It is my first full day in France and I know I have jet lag because I have been awake since 7am! My host, Mme Carel, is wonderful. She's friendly, patient with my French, and a great cook. I arrived yesterday at about 4:30 after 17 hours of travel, including a 4 hour layover in Madrid. Speaking a little Spanish there boosted my confidence that I might be able to survive having to speak French. It's so interesting to be in a place where you have no idea what language you're going to hear next. Madame Carel and her son, Julien, picked me up at the airport and brought me to Mme Carel's apartment. She lives on the sixth floor of a humble but very pleasant building southwest of the city center.

At 3 pm today, I met up with most of the other LSA+ students to get some coffee and explore the town a little bit. We went to a fancy café where I got some delicious viennese hot chocolate with whipped creme and then walked around. In the square outside the café, there was a jazz/folk band playing for a crowd of dancing people. They looked like they were having a great time, and I wanted to join in but didn't know the dance. We students spoke about half English and half French, but starting tomorrow it's gonna be all French (or it's supposed to be...) We meandered to the Garonne, the river that cuts through Toulouse and walked along Pont Neuf (the bridge) and the banks of the Garonne. Eventually we made our way back to le Capitole and said "à demain." Tomorrow we have orientation for our classes.

Tonight for dinner, Mme Carel prepared a feast. We had carrot soup, duck with mushroom sauce, eggplant casserole, mashed potatoes, and fruit cake for dessert. Also after lunch I had the most wonderful yogurt, called "laitière." I have a feeling I won't need to worry about losing any weight while I'm here. After dinner I watched some French tv with madame, which I didn't understand as well as I would like. I hope that by the end of my trip, I'll be fluent enough to watch the news and understand everything that's going on. I'm excited for tomorrow, when the program really starts. Right now, however, I need to sleep. Bonne nuit et  toute à l'heure!