strangely enough, I long for structure

Just as I had  been informed, absolutely nothing happens in France on Sunday. If you're a Catholic (which I am not, but my host family is) there is mass, but other than that? Not much. I was quite prepared to read all day long and start some research on where to travel on weekends, but my host father decided to show me the Musée de la vie Bourguignonne. It was a short walk from where I'm living and like most museums in France, it's free and open to the public. Museums are strangely not open on Tuesdays but some of them are on Sundays. I don't quite understand the logic of it, but then again, my first week in France has proved that there is a lot that makes absolutely no sense.

The museum itself reminded me a lot of the Shelburne Museum in Vermont (which to date is my favorite museum). It isn't necessarily a museum that is a collection of different buildings - each of which is a different sort of exhibit - but it does show quite marvelously what life was like for the people of Burgundy generations ago. I also gathered that my host father knew quite a lot about the museum and perhaps about the history of Burgundy because he explained every exhibit to me. It was very nice of him, and I didn't expect it at all.

Even though the museum was quite interesting, I got tired of it after a while. The exhibits weren't less interesting, it's just that museums can become mind-numbing after a while. We didn't go through the entire museum though, so that'll have to be saved for another day.

Due to the fact that nothing is open on Sundays, my host family allowed me to store a little bit of food in the refrigerator. I bought myself a baguette and then some chicken  (deli style unfortunately, but you do what you must) and my host parents let me use some of their mustard so that I could have one sandwich for lunch and then another (this time on toasted baguette!) for dinner. I was glad I didn't have any trouble eating but I long to make a bit of pasta or have a grilled cheese sandwich and unfortunately I don't think that's a possibility.

On Monday we attempted to get our University IDs but found there was more paperwork to fill out. I had all the extra paper-work they needed there, but unfortunately we had to schedule an appointment to give the paperwork and to get the IDs. It's another lesson in French Bureaucracy, but one I'm beginning to just accept.

Lastly, I really want classes to start, or at least for activities organized by CIEF to start because while wandering is nice, the structure of classes or an activity would be greatly appreciated.