Arrival in Pau

pau!

USAC students

We finally arrived in Pau! On Tuesday we had university orientation and then took a bus downtown to take a tour of Pau. It was a clear and sunny day and on Rue de Pyrenees you could see a faint outline of the Pyrenne mountains. It was a sensational view. Our program director told us that in fall you can see the snow caps on the mountains, but it is still sunny in Pau. We went grocery shopping at a shopping area across from campus called Le Clair. It was definitely an experience trying to find the food that I wanted. I was upset to hear that they don’t sell peanut butter here! No pb & js, but I guess they do sell it in some specialty stores but it is expensive. Also, the toilet paper is pink, and the rolls are half the size of American rolls. No Charmin double rolls over here. You also have to pay for bags and shopping carts, although you get your money back for the shopping cart as long as you return it.
Several students who I went to Paris with live on my floor or the floor below me, which is really convenient. We have already met some of our french neighbors and they are surprisingly friendly.
Today we had a tour of campus and then after lunch I had my first class, L’histoire d’art. It was taught exclusively in french. I was a little nervous about this class, because it is a completely different subject taught in french. Our teacher was awesome, he even lets us have breaks in the middle because "il fume". It was challenging to participate in discussion because not only did you have to think about what you wanted to add to the discussion about art, but you then had to think of how to say that in french. I really think that all of these classes, as strenuous as they may be, will immensely improve my french.
Tomorrow we have phonetic exams where they analyze our french speaking so that they can assess what level we should be at for the conversation class. Then after lunch I have my l’Histoire d’art class again then I have my first French Cooking class. I am so excited for that!! Maybe I will invite you all over for a night of french cuisine when I get back to the U.S., if you’re lucky. ;)
This weekend a bunch of my friends and I are going to Lourdes. The Pope is there this weekend. It is such a rare occasion that the pope coming to France; Lourdes is only a half hour train ride from Pau!