A Stroll Around the Lac d'Allier

Despite the rainy and cloudy weather, Azra and I checked off an item on our Vichy bucket list and took the 5 km (3.1 miles) stroll around the Lac d'Allier --an artificial lake on the River Allier and popular spot for water sports. We started out in the Parc Napoléon III and headed north towards the Europe Bridge. On the other side of the lake, we passed the Omnisports center, Vichy golf course, Vichy Sporting Club, etc. We crossed the Bellerive Bridge and made our way back to our apartment. Along the way, we enjoyed the pleasant boardwalks, beautiful trees, and facinating wildlife. The map below shows our route (in purple). Azra's finger marks the location of our apartment on the Rue de Belgique.

Iako je dan bio kisovit, odlucile smo da prosetamo ako dijela rijeke Allier koja se zove Lac d'Allier (jezero Allier). Ovoj dio rijeke je jako popularan za vodene sportove, golf, setnju, voznju bicikla, itd. Staza za setnju je dugacka 5km. Vidi prilozenu kartu. Azrin prstic pokazuje gdje je nas stan.

Revenge of the Twins

If you have been keeping up with our blog, you will remember our troubles with the bandit quinoa. More than a week in, pieces of quinoa are still popping up in unexpected places. Quinoa may have won the first few skirmishes with its guerilla tactics, but it's war now. Azra and I regrouped to revenge ourselves on the rebel grain. The strategy was to gather a group of ingredients into the kitchen. To keep quinoa feeling safe, we first sautéed some onions, carrots, peppers, and broccoli in a sauce pan. Then, we launched a surprise attack and added the quinoa into the mix, followed by some water and spices. We let the rebel quinoa stew to reflect on its misdeeds. Despite being a bitter opponent, quinoa sure tasted delicious! (Our only regret is that we had to sacrifice a few vegetables to revenge ourselves on the real culprit).

Ako se sjecate, od prvog dana quinoa nam stvara puno problema. Iako smo se trudile da je detaljno pocistimo,vjerovali ili ne jos uvijek odnekud iskrsne poneko zrnce i to tamo gdje ne treba. Naljutile smo se i odlucile da je svu pojedemo. Bas je bila ukusna.
 O da! Mama je na povratku kuci bila "prijatno" iznenadjena kad je otvorila svoj kofer. Quinoe je bilo svuda. Svi pokloni koje je kupila bili su "zacinjeni". Tata je to naravno snimio.

Battle Preparations

It looks better on the plate than on the floor

Lessons Learned: PhotoBooth

Studying abroad requires an enormous amount of paperwork and you are often required to provide passport size photographs of yourself. Sometimes they let you know this in advance and sometimes they don't. Worry not! If you ever find yourself in need of passport pictures while in France simply locate a "Photomaton" booth (see picture), which can be found in many convenient places such as grocery stores, malls, or (in the case of the one pictured below) train stations. Don't confuse this photo booth with its American counterpart. These booths aren't meant for silly faces or group photos; they have a more serious purpose.  For only five euros you can get five passport sized photographs. The process is quick and efficient and the instructions are easy to follow regardless of any language barriers.

Photomaton Booth in the Vichy Train Station

Amra and I recently found ourselves in desperate need of some passport sized pictures for our first day of school. We didn't know we needed them until the Sunday night before class was to begin so we scrambled to produce some before everything closed. Amra remembered seeing a "Photomaton" booth in the mall. On our way there we hoped it wasn't closed. Fortunately for us it wasn't because of the movie theater. When we finally got to the Photomaton booth we realized that we didn't have anything smaller than a 10 euro bill. NOTE: Photomaton booths DO NOT accept euro bills greater than five. Thus, to take a passport photo you must either have a five euro bill or five euro in coins. I frantically explained my situation in Frenglish to the lady at the movie theater concession stand who accepted my 10 euro bill in exchange for that amount in euro coins.

Once inside the  Photomaton booth the process went rather smoothly. I inserted my coins selected the type of photograph I wanted it taken (passport sized) after which an automated voice took me through a series of don'ts (don't tilt your head, don't let your hair cover your face, don't wear glasses that would reflect the flash, don't smile, etc.) Once the automated voice had thoroughly educated me on the proper way to take a passport picture (neutral, serious expression with nothing obstructing the face), a process I found extremely comical, a screen popped up with instructions on how to properly place my face for the photograph. The screen consisted of a red oval whose top half was intersected by a dotted line. Based on the instructions I was  supposed to position my face within the oval making sure the middle of my eyes lined up with the dotten line. NOTE: You can adjust the seat up or down when trying to get your face to fit inside the oval on the screen. Once satisified with the placement of my face I pressed the large green botton as instructed. The automated voice asked if I was ready and then to "faite attention". After this the screen went black, which I understood to mean the photo had been taken. Only when I tilted my head back laughing at my "neutral, serious expression" reflected on the black screen did I hear the "click" of the camera. To my great amusemant the first picture was of me laughing hysterically- head tilted back, mouth wide open, eyes squinting- doing everything I was instructed not to do. Luckily the Photomation booth gives you three attempts to take a decent picture (a feat I find impossible). My second attempt proved more successful, so I accepted the picture and the Photomaton booth printed it. The end result was a page containing five passport sized pictures of me looking "neutral and serious", though the slight curve of my mouth reveals my struggle to surpress a laugh.  I explained the process to Amra who went after me. She also found the experience entertaining.

The moral: While traveling in France, if you have five euros in your pocket you can get five passport size pictures from a Photomaton booth. These booths can be found in almost any train station, shopping center, or in the larger supermarkets. The process is simple and efficient. You can adjust the seat in the booth to help you position your face for the picture. And finally, try not to laugh at your "neutral and serious" expression until after you've printed your page of pictures.

Mama

 Is she really leaving?? Tuesday night was Mama's last here in Vichy. We have to admit,  her departure felt rather sudden.

Mama se vraca kuci i usput ostavlja mrvice da se njeni pilici znaju vratiti kuci.

Mama, where are you going? Mama, gdje si posla?

 We said our final goodbyes at the train station, and waved goodbye until the train left. Mama, thank you for everything you have done! You will be very much missed, Vichy is not the same without you!

Rastanak je bio tuzan. Mama se vraca kuci tuzna ali ponosna.

Draga nasa mama. Hvala za sve. Sve bi bilo puno teze bez tebe.
Ti si nam puno olaksala i uljepsala ovo putovanje.
Tek sto si otisla a vec nam puno nedostajes.
Sretan put mama.Tvoji pilici.

Volimo te Mama!

Frist Day of School

Finally, school has started. After taking a quick picture with Eddie, we walked the kilometer to school in the rain (a story to exaggerate to our future children and grandchildren). There, we had a quick orientation and a French placement exam. We made our way home around 12:30 pm where lunch was waiting for us (courtesy of Mama). In the afternoon, we were divided into our French classes. We will have intensive French classes for the first two weeks, after which we begin our business classes. We're happy to be in school again!
Konacno je skola pocela! Ujutro smo imale obilazak fakulteta, susret sa profesorima, i test iz francuskog jezik. Za rucak smo dosle kuci, docekala nas je mama sa corbom od krompira i tata na skajpu. Poslije podne dobile smo rezultate testa. Uspjele smo se kvalifikovati za najnapredniji nivo francuskog. Prve dvije sedmice studiracemo francuski a poslije ostale predmete. Drago nam je da je skola pocela.

Eddie and Twins

Left Side

Right Side

 

Potluck in France

So...we were under the (wrong) impression that absolutely everything here is closed on Sundays so we spent the majority of the day in our tiny apartment. Look, we weren't completely mistaken as most stores were closed, and besides, the dreary weather didn't exactly encourage us to venture outside. The day was not wasted, however, as we took the opportunity to Skype with family back home. In the typical Amra and Azra fashion, we could not resist the French B's (we mean books, Denny). Bile smo ubjedene da su sve prodavnice zatvorene u nedjelju a i vrijeme nas nije privlacilo da izademo, tako da smo vecinu dana  provele u nasem malom stanu. Iskoristile smo ovo priliku da razgovaramo sa tatom i Enom i da vjezbamo francuski. Ma netrebamo svaki dan hodati i trositi pare.

The Nerds

Because all the international students were invited to a potluck dinner, we decided to prepare a dish we are known for back home, crêpes. The challenges of cooking in a different environment that lacks the familiar tools caused tempers to flare "Hell's Kitchen" style, which must have been quite comical to watch. Luckily, Mom's cluinary experience saved the day and calmed some nerves so that we were able to create the masterpiece pictured below. Studenti iz naseg programa su organizovali veceru na americki nacin (svak donese ponesto). Mi smo napravile palacinke. Na pocetku nam je bilo tesko, nismo imale nasu tavu, sporet je drugaciji, itd. Mama nas je spasila sa svojim kuharskim iskustvom. Palacinke su bile izvrsne, pogledajte sliku.

Masterpiece

 The potluck was a success. There are a great deal of talented cooks in our group as everything tasted delicious. The night ended with a chocolate fondue and fruit. The fondue was a messy business, few people escaped stain-free.  Hrana je bila ukusna i bilo nam je lijepo.

Kristi in Action

In back the hostesses Emilie and Sarah. In front Mita.

YUM!

Ally, Hailey, Ellen, and Kristi

Azra's nose, Emilie, Mita, and Maddie

Chocolate Fondue and Fruit

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Super Sweet Saturday

Saturday, our first in Vichy, began like every other morning- with a hearty breakfast. The only exception is that Amra prepared it this time marking our transition into the domestic realm. While munching on our scrambled eggs and bread we all felt the eerie sensation of being watched. A glance out our window revealed a plump, organge cat staring at us from the balcany of an apartment building across the street. He was probably envious of our warm, cozy situation. U subotu je Amra preuzela kuhinju i pripremila nam ukusan dorucak. (Necemo biti gladne kad Mama ode!) Macak nas je posmatrao sa susjednog balkona dok smo dorucovale.

Garfield

After breakfast we trekked over to a local Aldi, which Amra and Mama and located on the internet the other day. While the prices there definitely rival those of the grocery stores closer to our apartment, the long walk (1.8 km one-way) through a somewhat sketchy part of the city diminishes the value of such a trip. In short, we probably won't be going there again. I might add that lugging a grocery laden shopping bag for that long of a distance is no easy feat.  It also reveals our nationality...no one but an American would buy that many groceries in one outing. Amra i Mama su pronasle Aldi na interntu, pa smo odsetala (1.8 km u jednom pravcu) do Aldija. Po amerckim navikama natrpale smo dvije velike kes, a zaboravile smo da se moramo vratiti nazad 1.8 km.

 We somehow managed to drag our groceries up to our apartment without losing any limbs (though I did get a blister from the experience). After that excursion, we went to a Crêpe shop where we enjoyed the treats pictured below. This was followed by yet another round of gift shopping. And because we hadn't consumed enough sugar, we stopped by a bakery on our way home and bought some jelly-filled donuts, which we devoured while Skyping with Tata, which was the sweetest part of the day. Poslije duge a i teske "setnje" pocastile smo se sa palacinkama. Kad smo se vratile u nas stan, pozvale smo Tatu na ukusne krofne.

Salkina kcerka

Tired after our expedition to Aldi. Uf, ali smo umorne!

Crêpe with Nutella and a Cup of Hot Chocolate

Crêpe with Rasberry Jam and a Cup of Tea

Crêpe with Butter, Sugar, and a Cup of Coffee

Tata nam je bio najsladi  dio dana!

Around eight o'clock in the evening Amra and I got dolled up to go to a get together for the all the IBF students. There we met many friendly and interesting people. This will definitely be a fun semester! To vece smo se skupili sa ostalim internacionalnim studentima. Bilo nam je lijepo.