This has been a relaxing weekend for sure. AND I still have all day Sunday to relax (except for the long run I'm going on with the running club!) I'm pumped for that, but am just hoping I don't get smoked.
I can't lie. I have so many people that love me. I got a SECOND care package yesterday from Brittany, my little sister in Phi Mu. It was so great. Included some of my favorite things. Guacamole mix, gum, more peanut butter, some Halloween stickers for the kiddos at school, a cinnamon candle, and THIS:
Last night we decided to be social and met up with another English assistant for a drink. Emily and I had been dying to try a beer called the "Ch'ti", so of course we were immediately drawn to that on the menu. Ch'ti is a sort of stigmatized term that describes the people of the North. The best translation we've been able to think of in English is "hick", but it's specific to one area. The folks of the North are stereotypically backwoods and very different from the rest of France. Obviously since we're in the big city of Lille, we don't know what things are like in the rural areas, but Lille definitely doesn't seem backwards. It's kind of funny though. Ch'ti is also a French dialect with a lot of Flemish influences in it. One of the teachers at my school spoke "Ch'ti" to me and I had absolutely no idea what she was saying. As a linguistics nerd though, I'm fascinated by it.
The locals seem to embrace the stereotype and aren't really offended by it. We went to dinner at the director of one of my schools' house the other night and a lot of the teachers were asking me and Emily if there were differences in English from North Carolina and English from California. Obviously there are a lot of differences, and then they asked us who was the "Ch'ti." It made me laugh.
That being said, the beer wasn't that great. It was just charming because of the name. Probably won't have any more of that for a while.
I took this picture outside of my door tonight. It's been pretty rainy and gross all day, but it cleared up a tad. Note the French flag on the right side of the street at the high school. Gotta love it.
Luv,
Sarah
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