first week

hello everyone!
sorry for not keeping you updated its just that everything has happened all at once and finding the time was virtually impossible.
hmm where should i start...
well my family is wonderful and very helpful although they do not speak a word of english..ok they can say "how are you" but that is about it. This however i believe will be a good thing in the end seeing as it forces me quite literally to learn the language quickly.
The school im attending is fairly relaxed and very helpful with people that are lost and dont understand anything (a.k.a. me) The students here are also very helpful and patient with my bad grammar and limited vocabulary.
ok so thats a quick background on where im living/attending school.

so i have grown to accept moldy things as food. we eat more cheese then i thought humanly possible but its not your average chedder. there is actually fluffy green stuff growing on it that in the US we would call mold but here they call it "bonne fromage" (good cheese)
this mold accompanies every meal and i have come to better terms with it as time goes on.

The french talk very fast. when i came i was feeling fairly confident in the comprehension department but i quickly learned that when french is spoken at 5000 miles per hour it is no longer french to my ears. It has been difficult to adapt to all the drastic changes but i think that it will all start to come together soon and the fast-french will eventually sound familiar...i hope=)

one of the drastic changes includes "bisous". these are little kisses on each cheek that you do when ever you meet someone, see a friend, or say goodbye. when i stepped off the train from paris to meet my host family i was bombarded with bisous. it was strange at first to kiss absolute strangers and to kiss your friends or be kissed all day but im getting used to it and its feeling more like a handshake as time goes on.

so i talked about moldy things earlier without speaking about the other eatables. the food is simply amazing. thats one of the things that also happens very often. eating is kind of like a hobby. dinners can last up to 2 hours and are always laboriously prepared. i dont know if im going to be able to ever eat school cafeteria food again when i get home. even the food at school si amazing. today i had sauted fish with garlick and lemon and a salad on the side. pastries for dessert and of coarse bread with the meal. the steriotype about the french always having a loaf of bread with them or with meals is absolutely true.

i miss maine a little but am having an exciting and wonderful time so far
love to all

nadejda
i will write more soon