Chocolate Worries

                           (On a hike through the hills surrounding Privas)

Hi everybody! Sorry it's been so long since my last blog. I was in one of those mind-frames where I didn't want to do anything, and when I actually sat down yesterday to start writing, I was whisked away for some day-long adventures. Here's what you missed:

On Wednesday, I had swimming for two hours. I was hoping to get out of it because I didn't have a one-piece bathing suit, but when I told the gym teacher, he said it wasn't a problem. Darn.

Thursday was really, really slow. I had 3.5 hours in the middle of the school day where I had absolutely nothing to do. I spent all of it reading Nat Geo in the library, using my teensy little dictionary as a translator. It took forever to get through one article, but I really wanted to know what it was talking about! The article was about an elephant sanctuary in Kenya, and I decided I want to work for something similar in the future.

Friday was all good except for French class. Two hours at the end of the day with my least favorite teacher is mildly painful. I usually don't bother taking notes unless the teacher writes something down on the blackboard. Well, my teacher, M. Saint-Clair, wrote down some notes on the board, so I copied it down. When he saw me doing this, he called me out for writing down what he was writing – which if you ask me is just weird. Why else would you bother writing something down? I stopped writing mid-word and just sat afterwards. Then, about 15 min. later, he called me out again in front of the class for day dreaming. So sorry. What does he want me to do – turn into a vegetable? He really bugs me a lot, and I didn't even bother writing down the homework assignment at the end of class. So ha.

I walked home from school at 3 and decided to take out my violin when I got home. I changed my strings, took out a few pieces, and played for a while. I really like playing here, and it makes me feel more productive than if I just sit down and stare at the t.v. for a while. Charlotte came home about 2 hours after me, and she asked me if I wanted to go to another party. No – but I said yes because I don't feel like I'm in the position to turn invitations down. I was tired and kind of cranky after that, and I decided just to tell her no a little while later. It would have been another overnight affair, and I really just wanted to put on my pajamas and relax. I'm sure you all know that feeling. It just so happens to be my mood are all the time. I was also pretty happy I stayed home because Anne brought home these huge kebab pitas for dinner, and it were really good.

Now that I had the worry of another party off my back, I had a new one. So – about a month ago, I bought all these packages of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups as presents for people when I got to France. However, when I actually got to France, I couldn't manage to give them away, and I started eating all of them by myself. How I miss American chocolate! On Friday, I ate the last of Reese's, and I started to go into a panic about my lack of chocolate. I was kind of paranoid; I started planning ideas in my head about how I will sneak out of the house and run to the center village to buy loads of chocolate. I figured my best bet was Saturday morning, during the big market in Privas.

The next morning, I told my host parents I wanted to go to the market and take a long walk home. So they drove me there, but then everything started to go downhill. First of all, Anne told me I had only half an hour to shop because we would be having an early lunch. Second of all, it started pouring. I was running around frantically trying to find chocolate, but the only stores I could find were those truffle-like chocolate shops, and they were all way too expensive. I ended up shopping at a candy shop which had lots of sweets, but barely any chocolate. I bought all this candy, some chocolate covered-almonds, and a dark chocolate bar with violet petals in it. Seriously – all the chocolate at this shop was the healthy type of chocolate without all the fake added sugar. Of course this would be my luck. I ran out of time and started walking home. And then the guilt started getting to me. I hadn't bought anything for my host family, and when I got home, I caved in and gave the chocolate-covered almonds to Anne and my candy to Antoine. I was left with a flower-flavored chocolate bar. Which has practically no sugar. It was a sad day.

The rest of Saturday was pretty busy. I went on a hike with my host dad, Manu. All in all, I think it was about 8 miles, but it seemed a lot longer considering most of it was uphill. When we got home, I took a shower, and headed off to a concert with M. Gousty, my Rotary contact. It was so nice to hear classical music again. There was a trio with a piano, a violin, and a cello, and they played Bach, Beethoven, and Dvorak. I thought it was going to be in a large concert hall, but it was actually held in this tiny little chapel. The piano was absolutely beautiful. I really wanted to play it, and it had the most perfect sound and tone for Debussy. The evening was lots of fun, but I was sad again, because my host family made fondue for Leo's birthday and I had to miss it for the concert. They reassured me they would have it again in a month for Charlotte's birthday, but I was really craving it and I didn't get a single bite.

Today is another lazy day here. The weather is cool and rainy, and I'm sitting around looking stuff up on the computer, reading the news, and signing online petitions. So far, I've signed 147 regarding animal rights, human rights, environment... I also looked up all the companies that do animal testing on their products, and I was surprised to find out that Covergirl tests all their products on animals. They've lost a loyal customer.

So I guess that's that. I return to school tomorrow :( and I'm almost done with my chocolate bar, so I'm in a bit of a somber mood. C'est la vie. I'll let you know if and when I find more chocolate, but for now, I'm out. Hasta la vista!