L'ecole et St. Tropez (school and st. tropez)

Yesterday, I did not post after school because all I simply wanted to do was lie down for a long time. Looking back on the day, it does not seem bad, but while I was living it, I'm not going to lie, it was pretty brutal. I know that the first day is probably the hardest. I keep telling myself that things can only go up. The whole day was a blob of overwhelming emotions. First of all, it's hard to comprehend most of what is happening. Also, the whole layout of the school is new. I didn't know where anything was. The people in my class were not overly friendly. When exchange students are in my classes at school I generally make it a point to talk to them, ask them questions about where they're from, see if they're ok. Here, it must be different. I had biology in the morning for two hours. I think that I'll be ok in that class since I've already had biology. After it was English, which will be oh so relaxing to my brain. They do learn British English in my school, but I don't think that will be much of a problem. At the end of English some girls took pity on me and asked if I wanted to sit with them at lunch. Thank goodness. I found Paul in the courtyard before lunch, and he ended up sitting with me too. Not too many of the French girls tried to talk to me at lunch, and the day had already exhausted me so much that I was too tired to try and jump in the conversation. Monday I'll try. Following lunch was two hours of French. I think French will be a bit difficult to understand. I sat next to a girl who let me copy her notes after she took them, and I think she's going to make me a copy of the notes I missed when I couldn't understand. I hope that's what she said! Oooo what an overwhelming day. That's all I can say. It almost seems like ages ago even though it was only yesterday. I think things will progress, though.

The amusement of today overshadows the grief of yesterday. I woke up this morning, and after a bite to eat, descended into the town to watch the little Polynesian parade with some friends. The women shook their grass skirts vigorously with their hips while a band of drummers followed. A canoe race followed. Today was a day for strolling lazily through out the town with friends, grabbing an ice cream or a coca light. Very fun in its simplicity.

This evening my host parents took me to St. Tropez. Such a beautiful city. It reminded me much of Rome. Tiny streets, old buildings brightened with playful shutters, the ocean playing a soft rhythm against the large boulders by the beach. St. Tropez is quite a ritzy place as well. It's a town that reeks of money. Gigantic yachts sat expectantly on the port being washed by their crews clad in matching uniforms. Shoes were left strewn on the earth to not dirty the large sea vessels. Oh I felt like such a tourist as I snapped photo after photo, but I couldn't help myself. We went by the Gendarmerie and finished the trip with window shopping in the never ending store fronts. All can be found in St. Tropez: Dior, Louis Vuitton, Stuart Weitzman, Dolce and Gabbana, and many more names housed in the numerous boutiques. Such a lovely town overtaken by the snooty air of the extremely wealthy. I'm definitely glad I got to spend some time there, and I'd like to go back. However, I'm quite positive that it would not be the place for me to live.

I've picked up a new hobby recently. I've discovered that I quite enjoy finding out which country a car has come from. This is easily done in Europe because the license plates are all marked with the letter, or letters, that represent their country. St. Tropez housed quite a collection of countries. There were many plates from Italy, France (duh), Germany (which has a "D" on the license plate for Deutschland), and even a few from Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Monico. The best is when I find the UK cars. Not only is it a rare thing to find their license plates but also the steering wheel is on the right side instead of the left. Oh and on the drive home I saw the "L" for Luxembourg.