Waking up today felt different than previous mornings because the sun had already made it far enough over the mountains to shine in through the slits in the window covers. This was a good start to the day - waking up in the dark has been somewhat disorienting. Last night I went to the hospital, where Anne's dad works, to have my knee x-rayed because I slipped on some stairs at the castle. All's well in the ACL department but they're having me wear a brace for the next few days just to keep it stable.

The hospitals in France only bare subtle differences from our own - I didn't get to see much, as we were in and out pretty quick, but there was a very friendly ambiance in the halls and the rooms, and the doctor and nurses were very nice and sociable, even with the language barrier.

So with my dress and my matching blue brace on, we left for the cinema, where all the American and French students were meeting up with the teachers to go see President Obama's speech at the Rhenus sports arena. We were chauferred to an ice rink across the street and waited there for an hour or so, just mingling and eating lunch. Then we crossed the street and passed through some intense security and then took our seats to wait another two hours for the president to arrive.

When he did, his speech was short and to the point, but highly moving and an amazing thing to hear from only a few hundred feet away. It was humbling realizing everything he was talking about - countries uniting in these difficult times, helping those who need it, the importance of international relations - were issues our generation is going to be dealing with in the near future. I'm incredibly grateful to be in France, in this entirely new country and culture and surrounded by such beautiful people and places and languages. We're so small compared to everything else that's out there, and this trip and President Obama's words have made this even more evident.

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