Today was an excellent day.

After my art class in the morning, Lily and I bought a pizza for lunch near my house, but decided it would be best to walk all the way back to the university before eating it.. a 20 minute walk. So that was interesting. After Bucknell's réunion hebdomadaire in the afternoon, I went to a bank to try to get them to put money on my student card, so I can buy lunch at the Polytech. I was very impressed with the conversation I had with the lady at the bank, even though she ended up telling me that it's impossible to do with my American credit card. (All French credit cards have RFID tags)

Then, this evening I went to a juggling club/course through the university. It ended up being me and five French girls. (Kind of funny - where I went Thursday, it was all guys!) Though of the five, three had never juggled before, and only one had ever juggled les masseus (clubs). So she and I juggled together, and I ended up passing clubs with her better than I ever have before. C'était super!

I think it's about time I talk about some cultural differences. A big one is la bise. To say hello to someone (sometimes even if you've never met!) it's polite to kiss them on the cheek instead of shaking hands. The only exception is that two men will often just shake hands. No hugs in France, though. Another thing I've noticed is that it's polite to say bonjour to the cashier when you enter a store and au revoir when you leave, even if you don't buy anything.

Another thing is that A TON of French people smoke, much more than in the US.

On the subject of food, though... The French are big on courses. You never have multiple dishes at the same time. Sometimes, though, we will have the salad out at the same time as another dish, and they'll ask me if I'd like salad with the main course, as if that's an exception to the norm. I never know how many courses are coming, either - it seems to vary from meal to meal. The other day, I mistook the main course for salad, and wanting to save room for the nonexistent main course, didn't eat very much... oops! When it comes to dessert, the typical French gâteau (cake) has only one layer, and no frosting, though it is often made with some kind of fruit. Les tartes (pies) are also different here in that they are open-faced (kind of like a pizza with fruit, but very good). My host father came home from hunting the other night with a HUGE boar's leg. So I'll be able to tell you how that tastes.

Bonne nuit!