Bonjour tout le monde!

Hey everyone,

I've been in France for

a few days now; I just got to a city in the middle of France called Clermont-Ferrand yesterday via train. I stayed with the family that hosted me last time I was in France for a few days in Paris before venturing out into the rest of France by myself.

The first day I was in Paris, I read a lot; I actually finished Dan Brown's

new book "The Lost Symbol" which Robert and I both bought in Chicago the day it came out (it was pretty good--not as good as "DaVinci Code or Angels and Demons in my opinion, though). I mostly just went to gardens and read that day. I also went to see if the Comedie-Francaise was playing anything that night (this is France's state theatre) and sadly, their season opened

the very next night, after I would already be gone. And! They would be opening with Moliere's "The Miser" which I would have liked to see. :( Oh well.

Uhm, since I've been in Clermont-Ferrand, I've mostly stayed in my room. Especially since today is Sunday and virtually nothing is open AND I'm worried about getting lost and not being able to get back to the hotel. however, last night, I found this awesome restaurant on my street that specializes in regional cuisine and I ate orange duckand had a glass of wine. It was delightful. Although I will say that eating at a restaurant alone is not all that fun, even if you have sudoku to keep you company. I'm pretty lonely right now for some company, and I miss all of you back home terribly, but I know that this is all a part of the acclimation process and that I will get over it soon.

I will tell you though, that I am not looking forward to taking the train to my final destination where I will be teaching with this bag I have (note to self: baggage in America is NOT the same size as baggage in France). Some man made a comment on the last train that my bag is big enough for two girls. I was quite embarrassed. And I think I even packed pretty well! I managed to fit everything I need for eight months into one bag and one backpack. What can you do...

Oh! And if some of you are wondering, I did not take a TGV (train à grand vitesse--one of the really fast trains in France); I don't know why, but my train just wasn't one of them. I have so much more to tell you (p.s. hulu doesn't work on French internet...it says it won't work outside of the US... :(, but I did find a website where I got caught up on "Project Runway" and now I have "The Office" too, if I want to watch something familiar and in my own language). Anyway! Wish me luck; I'll write again soon!

Bisou!

Meghan