Thoughts from Lille

wowwww, a month and a half gone by so fast since my last post.

my the time does fly when you have exams every friday or monday that require lots of studying because its an essay prompt in French. no big deal or anything, its only half my grade. so that kind of sums up March. though I will touch on it more in a few hours, a day, later when I have a chance.

and I will also update about my most recent trip to Lloret de mar, Spain, for "spring break".

however, I would like to comment on being back in Lille. Classes are over. the only thing that remains for me are 3 exams in a week and a half's time. and after that my schooling in France will officially be over. kind of sad how it came to an end so soon. It was only a week or two ago that I was stressing over how little time I had left, two months really, and I think it was more the idea of being over the middle hump now, that my time keeps decreasing that had me worried. However now, I have a new positive attitude...I have 7 or 8 weeks left in Europe and the only thing limiting me are 3 days of exams and my wallet. It rather seems like a lot when I know the money isn't limitless...but I have plans to see lots before I leave, the only bother now is that at the moment, that is all they are, plans, ideas, no concrete train tickets or hostel reservations to solidify my travels. I need to get on it asap. so maybe thats what I will do this coming week when I have ample free time when not studying, because I have come to find that trip planning always takes longer than expected.

I went to the market today, as I like to do on Sundays when I am in Lille, and today I think I went alone for the first time. A few months ago I would not have done so but times have changed. The market always surprises me, because so many people seem rather dressed up to just be going to the market. Today I thought I might put a little more effort behind the clothes I put on and picked a skirt and sweater I thought looked nice. Turns out this attention to detail paid off: I was browsing through a basket of interesting shoes, priced at 3 euro, and after picking a matching pair and handing them to the merchant, he gave them to me for 2 euro because he said I was a charming gal. (in french of course) of course I love getting things for cheaper than expected. And then again, I went into a rather nice bakery to buy a baguette and on my way out was stopped by one of the shopworkers, inquiring if I had bought a gateau from them, which I hadn't. He then asked if I had tried their cakes, sweets before and I replied no, and immediately he insisted I try one. It was like a small baklava type thing, and it was absolutely delicious. and free :) all very nice gratification for putting on a respectable skirt. not so hard, really. Well now I sit in my room, which im in the process of cleaning, and eating a slice of my cheese pie (kind of a quiche but different and made on the spot at the market) and sipping some syrah rose and enjoying life despite the cloud cover that has become the norm in my life.
While walking back from the market earlier today, I was remembering when I thought Lille was completely DEAD on sundays; this is not the case. One just needs to know where to look, and you'll find the population of Lille out in droves. The Wazemmes market is always hoppin' from 8 am to 2 pm. The grand place is also popular and down rue Bethune where cafes abound. A third popular destination all afternoon is the Citadelle, the park down the road, full of crepe and waffle stands, a zoo, little children, a playground, carousel, and green grass galore. Perhaps there is more to be found....

until my room is clean...,
---- L.A.S.----