Le weekend arrive!

I'm getting close to my first weekend in Villefranche. I can't believe that I've already been here for almost a week. We have a party at the school tomorrow night from 7:30-10. I'm not sure if I'm excited for it or not. I could see some of us ducking out early to go out, maybe into the big city of Nice, if I'm feeling crazy. It will be interesting to observe, because there's a professor who is also our "cruise director" and I think he does very well with the ladies. I'm content, though, with The Voice in the labo. Speaking of which, I have le labo first thing tomorrow morning. I can't wait.

Class is getting easier, but it's still grueling. I still need to work on my weakest area, actually conversing with real people in real situations. Who cares if I'm a total super-star inside of the classroom (not that I'm a super-star) if I can't put together a complete sentence outside of the classroom? Usually I'm so tired when we have our breaks that I just want to be alone to decompress. I decided today that I can't do that any longer. I'm going to have to become a social-butterfly...ugh.

It's fun being one of the advanced students and hearing the others make the same mistakes that I used to make. Yesterday, someone told the table that she's in love with me. Everyone else was a beginner too, so unfortunately, no one else found the humor in the situation.

Today, I finally had my first pain au chocolat. I can't believe how long it took me to get to have my favorite thing ever. There's just too much to do. Anyway, it was amazing. I got it at a great boulangerie right by my apartment. I got a couple more for the next few mornings. There's not too much to the French breakfasts, just bread and coffee. The lunches at the school are incredible, though. Today, we started with an onion tartine (it has a name, but I can't remember it). Then, we had salmon with vegetables, including artichokes which are in season here now, and rice. Finally, dessert was a rich chocolate cake. Of course, both the salmon and cake came with delicious sauces. This lunch is pretty typical of all of the lunches I've had at school so far. The school has an amazing chef, Nathalie, who greets us in the cafeteria at every meal. The French really know how to eat.