bon weekend!

i'm off to paris! we just wrapped up our first week at l'institut de touraine where we're taking our intensive language courses. we have one more week before "graduating" from the institute and obtaining our first half-credit from bucknell. we had our first DELF preparation class (the DELF is the french language exam that foreign students must pass to verify their fluency — kind of like the TOEFL for foreign students who wish to study in the u.s.) which seems a little superfluous (your average SAT prep class) but not so bad. i also started my art history/art criticism class at the actual university and it seems like it will be pretty interesting and not too much work. i start my class "enterprise for humane and responsible business" next thursday.

my host mom made la brioche for breakfast this morning which i was informed is best consumed with a generous serving of nutella (my newest obsession). being a vegetarian at the house has been very easy since my mom has been great about serving me salmon and shrimp in lieu of chicken and red meat, though eating out for lunch has been a little tough... let's just say nutella has been filling more than a few gaps in my diet. when the group decided on chicken sandwiches today (where the meat was literally shaved off a dead animal hanging behind the counter with an electric razor — disgusting) i opted for a nutella panini instead. dessert for lunch? maybe not the healthiest choice but cheap and very, very yummy.

it's definitely been a busy first week but a lovely introduction to french people and food alike. tomorrow morning we'll be taking the train to paris for some sightseeing, shopping, and general celebration of having survived our first week. my dad and i just finished nailing down some of the details for his visit in february (paris, barcelona, and lisbon, here we come!) so i've got lots to look forward to!