I don't think I've ever tried so many new things within such a short period of time before. Speaking French is confusing and somewhat embarrassing considering I know nothing about the language, but it's been a necessity as Anne's parents are not fluent in English. Our conversations so far only consist of, "Ah, bonjour! ça va?" on their end and an awfully pronounced and somewhat timid, "Bonjour - oui, ça va," on mine. Our best conversations, and most well understood, have consisted of hand gestures, smiles and nods, and some translation from Anne. It's definitely fun and often hilarious trying to understand each other.
The food, of course, is much different and what is the same is so much more delicious here than back home! I've never particularly enjoyed onions or tomatoes but here I could eat them at every meal. Tea, also, is popular and very, very good. At every meal I've tried to learn something new in French - tonight it was cuillère (spoon), fourchette (fork) and couteau (knife), none of which I can pronounce properly, but I know them now nonetheless.
St. Etienne's was beautiful today, as was Strasbourg during our boat tour (what Anne called the bateau-mouche) and ground tour. The cathedral was amazing and so vast it was almost surreal being inside. The clock was ancient and magnificent; the largest one featuring a sort of clock with seven hands for seven planets with a sun center and zodiac signs from medieval days where numerals would be. The hand with the farthest planet, Saturn, rotates around it's sun center just as the real planet does - fifteen years from now, we could return to the cathedral in Strasbourg and Saturn's hand would have only made half a revolution.
I hope I do get to return in fifteen years, or sooner, because Strasbourg is beautiful and colorful and full of culture.