10 Things that are different about France

Hi friend and family!
Things are going really well here. I have started two of my classes now: French methodology and French phonetics. I really enjoy the phonetics class so far!
My french has been drastically improving the last couple weeks. I was so excited that I could have an actual phone conversation today! When I first got here it was very very hard (and still is a challenge) to communicate on the phone with friends in French.
Okay so here is my 10 things list for this week....

10. Everything is closed on Sundays. Grocery stores, restaurants, everything.
9. People don't say hi (or smile either) on the street, on the metro, or in the stores unless they know each other.
8. People wait patiently in long lines at the grocery stores. More cash registers do not open up when the lines are long.
7. Phone calls are expensive! Every one uses text messaging to avoid it.
6. People are super polite. Please and thank you always always.
5. There is NO snacking between meals. There are commercials with health safety warnings about snacking between meals.
4. Rollerblading is still super cool.
3. Bikes are well respected in the streets.
2. There is no word for dating in French; you are either single or you have a boyfriend.
1. Macdonald's is the cool place to be!

Living with the French

The kitchen and living room


Finally! I am out of the dorm rooms and in a home with an energetic French woman named Christine. She is a director of a local travel agency(which by the way are still a good business in France) and a brilliant cook! Lucky me! Living with Christine helps me to practice my French a lot. She speaks Spanish but not too much English, so I get to work on my french grammar constantly. Love it!
My room is quaint and has a door that opens to outside. I am so happy with my surroundings. Part of my stay includes having dinner with Christine each night. It has been a great way to get to know the french culture and french cuisine and, as I've only been here for 5 days, I know it will keep getting better and better!
Dinner usually consists of the following: 1st: the hot dish (crepes, salmon and mushroom tart, etc.), 2nd: crudites (salad, tomatoe salad, green beans etc), 3rd: bread and cheese ( fresh bread from bakery, and leerdammer, camembert, chevre, brie or whatver other cheeses we have), 4th: dessert (fruit tart, yogurt, pudding, fromage blanc)
What a paradise!!!!

Beautiful beautiful wine country---
So many wineries Wine tasting at a chateau

Dune de Piyla Eating oysters by the ocean
The biggest sand dune in Europe. Salty slippery little things
Way more impressive in person as always.

bordeaux photos