Cattle Show Marathon

Where the heck have I been? 

Good question, friends, good question.

Tonight, is not the night to go into details. I just did a Jillian Micheals' tape and my worn out legs are making my think funny. However, it's not fair to keep everything a secret forever.

So, follow closely...

Basically, since my last post (over a month ago), I went to Grand Island, NE, to watch my little bro get a maroon jacket, hopped in the car and celebrated a wedding, hopped back in the car and went to Milwaukee to drink bad Miller Light and be spoiled by my favorite company, sent my husband road tripping to Kentucky, somehow managed to do enough laundry in the two short days he was gone to pack for my trip to Louisville for the NJAS, got distracted from any type of work once our bull won grand champion, drove 13 long hours home to get back in the car to go to a county fair (we are die-hards), got overly obsessed with decorating for a baby shower the next week, then had a "normal" week that involved breaking calves, judging practices and clipping cattle, which brings us to the best week of the summer, AKA the Dakota County Fair and lake week where I watched my baby brother show at his last county fair, drank too much of that darn beer garden beer and got necessary sun on my shoulders from a day of REAL vacation in the water.

Hello, longest run on sentence in the world.

And now I am here, catching up on life in general and savoring a #singlegirl night as April at A.Liz Adventures calls it. Mine included the Kardashians, working out and Reeses Pieces cereal.

And tomorrow? Tomorrow, I will be crossing my fingers & toes and waiting for a call from my husband about the Iowa State Fair Angus Bull Show.

Short & sweet: We have been all about #bannerchasing lately.

By the way, just in case you aren't on Twitter (follow me: @jamielmay) #bannerchasing is my new favorite hashtag. It's total Twitter lingo for the show jocks, sorry if you aren't on that bandwagon and sorry if I am inappropriately using hash tags in normal writing. Like I said, Jillian is making me loopy.

And if isn't over yet. 

Last week, was week 1 of 4 of our month-long fair stunt. This week is Iowa State Fair and Steele County Fair, next week is MN 4-H Show and the following is MN Open Class. 

Life is good? Yes.

By the way, before I leave you, one small request. Go check out the video my little brother put together about why he shows cattle and vote for it to help him win a $500 scholarship. Click here to watch the video and vote. 

The video with the most votes win, so we need your help -- plus, I think you will really like it. It helps explain our crazy life and why we turn on the cooler for our cattle before the air conditioner in our house in the summer. :)

Until next time (which will hopefully be sooner than later),

Mexico Family Vacation

While on my blogger hiatus this winter, I enjoyed a little rest and relaxation in Mexico.

It was fabulous.

If you are immediately thinking that it was for a honeymoon, I am squashing that thought immediately. It was a family vacation with the Purfeerst family. Family vacations can never be considered as honeymoons, in my book, at least.

Anyway, we spent a week soaking up the sun in Riviera Maya's RUI Palace. If you are looking for a winter vacay, I highly recommend it. It was my first "all-inclusive" vacation, and while I did get a little sick of the amazing guacamole and prime rib suppers by the 7th day, I will never complain about fabulous food and no dishes. Oh...and did I mention the free margaritas and piña coladas at your fingertips? And sunshine? And reading on the beach?


I finally got around to making the family vacation photo book I was in designated to be in charge of it and I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures/layouts with you.

{i love shutterfly photo books. good bye photo album & hello technology.}

You know, to make you jealous. And to motivate you to book your own family vacation. Once in your life, everyone should do a family vacation like this. The whole time I kept imagining my family there. We don't do water, or relaxing, but I still think it would be fun. :)

{isn't that a cute brother/sister picture?!}

{pics from our Mayan adventure trip - ziplines, jungles, rappelling & snorkeling.}

{misty, matt, mark & jim went scuba diving. luckily unfortunately, my ear kept me on shore.}

{we took a trip to the tulum ruins during our excursion trip. btw, mayan calendar mystery was solved.}

{can yo say tequila!?}

I made the book using the Shutterfly custom photo book program, which I love. I love their colorful layouts and I especially love that I have full control. I can go in and size any picture or override any layout. For someone with a little design background, that flexibility is nice. I made some really great wedding ones for my parents, too.

However, I am not loving my Shutterfly customer service lately. When I say it finally got to me, I mean it was two weeks late. But, hey, it turned out fabulous and I am actually making another one for myself (this one's for my MIL). Normally, I am a big Shutterfly fan. Hopefully, they redeem themselves next order.

Any other Shutterfly fans out there? Have you seen their new iPhone covers? I think it will be my next purchase. And more importantly, who here is Mexican vacation veterans? Have any suggestions for an actual honeymoon?

I am not letting my husband forget that we still have one of those to check off our list too! :)

Adventure, Please

Life has hit a lull.

And unfortunately, I don't see anything exciting to spice it up in the near future.

It depresses me slightly. And I need to fix it. Soon.

Let me start this by saying, I should have known this was going to happen. In fact, for the last month I have been trying to mentally prepare for it, but clearly to no avail.

I am bored with life. Wedding plan is just not that exciting for me I guess?

Here is the problem, I need to go SOMEWHERE! Anywhere! My life has been this big old race for the last four years. I had a trip at least once a month, even if it was just back to Randolph, MN. But most of the time, it was on a plane or in a van or on a very long and extended car ride. And as much as I hated packing, I loved traveling.

Or I should say I love traveling and I need to go somewhere soon or I am going to go nuts.

So any advice? I have the next three weekend frees? I am thinking maybe Florida on April 9th? Sure, it's random, but it is somewhere warm for less than $200. I think I could do it.

Or does anyone know of a town Mark and I should go explore? Maybe in Wisconsin or Illinois or South Dakota? Maybe we should go see Mount Rushmore?

Part of me thinks I am crazy and some people might think that these places are not so exciting, but here's the truth, if I haven't ever been there, it could be an adventure. And realistically, you can't go to France for every vacation.

But I wouldn't mind going there for my honeymoon. (That's a very obvious hint to the man planning it.) 

So, I will let you know what I decide. But, if anyone at all has any ideas, please let me know. I need to plan something so I have something to get excited about, because this girl needs something more than just the weekend to look forward to.

Sweet Summertime

I haven't had too many reasons to get worked up lately.  My biggest concerns are if my garden got watered, how I am going to get to the next cattle show and that Avery May is a happy little girl.  I guess I could say life is good.

Now don't get me wrong I have been busy in the last 25 days since I returned home from France.  But instead of it being a long-to-do-list-with-no-breaks-in-sight kind of busy it has been I-want-to-do-as-much-stuff-as-I-can-before-I-have-to-go-back-to-school-and-get-a-real-job kind of busy.  I don't mind that type nearly as much...in fact, I pretty much enjoy it.

So far I have been to Dickinson, North Dakota to celebrate my friend Megan's wedding.  It was a great time and it was even better bonding with the boy :)  16 hours in the car in one weekend is almost too much fun!

I sure missed my country girls.  Hopefully we can catch up again soon :)  I will be holding down the fort in Fargo for them while they are off getting married, starting real jobs and being big girls.  My time will come...:)

I have spent some quality time with Avery May.  She is getting to be quite the personality and has her little finger wrapped around my boy.  He finds a reason to come to Kenyon nearly every time I watch her and manages to catch her waking up every time he checks on her napping.  I had to put my foot down last night when he wanted to wake her up at 9:30 at night. :)

I have given back to the program that used to dominate my summer--4-H.  Mark and I are coaching the Rice County Livestock Judging team and those kids are a hoot.  We have this little guy who told me every heifer was wide and long...needless to say we are working on his vocab.  I have a feeling he is going to be the next great one though, he just needs a little TLC.  I also have somehow gotten to be an expert on fashion revue and was able to judge Washington County's purchased garment contest.  This of course brought me back to my glory days of purchasing pants for $2.34 and a sweater for $3.02 and shoes for $8.01 for a grand total of BARELY ANYTHING!   I mean why can't I find those good of deals today?   Probably because I never wore those outfits...but that wasn't the point of that project, was it??  Oh and I also judged my first show...and it was tough.  Hopefully things only get better from there!  10 head is harder than you think....

My latest excitement was traveling to Wooster, Ohio and then to Denver, Colorodo to reconnect with Certified Angus Beef and the American Angus Association.  It was great to be out at the National Junior Angus Show again and catch up with some familiar faces.  Plus, I was surrounded by some really really good cattle and I can never complain about that.  Avery and Annabelle did really well out there and Matt came home with two second place ribbons, definitely something to be happy with. While we were out there, Mark and I got one free afternoon and took a trip to Golden, CO and visited Coors Brewery.  Did you know they owned Miller Lite too?  It was a good time and the free samples weren't bad either!  Next time you head to Denver make sure to check it out!

Well that's my latest recap...I will try to be more timely in the upcoming days and before I know it I will be back to school and judging and hopefully will have lots of fun places and good news to post.  Until then, enjoy the beautiful summer days.  I hope you are getting to spend time with the ones you love, some good cattle and maybe even drink a glass of wine while watching the sunset over the cornfield. :)

Homeward Bound

I will be home before I know it!

Back home everyone needs to just go to sleep once and I will be home. :)  Over here, I technically should be going to sleep almost twice, but regardless I will be home soon!

To be honest, I am going to miss this place terribly.  My host family has become such great friends and the relaxed atmosphere and stress free living was much needed!  I tend to run and run and run and here, the closest thing I did to running was walking fast to the pastry shop to get a pain de chocolate.

People are right when they say it is a whole different culture over here, but truly I don't mind the differences.  They may not use GMOs or hormones in their beef, but they do have this local pride and friendly spirit that is contagious!

I am going to keep it short and brief because I need to finish up a few things before I catch my train to head to Paris, but look back in the next couple of days--I have so much to tell you about Angers.  I have three blogs started that needed to be completed with pictures even!

See you soon!  Call me, text me, Facebok me or visit me...I can not wait to hear what ya'll have been doing for the last 30 days!

Did I really just say ya'll?  I have been spending way to much time with these Texas people! :)

The Frenchest Sunday I Could Find

A good friend of mine warned me that I would have a culture shock when I got to France--which I have yet to have. The other day, I about thought and wondered why I was missing that common downfall of a study abroad trip; concluding that maybe I have been surrounded too much by Americans to feel the pressure of a new culture.  However, after this weekend I am disputing that idea as well. 

I think I experienced the Frenchest Sunday possible and I absolutely loved it. I don't know if you have picked this up yet, but I have a really great host family that has done a great job of introducing me to French culture.  I mean even if I was a little nervous about eating raw meat last night, they were giving me a great opportunity to try something new, like they always do!  I love being here and will be sad to leave them next week!

This past Sunday, they invited me with to a opening of a local winery that included dinner, music and of course wine tasting.  It was sooo much fun and completely French.  We ate under a tent that looked over the vineyard and we had a live singer serenading us in French.  Plus, the food was delicious (it always is in France)...we had bread that reminded me of a pita, except it was made fresh in front of us in a brick oven.  We ate the bread with a duck, goose and rabbit pattae for our appetizer; enjoyed it with a ratatuie or white bean mix for our main course; used it with our cheese for the third course and for desert we had French apple pie fresh from the oven!  Mmmm...and of course we had each course with wine.  Rose for the appetizer, white for the main course, red with the cheese and a sparkling wine with our desert! 

After dinner, (which took about 2 1/2 hours) we took a ride through the vineyard in horse-drawn carriage.  A friend from school, Taylor, also came with and the picture below is of us on the carriage ride.  I really loved the whole afternoon and when Phillipe and Lydie explained that this was a common event in the summer, I got really jealous.  It was such a fun experience and I got to taste four delicous wines...and of course, another bottle is now coming home to Minnesota (hopefully)! 

It was a perfect way to spend a Sunday in France, in fact, if I could go to a grand opening of a winery I would every day of the week!  J'adore Angers!

P.S. Watch for more pictures soon, Taylor took most of the pictures because my camera died and my words just can't do this place justice!

"World Famous" Creperie

The title of this blog is a little bit of a running joke with my classmates because on my first night here my host mother said nearly everything was famous.  It was pretty funny at first, but since then I have learned that most everything she referred to was actually well-known in France, like the Nespresso machine or the Basque region.  And now, my host family is so good at English that I take it to heart when she calls something famous, so when she pointed out a creperie in Angers that was "famous", I made note of it and headed there the next day for lunch!

Mmmmm.....it was an excellent choice!  If it isn't in Rick Steve's book of things to do in France, it needs to be added.  It was the cutest little shop a little off the main road and it had delicous crepes!  If only I could get crepes that good at home!

We had hear about a traditional crepe of the region called the Gillette Complete.  It has eggs, cheese and ham all within a crepe and sounded like home to us, so we ordered four. :)

I loved them.  It is like a whole breakfast wrapped up in a delicous crepe.  The eggs are over-easy, so the yolk soaks into the crepe and is to die for.  Way better than a plain old omelet anyday and it made Ty-Yann creperie famous in my book for sure!

If you know where they sell or make these at home, let me know!  Until then, I am going to try my best to perfect this yummy goodness every Sunday until I get it right!  :)

I Spoke Too Soon....

I pressed the "Publish Post" button on my latest entry right before I went down to dinner. It was definitely a moment too soon because in fact, I got served red meat tonight.  Really really red meat.

And I know that this was from a cow because I am pretty sure I heard it mooo on my plate.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I ate raw beef for dinner tonight.

Yes, RAW beef.

I think it might be called steak tattae.  I don't really know, I just know it was cold, raw and bloody.

Mmmmm...good? 

I didn't think so. I did try it because I feel too rude to ever refuse, but I didn't take any more than my little piece and instead I filled myself up on bread.  I probably won't be trying it again, because even though it might have been tasty, I couldn't tell because my brain was kicking my taste buds in the head every time I ate another bite.  I guess what I am saying is that I could not get over the fact that is was raw...even if they assure me it is safe...I just can't afford stomach problems right now!?! I have a castle to see tomorrow!

So...what's your thoughts...have you ever ate raw beef?  Should I have been more open?  Is it safe?  Is it really as delicous as my host family says?

Oh and I definitely will not be complaining about eating so much fish ever again!

La Vache :)

My host mother is an amazing cook.  Not only does she serve me delicous cheese for desert, but she can serve up some of the best fish I have ever eaten.  She trumps Red Lobster or any other chain restaurant that attempts to serve legitimate seafood every day of the week.  She loves the art of cooking and combines it with my host father's culture in Southwestern France to make the best seafood almost daily.  Since I have arrived I have had salmon, tuna, mussel, crayfish, white fish and clams.  Yet, regardless of Lydie's Iron Chef skills with fish, I am starting to crave my favorite source of protien--BEEF.

Around the end of last week, I was starting to wonder if beef was even consumed in France.  I had seen cattle in the pastures along the roads, but I had yet to see a slice of red meat on the table in front of me.  I was starting to miss my favorite animal, in both the live and edible version.

Lucky for me and you...I found out that cows do exist for a reason in France and people actually do eat beef (just not my family) and that farms in France still do remind me of home.  For starters, a farm still smells like a farm...as all of the city folks complained about the smell, I loved the scent of hard work and dedication.  Second, a cow still looks like a cow...it still moos and eats grain and has calves.  The farmers still care about their product and work hard to raise a quality piece of meat (viande in French) for their consumers.  They still have the small farms that many of us are able to call home and they pass those farms from generation to generation. A farm is a farm whether is is Minnesota, France or China...the values never change and that was one of the best lessons I have learned on this trip so far.

 (This is an advertisment I found in Angers that promotes Beef.  It makes me think that some people may enjoy my favorite meat!)

But, let me be clear there are major differences in our production practices.

Now I know, that there are variations in production practices even in the United States, but realisticaly our main goal is usually efficeiency.  We punch numbers to determine which genetics will produce a fast-growing calf that will make it to market with the least amount of inputs...it is a matter of economics.  From what I am gathering, that is not the case in France.  Why?  Because French prefer old meat.  Wierd huh?  We prefer a fresh, "A maturity" carcass that is filled with marbling and they would rather have an extremely lean, tougher, older piece of meat.  So, in order to react to these demands a steer is usually fed out for 2 1/2 years and because of that, farmers often feed out bulls instead and harvest them at 15-17 months for beef.  That is just so odd for me.  That's a long time for one steer to be on my farm, but the differences don't end there--

• Steers aren't typically castrated here until 12 months, sometimes at the earliest of 7 months.
• There are no major feedlots in France.  Most steers and heifers get sold to Italy or Spain to be fed out.
• There are many Appelations of Origins (AOC) dealing with beef breeds.  These AOCs guarentee the region, breed, handling and quality of beef from specific areas.  For example, there is an AOC Maine Anjou.
• There is no real market for market heifers in France.  For example, the Maine Anjou AOC required all females to have at least one calf before they could qualify.
• Cattle are not given hormones...ever.
• Producers are given their prices on visual appraisal before the cattle leave the farms.  Little emphasis is put on our normal guidelines, such as marbling, size, condition and it is more on what the grader thinks that day.

My list could go on and on and on but instead, let me share with you some pictures from the birth place of the Maine Anjou, which happen to be one of my favorite breeds!  I was pretty excited about this visit, as I had made an assumption about their origin when I discoverent the name of Angers' region is Anjou and that a nearby river is named the Maine.  It turns out it wasn't just a coincedence and I was able to visit the farm where the first Maine Anjou (also known as Rouge des Près) was bred! 

However, the Maine Anjou in France are much different than the my heifer I lovingly showed in 10th grade or any of the steers we have ever raised.  These cows here are red and white and at home, they are definitely black.   It is obvious that there has been some crossbreeding in the American Maine Anjou breed, but I still love ours none the less.

                          

The pictures above are from the AOC Maine Anjou (so basically like the breeds headauarters) and let me just say, while I love the American Angus Association, this office space was beautiful.  Plus, they still had the original stalls where the first cattle on the farm were stalled and they had two cows in their pasture, chickens in their yard and a barrell of cider the size of me in their barn.  I think the Angus Association maybe should take some notes :)

Feels Like Home to Me

I think I broke my mother's heart yesterday when I told her that everyday I wake up and forget I am in France.  It just feels like home to me...well that is until I have my first interaction with a French person and get a friendly reminder that, no, I actually am halfway across the world.  However I think if there was no language barrier I would feel eerily comfortable in France.  It's almost like the stunning beauty of this country is becoming a common thing a person should see everyday!  I hope home can live up to these new expectations of constant beauty, but I am concerned it might not!  Sure, I love Minnesota summers and the miles of corn fields and the trips to the lake, but really a castle trumps Minnesota summer everytime. 

Yesterday, I got to visit another castle and this one definitely made my top five list (which I plan on updating completely when I get home) because of its history, location and beauty.  It was a good reminder that I was indeed in France and not home (and I could only wish a castle was home!)  Plain and simple, Saint Malo is gorgeous.

(Note: This picture is not one I took, a friend is borrowing my camera cord so instead I am

sharing a profesional photo from their website so you can understand is true beauty!)

Saint Malo is an 11th century city that still continues its historical beauty within its fortification walls.  It is a unique town that is fiercely loyal to its independence and traditions and because of that (and its dangerous tidal conditions) it has never grown or changed too dramatically.  The city may have had many periods of renovation and growth and of course adapted to the tourism, but it still seems so realistic and serene.  Plus, it had the most amazing beaches that I luckily got to explore with the Texas boys!  This was my first beach-sea creatures-tidal pools-seaweed-rock climbing-castle in the background beach exploring and well...it was the perfect way to start!

Saint Malo sits on a string of beaches called Emerald Beaches and its ocean-front-view is one of the city's biggest advantages. First of all, Saint Malo is surrounded by two strings of coral reefs that has sank many ships.  Also, on the reefs barrier forts were built to stop invanding ships before they could harm the citizens within the city's walls.  Second, Saint Malo sits in a unique area of Europe that is greatly influenced by the tidal changes.  When we were there, there was very little tidal fluctuation, and by little I mean only 5 meters.

So basically, if I were standing on this shore at 2 pm and stood there until 7 pm, I would be covered by 15 feet of water.  Needless to say, that would be a problem for me (especially since I can't swim) and also became a problem for many enemies because the tide would change and leave them stranded or trapped!  And that is only in June, during March and October the tides are at their worst and can get extremely dangerous.  These trees are planted as wave breaks and often the water rushes over them and these fortification walls.

Plus, the city was so quaint and honest.  Check out this picture Travis caputred of the cathedral.

Finally, there was good shopping and great crepes.  Don't be surpised if your souvinear comes from Saint Malo. :)  It was amazing...and almost made me knock off La Buale from the top five list (almost!).

 Hope you are enjoying your Sunday afternoon--make sure to check back tommorrow to learn about my perfect French Sunday at the winery!  More bottles are coming home to Minnesota! 

An Amazing Birthday!

Okay...if you scroll down you can see I added a short post on my birthday and I informed you that is was amazing. 

Here are some of the amazing things I saw on my amazing 22nd birthday in amazing Paris.

I don't know if I said this yet...but it was basically amazing.  I don't really think the 23rd birthday can possibly top it!

Say Cheese!

I have almost finished day seventeen in France and I am still madly in love with this country.  There is just so much to see.  Today, I walked by an authentic cheese shop with a zillion different kinds and I couldn't help but peek in...even a cheese shop is interesting. :) 

Lately, I am starting to classify myself as sort of a cheese expert.  My host mom has gone out of her way to visit that particular cheese shop a couple of times a week so I can experiment with different varieties and flavors.  My favorites so far are the ones most similar to what we call bleu cheese, but in France it is never just called bleu cheese.   There are thousands of varieties...it is a lot more complicated than the "American, Swiss or Cheddar" options we get at Subway.  Yesterday, I was served three different varieties of bleu cheese, a brie and a log of sheep fromaige that was interesting, to say the least. 

After some serious taste tests I give you my winner......drumroll please.... ROQUEFORT!

Before I came to France, I wouldn't touch bleu cheese with a ten-foot pole but there is something about living in another country that energizes your taste buds and this special variety of bleu cheese is my absolute favorite!  Mark is going to love me even more when I get back because I finally share his love for smelly,  moldy cheese!  But for real, this is some great stuff--it has such a strong, distinct taste that just fills my mouth, I love it.  However, I did learn today that the mold in Roquefort is penicillin and I am allergic to penicillin, but I am making an assumption that it is 1. a different type of penicillian or 2. that I am really not allergic to penicillin.  I hope one of the two is right or I may have a problem in the morning!

Now; I can't just share my favorites...I also have to share my least favorite too and this little guy below was not very good. 

I have been trying to find the name of the French speciality but all I know is that it came out of something that "baaaaad" and it definitely smelled like it could have been a sheep.  I don't know if it was the mold or the smell or the taste that turned me off...or maybe all three, but whatever it was I definitely will not be trying it again.  My suggestion is to stick with the blue veined cheese and you must try the Roquefort!

Je Taime France!

Life was good this week.

Actually, let me correct myself...life was amazing this week.

I have been in France for 10 days and I have loved every second of it.  It is fascinatingly beautiful here.  Every trip to school or to downtown I find something new to see and I feel like I am living out a fairytale.  During the week, I go to school every morning and spend time with 27 new friends and then get to go home every night to an excellent French family that makes excellent French food!  And sometimes I get to add in a chocolate pastry or glass of white wine...could I really ask for anything more?

Je t'aime France!

I just returned home from my weekend trip to La Buale, the largest and most popular beach in Europe.  It was gorgeous and amazing end to my perfect week.  After a little planning, fifteen of us from the group decided to pack a weekend bag and celebrate "Summer Break 2010".  It was my best summer break so far to date! ;)

La Buale was my first real experience swimming in the ocean and it was a pretty amazing.  The beach went for miles and we couldn't see the end of it.  Plus, there was people absolutely everywhere...and a lot of them were topless or nude.  It confirmed many French cliches... SOME people will make out everywhere, they are very comfortable with their bodies and they don't always shave their bodies.  AND, we Americans have been French kissing all wrong...it is more of attach and suction kind of a thing, rather than a kiss and breath type of motion! :)

As the sun was starting to fade, we loaded back on the train and headed over to stay at a hotel we had found online in the town of Nantes.  This is where our backpacking across Nante adventure began....and ends. :) 

The bus lines had ended for the night, so our group had to literally walk miles to our hotel.  It was a pretty legit exploring/lost/backpacking across Europe couple of hours and I had so much fun!  We finally found our hotel (which ended up being an amazing find...two cute condos for only 85 euros per night) and found a great French pizza place and had a fun night!  If I can convince Mark...I definitely want to come back and backpack across Europe one day!

All in all...it was the perfect end to a great week and I am excited to spend 2 1/2 more weeks and Angers and do some more exploring!  Talk to you soon!

35 Hours A Week?

I am learning so much new information and just trying to take it all in.

Yesterday, I learned about the European Union and the history of agriculture in France; today we learned more about rural lifestyles and the French workforce...everything is SO DIFFERENT.

Today, we got to learn more about the French workforce and I realized I really have SO MUCH to learn!  First of all; until 2007/8 when Sarkozy became President it was COMPLETELY ILLEGAL to work on Sunday.  In fact; since 1906, Sunday has been a day of rest for the French.  No stores are ever open on Sunday:  When Sarkozy was elected, he made exceptions to the law, but French people still do not shop on this day of rest--they will only window shop.  What if America operated this way?  I would never be able to go shopping?  We do so much on Sunday!

Another perk of working in France--paid vacation.  Lots and lots of paid vacation.  Five whole weeks of vacation every year!  One whole month off plus bank holidays???  What?  What would I do with a whole month off ( plus one week and bank holdiays?)  The answer is simpe...I would love it and I would learn to golf and swim.

Plus, if the vacation isn't enough they ONLY HAVE TO WORK 35 HOURS A WEEK in France! 

This is a perfect world, right?  I need to move to France for good!

Ummm...well no.  It's a bit more complicated than that.  The 5 weeks vacation is prett cool and the Sunday's off isn't all that bad....but I forgot to say something about the 35 hour work weeks...they don't just only have to work 35 hour work weeks...the French citizens (until recent exceptions) could only work a 35 hour work week.  It was illegal to work anymore.

Okay...and even though I was trying to be open minded during this lecture...at this point my American side came in.  WHAT?  It is illegal to work?  It is illegal to be open?  You can tell people what they can do?  How do you get ahead?  ...EVER?

Then the answser came.  You don't. 

Since 2000, when the law Aubry was passed limiting hours per week, workers were just forced to complete the same work in less time.  In fact; the goals of increased consumption and decrease unemployment didn't work.  Plus, taxes are extremely high; but they do get free health care and agriculture and rural stabilty.  And just when I stopped to question this lifestyle...I stopped to look at my French family and decided to ask them questions.  Their answers provided even more food for thought.  My host mom gets nearly 8 weeks of vacation each year because she works 40 hours a week instead of 35 and my host dad works for more of a salary type pay. 

Here is the main point--it's extremely complicated!

For me, it makes our own battle over healthcare and politics even more interesting.

I can't wait for tomorrow!

Stay tuned!

Bonjour Angers!

Translating French when you don't know French is extremely difficult.  Trust me.

I am on day two with my French host family and it is an amazing experience and by amazing I do not mean easy but still great just the same.  There are so many things to adjust too...this keyboard for example is all messed up.  Excuse me if I write zqs instead of was...the W, A, Z, and M have been moved and Mr. Murray must have been a really great teacher after all because those home row keys are stuck in my head!

I am learning slowly though...tonight thank god we all loved George Clooney and Walt Disney becuase we could drink George's expresso and sing Disney songs.  Check out the French version of my favorite Mulan song that we sang tonight after dinner!




I have also learned that glaes means ice and it usually leads to ice cream and that the French don't like any water in their coffee...I definetely will be drinking my coffee black when I get back!  And even though the French word for crab translates to sea spider...it still is yummy! 

Stay tuned for some more stories from France!  I will write much more tomorrow!  I need to go call my mother!  :)

Bonjour!

Hello from Paris!

This is going to be short and sweet, but I thought I would say hello from Paris and let everyone know I made it safe and I am having the time of my life.  I had the MOST AMAZING birthday ever yesterday.  I walked through Notre Dame and lit a candle for my grandma, walk along the Siene river and climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night.  Amazing. 

Hopefully, when I get to Angers I can write more.  Tomorrow we are going to Versailles and heading towards Angers, then I meet my family on Monday.  I am very excited.  I think I will be blogging as often as I can then.  Until then, I am having the best time in France.  I could do this for a living...if anyone knows a job with this type of description, please let me know!

T-Minus 17 Days

So I don't know if you have heard, but I am going to France.

I am going to France!  I am going to France!  I am going to France!  I am going to France!

Wait, have you heard?  I am going to France! :)

I am getting a little nervous and very EXCITED!

Here are the details:

• I am going with NDSU as a summer study abroad program.  There are eight students going along with our two advisers.   It is an agriculture-based program titled: From Farm to Fork: Sustainable Food Culture and we will focus on France's food industry, sustainable farming practices, and the best of all, wine and cheese production!  We will also take some French classes and do a lot of field trips!  (You can start being jealous at this point!)
• NDSU isn't the only University sending students on this trip, so I will get to make some new friends from other land-grant colleges.  Texas A&M, UW-Madison and more!
• I don't know a soul I am going with.  Good or bad thing?!?  I don't know!
•  I will be gone for only a month, so not too long but not too short.  We leave on May 25th and I will return on June 24th.  I spend the first five days in Paris and then we will spend the rest of our time at the University in Angers, France.
• The Deckard's (our faculty advisers) say Angers is comparable to the rural lifestyle we are used to living.  However, when I googled my address, I am pretty sure I am living in the city.  We stay with host families when in Angers and in hostels the rest of the trip.
• This is my first trip abroad, so I am very excited to experience a new culture but I am also a little nervous about this flight!
• Oh and to wrap this all up, I am flying home one day early in order to drive to Dickinson, ND to go to be my friend, Megan's wedding.  I am determined I will not be tired? :)

I think this is going to be an amazing trip and I am getting extremely excited!  I will be home just in time to enjoy some of my favorite cattle shows and spend time with friends, but I will also have a crazy adventure under my belt by July 1! :)  

However, as the day is quickly approaching, I need your help!  Do you have any advice for me?  Is there anything I have to see while in France?  Do you have any tips for my first flight abroad (by myself even)?   Any good ideas on what clothes I need to bring?  General tips on studying abroad?  Financial tips while there-do I buy everything on credit cards, should I bring traveler checks?


Any advice you have would be great!  I can't wait to hear from you!  And in return for your help, I promise I will keep my blog updated during my trip to France!  Bonjour!

To Louisville and Back...in 72 hours.

For the first time ever....I didn't spend a holiday with my family.  I will be honest it was really hard for me, especially since there was almost 90 people at my Grandma's house on Sunday, but I guess it was time for me to be a grown up and I instead headed off to Louisville for my first ever Purfeerst family road trip.

Mark's sister, Misty, is in her last clinical rotation at an eye center in Louisville and has less than one month until she becomes Dr. Purfeerst and will be working as an eye doctor in Faribault.  Mark and I have been planning to visit her ever since she left for Memphis four years ago...and we figured time was running short.  Easter weekend was our only free weekend, plus Jim and Deb were planning to drive down anyways so we decided to join them.  Before we got in a vehicle, a 12-hour drive to spend a day and a half in Louisville seemed like an exciting adventure but by the time we got out of the car on Sunday evening we all had changed our minds.  I think after all that togetherness I must have passed some test that allows me to stick around for awhile! :)

We hit the road at 2 am Friday morning and returned home around midnight Sunday evening.  In 72 hours we traveled over 1460 miles--not counting our adventures within Lousiville.  It was fun!?!  Here are some things I learned while visiting the Blue Grass State.

1. Blue Grass does not mean the grass is blue.  Or even that there will be fields of waving grass.  It just the grass in the yards of the beautiful traditional brick houses that we saw alot of.  I will admit I was slightly disappointed.  However, the beautiful traditional brick houses were perfect for Jim and Deb who are hoping to build one for their very own soon!  We gave them ALOT of opinions on our scenic drive to Loretta, KY.

2. No matter how many times you have been there, Louisville just always gets better.  I have been to Lousville four times now and will most likely be there a 5th time this fall for livestock judging.  I actually spent a whole week there for the NAILE this past fall as a media intern--yet I still haven't really seen the city.  My 36 hour adventure this weekend was full of new things!

3. I think I one day need to go to a Kentucky Derby.  Those hats seem to be made for my head and there are no other legitimate excuses to wear one except at Churchill Downs.  I would look like a food if I wore that hat to Canterbury.  Misty could get tickets for this year from her company...but instead she has to go to Memphis to finish her boards.  Maybe next year?  I love this women's hat from last year!

4. The Purfeerst family's traveling style is WAAAY different than the May family's.  My mom packs coolers and tons of food.  I learned quickly on Friday morning that this trip was going to be much different.  The Purfeerst family really loves gas station food.  I have never ever considered buying $27 worth of gas station food but we did that every stop!  Eww...thinking about it makes me want to puke.  I don't really like gas station food and in the last two months I have gotten my fill of it.  I was starting to miss our cooler full of Mountain Dews and beef sticks--and I realized I am already like my mother because on judging trips I make cookies and pack a whole bag full of snack foods.  I never have to worry about breakfast because I always have poptarts-my teammates are always jealous!

5. I missed Jolene--my mom is crazy...but sometimes she is crazy fun and our endless singing was absent on this long trip.  I always just wanted to bust out in song and even though I am sure they would have let me, I don't know if anyone would have joined.

6. I can get road sick.  I had previously thought it was impossible...but road construction that only allowed us to move 5 miles in one hour proved otherwise.  I was going nuts and my stomach was not liking me.

7.  Hole in the wall restaurants and bars are my favorite.  We all were going to famish on our way home from Maker's Mark (I promise another post about this cool stop when I get more pictures) and decided to stop at the first place we see--lucky for us it was Bootleg Bar-B-Q.  I can promise you if we had not been feeling adventurous we would have not stopped at Bootleg--but man would have we missed out.  This place DEFINED hole-in-the-wall.  In fact...it was more like a shack with the only bathroom "out back" but it was good, cheap and fun!

Plus, right across the road there was an even better hole-in-the-wall bar that had pool tables for only $.50, so even a crappy player like me could play! :)  It was one of the highlights of my trip and if I am ever again near Loretta, KY I will be stopping at Bootleg Bar-B-Q.  If you ever make it try the bread pudding...you won't regret it!

8. Ben Williams has trained me well.  Ben is my judging coach and we will not be in a moving vehicle for any more than an hour and he will require us to get out the cards...for the safety of us his state fleet license (which if removed would leave us with only Ohio to drive :s) I will not discuss our cards any further.  I begged and pleaded Jim and Deb to play on the way down to Louisville and they just wouldn't do it!   I was getting mad.  I even stooped as low to buy Iowa cards and they never got used!  Finally on the way home, I convinced them to play some spades and I am going to blame my two losses on Deb; she was a newbie right?

All in all the trip to Louisville was great.  I don't think I will be doing it anytime soon and I will be surprised if either of Misty's brothers makes the drive to Memphis in three weeks to witness her graduation but I know we were all happy we went!  For my first major holiday away from home, I am glad I was able to spend it with Jim, Deb, Misty, Mark and Matt and I am sure there will be lots of Purfeerst adventures in my future :)