Bearing the Cold

School

It has been extra hard getting up these mornings due to the unbearable cold. I force myself out of my warm cocoon to face the freezing mornings. Getting to class is actually nice after my cold little commute.

As for my classes, they are going quite well. I am taking two courses that are a continuation of last semester's Linguistics and 19th Century French Lit. Then I am taking two courses at the foreigner center which consist of French Economics and 18th Century French Art. So far, I find the economics course quite interesting. Linguistics is as hard as ever, but if I put in extra effort, I'm sure it'll all work out.

I only have class Tuesday - Thursday. It is a college student's dream.

Thus - Thursday Night 

It has been a challenge maneuvering the streets of Bordeaux. All the snow has solidified creating some dangerous black ice. Running late in the morning for class has been specifically hard. My usual run has turned into somewhat of a quick waddle. It's really attractive.

So, Thursday night in the dimly lit street I had to be extra cautious to avoid the ice.

When I finally arrived at the Cock n Bull, an english bar I had never visited before, the welcoming warm air burned my ice cold face. However, with a 4 euro cocktail student night, we all warmed up real quick.

Tonight: Tacos at Marina's :) Happy Weekend everyone!

Snowing in Bordeaux

I woke up this morning to Ynel's (my little host brother) screaming. Okay, maybe not screaming, but talking a wired, giddy voice. I checked my watch and it was 9 a.m. I lay in bed wondering what possessed a 12-year-old to wake up so early on a Sunday with such energy. I finally rolled out of bed and opened my shutters. I stood in shock at the sight. Our garden was completely covered in snow.

Joana and Ynel convinced me to head over to see the Jardin Public. I threw on some clothes and my warm coat and opened the front door. I don't know what I was expecting to see, but obviously I am not accustomed to snow because I was surprised, yet again, at the sight of our street in a blanket of snow.

I was selective about photos since my fingers had limited functioning time in the cold. I snapped some shots of my walk to the Jardin. The Palais Gallien was absolutely astonishing.

I turned the corner into the Jardin Public which was filled with laughter, kids running around, dogs pouncing in the snow piles, grown adults throwing snow balls. I honestly never knew French people had this kind of fun in them. I joke -- kinda.

On my walk home I was wondering what humans find so magical about snow. But actually, it is one element that we just cannot duplicate quite like nature. We are masters of fire, experts at extracting and filtering water, we turn rocks into sparkling jewelry, and we can even purify air, however when it comes to snow, we are absolutely baffled. 

Even our greatest attempt at duplicating nature is futile. We take so much electricity and insulation to create a small arctic-like space. In this freezer, we are capable of making small, uniform chunks of ice. I think snow shows us that nature is so much bigger and better than us. 

Happy February :)

Check out more pics here