Fêter*

* To celebrate
Before I get writing about my excursion to Belgium, I again have a little catching up to do.

The week and half following my last post were busy. Unexpectedly, autumn developed as it always does, into midterm season. I say unexpectedly, because we CIDEF students had gotten into a lovely pattern of doing very little homework and studying for relatively few tests. Evenings could be spent on Skype with one's family and friends, or doing a whole lot of nothing at all. But tout d'un coup (all of a sudden), we found ourselves deluged with tests, assignments, and presentations. Last Monday, I wrote a midterm in Socio-Cultural studies, immediately followed by a midterm in History. I really can't complain though; I know that if I were at StFX right now, I would be turning in almost weekly papers of over 1000 words each. Here (knock on wood) I've yet to write anything longer than... perhaps 400 words?

Last weekend was a welcome one. On Friday afternoon, I got a wonderful surprise phone call from Eliane, with whom I had stayed when I first arrived in Angers. She invited Laura and me to dinner chez elle for Saturday evening. On Friday night, Becky, Melissa, Laura and I tried to go see the movie Les Petits Mouchoirs (direct translation = the little tissues, but the English title is Little White Lies). We were running a little behind schedule (my fault, naturally), and by the time we reached the cinéma the line was far too long for us to be able to make it in time. So back to Becky's we went. We turned on the TV to find the movie 17 Again playing in French. With a bottle of wine, a plate of cheese, and some bread, we settled down to a cosy evening. On Saturday morning, we were supposed to go to the market, but the rain put a bit of a damper on that idea. Early afternoon, we set out for the matinée of the movie. It was my first time in that particular theatre and it was really beautiful. The movie was incredible! It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (woohoo!), so if you were lucky enough to have seen it with English subtitles please let me know what you thought. It was about a group of really close friends in their 30s and 40s who go on holiday each year to their friend's beach house. This year, one of their friends gets in a motorcycle accident just before they're due to leave, so tensions are high when they go. All their little secrets start to come out. I didn't understand all of their conversations, but I got the gist of it. If you've got the opportunity to see it, I highly recommend it.

After the movie, Laura and I searched for the bus we were to take to Eliane's in the POURING rain. Absolute sodding downpour. We found our bus, got on, and about 7 minutes into the trip I realised we were going in quite the wrong direction. So, off we got, crossed the street, and caught the next bus going in the opposite sens. By about 6pm, we reached Eliane's. We were a little soggy, freezing, but happy to arrive at a welcoming home. It was such a wonderful evening. Eliane's friend Kati was there, and the four of us shared a pot of tea and a lemon/apple tart. Kati had to leave after that, but Laura and I hung out in Eliane's kitchen talking about life in Angers and food and friends and everything. I mentioned that I'm afraid of the gas stove at my house, and that as I result I haven't had the chance to bake anything. Eliane peered into her fridge, declared that she had three eggs just waiting to be blended into something delicious. Not wanting to use up all her ingredients, we protested that it was too much, but she wouldn't hear it. And so, a chocolate cake was made. While it cooked, we had a sumptuous meal of lentil soup, duck, potatoes, mushrooms, and salad. And then we ate cake! It couldn't have been a nicer evening.

Laura had made plans for us to meet up with our new French friend Aurélien at the bar that night. Laura and Aurélien met at the laundromat when Laura's family's washing machine broke. He's a 25 year old Parisian who owns a landscaping company in Angers, and he's a sweetheart. Laura asked Eliane to come join us for a drink as well, and she agreed. So the four of us met up at James Joyce, our particular favourite. Everyone got along well, and it was so great to know we were out on the town with two French friends.

Monday was Jamie's birthday, so a little celebrating was in order. We broke out some wine with dinner and ate some éclairs instead of cupcakes. The owner of the bar Falstaff, Kat, had put together a little party for her favourite customer. The music was pumping, the drinks were flowing, and then Jamie's French boyfriend Quentin made a surprise visit from his co-op placement which is three hours away.

On Monday, I also found out that my friend Kylle has gotten the thumbs up from his parents to stay the whole year rather than just the first semester. It had to do a lot of haggling to make them change their minds, but it seems he's here to stay! Tuesday and Wednesday were filled with preparations for Belgium. I scoured the internet for information on Brussels and Bruge, our two destinations. If anyone is traveling to Europe, Rick Steeves is a great source. Wednesday night, I completed all my last-minute packing, because early Thursday morning we were catching our train to Belgique!

Having just gotten back this evening, I should go get a good sleep. So, tails of my travels to continue a bit later!