Cutting the Mustard: March 2011

Hello again! Sorry it's taken so long to post and I promise my next one won't be as long or as late. These last few weeks have been a blur as I've been settling in and starting classes. My classes are all in French and it's been very interesting to hear all the different accents people have when they speak French. In my class there are 2 other Americans, 2 Russians, a Colombian, an Ecuadorian, and several Koreans, Chinese and Japanese students. Our teachers have fun pointing out what each nationality can and cannot pronounce in French. We don't find it quite as funny. Our classes are also held in a depressing, shack-like building on campus which, coupled with the weather, doesn't help. But it's starting to warm up a bit and everyone's starting to understand both our classmates and the teachers a bit more so things are looking up!

Caitlyn and I have really been fortunate in our host family. Both Robert and Catherine are the nicest people and we've started having full conversations now which are quite nice and fun. We've also become friends with Aurelie, their daughter, who is staying here until April and who takes great delight in mocking me for my dancing (and she's only heard about it). We've also met four of their other children (Philippe, Pascal, Christophe and Delphine) all of whom are incredibly friendly. Delphine's actually getting married in April so there's been a lot of wedding talk and we've seen her and her fiancé Alex several times. I was also sick for a few days, and as Delphine is a doctor, she wrote down a list of medicines to buy and which were the best and took very care of me, along with Catherine.

We were also able to take a day trip to Lyon with the program. Lyon is a very interesting city that has a lot of history to it. Unfortunately we were only there for the day, but it'd definitely be a city to go back to. We had some fantastic food and also were able to meet some other Americans from the program, who we are now making plans to hang out with. It was a very nice trip and we're very excited for the next one.

There are also some big travel plans in the near future for me. Friday I leave for England with Anna to stay with the Woolgars, who are close friends with my grandma. The following weekend, our program coordinator is coming and the SMC girls are going to Mans, where the Order of the Holy Cross (which founded Saint Mary's) was founded. While there, we'll see Father Sorin's grave and also eat with the nuns of the original order. The weekend after I'm spending with Anna, my mom, and grandma in Nice and Monaco as they'll be here for my mom's spring break. And then I finally go to Rome to eat a lot of pasta and gelato and see the sights. And Anna. I've got a busy couple of weeks ahead but I'm very excited!

Lyon Pictures