Packing and Reflecting

Well, the semester is coming to a close. The semester I thought would last forever, only lasted 3.5 months. We enjoyed our time here, going to Paris, Rome, Spain, and many other exciting places. We have all matured over this experience. I think that everyone who goes through this journey should mature in one aspect or another of his/her life. It could be just as simple as becoming a kinder or a more understanding person.
This program combines all aspects of life: social, academic, religion, etc. For those who are about to replace us in Ambialet, do not take a day here for granted.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time for being thankful. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to come to France.
This was probably one of my most memorable Thanksgivings. We had a big gathering of 40 people. Some students from a vocational school came to give us a wine testing presentation. We invited our friends from Albi. It was many people's first Thanksgiving here because they do not celebrate it in France. They soon found out what it was about. We feasted on the usual stuff: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
We finished the night with some good song and dance.

Our Second Trip to Paris

Our second trip to Paris was great. The most memorable thing that we did was visiting the Picasso Museum. I realized how much of a genius Picasso actually was. He had great talent, even at a young age. The above painting of a man is a work of Picasso from when he was a very young boy. He chose to express art in different ways than his predecessors. Picasso helped to lead modern art into the 20th century with his naturalism and abstract paintings.
We were also invited to Gerry's house to view a rehersal of three-piece symphony. There was a piano, cello, and violin. The performers were very talented, and it made us feel somewhat civilized.
I also visited the Louvre one more time because once was not enough.
Another memorable moment was getting to watch American football at an English bar. It brought a tear to my eye, even though I was not watching the Steelers dominate.

Our Trip to Spain

Our weekend trip to Spain was awesome. We first stopped in a city called Girona. Girona is in the Catalan region, which is an autonomous community of Spain. The Catalan people basically have their own language, not the traditional Spanish as one may think.
After Girona, we stopped at Barcelona. Here was visited the incomplete Sagrida Familie, which means Sacred Family. It is a massive cathedral that is being constructed as we speak. It was designed by Antoni Gaudi, who was a brilliant architect.
We also went kayaking on a calm river during our visit to Barcelona. We had to wear funny wet suits. Enjoy.

Rome

Another highlight of Rome was seeing the Pope three times. We went to one of his masses on Sunday. We sat in the aisle seat, so we were within arms distance away. After mass that day he addressed the public from outside his window. Then we saw him again when he did his usual Wednesday audience. We had V.I.P. seats to this. Pope Benedict knows how to drive in style. His popemobile is a Mercedes.
We also met with the Princess of Rome, and got a private tour of her palace. We did not get to meet with the Prince of Rome because he was out on business.

Rome first day

Our first day in Rome was amazing. We visited St. Peter's Basilica. We saw the pillar that Jesus was scourged at and the manger that he was born in. We saw all 8 apostles', who are in Rome, relics. We must have went to 8-10 churches that day to see what we did. There is a church on every corner in Rome. We got a tour of the Vatican gardens as well.

Paris

Our first experience in Paris was a good one. Our first night in Paris we went to see the Eiffel Tower. It was lit blue, and to my amazement magnificently sparkles on the hour.
The next day we walked around Paris with our professor, Gerry. He spoke about some of Paris's bridge architecture. We saw the French Statue of Liberty, which is a lot smaller than the one in the USA. The French Statue of Liberty is faced toward New York.
In our travels during later days, we went visited the Louvre. The Louvre is larger than I ever expected it to be. I could get lost for days in it. To the side are pictures of the Louvre coinciding with the two wings and the main wing of the building.
We also visited Versailles, which housed the French monarchies. This places is hundreds of acres that belonged to the french monarchies. The palace on the grounds was home to Louis XIII through XVI. And Marie Antionette's getaway home is located on the grounds. There is also a picture of Versailles above, noted by the golden gates.

Biggest Bridge

The other day we drove across the world's biggest bridge. The pictures pretty much explain it all...

Resistance museum

We will be going to Paris on Oct. 15th for 9 days, and then to Rome for 10 days. It is exciting. We have done a lot this past week. We went to the Resistance Museum. Basically it is a museum of French resistance during WWII. It is something that American High Schools do not teach. The French killed many Jews and placed them in concentration camps, especially Auschwitz. The did not just show such hatred toward Jews, but foreigners and communists as well. The Resistance was made up of french men and women who did not want to be a part of the slaughter. Many of these people were tortured themselves, but out of it came some remarkable people. I challenge anyone to read up on this topic, learn, and be shocked. Research names such as General De Gaulle, who was the first to call for appeal of resistance, and Marianne Cohn, who helped free many Jewish children in prison camps.

Saint Cecile

The other day we visited Saint Cecile Cathedral in Albi. In the Middle Ages, the bigger your church was, the more power one was viewed to have. So, the Lord in Albi decided to build a huge cathedral to show his power. It stands today as the tallest BRICK structure in the world. It is pretty impressive.
Saint Cecile is the patron saint of musicians. The cathedral is beautiful inside. The dominant color used in it is blue, which was also a symbol of wealth and power in the Middle Ages.

Took a Walk

I decided to do a little bit of filming as I was walking up the side of the mountain one day. I had to split the video into small segments.

A Fair Night

A couple weekends ago, we went to a fair in a small town about 20 minutes away from Ambialet. There were some carnival games. One involved hitting a punching bag, and it would give you a score depending on how hard you hit it. I don't mean to toot my own horn... but toot toot, I got the high score out of us three men.
The night was not complete until Mr. John (Remmington) Roche went to the shotgun booth. The object was to shoot targets in front of you with a shotgun. Yes, a real shotgun. John never shot a shotgun before. He shot once, missed, but it was alright because he had another shot. However, he didn't know how to reload the shotgun, so the lady at the booth came over to help. Little did John know that he did not have to reload it; rather, there was another trigger to pull to fire the second shot. John accidentally found this out while the gun was pointed at the ground, which would have been funny enough. The lady then reaches and lifts up her coat, where John shot, and reveals that John Wayne shot her six pack of beer. We laughed very very hard when we saw this, and we won't let him live it down.
There was also a concert with dancing, which there is a video of below. I am not sure what I liked more: the dancing or The Duke of Hazard's gun show.

Conque is a quaint little pilgrimage village nestled into the side of a mountain top. It was established as a holy land to escape the material world. The patron saint of this town is St. de Foy. She is known to be a saint of miracles. This small village also safeguards the treasure of St. de Foy, which is an impressive array of relics. Can you guess which U.S. capital is named after this saint? I'll give you a hint: it is not in old Mexico.

About Light Up Night and 1st Pilgrimege

Ambialet has, what I call, light up night. Different colored lights are placed throughout the town at certain monuments, such as the monastery that we live in. On this particular night, the history of Ambialet and some other French history was told in sync with the lighting display. This night was also interesting because the town was filled with mayflies. It was mating time for them, so thousands of mayflies were under the light of the lamp posts throughout the town.

The next day we went on our first field trip. I like to call it a pilgrimage because we visited churches and saw relics that were part of pilgrimage routes hundreds of years ago. This field trip was also part of our class. It sure beats sitting in a room for 2 hours. Our excursions were to Saint Bertrand de Comminges: a Roman city and Gothic cathedral and Saint Just de Valcabrere Basilica.

Saint Bertrand was amazing because it is this small town nestled in a mountain, accented by the St. Bertrand Cathedral. This town dates back to roman times, where 20,ooo people used to inhabit it. Below this town are ruins of one of the first Roman civilizations in France.

The Saint Just de Valcabrere Basilica is a neat little church that sits in a grave yard of priests and bishops. It is only a mile away from Saint Bertrand. There is a tomb of relics at the front of this church that is viewable by the public. This was a long day for the four of us, our guides, and professor.

Tennis in Ambialet

It was my first time playing tennis in about a month. I was very excited, considering my love for the game. Jim, Lindsay, and I had a blast slapping each other's balls around. Jim lost one... It was a beautiful sunny day. After tennis, we were interviewed by a local reporter on our experience so far. It's almost like we are celebrities here in small Ambialet.

Fireworks in Albi Par Deux

Fireworks in Albi

France First Couple of Days

So far, France is awesome. Already I went hiking up a mountain, and saw fireworks. The second night we ate with a British family that is awesome. Jason, the British host, was extremely funny. He kept us howling all night long. Monday was our first day of class. It is exciting to start learning a new language in another country. For anyone out there who is debating whether to do a study abroad program, my suggestion is do it. You will not be disappointed. France is amazing. We get to stay in a huge monestary with an outstanding view. The environment is amazing, and many new friendships are made along the way.