Wonderful April!

The weather lately has been beautiful. When I say beautiful, I mean BEAUTIFUL. Every day recently has been about high 60s low 70s with just a bit of breeze to make being outside rather enjoyable! And now you also know why I have not been online as much skyping, messaging, or writing on my blog J

Last weekend, when I was at the pub, there was a couple sitting in there with their little white puppy. All the guys who worked there seemed to know the couple, so they would go up and love on the puppy, then get back to work, go back later and say hello to it again, and then back to work. It was cracking me up to see the men all fawning over such a little poof ball. I went to grab some dinner with a friend, and when I came back, the couple was back in the pub again, this time sitting close to where I like to sit. I went up to them and asked if they wouldn’t mind if I pet their dog. They were like no, no please do. I literally sat for the next two hours with the pup in my lap chatting with the couple, the husband’s brother, and another friend. They were very friendly and told me on their departure that they would come back to the pub so I could see the puppy again and get my doggy fix ha ha

Last week, as well, was the first time Obama has come to Europe since he became president. There was a huge buzz about this in Besancon, which I found to be quite funny. Everyone I knew, that knows I am American, was asking me if I was going to go see my president in London or the northern town of Strasbourg for the NATO meeting. I informed them that even though Obama and I are clearly BFF (Best Friends Forever), that I did not think I would be able to fit him into my schedule… ha ha It was really interesting to read all about the meetings in the French newspaper, as well I caught some of the French news one night on the TV at Madigan’s.

All my lovely Anglophones and I have been hanging out quite a bit lately. We made cinnamon rolls together last weekend, have been eating out, hanging by the river, and going out together at night. I absolutely love and adore each and every one of them! It’s funny because all my girls from the islands of Europe (UK and Scotland mainly that I know of hahaha) are obsessed with Jane Austen. Claire has exposed us all to this miniseries by BBC called Lost in Austen. It’s about a modern-day girl, Amanda Price, who is obsessed with Pride and Prejudice and wants nothing more than to live in that time and to know the people. Well, one day her dream comes true, and she finds that she has switched spots with Elizabeth Bennet and now finds herself in the adventures in Netherfield Park and Pemberley. The series is grand! Only four episodes, but very interesting to see the little twists they add to the storyline. (If you have any interest in watching it, you can find the episodes on Youtube. Do a search for “Lost in Austen Misslorely” then click on the link for “Misslorely.” You will be taken to a profile type page, find the playlist for Lost in Austen, then you can see all the full episodes in parts all in order, enjoy!)

Naturally, I am on a Jane Austen kick, and tried to see if I could find Pride and Prejudice online, because I realized this week that I have never read it! It is then that I came across my new literary treasure chest that many or you may or may not know about, the Gutenberg Project! If you go to www.gutenberg.org, you can download entire books for free that no longer have copyright protection on them! I highly suggest checking out the site. Took me about four days to get P&P done, and it was amazing, everything I expected and more ha ha Now I have moved onto Mansfield Park, it’s a bit slow at the go, but am not ready to give up on it yet!

I haven’t really been working on my book lately, which I ought to be. I am going to set a couple deadlines for this week, and get some more chapters done. I have outlined the majority of the book now, and keep adding onto that as I see fit, so we’ll see how it goes! As well, McOlympian and I have not been talking recently, he must be traveling or training or something ;), so no worries to those of you who honestly think I will run away and get married while I am out here ha ha

As for the strikes, they continue on. My professors have contacted me with work to do in the mean time, as well as what my exams will look like as I am a foreign student and have a different protocol. So back to the ol’ push and grind in school for me…

Hope all is well! About 50 days and I am home!

Love you all!

- C

Prudes

Because my reading community seems to be a bit prude, I have removed certain things to 1 - protect the innocent and 2 - I will save it for my book.

- C

Edit : It would seem it's my daddy who doesn't want to let me grow up... love you daddio!

McOlympian and his paddle...

Here is an excerpt from my book, Je suis coquine. It explains the exchange between McOlypmian and I, following the night we met. Stay tuned as I get truly lost in translation...


As you know, I was introduced to a French Olympian, that one, wonderful Saturday night in March at the pub. Acknowledging that he was not only one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen in my life, but an overall great guy, I put the ol’ noggin to use, and I more or less super sleuthed him down until I found his Facebook profile online. (Side note, his profile picture was of him standing in his birthday suit with his paddle and hand placed perfectly over a certain man-zone. The photo is draw-jopping.) I sent him a friend request and waited five longs days. Then, to my surprise, a post on my Facebook wall! It read: “Salut toi alors ta soirée est bien finie ??? Bisous à bientôt à Besançon !!!” I was in heaven. THE Olympian posted on MY wall. Not only that, he was inquisitive, cute and future-looking. I will translate: “Hello to you, so your night out finished well ??? Kisses, see you soon in Besançon !!!” I was pumped to the max, but wanted to play it cool, so I waited a day to respond.

I muddled over all the possibilities of responses and ways in which I could execute the proper response. I could take the straight forward approach, “I think you’re amazing, let’s get married;” a more shy approach, “Yes, it went well. Was very nice to meet you;” or perhaps the smoldering temptress way, “You know, people say the only way to really know a culture is to get in with the culture…” Alas, none of those would do. In the end, I came up with: “Oui, ma soirée était bien finie, mais elle manquait une chose pour faire une nuit parfaite… Quand est-ce que tu vas revenir à Besac? Ton levier est mignon. Bisous.” Translation: “Yes, my night went well, but was missing one thing to make it perfect (me being cute/sly in sexy fashion)… When are you coming back to Besançon? Your paddle is cute. Kisses.”

Now, the area of most concern is “Ton levier est mignon.” I used an online translation to look up how to say “paddle.” Why I did not consult my dictionary, to this day I do not know. Let this be a lesson to you all, DO NOT USE ONLINE TRANSLATION WEBSITES. So I went with “levier” as paddle because I wanted to be witty about his naked picture with his paddle. About a day after I sent the message, I decided, on a whim, to look up the word “levier” in my dictionary. I am not one who knows a lot about kayaking or any water sport that involves a paddle, perhaps I said like a ping pong paddle or something like that. Much to my surprise, I was not even close to saying paddle. When translated word-for-word I said, to a gorgeous Olympian man keep in mind, “Your gearshift is cute.” Let me repeat, “Your GEARSHIFT is cute.” WHO SAYS THAT? If there were some miracle of him ever seeing me again, or having any slight interest in my existence as a human being, I either just shot it dead or made the man fall in love me.

Naturally, I had to tell John Elliott Mavity and Siddie. Initial reactions? A lot of laughing followed by many jokes dealing with gearshifts, which there seem to be an endless supply of.

The reason why this is hilarious is for two reasons: 1 – the use of gearshift is ridiculous because it immediately signifies one part of the body, and then gives you a visual as to how it can be used/manipulated which is wrong and strange; 2 – when talking to an Olympian, or any beautiful man, to suggest that his package, and then calling it a gearshift, is cute is equally ridiculous. I did send him a follow-up message to clarify the word that I actually wanted to say, which is “pagaie,” a word not even close to “levier.” As my friend Austin said to me, “you can’t make that shit up,” and it’s true. I have never been more proud of a language mishap than that one.

Update: McOlympian responded to the levier/pagaie miscommunication. His response: “Merci de trouver mon “levier” mignon, le tien ne dois pas etre mal non plus ;-)” which translated is, “Thank you for finding my “gearshift” cute, yours is not so bad either.” (I am not certain what the second part means, but the emoticon face selection suggests only good things.) Hook, line and sinker, ladies and gentlemen, Cassie is not out, not yet.



Love and miss you all!

Still having a blast in France :)

- Cassie

My own lil March madness...

I know I haven't finished Paris Part Deux, it will come soonish, I hope... So for now, you just will have to deal with a March recap! (and an exciting one it is at that! ha ha)

Vacances de Fevrier...

The first week of March was my "Vacances de Fevrier" which is like a spring break for a week, but in February. I have another two week break coming up end of April into May before my finals ha ha I spend my time catcing up on laundry (because I do it by hand after all), relaxing, communicating with folks back home, reading, editing topic booklets for the high school model United Nations conference I help to run, and studying for my midterms. It was a really nice week.

Then came midterm week. I had a midterm, 4 short essays for my "Geopolitiques et petrole" class, which is geopolitics and oil. It went rather well, except I think I misunderstood a question... the answer I did give for it was a great response though! ha ha I felt like such a geek with my huge dictionary and grammar books just in case I could not remember a word or how to conjugate a verb. It was smooth sailing though I would say! I think I will get about a 12/20 which is pretty good as far as French grades go. I will keep you posted on that one...

*** Side note : Last night, I fell asleep with light on etc around 7:45 for about an hour. Woke up, got ready for bed and was out by 9:30. I woke up this morning at 3:30 am... couldn't sleep because I had already gotten 7 hours of sleep, and am watching the horizon light up and the sliver of the moon in the what is becoming a lightened sky... sooo cool... except the waking up at 3:30 am part. I will end up napping at around 9:30 because I will have already been up 6 hours! ha ha ha ***

Good weather can only lead to even better times...

I think Friday the 13th is when the superb weather started. We have literally had 55 degree plus weather for over a week. Even better, I HAVE HAD SUNSHINE FOR A WEEK. Every day I have to wear my sunglasses, and do not need my two jackets to go outside, just one light one :) Makes for a very happy Colorado missing girl!

I have made lots of new friends recently! Lots of Brits and Irish people! Here is the run down : Becky is Scottish but lives in England now. She definitely has a Scottish accent and loves to tell stories. You think I talk a lot, until you meet this girl. At least her stories are generally really interesting, plus her accent just makes it all the better! Claire is big into Kayaking and has been busy writing her dissertation lately. She is done with it and couldn't be happier. Andy is, well he is Andy. Big into Rugby and just being ridiculous. His favorite word which everyone else now uses, "beaut." Ashley is cute and little, and is my guy scoping buddy. Then there are the three Irish girls who are a hoot. They are loud and rambunctious and great to party with!

Friday was also the last night for one of the German guys who I was only acquainted with, so we all went out on the town. We went to this lil bar, called Gibus Bar. It has this really sweet old motorcycle hanging from the ceiling, reminds me of the one Brad Pitt rides in Benjamin Button. Later on, we went to Madigan's and had a big table in the back. The owner, Andre, was there that night, and I asked him if he had anymore trouble getting the headlight for the Ferrari. He said that it came in just fine and was installed. Then proceeded to ask me if I wanted to go for a ride the next day because the weather was supposed to be nice. To which I replied, "Oui, bien sur!" ("Yes, but of course!")

What did you do today? Oh, you know, cruised around in the Ferrari, saw a castle...

Which puts us at Saturday. Because we spent the night out, I woke up a lot later than I was used to... about 11h00... no go ha ha I showered and got all ready for my Ferrari debut! Iwent to the pub and Andre went to get the car. He showed up a lil bit later and said, "On y va!" ("Let's go!") So I walked with him to where he had the car parked, and I swear my mouth must have dropped open because this is what I saw : (this pic is taken from the internet because I forgot to take one of my own, to which Andre replied, another time ha ha)

Yes, ladies and gents, that was my ride for the afternoon. When we hopped in, he put the top down, and we were off to the French countryside. He took me to see a castle, which was closed for the season as people actually live there ha ha We stopped in this one town where a famous French painter, Courbet was born and had some coffee. It was hilarious because all throughout the journey, different men and young boys would give us a thumbs up like way to go middle-aged man with the Ferrari and young blonde ha ha We got back into town and I went and hung out at the pub for a while until I headed back to my room to get some dinner and get all dolled up for the night, just to go back to the pub ha ha

A night out on the town with my Trini...

On the bus ride back into town, Siddie hopped on with her boyfriend Nic at the Basketball Arena stop. He was going to hang out with some other friends and wanted to know what I was up to. I told her I was headed to Mad's and invited her along. Little did we know that on that particular night, we were in for a treat, and some not so sweet stuff.

We sat at the bar, chatting and catching up as we have not seen each other in over a week due to all the strikes that have been occurring all across the University. It was at this point, one not too drunk military man and one very drunk friend to military man decide to his on us. This commences with the usual, "Ohhhh, you speak in English? Me too. But so good." (yeah, yeah bud move on, we know how this one goes.) "So where do you come from?" Siddie and I consult in quickly spoken, English whispering to see if we are going to lie or just go with it. At this point, the guys seem harmless. I tell the truth, I then introduce Siddie as being from Kansas ha ha ha ha ha ha Oh man, that still cracks me up. They chat it up with us, buy us some drinks, you know the usual. It gets to the point where we cannot shake these guys at all. They had LEECHED onto us. We would literally move to another spot in the bar, not even sitting at the bar, like a crowded table with some other people I knew, and they were there with us! C'etait incroyable!

... and then I met him...

At one point, I had no idea where my keys were, so I went to check to see if they were in my jacket, a place I don't usually keep them when I am out. They were there, thankfully. I was over by the owner and where him and all his friends sit. This also meant I was by the lad I had seen walk in earlier with another gal. One of the guys who is a regular and good friend to Andre, introduced me to the aforementioned lad, his name will be McOlympian. He told McOlympian I was the American girl from Colorado. We began talking in English, which he seemed to know pretty well. I asked him how he knew it so well, to which he responded from traveling. I was immediately taken over by his good looks. Very tall, tan, handsome, beautiful blue eyes, lil scruff... it doesn't get any better than this in France, or the world for that matter, I will swear to it.

He walked off and I was talking to Filou or something, when that same friend from before who had introduced us was like, Cassie, McOlympian does kayaking, and I said that's neat, there are lots of places to kayak in Colorado. He said that he did kayaking too, but just in the smooth water, McOlympian was the one who liked the rough waters. Then he was proceeds to tell me he was the champion of the world the year before and that he got 6th in Beijing. My mind hits a speed bump, "Comment?" I clarify. He tells me that McOlympian is an Olympian and was champion of the world in kayaking in 2007. I am like, are you sure? and he tells me to ask him for myself. (P.S. this entire exchange was in French, be proud) I head outside to ask him. He is standing by Vladimir, a Frenchman with a Russian mother, hence the name. Vladimir "let's us be" sort of a thing, and he tells me that it is indeed true. I tell him how amazing it is to have gotten 6th and he is like, for an athlete it really isn't that great. You have your wins and your losses, that was a loss. (Personally, I cannot relate to this, 6th at the Olympics = amazing in my mind.)

We continue talking and then I realize I have left Siddie to the lions!!! So I get back to her side and tell her of my wonderful find :) We chat it up like little school girls at this point, as if we just had our crushes stand by us in line for recess or something ha ha The "leeches" have now become relentless animals looking for their prey... we are the poor victims. Being preyed upon by Frenchmen is no easy burden to bear. Sometimes I feel like I am a gazelle (that's right, I equated myself to something in the damn deer family) on the plains of Africa enjoying a nice drink (being the bar) when lions come out of nowhere, and try to break one of us (the ladies) free from the pack in order to feast. Too bad the gazelle are too damn smart for the lions in our instances, and we generally can shake ourselves free with time.

Siddie went home, as did I. Nothing interesting at all happened the rest of the night... (If you want to know the real ending, wait for my book)



The weather has been beaut!!!

My Brits and Irish friends always say beaut. It's hilarious and it can literally describe any kind of situation. So, the weather has been nothing short of beaut lately. I am talking over a week of sunshine so intense that I do not have to wear a heavy coat and sunglasses are necessary! This was perfect as last Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day. I made some cinnamon rolls (one of my latest food obsessions) and took them to meet up with the gang by the river for some afternoon St. Patty's festivities. In other words, drinking beer by the river, eating cinnamon rolls, and sharing good times with good people. Here are some pics : ha ha

This is the beautiful day, with lots of French people out along the river, and the chateau (castle) up on the hill in the background :)



Us doing this thing where everyone lays down, and one person, who happened to be Andy the first time, lays on top and we all roll to pass the person along, like on a conveyor belt. It's hilarious.

Us doing a pyramid... yeah, we are crazy but it was also a blast! (From top to bottom, left to right : Finn, Cannot remember, Me, Sami, Ashley, Aine, Claire, Andy, Gareth, and Christopher)

Becky and Andy

Irish Theresa, Ashley and Claire


More people ha ha


Beaut cinnamon rolls without icing :)


Cassie embarks upon her first book...

It was also this morning, that I decided to write my book. Here is the introduction that I have written thus far :

On Saint Patrick’s Day 2009, as I sat on my little French dorm room bed all dressed in green with sunlight streaming into my room onto the back of my body, a rarity for Besançon (pronounced like buh-sah-sohn, all nasally and French-like), I sat chatting with my friend back home in the states. Shylaja, a friend from some high school and later college Model United Nations experiences, was listening to my most recent tales of my adventures in the Franche-Comté region of France, where I was studying abroad for the 2008-2009 school year. It was then that she said, “Please write a book.” So, here I am, writing my tales. I do not have a specific focus, so much as good stories to tell and little bits of wisdom and insight into the French culture along the way. Grab a bottle of wine, perhaps a fine cheese, cuddle up in a cozy blanket, and enjoy.

(Side note, because I am beginning to write a book I think I have to say that I, Cassandra Wich, reserve all the rights to any and all excerpts from my book as per United States Copyright and Intellectual Property Laws and protection under the United States Constitution.)

Still on strike...

My classes are still on strike, as in students are BLOCKING the buildings so no one can get it. They vote each week on this though, so that's great for Democracy ha ha

I have been in touch with my professors and they have been assigning us work and what not, so all is good to go :)

Dance, dance, dance...

Dance is still going and it's great! We have a new man in the class, and he can waltz like it ain't anyone's business. Simon, the teacher, often pairs us up, which is great for me because I get to just be lead and not teach how to do things ha ha

My first French whore...

So last night, I was at Madigan's after my dance class, and I asked Filou what a "pute" was because I had heard it the other day. Evidently it's a really mean way to say whore, like legitimate gets payed for sex sort of a whore. As he was driving me home, we were chatting and then he goes, did you see the pute? (all in French keep in mind), and I was like NO!!!! There really was one? He then, turns the car AROUND so I can see the pute. Sure enough, there she was waiting at the bus stop to get down to business. I have never been so happy and amazed and shocked at the same time. My French dad is awesome.

That is everything up to now. I am going go-karting with the guys today... we'll see how that goes. :)


- Cassssssssie :)

PARIS - The city of LIGHT

I believe it is nice to start off with an old French song that a lot of non-native French people seem to know... it speaks of places in Paris, as well it has a guy with a really sweet hair cut who sang it originally ha ha Makes France look a lil less sophisticated and elegant eh? So start the song up, and enjoy my tale of Sara et Moi a Paris...

My train left Besancon at 6h59... It was the making of a long day because I had not gone to bed for any longer than three hours that night... I did manage to nap a lil bit on the train ride... and I read my ENGLISH Newsweek and The Economist (two little treats I buy myself on every train ride I take). I am such a nerd, I scour over the articles and underline stuff to research and read up on more at a later time ha ha

Anyways... So I finally get to the Gare de Lyon in Paris around 9h37 (ha ha ha) and I wait for Sara at the exit of the Metro by the gare (train station in French), but she is nowhere to be found. Evidently there are multiple exits in this area ha ha so she calls me and we meet up. We totally had one of those moments where you see each other, and start walking briskly, then have a fierce contact as you go to hug the crap out of the other person... we hugged and squealed for like three and a half minutes, it was intense. We probably were stared at and judged by snooty Parisiens, meh c'est la vie...

Sara and I decided to take Paris on Steeples-style... we walk everywhere and hope for the best, and to stumble upon our own lil non-mapped out treasures! First, we have to ditch our bags. Because of the dang strikes, the Gare de Lyon was not having working baggage lockers because the workers in that area were on strike, so we decided we would try with a hotel. The lady was a witch. So we went to a hostel and the man working there was ever so nice and let us leave our bags for 5 euros for the day in a room monitored by a video camera, it was pretty legit. Minus probably 20-30 pounds, we were good to go...

We wanted to find the Seine river in order to navigate to Notre Dame ("Our Lady" when translated into English, just a lil fun FYI for ya there). Along the way, we stopped and got some delicious baked goods and COFFEE TO GO. Besancon does not get this concept, so I was pumped to say the very least. (Look at pictures that follow to see pumpedness and Sara and her apple filled donut haha)


As we wandered with our delicious goods in hand, we crossed over the Pont d'Austrelitz (Pont in French is a bridge) and ended up at the Jardin des Plantes (Plant Garden as translation). Here Sara and I walked through the trees and grass talking, eating, and taking pictures by the miscellaneous statues we found by the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History). It was a fun lil find... and now pictures...

The first thing we see when we came in through the gate was this sweet metal whale!

(It's for my Chelsface ha ha)

Then we walked along a pathway lined with strangely pruned trees...

Sara and I happened to come across a dinosaur, so we took the photo opp...

This random park somehow lead us to an exit of sorts where we then ended up at another sort of park/museum/observatory/zoo place... On top of the hill was this cool round outdoor building thing... I cannot think of the word in English, and Sara and I cut through some hedges to get to it so we didn't have to walk all the way up the winding path ha ha At the top we took some photos and what not... (cue photo)


Here's the top of the pagoda (is that the word?) thing... it was pretty...

We eventually found our way out of the place, after passing by the zoo where we saw wallabies in Paris... weird, right? They looked cold and were huddling for warmth, or so we assumed. On one of the walls was this neat spray paint art:

We followed our senses and found ourselves back by the Seine again. This time we came across a sculpture garden as we were enjoying some chocolate and apple slices I had brought along. There were many pieces that were abstract and modern, my favorite was of the poodle shown below... I would like to think of it as a French dog message to the rest of the world of dogs, a statement that you cannot smell our butts. (I just imagine French dogs to be all high and mighty because they go to doggie salons and just are little queens and kings really.)


There were tons of boats along the river as well. I am not certain what the boats purpose were, such as the one in the picture (Dad, do you know what kind of boats there are and what they are used for?) but it was neat to see regardless! At night, the river tour boats have giant lights on the side to shine up onto the buildings as they pass by them from the river... It's pretty cool to see the buildings lit up in such a way.

Finally, she came into better view, Our Lady...

Sara and I were so pumped (and really hoping to see Quasimodo and Esmerelda too!)!!! Along the river at this point, were tons of shelf things, where people set up shop with old books and pictures, as well as different Paris souvenirs. Not to mention tons of artists with their oil paintings hanging up and spread out all over tables and the shelves...

We decided we wanted to climb to the top and get a view of Paris from there, as well, we might run into the hunchback... wishful thinking right? (stay continued on that one...) We waited in line to climb to the top. Once it was our turn, we had to haul our asses (pardon my French, which isn't actually French, if I were speaking in French I would say fesse) up a ton of stairs, which the stair way kept getting narrower and narrower... what was cool is that where you stepped on the step was like an indentation in the stone from all the years of people going up and down the stairs. Just imagine who else has walked their in the history of Notre Dame... so cool. We finally got to the top part where you can look out at the city. Also, there were tons of gargoyles all over the cathedral. This picture was my favorite : The gargoyles names in order of appearance from left to right : Jimmy Amettis (the gnome-like man), Randy (the mutant man-turtle-reptile thing with the big tongue), and My Daddio :)

There also was this beautiful angel right in the center of where we were standing when looking back at the cathedral itself...

You can also see some of Paris in the background :)

We then continued up another hundred or so stairs to get to the area where you can actually go in and see the big bell that Quasi himself used to toll. :) The door was really teeny... I took a picture of Sara as she was going in, then she took one of me, but my big ol' tote bag got stuck in the door, so I literally had built my momentum to go in, but was thrown back a bit because my big bag was stuck! (If Sara puts that pic up some place, I will have to post it for y'all to see) I don't know how a hunchback would fit through this lil door...


I would have a picture of the big bell, but I was being technologically challenged at the time, and kept trying to take pictures of it in my video camera setting, not the camera camera setting, so they didn't turn out well... oops. Here is a picture of the inside of where the bell sits though... I think it's pretty neat ha ha...

The bell was located up to the right part of the picture on another platform thing.

We then had to make the descent of the tower back to the bottom. It made me nauseous, going around in such a tiny circle at such a fast pace as you end up doing descending a giant spiral staircase... ha ha We did make it to the bottom (without hurling) and made out way around to the front of the cathedral to check out the inside!

It was breathtaking, as expected. I wanted to run through the corridor yelling "Sanctuary!" like Esmerelda in the Disney movie, but resisted. The walls were resounding with everyone's whispers as they walked from chapel to chapel or sat admiring the architecture and art. I was immediately drawn to the candles that were all over the cathedral. Many people had come here to light one for a loved one they have lost in their lives... It was beautiful.


We then saw what appeared to be a nun, with a gigantic hunched back. Until the person turned around and it was like a 14 year old girl... I still have no idea what that was about, and could not get a picture without looking like weirdos (or as Steeples would say, Cheeky American Monkeys)... I was pretty pumped to have seen some sort of a hunchback at Notre Dame ha ha

I believe this is the point in time I got a Starbucks drink... I was in heaven. In Besancon, there are no Starbucks, and there is no taking coffee to go... yay... I think Sara has a pic of this, just imagine the ecstatic look I would have had upon my face... :)

We ended up wandering to another park area where there were old French men playing boules! As a French language student, you always read about the game, and even learn how to play it throughout your language learning years, but to actually see the old French men playing the game was sooooo cool! You must understand that this is not a mere pasttime, it is a lifestyle! When I was interning at the elementary schools, part of their education is learning how to play boules and have proper technique and all that... (Boules is like the Italian Bocce ball or referred to as petanque in French as well) These men were hardcore. They had measuring tapes, and special strings with magnets on them to pick up their metal balls, and probably not throw out a hip, or have to huff and puff too much as they all smoke. Regardless, they were cute...


Our next item on the agenda to see was the Louvre, we had found out from some friends of Sara's that Friday night, which it was, was free for students after 6 pm! So we diddled around and explored a bit more, then went over to the Louvre itself, a huge palace, and hung out and talked as we did rounds on all the sculptures outside, as well as taking pictures of all the sights to see there.

Sara and I came to the conclusion that we saw David's face everywhere... Take Exhibit A for example:

Definitely David there in the center! and on his right and left ha ha

There were also all the sculptures of women and a few men from time to time on the first level around this square area of the palace. We think they may have been for the Greek Gods and Goddesses who weren't like huge deals... This lady was my favorite...

In the next picture of the lovely Sara with the Pyramid peaking through the arches, you can see all the statues lining the square... and now the pic...

When we got inside, we had a game plan. Hit up the book store first and get a guidebook, then head on to the exhibits, which the first we went searching for was THE Mona Lisa. It truly is as small as they say, but still impressive nonetheless. Sara and I were blown away by the size and splendor of these pieces! We were wondering, for the really big ones, did they paint them on big canvases and then cut them to transport them or what? because you can always see lines in them, or is that how they adhered smaller canvases altogether? I have yet to read through my guidebook (which I bought in French), so I don't know if the answer lies in there or not...

Once we were done, we set off to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night...

Here is the Pont Alexandre III or Bridge of Alexander III with the tower in the background...

We were initially trying to walk to Trocadero, a site my Parisien friend told me about, but we ended up just short of it, at the Tokyo Palace which hosts the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art. We got some really cool shots of the reflection of the Eiffel Tower in the pool that rested in front of the palace...


Naturally, we had to get closer, and we did. Like right underneath the tower and all up in its business. It was pretty cool! When it was 8 o'clock and we were walking over, the tower started flashing with all sorts of different blinky lights for like 5 minutes... I got a video of it but don't know how to put videos on here quite yet... ha ha Here are the pics of the tower more up close!


After this, we hauled our butts back to the hostel to make sure we got our bags and got on the last train out of Paris to my friend's lil flat in Jouy en Josas...

Day two to follow... soooo, to be continued...

Sorry... busy past week (and then some)

Sorry it has taken me so long to blog... Here is the catch up!

February 14th... A day I cannot make up my mind about...

Generally, I am not a big fan of Valentine's Day... If you actually do your research, no one really knows what Saint Valentine did... nor is he ever really associated with romantic love or anything. You can thank French writers for accrediting that part ha ha

I went to the pub because I figured I had no where else to be, and my one good girl friend Siddi had her boyfriend in town, and Matt was in Belgium with his parental units, so spending the day with my "family" didn't seem so awful. I had brought American Valentine's with me, different Disney Pixar ones and Hannah Montana too. I wrote little notes on them and attached some Laffy Taffy I had brought too. I took them to the pub and introduced everyone to the American tradition. They thought the taffy was chewing gum at first, but ended up really liking it, and they thought the cards were cute ha ha

I ended up hanging out with Guillaume and his girlfriend Elie (who is pretty much my only girl friend who is French) at the pub, with Paul and Tony. We went to another bar for about 15 minutes but not much was happening there, so back to Madigan's it was. Once the pub had closed, and all was cleaned up and what not, Paul and Tony began playing old 70s and 80s French music on the stereo... and then they found a microphone, plugged it in, and were dancing around and singing. Filou and I were laughing so hard our eyes were watering... seriously, one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen in my life! All in all, it was a great night, and I had a blast :)


My big, Parisian and Senegalese guy friend Ady... Truly a Friendly Giant...

All weekend long, Ady, who lives on the same floor as Matt and I, and has become a good friend of mine, would come knocking on my door to harass me. He loves to call me the "American girl" and also loves to tell random people in the hall that I keep on asking him to marry me but that he will not be my husband ha ha At some point I was trying to defend myself against his verbal accusations and this is what ends up happening...


I get thrown over his back in one swift motion like I was a dish towel being tossed over a shoulder... ha ha


Do you ever wake up in the morning and decide that today, you will cut your hair? I do...

For whatever reason a couple weeks ago, I decided I wanted to cut my hair. Not the usual trim I often do to myself, this time I actually took off a good 5 to 6 inches... Here is a pic of what it looks like now! :)


I think the last time I had my hair this short may have been back in the good ol' fifth grade... crazy eh?


The Truman saga...

Truman day of truth was last Tuesday, February 17th... I anxiously awaited with a glass of wine in hand (to calm my nerves) and some good French chocolate (also to calm my nerves ha ha) for the posting of the Truman finalists. Tragically, I am not a finalist. Jason told me of the appeals process they have where each university can submit one name they thought was a strong candidate. Turns out the timeline passed for that before I was able to inquire about it. Sad that DU wouldn't mention that right? So, to say the least, I will not be a Truman Scholar, but I did learn a lot through the process and at least I can say I was a nominee for it :) Things happen for a reason, and only time can reveal those reasons...


The Striking Continues...

The striking at the university continues on... This week, the law students voted on whether or not to strike all this week. Classes are still being held by professors, so we will see what goes down. Our program lady here says not to worry at this point, that professors will have make-up courses and what not, so things should end up being good to go in the end... we will have to wait and see I suppose! In the meantime, I have been reading the books they suggested and what not to keep up with the material and let myself understand the course material at my own pace.


Exciting news from the baking world of Cassie...

I finally, FINALLY, got one of my pitas to poof up fully!!! For whatever reason when I bake them, they do not blow up like a balloon as they ought to... Then, one day, it happened. As soon as I got my camera out, a lot of the air had let out, but you get the picture... :)

I am still so excited about this!!! ha ha ha And I made one of the most legit batches of Apple Strudel Muffins yet... the crumble on top of these was to die for!!!


That's it for me! Hope all is well stateside!

- Cassiopeia

Randy Ray's 17th Birthday on Friday the 13th...

Today is Ran's birthday, naturally, I had to miss it.

So I decided to list 17 reasons as to why I was glad he was born on his facebook... here they are!



My gift to you : 17 Reasons Why I Love You and Why You Rock, and other shiz like that

# 17 - Because having grown up in our house alone, would have made me very messed up.

# 16 - Because dressing you up in petticoats, purple headbands, and flowery stuff is soooo much better than an actual girl. Especially because you really did look cute as a little girl :)

# 15 - Only we were cool enough to join forces through the doll world by playing Barbie and G.I. Joe as sister and brother, as well as have my hamster, Momos, as the dog. (RIP Momos ha ha)

# 14 - Remember how we used to sit in the back of the van with your "It's a Big Big World Map" and act like it was our control panel thing for our space journeys to like Kansas and stuff? Yeah, that would have been boring minus you...

# 13 - Only you could play Almonzo like you did in our Little House on the Prairie adventures... plus you were the only boy... ever.

# 12 - Remember that time at Grandma and Granddad Hawkins' like bazillionth anniversary and we did the Shania Twain pant leg thing because Mom goaded us into it, and we were like both really embarrassed, but it ended up being the hit of the night? ha ha Yeah, without you, it would have looked weird...

# 11 - Remember the good ol days of 7-11? Yeah we were bamf then, only more bamf now. I am pretty sure bamfness ripens with age.

Oooo now we are that but just plus ten years! Ha ha ha

Every decade, let's like party ha ha

# 10 - Remember that time you hit me on the head with a bowl when Mom was leaving for work, and I ran down the driveway after her, and you caught up to me, jumped on my back, and managed to bite my shoulder blade? Well, I am glad that only happened once.

# 9 - Ooo or remember when we would stay at hotels and naturally we had to sleep together and you used to kick your leg up and down or like smack the pillow with your hand, and when I would ask you to stop, you would just say that you had to move something to fall asleep? ha ha Glad you grew out of that... Or so I think ha ha

# 8 - I miss the days of tubing behind the fourwheeler what not, and well, Dad always turning the tube, so I hit trees and you did not... I guess you should be glad I was born for that ha ha

# 7 - The Peach Song. "Peaches for Breakfast... peaches for lunch..." ha ha

# 6 - Ackatomavichiwa... (Did we ever know how to spell that, or any of the worlds you ever invented?)

# 5 - I loved how no matter where in the world we may be, especially at Lake McCaughnaughy, Wormy was always just on the other side of the lake...

# 4 - The perfect number of years to have between you and your lil broha!

# 3 - The number of children I am glad Mom and Dad did not end up having... unless you count Kaycee... or Dad... then it's ok ha ha

# 2 - Remember that time you were in your room, and you were looking in the mirror at something... and then you asked Mom a question about size proportions of a certain orifice and how it was able to accommodate certain bodily waste? Yeah, that was hilarious. Still is to this day.

# 1 - Because nobody can say that you are their "little" broha! I love you to the moon and back... I hope you know that.

Happy Birthday Crandall. I miss you tons...


Love, Your Big Sis :)

"Until You" - Dave Barnes = Song of the Day

This is my song of the day... why? Well, I was listening to a set list from the Dave Barnes & Matt Wertz concert from 2007 and realized, again, how much I love this song! So if you would like, while you are reading this, play the song and enjoy it, as I am while I am writing :)


Birthday Party, Trini Style

This is Siddi dancing around in her kitchen... She was a happy birthday girl! :)

This Sunday, was my darling Siddiqua's 20th birthday! (She makes me feel a lil bit old ha ha) So to celebrate, she decided she was going to make some traditional Trinidad food from her cookbook one of her friends sent her for her birthday. Matt and I went over with some wine, and spent the evening with Siddi, her two friends from Saint Lucia (Joy and I am not certain how to spell his name), and a Moldovian girl from Siddi and mine's French Class, who we call Lulu because her name is long and complicated, but begins with Lu so it's not just some random name ha ha. The Carribean people joined forces to make delicious chicken, rice with lots of good spices and veggies, and a salad. Later, we had this drink that is used in celebrations in the Carribean, called Peanut Punch (I do believe that is what it is...). From what I could gather, it is made with peanuts (go figure), milk, I think Joy said bitter, and rum. It was delicious! We spent the night exchanging stories and talking. I was able to learn all about growing up in the Carribean and how parents are with their children, as well as the little things from back home they all remembered. I guess it is rather common that Carribean children will be told to not do something, such as go outside after having been bathed, and then they always get hurt when they misbehave and go on outside. Joy said she had done this once, and ended up with a huge cut on her forehead because she didn't mind her teachers out at recess one day and stayed out of the area where they were fixing the roof. When her mom came to get her at school, she just looked at her and said, I am not taking her anywhere with me. ha ha ha She says, still to this day, whenever she "misbehaves" or something to that degree (she is around 23 now), her mom always tells her, you know that mark on your forehead? that's the mark of disobedience! ha ha ha Tough love eh? They were full of all these hilarious stories...

And this is Joy, telling one of her many outrageous stories :)

My Mother May be THE Queen, but I have officially taken over reign in the bread making department...

So as you know, I love making muffins (in fact, once I am done with this, I will be making some more for Madigan's and for around here ha ha). Well, I have decided to up my ante (is that how it's spelled?). I really do not like having to choose which bread I want to eat for the week, and then having part of it go stale and then mold because I do not eat it all in time. I was searching the internet for some recipes and came across an easy recipe for Pita bread. Naturally, I decided to try it out! My first batch was pretty legit, but the second batch was golden! (I tweaked the recipe in my own little way and received food masterpieces in return!) To say the least, Matt has been in Pita heaven (he tests everything I make to make sure I won't die... in other words, he just wants to eat it all ha ha).

Here is my pita dough batch #2 after it rose : (Take note of the size...)


And here is the dough when it plopped out of the tub to be punched down to release all the air :


And these are the nice lil dough balls that were created to roll out into pitas :


And this is what is left of it all after about two days ha ha :

Matt has introduced me to a desert that I guess is pretty popular up north with our neighboring Canadians. It's called a "Beaver Tail" which consists of a bread like a pita (so convenient, right?), nutella, and brown sugar on top, placed in an oven and all warmed up together... it is extremely good ha ha So I think each week, I will make a batch and have it be my bread for the week! (Look at me being all resourceful and house-maker like ha ha)


Postal Workers are all the same...

You know how you go to a United States Postal Office to mail a package to a friend or something like that, and generally you are in a good mood, regardless of how long the line is or whatever, and then you get up to the person working the counter and you just know they hate life. It always dampens your day without fail. Well, yesterday, the sun was shining, and I mean shining to the point where I had to wear my sunglasses. The first time since I left Colorado. So being in good spirits, I decided to walk to the closest post office to mail some letters I had written and pick up some more stamps. I was waiting in line, still happy, and then it was my turn. I went up to the counter and bidded the older lad a "Bonjour" and asked for 6 stamps to mail stuff to the USA. He was all put off by this. And like made a huffing sound, went and got his folder thing with the stamps, separated 6 out for me, entered it into the system, told me the price, I paid, and bid him a "bonne journee, au revoir!" (Good day and good bye!) and he said nothing... He was all pissy and it put a damper on my sunny day, up until I stepped back outside and the sun began to shine on me again... ha ha Lesson learned : if you hate life, work for a post office, or on the flip side, if you want to stay happy, don't work for the post office. (I suppose it's how you look at the causalty of it all ha ha)


I found my Dad in France...

As I was walking back from the post office to campus, I saw a man putting up a billboard up ahead. In my city, they do it old school style, where they have 8 posters that make up the entire advertisement and put them up with a giant broom/brush thing with some sort of adherent. I really love watching them do this actually, it fascinates me. I then realized that he had his dog with him. So the sight of a man putting up posters, with his dog by his side, in his coveralls, made me think that one day, I could see my dad doing that with little Kaycee Dean by his side ha ha ha Love you Daddio! (And my lil girl toooo!)


Dance, dance, dance...

Last night, I had my dance class again, as usual. We began with a review of the paso-doble we had learned last week, which is just pretty much walking and turning to counts ha ha. Then we got back into waltz stuff. For whatever reason, which I think it is because I have a dancing background, whenever the instructor, Simon, wants to demonstrate what we will be learning that day, something that is new to me too keep in mind, he always uses me to do it. It's funny because I have no idea what's going on, but just go with it! Last night, he demonstrated our usual waltz combination, which is a quarter turn, a half turn, quarter turn, and the usual 1-2-3 to get back on the right foot to commence again. However, after that he decided he would show everyone what we were working up towards, which is a quarter turn, half turn, half turn, half turn, and quarter turn. ***Side note: half turns are hard, small, and fast*** Luckily, I did well ha ha After class, he asked me if I had studied under another instructor for waltz because I was very stiff in my arms like a competitive dancer, and I informed him that it was my very first time ha ha He seemed amazed by that and just gave me a few pointers to be a better dancer. To say the least, I LOVE IT!

Afterwards, I went to Madigan's to see the fam that was working last night, and Guillaume was there. (Guillaume is the best friend to Paul, who is the French guy I dated for like a week... long story, don't go there. Just know this, French guys my age still have major mommy complexes, that is to say, why have a girlfriend when you have your mom to cook for you and do your laundry and baby you?) He asked me what I had been up to and I told him about my dance class and how we danced the waltz and paso-doble. He then proceeded to ask me what the paso-doble was by asking me if it was a hole in the butt? I did not hear that, I thought he asked me if I was tired from it, and I said "ca depend" which means, that depends. Yet again, he has confused me with his questions and we now have another inside joke to add to the list of all the ridiculous things I say to them ha ha He messaged me this morning not with a good morning or a bonjour, but a "ca depend"... smart ass.


Like waking up in Colorado...

The other day, I was talking to my dad and he told me of all the bad weather and horrific winds FoCo had been having... surprisingly the next day I woke up to high-speed winds and for a second I thought I had woken up at home! Then I came to. ha ha Well, this morning, I woke up to LEGIT SNOW. What initially woke me up was the familiar sound of a bobcat type tractor dragging its bucket on cement/asphalt, which was kind of the case but it was there way of snow removal ha ha. Because the sun has been shining intermittently, a lot of the snow on the branches has melted/fallen off, but the grass is still very much covered. From my room, I would guess it's a good 2 inches at least, and it's the wet snow. What's bizarre is that I did not fall asleep until about 1 or 1:30 last night and it was not snowing then, so it did all of this in a matter of about 8 hours! That, is unheard of from what I have seen, which usually consists of a really pathetic flurry attempt by the clouds. Here are the pics I took from my room this morning :)

This is the view to the left of my room... and the other pic is to the right ha ha

A special visitor comes my way!

Next weekend, Sara Price and I are going to meet up in Paris for a couple days, and then come on down to Besancon, where she is going to chill here with me until Tuesday! I cannot wait to see her, especially because our busy schedules during winter break didn't let us do so when I was at home! I cannot wait! :)


Well, that about sums it all up for me for now... Sorry it's a long one. Hopefully the lil titles and the pics help break it up a bit!

Miss you all!

All my love!

- The Pita and Dancing Queen (ha ha ha)

Just one of those weeks of ups and downs...

Overall, I have had a very good week. I love life and am very happy to be who I am, where I am. First, busted my butt all week to get Truman done, which if you read the previous post you know this. I wanted to put my favorite essay on here just so people can get some sort of an idea as to what I had to do...

The question :

Describe one specific example of your leadership. (The writer of your letter of recommendation re: Leadership Abilities and Potential must confirm this experience.) (1996 characters currently – 2000 max)

My response :

Any other day of my life, standing in a shower for half an hour, clothed and attempting to loofah under-refrigerated whip cream goo off my body would push me over the proverbial “edge.” As a Resident Assistant at my university, I battled all year to find a way to involve residents in the community. They were college freshmen, consistently apathetic towards my engaging efforts, whether with on-campus lecture series on living an ethical life or learning about abuse against women through my acting debut in the Vagina Monologues. No matter what approach I took they would not share my ardor. Partaking in Project Homeless Connect (PHC)—a service where participants work as Customer Service Volunteers paired one-on-one with a homeless client and guide them to stations such as medical care or housing—would presumably yield the same result. I was trying to brainstorm how I could inspire residents’ participation and zeal in PHC, a service I support adamantly, and that’s when it hit me (figuratively at this point, literally later). At our staff meeting that evening, I presented my “Pie Your RA” event. All the logistics were ready and I prepared myself for the other’s hesitation in trying another service-oriented event. I emphasized to my fellow RAs that supporting this event was not just a way to raise money, it was opening a forum to discuss PHC with residents and attract their participation in May, as well to discuss homelessness’ substantial impact on our lives and society. My staff responded with immense support. I delegated tasks and ran the other logistics. On April 1^st, many of us stood in the lobby prepared to stop everyone walking by as we spread word of PHC and our event. As I stood in the shower later that night, some 200 plates of whip cream later, satisfyingly picking goo out of my hair, I knew I not only initiated a successful fundraising event but found a unique and memorable way for residents to contribute to bettering the lives of others in their community.

Pretty legit, eh? I am very proud of it to say the least :) It was extremely time-consuming to get them to be so succinct and still reflect a story, my personality, and answer the question in full! (Thanks to Jason, who is not only my best friend, the best any girl could ask for, and the loml, he looked at my essays so many different times throughout the editing process he probably wanted to gouge his eyes out; thanks to Chloe at DU for also editing and putting up with my constant question emails; thanks to mi madre for editing, being my inspiration, and just always giving her unconditional love; thanks to my other mother, Sue, whos insight was extremely valuable in my early stages and trying to master the task at hand; and all my other friends and mentors who took time out of their busy lives to help me out too--Jon, Jenn, Katie, Kat, Erin, and Daddio (who kept me laughing the whole way).

This week was also the week of packages!

The first one I got was my dear ex-debate partner, Lindsay. I was not expecting this at all, so it was even a better surprise and day-brightener! Her package included the following :

Does the girl know me or what? (I have an addiction to all sorts of chapstick for those of you who do not know me, and in debate, Linds and I would always have extra tubes stashed in our boxes or backups or whatever...) ha ha ha In her letter she wrote, "I figured the EU was running low on chapstick with you visiting so I figured I would help them out." Who knew receiving ten tubes of chapstick could be so amazing?!?! Life is about the little things people, the little things.

The second package I received was from my dear friend, Dylan. He sent me a wonderful letter on top of the movies "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Slumdog Millionaire." So far, I have only watched Benjamin Button (I say only, when I have seen it twice now ha ha) and not Slumdog just yet. There is a quote from Benjamin Button that I want to share with y'all. I found it very compelling and just downright beautiful...

"For what it's worth, it's never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There is no time limit. Stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you can make the best of it. I hope you see things that stop you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you are proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again." - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

I think this quote appeals to me because I am doing a lot of those things now in France! So thank you Dylan for sharing this wonderful story with me! :)

The last package I received, yes I know three is unheard of around here, was from my Grandma. She sent me some tea, gum, and these cute little valentine spinner things to hang up! They definitely add their own bit of flair to my eclectic room! ha ha Also, Abby and Hailey, my two little cousins, made me Valentine's Day Cards that are just too cute! I have them hanging up on my wall with the other cards they made me for my birthday in the fall. I appreciate stuff like that so much. It's nice to know that people are thinking about me and I just love little cousin art ha ha

I am almost done with my thank you notes--so you three be looking for them in the mail!

This week has also been the week of professor strikes. So I go to class as usual to find the place empty or other French students standing around waiting to see if the prof will show up or not. For me, this is so strange. I have never not had a prof show up... at least not without 4 feet of snow on the ground! It is the French way though, if they are not happy with the way things are going, they exercise their rights and stand up for what they believe in. I am trying to catch up in my reading for my classes this weeked. I have successfully slacked off in that department working on the life-consuming thing that is Truman.

I am not certain if I have mentioned this yet or not, but I am currently on a spiritual journey of sorts and I am finding it to be rather rewarding. A friend back home at DU, suggested I read this book "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller. It's about his touching and rather humorous and struggles with religion. One of my favorite quotes, which has nothing to do with God so much really, is also the line that gives the book its title. (perhaps that's what drew me to it?)

"They hang there, the stars, like notes on a page of music, free-form verse, silent mysteries swirling in the blue like jazz." - Donald Miller, "Blue Like Jazz"

I think I enjoy this book the most because it isn't religious views on Christian Spirituality, it's like an everyday perspective from a person who is skeptical, a lot like the rest of us are. He has opened up some other great ideas and revelations in my mind. I also find now that I pray more often, not because I feel I ought to, like when I was a kid and someone was dying or a dog was sick, but because I want to.

This week has also brought upon some trying times for me. A test of forgiveness I guess you could say. I find that some of the verses in the Bible are actually rather logical, and it's nice that someone else has just said the obvious and then you can reflect upon it and appy it to your life. I like that I can go about this on my time and in my own fashion. Not forced to believe or anything under other people's interpretations, etc.

I also have tried out a new muffin recipe this week! Zucchini & Carrot muffins... so delicious! And I find that grating zucchini and carrots is a good stress reliever ha ha ha I think muffins may be my culinary calling... or perhaps what is a la mode for me right now in baking ha ha ha

Well I think that about sums up everything for now... If you are reading this, please comment! I love reading the comments! (They are one of life's little things... hint hint)

Miss everyone terribly, and perhaps I will be seeing y'all in March for the Truman Interview!!! :)

Love, Your quite content and happy to be alive Cassie