SOLDES SOLDES SOLDES

January is an especially exciting month in France. January and June are the only months when you can find sales "soldes" in French retail stores. Any other time of the year everything is full price. The soldes season in France is something to definitely take advantage of. With the cost of living so high here, paying full price for clothes can be teeth-grinding. I was able to experience the excitement first hand when I went to Part-Dieu, the local mall in Lyon. People were shopping shoulder-to-shoulder, or baguette-to-baguette, and lines wrapped around the stores. It was especially crowded that day as it was the last Saturday of the sale. The experience was comparable to Boxing Day in the states. I managed to buy a rain jacket, jacket, and nice jeans for under 60 euros total. I was dead tired after navigating through the crowds for a few hours, but it was fun to be part of the semi-annual event.

Pérouges living the Medieval life

Pérouges, France is a tiny and well preserved medieval village about 35 minutes from Lyon by train. It is a very quant place, completely empty on the cold rainy day I visited. Clara and I were literally the only living souls outside that day. In the summer, I hear it is quite the tourist attraction. I was glad to go on a quite day to enjoy the cobblestone streets freshly polished by rain and hear the pitter-patter of raindrops on clay ancient roofs. Inside the 15th century village church, the cold cement walls kept all natural light. The dark medieval feel inside the church was enough to give me the chills. We only stayed half the day, but it was fun to be surrounded by everything medieval- very different from Lyon.

Forgiven for "Freedom" Fries- Proud to be an American in France

On January 20, 2009 I walked around with my head high. With President Obama's face plastered all over the city of Lyon, anyone could guess why I was proud to be an American. The inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America was an international event. French people seemed especially content on this particular Tuesday. Farmers at the local market embraced me when they heard my American accent. One man handed me a basket of free fruit while proclaiming "Yes we can!" I felt like a celebrity that day, and rightfully so. America has impressed the world. If there was ever a stereotype of French people not liking Americans, it is surely gone now. 

That evening, I tuned in to a live stream of the inauguration speech with a group of American students from my apartment building. All huddled around my tiny laptop screen, we clapped and cheered as we watched our new president take office. I must admit that before leaving for France I was disappointed about missing the inauguration from the states, but in reality I didn't miss anything. Instead, I was able to feed off the positive energy from the rest of the world and experience something exciting and new. I am looking forward to observing the reactions of the French people as new policies and changes occur in the United States.

TCL- Transportation en Commun de Lyon

The Métro is one of my favorite things about Lyon. In this huge city of 450,000 people, the métro makes it easy to navigate and understand. It is clean, efficient, and so much faster and safer than driving on the streets in France. I fear for the lives of bicyclists who share the road with the crazy automobile drivers. Instead of driving or biking, for 30 euros per month I have unlimited access to any bus, tramway, or métro line within the 9 arrondissements of Lyon. Of course there are a few downsides: The TCL public transportation closes from midnight to 5 am when all the nightlife is happening downtown. The "drunkbus" runs every hour between 12-5 am but luckily I have not been that desperate.. yet. Just kidding, mom. Also, travelling underground on the métro eliminates the possibility of scenery or knowing the way around. It's important to walk sometimes, especially for the sake of discovering the treasure of an alley-way patisserie or boulangerie. 

Soon I will explore the high-speed trains that connect all over Europe.  I bought a youth discount pass to travel within France and I intend to get my money's worth. Stay tuned...

Bienvenue en France!

My first night in France was a whirlwind of culture and jet-lag. Although I felt prepared having been in France a few months before, many things still caught me off-guard. The instance that replays in my head over and over was when I met a french girl named Clémence only 20 minutes after arriving in Lyon. It was New Years Eve and I hadn't slept in 25 hours. When Anaïs and I arrived at her apartment, Clémence, Anaïs' roommate, greeted us at the door. I was really excited to make a new friend so I mindlessly stuck out my hand to introduce myself. At this point, she was already leaning in to give me 'bisous' (kisses on both cheeks). In all the awkwardness, I ended up poking her in the stomach with my hand and when I tried to explain myself, my english words only confused her. After that embarrassing American moment, I realized I must leave all my normal actions and responses behind. It was time to watch and learn. That same night I saved myself the embarrassment by taking the lead of others. I met about 15 people my age at a party that night. I did not stick out my hand to introduce myself, I gave bisous and spoke French!