So it is 10:10AM Friday January 8^th and I am waiting to take the tram to the office. All of the students this week have been meeting up at the office before going anywhere else. I have learned so much this week through orientation. First of all, the students I came with are mostly from the University of Minnesota, although there are a few others from Penn State, University of Massachusetts, University of North Carolina, and so on. I have made a bunch of new friends already from all over the country. My goal is to now meet Native French people so that I can practice my French.

I am currently living with a host family, or a host mom, as I should say. Her name is Christiane and she is the sweetest little French lady I have met. When I first met her, she made it very clear that she would not be speaking to me in English, nor in Spanish. This is good so that I can keep practicing my French, which I have. Not only do I have to keep up with French at home, but also everywhere else. There are a few people on the program that are doing different tracks such as business, education, and so on that do not need to know French since all of their classes are in English. So, I tend to help out a bit to those in need of someone that can speak French.

I also had to purchase a tramway pass, which is the main way of public transportation here. Furthermore, I purchased a French sim card that I could easily put into my own phone, which is very convenient.

Today, we are all set to go to a big shopping center named Odysseum. I just hope I do not spend too much money. All of the sales have started, and everything is pretty cheap (this is so tempting since I love to go shopping) for the entire month of January.

Tomorrow, I will be going on my first excursion to Nîmes and Pont du Gard. I will be posting pictures soon!

So far my entire experience has been wonderful, and I hope to continue making everlasting memories throughout my journey.

Location: Montpellier, France