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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Strike!

My parents arrived on Saturday and they got to see my first home game against St. Raphael. We won 3-0 and it was really fun to play at home! I am so excited that they are here! My mom made peanut butter cookies before she came because they don't really eat peanut butter here and everyone LOVED them!! Sunday we woke up early and took the train to Paris! We first stopped off to take pics of the Eiffel Tower and then the Arc de Triomphe! Then we hit up the Louvre! My dad apparently loves art (which I never knew) because he was taking pics of almost everything we passed. Now the Louvre is pretty big so it took a while! We grabbed lunch in the Louvre cafeteria and then we went to check in at our really cute hotel! It right near the Opera! We took a 30 minute cat nap and then headed to Sacre Coeur and Montmartre! We walked through the beautiful Basilica and then decided to go see the crypts and go up to the top of the dome! Well the crypts were closed but we decided to take the stairs all the way to the top of the dome. It was soooo cool and I am really happy that we decided to go. As we walked and walked and walked up the stairs the bell tower started ringing because mass was starting below us. We could see the entire city from the top and we got some really cool pictures! When we went down we decided to see how far into mass they were. The priest was in the homily and so we decided to stay for the rest! After mass we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was good food but our waiter was rather "surly" in the words of my mom. Then we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up at night! It was really really cool and I am so glad we went back at night! We walked from one side, underneath it, crossed the Seine river and then made it to view it from the other side. We got some great pictures! We also saw it all flash like it does on the hour. We decided not to make the venture to the top because it was FREEZING! I'm pretty sure I convinced them that since we already saw the city from Sacre Coeur, that we didn't need to do it again. I knew how cold it was from when Nicole and I went in the daytime. Monday morning we went to Fauchon (the famous chocolate shop) and then to Notre Dame. Then we jumped on the metro to head back to the train station. Our train left at 12:45 and was supposed to arrive in Nantes at 3:15... perfect timing to make my practice at 5!

Well, we arrived at the train station and our train wasn't on the board... Hmm. We asked and someone told us, "O, it was cancelled because of the strike." OK. I started to freak out a little because I had to be back for practice. They told us just to get on the next train with no seat. Weird. But we did it and the train was scheduled to arrive at 4:15. I had to be at practice by 4:45. It I am late, I get charged. So, I made some calls and finally we figured out a plan. My teammates boyfriend picked me up from the train station, swung me by my apartment to grab my things and took me straight to the gym. I arrived at 4:45 on the nose! Talk about stressful! Wow!

Tuesday, I had to go to a special medical visit for my visa. Nicole and I headed to our appointment at 1:30 and proceeded to sit in a room until 3:30 without our name being called. People who arrived after us were getting called before us. WOWW! So finally we said something, and they told us they had forgotten about us. They got us in to see the 4 different doctors. After a very interesting topless chest x-ray and seeing the other doctors, we finally left at 4:45! O France!

This morning my parents were headed to Geneva so that they can make it to my game near there on Saturday. They had a flight out of Nantes. We left way before the flight to try to find some gas however we did not have any luck. I wouldn't have had enough gas to get them there and back so we went to plan B. I brought my parents back to the hotel where they called a cab. Well they tried multiple places and finally one agreed (all because of gas and the strike). So the taxi came and took them to the airport! Here is the text word for word that I received from my mom:

"OMG. We just arrived at our gate. The plane is flying but stories to tell about how we got here. The airport exits were closed both directions off the interstate so the cab driver took us through the countryside for 30 min to find the back way in. We arrived at the airport greeted by numerous armed guards, a fire somewhere in the vacinity and a 56 euro cab ride. But we are here!! BTW, there was one gas station open on the interstate but the line was about a mile long. Love you and hopefully we will see you on Saturday!!"

That about sums up strike. Today all the workers decided to block all the entrances of all the airports today so that passengers couldn't get inside so that is what my parents were dealing with!

I went to a gas station that my teammates told me about and waited in line for over an hour to get gas! But Bertha (our car) now has a full tank of gas and she is ready to go! So that is life in France currently! Tomorrow the Senate will vote on the bill again! Everyone is on strike because the government is changing the retirement age from 60 to 62. And since the government pays all the retirement salaries for all the workers, everyone is upset! I hope the vote tomorrow goes well or else we may have some problems getting to our game this weekend. We are supposed to take the train, but they informed us that if it is cancelled then we will drive the 10 hours in buses there. But "with what gas?" is my question!!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Eighty!

Did you know that eighty in french is quatre vingts... which literally translates to 4x20. WHAT?? As I try to learn French, this is what I am dealing with. Or did you know that I am une americaine, but my dad is un americain? Yes because I am a girl, I get 2 extra e's. Or did you know that a dog is masculine and a car is feminin? Who decided that? Well I am learning French slowly and I really want to learn. I practice with my teammates all of the phrases I know, and they laugh because it is so basic and funny to them! But I am hoping with 3 1/2 hours of French class a week, that I can learn something!

Here is what I know:
-Je m'appelle Sarah.
-J'ai suis americaine.
-J'ai 22 ans.
-Je suis volleyeuse.
-J'habite a Nantes.
-Je suis nee le 11 avril 1988.

Other phrases that are useful:
-Je ne sais pas. (This means "I don't know" and I use it very frequently.)
-J'ai faim. (Literally meaning "I have hunger" and yes the m in faim is silent so the pronunciation of this would be "jay fah")
-Big mac grande avec frites et coca-cola (You can figure it out.)
-J'ai froid ("I'm cold" pronounced "jay fro-ah"... silent letters are everywhere.)
-Je ne comprends pas. (I don't understand.)
-A quelle heure? (I thought it meant "what time is it" however, I just looked it up so I could figure out how to spell it and it actually means "at what time?" Haha funny)

So today I had a busy day... practice 11-1:30, class 2-4, practice 4:30-6, reception 7. I am sooo excited for Saturday when my parents will come!!! Yahh!!! And we play our first home match on Saturday night! So excited!! Also last night I downloaded the first book in the Narnia series on my Kindle... I am so excited to reread them since I read them as a child. I am sure that everyone wanted to know that, but these are the things I get excited about!!!

Au revoir!

Monday, October 11, 2010

My Life... Updated!!

Ok yes it's been FOREVER since I last wrote, and I was doing so well with keeping up with it. So here is what you all need to know!

  • Sonja Newcombe arrived on September 24! Ahh it was so great! The whole team went to the train station to pick up her and Kyle (her husband). I am soooo happy she is here!!! You have no idea!
  • That night Nicole, Alex and I went to the FC Nantes futbol (soccer) game! It was really really fun and they actually won too!
  • The following day (Sept 25) Nicole and I hoped on the tram bright at early (like 6:30am) and headed to the train station to head to Paris! When we arrived we headed straight to the Eiffel Tower where we stood in line forever! We finally got our tickets to head up! When we made it to the 1st floor, we realized a) that is was FREEZING and soooo windy and b) that we had to wait in another line for 45 mins to actually take the elevator to the top. My hands were numb and Nicole thought she might die from the cold (yes southern Cali girl). But we survived and made it to the top and it was beautiful!!! We left there and headed straight to the Louvre! We made a quick run through it to see all the sights and then after about 2 hours left. We walked around near the Opera and wandered to some shops and this huge mall. Then we met up with Nicole's cousin who happened to be in town and went to dinner! It was really fun! After dinner we walked around and checked out Parisian night life! We made it to our hotel late and woke up early Saturday morning! Nicole agreed to go to Hillsong Paris church with me so we headed there Sunday morning! It was really really great to sing and worship our King in English! The whole service was entirely in English and French which was really really cool! I had an absolute blast and I can't wait to go back! After that we headed to lunch and to a shopping district! And finally we made our way to Notre Dame and did a quick walk through! Sooo beautiful! Then we had to make our way to Paris Orly airport where we were meeting our teammate Ati who was also in Paris for the weekend! We met her there and she drove us home! Yes I live in France and can randomly head to Paris on an off weekend! It was sooo refreshing!
  • After that weekend we started to prepare for our first match of Championship season (the French league Pro-A). We played Cannes on our first match of the season on Saturday the 2nd! They have won the league every year for about 15 years and they are also in Champions league! All week at practice the coaches kept saying, just have fun this weekend. There is no way we can win. WHAT?? Hello? I've never heard that in my life. So the three of us Americans were out of our element a little with that mentality. But we played well in our match and yes we lost in 3. But we played well as a team and it was very fun to play together... FINALLY!!!
  • We got back on Saturday night late and I felt sooooo sick! I woke up Sunday morning and turns out I had a stomach virus. Ugh... I felt awful all week. I practice Monday, layed in bed all day Tuesday, practiced Wednesday, went to the doctor Thursday and practiced in the afternoon. I was feeling a little better come Friday when we had to leave, I just hadn't really been able to eat anything except the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast). Friday we headed to Venelles and we played on Saturday! I was finally feeling better on Saturday and got to eat real food!! Yahh!! The match was so exciting! We lost the 1st, won the 2nd and 3rd, lost the 4th and pulled it out in the 5th. We were up 10-5 in the 5th and Venelles came firing back and tied it 10-10. We could have chosen to give in then but we kept fighting and pulled in out 16-14!! It was a great great win for us!
  • So that is a recap! My parents come on Saturday and I am soooooo excited!! My mom is bring a huge suitcase full of all of the things I left at home! Thanks mom! I can't wait to spend 2 weeks with them!
Other things to note:
  • France likes to go on strike! Tomorrow there will be a gas strike so all the girls informed us to fill up our tanks tonight because we won't know how long the strike will last. So after waiting in line for about 30 minutes, we have gas... yes it costs about 80 euros to fill up a tank! OUTRAGEOUS!
  • I am currently making pasta salad! The pasta is cooking as we type! I hope it is good!
  • When we returned home from Venelles, we found our car (her name is Bertha) in a different place than we left her. Yes Yes we put the parking brake on. So we asked around and turns out there was a farmers market and someone needed to move her. We aren't exactly sure how this all went down but Bertha was parked sideways in a parking space about 30 feet from where we parked her. Funny!
  • I've been making some delicious delicious salads lately! I find every veggie I have, cut it up and throw in on my salad along with avocado and pears! Pears in a salad are sooo good!
  • On the road we eat at cafeteria's. Red meat is not allowed to be eaten.
  • Yes my jersey may look cute in pictures, but it is really small. It is super tight and the spandex are uncomfortably short. I feel super self conscious but I mean what am I gonna do about it?
  • It rained for about 6 days straight last week :(
  • We aqua bike every Wednesday. Yes we bike in the water and also swim. But when we swim we are only allowed to use our arms or our legs.
  • O How could I forget?? We started French class last week! It is every Tuesday and Thursday right in between musculation and practice. My favorite expression: Je ne sais pas... which means I don't know!
  • Drum roll please!!! WE ARE MOVING ON DECEMBER 1!!! Yes Nicole and I are moving to studio apartments in the same complex as Sonja and Kyle!! I am sooo excited!!
  • Did I mention that my parents will be here on Saturday and that I can't wait?
  • In France when you are sick, they don't think you should eat crackers. I had about 4 people tell me that crackers were bad for my stomach. Weird.
  • I was watching French survivor and they had a challenge between the two teams. The winner won baguettes, Nutella, pain au chocolat, cheese, crepe's and butter. It made me laugh!
  • I really miss all of my friends and the community of Christian friends that I had a UK! I was very lucky to have that environment and I hope my friends that are still at UK realize how blessed they are!
  • I miss my teammates!!! Ahhh we had so much fun and I miss everyone that supported UK volleyball.
  • There is so much else to write but I can't think of anything! I will hopefully write soon!
Have a great week!!!!!!