Once a Treekid, Always a Treekid

I never thought that living in the Treehouse last semester would help prepare me for life in France. I was completely wrong. Energy use, at least for my hosts, is very important. One of the first things Catherine told me when I got here was to try and take only five minute showers. Luckily after living in the Treehouse last semester I have perfected the art of turning the water on and off while taking a shower. I also discovered today after doing my laundry for the first time that my hosts don't have a dryer. Looks like I'll be air drying all of my clothes again. Good thing I'm an expert on that as well! Furthermore, it's always dark in the house. They only turn on lights when somebody is in a room and it's absolutely necessary. Score one for the environment! When we think of France in the US we think of wine and cheese and luxury. While there is plenty of wine and cheese around, thinking about your relationship to energy is just as important. I'm beyond grateful to have been a Treekid last semester because if I hadn't lived there, adjusting to life in France may have been even more of a challenge. Sending lots of love to my Treekids!

And in case you're wondering what I've been up to these past couple of days, I picked out the classes that I'll be taking at le Mirail and went to a piano concert at Les Abattoirs, the contemporary art museum in Toulouse. This semester I will be taking: Literature and Painting from the 16th century to the 18th century, 20th century Art History, Gothic Art, Hellenistic Art in Egypt, Prehistoric and Celtic Art, and Medieval Mural Painting. I'm really only taking three classes but each class is made up of two other classes so in reality I'm taking six different classes. It's definitely different from Dickinson. As far as the piano concert goes, it was incredible. The pianist was only 21. Only 21! Insanity. The concert was held in front of a huge Picasso work which I really enjoyed. The combination of music and art made for an excellent evening.

Piano and Picasso

Me and Kathleen!