Friday

Today was a wonderful do-nothing sort of day. After a peaceful breakfast I am really starting to look forward to (I need cereal bowls and a teapot for home so I can keep this up), I headed to IES, my home away from my home away from home (which is really great that I can feel like I have a home or refuge in various places in the world, I think) and did some more of the usual: journaling, reading Madame Figaro, studying my own grammar book (which is tied with hand sanitizer for most convenient thing I brought), and made my own lunch in the kitchen since I bought all those groceries. I realized it's actually less cost-effective to do that than to eat lunch in the RU, so I'll stick to RU lunches as much as possible.

Clare, Lauren, and I headed to the fac to sign up for SUAPS, and I'm now taking Sophrologie and "gym tonic" (I have no idea what either of these are) once a week each on days I don't have class, as it's only 10 E for the semester. They were gracious enough to wander around with me across the two campuses as I found the building for my Pharmacologie class Monday morning, which is in an Amphi as well, but the hallways look straight out of a 1940s hospital; there's also an infirmary between the welcome desk and the amphithéatre. Between that, bidets, toilet rooms, and cabinet sinks, I won't even try to figure out French architecture!

With sore feet on my part (Mom, my Frye's are not yet broken in...) we rested until deciding to head home around 4:30. While Clare and I were talking, we heard these weird noises that sounded like a ton of church bells and ambulance sounds at once, and it was pretty random, as it was like 4:25 (not a normal time for them to be going off). We parted ways, and as I walked in my direction and turned a corner, I saw a TON of confetti being blown around one of the cathedrales that is just kind of plopped in another square. The clouds had parted a little, and it was sunny, and there were probably thousands of palm-sized white tissue hearts blowing around the cathedrale and surrounding buildings in the square, and at the doors was a bride straight out of J.Crew (white strapless dress with horizontal organza stripes and a short veil... it was beautiful.) Sometimes, when I'm thinking about the errands I have to run, or that my feet hurt, or worrying about what to do when I get home, I come across something like that (or an impromptu parade or some other cute and quintessential European moment) it quickly brings me back to my senses that I love every part of life here and am so fortunate to be here.

Well, the petits just got back from school... I think it's time to go jump on the trampoline...