football, cheese and knitting...a perfect weekend!

Lille Metropole Stadium...Go Lille! Before the Gala....

Marjorie, Malika and Me!

My internet is finally up and running! I feel like I'm housecleaning...sending off e-mails, updating pictures and the blog, it feels nice to be part of normal society once more!

The past week has been extremely busy, I have so many stories! I received my first package from home on February 15th (Thursday) which was a wonderful surprise! It was nice to get reminders of home (peanut butter!!!) and little notes of encouragement. Kleenex, neocitran...what more could a girl ask for?

That night was the Arts Faculty Gala so we all got dressed up and went to....drumroll....a second rate talent show!! Not what I had in mind from the word Gala...not to mention that all the "acts" sang English songs, it sounded as if they knew the words but not necessarily what the words meant! Red Hot Chili Peppers were butchered beyond words that night...but it was all part of the fun! Everything is certainly an experience here! We went out dancing afterwards which was a lot of fun...although I don't think I can dance in heels as often as some!

Friday night Raelene, Katie and I were fortunate to be invited to a Lille football match with a French student, Marjorie, her father, brother and her brother's girlfriend! WOW it rocked!! They are so passionate about the sport...I think they could give Oiler's fans a run for their money! Not to mention that they have dozens of football song and dances which the crowd sings non-stop....flags and confetti and scarfs...I want to go back soon!! Lille is 3rd in the European league and is playing Manchester United this week. We couldn't get tickets though, it was sold out a long time ago. We lost the game (we were playing the 1st place team) and I could literally feel the pain!!

Saturday night Katie, Malika and I and some other international students went to Marjorie's house for dinner. We had "Raclette," a French invention which involves mini pans, a small electic oven which sits on the table and various meats and cheeses and veggies to put in said pans. DELICIOUS is the only word that comes to mind...I love the French because of their love for cheese! After we were stuffed (Katie and I contributed Rice Krispie treats to the mix) we played the french version of Taboo boardgame, it was fun! We also played that game where you stick a famous person’s name to your forehead and try to guess it…except we HAD to speak French and the French people had to speak English! Good times!

Sunday was another successful knitting party…we made trifles with fresh market fruit and vanilla pudding…

This week I have just been trying to get ready for my big Berlin/Paris trip and doing homework to prepare for midterms. Wish me luck!

London Town

***Disclaimer: Ok so I totally already wrote all of this then LOST it all sooooo I will try to be as enthousiastic but I am NOT promising anything; HAHA KIDDING***

Wow London....you are a lovely friend. I had such a great time there I cannot believe it! I don't know what I was expecting but it was certainly above and beyond that. We took the ferry over which was an experience in itself as I got to experience the English Channel first-hand and I saw the white cliffs of Dover. I was a little queasy needless to say!

Our bus driver got a little lost but we made it to London in good time and hopped on the tube to go buy theatre tickets in Leicester Square. (More on that later) A lot of movie premiers happen there and there is a giant move theatre on each corner which only features one movie at a time; We had a kick-ass lunch at an Indian restaurant - I think London is the best place to get Indian food outside of India. I got Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan Bread...I even took a picture! Oh and they have sweet, glorious Starbucks on every corner so we picked up a caramel macchiato for dessert!
Raelene, Malika (from Milwaukee), Kate (from North Carolina) and I headed over to the "Manet to Picasso" exhibit at the National Gallery in Trafalger Square. They did an excellent job of timelining the evolution of modern art and included pieces from Manet, Monet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, Van Gogh and Picasso among others. I feel so cultured that I should be speaking in a British accent!
A stop at Topshop, a super sweet clothing store. I totally restrained myself and didn't buy anything...Are you proud of me? And we grabbed a bagel (!!!!!! they don't eat bagels ANY-FREAKING-WHERE in France) and yet another Starbucks nectar of the gods to wait for out theater show - STOMP -. Let me just say...I didn't realize how funny it was supposed to be! I was worht every penny of the halfprice ticket and more!!! They really involved the audience and made music out of everything including garbage cans and paper bags!!

The next morning we headed over the Westminster abbey for church and stopped at Big Ben on the way (tourist moment!) which was pretty cool. The service was SOOO PRETTY and the choir was great. It's amazing to sit there and think of all the history the place has to offer!
Next up was Hyde Park and a visit to Speaker's Corner...a Sunday morning exhibition where anyone can come and preach on a soapbox about anything...there was even a guy giving out free hugs!! Often, someone listening would start debating with the speaker...I guess everyone has an opinion. AND, a guy was there preaching on the same book that the minister at Westminster was preaching on...God is everywhere hey?
We stopped a a great little market and I picked up a bright yello handmade leather wallet with a hot pink picture of a ski lift with snowboarders on it...it reminded me of home!!! We were the last ones back at the bus because we needed to run and get Italian dictionaries for our test that Tuesday (it went well by the way!) But we made it and enjoyed the way home on the ferry. The second time around was very relaxing!!!

There is so luch more to say, but it was a great introduction to London and I am grateful for the experience...up next? Berlin and Paris!

SNOW!

It snowed here! Well of course it melted within the hour....but for that hour I was transported back to the old life!! I hear that it is quite nippy back home...I can't say that I envy it!

I had such a good night last night! There was a party here at the residence in the kitchen. At 9:30 pm I was standing in a normal kitchen microwaving soup...and by 10:30 all the tables and chairs were gone, there was a dj set up on the counter and a disco ball had been installed! It was really fun to hang out with all the people I see passing by everyday!

I'm off to London tommorrow morning at 5:45 am (eek)! I'll check after my little getaway!

P.S. I went to Old Lille on Saturday and took some pictures...go check them out: http://picasaweb.google.com/leahskinner8

did i mention that I MISS ALL OF YOU?

non parlo italiano!

wow! so many good stories haha!
I am now a proud knitter, having bought the necessary tools and being proficient enough to decipher the hidden code of online learn-to-knit instructions! My scarf is about 8 inches in and looking crappy! I feel so domestic *sigh*
I also had my first french bowling experience and...guess what?! it's just like back home! Complete with weirdly stanky shoes and the day-glo decorations with optional black light...But this girl came in first place! I think the water here is agreeing with me...
So many firsts! I had my *first* crepes of the season last night at the university restaurant and they were d-e-licious. My dinner crepe was gruyere cheese, creme fraiche, ham and potatoes, and my dessert crepe was chocolate bananas and whipped cream! Are you drooling yet? Complete with beer and salad for a whopping 2,75 euro! I love this place!!
Oh...and then there was my first step class...let me just say that it was an experience. Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit..over and over and over again to THE MOST complicated step manoeuvres I have ever seen. If there was a step olympics, the proper execution of this routine would guarantee you the gold medal for the next 10 years. I mean! there were twirls and mambos and sashays and lightning-fast foot switches, cross-overs ON TOP of the step complete with hand flourishes and hip movements. Not that anyone could follow along of course...even the instructor had written instructions in hand to remember all the moves! I was sweating because of the heat of frustration in the room, not because of any intensive physical struggle!! Bodily harm, physical collisions and femur breakage to follow....no thanks! I think I will skip out on the step next time!

La Fin

p.s. I am going to London this weekend, YEAH!

Hey!
I posted some pics of my teeny tiny room, go see!