end of the first week

So, today was professor number three and the fastest speaking so far. I swear she said her name was Mdm Perrier, but none of us are quite sure. Thursdays and Fridays, she works on our oral skills with us for two hours and then we move on to common grammar mistakes in writing and speaking. I think this will be the most productive class time. She's really animated and funny, so if you can't catch what she's saying through her gestures it isn't intimidating to ask.

Jon and I hung out last night, drinking wine and making crepes. It's really amazing how easy it is to make up a recipe for them. It's also really amazing how much I love ratatouille, the other really cliche French food that I've been eating a lot of. I found it in a can at the grocery store and decided that it would be eaten pretty much every other day. I love it! And I love that even their canned food is better than ours.

Today, our class has a field trip to the castle in our town where the dukes of the region used to live, from when Chambery was still a part of Italy (until roughly, oh, 1860 :)). That should be interesting, but it's hard for me to really get involved in the group dynamic. I feel like I'm focusing on really different things than a lot of the people here. They've been getting drunk and going out to clubs, like last night... when we had class the next day. I'm much more interesting in acting like a part of the community and learning about life here than making it a big holiday.

Jon and I are taking a train to Venice in the morning, where we'll stay until Sunday afternoon. I'm excited to see Italy and experience a completely different mindset and lifestyle. I kind of forgot about weekends, and that I would have days without school, so I'm glad we already had something planned to fill the first one- otherwise, it would seem so long! I am looking forward to really relaxing days in the park, where we can just hang out, eat French snacks and practice speaking, and live. The sun's out, the sky's clear and it's really starting to feel comfortable here.

Off to le Chateau du duc de Savoie.