| Yes, it's not an illusion. I am sitting by the fire wearing boots and a scarf, drinking a glass of red wine in the middle of August. |
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| More often than not, the French do not invest in electric mixers. This is a picture of my eggs whites, whipped by my own hands. I almost passed out afterwards lol. |
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| Finam product of my day's labor: salted, butter caramel macaroons. |
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| These are tiny shellfish called "beigornoses." They kind of look like small escarots, however, you eat them raw with a small toothpick. These ones here are the catch of the day from Benoit before coming home from work--Yup, normal. Obviously a stone mason would go fishing for exotic shellfish before coming home. |
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| Beautiful "promenade" on the seaside. |
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| Pears cooked in red wine with a side of sorbet. Don't hesite to ask for the recipe! It's very easy to prepare, trust me! Even an americain can do it :) |
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| Getting ready to go shrimp fishing! |
At the end of the day, even though we had no shrimp in our buckets, Benoit and I spend a wonderful week together.
In other news, I cut my hair! I needed a change. Plus, spending practically every weekend at the beach and exposing my hair salty air and humidity is not exactly the best remedy for having healthy looking long hair. Anyway, hair grows and I am quite happy and content with my " new French parisian look!"
First reaction from Benoit, "Wow, j'ai l'impression de tromper ma femme!" (Wow! I get the impression that I am cheating on my wife/girlfriend!) I still don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. However, after the initial shock, he said that he liked it.
That night, in order to celebrate "ma nouvelle coupe de cheveux" (my new haircut), we cooked an entire rabbit in the oven for dinner. Haha, no joke.
Pray that everything goes well at my meeting tomorrow!! Love you and thinking of everyone often.
Love your new haircut. Tres chic! I am sure that everything will go well tomorrow. My prayers are with you. Remember, don't talk to strangers haha.
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