January: nice and not so nice.

Since I have been really doing nothing special worth writing about I thought I would do a little summary about my likes and dislikes (hint, one list is longer). I will have adventures to share after my day trip to Chambéry this Saturday, so stay tuned.

Things I have noticed in France that make me miss home:
People do not wait for people to exit before they walk in. It happens on the tram, on the sideways, in stores. On foot and in cars. It is basically a free for all here.

Water is never cold. I miss my mom's obsession with ice cubes. Even though it is winter I still apreciate a cold glass of water. Lukewarm water just isn't as satisfying.

Internet sucks. Like a lot. They have Wifi here, but you basically have to be sitting on the box for it to work. Maybe this is simply because I live in an older house? Anyways that is really annoying.

Morning classes and afternoon classes are seperated by a huge gap of time, which is nice for a leisurely lunch. Not so nice that I have to hang around campus doing nothing.

Trying to do Fafsa/Financial Aid when you are in a foreign country and next year/returning to the states is the last thing you want to think about.

Yeah. Those are all really petty and all I have to complain about.

Current loves that make me want to stay here forever:
- Lecture classes once a week.
- No classes Fridays (!! THREE DAY WEEKENDS FOR SIX MONTHS!!)
- Spending chunks of time with my host family, discussing fruit.
- My host dog Despé.
- Buying super cheap winter break tickets to IRELAND.
- New Look. Inexpensive European clothes.
- Crépes with Nutella.
- My host family's dynamic. They are so incrediblely sweet and funny.
- The Tram. for my Portlanders it is like the Max, but takes you everywere.
- My new grammar professor.
- Planning trips.

Seriously my life has been eating great food with my host family talking about random things, wandering around the city, eating pain au chocolat, shopping the soldes, having a random class, planning adventures, and writing. It is really like a dream. I bet my blood pressure is great.

Off to Chambéry. Á bientôt.