Bonjour chers amis!

What a weekend, huh? Is it fall there yet? It's starting to be here, little by little. I finished the books The Hours and Devil in the White City this weekend--I'd recommend them both, but for different reasons. Now I'm going to start reading in French, which will inevitably slow down my usually fast pace.

So I went to Besançon this weekend (also known to some as Baykwan). It's a city about an hour and a half from Lure by train. Much bigger, and very charming. A river cuts through it and everything is centered around it. Beautiful bike paths with French families pedaling along, and cobblestone piétons, which are simply walking paths. I did a lot of window shopping, as almost nothing is open on Sundays, which nice because no one is bothering you while you look at shiny new things. I stayed in a little place called Hotel Regina. Very cute. I wish I could upload pictures, but I'm not at that level of sophistication yet with the school computer--I can't even get on Facebook, it's prohibited.

After I got back to Lure and my apartment, it really felt like I was coming back to my own little cozy home. Because my studio is so small, it started to feel homey very quickly, which is great. Lure itself is a very small French town. It has one main road that I would guess is less than a mile long. I work at the lycée and my apartment is almost directly attached (which will be nice in the winter I think). Many of the teachers live outside the town center and have lots of land. All the houses are so beautiful--in touch with nature in a way that houses in the US are not. And all the cars are exactly what you would think, tiny little Euro cars that fit down very skinny Euro roads. The landscape itself is similar to the midwest, with a bit more elevation--the Alps are merely two hours away. Fall hasn't quite come yet, but the trees are changing little by little and it's beautiful to watch during a long train ride.

It's funny how, in a new place, the simplest things feel like accomplishments. When you're speaking in a second language, just leaving your apartment and going to buy some apples feels like a great feat. Or, just getting to Besançon was such an accomplishment that I didn't even feel like I had to do anything once I got there. I had two people ask if I was German, and one who was sure I was British.

Oh! Friday, I had a man chase me down on the street to ask if he could "faire ma connaissance," which simply means he wanted to make my acquaintance. It was flattering, and I was so surprised that I was actually speechless. He asked if he could walk with me and we walked and talked; he said he was a pompier--I had to look that up later--which is a fireman. He asked for my phone number, but we all know how that works out for me, so as a compromise he ended up giving me his instead. And an Algerian man, while I was traveling, asked me to coffee, but I again declined. Maybe I'll say yes to someone just to see what the French dating world is like. Mostly, I'm afraid that I'll sound like an idiot--which I will--because I can't articulate myself as well in French and can't convey any depth of intelligence, really. Perhaps I'm not giving myself enough credit, but I wouldn't want to have lunch with me, someone who smiles and nods more than she does anything else. I'm also afraid that any utterance of the word 'oui' is code for green light go go go let's get married!!

Okay, well that's enough of an update for now. The internet told me that my backpack is set to arrive tomorrow, so we will see if I'll finally become a whole person again. And if it is in any way near the state of my other bag, all hell will absolutely break loose.

à la prochaine,

Sam