weekend recap

i had the most wonderful weekend in london. it was so nice to see michael and meet all of his new friends — not to mention to explore london when, for once, it wasn't gray and rainy! i feel like that counts as a once-in-a-lifetime. michael seems to already have mastered the tube so we made a stop at buckingham palace, witnessed a protest at the national gallery, stopped by the park where michael played when his family lived in london, and watched a spectacular sunset from the london eye.

in front of buckingham palace.

national gallery, scene of...

...this protest. apparently the british police have been confiscating cameras and forcing people to delete digital photos of public places for fear that they are somehow contributing to the next terrorist attack. these people had gathered in trafalgar square, taking pictures of anything and everything and sporting signs that said, "i'm a photographer, not a terrorist."

first glimpse of big ben (many, many more to follow).

amazing view from the london eye — we could not have picked a better time to go.

london and sunshine? two words that don't normally go together.

i know i got a bit carried away...

...but i promise i did take some time to turn off my camera and just take it all in.

last one i swear!

traveling by myself was actually much more pleasant than i had anticipated. it's not to say that i mind having company on the road (and god knows i got my fill with our routine family car trips with six people and two dogs packed into one vehicle) but there's something to be said for figuring it out all on your own. this was really my first experience venturing out on my lonesome (obviously short of local car trips to places like the dentist's office, to which my father will attest i still need directions) and i already feel much more independent. the experience forced me to read maps (never a strong suit) and think on my feet (in french — because practice makes perfect).

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!

first day of classes

long first day (language intensive class at the institut de touraine 8:45-12:10 and 2:30-3:30 followed by a meeting from 4:00-5:30). took a placement test and argued with bucknell professors about class times (not interested in 4 p.m. class on fridays) and their interference with weekend traveling. i got pretty worked up since this seems to be one of the only programs that doesn't strongly encourage weekend travel as a means of rounding out the european experience. truthfully, the desire to travel is half the reason i'm here. yes, we all want to learn french, yes, we all like our host families, yes, tours is great, but we need a little break sometimes too — and especially with europe at our fingertips! i had a little confrontation with the bucknell professor-in-residence during which i explained that i would be happier if i had some "me" time every few weekends to travel with friends and family and i think, hope, pray that i got through to him. now trying to decide which class to take since the french university hasn't released exact schedules yet (classes start next week!) and i don't want to wind up stuck in a 4 p.m. friday class that prevents me from traveling. frustrating stuff.

anyway lousy breakfast of a slice of stale bread on my way out the door, overpriced lunch of excessive quantity of pasta with group for lunch, but yummy dinner of some sort of fish and broccoli for dinner. my host brother wouldn't eat his serving of broccoli because it reminds him of les arbres, to which his mother asked if the platter of broccoli reminded him of a forest. i think things that might not be so funny in my family or in english — like the dad trying to sneak bread and cheese even though he's on a diet and the mom swatting him away while the kids taunt him and tell him how good it is — are funnier in french. hoping for a better day tomorrow, warmer weather, less homework, better outlook...