Becoming a Mademoiselle

Before I came here, I figured that one of my goals would be to embody the French spirit. I wanted to live like the French, eat and drink like the French, talk like the French and (most importantly) dress like the French. (Haha, I kid... sort of.) I can't say that I've gotten everything down pat about how the French live their lives yet. But I can say that I am starting to see how my life is shaping here in France.

Life here in France is becoming very "normal". If feels as though this is how I have been living my life for a while already. I have grown so close with the people that I live with. I don't feel out of place at all. I have to admit that even though it has only been two weeks here, I will be truly heartbroken to leave my life here. We only have about 4 months to be students, to be friends, to live together... We can always return and we can always keep in touch but it won't be the same. I am so grateful for the time I have been given here. I used to think that this was something that I had earned but I feel lucky to have this opportunity.

Last night, we went back to the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière that has a view of all of Lyon. It is so much more beautiful at night, just like the Eiffel Tower was when I first saw it. This time, we didn't walk up the stairs to the church but instead a long winding road. We brought some 'vin' (wine) with us to help make the hike easier. It's a funny story but the gates were closed while we were there so we had to climb these tall gates and clumsy me, I scraped my knee. Boo. Now when I try to bend my knee I can feel my skin stretching and it hurts like a little biatch. Battle wound.


The metro closes sometime after midnight so our options were to either cab it or walk. We walked, of course. It took us somewhere around 3 hours? Twice as long as walking back from Hotel de Ville. So about 3 miles? We took a pit stop to grab a bite to eat at this 'boulangerie' (bakery) that is open 24 hours. We got a decent deal for 5 euros: a sandwich, drink & dessert. Chocolate flan is disgusting. The owner talked to us about Americans owning guns. Weird. Vieux Lyon has some great pubs that we need to visit. We also need to watch the sun rise.


Oh yeah, roomie and I decided to dye our hair earlier yesterday to give ourselves a more French persona. Or at least one that is different from our normal American ones. The French have all different hair colors so there isn't one that will make us more French. Roomie's isn't as red or dark as she'd like. My roots came out better than the rest so we might have to do another box. We'll probably go back to normal when we go home but it's a fun change for now.

Need to clean. Take advantage of the sunny weather. Parc de la Tete d'Or? Good idea.

Phrase of the week: Allons-y! (Let's go!)

Photos courtesy of Jesse Johnston