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 - housing, because I just found out who my host stay family is!

No, I haven't actually met them yet, but the people running the EAP program gave us papers that each respective host stay family had filled out, stating their names, contact information, and a little information about their households. The entire room cheered when the time finally came to pass them out, and of course, all of us UC students immediately devoured the writing and tried to figure out the most we could out of what little was written.

The first hurdle to pass was actually not the language, but the handwriting. I was lucky enough to have a questionnaire which was mostly typed, but even I had trouble with the short note that was written on the bottom which (I think) ended up saying that I should pack a small bag for going to the pool this weekend. Others, though, had papers that were entirely written in messy handwriting, and we spent a lot of time squinting over those.

The second hurdle to pass was, predictably, the language. This part was actually pretty easy for the most part, since the questionnaire was simple and the vocabulary easy. One group of three pondered over the word "chasse" which was written under hobbies, wondering which of the many dictionary-definitions it meant. (Apparently I was right when I said 'hunting,' because it seems a more likely hobby than treasure hunting, snow plowing, or toilet flushing.)

After figuring out exactly what the papers said came trying to make the most of the information that was there. One friend had a paper that said 'chats' (cats) and wondered if they had two or fifty. Another friend who lived extremely close to campus actually went to walk surreptitiously by the place so she could see what it looked like. Most of us didn't go that far, but we did google-map the addresses, making due use of street view and comparing distances to the nearest tram stops. It's amusing to me how far we'll go to get this information, even though we'll find out in a few short days! It just goes to show, never underestimate the combined power of curiosity and the internet.

Oh, and for those of you that are curious, here is what I know: I will apparently be living with an older, non-smoking couple that doesn't have pets but does have Wifi. They like to go to the movies, play bridge, and take walks in their spare time, and would not have liked to harbor a vegetarian for four months. For more information, please ask after Friday.