Time for America

So tomorrow I will be waking up at 5am and heading off to the Montpellier airport for the last time, destination: Washington D.C. So I feel like in this post I should be super introspective and reflective about my experience this semester but if you know me at all that is just really not my style. So instead I decided I'd make a list of all the new experiences I've had:

1. Took 5 classes in French and was able to understand and communicate with people including writing 2 8-page papers.
2. Took a quiz on the morning of Thanksgiving
3. Missed a flight
4. Had fresh bread for pretty much every meal
5. Drank legally (a lot)
6. Tried: foie gras, duck, venison, paté, tons of new french pastries and numerous other French delicacies
7. Discovered the wonder that is cassis (black currant)
8. Took classes in which there was no syllabi, assigned readings for each class or any semblance of structure.
9. Went to the beach in the middle of October and it was still warm enough to tan.
10. Traveled to 9 other European countries: France, Monaco, England, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Italy
11. Used 5 different currencies
12. Met new people from all over the world
13. Lived on the 4th floor with no elevator or air conditioning, or an oven, or a dishwasher.
14. Hung my clothes outside my window and washed them at a laundromat
15. Learned how to use kilograms and Celsius
16. Understand time based on a 24 hour scale
17. Successfully traveled by myself on multiple occasions
18. Packed my life including many many gifts for friends into 2 20-kg suitcases and will hopefully somehow get them down my three flights of stairs in the dark tomorrow morning at 5am.

I'm sure there are many more things I could add to this list that I cannot think of at the moment, but my experience in France was a great one and it is sad to leave but I am also very excited to see my family and in a few short days visit all of my close friends up at Villanova. Now to make this post not so depressing I decided to end it in a deliciously French fashion with: French Pastries 101

French Pastries...what you don't know

• My favorite pastry the Chocolat Suisse (aka Gourmandise) is a delicious pastry with a flaky outside and a creamy custard and chocolate chip inside, as I mentioned in my last post this pastry is a staple in my life.
• The pastry below the Chocolate Suisse is a Mille Feuille or in the United States it is referred to as a Napoleon. This lovely dessert has a flaky crust layered with cream and then a delicious white and chocolate frosting on the top!
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  Next is the classic Pain au Chocolat, the classic french pastry a croissant filled with some nice chocolate, a typical breakfast in France and also very cheap!
  The pastry below is a Chausson aux Pommes, usually served hot it has a flaky outside and warm apples on the inside. This is the perfect breakfast or snack in those cold winter months (50 degrees) in Montpellier.
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  Finally we have the beignets! Beignet is very similar to a jelly donut except it is so much more fresh and delicious a sugary donut on the outside on the inside you usually have a choice of fresh jams, nutella or dark chocolate these are to die for and usually sold at the beach or at stands in the Christmas market!
  
  Well that is all for now, don't go too gaga over these pictures...Next post from America!!!!!