84 Days

I didn't write yesterday, and I appologize, but after I tell you what I did, you will understand why!

The morning was alright. I completed a few lessons in my French workbook and then hung out with Pierre a little. At around two o'clock, Oranne came to pick me up for a "nice" bike ride. I'm really not a bike person. Prior to this, I hadn't been on a bike in yearsss! In fact, I don't even own a bike anymore! I expected it to be a nice, easy ride so I thought I could give it a shot. I figured it would be a good way to get to know people. Oranne didn't tell me to bring anything, so I was stupid enough to leave without even a water bottle. We went to her house where I got a bike to use. Then we went to meet everyone else at Kamille's house. Everyone was dressed in sweatpants and layers and had backpacks full of snacks and water bottles. I felt like I was getting in a little over my head. There were nine of us total, and after everyone had arrived, we started out. My calves were burning after the first half hour. Almost everything was uphill. It was terrrrrible! We took a short break. I could barely walk. Meline gave me some of her water and then we started out again. After consistantly going up, I couldn't take it any longer. My English started erupting from my mouth and I was swearing like you don't even know. I don't think many people heard me, but Oranne picked up on it. We took another break and everyone had snacks to share. Well, everyone except me. I still got to eat, though. I just felt bad for not getting the memo and bringing something to share. Anyway, after that, Oranne told me we were not even at the half way mark yet. That really pissed me off! She told me we were getting close, but would probably not be there for another half hour or so. To make things worse, we went onto a dirt trail. It had rained yesterday morning, so this trail was no longer dirt, but mud and goop and puddles and it was just nasty. My bike tires got clogged and I had to get off my bike to push it through. There was muckk sprayed all over my back and up my legs. My seat got mud on it and therefore so did my ass. There was mud in my hair and on my face and I don't think there were many places that weren't spattered with crap. Ugh. It was horrible. If I would have known the way, I would have turned back right then and there. I actually debated calling my host mom and having her pick me up. I just didn't know how to describe where I was. We were in the middle of a feild of some kind of crop far out of town. I was dyinggg I hurt so bad. My legs, my arms, my shoulders, my chest, my ass (because of the seat!), everything was burninggg. I haven't done much of any excercise in a long time, so this was quite the workout. It made me realize how out of shape I am. Well, actually, at the next pause, Oranne checked my speed gage thingamajig and asked me why I had it set at 3 and 8. I had thought that the higher numbers were for going uphill and the lower numbers were for going downhill; I guess it's the inverse! I about strangled someone when I found out I'd been working 8 times as hard as necessary! Gahhhh! I seriously thought I was going to dieeee! We had been going uphill almost the whole way, tooooo! I am sooo dumb. I can see my dad laughing right now as he reads this, but it is nott funny!!! I could hardly breathe!! After the halfway mark, I got everything straightened out and things got a little better. It didn't help that I already felt like dying, though. We continued through the mud for another couple hours. Then we walked our bikes up a steep grassy hill and took another break. This break lasted about a half hour or so. I thought I was well rested until I couldn't stand up. haha. We only had about an hour and a half left and most of it would be downhill, so that was motivating. I'd have to say I actually enjoyed that hour and a half, too! We went through a town called Vimy where there is a monument dedicated to the Canadians for aiding the French during WW1. There are also a bunch of trenches and they were all fenced off because there are still explosives underground that haven't been found! When we finallyy got back to Roclincourt, I learned that we had biked 35KM! I don't know exactly how many miles that is, but I think it's somewhere around 20? It felt like wayy more than that! Anyway, I dropped the bike off at Oranne's house, said goodbye, and then walked home. It wasn't far, but it took me forever to get there. My hair, skin, and clothes were filthy, so I took a shower and changed before going to the fair with Pierre and my host mom. Going up the stairs to my room was a struggle, though. I nearly had to stop in the middle and catch my breath. Then on the way down, my thighs gave out and I fell a little! haha. That's embarrassing.

A half hour later, we went to the fair. Unfortunately, that meant a lot of walking. My host mom promised we wouldn't stay too long. Pierre and I went on one ride. It was okay, but I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I'd have been in the mood. Then we played a few games. I shot a BB gun at balloons that were blowing around in a cage thing and I popped all of them but 1! That wasn't worth a prize, thoughhh! You have to get them all or you get nothing. We played a couple other games and Pierre ringtossed himself a portable radio. That was the only thing we won, though. After that, we went to the fair restaurant for supper. I TRIED ESCARGOT! And I liked it, a lot :D! It took me longer than a minute to get the first snail out of its shell, and it really did not look appatizing, but it tasted yummy! I ate all 12 of them, and would definitely order that again. The next thing on my list is "cuise de grenoille" (aka frog legs). Needless to say, when we got home I was so tired I went straight to bed. I took some tylonal for my muscles, though, because I was expecting to be stiff today.

This morning, my throat and chest (as well as my butt and legs) were killing me! I actually was still having a hard time breathing and every move I made felt like a workout. Hah. I really overworked myself yesterday. For lunch today, Thomas and his family, Simon and his family, Annick, and Grandma all came over. I helped my mom with the meal and I made the "verrines." I don't know what that translates to in English, but they are little glasses with different things (like salad, tomatoes, tuna, a sauce, etc) piled on top of each other in layers. Since Thomas's kids weren't here for Easter, we had another egg hunt :)! Pierre and I hid the eggs and candies in the yard and I unfortunately stuck my hand into a bad plant. It made my skin burn and gave me puffy white blotches on my fingers where I'd touched it. My host mom put vinegar on it and then I washed my hands with cold water. She said the pain and spots would go away on its own after a while. That was at one. It's now 7:30 and my skin still tingles. The spots are gone and it doesn't burn as bad, but it is still uncomfortable. Although with how bad the rest of my body hurts, it really doesn't make that big of a difference.

After all the kids had arrived and the candy had been scattered about, the hunt began. I took a couple pictures and will post those maybe Thursday? I have plans tomorrow and Wednesday, so we'll see. I haven't got the time right now. It didn't take long before everything was found. The kids ate their lunch and then I served my verrines. They were pretty good! I made a few different kinds, but the one I ate had pears on the bottom, then tuna, lettuce, and a sauce on top. I don't really know what the sauce was because my host mom made it, but it went really well with the rest. After the kids were done (and two glasses were broken), the rest of us ate. It took the rest of the afternoon to get through all the courses and to finish talking and whatnot. After everyone left, I got on the computer.
Et voila! That's all for today!
a demain!
<3Miranda