Le Lac

 - the lake, because there's apparently only one worth mentioning around Bordeaux.

My UC friends and I decided to take advantage of our last day before classes by visiting parts of Bordeaux that we hadn't yet seen. I myself started the day early by taking a trip to the Bordeaux farmer's market first thing in the morning. The market was larger than I expected - a long double-row of stands selling food including fresh produce, rotisserie chickens, specially-made cheeses, oysters, and, of course, bottles of wine. After purchasing some fresh fruit, we found a stand selling seafood shishkababs, and couldn't resist getting them for lunch. Overall, the farmers market got the UC student stamp of approval, and we decided that we would return as a later date.

After finishing at the farmer's market, we collected a couple more friends and headed to a large park area that we found on the map. Being extremely fond of flowers, large trees, and grassy areas in general, it was instantly declared to be my new favorite spot. I mean, who wouldn't like a park that has its own waterfall?

We rested up for a while in the shade, then met up with even more friends to visit "Le Lac." And yes, I used those quotations marks purposefully, as that is how said body of water is labeled on the map. As in, apparently it has no name; it is simply "Le Lac." Anyways, this labeling was mentioned in many jokes as we walked all the way around said lac in an impromptu hike. It was a bit longer than I'd been planning to walk that day, but hey - it was good for me.

Not to mention, walking is always nicer when the scenery is pretty, no?

Huitres

 - oysters, because I bet I know more about them than you now. At least the French ones.

Today was extremely eventful and fun, made even more exciting by the fact that I knew that my college friends have started school already. Sorry, I couldn't resist gloating a little bit, but remember this: in a couple weeks, we will both be attending university, but I'll be massively stressing out because I won't understand a word of what's being said in lecture, whereas my darling friends will be like psh this is easy. They can gloat then.

But my time to gush is now. Our program directors took us UC kids on a field trip to the surrounding area today so we could get a taste of some French culture. Literally. After sitting through an informational film and ambling through a museum on the topic, we were all presented with six shells, each filled with a (raw) oyster. I was a little apprehensive, since I'd only tasted oyster once before and had found it not to my liking. However this time, after a demonstration from a friend as to how one was supposed to eat and season an oyster, I actually enjoyed eating them. They're really pretty together on their plate, aren't they?

I also had my very first French pastry that meal also - a apple tart-thing that was flavored with wine and amazingness. I'm not explaining it very well, so I guess I'll just show you a picture.

After we'd finished lunch, we visited a massive sand dune. When we initially approached it, it looked like someone had just dumped a ginormous pile of sand in the middle of the forest. So we did the only logical thing and climbed the thing, which didn't seem so logical when we were only halfway up and our leg muscles were burning considering we were climbing a huge pile of sand. However, the view from the top was worth the climb. On one side, we could see the top of a pine forest, on the other, was a deep blue ocean, and overhead, a clear blue sky. I've never seen such beautiful beach scenery before in my life.

After we were finished on the sand dune, we drove to a beach, where many people went swimming. I abstained, but I did dip my feet in the water and collect seashells. I got a decent number of them, so if you want a French seashell, just hit me up, and I'll make sure one makes it home.

The day was fun, so it was sad to return to the dorm and remember how difficult it would be to scrounge up dinner. But I'm so glad I got this opportunity to experience France in such a relaxing way before school starts for me.

Croque-Madame

 - a French dish which is a sort of grilled ham and cheese sandwich with an egg on top. It has the distinction of being French 1 vocabulary in many high schools.

I had one! Granted it was in an Irish pub, but I had one in France nonetheless!

Connexion

 - connection, because I finally have my student account for that.

To be more specific, "connexion" tends to refer to "connextion Internet," which is exactly what it sounds like. After our UC meeting today, which was conducted entirely in (slow and clear) French, the program directors arranged for what we had all been wanting every since we arrived here. I'm really not exaggerating when I say that I felt as though the sun was shining on me and a chorus of angelic voices started singing when I heard that news. Of course, it didn't work immediately after we got back, so we left for our first official excursion in hopes that it would once we made it home for the evening.

The excursion was enjoyable and informative. The tour guide was a knowledgeable lady who showed us around the more famous and historically-important parts of Bordeaux. In a fashion that I particularly enjoyed, she said each part of her spiel both in English and slow French, so we could both practice our listening and actually learn about the city. One of the prettier buildings we saw was an enormous church that was actually built and added onto over several centuries. I've included a picture below, so you can see it too.

After our tour was over, a few friends and I decided to get on an important piece of business: getting cell phones. I'd looked up a little cell phone vocabulary before coming here, but it wasn't enough to prepare us for for figuring out different plans and such in French. The first plan was the hardest; the five of us would attempt to ask the salesperson a question in French, he would answer, then someone who understood would explain what was said to the rest of us. After thanking the nice salesman (I think he was just nice because all five of us wanted cell phones,) we ended up walking to three other cell phone stores before realizing that the cheapest ones were really the same price everywhere. So now I am an owner of a shiny new cell phone, so feel free to call me - receiving calls is free in France!

The day in the town was fun, so now here I am, on my internet which is finally working. Of course, it appears to only work outside, so I am currently sitting outside in the dark, avoiding the rain under an overhang, thanking my lucky stars that my laptop has a decent battery so I don't have to go inside and recharge all the time. The things I will do for some online time...

Frites

- french fries, because the purchase of these allowed us to use McDonalds free WiFi, which in turn, is allowing me to finally post these blog entries.

And of course, French McDonalds is classy. Like it looks really chic in here - certain walls are covered in colorful designs in a tasteful way, and even the seats and tables look cute. It looks like an actual cafe, except there's no mistaking those golden arches. For the record, it seems that French McDonalds' fries taste the same as American McDonalds' fries. I'm not really sure if that is a good thing or not.

Baguette

 - that famous type of French bread, because that's what I'm eating right now.

Getting into France was massively exciting. I was lucky enough to run into three other people from my program at the airport, so not only did we get to split the cab fare (yay for saving euros!) but it also instantly banished my nervousness about the success rate of my reaching the university. After a few attempts to make awkward conversation with the cab driver in French (whose English was significantly better than our graceless French 4 conversational skills) we made it to the university without any trouble at all, and were soon released into the wild that is Bordeaux, France.

When I say "wild," I really don't mean wild at all. Bordeaux was, for lack of a better word, quaint. Or, as quaint as you can get when every building is 3-4 stories high. The city was eclectic - stately and modern at the same time. All of the architecture was clearly old, with its stone walls with graceful, curvy embellishments on the outer walls, but the shops and cafes on the ground floors clearly kept up with the times, blending the new with the old in an effect that was actually really charming. Though I was in a completely new country, I still saw some names I recognized - Sephora, Subway, and of course, McDonalds.

A few unpleasant surprises when it came to the dorming situation, though. First, we'll apparently have to fend for ourselves when it comes to food. However, to my knowledge, there are no restaurants/cafes/grocery stores within walking distance of the dorms. Also, we have no access to a refrigerator/microwave/pots/forks/two-sticks-that-could-possibly-pass-for-chopsticks, so we couldn't store or cook food even if we wanted to. I anticipate some interesting food improvisations in the near future (though I'm currently satisfied with my baguette and cheese!) Second, we have no access to internet in our dorms, so I don't know how I'm going to post this blog entry, or more importantly, let my ever-loving parents know that I have indeed made it to my destination with all my limbs (and travel papers) intact. Third, and my personal favorite, the toilets in our dorm don't have toilet seats. Yeeah...

Bateau

 - boat, because I think that's the only mode of transportation I DIDN'T use.

A comprehensive list of the means by which I went from my house to my temporary university:
 - car (parentals)
 - train (Amtrak)
 - subway (BART)
 - airplane (from SFO)
 -  bus (National Express)
 - shuttle (Best Western)
 - airplane (from Gatwick)
 - taxi (Jean-Marie, correct spelling not guaranteed)
 - legs (Moi)