Silly Sammy Slick Sipped Six Sodas and got Sick, Sick, Sick

Going all the way back to Friday, I had to get up really early to walk all the way over to Fromont for my 9am French Writing class. It was sort of drizzly and wet when I stepped out the door, but I didn't have time to run back upstairs for my umbrella so I just figured I'd tough it out. The walk to Fromont, in case I haven't mentioned it, takes about a half hour. I got there just in time to run into Christina, who is Kate's friend, and find out where the class was being held. We went in and sat down. The teacher is Beatrix (She told us to call her that. She said she hates being called "Madame" and refuses to get married for that reason. ;P), who is the same teacher as my Actualités class. There were eight of us; two Americans, two Canadians, two Germans, an Australian and an Englishwoman. Only one guy in the group, but I get the feeling that's pretty common when it comes to studying languages (at least in North America). Beatrix is amazing. She moves like a stalking heron, is very friendly and approachable, and is the only French person I've met so far who actively and bitingly criticizes France and French culture, which makes for really engaging discussions. My French Oral class was scheduled right after Writing, with a half-hour break in between; but since pretty much everyone taking the oral class was in the writing class (we added one more girl to our number); we decided that in the future we'll just go straight from one to the next and have a short break or two when we need it. I don't know necessarily how much I learned in those four hours - Beatrix has a tendency to go on tangents really easily - but it was a lot of fun and we were speaking and learning French!

After class, I headed back home through the rain, which had only gotten a little bit stronger. It seemed to be coming and going in spurts. I went to Rue Bordeaux and got a kebab-frites panini (A panini with lamb and french fries. It's probably the best of the ones you can get at the Grignotine) to eat on the way, which was yummy. When I got back to the house, I was coughing a little, but I drank some juice and felt better. After a while the others woke up and went out for lunch, and I took a shower enjoyed not being outside.

That night, Jacqueline had invited a bunch of Géraldine Dhommée's friends to have a soirée and meet us all, since we're the last group to be in Le Nonante. We found out about an hour beforehand that we were supposed to be sort of dressed up, so we all scrambled to find outfits. The evening itself was pretty fun, if a little awkward at points. We met a bunch of older French people, and spoke a lot of French. There was sangria and amuse-bouches (little hors d'oeurves thingies) and we all introduced ourselves several times and said what we were studying and what our intended careers were. For dinner we had several different quiches, salad, cheese and bread, and this scalloped potatoes salad/seafood thing that was really good. I haven't been a fan of quiche since I had it in Paris when I was little and didn't like it, but these quiches have changed my mind! There was a seafood quiche with mussels and shrimp that won me over times a million, and I also tried one with vegetables. I also had Roquefort cheese for (what I thought was) the first time, and recognised the taste; apparently I must've had it before and didn't know. I ended up talking a lot with one of the women named Edvige (I have no idea if that's how it's spelled; it's not a name I'd ever heard before). She smoked, so a couple times I went out with her in the garden while we were talking. She explained to us how to properly taste and pour wine, and another time she told me about the basic principles of the Social Security system in France, and we had a discussion about how in the US people don't want to pay the government so that everyone can go to the doctor and get help when they need it (/my socialist rant). Overall, I had a lot of fun, although throughout the night I could feel a building sinus headache, which I'm sure wasn't helped by the dehydrating effects of the wine. I also asked Edvige and her husband if they knew where I would be able to find the champagne Veuve Clicquot, which Aunt Roxy introduced me to in Seattle and is really amazing. She told me about a liquor store on Rue Nationale that should have it, but they also told me that if I'm looking for good champagnes, Bollinger is supposed to be very good. There were some others they mentioned, but I don't remember them because they were listing them off too quickly. (Aunt Rox, I hope you're paying attention, because I asked for you! :P)

The entire evening lasted about 5 1/2 hours, and we were all ready to drop by the time everyone finally left. We basically came upstairs and fell into bed. This morning, I woke up and felt awful. I had no voice, the sinus pressure had moved down into my throat, and every time I coughed or sneezed my head reeled. I've spent most of today sitting in bed, drinking liquids and taking the occasional headache reliever/fever reducer. For brunch we had the leftover quiche (I tried one with bacon and had another piece of the fantastic seafood one), which was good, although I tried not to touch too much stuff or move too quickly. Dinner was some kind of shredded vegetable in the same slightly acidic sauce she usually uses for cucumbers, then little meatballs and ratatouille, and dessert was a big cake cut in half along the middle with Chantilly crème filling the center. It was all really good, and worth leaving my bed for. I made myself some fruity tea and put in lemon juice to help my throat, which felt really good. I'm sad that I had to get sick right now, though; everyone's going out tonight with the French boys again. Sierra said Ted came back to Tours this weekend to see me, which makes me feel horrible that I can't go. Oh, well; there will be other nights! For tonight, I'm going to take the medicine Jacqueline gave me and sleep!

(Oh, and bonus points to anyone who can guess the origin of my title without looking it up on Google. :D)