International Bingo

I mentioned that on the flight to Poland, my friends had written me some funny letters to read. One of these letters also included instructions for my trip in the form of a Bingo card. The idea was inspired by How I Met Your Mother (but if you watched this episode of the show, you know that Barney's version is a little racier):

She provided me with about half of the squares filled and left me to fill in the rest with my own travel-related aspirations. If I complete five of the tasks found in a row, I get Bingo! And although my card is pretty clean cut, there are some interesting suggestions that I won't repeat here for the sake of the children. I told some of my friends in Lyon about one (rated PG), "Make Out with an Scotsman", and they thought it would be funny if I got this one out of the way with the real-life Scotsman that we spend time with on a regular basis. And then they shared this with him. How awkward! So you can see why it is important that I don't share those.

Aside from these 7 "Unmentionables", the tasks include:

• Go dancing!
• Watch a French film without subtitles
• Take a pastry class so that I can make my Canadian friend delicious pastries
• Go wine tasting
• See some less popular sights
• Make friends with a Lyonnais (local)
• Make International friends
• Romantic Moment at a National Monument
• Eat Escargot
• Get Good Grades
• Have a Wild and Crazy Night
• Find a handsome guy for my Canadian friend
• Write my Canadian friend a lengthy letter and send it via Snail Mail
• Eat an Éclair

My goal is to address each of these with a post as I accomplish them. There are some however, that will receive more attention than others, or that will be more difficult.

For example, one of my tasks is to keep a travel blog. Although I've started, if I don't "keep" it until the end of my trip, I won't count it as accomplished!

Another is to Explore Lyon. Obviously this is something that I'd like to share with anyone reading the blog, so there will be a few posts about this one if I'm not too overwhelmed by my studies throughout the year.

Indulge Repeatedly in Amazing Food needs to happen ... repeatedly. I'll be posting about some of the restaurants I visit and some of the amazing food I indulge in. Lyon is generally known as the French capitol of gastronomy, so I couldn't possibly talk about my experiences here without some insight into the foodie culture here.

The only square remaining is the "FREE" square. I'd love to hear ideas about other possibilities I could have used for my Bingo card or suggestions for future International Bingo cards in the comments section!