Hello all! Well, what have I been up to for the past few days? Today was my first day of classes, which was pretty exciting... and a bit scary. My first class was francophone literature which was at 9:45, so not too early which was nice. On the tram ride up, though, there was a message about there being a strike tomorrow. Lovely. So, the first class was good (once I found it--good thing I left lots of time). Not only is it a small class and the professor seems nice (and she speaks really clearly and slowly) but it's about half international students which was initially disappointing, but it's really quite reassuring. I signed up for some presentation which I'm sort of regretting, and I feel bad for the poor girl ho got stuck with me... Oh well, too late to change it now. Spent an hour hanging out after class and then found my art history class which... was not quite as exciting as I was hoping for. It's a decently large class, and the prof is Italian I believe (which is actually nice, because he speaks slowly, but his accent is a bit tough to follow at times), and the subject matter...? Apparently the entire bloody class is about Middle Age mozaique designs [Wow, I just spent a good five minutes trying to figure out how to spell that in English--mosaic, apparently] So, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I mean, maybe it'll be fine, but it's just not really up my alley, and it's just a lecture... Gah. I dunno. Also, I'm not sure how to sign up for it. UPC doesn't have a nice unified electronic system for things like this, I'm afraid. So, that was three hours, and then I ran off to my phonetics class which nearly put me to sleep. Why hello, phonetic alphabet. Looks like we'll be learning the entire thing. Oh boy... So, one day down. I officially don't like Tuesdays, but at least the rest of my week is pretty light.

Nothing terribly exciting happened during the rest of the weekend. There was a concert at Saint Pierre cathedral on Saturday which I went to, and that's where the pictures are from.

It was in the late afternoon, so you can see the light of the stained glass windows reflected on the opposite walls which is super cool.















The beautiful organ that I was expecting to hear play, but didn't :( As Rob pointed out, it would have been basically impossible to play it with an ensemble, as was done--so, they used a little chamber organ. It was a nice concert, though.









I went on a really epic shopping trip yesterday, and not only bought proper tupperware (we've been using a mishmash of glass jars in odd shapes) but a glass pan for using in the microwave (I've been borrowing one from Mme Cesari) as well as cheddar!! I was really happy to find it, mostly just because it's so familiar and comforting to a homesick Vermonter. It's this really bright orange, though, which is different from what we buy at home. Speaking of home, I've been trying to do some thinking ahead about what I'm doing for winter break. It turns out that I have a 2-week break, which is enough time to come home, although I'm not convinced it's a good idea. I'm not sure I'll want to come back if I go home. Can everyone just come and visit me here during christmas? Please?

Also, if you're reading this, please a. let me know if you are, because I'm never sure if anyone's actually looking at it, and b. let me know how you are! I'm writing this to keep my friends and family updated on my goings-ons, so please return the favor--I'd love to hear from you all...