Nothing too interesting to report. February has been a long and boring month, and it's only half way done. On thursday we had our Journée de Sportif, so instead of school we do an outdoor activity. I signed up for sledding, but sadly there is no snow, so instead I went on a 5 mile hike through Switzerland. Exhausting but fun!

About 2 hours into the hike

I finally got to meet some of the newbies who arrived from Australia and New Zealand! It's really weird to be sitting here giving advice to them when half the time I don't even know what I'm doing. They're asking if the french gets easier, if the homesickness goes away, if I'm happy here. and of course my answer is yes to all of those. but it's a hesitant yes. Of course the french gets easier, but I still don't expect to understand everything or be able to truly express everything I want to say. Homesickness never really goes away, you just get used to the feeling of missing someone or something. To say "i miss you'' in french you say 'tu me manques' which literally means "I lack you" which I think is very fitting. When you're missing someone you're lacking their presence in your everyday life, but after awhile it becomes normal to have that small hole in your life. and the main question they've been asking, "are you happy here?" Sometimes it can be frustrating here, when you sit at school all day with the teachers speaking rapid french and the students joking about something you don't understand. Those days, I get frustrated and angry at myself for coming here in the first place. But then all I have to do is step outside and see the mountains and I start to smile again. Because they still manage to amaze me after all this time. So of course the answer is yes. Yes, I'm happy I'm here. It's different and harder than I thought, but still amazing. I spend my days staring at snow covered mountains, taking trains and reading books in french. How can you be unhappy with a life like that?

Graffiti near my favorite bar

homes empty, prisons full