Update

So we're leaving for Rome tomorrow, and before I leave I just want to take in this awesome town one last time before I leave. Ah, Hyères. Quite honestly, I didn't really like this place when we first came, but it definitely grew on me. One of the parts that I absolutely love about some of these cities is that they still have their older beginnings, so we can literally walk through the town as one would centuries ago. Being an American doesn't really equal history considering, as of this writing, we're only about 234 years old, so what seems everyday for these people is just so amazing for me. By the way, in my stupid American unable-to-perform-simple-math self, I got the chills when I realized that we really are only 234 years old. I thought we were at least 300. Silly me.

Another cool thing that I really liked about the town was the French camp. While everyone there spoke English and for the most part didn't help out my French, it was fun interacting with the various people from different countries, getting a glimpse into each one as I met new people. The majority of people there were Russian, German and Spanish, which made me pretty distressed because the only language that I've studied in detail at all is French, so I couldn't understand Russian because it's a Slavic language and I couldn't understand German because, well, spoken German sounds somewhat different than how I'd read it, apart from the fact that they all sound chronically angry. Spanish was somewhat easier for me to understand, and when there actually were Italians there I could comprehend a great bit of what they were saying thanks to my previous experiences of hearing Italian followed by French followed by Italian again with the Mazzeis. If any of you are interested, the camp is called "Fondation La Navarre." Just don't visit during the school year because it's a place for trouble children.

One of the kids at the camp, Leo, is going to be in Paris for the following year, so we're planning on meeting up. Unfortunately, I think he'll be the only friend I made there that I'm going to see again. Although that might be a good thing depending on if I now want to learn French or German. Considering my three years of studying French, I think I'll decide to perfect it. German can wait along with Italian, although I might have to learn a few phrases in Italian if I wish to survive in the cold, Mafia-filled world of Calabria.

Speaking of the Mafia, my grandmother and aunt will be going to Italy with us, and when they expressed their desire to go out, all alone, in southern Italy without having learned the slightest bit of a Romance language or the ways of European (especially Italian) driving, my mother went absolutely berserk. Currently I'm supposed to accompany them, but I honestly have no idea how I'm supposed to converse with locals in Italian when I speak French, nor have I any idea how to help them drive when it's illegal for me to do so in Europe because I'm under 18. That, and the stickshift is an entirely new concept to me. I guess I'll have a lot of time to think about it, though: we'll head off for Rome on Saturday (July 31st) at 3am to avoid the omigod-its-really-hot-im-going-to-the-beach traffic, and after 2 weeks I'll have to make a decision whether I want to go with them or not. In the meantime, I'm just trying to look forward to tomorrow, because looking two jam-packed weeks ahead just isn't working for me.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, not falling asleep after a full day is fairly difficult.