Welcome to Grenoble!

So the first few days I've spent here have been rather hectic and highly stressful, and I've had an onslaught of new information driven into my brain to the point where I don't know how much more of it I can hold.  I guess I really need to get some of it out, so here we go.

Remember those things a few posts ago that I said I would miss from home?  Well it turns out that I need to revise that list:

      ~ My family.  No, guys, I'm not putting this up here just because I know I'll get yelled at.  I do miss all of you, and it's been a big adjustment living with someone else, especially in another language.

      ~ Artificial sugar.  No, really, I'm serious!  Here life is bread, bread, bread and fruit all around!  Breakfast?  Cereal, or bread with Nutella.  A lot of croissants, actually.  Lunch consists of a sandwich with a drink and occasionally a desert, or pastry.  And then bread is served with dinner, which is usually extremely savory and almost too rich for my stomach to handle.  Christ, just give me a bag of gummy bears already!  Don't get me wrong, the food is delicious, but au mon dieu...

      ~ Boneless buffalo wings.  Yeah, so I guess one would say that I'm absolutely a typical American.  They don't exist here, and I think I'm going through withdrawals and it's only been a week.

      ~ Hearing English.  Yes, I am here to learn French, but even while I'm with the other American exchange students, I hear more French than I can sometimes comprehend.  It's really awkward when a 12 year old French boy walks up to you and asks you what time it is, and you barely understand a word that he mumbles.  Which brings me to an interesting cultural insight.

*If the young people don't want foreigners or the older people to understand what they're saying, they'll take the end of a word and tack it on the front instead.  I guess the American equivalent would be "Pig Latin."*

And now, I think it's time for some pictures because you all must definitely be sick of my ranting.  

This is the typical picture you would see if you looked up Grenoble on Google right now.  Go ahead, I dare you.

La Bastille-  A fortress that is a popular tourist attraction.  Saturday, I walked to the Bastille, and then CLIMBED to the Bastille.  It was actually pretty incredible.

These tiny circles actually mark the limits of the old city.  We had to look for them during a scavenger hunt, and were really embarrassed when the local simply pointed at the ground...

Pizza au quatre fromages: 4 cheese pizza with goat cheese, and three other cheeses which I can't spell in English...

L'embleme de Dauphine:  A pretty sick fountain if you ask me.  I kind of want it in my back yard!

C'est moi!  At the top of a mountain, overlooking La Grand Chartreuse. 

So as you can see, I have been having some fun while I've been here.  It's been exhausting, both mentally and physically, but it has absolutely been worth it so far.  A bientot, mes amis.