Week 8: Living the daily French life

Low-key and relaxed has been the name of the game this week… But that’s alright – it’s given me a chance to get my life in order, and also to enjoy just being in France in general. In addition to the usual schedule of classes, I had a midterm exam, but other than that, it was a pretty run-of-the-mill week (you know, for being in France!).

On Monday I got an offer to try my hand at professional translation, and so I said why not? It turned out to be an awards application with environmental vocabulary, and so it was a little challenging, but I loved the challenge, and I think it was a cool first experience with actual translation. I got lunch at one of the many student restaurant/cafeteria establishments around school, and it was really nice because we actually spoke all in French, and our French friends were even there to correct us when we slipped up :) And the day ended with a nice evening: Katherine and Maria came over for a lovely spaghetti dinner, and Katherine shared the details of her trip to Morocco from which she had just returned.

Tuesday was cool because I didn’t have class until ten, and so I went to the open-air market in Wazemmes with James and Grace, and got some delicious veggies to make some ratatouille. The prices at the market are very cheap – I will definitely have to return there in the future, and I have those two to thank for showing me around! I then had a couple of classes during the day (but of course, as always, I had a nice long lunch break), and then got home and booked my bus tickets to London for the second weekend of break (Nov. 1-2). In the evening I went to the weekly Franglish exchange event again, and then I hung out with some friends with a mojito, and we had a great time. All in all, a great day :)

The middle of the week actually passed pretty quickly. Wednesday brought a couple classes in the morning and making some soup to share with Manon in the evening, and it was nice to cuddle up with some warm soup for dinner and cozy conversation with a friend. Thursday was a little stressful because I had class all day, and then I had to study for a four-hour-long midterm exam the next day… A Canadian friend of mine came over to my place and we had more spaghetti, and tried to cram in as much as we could for the test. I made sure to get right to bed to try to retain as much information as possible.

Exam day on Friday was a little tough. I woke up in the morning ready to go for the day, but still doubting myself a little as far as knowledge of the exam material went. After running a few errands like grocery shopping and getting an ankle brace (my foot had been giving me some trouble), I had my midterm for 19^th century French literature, which went okay – not the best test I’ve ever taken, to say the least. It got better when I got to hang out with French friends for happy hour (gotta love Speculoos milkshakes! :)), and some Slovak friends as well. It ended up being a pretty good Friday night.

The weekend was pretty quiet and slow for me. Saturday I took it easy because my foot was still bothering me and I would be running a serious race the next day. I did play ping pong for a while with friends, which is always a fun way to spend an afternoon. Then came Sunday! Rob, Walker and I had signed up to run in a 10K race called Les Boucles Tourquennoises, which was a race in the nearby town of Tourcoing, so we hopped on the metro early in the morning and got there early, only to find out that we were supposed to have gotten medical certificates which would give us the green light to run for such a long distance. So unfortunately we didn’t get to run in the official 10K race in Tourcoing, but that didn’t stop Rob and I from running 10K around the citadel park back in Lille, which was my first time running that distance in my life. Still a great experience!

Ran the 10K on Sunday for the Packers! GO PACK GO :)

Not too long after we got back to my residence, some French friends came over and brought ingredients to make some lovely bruschetta au Maroilles! (Thank you so much Amandine for the recipe and the ingredients! :)) Maroilles is the name of the traditional cheese that comes from Lille, and I had told my French friends I wanted to try the local cuisine. They obliged, and we had a wonderful Sunday brunch in my residence! Although I didn’t travel to any distant lands over the weekend, it did end up to be a nice breath of fresh air from classes, and a great cultural experience as well. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend this Sunday!

My French friends Marie, Paul, and Amandine preparing the tomatoes, ham, and cheese...

Brunch is almost ready!

The finished product: bruschetta au Maroilles.
Bon appétit!

As for next week, I have a couple more midterms and a few more plans with friends, but it’s looking to be another low-key week. That’s alright though, because I have some exciting travel plans for fall break (the week after next) that include Paris and London! I’ll get back to you in a week – à bientôt!