E-mail Update

Dear friends and family,

I told you that I would update you a few weeks ago, and so finally here I am! In case you were wondering, my fractured nose is healing nicely. Right now it sports a tiny bump and a couple of scars, but it's not too noticeable. Other than tracking the recovery of my sniffer, I have been enjoying la vie française!

Since I last e-mailed you, I've been on some excursions, my favorite so far being in Bayeux. It's absolutely one of the most charming towns I have ever seen, and if you're ever in Normandie, make sure you spend part of a day there. I think we'll go back for Thanksgiving to eat at the restaurant we went to—best food we've had in France so far! Next week I'll be going to Paris for the first time, and I'm so excited! We'll be visiting Pere Lachaise on Halloween—spooky. In two weeks we'll have some days off of school and I will be staying with my host grandparents in Deauville for a party for students involved with the Twin Cities organization. I'm here on scholarship because Lexington is Deauville's sister city.

Caen is treating me as well as the places I've been visiting. The classes are challenging and the professors are so sweet and patient. Though my kitchen contains only two burners and a sink, I've been managing to find things in the store that do not require refrigeration, microwaving, baking, or any more utensils than a pot and a spoon, that actually aren't bad! My favorite of my meals is pasta with basil pesto. I'm aware that pesto needs to be refrigerated, but part of the challenge of cooking here is lowering one's standards for what needs to be kept cold…

Despite the fact that Caen isn't a very big city, there's a lot to do. Last Friday I went with two French friends, Emilie and Marie, to go see the opera of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was in English with French subtitles. I enjoyed it very much, as did the other two girls. I think I'll be seeing Le Mariage de Figaro in Paris next month. It makes being away from my voice lessons and voice teacher at UK so, so difficult.

That's all for now! Thank you so much for your e-mails, prayers, Skypes, phone calls, and your letters. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to hear from people I love, especially because some Americans have a Crazy Switch flipped in their brains once their feet hit European ground (but let's not go there)! All of my mail is put on my wall to add some color to my room. I really, really appreciate it.

Á bientôt!

Suzanne Emmert