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 :)