Questions and Answers

Not much time to post, so I thought I'd answer some questions that have popped up in comments and emails:

I feel like I should know but CEFAM?? stands for?
CEFAM stands for the Centre d'Etudes Franco Americain de Management. It's the name of the school we are studying at. Basically, it's an American Management school for people from all over the world. The students are required to spend part of their collegiate time studying and working in the US. More on that later- I have some very interesting information about their views of the US.

The floor differences- what do they have like a ground floor- then start numbering on the 1st floor?
Yep. They have a ground floor, called the Rez de Chaussee. So, if you ever want to go to the ground floor and you're on the elevator, you'll want to push the button for "RC" or "RDC"

that keyboard is weird. i wonder what the reasoning was for keeping most of the letters in the same places except the edge.
Like Julia mentioned in the comments, the letters are placed for ease when typing in French. They're located in the best and most convenient places for that language.

Why are their coffees named different things?
Here's all I could find on that subject:

The French coffee drinks

• Café (kuh-fay) is plain coffee with nothing added, but is strong as it is brewed like espresso.
• Café au lait (kuh-fay oh-lay) is a popular French coffee style that has been popularized in America, as it's served in tres francais New Orleans at Café du Monde. In France, this is simply coffee with steamed milk, and it's almost always wonderful. You will sometimes get the coffee served in one pot or in the cup, and then a pitcher of steamed milk to pour in as you please.
• Café crème (kuh-fay khremm) is, as it sounds, coffee served in a large cup with hot cream.
• Café Décafféiné (kuh-fay day-kah-fay-uhn-ay) is decaffeinated coffee. You will still need to tell them you want milk (lait) or cream (crème) with your coffee.
• Café Noisette (kuh-fay nwah-zett) is espresso with a dash of cream in it. It is called "noisette," French for hazelnut, because of the rich, dark color of the coffee.
• Café Americain (kuh-fay uh-meyhr-uh-kan) is filtered coffee, similar to traditional American coffee.

Dad said he couldn't post so I am testing without signing in...if it works he can leave you messages too :)
Anyone should be able to leave comments. If you're not a google or blogger member, you can use the Anonymous or Other settings.

I want to know what kind of clothes you bought or will buy so that you don't look so "American". I'm sure you will include some pictures.
Tomorrow, after my French culture class, I plan on writing about my observations of the French culture and will include pictures and observations of their fashion. If you want to know anything specific about my experiences with the French culture, ask in the comments or in an email and I'll be sure to include it in tomorrow's post.

I'm making tacos for everyone this evening, so I better get to grocery shopping! I'll leave you with a couple of pictures. The first is a group shot from Annecy. And the second is a picture of one of the subways we take to class each day. But, this one has no driver! It was rather disconcerting the day we figured that out, but it's pretty cool none the less.