On Saturday, we made the move to Honfleur, a little harbor/marina in Normandy. We caught a train to Paris, and then a chartered bus to the town (much less stressful than a 6 car caravan, that's for sure!). It was a strangely relaxing travel day, until the "walk of shame." It was about a half mile walk through the town, pulling/carrying our luggage over cobblestone streets. So here's the picture: Blazing hot sun. 25 American students. Travel backpacks. Suitcases. Cobblestones. Complaints. I mean, give me a flag and call me a foreigner!
When we got to the house, my friends and I discovered that our bedroom is actually an attic, which means that we had to carry our bags three stories up a spiral staircase and then up a ladder. There is exactly one point in the room where I can stand at full height. I'm pretty sure I gave myself a mild concussion when I hit my head on a beam this morning.
My knowledge of French is not improving, but I have gotten really good at my single French phrase: "Bon jour! Je ne parle pas français..." Today, while poking around in a chocolate shop, a salesperson approached me. I whipped out my snappy phrase like an expert. Much to my dismay, she responded. I was so flustered that I stopped listening and didn't understand a word she said, although apparently she was telling me that, on the contrary, I seemed to speak very good French. I'll take that as a compliment, I suppose, but that's really the extent of my French speaking ability. I wish that I could just pick up the language on an immersion basis, like I did when I went to Germany, but it's hard to do without any knowledge of pronouns, conjugations, etc.
We'll be here for another week, so there's much more to come from Honfleur :) Tomorrow we're visiting the Bayeaux tapestries, Bastille Day is on July 14, and we're visiting the Normandy D-Day beaches sometime as well. It promises to be an eventful, exciting week!
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