Oui. In fact it's getting harder and harder to keep up with blogging as so much happens in a week! And I'm utterly exhausted...All the same, for my devoted readers, I will try to give you a clear and brief rundown of my recent trip to Scotland. I'll fill you in on Paris later, when I have more energy.
So Catlin arrived the 6 of November and we have been traveling up down this country (and out of this country, for that matter) every weekend. I'm so glad that she was able to come because she's been a great encouragement to me and a très awesome traveling companion.
This past weekend, Catlin and I traveled to Scotland. Vanessa is studying there and before we left the states this summer we promised each other that we would exchange weekends in each other's country while we were abroad. Suffice it to say that I love Scotland and I can't stop raving about it, despite a troublesome illness :) Ok...so I've been severely ...constipé for the past two weeks. I apologize if I have offended anyone by sharing the truth, but upon saying that I am reminded of "Nobody Loves Me" by Derek Webb: the truth is never sexy.
Well, maybe that doesn't exactly apply.
Back to l'Ecosse. I think I enjoyed Scotland so much because of two reasons: Vanessa and her friends were great and being in Scotland felt more like home than being in France. The speaking in english had a lot do with the homey feelings, but the people were all so friendly! Don't get me wrong, now, the French can be equally charming, but they are much more reserved with new acquaintances. For example, Vanessa, Catlin, and I went to a bar for lunch (the Old Bank Bar) and within five minutes of being inside the restaurant two older gentleman were making small talk with us. Certainly this happens in France, but it's much less common. Or at least, that's been my experience. It's true that the Stèphanois are much more friendly than the Parisiens, but honestly it's not so difficult to be friendlier than the Parisiens, haha !
We stayed in Dundee and went out Saturday night. We had a blast dancing to techno music and getting hit on by absurdly drunk Scottish boys. The drunkie boys were very nice and at the same time very creepy. In order to allay any of our fears about them being unsafe, they would repeatedly tell us that they were, "good guys"... It was at this point in the conversation that we explained our need for the ladies toilet.
The following day Vanessa and her delightful new friend Jason took us to Edinburgh (or Edimbourg if you prefer français) to visit the castle. Sooooooo cool. I thought specifically of a few friends from home when I was staring at this beautifully constructed fortress on the side of a hill.
The above is a photo of Catlin's; thanks g.
It's so beautiful and I've been telling everyone to go there. So, if you get a chance, please go to Scotland!!!
In other news, classes are going relatively well. I'm going to miss my professors next semester when I return to the ever-competitive campus of Texas A&M. What do I mean, when I say that? Here, there is no motivation for the professor to fail you or to progress your academic career: everything that a student does at CILEC, in the professors' eyes, is of the student's own volition. Tu vois? I have no ulterior motives...no reason to feel obligated to impress or befriend my professors to improve my chances of getting a better grade. They just want us to learn the language and maybe share some life stories for an hour and half each class period... :)
I've been missing my church friends and I can't wait to see them this week. I think I may forego GBU this Wednesday in favor of attending a prayer meeting. On verra.
Tomorrow I take Catlin to the airport, and bid her farewell until New Year's. I'm already quite sad that she must depart, but we'll have a sweet reunion soon enough. Anyone else wanna come to France until December 31st?? There's lots of room in my bed for the two of us, and if you happen to be a male, there's another room in the apartment you can have all to yourself (and with three cats)!!!
I'll leave you with this: Over Fork Over.
