So long absent

I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up this blog as well as I had hoped. I guess June has been a bit on the slow side. Plus our Internet is spotty at best (grr). So, here are a few updates if anyone's interested:

Yesterday was Music Day! It was kind of funny because all the music I heard in the hour or so I attended was traditional French folk music--like, hand organs and accordions. And the dancing was very folky. But it's part of how they keep their culture alive, which is cool, and I have to say everyone seemed to be having a great time. I met up with some of Josh's classmates there, where we also ran into their chef, her husband (who's also a chef and works at the school) and their daughter. We saw a few other people who work at the school and a host of local business owners I recognized from daily interactions, like the guy who works at the tabac/papier store where I bought the insanely expensive stamps for Josh and my final visa appointment next week; the woman who owns the boulangerie near our house; the woman who runs the counter at the chocolate shop downtown; and the poissonerie owner, who cooked up some amazing-looking paella for the festivities. What's really cool is that, in seeing these people again and again they've begun to recognize me and now we have conversations beyond, "Bonjour, je voudrais ..." (hello, I would like ...). I'm starting to feel like part of the community!

This week is ice cream week for Josh's class. I've heard about chocolate, caramel, various fruit flavors, Bailey's ... Can't wait for the buffet today when I can taste some of them!

Tonight Josh, Clovis and I are hosting a dinner party in our apartment for the class, chef and some others from school. Should be a fun night! Josh is making Indian tacos (Native American tacos, for which he'll hand make and fry bread). And ice cream for dessert. Yum!

And, tomorrow we head to Lyon. Everyone from Josh's class except one is coming, and we'll stay the night before returning to Yssingeaux Sunday with Lizzie's boyfriend, who's flying in from South Africa to visit for a few weeks.

Next week brings a few notable highlights as well: Monday the class goes to the Valhrona chocolate factory(!) and I get to go along(!!!). And later next week I go with them again when we finalize our long-stay visas. Mine's a little different because it's a visitor visa, not a student visa, but the school has been very helpful in setting up everything for me as well as Josh and the rest of his class.