Apparently I'm going to be rich this coming year. According to the French, when you first hear a cuckoo in spring, you will be rich during the coming year if you have change in your pockets. This was at the country house, where I went for one last time on Thursday and Friday. This was another long weekend, since Thursday was Victory Day, and today (Monday) is also a holiday because of Pentecost.

This weekend was our last excursion - to the Perigord region of France. The Perigord is a region that is well known for its food. Needless to say, we ate really well. The region's specialties are nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts), liver (foie gras), duck, and truffles. As much as I was curious to see what a truffle tastes like, it costs quite a bit for a tiny little mushroom.

One of my favorite stops along the way was the château de Beynac - a privately owned castle at the top of a huge cliff. It was one of those cool-looking fortified castles, offering a superb view of the Dordogne River from the top of its ramparts.

We also visited the gouffre de Padirac, a huge system of caves following a subterranean river. We took a boat before walking around a little and then taking the boat back. It was pretty cool. (pictures added)

Every semester, all the Bucknell students in France vote for someone who best integrated themselves and made the most of their experience. This semester, my peers voted for me to get the prize! Needless to say, I am flattered.

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It's strange when certain words don't exist. For instance, the word "nut." The French have words for walnuts (noix), hazelnuts (noisettes), almonds (amondes), peanuts (cacahuètes), but there doesn't seem to be a general term to describe them all. Also, the other day, we had cantaloupe. I asked what it was called, and they told me "melon." I asked what type of melon, but then it became clear that melon actually means cantaloupe. (Watermelon is pastèque) Who knows how you say melon in French...