hot chocolate and a rainy evening

I'm enjoying quite the relaxing evening over here! I have no homework except to study briefly for a petit test in my Culture class tomorrow, and I'm all warm and cozy in my room, drinking hot chocolate and enjoying the rain outside of my window (I find it funny that 90% of my milk consumption goes to making hot chocolate, haha). Today was a pretty laid-back day, as far as classes and my always present To-Do list go. Kris arrives tomorrow, so of course I'm eagerly counting down the hours until I pick him up at the train station! Lucky for me, I don't have class until 16:00 on Mondays, so I had plenty of time to clean, do laundry, run some errands, and get things all prepped for his arrival several days in advance.

I recently discovered that I can stream 98.1 KING FM online, so I've been drowning myself in Seattle's choice of classical music anytime I'm hanging out in my room. It's wonderful to have a never-ending supply of fantastic music, and I don't even mind the commercials that they play; they're all pertaining to Seattle events and businesses, so it's *almost* like I'm getting a little bit of home ( not that I miss it at all, of course ;) ).

My Saturday spent at La Baule was awesome!! Oh my goodness, what a beautiful beach!! I went with my friend Mari (another American, but from a different university), and we had a great time wading in the Atlantic Ocean, stalking the people who were digging for clams and mussels in the morning, eating plenty of delicious gourmet chocolate, and joking about kidnapping French kids. It was a fairly nice day- in the 60s and partly cloudy. We both definitely made the most of our time on the beach. I absolutely LOVE sitting in the sand and listening to the waves come in while watching all the people walking around on the beach.

I'm so glad I'm here!!! I can't imagine not doing this. This whole experience has been everything I hoped it would be and then so much more. I love France; I love the people and the culture and everything I've gotten the chance to do so far. I'm so glad I still have lots of time for more adventures! I already can't wait to come back for a job or an internship or something after I graduate. And so, the planner begins scheming yet again... :)