Today I learned that French nasal sounds are hard. It can be really hard for us English-speakers to distinguish between sounds that don't exist in our own language. This week I'm going to a course on phonétique (think microphones and headphones). I think it's pretty good, since it's really hard to think about pronunciation in every day situations when you're just trying to get your message across.

I did go on a hunt this past Sunday - la chasse à courre, which is a hunt with lots of dogs - no guns. We were hunting fox. Hunting seems like mostly a "man thing", though there were some women in there as well. It was on foot, so I had the pleasure of running/walking the whole day in boots.



To communicate, you play fanfares on "un trompe," (cellphones = interdit!) a French instrument similar to a trumpet without valves, which my host brother and father both play. My host brother invited me to one of his practices tonight (he's on the back right):