France, so far

I have been living in Tours for exactly 16 days! I slowly have become acclimated to the life en France. I have to come to feel as if my house on Heurteloup is my home, and I look forward to my little yellow room as if it was the room I grew up in.
To give an example of how well I have acclimated myself, I am currently sitting in a french cafe. On my way after class, I picked up a little bon chocolat (pain au chocolat) and as soon as I arrived I ordered an expresso - of course not before I cut someone off so I could get the best seat in the house- the leopard print couch :) This little coffee shop is actually a french chain, probably why I find it so comforting. I come here so often, the man behind the counter gave me a "carte fidelite," or a frequent buyer card. Coming here for lunch is probably the highlight of my day. They have the best cookies of course (where would I be without dessert at every meal?)

I can tell my french is already improving. I started my french classes this week. I actually understand a lot more than I thought I would. One class is only with Americans. Its with students from Bucknell and students from Davidson. The professor is actually American too. Maybe that is a little weird, but I really enjoy the class. Another class is at the French University and it is fully integrated. There are four of us with a french professor and a class of french students. I had that class yesterday for the first time. I was REALLY shocked at how disrespectful students are to the teacher. They talk, in loud voices, over her lecture. We sat in the front and still struggled to hear her. It's hard to be hearing so many voices and be listening in french. I talked to one of our Bucknell professors and she told me this was completely normal. French students do not believe in working. They only have to pass the Bac to get into college. After that, they stop trying. It's pretty sad and I think Americans make much better students. 

The rest of our classes are just the Bucknell students. One is preparation for an exam we have to take in a few weeks, one is on Tours and the surrounding areas, and one is... I'm actually not sure I have it for the first time tomorrow. 

My family here is very nice. They eat REALLY HEALTHY... which I appreciate. We eat a lot of soup, yesterday I had a croque monsieur, without the ham of course, and we have a lot of vegetables. I've had quiche twice and it was delicious. My favorite food so far is the dessert... I really cant get enough. I love Galette de Roi... its like an almond pastry cake... reallllly delicious. I would probably gain weight, except I have to walk everywhere. I live more than a mile from school. So imagine that walk back and forth. I do it about twice a day. It's a ton of walking. 

 More to come on my life "a Tours" including my future next purchase: Harry Potter in French! I think I should start reading in french, so I might as well start with my favorite!