(okay so before I start this I just need to tell you that my English is not quite as super as it used to be, and after spending the whole day speaking mostly French at school and here with the family, I might have some crazy crazy grammar mistakes of spelling ones...but I call it the "french charm"...)

Gah! Has it really been almost 10 days since my last post? Time goes by so fast here, it is insane.

^^Time goes by fast when having fun.

So I am in the middle of my second full week of school, and so far so good. Tuesday's are killer because Monday nights are popular nights to go out, and then I have class straight from 8am to 1pm and then from 3 to 4, and then possibly yoga from 8 to 915...Yikes.


The more I stay here, the more I love this city. There is something about the mix of the old and new worlds, the flow of traffic, the small streets, and not to mention the pasteries. My host mother loves to cook, and the other night I had a choice of 3 tarts to choose from for dessert, after our huge meal and cheese. SO! In order to not explode while here, I have been doing yoga twice a week (hopefully bumping it up to 3 next) and walking everywhere.

^^beautiful!

There is a tram stop just next to my house, but I often find myself just walking along the tracks for multiple reasons. One being the cheese and pain-au-chocolates--second being me trying to save money, but for the most part I just enjoying walking around the city and getting a feel for the heart and soul of what Strasbourg has to offer. Every morning on the way to school it seems as though I find a new market open, an art exposition to look at, a book sale, fresh sunflowers, cheese (again), etc.

Here are some pictures from the past week or so:

^^a fun shot of me and Haley at the chateau (details to come...)


Last weekend we went on an excursion to a chateau in the hills of Alsace (the region of France where Strasbourg is located) and to a concentration camp.

^^the chateau!


^^more chateau...
Both trips were moving in their own way, and allowed us to really get a feel of the history of the people of Alsace. This region of France has had their identity and nationality changed from French to German, and German to French throughout all of history. Many people here were forced to fight for German during WWII, or lost their lives...and have struggled to have a real conection to France. Although this has changed over time, and Alsace is truly French, many people say that the older generations of Alsace are a "sad generation" who have had to deal with many issues over the past decades.

But despite all the ups and downs, they have kept with them many of their cultures and customs of the region, and are proud to be from the land of great cheese and wine!

^^typical small town in Alsace

^^(from the left!) Sessi, Haley, me and Marris

...so now it is off to another end to a week of school, and a weekend with travels!...but you will have to stay tuned to find out where to!