Bonjour Tout le Monde!

Sorry I've been a little slow in getting to this post, but there's a reason for that. I am now very settled in here. The language is still hard, but I have a schedule I'm used to and people I'm used to seeing, etc. I still refer to Maryland as "chez moi," or my home, but living here isn't so strange to me now, after a little more than 6 weeks. So anyways, that's why I haven't posted in a little while, because I don't think my daily schedule is that interesting. But finally I have a few things to write, so here goes.

When I decided to come to France I thought that this would be a good opportunity to figure myself out and to figure out what I want in the future. It's still early in this whole experience, but I've already thought about it and basically found an answer for myself: I don't need to think about my future. It's comforting that I know where I'm going to school next year and what dorm I'm going to live in and all that, but that's all I know and that's all I need to know. It's nice to be able to not really worry about where I'll be in five years and just decide "Hey, why don't I go to France for 10 months?" (Thanks Mom and Dad!) Plus, if I did decide what I wanted half a decade down the road I would probably change my mind half a dozen times.

Speaking of college next year - University of Maryland, College Park - my dorm room is going to be a huge change. This past weekend I moved into the new bedroom here, which is pretty big and doesn't have that much in it. So next year it's going to be a little different with a room about half the size, two times the people, and four times the stuff.

What else has been going on here? Hmm... I had a pretty good weekend. Sunday morning I rode about 40 miles on beautiful roads with not many cars, so that was excellent. Saturday and Sunday I spent some time fixing the family's bikes, so I can keep my skills from getting too rusty. And Sunday I also ate what the French called Pain Perdue, or "Lost Bread." They mentioned to we were going to eat it later, but I couldn't really understand what it was they way they were describing it. So later, when I took a break fixing bikes to go eat some, I realized that it was French toast, which is a name they laughed at. There are a few differences to the real French version though. It is eaten in the afternoon, between lunch and dinner, instead of for breakfast. Also, it is always made with the stale baguettes, which is why it's called Lost Bread, because you don't want to eat the bread anymore without soaking it in eggs and frying it. And it's eaten with a little sugar on top instead of maple syrup. When I mentioned that it was eaten with maple syrup in the U.S. they joked that that's why Americans were fat. But, I said, then again I'm American, I weigh 140 pounds (63 kilograms), and I can eat what I want when I ride hard for 40 miles in the morning!

Hope everyone is doing well, and I've heard a lot of people are reading, so thank you and keep it up. I miss you all! Chao