Day Twelve

June 28th

The second week of classes began at 9 with History class. We discussed the political structure of the III Republic, which was soon after the second world war. After two hours in that class, I was glad that I was done for the day. I goofed around and hung out with people until they had to go to classes in the afternoon. While they were in class, I worked on my history paper listening to Wimbly on the internet. I also enjoyed the phone call from my mom, which was an added work break.

Got home around 6:30 (18:30) and meet Andre's mom and host mom. It was really neat to watch/listen to Andre translate french and portuguese. It was slightly confusing at first, but I understood a majority of the french meaning my comprehension is getting a lot better. While he gave his family a tour of both houses, I talked to my hosts about my day and answered any questions they asked me. Eventually the mid evening gathering turned into an all out family dinner.

We had Paella for dinner, which was amazing!! The combination of rice, shrimp with heads, muscles, chicken legs, green peppers and red peppers was awesome. At this point, three different languages were floating across the table as the dinner continued well into the night. After the Paella, was the cheese course, and finally the ice cream course. The ice cream my host family has is kinda like ice cream cake but not. The first time I had it was Sunday, and it was a coffee one with toffee between the layers. This time there was caramel with coconut (so two kinds of ice creams together) and a chocolate one. Surprisingly enough the caramel/coconut one was pretty good, and the chocolate was very rich like a chocolate cake.

(Paella!!)

It was a very multi-language day!

Day Eleven

June 27th

Another Sunday where I slept the majority of my day away. I feel like my sundays will be me catching up on all of the sleep I have missed starting on Thursday nights. I woke up around 11:30 and ate with the family around 1:30 (13:30). Tried to work on my history paper, ended up napping until 5ish (17:00). Obviously it was not a productive day for me. Later after dinner, one of their hold host kids came by. His name is Andre, from Brazil and is 17. He stayed with my family for 9 months, and went to London, Paris, and parts of Italy with his mom and god-mother after his 9 months were up. He was stopping by before he left to go back to Brazil, and would be bringing his mom and god mother to dinner Monday night. After all of that excitement, I had a baby video chat with Jameson and went to bed.

Day Ten

June 26th

Another early morning to catch a bus for another adventure in the area. Today was one of the excursions included with the program, and the other professor for my archeology class took us. We went to the area of Camurage, and specifically Saintes Maries de la Mer. This particular part of France is known for bulls, white horses, and pink flamingos. The bus actually had AC this time around, and the scenery was filled with lots of industrial aspects of the region plopped in the middle of beautiful fields.

As soon as we got closer, the drive reminded me of going to the Jersey Shore. Once we got off the bus, it was very much a sleepy beach town with a harbor filled with fishing boats, as well as pleasure boats. The harbor reminded me of Fort Monroe's tiny harbor of boats. We walked to the Church, called Saintes Maries de la Mer, and it was pretty neat on the inside. The church was once used as a fortress, and is still used as a normal church today. Above the main door to the church was a symbol, which was a combination of a cross, heart and anchor. Apparently, that is the symbol of the Camurage region.

(Faith, Charity, Hope)

We eventually ended up on the roof of the church and could see for miles. I loved feeling as if I was on top of the world. I also liked being able to see the whole town and the Mediterranean. Once we were done hanging out on the roof, the gang (aka the people I hang out with) grabbed some sandwiches and hit the beach. It was a gray sandy beach, and the water was very calm. The water was a bit cold, but after laying in the sun it was refreshing to get cooled down. Eventually, we left the beach and hit the town and sat down for a glass of Sangria (probably only place with Sangria around here). The walk through town eventually became a hunt for souvenirs, where I bought a necklace with the symbol on it, and discovered the symbol on different buildings and even in the roads.

(View from the roof)

Eventually, made it back home to Avignon completely exhausted only to turn around and get ready for a night out. The plan was to get all dressed up for the club, but we only made it as far as Les Celestines. In the end, it was another crazy fun filled day!

Day Nine

June 25th

Day of my first field trip, with my architecture class, to Vaisons la Romain. It is one of many cities that was first developed by the Gauls and later conquered by the Romans. I had to wake up very early and catch a bus to the station. Brittany and I were almost late because our families said they were going to drive us, but that did not happen. I ended up napping the whole way to the city.

Once we arrived, we started part of the highest part of the city. We were going to go to the top to the castle and weave our way through the medieval part of the city. This area of the city was my favorite part because of all the windy walkways, plants, and just overall feel. It was quite a trek up to the top, but it was well worth it. The scariest part was the last part because there was a warning sign that basically said "Caution, may fall off cliff". You could see the whole city from on the top and the Alps as well. The professor was able to basically point out everywhere we would be going.

(The Sign)

After hanging out on top for awhile we slowly made our way down the mountain, and I took a ton of pictures (which can be found on my facebook and eventually my picas album). At the bottom we learned about the Pont Roman, and got to see some of the areas where we were before. Slowly made our way from that area to the archeological sites.

(Pont Roman)

The first site was a typical center road of a roman city, two houses, and the public baths. This site was completely surrounded by houses, which makes me wonder how much more could be uncovered. After that we went to a museum that had a full mosaic tile floor, pipes, glasses, coins, and pretty much anything else that could be uncovered. From there we went to the Roman theater. The whole field trip really brought to life all of the things we talked about in Latin class in high school. I felt really smart because I knew the setup of the house and the baths. It is always neat to have some things come to life, which is why I will be doing a presentation on Le Theatre d'Orange (oldest preserved theater that has the full backdrop).

(Stores along the main road)

So after all of the lecturing was finished, we had some time to walk around the city and buy souvenirs. It was kinda like Avignon, except things were more spread out and there were not as many places. All in all it was awesome, and I was asleep before 10 (22:00). The only bad note was the bus ride to and from, the bus had the heat on and I melted twenty times over.

Delay in Posts

Hello All! Sorry for the lack of updating, but a paper for my history class has had my time occupied. I have been keeping track of my activities in a tiny notebook, and I just need to slowly transfer the information to here. Hopefully before 4pm my time today (June 29th) I will put up days 9, 10 and 11. Having a field trip and an excursion back to back has made it a tiny bit harder to update, as well as my paper. Back to work I must go, so I can truly update you all in a few hours!

Day Eight

June 24th

Thursday marked my fourth day of classes, and one was already canceled for the day. It was also national strike day for the transportation system. My host family called the transportation department and found out the buses would not be going into the city (behind the walls), so Brittany and I got a ride from my family. We got to school with plenty of time to spare before having to go to history class.

History class was pretty normal, except the professor could not get the projector to work to show us a video. The class had to huddle around his Mac to watch a video on the elections to change France's constitution. It was really neat, and from there we continued to discuss the political structure and why General de Gaulle was pushing for a change. Once class was over, I went to the 4th floor and began to work on some of my homework.

After everyone else in the group was done with classes, we talked about our plans for the evening. It was decided that we would meet at 10pm at the first bar we went to and have a few drinks. Making sure everyone knew what was going on, a few of us headed to a Jardin next to the Palais de Papes. We found a comfortable spot on the grass and just hung out until Brittany and I had to leave to catch the bus home. I love hanging out in the parks in France because they are so relaxing and a change of pace from constantly walking around the city.

When I arrived home, my host family had a couple over, that they are really good friends with. The first thing the guy says is asking if I am Italian, and they told him no she is American. Everyone believes that I am either Italian or French, which is a good thing since I am not pegged at being an American. The man even spoke a mixture of French and Italian to me, and I found out his mother was Italian from somewhere in Northern Italy. It was very interesting to come home to seeing my hosts with friends over.

Ate dinner, and proceeded to get ready. Brittany and I left around 9:30 (21:30) and started our trek into the city. I do not remember if I mentioned this before, but Brittany and I decided to walk to and from the city in order to not take the taxi. It was fine for the first weekend, but we found out we are only allotted 60 euros the whole time. Both having already been reimbursed for close to 30 euros, we decided walking was the better choice. We are perfectly safe when we walk home, and by this time we are so used to it that we do not even think about a taxi. Meet everyone (aka Wong, Maggie, Emily, Amanda, and Chase) at Les Celestines and had a fun time, before heading home around 1.

Days Eight, Nine, Ten

Will hopefully be up sometime on Sunday. Keep an eye out!

Day Seven

June 23rd

So, yesterday was not a very exciting day unfortunately. I am sure I will have plenty more non-exciting days as the program continues.

In case I have not mentioned this before, Brittany and I take the bus every morning because it is a thirty minute walk to school. We get on the 8:30 bus, in order to arrive for class at 9, and everything is going pretty normal. Suddenly the bus skips one of the stops, and makes a U-turn. I told Brittany we needed to get off the bus because who knows what will happen next. We hop off the bus with a few other people, and follow the normal bus route to get to school. I was freaking out thinking we were going to be late, and they definately frown on tardiness here. We eventually make it to school with seven minutes to spare. Pretty much everyone was rushing to class yesterday morning, yet some of those people were walkers not riders.

In history class, we finished up the introduction which commenced with the beginning of the end of World War II. After tying up some lose ends, we began to talk about the political system. My European Government class from a couple semesters ago, touched on this subject and it just makes me really excited. I believe I have a problem, I like to learn about political systems. (Go me for being a nerd!)

After history was my first architecture class, which was amazing. Tomorrow we are going on a field trip!!! I really do not have anything else to say about it, except that it is freaking amazing!!!

Like I said, yesterday was a pretty normal day.

Day Five and Six

June 21st/22nd

So, Monday was my first day of classes which meant I had to get up at 7 to leave the house by 8:15. I somehow magically turned off my alarm and woke up at 7:30, making me rush to get ready. I showered, packed my bag, and dressed managing to actually be on time. I believe, I caught the 8:30 bus to get to school by 9, either way I was on time for my class.

History was the first class of the day, and it covers French history from 1945 up until 2000. I love history and it is interesting because it is the French prospective. Growing up in the states, I have learned the US side of things, and have touched on the French prospective in college. I do have to say it is hard to sit in a class for two hours, when it is mostly lecture since I tend to get a little bored.

The professor is very French (when I told Jameson this, he said of course the guy is french you're in France; Thanks Babe!). I see this professor as the quintessential french male, kinda tan, black hair which is styled everyday, nicely dressed/put together, and a super tiny triangle of facial hair on the chin. The tiny triangle is maybe the half the size of a person's pinkie nail, and I do get distracted by it because I wonder how he keeps it so tiny and perfect. Oh, well.

I then had a two hour break until my next class, where I went and bought some food. I had a very tasty kabob, and it was also very filling. Finally it was time for my second class, which was Literature. I was completely lost, and decided I was going to take another class because I did not want to be stressed out while I was here. Also, I took a lit class back at Emory, and it is not my favorite class to take in France. The novels the class were going to read, all dealt with colonization and I would rather actually deal with the culture of Southern France.

After my classes were over I went to the grocery store to buy some food to eat for lunches and snacks. I was a little mesmerized by the grocery store, and wandered for a bit before I purchased various items. Next week, I will once again go to the grocery to buy various items for lunch. Soon it was time to head home, which took longer than normal because the Fete de la Musique started at two (14:00).

I was not planning on going out on Monday night, but it was the Fete de la Musique and it was not to be passed up. Brittany and I walked into to town in order to save on money, and it was still light out. The walk took about twenty minutes to meet up with our friends, and there were so many different types of music. Every single nook and crany had some sort of DJ or band playing music. This was the first time I had seen the city be crowded, which made it difficult to find our friends but we found them!!

(My fancy Ferris Wheel Photo, which I want to frame)

We esstentially walked from one end of the city to another, where there was a huge stage next to the ferris wheel. We watched three different rock bands, before heading home on foot. The first band we heard reminded me a lot of the indie rock bands that I listen too, and they had high energy. The second band was also pretty good, and played Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd. I was really excited since I could sing along with the lyrics. The third band was a very popular band through out France. By the time that band got on stage, the crowd was quite large. All in all, the Fete de la Musique was a lot of fun.

(The First Band)

Tuesday was the second day of classes, where I dropped my literature class for the art and architecture class. The art/arch class is more cultural because I get to explore more areas, and understand why France is the way it is. It also gets to go on a lot of field trips, to different areas in the region. Super excited!! History was also pretty chill, and I still got distracted by my professor's tiny triangle.

While waiting for classes to start, I listened to Wimbly on the interweb and took a baby nap. I was super exhausted, and just wanted to sleep the day away since I felt like I had not slept in three days. Overall, it has been pretty exciting recently.

Tiny interesting thing of note in Avignon, outside of the walls. There are these parking lots along the outside of the interior of Avignon (the center of town, compared to the exterior which is where I live), and there always a bunch of cars parked. Inter dispersed with the cars are a bunch of white vans, that have lights/or candles on the dashboard. Brittany and I see these vans all the time, and figured out they are the prostitutes of Avignon. When the light is on they are open for business, and when it is off they have a customer. The women sit in the front, leg on the dash, showing off their wears. I will try to obtain a picture of these vans one night.

Day Three and Four

June 19th/ June 20th

So, after I posted my last entry Brittany and I ended up meeting some of the other students for drinks. We arrived around ten thirty (22:30), and left around one thirty in the morning. While, hanging out with the others we decided to venture into Marseille the next day.It was really fun just hanging out, and having a good time.


Day three was Marseille day, and I got up at eight to meet everyone in front of the school at nine. Our host families drove us to the school because they were already headed into the center, and Brittany's host mom did not want her to walk with wet hair. It was very windy, and unfortunately has not stopped yet. Met up with Amanda, Maggie, Emily and Kong, and proceeded to walk to the train station. We ended up taking a bus into Marseille, which was an hour and a half.

Once arriving in Marseille, the adventure truly began. We took the metro to a stop that would bring us close to the beach. After getting off the metro, it was a fifteen minute walk to the beach. Right in front of the beach was a copy of the statue of David, which I kinda found a little bit bizarre. We then found a cafe and had savory crepes, which were amazing as well as cheap. Once our stomachs were filled, it was time to hit the beach.

The sand was actually tiny smooth pebbles, and the water was pretty cold. Maggie was hilarious because she kept saying how she never tasted water so salty. After swimming for a bit, it was time to just lay out and soak up the sun. We left the beach around four (16:00), found a yummy bakery where Brittany and I shared a lemon meringue torte (sooooooooo good). Wound up at the train station, where we took a local train back to Avignon. A two hour train ride home produced even more laughs. Finally, we arrived and went home to eat and get ready for another night out.
(Amanda, Brittany, Emily, Maggie, Moi)

Saturday night, we ended up at a random bar in Place Pie. We ended up ordering a Girafe, which was a large pitcher of beer with a tap attached. After hanging out at that bar, we ended up at another place that was hosting the after party of the Gay Cirkus. It was a lot of fun dancing the night away and having a good time. Eventually we left around two, and walked to "our corner" and called for our taxi. Since Brittany and I live in the exterior of the city, we have to get a taxi after eight (20:00) because the buses stop running. Unfortunately, the taxis were not very speedy that night and we waited for over twenty-five minutes for the taxi to arrive. Eventually we made it home at three, and went to sleep.

(The Girls with the Girafe)

Sunday, I did not do anything productive. I woke up at really late and ate lunch with my host family, and then napped away my afternoon. I also had a quick video chat with Jameson before he went to work. So, I napped away my afternoon and woke up at five (17:00) called my mom and preceded to get ready for dinner with the others. I went out to dinner with Julia, Chase, Kong, Maggie, Amanda, Emily, and of course Brittany. It was a very relaxing affair. Once it was time to leave, we headed to our corner (which is where Emily lives) and called for a taxi.

I made the call this time, and after hearing where we wanted to be picked up he asked if we were going to Malpeigne, which is our street. Unfortunately or fortunately this is not the first time the taxi company has recognized us. I believe on Saturday night the driver asked us if a certain road was how to get to Malpeigne, but we did not know. He radioed in asking how to get there, and after having confirmation the guy on the other end asked if he had the pretty Americans. It is a bit weird that the taxi guys know us, but it is bound to happen especially if we get picked up at the same place and dropped off at the same place. Oh well.

Avignon Day One & Two

June 16th/June 17th

Wednesday I hopped on the TGV for Avignon, and the ride went smoothly. I made it off the train okay, and was introduced to my host family. M. et Mme. Duret are very nice, and very patient with me and my french. Since I have not used it very much I am a little rusty, but it is slowly coming back to me.

I meet their daughter in law, son, and their grand-daughter. The grand-daughter ate dinner with us, and she was very nice as well. I was also briefly introduced to the girl, who is living with the son. Her name is Brittany, and she is from Florida. After meeting the various family members, it was time for relaxation and bed. I have gotten used to going to bed around 10:30/11pm, since that is when my aunt and uncle would go to bed.

Thursday was orientation, and I meet some of the other students. Four of the students are from Carnegie Melon, but other than that everyone is from different places. A lot of the students travel pretty far to go to school, which I guess is pretty normal. So, after the mandatory orientation stuff, we crossed the Rhone and ate at a yummy restaurant. Then we were taken on a tour of the city, where I took a lot of pictures.

Once the tour was over, it was time for us to do whatever. I played on the internet and went with some of the other kids to a phone store, so they could get a phone or a SIM card. At 5:30pm, Brittany and I left with another girl to head back to our homes. It was very interesting to get back home and have my host family ask how my day was, what we had for lunch, ect. I then had time to relax before dinner, where we had some sort of tomato and tuna salad with cucumbers, then I think it was breaded zucchini. There was also chicken courdon blue, which I did not eat.

The one thing I find odd, is that the tv is on while we eat dinner and we watch one show called Plus Belle La Vie. It reminds me of a very bad soap opera. Around 9 or so everyone heads to their bedrooms to get ready for bed, and the process starts all over again the next day. Apparently they have the internet, yet my computer will not connect for some reason or another. I think their grand-daughter determined that their internet is not currently working, and they need to call the company to fix it.

So far everything has been going well, and I am kinda excited for my classes to start. I have class starting at 9am on Monday, which means I need to catch the bus at 8:20am to be on time for class. I think I finish around 4pm or so, but that is only on Mondays. Tuesdays I do not start until 1pm and go until 5pm. Oh well, that is the life of school. Hopefully I will explore the city tomorrow with some of the other students. I feel like I was born to enjoy the French lifestyle.

Paris Day Four

Today I revisited the Eiffel Tower, and ended up at the highest point in Paris (geographically speaking). I also hung out in my favorite park for about an hour today, enjoying the sunshine before heading back towards the apartment to get some gelato. Mmmmm Pistache et Cafe, yummy stuff. For my last meal in Paris, my family took me out to an authentic French Restaurant. We had a three course meal, and oh it was sooooo good. I wish I was able to make out to Roland Garros, but it was waaaay outside of the city.

Paris has been very good to me, but after wandering the city by myself for the majority of the time it is time to say goodbye. Tomorrow I will hop on the train for Avignon, and will meet people that I will be spending the next month and then some with. I will finally have someone to walk around with/travel with. The added bonus to staying in Paris means I am accumulated to the time difference, which is why this particular blog will not be juicy entertainment. I am exhausted and will head to bed, which should have happened an hour ago.

Paris Day Three

So under the insistence of my aunt and uncle, I went to a museum. I ended up at the Louvre because I wanted to explore the Tuileries Garden, which my aunt showed me yesterday on our bike ride. I was able to get into the Louvre for free, but I was not impressed by it. There were waaay too many people, and it was really hot. I mostly went to the less traveled places, which ended up being cooler. I did not stay very long, and went to the Tuileries.

It felt amazing outside, mostly due to the storm that was slowly rolling in making for perfectly cool weather. Every garden/park I have been to have been gorgeous, and there are always plenty of pathways to explore. There are also a lot of chairs spread all of the place, which I took advantage of in front of the large pond. It was also exciting to see the Eiffel Tower peak behind trees and the like, because it was on the other side of the river a ways from the Tuileries. I then went to Pont Alexander III, that I saw on the bike ride yesterday.

After passing the National Assembly building, I quickly hopped on the metro to avoid the rain. I then ended up at a cafe to stay out of the rain, and to get a bite to eat. I love the fact that I can get Orangina pretty much everywhere I go, which is awesome! I also felt very Parisian, using my french ordering food, drinking coffee, and people watching. From there I went to the plant park (Jardin de Plantes). Another perfectly manicured park, with multiple pathways, and loads of flowers. There were also a few buildings to explore, but I did not feel like spending the 10 Euro to go inside. This park also had a zoo, which you could see some of the animals from outside of the actual zoo section. The weirdest I could see were the deer, but I think they might be a normal occurrence on this side of the Atlantic. It was also nicely sunny at this point in time. Once I thoroughly explored the park, I traveled back to the apartment to upload my multitude of pictures taken today.


Hotel d'Ville, which is across the river from the apartment.

Paris Day Two

After sleeping a whole night through, I woke up today and went to the BIO Market with my aunt and cousin. This particular market is only open on Sundays, and sells only organic food items. The colors were very vibrant, and everything was a lot bigger than fruits/veggies in the states.

The cherries are sooooo delicious. The fresh veggies we got today were also tasty. Dinner tonight was made of fresh salmon, fresh snow peas, and an interesting rice mixture. Both the salmon and snow peas were from the market, oh and some tasty bread too.

After finishing up at the market, we brought everything back home. My aunt took me to see the Arc de Triomphe, the neighborhood they were living/will be living in again soon, and the Tour Eiffel. I am hoping to revisit these areas on Tuesday, hoping there will be less people. Right in front of the Tour Eiffel was a large screen set up for people to watch the world cup. Since Algeria had a match today, a number of fans were milling around the area, which lead to a "manifestation" leading to closing of the Tour Eiffle. My aunt and I got out of there pretty quickly, and ended up outside a museum where part of the wall was made of plants.

From there we hopped on public bikes and biked back to their house. We biked on one section of the road that gets closed off for a period of time, and it follows right along the Seine. I also got to see the other end of the Champs Elysees, and a park(jardin) that leads one to the Louvre. I am hoping to go back to that jardin to check it out and go into the Louvre.

After dinner, I did a bit of wandering on my own. I took some picture of Notre Dame, and went to Le Jardin de Luxemburg, which is a park I found yesterday. Once the park began to close I walked to Le Pantheon, and took pictures of it as well as anything I decided to take a picture of. Overall, today was an awesome day!

*My facebook page has more pictures*

Hating on Airports

I am not a fan of airports in any way, shape or form. Yesterday, aka June 11th, rode in a car for about 3 hours give or take to arrive at the Dulles Airport in enough time to check in. I stand at one ticket counter for probably 15 minutes or so to find out I need to go to the other end of the airport and stand in another line. The International line was super long, yet it magically moved fairly quickly. My flight began boarding at 4:45 or so, and I received my boarding pass a tiny bit before 4:30. I then had to wait in the super long line of security, which by now it is 5:10, and I arrive at the gate at 5:15. Plane leaves on time at 5:30 and the long flight begins.

I was seated next to a fairly nice/calm family that slept pretty much the whole time. Unfortunately behind and to the side of me, were two Stupid Americans that decided to booze the entire trip. They were buying liquor and wine, as well as stealing sips from a bottle they brought onto the plane. So, once I decide to sleep the Drunks were annoying and I did not get any sleep on the flight itself. Breakfast was also a not so fun affair, mostly because I do not eat yogurt.

Finally, the plane touched down in Paris at 6:55 in the morning, and I began the journey of going through immigration and all that jazz. One cool part of leaving the gate and heading to the baggage claim area, is that I rode on a flat escalator in a tube that went outside and then back in to the other side of the building. Retrieved my bags, and began to figure out the train system.

I eventually made it to my aunt and uncle's apartment a little before nine this morning. The cool thing was seeing Notre Dame up close and personal. I napped for a few hours, and I then went around the neighborhoods, partially with my family and the other by myself. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera with me, but I will go back and take pictures of the places I went today.

I am just glad I made it here in one piece.

Tomorrow

Holy Cow! I will be leaving the country tomorrow, and I cannot believe that it is happening. Everything is packed, yet I feel like I will remove some items tomorrow morning before we head in the general direction of the airport. I am so excited and nervous. Hopefully everything goes well and I arrive safe and sound Saturday morning.

Last Week and a Half

I cannot believe that I will be leaving next week. Every time I think about it I get really exited, yet at the same time I am nervous. I still have so much to do, and I have no clue how I will be fully prepared to leave. I really need to write down a true to-do list and get shit done.

One way I have begun to prepare, is by looking up the address of my relatives in Paris. Their apartment is literally right around the corner from Notre Dame! How cool is that? The apartment also has a view of the Seine, which is also exciting. I am excited to explore Paris, and I may beg to go see Roland Garros. Too bad the French Open ends on Sunday. All of the paintings of various places of France will come to life for me, as well as the Eiffel Tower.

I have also looked up my host family's house. I finally received the information on my host family, and I am excited to meet them. The couple lives next to their son and his family, and share a garden, pool and other things. Another student in the program will be staying in the son's house, which makes me happy so I am not the only foreign kid. I will also get to experience the public transportation system via bus, since my host family lives 30 mins (by foot) away from the school. I am also allotted a certain amount of money for taxis, since the buses stop running at 7pm.

I still have sooooo much to do. June 11th will be here very quickly.