Feelin Fat and Sassy

WOW do I have a food baby.  That's because my host fam just took me out for our very own personalized farewell dinner (sad face) at La Cloche de Fromage, a fancy schmancy fondue place.  Yeah, if you're reading this, Mom, I know what you're thinking: EWWWWW.  That was my first thought too, me not being a huge fan of cheese in general.  But I was actually pleasantly surprised; the fondue consisted of fresh french bread dipped into this three-cheese sauce mixture that included this buttery stuff and garlic so it had a very smooth consistency.  It tasted very mild, the only thing that may have put me off a bit might have been the smell but I got over it.  Plus we drank this fantastic red wine from the region, a "rosette" I think it was called.  Having never really drank wine before this trip, may I say that I am quite proud of myself, bein' so sophisticated and all ;)  MAN do I feel French right now!!  Plus, I learned a new (incredibly useful) sentence: je suis repue, which means I am full (and I also learned not to say, je suis pleine, which literally means I am full....of a baby. i.e. that I'm preggers.  Woops.  Won't make that mistake again).  Anyways, it was a great evening, and I realized how much I'm going to miss my host family :(

These past few days have been great because FINALLY the weather has cleared up.  On Monday and Tuesday it was 91 degrees!!!  So we took advantage of it by skipping work (shhhh.... ehh I don't think anyone noticed anyways; I already submitted my final report) and going to the public pool.  The pool here is HUGE but it was also filled to capacity, like that scene from the sandlot.  It felt amazing to be in the cool water on such a hot day though (especially since the first ti;e we tried to find it, Laura and I got lost and ended up wandering around for an hour and a half.... d'oh!)  The only thing I would comment on is the dressing trends of the local frenchies.  Let's just say that it's pretty much mandated that men wear speedos, for "hygenic" purposes.  Let me also remind you that they do not discriminate based on physique; therefore, men of all shapes and sizes (and general levels of fatness and hairiness) were parading around in their tiny little banana hammocks.  Lovely. -__-  But the women are not excluded from the offensive pool-wear.  APPARENTLY the local (older, may I add) women are not shy when it comes to tanning....topless. *Shudder*  I have definitely seen things that I may never un-see.....

Last night I went to my very first real opera!  I saw a french production of Shakespeare's Hamlet, and it was fantastic!  Aside from being three-hours, the singing was absolutely incredible and the live orchestra was awe-inspiring.  And in case you're wondering, yes, they do belt out every single word in an ear-splitting shrill, but no, there was no fat lady singing (alas).  Actually, the leading lady who played Ophelia was this tiny little woman. When she began singing and then eventually screamed out octaves that I can only guess are hearable by canines, my only thought was, "Good God, what large lungs on such a tiny woman!!"  Also thankfully, they had French subtitles playing on this screen as they sang, because as this local woman next to me put it, even if you're native French you would have no idea what the heck is going on.  But from the subtitles I think I was able to pretty much understand the entire opera, go me ;)

Alas, this is my last couple of days here in Strasbourg and it is bittersweet.  While I look forward to seeing my family, sleeping in my own bed, eating red meat, and taking a shower standing up, it will also be hard to leave such a nice town.  I was really fortunate to meet so many nice people from the program and from the city.  I'm going to write a "Cast of Characters" post next!