Food. Cheese.

The week has gone by and I've still got two class I haven't attended yet. Hopefully I can sort it all out on Monday. I think I'm almost ready to officially register for classes (that's due in a couple of weeks). The system is so weird. My poetry class meets every other week. My ancien français class doesn't meet again until March. It's hard to say what's going to be the hardest. I'll let you know by the end of the semester.

I don't have any huge plans this weekend. It's a bit cold here, and I haven't been to keen on ranging very far. That being said, I did do a bit of shopping yesterday, again at the french mall. I bought some carrots and some weird looking french apples. And I got some postcards and biscuits (cookies). And tea (it's cold). I've gotten some sausage and chicken from the reduced rack. Oh, and wine. Good wine is one thing that can be pretty cheap here.

The cheese isn't very expensive either. I can now say I've tried Roquefort, which I'm sure Amelia's going to love. Basically, it's bleu cheese, but it's made from sheep's milk and it's aged in caves in the region from which it gets its name. Legend has it that a shepherd left a bit of his cheese by accident in such a cave and returned a few months later to pleasantly rediscover his molded morsel was delicious. What fun. Like many gastronomic products in France, the label is directly tied to the location, for example, bubbly is only called champagne if it's come from Champagne. I think that's kind of neat.

Speaking of cheese, I forgot to mention that last Friday I had raclette with my host family. It's the same idea as fondue (melted cheese). It's kind of like a mini-oven with trays in which to place your cheese or meat and slots in the oven to melt it. Once it reaches the desired consistency, you pour it over a boiled potato. It was very good. Served with bacon, ham, chorizo. Good.

I'm heading out with a friend tonight, so I'll share some of my escapades from yesterday afternoon (books) and this evening (beer) tomorrow.

Oh, and I got my memory card. Hopefully I'll have some pictures up soon.