Classes at l'Institute de Touraine and a truly French encounter...

So today marks the half-way point of my time in Tours, France. Tours is a small city about 3 hours outside Paris, on the Loire River. During these first two weeks, I have been attending classes about 3 hours a day at l'Institute de Touraine with the other 78 students in the program. They've divided us up into four classes with 15-20 people in each of them for our grammar classes. The grammar class lasts two hours every day, from 9:45-11:45am. It is taught by a French professor who speaks minimal to no English. Apart from the fact that there is no English spoken in the class, it's your normal French grammar class with written work and some discussion of the proper usage of certain tenses, modes, etc. For example, yesterday we each wrote an exciting

Settling in

So I've been here a week and now have figured a few things out. Not everything, but the super duper important things, like where and how to send a postcard to the States, how to order something at a restaurant/understand what the menu says about the items, and find the nearest bus stop. It's a start, definitely. And I generally understand everything that is said to me, but formulating a response can take me a bit sometimes. So here's a general run-down of what I've been doing this week.

In the program, there are 79 other students from universities all over the country; the biggest groups (I think) are from Northwestern (20), Whittier (about 10), and Amherst (around 7); I am the only one from Agnes Scott.

Utterly exhausted after a really exciting day. Just going to put up some pics for you all to see :D Bonne nuit!

I have arrived! We flew in this morning, arriving in Paris at about 11 am local time. While this was one of the most exhausting trips I have ever taken, it was fabulous nearly every step of the way, if you can get over the whole not sleeping thing. Yep. I haven't slept since Tuesday night, but honestly my adrenaline and all-consuming excitement about everything going on has been helping me function somehow. So here are some highlights: