A song a thousand miles long.

Well, nothing as exciting as the last update has happened yet. This past weekend was stunningly beautiful. It was great to be able to wear short sleeves and jeans and lounge around in the sun. The sun! I even got a bit pink, and Im so excited. Before I came to Grenoble, I (mistakenly) thought it'd be winter until May. Well, I was wrong. And I can't recall a time when Ive been so happy to be wrong.
The skies were blue, the mountains clear, the temperature perfect.
There's a jazz festival going on right now in Grenoble. Laura, Gothy and I climbed to the top of the Bastille Saturday to watch a band play. It was so relaxed and fun- just a bunch of people at the top of the Bastille listening to music. Amazing. Reminded me of Austin.
The other day I was in the car with Isabelle, my host mom, and I saw the first few wildflowers poking their petals out of the ground. I immediately thought of bluebonnet covered fields next to the highway and Indian paintbrush, etc. Spring is arriving- slowly but surely.
And with that, comes the rain. It rained again this morning, but Im always happy to see it because then I can wear my pink American Eagle galoshes. They were bulky in my suitcase and took up a ton of space, but now Im finally glad I did it. Even if I do get a few strange looks from the color-less Frenchmen.
Im excited to go to Nice next weekend (April 7th). Nice and Monaco. I hope the weather stays perfect- or warmer. I could handle warmer.
I would definitely enjoy warmer.
Im proud of my walk I took on Sunday with Laura. It lasted two and a half hours and I now feel as if I could describe myself as "sporty," "sportive" if you will, in French. I am loving the outdoors right now- it was pure heaven to sit outside and finish my book the other day- and am currently scouting camping locations in the South of France for the 5/6 of May. Time is flying by- April, deja! Mais, non!- and it's just crazy. I can't even clearly articulate it.
It's just crazy. This entire experience.
And some things are so entirely similar. Such as, Veronique drove home the other day from her friend's house. The way Isabelle clutched the door handle, and murmured prayers and gave instructions in a voice that was entirely not her own- I thought of Mom or Dad with Kaitlin at the wheel, when she first began to drive.
And then I thought of India's early driving career (I specified early) when we were all hanging on for dear life.
It wasn't quite like that, but it was all so similar. And Veronique watched Grease the other day and is now singing it all the time. It was fun to try and explain how "Do-wop" and words like that don't really mean anything.
They just sound cool.
And of course, that was met with a puzzled expression as well.

Last night we watched The Wizard Of Oz together. Thank you Tante and Phil! It was so funny- I can't recall at what age I was when I first watched it, but it was always magical to me. I told Vero that it was an American classic and she just had to watch it. So we watched it- dubbed in French with English subtitles. It was great, and Im pretty sure she enjoyed it. I hope so.

Class is going fine. Today is a HUGE day of strikes for France- I think I overheard even the airports. Yet, I still have class. Half the country may be closed down, but I still have class. Tonight Vero is going to help me dye my hair. That should be a bonding experience.

Nothing else is really new. I hope everyone is well. And I promise photos soon.
Bisous,
Chelsea