by Kathryn K. This past week has been jam packed with adventures. We have started our French classes as well as our electives, and have gotten settled into our new homes. With morning courses and afternoon adventures to Nice, our weekdays have been a nonstop ride. I’ve decided to stop bringing much money with me after all of the shopping I did, but it’s sale time and it’s so hard to resist the five euro clothing at H&M. I’ve already learned a lot of new French and it’s interesting to learn what words the family actually uses frequently. 
The weather has been unseasonably stormy, so not all of our beach days have resulted in us actually venturing into the sea, but even just sitting on the beach enjoying the view is tranquil. We’ve also been doing some more nighttime activities, including some interesting night soccer games and dinners out with the family. We have been to botanical gardens, a waterpark, Nice, Cannes, and Monaco . Their waterparks are pretty much the same as the ones in the states, and it was a blast. 
Cannes involved more shopping, gawking at both the incredible cars and the exorbitant price tags in just about every designer store you could ever think of. It’s not hard to understand why the rich and famous want to visit, with the beautiful beaches and town. Monaco was a short bus ride away, and I explored the palace while some of the group went to the Museum of Oceanography. We then proceeded to a perfumery which was yet another gorgeous locale. That night was the World Cup final, so most of us stayed together in the next town over and watched the game on a giant screen on the beach. We ate traditional local food and got bedecked in Argentinean colors, preparing ourselves for what would be a long and exciting match. We were disappointed when Argentina lost, but it was still fun. The next day, Bastille day, my roommate and I stayed home and spent time with our homestay family. We ended up going bowling and playing with their grandchildren. It’s hard to believe it’s been just over a week since we got here!
More information about our program in St Laurent here