A tour of Caen and various fun (and not-so-fun) events following.

Yesterday, the school gave all the exchange students a tour of the university and of the town. I really love this town, even though it rains every other day. There are so many neat things here. There is a huge castle with a big moat down the street. There is a boat port with pubs and clubs all around it where the nightlife happens (I will be frequenting that area!) There are various shops and cafés and restaurants to go to.
There are many more American students than I thought too. I met many of them and made a lot of friends. So much so, that I have forgotten half the names I have learned!
Most of them live on campus, but I have to say that I enjoy living with a family much more than I'd enjoy living in a dorm with other english speakers.
I think I got pretty lucky too. My hostess, Elizabeth, speaks with me all the time and corrects my french. She also is very accommodating and is an excellent cook.
I went out with some of the students for lunch and then went shopping with my new friend McKenna. And I have done it, I have bought a beret. But on the way home, I got lost. I had forgotten my map so I wandered around aimlessly for almost two hours in the dark! Finally, I used one of my very expensive minutes on my cell phone and called Elizabeth.

Today, I had to go pay for my social security and wait in line for an hour! Then I had forgotten my birth certificate and had to go all the way back home. On the way home, I found an outside market on my street where they were selling vegetables of all kinds (many I had never seen) and cheese and meat. They also had clothes and books and such.



But the best part of the day was lunch! I bought un croque monsieur, which is a ham sandwich covered and stuffed with cheese! It was wonderful until about the last quarter of the sandwich when I decided that one can have too much warm mushy cheese.
And for dessert I had un pépito, absolutely the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. It is this soft pastry, not quite as flaky as a croissant, filled with cream and chocolate chips (or pépits, hence the name pépito). I might not come back to the states just so I can keep eating these.