Things are going

So I have been here a week and a half and things are slowly moving along. And by things I mean to ability to understand anyone around me. The novelty has begun to wear off a bit and I am starting to miss the little things, mostly relating to food. haha. I miss coffee that is an actual whole cup of coffee and not a shot of espresso. I miss stores that are open 24/7 and understanding product names. I miss friendly people. The French don't like us as Americans, it's pretty obvious. But I don't know what to do about that. I try, and for the most part I think people understand me. I am not a forceful person though so when we are all in a huge group (which we almost always are, which is SO annoying) I can't get a word in to any French person that we meet. And Jade is very loud and dominant which means that I can not get any words in really when she is around. I am hoping that once classes start and I am not always around all the Americans and whatnot, things will be easier. We are living in this false America right now because we are making this dorm feel just like a dorm at home. When are here we forget that we are in France. When we are all together, we forget we are in France. When all we do is speak English, we forget we are in France. Except for classes, I barely experience the French people at all. I talk to them at the stores enough to say "May I have this, please?" or something small like that. But I haven't had to actually speak because everyone else around me just talks over me. They want to practice their French and the loudest person wins. I am so tired of Americans being SO loud. We break my eardrums everywhere we go and some people here just don't care. All the French people move away and they just keep being as loud as ever. It's frustrating. I am about at this grumpy stage though. I am staying up too late, getting up early, and barely eating. Today I have had half a baguette and 90g of cheese. And an apple. Not really supporting me. Once I get to my apartment life will be more settled. I just need out of this group. These dorms really kill any feeling of frenchness. We will see. I am understanding people better though. So something is coming out of all this.