Today we started class. My professor's name is Florence. She is very animated and seems to want us to have fun. We spent the entire two hours talking about ourselves. After class, I went to lunch with some girls and had un panini jambon (ham) and un croissant.  It was wonderful! We went to H&M, as it was conveniently across the street, and I bought a cheap dress. About half of my MSU group had difficulty taking the placement test online prior to arriving in Tours (myself included), and had to return to the school to take it this afternoon. Needless to say, it seems everyone did not understand at least a portion of it. I'm not alone! After the exam, I went with some more people from MSU and explored la ville de Tours! We discovered les Jardins des Prébendes d'Oé (the largest garden in Tours), la Piscine Bozon (one of Tours' swimming pools), and l'église Saint-Etienne (http://www.patrimoine-histoire.fr/Patrimoine/Tours/Tours-Saint-Etienne.htm). It was probably my favorite part of the day.

Les Jardins

We got to feed little ducklings! They were everywhere in the park.

l'église Saint-Etienne

     For dinner, Hugette was not here, but she prepared a pasta dish that Ayoko made. It was penne with tomatoes, eggplant, some kind of lettuce, and feta cheese. It was delicious!! This was, of course, in addition to la salade, le fromage (cheese), le pain (bread), and le pudding that we have every day!
     I know there is an American stereotype that the French are snobby and rude.  When I went to Paris last time I was in France, this was true. However in Tours, c'est le contraire! Yesterday, when I bought my sandwich et frites, the owner let me have a bottled water for free! He refused my money and said to have a bonne journée. I will never forget his kindness :)