Week 13: Joyeux anniversaire!

I have been waiting all semester (and all year really) for this week – my birthday week! J I mean, it’s not technically the week of my real birthday, that’s next Monday, but I decided to celebrate my birthday this week/weekend before the actual day rather than the following week. After stressing a little bit about plans for what to do to celebrate my 21^st birthday, it all turned out wonderfully, and it was a great party!

To start off the week, I had Monday off, which is always a great way to start out a week. I woke up a little late, but I did manage to get some errands done, including signing paperwork for when I would move out of my residence (now officially December 22), and the rest of the day was another opportunity to relax with nothing on the agenda. Tuesday afternoon, I almost had my intercultural communications class cancelled, but then the French students came back from a conference they had been at, and so we had class for only one hour instead of two. Both days were pretty chill in general.

On Wednesday, I went on a little bit of an adventure with Amandine - to Paris for the morning! I was originally supposed to go to the Spanish Consulate this day to submit my paperwork and start the process of getting my Spanish visa for studies next semester, but unfortunately the package from St. Norbert with the original paperwork necessary for the visa process ended up getting lost in the mail, and so I just ended up accompanying Amandine on her way to the U.S. Embassy to get her U.S. visa (she will be studying in Louisiana next semester!).

We got to Paris with some time to spare, and so once we made it on the bus to the stop right by the Embassy, we walked a few minutes down the road and got some of Angelina’s hot chocolate (which was just as good as the last time!), and then I left Amandine outside the Embassy and headed over to the Louvre. I had been looking forward to going since the last time I had been in Paris with Corrinne and Laura (when we had tried to go on a Tuesday and it had been closed). I had heard that students of French universities got free admission to the world-famous art museum, and lo and behold, I soon found out that all I had to do was flash my French student ID at the ticket control counter and I got in to the permanent exhibits and most of the museum for free! It was an amazing experience, and I will definitely be going back soon!

Inside the Louvre!

The Mona Lisa! She even has a whole room with her name on it.

Mona Lisa selfie!

In the evening, Rob, Walker, Fatima, Ellen and I made our way to the very first day of the Christmas Market in Lille! It’s pretty small, but it’s a pretty sight nonetheless, and it’s a great way to experience an important part of the Lillois culture. Fatima and I ran right over to the giant Ferris wheel in the middle of the Grand’Place and hopped on to get some amazing views of the whole of Lille! Walking through the actual market area afterwards, we enjoyed some mulled wine, hot cider, a Coquille de Noël – a loaf of brioche bread shaped like the infant Jesus – and of course, some wonderful Christmas music. It was a great way to start getting into the Christmas spirit (albeit a week early)!

Spotted: a lovely Nativity scene, right in front of the huge Ferris wheel!

A view of the Grand'Place from high up on the wheel.

Looking out over the entire city of Lille

And of course, a view of the rest of the Grand'Place and the Christmas market!

Thursday was a long day, but it was so amazing! It started off with 19^th Century Literature at 8am, and then a class called Interculturality, where a guest speaker came in who was a real-life humanitarian worker, and he brought a case study with him that we were supposed to work on finding a solution for. The coolest thing was that this case study was actually a real-life situation, and the guest speaker was going to take our solutions right to the Moroccan village people involved. Talk about motivation to participate in and think about that class! After that, I had English to French Translation, and then French as a Foreign Language, and so my day just in classes finished at 6:40pm. After that, I went with a group of friends to the university restaurant/cafeteria, had some laughs and fun, and then came the party!

I invited a bunch of friends to join me in my room for some pre-gaming before going out, which ended up being really fun! (Shout-out to Milan for bringing me a birthday shot of Slivovica from Slovakia! J) After we all got warmed up, we headed out to the Rue Solférino, which is the center of student life on the weekends, and eventually made our way into a place called the Latina Café, where they play all sorts of fun Latin music, and we danced the night away. The night was certainly one that I won’t forget!

Birthday decorations to welcome guests

Birthday banner! (Thanks for sending it, mom!)

Friday I purposely didn’t plan anything because I was anticipating having a massive hangover, but in fact it was okay. I had drunk water in between alcoholic drinks, so I basically had no hangover, and so it was just another chill day (because clearly I haven’t had enough of those yet, lol). I did start a new series, Lie to Me, on Netflix, which I now have to finish… (thanks to the recent arrival of Netflix in France, of course.)

Saturday was the real celebration! I put on my adorable black sequin party dress that my lovely mother had just sent me as a birthday present, primped and got all pretty, and then we once again pre-gamed in my room. This time we played Kings, a fun drinking game, and had great fun laughing and talking, and I even baked a cake for everyone and blew out some candles to celebrate the occasion a few days early. I took another (different) birthday shot and finished my bottle of wine from Thursday, and tried to let go just enough but not too much. (I think I did a pretty good job of walking that line – I was certainly having fun!)

Explaining Kings...

Me with my cake :)

We had lots of fun!

Blondies! :)

We headed out to the bars around 11pm to make sure they weren’t too full. I had originally wanted to do a bar crawl one of the two nights, but then it was pointed out to me how expensive that would be, and so I just made sure I got my favorite cocktail that I’ve had so far here in Lille at a bar called the Zeppelin (called a “Ninou” and which includes crème de pêche). I heard a few tales in the days following about just how hilarious I can be when I’m under the influence, including apparently trying to dance while sitting on my friends’ laps…and failing miserably, haha.

At the Zeppelin with friends :)

We eventually made our way to a club called Smile, where I was told I was a little too intoxicated to come in right away and then had to wait a while, but eventually we all made it in, and we ended up dancing the rest of the night away. At the end of the night, Rob and Walker were nice enough to have stayed, and they made sure I got home, where I simply collapsed into bed and slept very well until later in the morning. I was so happy everyone came out to celebrate - it was an amazing night, and a perfect way to celebrate turning 21!

SURVIVORS - we made it til the end of the night!

The next day was a little rougher than Friday, but I still managed to have not too huge of a hangover. I took it easy in the morning, and then in the afternoon, I was invited to a German brunch right in my residence. Chicken, dumplings, and red cabbage made for a wonderful meal, and it was a great reason to actually get out of bed on a Sunday and spend time with cool and interesting girls – there were two Brazilians, a Portuguese, a Japanese, a German, and me, and we all had a great conversation over a delicious meal. After brunch, I took some more time to relax and get my life together, and before I knew it, it was time to go to bed. Altogether, I don’t think I could have asked for a better 21^st birthday weekend!

German brunch!

As it starts to actually get cold here, I’m starting to bundle up and buckle down for the semester. I have my last “midterm” exam tomorrow (yes, on my actual birthday), and then the race begins to study for finals before they arrive in just a few weeks. Along with getting all my studies together, I have also been continuing to get all my stuff in order to go get my Spanish visa in Paris. I have now officially booked the ticket to go to Paris on December 1, so hopefully all will go well. I will most certainly keep you all up to date on here about how it all goes…until next time - à bientôt!