Castles, Shopping and Tea

Finally, at the very end of my stay in Pau, I went on a tour of the famous castle of Pau. The biggest tower is 33 meters tall. It's most famous occupant was King Henri IV. We went on a guided tour of the rooms such as the dining room, bedrooms, welcoming rooms, etc. 

There were chandeliers inside that were commissioned for Versailles, very ornate and beautiful. Also, the rooms all had the old fashioned style of beds that were often short. This was because they feared sleeping horizontally since it was considered a position for the dead, so they would sleep sitting angled slightly up. There were also many old tapestries, paintings and statues. One thing that was really cool was this huge, golden jewelry box that was made in Spain, but has secrets compartments.

On Saturday I spent the afternoon in downtown Pau, a day of shopping and eating with my wonderful language partner. It was a fun day of learning french style, trying on clothes and buying Christmas presents. I did get the biggest, softest, warmest, fluffiest scarf ever to keep me warm when I return to Tech 

Gabby and I

This weekend in all of France was the Telethon which is where everyone raises money for scientific research for diseases for children. It was a huge deal and in Pau, they set up a stage next to the castle where they had performers including singers and a band that was playing basque music. There were lots of people dressed in costumes and I also saw an 18 person bicycle. 

In the evening I went with my host family to a family mass where there were tons and tons of kids and the church was full. They had an electric guitar and good music! This is the first time that I've been to a mass like that in France! I was so happy :] Plus, since it was a children's mass, he spoke slower and I could understand a lot more. The mass was celebrating the journey that Felix, Juliette and others are starting as they prepare for their first communion. Unfortunately, the church was still cold as they only heating was the electric chandeliers like is common practice in France.

The other day in class, one of the Japanese students did her presentation on the Japanese ceremony called the Tea Ceremony. All the actions are very precise and everything is done in a very particular way as tradition requires. At the end of her presentation, they performed the ceremony for us in their traditional garb. It was so cool to see it! Everything they did had purpose and meaning, it was so interesting to watch and of course to admire the robes as well :] And of course the best part is that afterwards she made us all the traditional food and tea for us to try. When you drink the tea, you do it in three drinks. Also, the food that accompanies it, is very sugary. I love that I am learning so much about so many different cultures, not just France!