Food For Thought (And Other Necessities, Too)

Have you ever really considered the way that you sleep? I don't mean your position, like on your side or back or anything like that, but actually the manner in which you sleep. Or better yet, think of all those expressions that are used to describe sleeping patterns, like "I slept like a log" or "I sleep like a baby". In regards to the latter expression I have heard quite a few people strike it down. After all, babies wake up every few hours for feeding or something like that. Well, I have recently determined that the author of this expression knew exactly what they were talking about; my best night's sleeps are when I wake up a few times during the night, rather than sleeping straight through. In my opinion, there is no better feeling than waking up, looking at the clock and realizing that I still have several more hours to sleep. On the other hand, I hate looking at the clock when I only have a few more minutes of slumber left--or even worse, being woken up by the alarm. No matter how often it happens, that blaring bell still makes me shudder!

Sleep is not the only thing on my mind, however. I have also been thinking quite a bit about food. Since I am in France with a limited budget, I have been scrupulously watching my spending. Normally I am not a very extravagent person, but I have realized that my weakness isn't in buying clothes or shoes, but rather in buying food (and books, of course, but I'll come to that later). Whenever I have a break in between classes, I consistently wander towards the vending machines or the cafe in the university. I am sorry to say that I have not quite learned total self control yet, as I buy at least a coffee more likely than not.

The real extent of my thoughts on food were tested today when Katie and I had a full-out, extremely intellectual conversation on our eating habits. This occurred, of course, over lunch. As nearly everyone (except us foreign students) has vacation this week, all of the campus dining areas have been closed, with the exception of the vending machines. I am not one to eat candy and pop and call it a lunch, so instead I bought a cheese panini from a nearby cafe. Katie and I then sat out in the gorgeous sunshine and devoured all our food while talking about food. Our list of subjects included the late dinner hour here, afternoon snacks and cooking in general. As I said, it was a very intellectual conversation.

Which brings me to my final necessity: books. Well, it's necessary for me at least. I came to France with a limited selection of books, of which I have finished all but one. Fortunately, UCO has a very impressive library, including some of my favorite books in English as well as French. Example: they have all 6 Jane Austen books, five of the seven Harry Potter books and the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. Needless to say, this has made me a happy bibliophile.

What made me even happier was finding several small bookstores near the university. I have made it one of my goals to stock up on my collection of my favorite books in French while in France. Before coming, my grand total included Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Alice in Wonderland and the first five Harry Potter books. As of Wednesday, I can now add to that list The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. By the time I return to the States, I hope to include several other books as well. What can I say? Once a dork, always a dork.