tours!

A week ago, today, I arrived in the largest city in the Loire Valley, Tours. This area is known for its chèvre and white wine. Pictured above is me and my friend Christy. We were both (as well as everyone else in the group) SO nervous about meeting our new host families. Turns out that the woman I'm living with is originally from Algeria. Her french is very good, but she also speaks Arabic! What are the odds? She speaks very little english (knows maybe 20 words max), so we speak only in French. We sometimes greet each other in Arabic, just to spice things up. She is a very good cook also. I've told her that I like middle eastern food, so she has been feeding me things that remind me of my childhood. Lots of couscous, tabouleh and olives. She made this amazing stuffed zucchini dish earlier in the week that was so good that I demanded she provide me with the recipe. She said she didn't have one.. she made it up. Just the kind of cooking I adore.