Fast and the French

For the first time in many weeks, I am not going away for the weekend and no one is coming to visit. It's nice. I enjoy my down time a lot because I can just sit back, reflect on how everything is going so far, and create a new set of goals and motivations. It's funny how time seemed to go by at a turtle's pace in the beginning of my study abroad experience, and now it is speeding up a lot quicker than I like. My friend, James, has a countdown everywhere and it keeps reminding me of how much time we have left. I think we are down in the 70ish days. :(

I had a really exciting night yesterday. A couple of Americans and I decided to go go-karting with a couple of our French friends. They met us in Bellecour (the "point 0" of Lyon) and drove us out to the tracks. I expected a really cute and kiddish track, like the kind I was used to when I was little, but it turned out to be F1 (Formula One) cars... the kind that goes really fast and the kind you can't drive until you're a certain age in the states. There were 10 of us so we had to wait about an hour before we could go because we wanted to race together. We killed the time by watching the other people driving around and getting a feel for the track. Our race started at 12:20 so we went down and got in our full-body suits and helmets (I felt like an astronaut). The cars were pretty small and I'm assuming it was designed this way so it would be easier to maneuver. When all our motors were on and the cars were leaving the starting point, one by one, I felt the adrenaline start to rush. The cars were a lot faster than I imagined. The track was really curvy so we had to follow a certain way of braking, accelerating, and turning. It was intense, to say the least. In the beginning of the first race, I had a really hard collision with my friend, Thuy, on one of the big curves. The wind was knocked out of me and I was shaken up the entire time. But the excitement kept me going. I placed 11th out of 14. Not bad for a first-timer. We decided to do one more race and since the group was smaller, we didn't have to worry as much about bumping into people. The second time was better for me and I had such a blast. The adrenaline rush was incredible. The smell of the rubber and gasoline, the sight of seeing everyone in their outfits and helmets, the feeling of the speed pick up on a straight-away...it was great. I placed 4th out of 8 the second time. I am definitely planning on going again in the near future. It was so much fun and our friends were such great hosts.
There was a good mixture of the Americans and the French so I would try to listen in on when they started speaking French. My French is definitely improving, but not as much as I would like. The "r's" are impossible to get down. I was talking to my friend, Agnes, and I told her I had a "rhume" (cold). She didn't understand me at first because I wasn't saying it from my throat. She even admitted that it's a really hard pronunciation to get down if you are a foreigner because they are raised that way to speak it, so it is almost like an inborn skill. But I have faith in myself. By the time I leave, I hope I will be able to read fluently (not necessarily digesting the entire context...just being able to read it) and speak without my American accent.

Today is another day of Vinopedia, a huge annual wine festival in the Parc de la Tete d'Or. For 5 euros, you can sample a myriad of wines from local wine regions. I am really excited about it. Other plans for the day include watching a movie and possibly some shopping. I also plan on starting to prepare for midterms. They start this upcoming week and are spread out over a two-week span, based on what day the professors decide to give the exams. I start off with my Advanced French exam on Tuesday and an Advertising Management project on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to getting everything over with because I have a lot of great travel destinations with my friend, Yuna. We have London and Italy booked and I have Paris and Madrid scheduled, as well. I love the great student discounts...they are amazing.

Well, I must go get ready. A toute a l'heure.

[EDIT - PICTURES FROM VINOPEDIA AND THE PARK]