Since I arrived, everyone that I have met has told me how amazing Akila’s couscous is. Of course I believed them, but I was secretly wondering when I would get to try it. Finally Akila told me that she was going to invite some friends over for the weekend and she was going to make her world famous (or at least it’s pretty famous here in Montpellier) couscous.

We woke up early in the morning to go to the market and get some last minute items and then came back and started right away.

She told me that she usually starts getting everything ready in the morning so she isn’t rushing toward the end. The couscous was in two huge bowls on the table and in a pot she had lamb and chicken cooking for hours.

It was really cool to see how she prepared everything, and hopefully I will be able to remember it long enough to make it for my family when I get back. (I know they’re all hoping that too.) Anyway, we got ourselves ready throughout the day, and when the guests arrived everyone was remarking on how good the apartment smelled and that they couldn’t wait to eat it! I have to admit that I couldn’t wait either.

I invited a few of my friends over and Akila invited some of her friends too, and the only rule of the night was that no one could speak English (or talk American, as Akila puts it.) I invited Steph, Missy, and Jess, my friends from the program, and Akila had some of her friends that I had already met at another dinner party I went to last week. I’m quite the social butterfly.

Anyway, the night went off without a hitch and we just talked and had a great time, and at the end of the night Jess played on her guitar for us. My favorite was a song that she had written about her trip to Marseille, and half of it was in French!

It was so impressive, and she has a lovely voice. Anyway, Akila and her friends loved it, and it was an amazingly fun night. I know it’s really cheesy and girly, but I had so much fun that I started to get really sad about leaving here in only a few days. I called my parents after everyone had left and Akila and I finished the dishes, and I told them about how much fun I had and started to get a little choked up even.

You know, I realized right away that I would meet people in France that I wouldn’t be able to see very often because they live so far away, but I never really thought about it with the American friends that I have made here. I just kept thinking, oh, when we get back to the States, we’ll see each other again. But, now that I think more realistically, Steph and Jess live all the way in Pennsylvania which is pretty far away from Indiana. I’m going to have to make a special effort to keep in touch with everyone I’ve met here. They’re too amazing to forget anyway. And hey, I can always write letters, in French of course, for practice.