well hello hello. it's been quite some time since i last wrote. i apologize in advance if there are weird typings in this text as the computers on campus have the letters rearranged so it makes things interesting and definitely slows down my typing speed. much has happened since i last wrote so i'll start off from where i last left off. the night that i left england, we all went to pizzamania - all you can eat pizza and pasta and salad and pop for 5 pounds - it was delicious and exciting and we also went to drydock - the bar in a boat. it was highly amusing. i left leeds around 12.30 am and made it to london around 6.30 am on sunday morning. kate and the rest of the flatmates walked me over and waved as i pulled out - it was awesome. when i got to london i had nooooo idea where i was going but i thought i would be fine because i would just ask people. but i had forgotten to take into account that it was very early on a weekend. so nobody was around and i was lost so i just started walking around trying to find the right bus stop and after an hour or so i found the right one and lugged my suitcase onto the city bus - which was a double decker!!! and made my way to the waterloo station - and i kept singing that really great ABBA song while i was there. i got to the waterloo eurostar station too early so i had to wait outside for a few hours so i sat on my suitcase and read da vinci code which i cant seem to put down. then i boarded the eurostar but i don't remember much because i think i slept the whole time but i was sitting right next to a bunch of australian backpackers. it took less than 2 hours to get to lille and when i arrived i was met by one of the international centre interns and she drove me to the dorms. i live in the st. michel dorm and i'm on the third floor but that really means the fourth floor and thus i've become a queen of stairs here because they do not have any elevators or escalators anywhere. the stairs to the third floor of cameron will be much easier next year i suspect. the residence is really really old and kinda cool but also kinda creepy as the lights are on timers so they turn off all the time. we also only have one toilet that works on our whole floor but for some reason that hasn't been an issue yet. there is one other toilet but the toilet touches the door when it's closed so there's no room for you to sit. strange. we have a big garden/backyard and we have one computer for the whole dorm which is in the basement which seriously looks like a dungeon. *** new material*** well it's monday afternoon here and we have a break for a couple of hours before we go to the musee des beaux-arts which is apparently the second largest art museum in france after the louvre. last week was pretty fun but i'm still having small bouts of home sickness but they usually only last a couple of hours. last week went by pretty fast. every morning we have breakfast in the dorm which consists of toast, jam or nutella and then a hot drink. then french classes go from 9 until noon after which we head to the cafeteria for lunch. there are a few cafterias to choose from in close proximity but i have found that i like the salad bar (called freshup) and the sandwhicherie. after lunch we often have free time where i'll either go to the computer lab, tidy up, read, walk around or go grocery shopping. then we often have some sort of activity and then it's dinner at the cafeteria again and then we usually hang out or go out during the evening. i think i'm being too detailed so sorry if this is somewhat boring. so last week was pretty much just settling in and then twice we went to the pirates of the carribean bar. it's quite fun and has a student-life kind of atmosphere and i've been able to meet some interesting folk while there including some guys from spain on the first night and some guys from lille on the second night. i have come to realize that guys are much more likely to approach you here than compared to edmonton. it's funny. on saturday i went to disneyland near paris. it was quite a bundle of fun although it remains to be megamega hot (probably mid 30s) and there were tons of people. but it was a blast and the rides were very similar to those in disneyland and disneyworld except the space mountain was revamped and the indiana jones ride was a roller coaster and was excellent!!! sunday morning we went to the market d'oizemes and i bought my food for the day and in the afternoon we went to this huge park and sat and read and did homework. it was incredibly lovely. and lille has a free zoo nearby that i'll be sure to visit later. for each of the remaining wednesdays we are heading off to different places in belgium. this wednesday we're going to bruges, the next wednesday we're off to flanders and the last wednesday will be spent in bruxelles. i'm just about to finish the da vinci code so i think that sometime this week i'll head over with some fellow class mates to see the movie en français. oooo la la!! as well, lille has the largest book store in western europe (i think it has 5 levels) so i think i'll i shall be exploring that quite often. this upcoming weekend some people are thinking of going to amsterdam and some are thinking of going to nice. i haven't really made up my mind. but the weekend after that (my last full weekend here) i'll be going to a small-ish city (le touquet) on the english channel. but nothing is really set in stone - everyone is always changing their minds about what to do so i sometimes get a bit frazzled. anyways, my mom should be calling soon so i should run to the building where she can call. i hope everyone is doing extremely well and i shall talk to you later - salut!!  ¶ 3:35 AM