My Favourite French Words

I think it is pretty obvious that I love the French language. Today I thought it would be fun to post a few of my favourite words....I have no idea why I have a desire to do this. And it is my blog, so I will.
1. Parapluie--Umbrella (para plew eee)
2. Carrament--Tell it to me straight (carr ah mant, with the wonderful, gutteral French 'R')
3. Crêche--Nursery (cresh, I like the circumflex accent)
4. Incroyable--Incredible (en kroy ab leh)
5. Couette--Comforter (Coo ette)

Don't hesitate to post your very favourite French and English words...I'll be curious to find out!

Family Matters

I have had an interesting couple of weeks. After my ridiculous battle with 'la grippe' (the flu) I went almost directly to Metz to visit some 1st years and my French lecturer from UCLan. While it was wonderful to show my lecturer what I had learned in 6 short months here, the special thing about this trip was that I got to stay with a host family.

My 'host sister' was called Léonie, and she studies in Metz. I got to stay with her mother, father, brother and two cats. They could not have been more welcoming...and they did everything they could to help me experience 'French family life'. One evening we sat down and Léonie's father taught me about French wines and cheeses, and another afternoon we had a raclette lunch. I also watched French films, and walked around the city with my host mother. It was a lot of fun. Léonie and I are keeping in touch, so I hope we can see eachother soon!

Another awesome thing that happened this week...my father came to visit. It has been wonderful showing him the city that I call 'home' right now. The difficult thing has been translating! My father does not speak French, so of course I have been back and forth between French and English. An interesting moment was when I was speaking to two of my friends in the hall of my residence (in French), and I introduced my dad to them. I was speaking French, and turned to my father to translate what one of my friends had said, and just continued speaking in French! Oops!

We walked through the cathedral, ate delicious meals, and I even enlisted him to help me clean up my room (he is a master...it looks 1,000 times better!). He has been here for a week, and he heads home tomorrow. I am a bit sad, but this trip has been really fun, and really helpful for my homesickness. I am really thankful he was here, and I got the opportunity to show him Amiens. I feel like my support network here in Amiens is finally is growing a little bit!

Being Sick in France...A SAGA.

I could tell you about the wonderfully amazing time I had with my family in Amsterdam and Bruges for Christmas. Or I could tell you about getting horribly sick afterwards. I think I am going to go for the second, because I think the French medical system is pretty interesting, and I feel like the thousands of pictures I took in Amsterdam and Bruges pretty much tell that story.

So. I woke up the last day in Bruges, in a cold sweat, and I knew something was up. Shaky and feverish, I somehow made it back to Amiens, taking the Bruges--Brussels--Lille Europe--Lille Flandres--Amiens route. I have no idea how. I vaguely remember getting on and off trains, but that is about it.

Once back in Amiens, I crawled into my bed for about 3 days straight. I didn't think about eating, I just made my way through cartons of apple juice, and paracetomol. I think I also made it through an entire season of Intervention.

Finally, I couldn't take being in my room anymore, and I thought a trip to the pharmacist would be a good idea. Armed with pastilles, paracetomol and aspirin, I thought I was ready to combat my flu. While the endless consumption of pills helped, I still needed to go to the doctor, because I had gone 5 days without eating, and I was too weak to really even move.

The doctor gave me a million prescriptions (as they do in France), including a prescription for a protein milkshake to drink because I couldn't get any solids in. Yum. The people at the pharmacy now know me by face, which is a bit offputting! Still, I am feeling a lot better, and I am glad the doctors and pharmacists were so helpful. I am also glad that I can now communicate what is wrong with me in French...that is a big leap! Now all I have to do is sort out this whole insurance thing...uh oh!