After a weekend in the Loire...

:::edit:::

Somehow I managed to not mention that while in the Loire, I also went to a wine tasting. Don't know how I skipped over that. Anyway, it was quite fun--standing around drinking wine and eating cheese in the actual cave where the wine was made. So, yeah. Life is good here. Yay for wine and cheese and caves!

:::

After being thwarted in my pre-class missions today (making a doctor's appointment for my residency card and changing my schedule), I have found myself with an unexpected window of time to occupy. I thought it a good use of this time before my Oral French class to give a quick update of my life in the past week or so.

I'm now beginning my second week of class, and find it...surprisingly normal. I have Monday off every week, and who could complain about that? Classes are going well, and I'm slowly adjusting to the three-hour long sessions, which are probably the hardest part of it all. I've decided I'm quite a fan of my old system, where to meet the requirements for a three hour class, one attends class two or three times a week for a shorter length of time. The students in my classes are quite diverse, as I mentioned briefly last week. This is because the part of the school I attend is a university specifically geared to international students. Lots of Americans and Japanese, quite a few Chinese, South-East Asians, other Europeans, people from the Middle-East, South America...Pretty much covering the spectrum. One thing that's funny to me is the fact that I am now part of the Diversity, rather than an observer of it. I am as much of a "foreigner" here as the next student--no matter how much more "exotic" they may seem to me. I think I like it.

This weekend was an excursion planned through the study abroad organization to the Loire Valley. For those of you who don't know, this area of France (about three hours southwest of Paris by bus) is known for its chateaux and its wines. We left early Saturday morning, and visited two of the chateaux, Chambord and Chenonceau. While the castles were beautiful, my favorite aspect of being there was the outside. After more than a week of chilly temperatures, rain, fog, and just general drear in the middle of the city, we got our first glimpse of the sun on the way out of town. It turned out to be a brilliant, breezy, crisp weekend. I don't think I need to explain the drastic effect that a change in weather like that can have on the spirits. And as if that wasn't enough, we were outside the city, walking around in the open, in wooded areas, in the sun with new friends and no cares. It's still beautiful here in Paris--walking to school from the metro this morning, I realized I was grinning to myself for no reason but that autumn is coming, and I could see the sun. Praise the Lord for beautiful weather!

Sunday, we spent the day in Tours, an old French city with lots of history. Thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful weather that day as we walked around, stopping into St. Martin's Cathedral, and meandering through the Sunday flea market. Have I ever mentioned that I love cathedrals? I'll have to expand on that at some point. Suffice it to say that though I was never really enthralled by them (that is to say, pictures of them) before I came here, I have found that being inside one far surpasses any picture. The spaces are simply amazing--vaults, stained glass, columns. And the acoustics. I think that's really why I love them so much. Every time I've wandered into Notre Dame, or any other cathedral here, there has been music. Listening to the sounds of old worship, of harmony and reverence echoing in a cathedral takes some deeper part of me captive, and I have no choice but to be awed, to be quiet.

That day we also saw the chateau at Amboise, where Kings of France lived during the transition from the Gothic age to the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci's grave was there. Sometimes you are arrested by how big the history is in these places. There's almost no category for me to process the significance/antiquity of the places I see here, because I've grown up in such a young country. The fact that the place I attend school at was built in the 16th century? Things like that are mind-boggling to me. Who knows how I'd react to seeing Greece or Israel or Egypt.

Well, I suppose this has been a bit of a spastic entry, but at least you're somewhat caught up now! I've got to run to class...let that dang French challenge and drain me. Did I mention speaking this language is hard?

On that note, I will make my customary promise of pictures, and bid you all good day!

em