So I haven't updated at all since last weekend because this last week has been full of classes and getting homework done. Unfortunately I still have a 400 word essay to do by Tuesday but it will somehow get done. We also had a very busy, but fun-filled Wednesday this week. After class ended at 1pm I went with Caroline and Emily to my new favorite fresh pasta cafe for lunch. We then decided to climb up the tower of Dijon. There is a very tall tower attached to the Palais Des Ducs (Palace of Dukes)and at the top of it you can see the whole city of Dijon. It is only open a few days of the week so we decided to take the opportunity and go on Wednesday.
So after buying our 1,20 Euro tickets, we climbed up the 315 steps to the top. The view was absolutely stunning and it also made me realize how big Dijon is. Since we live our lives only in our homestays, in centreville, and at Campus, we only see a very small part of what is a much bigger city. I also learned from my host mom when I told her about climbing the tower that the reason there are so many churches is because each church back in medieval times was responsible for their part of the city. So they had to do all the paperwork for weddings, births, deaths, plus take care of the orphans and sick people. This is why they could only be responsible for a small part of the city. We also from the top of the tower were able to see more of 
the fantastic tiling on the roof. It also reminded me from the top of all the buildings of those cute, little French towns you see in movies all the time in the US. It was quite incredible and I realized how much happier I am to be living in the city that I'm living in because it isn't touristy at all, and you are able to feel much more a part of the city instead of being lost in a huge city like Paris. The last update from this week has to do with the first part of the title Fêtes which means party in French. This weekend we had a HUGE party at our house for the engagement of one of my host brothers, Thibaut and his fiancée Clemence. It was a very traditional French engagement celebration. My host mom worked all week on preparing food for the 40 people that were coming from all different parts of France. Also all the siblings came and we all helped my host mom get the last parts of the food ready on Saturday morning and afternoon. The celebration began with all of us going to mass at 6:30pm on Saturday. I understood everything that happened at the mass, but a lot of it I had to just stand there and listen because there were call and response parts where I had no idea what to respond with. Afterwards when I explained this to my twin sisters they responded with C'est pas grave which means, it's no big deal. Then we went to have a special benediction just for Clemence and Thibaut in the crypt. During the benediction I played in a trio with my two other host siblings, Emmanuelle on the flute and Antoine on the violin. It was so pretty and we had all played together that morning lots of different things, just sight reading and having fun. It was so great to be able to play music in a more carefree manner instead of having to make everything perfect. Plus it was a great exercise in sight reading.
Then after the mass, all 40 people returned to the house for our huge dinner which lasted 5 hours. I was really nervous about it considering the amount of people and having to speak French with all of them. But it turned out much better than I thought. I spoke to the grandparents who were all very nice, and then I spoke with a few other guests. For the most part however I hung out with my host siblings, and it was nice because it was an opportunity for us to all get closer. By the time the dinner was over at 1am though I was EXHAUSTED.
Then the last part of the celebration was brunch the next morning. So I woke up around 10am, and had to go back upstairs and converse with more people in French, and by this point I was just so exhausted from French, but I made it through, and everyone left around 3pm. We then helped my host mom clean up the house, and then it was over.
By the end I definitely finally understood the expression "brain dead" because my brain felt completely dead. But it was a really fun party with fabulous food and it was great to get to meet the whole family, and much less stressful than I thought it would be. I also feel lucky to have been able to experience something like this, because it's not something everyone would get the opportunity to experience. It was so cool to see this aspect of French culture, and being a part of the ceremony really made me feel like I was a part of the family! And seeing Clemence's engagement ring was pretty great too (It was a diamond encrusted flower with one diamond in the middle and two small diamonds on the side - it was one of the prettiest engagement rings I have ever seen)!
Well that's all I have for now - off to another week of classes! A bientot!
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