Dinde

 - turkey, in honor of Thanksgiving.

Which I surprisingly got to celebrate. French Thanksgiving dinner (put on by some people from the American Consulate) consisted of wine, stuffing, brussels sprouts, tiny potatoes, and of course, turkey and cranberry sauce. Dessert consisted of cheese and this odd pie-thing that was orange but definitely not pumpkin.

When I was there, I actually spent a little time talking to a woman who had gone to Berkeley and was a part of the first EAP program to Bordeaux. Apparently Bordeaux was the first EAP location ever, a fact which both interested and surprised me. She was a very nice lady, but I was extremely amused when she gave us the "Back in my day, we had to walk uphill both ways in the snow!" talk.

Froid

 - cold, because Geneva was freezing.

Seeing Geneva this weekend was a blast, even though it was so very froid. Perhaps I did a little too much there to fit into one post, so I'll talk about my five favorite things there.

1.) The United Nations. No, I didn't get to go inside, but the PACS major in me was nerding out at just seeing the outside of the building. I also saw the WTO building, but I didn't manage to walk all the way to the north of town to see the WHO building.

2.) Ice Skating. When we were searching for a monument, we came across an outdoor ice skating rink! Skate rental was cheap, so of course we had to try it out. I'm pretty clumsy on skates and there were lots of small children speeding around and making me nervous, but there's something to be said about ice skating with the snowy Alps in the background.

3.) Giant Chess. Alright, so this isn't necessarily specific to Geneva, but I've always wanted to play giant chess. When we were playing, a man actually sat down to watch us and I felt a little bad that neither of us were talented enough to put on a good show. Here's the ending board; I was black. Can you tell who won?

4.) Greenhouses. I've long been a sucker for pretty and unusual plants, so I couldn't resist exploring the huge park and botanical gardens around the UN when I saw them. In the garden were a few greenhouses which I particularly adored because they were practically like mini-jungles. Aside from their being very pretty, we spent a long time exploring them because the regulated humidity inside was a welcome respite from the cold!

 

5.) The Alps. So gorgeous. We actually crossed the French-Swiss border for this (we just walked across - it was eerie), and we found a tram that took us up the Salève, one of the smaller mountains in the Alps. It was a cloudy day, but that turned out for the best when we reached the top and realized we could see over the clouds to the other mountains. Even though we couldn't see Geneva, it was remarkably beautiful.

Rose

 - pink, because Toulouse was so very!

As you've probably already gathered, I spent last weekend in Toulouse, the third largest French city. Toulouse is actually known as La Ville Rose, or the pink city, because all the buildings there are made out of brick, giving it a pinkish tinge. Very pretty, very unique. Even the churches were brick!

This weekend was also my first time couch-surfing. Basically this means my friends and I found someone on a website who was willing to let us sleep in their domicile as long as we were in Toulouse. It sounds really sketchy, but it was actually a good experience. The guy we ended up staying with was a very chill, hippie-like college student who had many good reviews from previous travelers. He showed us around the city a little bit, and because he was so nice we made him dinner as a thank-you. It was actually the first time I've done some real cooking since I've been here, so that was fun as well.

Tourner

 - to shoot. As in filming a movie, not like firing a gun.

For anyone who enjoys watching foreign films, I have a recommendation. A la folie... pas du tout is an extremely engaging film that I would recommend to anyone. When I started watching it, I thought it was going to be one of your average, feel-good chick flicks. The pink hearts all over the menu screen definitely indicated it as such. However, without giving too much away, I'll say that it turned out to be much more interesting than a simple love story. Plus, as an extra bonus to me, I could understand it without resorting to a translator! Alright, so I used subtitles, but at least the subtitles were in French and not in English.

A couple of points of interest about the movie: For one, the main character is played by Audrey Tautou, the actress who played Amelie (from the film titled as such). Also, it was tourné in Bordeaux! So often when I watched the movie, I could point out places I'd visited, or in one instance, a courtyard from the university where I take classes! How cool is that, right?

Mode

 - fashion, because French ladies know how to look good.

And they always put their knowledge to good use. Every day, when I'm sitting on the tram, walking to class, or even doing grocery shopping I see that the women around me have dressed to the nines. Their hair is always perfectly in place, their coats the perfect shade to match their shoes; it's like every French woman has stepped out of a magazine. Even within their homes, French women look, well a little more casual, but still fantastic; my host mother, sister, and sister-in-law always look elegant long after I've donned my more comfortable sweatshirt.

But after a couple months of living here, I've discovered the secret to their fashion success. A secret which I shall share with you: my readers. AKA the people in the States that haven't yet forgotten my existence. And so here it is: Miki's Guide to How to Dress Like a French Woman:

Step 1: Pull on some leggings or skinny jeans. Preferably an easily matched color, like black or beige, but they can really be any color. The important part here is that they hug all parts of your leg closely. Add some shorts or a skirt so you're not walking around in only leggings.
Step 2: Put something on on top. This could be anything; a nice blouse, a sweater, a tunic. It doesn't really matter because soon you will...
Step 3: Put on a coat. This must be that type of coat with two rows of buttons in the front. Button it up, so the top two thirds of your body (excluding your head and neck) will be covered by it.
Step 4: Fold a scarf in half, wrap it around your neck, and pull the ends through the loop in the middle. The scarf can be colorful, to brighten your solid-colored coat, but this is not necessary.
Step 5: Add shoes. These can be anything from flats to heeled boots. I've actually spotted a type of laced leather heels that seem to be popular among French women these days, but I don't know what they're called.

Oh, and I apologize for not posting photos of this particular phenomenon, but nobody wants to be that creeper taking pictures of random people she's never met before. I'm sure you understand.