Classes have been going very well. My language/grammar courses are getting progressively more difficult however I am immensely enjoying my French professor's policy of no homework. Early morning classes are difficult and one of my professors likes to pick on me in the mornings when I'm being unresponsive by saying "wake up Hilary!" in English...This is quite endearing because he is hardly fluent in English. Despite this, I still think I am doing well in my classes and I'd like to say that I'm already making progression.
On that note, I had a successful encounter at a French pharmacy yesterday. In France, you can obtain many medicines over the counter that would require a prescription in the states. Due to this, being a pharmacy technician is considered a very respectable career in France. A few days ago, I came down with a cold and was in need of a decongestant. I managed to describe my symptoms to the pharmacist and a few minutes later walked out with the correct medicine in hand. This was a very daunting task at first, so although it may seem not difficult, I was very relieved that I walked out with the right thing! (At least I've been feeling a lot better since taking it...)
Now for something completely unrelated...The French are quite obsessed with Hilary Clinton. This being said, EVERY time I meet someone new who's French and introduce myself as Hilary they go, "Ooohhh comme Hilary Clinton! J'adore Hilary!!" One of my professors the other day even diverted our lesson for probably over 15 minutes to proceed to tell this long joke about Hilary and how she is more successful than Bill. (However the French also love Bill, just not as much.) So thank you Mom and Dad and also Hilary Clinton for giving me a good head start when meeting new French people. I think it makes them more forgiving when they proceed to find my language skills not quite up to par...
The most exciting thing I have upcoming is our week long winter break when a friend and I are going to the Swiss Alps. We'll be staying in a remote town/resort called Zermatt, home of the Matterhorn!! We're both very excited about this and plan to ski and snowboard as much as possible. I've never snowboarded before and think it's going to be the most amazing experience to learn in the Alps. The town is very environmentally conscious and they do not allow any vehicles besides electric cars (and you still must obtain some sort of permit to have) thus it's supposed to be very peaceful and quiet. We're staying at a hostel for three nights and then are possibly couchsurfing. Couch surfing is a great website that is very popular (and safe) in Europe where people offer their couches or spare rooms for budget travelers. Everyone I know who's done it has had the greatest experiences. It's probably the best way to become fully immersed in a culture. We've been emailing with a few prospective families so we'll see if any of them are the right matches...more later...
That's it for now. More pictures to come later when we clean our apartment and put up some decorations...Here's one photo of my newest and favorite discovery in Aix. It's unfortunately extremely expensive (about $6 for a bagel and cream cheese), but when in need, it can suffice my bagel fix.
A tout a l'heure!
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