Mountains! and Classes

So because I said I would, and also because it is relevant and potentially a little bit interesting, my schedule of classes.

Monday: I have no classes! I'm going to get spoiled with this three day weekend stuff.
Tuesday: I have FOUR HOURS of French class from 8h30 to 12h30, first "techniques" and then "travaux". Travaux we have three times a week and the prof is lovely and the work is relevant and interesting. The Techniques I don't find very interesting or particularly useful so it's rather dull. Then in the afternoon I have translation, which is supposed to be just for English speakers but also randomly has a bunch of Chinese kids who I think think they speak better English than they do. Personally I would not want to translate from one foreign language to another but to each his own.
Wednesday: Travaux Pratiques again in the morning and then in the afternoon 20th Century history of France with a professor who also happens to be our WONDERFUL academic advisor!
Thursday: This is my day for real university classes. I have a class that's in comparative literature with a really lovely prof. We are starting out with the Inferno and ending with War and Peace but other than those two works I haven't read anything else. The prof was very happy and pleased to see an international student and so hopefully that will be good. The other course I'm taking with some other BU students; the topic is 20th century lit and the focus for now at least seems to be this poet Appolinaire. French students are very judgemental and unfriendly when you are a few minutes late to class and that is all I shall say about that class for now.
Friday: Just Travaux Pratiques in the morning! French Universities usually don't have class the afternoon so people here tend to go skiing and such. Quite luxurious.

Thus, my semester!

This weekend was actually very lovely. On Saturday we had originally kind of planned to go to the Musee de Grenoble but then the weather was so lovely we decided to take the boules (like a gondola thing) up the Bastille! Above see them--so cute!

The Bastille is this fort that was originally constructed in the 17th century but then redone in the 19th, so most of the construction is more recent. There are these cool caves dug into the mountain and all kind of mazelike things so there are beautiful views and crazy places to explore. One imagines it could host a really nuts game of Capture the Flag. 

The views were pretty spectacular too!

The Alps are a pretty cool place, all in all.
After hiking and exploring we stopped for some vin chaud (bien sur!) and then hiked the way down, which was really quite pleasant though occasionally a little steep. That night for dinner we got some kebabs and then felt the need for dessert and so wandered into a cafe that we were maybe a little to riffraffy American for but nonetheless I enjoyed a quite excellent creme brulee.

Missing you all here!
Love,
Miriam