Good Day!

Today was a great day! I got up early, and went with Lauren down to the Bakery (Boulangerie). And I ordered, by myself, in French a pastry! I was quite proud of myself. It took a lot of learning and repeating, but I did it.LOL And it was the best almond croissant I have ever eaten in my life. The reason we got up early, was because there was a hiking expedition that left at 10am before breakfast. But as I was getting ready this morning, I realized, it would probably be better if I just stayed here and did laundry and some homework (since I hadn't started any yet) And I am glad that I did. My friends came back from the hike, sunburned and tired!

So yup, thats what I did today. I did laundry and homework. I know that sounds boring but it was actually kind of fun. Laundry here was an experience. All the directions were in French, and there is no temperature setting for the water (at least not what I could see) And the detergent didn't have a measuring cup, so I had no idea how much to put into the washer because the measurement chart was all in ml. So I kind of guessed and pressed some buttons. But in the end it worked!! Phase I done. Next drying. So there are dryers here, but most students and locals just hang up their laundry on lines. I wanted to try it too. I found a bunch of lines next to my room and began hanging. It was a lot of fun, and almost everything dried.

Homework required me to be in the print studio for most of the day. I pulled my first monoprint ever. It came out okay. Not the way I expected, but hey it was the first. And lets just say by then end of this class I better have muscular arms!! With all the ink mixing, charging the brayer (rolling the ink onto a roller), running paper through an ancient press and cleaning up afterward....It was like a work out!! LOL I am hoping to start a print tomorrow and perhaps one more before I there due on Wed!!

Now my next bit of culture shook came this afternoon. I had the opportunity to go to mass with Finn, a local who works for the college. Finn is a Irishman who now has a home in Lacoste. He is a really nice man, and knows the history and the stories of the valley. So it was a great 35 min ride through the valley to the little little town of Lioux. He just knows so much about everything, it was like getting a private tour. We got to the church and it was a small little building, but it had so much character. Wooden benches and fresco walls and paintings. It was such a humble church and 20 people showed up for mass. The service was completely in French, so I really didn't know what they were exactly saying. But it was funny I did know when the different parts of the mass were. It was a great experience. And I think Finn was surprised how much I enjoyed it. We are already planning on going next weekend, which makes me happy.



That was my day in a nutshell. Kind of a big nutshell huh? I uploaded new pictures check under the Menerbes entry and the Bories too. See ya!