Entry 1

Salut!
This is my first entry in my "blog". Not going to lie.... I feel pretty cool right now! I decided to do a blog so I can keep everyone up to date on life in Grenoble, France. I mean.... I know all of you are very concerned with what I am doing... so I thought I would indulge you. hah!
I left for France Saturday January 27th. Saying goodbye was hard, but once I was on the plane everything was a little better. On the plane I sat next to two french woman who spoke to me in french and I tried very hard to understand them. It was funny because they were telling me in Grenoble there are a lot of Italian boys who are very smooth and I had to be very careful. I just laughed and said thank you for the advice. Once in Paris I met everyone in my group a Hotel Luxembourg. It is a very quaint hotel in the student district in Paris! The rooms were tiny and it is cool because all of the hallways are dark. When you enter a hallway, you have to push a button to turn on the lights. The lights stay on for about 15 seconds. The French are very concerned with conservation of electricity. The next three days we toured all of the major museums and monuments in and around Paris. It was amazing. The people in my group are all really awesome and come from everywhere. There is someone from Washington, Pennsylvania, Colorado.... etc. I am really lucky because everyone gets along really well and has a really good time together. Everyday we would eat at a cafe for lunch. I love sitting down for meals here bc noone is in a rush and the time spent talking and getting to know everyone is great. We did everything from the Eiffel Tower to a Karoke bar in the red light district (close to the Moulin Rouge). At the karoke bar there was a french boy who sang Backstreet boys and it was hilarious.
On Wednesday we took the fast train to Grenoble. The train goes about 200 mph. It is incredible how fast we crossed the french country side. The scenery was beautiful.... like out of a movie. We met out host families at the train station. It was very scary because they imediately began speaking french to me. Most of the time I can understand, but I have a hard time telling them in correct french what I want to say. We had dinner at their house which was also really scary. However, they are very nice and made me feel right at home. They have four girls. 2 dont live at home and one lives in an apartment above the garage. Daphne lives at home and is 16. I am really lucky she is there because she speaks slowly for me and helps me understand what her parents are saying. My family is very wealthy and lives in a large house in the center of the city. I have my own room on the third floor which is very nice. Since being in Grenoble we have taken a tour of the university and the city. We get around by tram. Yesterday we visited Lyon.... which is a big city about an hour outside of Grenoble. We saw some old house and churches from the original city if Lyon. Everything here has so much history and is very interesting! Today... My friend Emma and I are going to go on a 12 mile hike.... I hope I can handle it. It is going to be incredible because we will get to see the city and all the mountains around it from an ancient bastille. I will let you know how it goes.... Night life here is fun because we get to go to bars with our host families kids. My host sister Alexia had me over for crepes and champagne. It was hilarious bc she doesn't speak english and they were trying to teach me a card game. The one thing I am trying to remember is not to be too hard on myself. The language barrier is frustrating, but I know it will get better. I miss everyone a lot and I will try and update this as often as possible! My email is bretani.heron@gmail.com if you want to shoot me an email! Also, send me your address so I can send a post card! Until next time... Ciao!