La nourriture française.

I keep meaning to write about the food here. I've had a hard time finding corn syrup on food labels when I get a chance to read them. The only thing found so far with corn syrup was some sickingly sweet candy I found in a vending machine. I could only eat a few because they were so sweet.

I love the French's attitudes on food. There are so many smaller markets with fresher produce than in the states. One of my friends here told me that France has a ban on imported food from the United States because our food is genetically modified, and I think they have the right idea. There are at least three or four boulangeries (bakeries, usually bread stuff) just on my way to the university. I bought some strawberries today, and they weren't an abnormal gigantic size like they are in the states, and they're so sweet! No sugar needed.

My host mom is an amazing cook. My mom being a (relatively) bad cook may have come up in dinner conversation last night. She made a zucchini souffle last night, and it was absolutely amazing. My first day here, she made a cake called gateau basque, which means basque cake. Basque is just the name of the region Pau. It looked more like a slice of pie with a crust and a gooey middle that resembled almond paste. Immediately I thought of dutch letters, Pella, and Tulip Time. Sadly, it seems if people aren't from Iowa here they haven't ever had a dutch letter! Quel horreur! I really need to perfect that dutch letter recipe so I can share :). On Friday I'm giving a ten minute (I think?) presentation on this cake, and I hope that means I get to mooch the recipe from my host mom!

The espresso is amazing here too. I can drink it black, and so far I haven't been able to do that in the states. The taste isn't as bitter here. Today I had a "maya" from a super cute cafe in the L'eclerc (the local mall here) called Théoucafe? The baristas all wore vests with a question mark on the back. The name literally means tea or coffee? Maya espresso reminded me of the mexican mochas we have at Being There with yummy spices and a slight mocha flavor. I really like the small portions of coffee here too. I can never finish a 16 ounce in the states!

Breakfast is the meal I miss the most. Usually I have brioche (small loaf looking bread that has a slight sweet taste) with nutella and jam. Here people eat a small breakfast followed by a large lunch and dinner with no snacks in between.

Today I learned the phrase "Je suis dans la lune," which literally means I'm in the moon. In english it's I'm in the clouds, or spacey. So happy to know this phrase! I've been meaning to tell my host mom that I'm a little ditsy, and now I can express this sentiment. I have a feeling it'll explain some things.. Like the alarm and how I never know what's going on :)