So much culture, so little time.

Another week has past me by, and with it comes a fountain of memories that will be remembered throughout my life.  Returning to my normal schedule after going to the beach and hiking over the weekend was difficult.

On Monday we had a field trip for ecology to boulogne sur gesses.  Even though it was sprinkling and a little cold, the outing was enjoyable.  Walking through the the abundance trees and flowers soothed the soul.  The views were breathtaking, and the flowers were beautiful.  It is worth visiting.



The next afternoon we took  field trip to a farm right outside of Toulouse.  The technology utilized here falls a little behind the technology used back on the farms in the United States.  However, this could be sure to a lack of finances and it is not necessarily needed.  Also, I noticed the government subsidizes many frivolous things here (although I guess that's not too different from us).  The French culture emphasizes the environment.  Almost everyone here considers the environment as a precious commodity and take great strides to preserve it.  The farmers as well as the greenhouse we visited displayed this tendency towards preservation.  The greenhouse had a wide variety of flowers and plants that were grown using environmentally safe methods.  I learned more about flowers than I ever had! I would have never guessed it took 15 years on average for orchids start flowering.

The most interesting trip this week occurred at a free range poultry farm, where I learned how Foie gras is made.  This process is apparently controversial, because ducks are force fed for a period of time to fatten them to the perfect weight.  However, the meat is so delicious I say it's worth it, and I'm pretty sure France agrees with me.  Apparently, France produces about 90 percent of the Foie gras and consumes about 80 percent of it.  The free range chickens were interesting to learn about.  One thing I noticed about chickens is that, well they're chicken.  They're very timid creatures who need specially placed structures (trees) around the yard before they will roam outside; otherwise they do not feel safe and will likely not leave the building.

The week was cut short due to a back holiday, giving us Thursday and Friday off.  We took this opportunity to visit Barcelona.  The city was filled with life and excitement.  From the shopping centers to the beaches to the riots, Barcelona was a blast and is worth paying a visit.  Although, it was rather expensive, and the people can be very pushy.

All in all, this week has been fantastic.  I have learned so much about the French culture and had am opportunity to learn some of the Spanish culture.  For being so close together geographically, Spain and France have some significant culture differences.  Every time I ponder over these past events, I cannot help but be eager for the great opportunities the next week.