Happy 4th of July!

Désolé pour mon retard! Happy 4th of July everyone! And secondly, Happy Venezuelan Independence Day to all of the Venezuelan students on the trip! America's birthday couldn't have been any better. Today a few friends and I ate chocolate croissants for breakfast with café. The chocolate, bread, butter… it literally melts in your mouth. After a quick breakfast, our group assembled to hear some more instructions about the day. A language placement test was given and we are now officially divided for instruction. Having some free time, Dani, Kara, and I ventured into a French mall (Now, it may not be a mall to them, but to me it was definitely giving off that vibe!). Although surrounded by a variety of stores, there was a supermarket right in the middle, and obviously many dogs all around us and the food, which is definitely not American! Seizing the opportunity, we stocked up on some essentials for our apartments and headed back to the residence. Lunch is usually very leisurely here so a few friends and I took some time to cook in our apartments! The teriyaki chicken and rice was delicious, and cooking on our own doesn't seem to be a problem for anyone in the program. Thankfully, no fires. Lunch was followed by our first elective class. I am participating in the photography course here, along with about 20 other students. Although a large group, we were still able to accomplish some basic understanding of famous French photographers at a contemporary exhibition just a few blocks away. Our instructor, Max, informed us that everyone has a different point of view; therefore, there is no one correct way to take a photograph. We were able to split off into small groups shortly after and given more time to explore Nice and experiment with our cameras. On the way, we obviously had to stop for some gelato. The group reassembled to make our own picnics and have a Fourth of July celebration on the beach. Note to all: the beach here is rocky! However, it does come with a lot of positives qualities. Because of the absence of sand, the water is clear, warm, beautiful, etc. The beach was followed by an adventurous night to a DJ concert in a popular square just a few minutes walk from the residence. My group and I, as well as many others, did not stay for long but continued to walk around the city and learn to navigate the streets at night. Nice is a very lively place with all ages gathering in different areas. One thing I have noticed here so far is that age does not dictate where people might hang out. Au revoir for now!