And oh my god, I can't believe it. I've never been this far away from homeee!

Bah, I’m such a bad blogger!! But rainy days present a perfect opportunity for an update. Things have been basically insane here for the past ten days. France is amazing and I’m having a ball. I had a somewhat (extremely) rocky start but now I feel really good about everything. I really don’t know what, or even if I was thinking before I got here, but as soon as I unpacked my bags and everything went in its place, I started to panic and cry et cetera. It was as thought it hadn’t really hit me until then that I was in a major change. The jetlag, culture shock, and the whole not knowing anybody in the whole effing country situation didn’t help. After a good seventy-two hour fit of hysteria and simultaneous scheming of plans to get me back home, I realized I needed to stop being a baby and get with it. Opportunities like this are few and far between and being nervous is hardly an excusable reason to throw that away.

The people are all so interesting and beautiful and crazy and different and wonderful in their own way. Eveyone dresses their best here. All the time. Everywhere. School, work, market, its all done in your finest. For those of you who know me well, you are very well aware that this presents itself as a particualary interesting challenge to me, as I basically live in my bathrobe or Cal sweats, with the exception of exam days when I always dress for success. But here, you gots to look good son.

I've met some people and made some friends that are have really become very important to me. It’s funny how in situations like this your whole life changes so quickly- your circle of friends is immediately altered. The people you are used to seeing when you wake up, the ones with whom you share your meals and drinks, your classmates, your teachers, everything. I’ve been lucky to meet people that have really made that a good experience. Special thanks to the boys next door that have basically adopted me and helped me already have so much fun in such a short amount of time.

Antibes, the town where I live is stunning. Its filled with cobblestone streets, old French men playing the accordion, outdoor provincial markets selling fish and flowers and everything in between. It’s so…French. It looks completely staged to me because it’s all so very perfect. The view is basically ridiculous and I’ll put some photos up to show you but it really doesn’t do it any justice at all so I recommend you come see it one day for yourself. The Côte D’Azur in all its glory.


School will be quite an interesting experience, too. My Monday morning class began with professor Hans van Lienn. He came in and stated, in probably the cutest Dutch accent I’ve ever heard, “Hello! I am Hans. I am sixty-one years old. Yes, I like to smoke pot.” It made me miss Berkeley. He then proceeded to take roll and then started to draw some random shit on the board. A few others and I didn’t hear our name called though, so we said, “Hey Hans! You didn’t say our name. Are we on your list?” And he just looks at us and says, “Don’t worry! I only called half the roll sheet.” No questions asked. It is going to be an interesting semester. I’ll keep you posted.

Bises babies.