i'd like to propose a toast...: jetlag, trop chaud, & baguettes

liz told me yesterday in our skype session that it takes 1 day to recover for every hour you are jetlagged... i should be over this by next tuesday or monday then? at this point, i'm not even sure what day i got here or really what time it is. . .

it is also VERY hot here! 95f today (i think thats like 32c, but i don't want to look that up on google right now, so excuse me). i'm up on the third floor of my house, which makes it difficult to keep cool, but also makes for a nice, sauna-like atmosphere, which is good for my skin, i suppose.

the past couple of days i've just been getting used to this place, enjoying the people, practicing, and sleeping. rehearsals are nicely laid back in the conservatoire (photo below), which also is devoid of air conditioning.

who knew?

all of the blue windows are the "practice rooms"

i had a really... interesting (?) experience at the supermarket the other day. it's quite close to my place, so i can easily walk there. obviously, everything is in french, so i just went to the foods that looked like what i would eat back home. that would be : a baguette, two packets of deli meat (ham and peppered salami), strawberry "juice", water, beer, lettuce, spreadable cheese with oil, milk (which tastes VERY different here... i thought it had gone bad, but was told it was just the way milk is here), carrots, and something else that i can't remember right now. only abut 20euro! i didn't have exact change, so the lady was a little pissed i think, but now i know!

my ceiling window opens in my room! i can get fresh air at night, which is lovely and a little colder than during the day.

this next week will be coachings, rehearsals, playing for lessons, etc... we have our first concert of lesser heard french arias on saturday which will supposedly take place in a castle. i have yet to figure this out. the program is disorganized, but ultimately they get the job done. very different than my experience in the states thus far.

i'll leave you with some pictures of houses and stuff that i see on my walk to and from the conservatoire every day!

the roofs are all red clay

a garden patio!

the buildings are all stone and they are all connected on one city block, usually. they house businesses, residences, and other things, i'm sure.

old meeting new

a really cool house seen through a fence

a plaza with apartments and trees and a fountain!

lots of really cool architecture and streets

a park! with a cinema behind it. right now they are playing superman and star trek, along with a bunch of french films, including porn. so... something for everyone, i guess!