After one week...

Saturday marked the one week point for my time in Grenoble!!

It has gone very well so far. I apologize for not writing often enough. :~) The first few days were a little bit shaky as I worked out kinks in communicating with people back home, got settled with my host family, and adjusted to being in a city in which there is very little english! Though it was overwhelming at times, I also felt myself really enjoying my new city and the new experiences that I was having.

One day, I sat in a boulangerie (bakery/bread-maker shop) and had coffee with a girl from school. There was another night after going out with a few people that my friend and I stopped at a restaurant and had ice cream, cider, and hot chocolate. The restaurantier was very sweet and your picture-esque french restaurant owner. The food looked amazing so we made a goal to return there for a meal sometime. Another day, I walked around the part of downtown in which I live and looked at what business were nearby and took pictures of the gorgeous mountains against the cityscape. I have really enjoyed living in the mountains! They take my breath away at unexpected moments. Saturday, we took a visit to a nearby, beautiful chateau which is home to a museum about the French Revolution (which began in Grenoble and at this chateau). Yesterday, I attended church at a French Evangelical church and really enjoyed worshipping our God together in a language that is still new to me (mind you, I did not understand much about what was going on besides worship and communion but it was still good and God was still there!).

Today, classes started. I was excited to get them under way and to discover what they would be like. So far, they are not too bad. This school, however, has the strangest scheduling that I have ever seen!! My class schedule changes every week and is often pretty drastic. The classes meet in hour and 1/2 blocks and often one class will have two sessions in one day but only meet once a week. This week, for example, I only have 3 of my six classes and only have class all day Monday (just finished those), late Tuesday morning, and Friday afternoon.

Because of the strange scheduling this week, its allowing me to travel a little bit! My friend Madison and I are headed to Geneva, Switzerland for the day on Wednesday! It is pretty economical to get there and hopefully won't cost too much while we're there!

Well, that is about the extent of my excitment for the week! Below are a few pictures of Grenoble and check the facebook album for a few more updates as well! I miss you all at home a lot!! I hope that you are all doing well. Keep me informed about what is going on in your life as well!

In Christ,

Ashlie