la fille qui parle avec ses mains

This week has been very different from the others that I have spent here in Lyon. I really feel like I am getting settled here and I'm getting into a routine of all things normal (well, life here is the least bit normal, but normal is relative- so my normal at the moment is just saying 'yes' to everything and seeing what happens...) And I just got off the phone with my mom after a much needed catch up session! Feeling happy.

Here is how my week went:

Tuesday:
My first SLM (suivi langue et methologique) class.... the teacher was an hour and a half late (out of a FOUR HOUR CLASS, yes, four hours.... today I had the full four hours and it was tedious...) and he was very strange and used hand gestures to 'talk' to us. Today he made me place my hands on the table while I spoke (I use my hands to talk. a lot.) and started calling me 'the girl who talks with her hands': la fille qui parle avec ses mains.... endearing? haven't quite figured that one out yet.
Then I had my geographie class- favorite class of the week!

Wednesday:
6 hours of back to back lectures: History of Photography, Art History and then Linguistics Française. A very sweet french student sent me lecture notes for both the photography and art class! yay for new French friends!

Thursday:
Day 1 of my four day weekend. *BOTH FISTS IN THE AIR, rocky style* Lounged around, slept a lot, listened to french radio in the kitchen and just enjoyed the day. I love my friends here and love being with them, but it was nice to have a day where I literally didn't have to interact with ANYONE. hit the reset button for sure.

Friday: 
Met up with Charley and Kristy to meet with Sophia for Pho at a really, really good Vietnamese restaurant. Sophia is our new Austrailian friend. We met her in Monoprix. True story. Last week Kristy, Charley and I were debating whether or not to try the pre-made sushi in Monoprix (in the end we didn't...) and Sophia chips in and tells us about a good sushi place down the block. She has been here since April and has scoped out a bunch of good restaurants and after discussing our search for good Asian food, we decide to meet up for Vietnamese. It was delicious and indeed a great find.

Sophia then took us to her favorite cafe- a cupcake and tea salon. IT WAS SO GOOD. amazing cupcakes. I mean amazing- moist and not too sweet. plus they serve one of my favorite tea brands: Kusmi tea. I have declared that salon our new hang out spot (already have plans to hang out there this Thursday!)
After lunch C, K and I met up with Monica and Phoebe to go thrifting at Bric-a-Brac. It's basically a huge salvation army type place with really good stuff. I found a great leather tote/school bag (for 5 euros!) and a few other fun things.... a red wallet and some little jars.
Friday night rolled around and we sort of forgot all our plans that we made for the week (later when we realized we were kicking ourselves for it!) but we ended up going to see Savages. Terrible movie (too much violence and not a strong story line), but it was kind of hilarious (bad writing! "they don't call it a high jinx for nothing..." or "CAN I JUST HAVE A SALAD FOR ONCE" *declared by hostage....* too funny) so we did enjoy ourselves in the end. Finished the night up with crepes in Vieux Lyon (Kristy got a rhum crepe, but the guy forgot/didn't burn the rhum off- we tried to later, but it was a lost cause....)

Saturday:
Our program organized a day trip to Beaujolais, located an hour north of Lyon. Beaujolais is in Burgundy and know for its wine. We had a lovely day in the country at a family owned winery where we had a wine tasting in the morning followed by a 2 and 1/2 hour lunch. The main porc dish had been slow cooked for 10 hours!!! Delicious French cooking! Plus later we got a tour of the farm and were given fresh bread out of their stone oven! The family was so nice and sweet- and so happy!
We all got to romp around and play in the vineyards- felt sort of like coming home for a short visit, but of course it was all new and very different. and it was so nice to spend time in the country! It was a beautiful, beautiful day. A few of us finished up the night with dinner and watching Hocus Pocus at a friends' (beautiful!!!) apartment. Overall, it was a great day- I wish I could just have a million and one of those days, where everything is just fun and wonderful.

Sunday/Monday/Tuesday: (I confess I am a day late for posting!)
Charley and I got together on Sunday to plan our Toussaint- our week and 1/2 trip in October. (I'll write more about that another time- next week?) But over the last few days I have bought tickets for Madrid, Luxembourg, Paris, Geneva.... and sorted out most of my traveling this semester. I'll be doing a lot of traveling- which makes me exhausted just thinking about it- but then I get really, really, excited and I rationalize that I am here to also learn about the world and see as much as I can.

On the flip side, school has really kicked in- I'm getting more and more worried for the amount of homework I have to do- in French! yikes, but I am mainly here to learn French so I know that the more I have to do the better I will be in the long run.

Also, yesterday I bought myself an orchid. It's sort of my symbol for feeling settled and at home, making my new room more my home. It's beautiful and I love it!

Anyway, that's about it. 'Till next week!
Cheers,
Sasha