Last weekend I spent the whole weekend with Catherine Marc. Catherine was my host mother the first time I came to Angers. She now has two students living with her, a Japanese girl named Hitomi and an American from Michigan named Trevor. They are both very nice, and they have welcomed me in to their little international family. Below is a picture of Catherine.
Saturday morning, I went to the market with Catherine. Each trip I take to the market is so exciting. I jump on the opportunity to learn new vocabulary by reading food labels on the stands and through eavesdropping on conversations. I love the sights, sounds, and smells that flood my senses, plus I always walk away with quality food for the week ahead!
After the market, Catherine cooked lunch. We had boudin blanc - a specialty of the region. It looks like a sausage, but it's made with milk, bread, and some other ingredients. It's quite tasty with some cooked apples! After lunch, I went out downtown with the her students. I took the opportunity to visit the SNCF store (the train system in France is called the SNCF, which stands for la Societe Nationale de Chemins de Fer Francais/the National Society for French Railways)to buy tickets for Christmas for Peter and myself. He's coming over to France and we're traveling around Europe - more details to come! I am so thankful that I bought the Eurorail pass for that time as each train ticket now only costs me a mere 3 euros. Definitely worth it!
After going downtown, we returned for dinner that night. I didn't get back to my room at the student residence until about 10:30.
The next morning, I went to Mass at St. Joseph, the same church I attended my first time in Angers. It is a beautiful stone church with religious statues depicting our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, and several saints. There is an organ, and the entire service echoes the majesty of God. Ironically enough, though, I feel quite at home since the priest uses a PowerPoint presentation during his homily. In the U.S., I go to Ascension Catholic Church, where they have a continual PowerPoint of images going through the Mass. The similarities are very comforting. :)
I went to Catherine's again after Mass. She fed me lunch, and then we left to go bottle wine in her friend's basement! I had the opportunity to bottle wine my first time in Angers, so I was an old hat at it on Sunday. Here's a picture of me corking a bottle!
It's really interesting how they do it. Nellie, the woman who hosted us in her basement, buys wine in big plastic barrels and then bottles them herself at home. She puts the wine in bottles that she has saved throughout the year and corks it with her own corking machine (which I am using in the picture above!). The corks have to soak in water to fit in the bottle easily, and the labels are dipped in milk and dry on the bottle. The milk allows the label to stay on the bottle, but it's much easier to get off than glue. It only costs Nellie about 1.35 euros per bottle - a very good price for wine from Bourgogne!
After we finished, we ate dinner at Catherine's appartment, and then I went back to my room. I needed to get a good night's sleep to start off the new week!
This past week was my second full week at the Catho (the Catho is short for L'Universite Catholique de l'Ouest - where I am teaching this year). Overall, the classes are great. I was a little worried about one rather large class of 28 students who kept whispering in French, but I think I got a handle on it; this week I heard them whispering in English instead!
Today is Friday, and I have the day off. That's one really nice thing about this job; I only have classes Monday through Thursday. It is a beautiful day outside, and I took advantage of it this morning! I walked about 20 minutes to a larger grocery store to buy some things that I can't get at the market. I also stopped by the post office to send some documents needed to obtain the second half of my long-stay visa. I also went downtown to walk around and look at the shops with Christmas gifts in mind. Now, I know you might be thinking that it's a little early to do Christmas shopping, but I want to make sure I can get the gifts to my family in the mail before the Christmas rush!
One thing that really surprises me on Friday is how tired I am. I was talking to my mom about this earlier, trying to figure out why I feel so exhausted and, even though it's a nice evening, why I'd rather just sit around in my room. I think that teaching 14 hours of classes in four days has something to do with it, but I also think that having to constantly think and speak in a foreign language - no matter how comfortable you may be with it - is tiring.
I do have some loose plans for the weekend. I am going to the market with Catherine in the morning and then staying over for lunch. I am meeting up with Elena, the Spanish lectrice, to get some travel information and do some more window shopping downtown. Tomorrow evening, we are going to Mass at the St. Maurice, the cathedral of Angers. They are supposed to have an impressive organ player. Afterwards, she is coming over and we're making dinner together. Sunday, I will probably go to Catherine's for lunch, and then who knows what!
Please pray for me this upcoming week. Next week is the Toussaint (All Saints' Day) break, and it is quite lonely already around the residence hall. A lot of people went home or are traveling during the week. Due to my lack of money, I was not able to travel to Italy to visit my college roommate, Bekah, as I originally planned, so I am going to try to keep things exciting in Angers this week. Please pray that I continue to focus on the blessings I have here and not get caught up on the fact that I am away from my family and friends. I will keep you all up-to-date on the happenings of this upcoming week! Don't forget to visit my photo website for my latest pictures!
Gros, gros bisous!!
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