Sorry it’s been so long since I posted my last blog. I
haven’t had Internet for almost a week because I’ve been on vacation with my
host family. So I’ll try to catch you all up.
So last week was another hard week of work, but it was nice
and short because my host family didn’t come home from their weekend trip to
Champagne until Monday night. So I only had to work Tuesday-Friday, which was
very nice.
Oh and I forgot to make a shout out to Farmer Trent in my
last post. I worked on Farmer Trent’s farm (Green Gardens Community Farm) a few
years ago and he basically taught me everything I know about farming. So I
don’t know if you’re reading my blog, Trent, but if you are thank you for
teaching me how to be a good farmer. Since I don’t really know the French
language I think my work would’ve been a lot harder if you hadn’t taught me everything
I know. But since I know about farming vegetables I can figure out what my host
dad and his co-workers want me to do so thank you!
So this past Tuesday we raised vines all day. It was
almost 100° and I
thought my arms were going to fall off by the end of the day, but it was a good
workout. After work, Pauline (my host sister) showed me her book of plants and
animals and taught me how to say everything in French. I’m going to be pro at French
vocab by the end of this trip; too bad I can’t form sentences. I also tried
Camembert cheese for the first time today. It smelt pretty horrible, but I
loved the taste!
Wednesday was another hard day. We went to work at 6am so
this way it wouldn’t be so hot while we lifted the vines. We thought it was a
good idea, but then it started to rain. So that plan kind of backfired; we were
still soaking wet but with water this time instead of sweat, but we had a good
laugh. So we lifted vines until 2 in the afternoon. Then when we got home I
helped Pauline and Dominique (my host mom) make brownies. They were yummy! Then
Dominique asked if I would make an American dinner for everybody and of course
I said yes. So we ran to the supermarket and picked up a few things. I decided
to do an American summer cookout kind of thing. So I grilled some hamburgers
and hot dogs and I made a potato salad and three-bean salad. Dominique and
Steve loved everything; Dominique even asked for the recipes. The kids loved
the hot dogs and hamburgers, but they didn’t seem to like the salads too much,
but at least they tried them.
After our American dinner we took some pictures!
Thursday was a big day at work. It was their open house; so
many farmers and vineyard owners from the region came to see the company’s work
and research. I helped set up for the open house in the morning, then in the
afternoon I got to attend the open house. Unfortunately all of the
presentations were in French so I didn’t understand most of it, but it was
still interesting to see. After work Quentin (my host brother) and I played
tennis again in the pool and practiced counting in French and English. We’re
going to be pros at that by the end of the month. I also got to try chocolate
croquants for the first time today. They’re a French dessert that are only
found in this region; they were good!
On Friday I finally got to try some Abbaye Saint Michel
wine. This is the wine that’s produced from the grapes they grow at my
internship. My host dad was holding a sensory evaluation of a few of the Abbaye
Saint Michel wines. So I helped set up for the evaluation and then I got to
taste them as well! Then that afternoon we lifted more vines and we went home
and packed for vacation!
Abbaye Saint Michel
The sensory room
Julien (my host dad’s co-worker), me, and my host dad
Workin hard!
On Saturday morning we left for my host family’s summer
vacation. We are spending the week in Champagne visiting their relatives and
going to Nigloland (an amusement park). The car ride took all day so by the
time we showed up at the Nigloland hotel it was time for dinner. So we ate at
the hotel’s restaurant, which was a buffet, and of course I wanted to try
almost everything. I picked a few things from the appetizer table to try and I
grabbed something called boudin noir. I had no idea what anything was so I just
sat down and started eating. Then my host dad looked over and asked if I just
ate the boudin noir. I said, “yes, why?” He turned to my host mom and said can
you explain to Melissa in English what she just ate. And my host mom told me it
was blood and onions blended together. I was like oh great, but I guess I liked
it because I ate the whole thing. Then it was time for the main course. For the
main course they had everything laying out uncooked and you had to tell the
chef what you wanted. My host mom said to try Andouillettes because they’re a
specialty of the region. I didn’t think anything of it and I ordered it from
the chef. He looked at me and said are you sure because it’s definitely
something special, and my host dad said, yeah it’s fine she can have it, she
eats everything. So after I tried it my host dad told me that I had just eaten
intestines. So I had a very interesting meal that night, but at least I liked
everything!
The lobby of our hotel
Us hanging out at the hotel after a tough game of foosball
My Andouillettes (they’re the round things in the front)
Sunday was our day at Nigloland. Nigloland is just a small
amusement park in Champagne that my host family likes to go to every summer. So
we spent the day there and went on rides all day. Quentin (my host brother) and
I went on an indoor rollercoaster 10 times! We had fun!
Nigloland!!!
On Monday we drove to Dominique’s sister’s house and I got
to experience a different type of cuisine. It was interesting to see how
different the cooking is in the north of France from the south. Even though
they’re sister’s they use local produce so their cooking styles are very
different. My host parents also took me shopping today. They took me to their
outlets. So I got to shop around there for a bit and see some French stores as
well as American. They had a Nike store so I ran in real quick just to see what
the prices were, and it was definitely more expensive than in the US especially
with the exchange rate. Oh and we spent the night in a chateau!! It was really
pretty!
The chateau!
My room!
Us at the back door of the chateau
Quentin,
Pauline, and I showing our boilermaker spirit!
Then on Tuesday we drove to my host dad’s parents’ house. They
live in Champagne as well but they live in a different area so we had to drive
for about an hour and a half until we got there. We stayed at their house
for 3 days. Steve’s mom was really nice and made escargot for lunch one day
because I have never had it before. I absolutely loved it! It was so good! I
also got to try a whole bunch of Steve’s dad’s homemade wine! He showed me his
wine cellar and explained how he makes it. It was really interesting!
Me and Steve's mom with the escargot! Yum!
Me and Steve's dad with some of his home made wine!
On Friday we visited Dominique’s church in the town where
she grew up. It was a small church, but it was very pretty. Then they took me
to the city of Troyes. It was a quaint city! It had lots of little shops and
restaurants and it had very pretty architecture. So they took me to one of the
cathedrals and then we went out to dinner for our last vacation dinner. I also said good bye to Quentin and Pauline today :( They're staying with their relatives for a few weeks this summer so they didn't come home with us. I was sad to say good bye. I'm going to miss having them to hang with. They were fun kids!
Dominique's church in Longsols
The cathedral we visited in Troyes
Troyes! It's so pretty!
On Saturday we drove home. It took about 9 hours with about 7 hours of driving. We stopped at a cute little town on the way home and saw the cathedral and a celtic band playing.
The cathedral
The celtic band
And today was a lazy day. We mostly hung around the house except for this morning Dominique and I went to the local market to pick up some food. I was very jealous of their market. They have a stand just for bread, just for cheese, just for meats, and just for fish. It was very cool! So I think that's it for now. I'll be leaving to go back to Toulouse this Thursday and then I will be off to Germany! Hopefully I will have internet at some point or another during the next week so I can keep you all updated. If not, I will update you all when I arrive back in the US. Can't believe my program is almost over. It went by way too fast and I think I'm really going to miss it here (especially all of the bread and cheese haha), but it's been a great experience!
