A week left and there remains plenty to do and see. Today though I managed to pack quite a bit in: I’m trying to work through a list before I have to leave. It seems to be always the same experience as the end of a stay approaches – that all the things one wants to do have yet to be done. And time runs out. As Baudelaire said, “le Temps mange la vie” (Time wastes life away).

Instead of our usual two-hour Friday class, our teacher took us to the Musée de la Vie Bourguignonne, where there are artifacts and exhibits showcasing daily life in 18th/19th century Dijon. There was even a model street with model shops dating from the turn of the century. We had a guided tour, which was surprisingly comprehensible. It might have been just because today is one of those days where one feels really comfortable with the language and conversation. When learning a language in situ, one always has ups and downs, days where one cannot express anything. But then there are days where one can go on and on, and it feels great. So today and yesterday have felt like that, and I am happy.

Then five of us from USC went with our professor to a town called Bèze about 30 kilometers outside of Dijon (so in the country). I am not sure exactly what is so special about the town, though. We had lunch in a nice restaurant (duck, wine, cheese, crème caramel) and then wandered a bit. We then got a tour of some caves, where there is an underground river (or source) which feeds the River Bèze. It was quite nice. The cool thing is what is called a formule. It is essentially a lunch menu, usually fairly cheap, that includes the main plate, sometimes an entrée, cheese, desert, and coffee. It arrives in courses, and all one has to do is order it (without specifying the dishes, because they are predetermined). Extremely efficient and extremely good – typically French, I might say.

A free weekend awaits. Tomorrow I am going to Lyon for the day, just to wander around with the other two guys from USC. Yes, we are outnumbered greatly by females…10 to 3 or something like that. Lyon is supposed to be the food capital of France, so I am looking forward to what I will find. And yesterday I saw the film Valse avec Bashir (Waltz with Bashir), a somewhat surreal, animated (in the A Scanner Darkly style) film about the 1982 Sidon massacre and an Israeli soldier’s recurring nightmares about it. I recommend it, although I am going to have to watch it again in English to make sure I understand everything.

CLICK THESE WORDS to view my latest photo album (pictures from Bèze and Dijon).