Bonjour!

I made it to France as planned. I arrived at Lyon airport and found my group as instructed. I quickly passed out on the bus and missed the entire hour plus bus ride to Yssingeaux (pronounced E-sang-joux). My head bobbed the whole time. When we arrived at the chateau, we were taken to our individual rooms to drop off bags and then quickly taken to lunch. For the first two weeks on weekdays we'll be eating at a little restaurant in town. Friday they served lettuce and shredded carrots with dressing. The main dish was boeuf beuvignon. However I was given two eggs bavette (runny) as I don't eat beef. Here's a pic of my first breakfast (or lunch as it turned out). The salade speciale, sans meat. Complete with a bavette egg on top. Apologies for its sideways appearance. Please rotate your head to the right.

The group is small and female dominated. We represent several countries. Three from the States, one Canadian, one Romanian, one Singaporian, one Swiss, and one Peruvian guy. I sort of feel like I'm on an season of the Real World Yssingeaux. Hopefully there won't be too much drama. I'm really just interested in making cakes.

The last two days I've spent exploring the little town and sizing up my fellow students. I have been reminded once again how much I enjoy my solitude. I love meeting new people, and I can be quite social. But I find if it's forced upon me, I tend to want the opposite. Group outings are not my thing. Don't know why. But it seems to be more and more true the older I get. Here is a shot of the main road in the city center.


So we are the first international class at this pastry school, and the little town does not get many tourists. Needless to say, we stand out. The eight of us together create a scene. Especially since there's really only one of us that speaks French. The Canadian translates menus and acts as our interpreter in restaurants. She's great to have around. Yesterday a photographer from the local paper came and took our photo and asked a bunch of questions. I don't know what she asked or what was answered, but I'll post the picture and article when it's published.

I managed to find a public hiking path behind the chateau. It was described to me as a running/walking path. Um, I probably won't be jogging up that steep hill, but hopefully it'll help me counterbalance the pastries.

I've published other photos here. (or copy/paste this link http://photocast.me.com/lee_jackie/iPhoto/france-11-04-10/index.rss) I think you can subscribe to the RSS feed and you'll get updates as I get them updated. I think. Have a look and if you have any trouble just let me know.

The first day of class starts tomorrow and I really can't wait to get into a routine. My attention span for wandering around is about two days max, so I've reached my threshold. It's time to get to work. I'm especially excited to dive into French class. As I've said, Yssingeaux is not a tourist town and the people I've encountered so far speak as much English as I speak French. So our communication has been limited. I think they can tell I'm trying, but we end up shrugging our shoulders and smiling, as there's nothing to else to do. Oh well. I'll improve. C'est la vie.

Off to bed now. Bonsoir!