OK, so I just wrote a decent-sized post that was erased. I guess I hit the self-destruct button. So now I have to decide if I want to write what I already wrote once. And I am noticing that this doesn't automatically correct spelling.....hmmmmm. Well, we are in Pau now. The weather has been crap since yesterday, I think that Vinicio is happy that I made him bring a jacket (which he didn't think he needed). Today was the first day of class. Class was fine, really great, actually. The problem is that I was a bit more than an hour late. Why, you ask? Well, there is a bus strike today in France (apparently not just here in Pau but there didn't seem to be any news about striking bus drivers on the TV so either it is only in Pau or an entire country without busses is not news). And my class started at 8:30am (earlier than it will be for the rest of the summer). So, I left my house at 7:30 sharp to walk to class. Well, I got going the wrong way, didn't figure it out for anout 40 minutes, had to call my host mom to bail me out, but she had to take the kids to school (which is why she didn't just give me a ride today in the first place). I sat for about 15 minutes in a far-off parking lot, she brought me downtown (not all the way to the University because she had many things to do) and assured me that there WOULD be a bus at some point. And, in fact, eventually a bus did come and I did make it to class. So, on the first day of class the study abroad advisor was an hour late. Great professionalism, non? AND I am the one who should be able to navigate cultural cues and foreign situations with ease. Well, I did get there and I was able to tell my host mam where I was over the phone in French (after being lost for 40 minutes). All in all, a learning experience, not one I hope to repeat.

Liz