Epic Lunch

...it really was. Think massive quantities of fruit. So good. The nectarines are perfect right now, as are the cherries. I eat so many fresh fruits and vegetables here, I wonder how I could possibly be gaining weight. Which I'm not sure if I am. If I am, I am in denial about it. And nobody better say anything when I get home (that means you, Dad).

Anyhow, it was a good day. I did a little shopping the afternoon, checking out 2 stores of French cultural importance: le FNAC and Etam. The former is a little like a Barnes & Noble, but with more music and DVDs. The latter is a clothing store, somewhat like an H&M. Both are quite popular here, and you're likely to find one in most cities. Anyway, I browsed around, took advantage of some of the Soldes, etc. It was quite relaxing.

After class, my friend Emily and I went to see a dance show called "Tradition to Transition," which was really interesting. There was one woman, the dancer, and two men who were musicians. It was traditional dance and music from India, and even though the show was less than an hour, it was just incredible. I couldn't believe how fast that lady could move her feet! Parts of it were like tap dancing, but she was barefoot and had bells around her ankles. Truly a great show.

After that I came home and had some dinner. Which was delicious, as usual. And accompanied by my second white nectarine of the day. They are just so good!

Anyhow, I have classes tomorrow and Monday, and my two finals on Tuesday. My history exam will be an analysis of a source document I've never seen before, and then an essay that will have to synthesize some aspects of what we studied. No idea what those will be. But we did our presentation on the Cold War today, and it went pretty well, so I'm not too concerned with my grades at this point. For our Phonetics final, it will just be a one-on-one meeting with the teacher to take a dictation test and read some small texts. Pretty straightforward. So all in all it shouldn't be too bad.

This last week is going to be the hardest, I can tell. Tonight when I was making dinner Corine walked past and sort of rubbed my back a little, a maternal gesture. And it hit me all at once in that moment just how much I miss my mom (and I'm not just saying that, Mom!). So I will be happy to come home and see everyone.

I think that's all for tonight.

Love and miss you all so much,
Natalie