A weekend of Castles and Comraderie

Hello!
It has been awhile since my last post and sooo much has happened, but I will try not to ramble. Almost right after I got to Nantes I and all of the other IES students left for a petit sejour in Tours-a city along the Loire River. It was a glamorous orientation complete with three course meals(2 per day), ice breakers, and castles (also 2 per day). There was also a three hour placement exam, but that is not nearly as exciting as the rest. It was absolutely magnifique to see all of the snow-covered chateaux! The interiors of some of the chateaux were restored and we were able to see the luxurious bedroom of Francois I. What's not so luxurious is that the beautiful bed he slept in also house his wife, his children, maybe an uncle or aunt, his mistress(right alongside his wife, which to me seems positively scandalous), and the royal dogs and cats. I guess families were a little closer back then.
It was also nice to have a weekend to get to know some of the people in my program. There is quite a cornucopia of people who came to study in Nantes. There are some people who are really smart, and also some who aren't so smart. There are some who love to go out, and others who prefer books. Toss in a hipster and some southerners, lost of coasties, a volunteer fanatic and a bro and voila. You have my fellow IES-ers. I am making some friends, but I still don't know everyone's name. It's been a little harder to really connect with people lately because we are forbidden to speak in English. As much as I love French, it is hard for me to really express myself and say exactly what I mean...and that is wearing me out fo sho!

Edit: I like to think that I add a dirty hippie dynamic to the bunch.