Bonjour!
It is Tuesday morning here (well, actually noon) and I already want to go to bed. Mom told me that you can be jet-lagged up to a month after switching time zones. I wonder if this is possibly the case with me because I am always, always tired here!
This weekend was a lot of fun. Friday afternoon we went on a tour of Nantes and it was interesting to see a different side of the city. The IES center is in the heart of downtown Nantes but on Friday we explored a different part, a part that so far I like better! We discovered more creperies, cute restuarants and cafes and such... so I'm excited to go there (maybe this next weekend). We were also given a tour of the famous cathedral here and saw a bit of the castle. It was cool to understand more behind the history of the city that I'm actually living in! Afterward, some girls and I went to see Revolutionary Road at the local theater. The movie theater here is ginormous and we were in a theater that seats 500 people! It resembled a theater from a movie with the red plush seats and long, long rows... I went home for dinner after the movie to find my host family having "un aperatif-dinatoire" (basically a dinner of appetizers). In the Catholic tradition, when children are baptized, their parents designate a "second father" for them. It is traditional to have these families over for dinner to celebrate Christmas or birthdays, etc... Therefore, we had two families over this past weekend. It's always interesting to interact with another French family... it intimidates me quite a bit, actually! Tiphaine (the 17-year old in my family) and I ended up just hanging out and talking. It was really fun to talk with her and to get to know her better. She's studying English and she's hopefully going to start coming to the Conversation Club we have at IES. She also asked me if I would mind practicing with her sometime to which I gave a resounding "Oui!"
Saturday, we took a trip to Mont St. Michel and St. Malo (they're a few hours north of here). Mont St. Michel looks like a castle on top of a mountain but it's actually a monastery in a little village in the middle of nowhere. I'll post pictures soon so that you can see. It was absolutely beautiful... it's surrounded by water and when the tide comes in, it comes right up to the castle. We ate lunch in a little boulangerie in the village. The woman there was completely folle (crazy)... she was screaming instructions at everybody that walked in. But then she told us that we speak French very well, so that won her some points in our book! After walking around Mont St. Michel (or should I say, climbing - we climbed about a million stairs to get to the top!), we headed to St. Malo. I'm not sure if St. Malo has any historic significance, but it's a really cool city that sits right on the water. We were able to walk along the beaches because it was about 50 degrees and sunny. It was beautiful. There were some apartments overlooking the beautiful aquatic view and I just kept wishing I could live in one of them! We also spent some time exploring the city and the streets were just really cute. There was a boulangerie making crepes in the street so we indulged in a nutella crepe - it was fantastic. :)
Sunday, we had another family over for lunch. The father in this family is the "second father" of the 15 year old, Adelaide. They came over to celebrate her birthday. The lunch/dinner was VERY long as we had every course known to man (appetizers, large appetizer, main dish, cheese, salad, dessert, coffee/chocolate). It was delicious but it was enough to last me two days! After the meal, all the kids (the 4 Roberts, me, and three from the visiting family) gathered in Tiphaine's room to play games. We listened to the Titanic soundtrack which they LOVE here. And I discovered that they like the same random games I play/or have played with my friends! We played the French version of Maffia, the French version of "Ha," and the French version of "Do you know how to play the game?" Some of you may not recognize these names but these are camp games I've played or games we've played at school occasionally when we're bored. It was nice to feel connected in that way, though.
I gave Adelaide a scarf from H&M that I bought for her birthday. I've never seen anyone appreciate a present so much! She kept telling me thank you and the whole family was examining the scarf and exclaiming how pretty it was. It was sweet of them. :)
Two more interesting things I've learned:
1. Christmas doesn't really end for the French until February. They're not actually celebrating, but Christmas decorations are still up - everywhere! It's rather amusing.
2. When you have a formal dinner here (as we did on Sunday) it is proper and polite to wait until the mother who made the meal eats the first bite. Then you may commence eating.
I think that's all for now. I'm starving (not sure why, but I am), so I'm going to go eat lunch.
I will update later this week with class observations and other little things I have on a list to tell you. :)
Love to all!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Sundays, Politics, and the Night Bus
This past Sunday was possibly one of the more relaxing days of my life (minus the having to speak in French part). In France on Sundays, everything closes down. EVERYTHING. A couple girls and I tried out one of two Protestant churches that morning and afterward, we went to find something to eat and there was nothing open! I thus returned home and ate lunch with my host family. We had a long, relaxing lunch and then the parents suggested we all go for a walk in the park. So we drove to a nearby park and walked around for close to an hour. It's been about fifty degrees here on average, so it was a bit chilly but everything here is so green! It's like spring in January and I'm loving it. Anyway, we took our walk and then we headed home. When we got home, we had tea and croissants in the living room. Then everybody brought what they wanted to do into the living room... for example, I knitted, the mom crocheted, the dad read, one sister drew, another sister played with her iPod touch, etc... After spending some time there, we ate dinner and then watched the news. Can you imagine if you spent every Sunday afternoon doing nothing but spending quality time with your family? This was keeping the Sabbath in every way possible! Perhaps, I will incorporate this into my family someday...
On Saturday night, we did a little shopping and went to see a movie. We actually ended up watching a French movie. It was called L'autre Cote du Lit with Sophie Marceau and Danny Boon. It was actually quite amusing and we were all very proud of ourselves for understanding the plot and for laughing at the right moments.
Monday, a few of us went to Monoprix to buy notebooks, groceries, etc... Monoprix is kind of the Meijer or Target of Nantes (except a bit smaller). However, we probably go to Monoprix three or four times a week. :) Anyway, we were standing in the cookie aisle minding our own business when an old, petit man approached us and asked us if we were American. We answered yes and he asked us what we thought of Barak Obama. So we smiled and said "Oh, well..." And before the words could even come out of our mouths, this man launched into a 15 minute lecture regarding American history and America as a nation. It was all I could do to keep nodding my head and saying "oui." He would ask us questions and then give us no time to respond. But he somehow dropped in names like Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln along with Barak Obama and George Bush. It was hard to tell whether he was disgruntled by America and her actions or if he respected us for the long way that we've come. I'm thinking more disgruntled because he was talking of the national debt at one point and kept using a French phrase meaning "It's aggravating." This man also had no concept of a personal bubble because he kept waving his finger in our faces to make his point. Anyway, I recall during our study abroad orientation someone telling us that when we went abroad, people would be interested in hearing our opinions on American politics. But I was certainly not expecting an American history lesson in the middle of the supermarket! It was a little amusing because other French people would walk by and hear what he was saying and they would shoot us sympathetic looks. :)
Last night (Tuesday), we had a Conversation Club here at the IES center. It was absolutely wonderful because for 45 minutes, we talked French and then for 45 minutes we talked English. Local students who are studying English join us for the evening and it's a really great opportunity to practice talking on both ends! Before that, we watched the Inaugration (called l'investiture here in France). Unfortunately, we were unable to get any American channels, so we watched the ceremony with French "voice-overs." I think I'm going to get on CNN later and watch it in English. After all this, we went to a local creperie for dinner. It was one of the most delicious meals I've had here thus far. A friend and I split a Brestoise crepe (ham and baked apples) and a Paysanne crepe (some sort of French cheese/ham combination). They were both delcious. We then enjoyed a chocolate crepe with ice cream. Sigh. Sometimes I love French food! There were so many of us at the creperie that we ended up getting done very late. Thus, I had my first experience taking the night bus. It was quite the experience to say the least. Fortunately, one of the girls from my program was with me. We had to wait for quite awhile to catch the bus we needed. While we were waiting, a very nice guy approached us and asked us if we were waiting for the night bus and he explained that we were waiting in the wrong place. He pointed us in the right direction, which was very nice of him (our guardian angel). Anyway, we then had a not-as-nice man approach us and ask us if we would like to join him and his friends for some “fun.” I immediately said “Non, merci” and he asked us if we were American (we must look and sound very American). The girl with me lied and told him we actually spoke Spanish and we didn’t know English (she actually speaks Spanish, so this was not a problem)! So he put a little puppy dog look on his face, took his cigarette in his hand, and blew us a kiss. How very kind of him. I never want to take the night bus again! I know I will have to, but I certainly hope I never have to take it by myself. There are some semi-sketchy people around late at night (as there would be in any big city).
Two more little cultural differences for you before I go:
First, the notebooks here are not lined like ours… they are graph paper. ALL of them! They don’t have your typical Five-Stars here (I’m not too fond of this difference… it messes with my handwriting).
Also, the keyboards here are different. For some reason I had no notion of different countries having different layouts of keyboards. I realize now that this makes a lot of sense. However, the “m” and the “a” and most of the symbols are out of place here and it’s quite difficult to type on the computers at the center. I look like a 7 year old just learning to type!
Love to all,
Madelyn
On Saturday night, we did a little shopping and went to see a movie. We actually ended up watching a French movie. It was called L'autre Cote du Lit with Sophie Marceau and Danny Boon. It was actually quite amusing and we were all very proud of ourselves for understanding the plot and for laughing at the right moments.
Monday, a few of us went to Monoprix to buy notebooks, groceries, etc... Monoprix is kind of the Meijer or Target of Nantes (except a bit smaller). However, we probably go to Monoprix three or four times a week. :) Anyway, we were standing in the cookie aisle minding our own business when an old, petit man approached us and asked us if we were American. We answered yes and he asked us what we thought of Barak Obama. So we smiled and said "Oh, well..." And before the words could even come out of our mouths, this man launched into a 15 minute lecture regarding American history and America as a nation. It was all I could do to keep nodding my head and saying "oui." He would ask us questions and then give us no time to respond. But he somehow dropped in names like Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln along with Barak Obama and George Bush. It was hard to tell whether he was disgruntled by America and her actions or if he respected us for the long way that we've come. I'm thinking more disgruntled because he was talking of the national debt at one point and kept using a French phrase meaning "It's aggravating." This man also had no concept of a personal bubble because he kept waving his finger in our faces to make his point. Anyway, I recall during our study abroad orientation someone telling us that when we went abroad, people would be interested in hearing our opinions on American politics. But I was certainly not expecting an American history lesson in the middle of the supermarket! It was a little amusing because other French people would walk by and hear what he was saying and they would shoot us sympathetic looks. :)
Last night (Tuesday), we had a Conversation Club here at the IES center. It was absolutely wonderful because for 45 minutes, we talked French and then for 45 minutes we talked English. Local students who are studying English join us for the evening and it's a really great opportunity to practice talking on both ends! Before that, we watched the Inaugration (called l'investiture here in France). Unfortunately, we were unable to get any American channels, so we watched the ceremony with French "voice-overs." I think I'm going to get on CNN later and watch it in English. After all this, we went to a local creperie for dinner. It was one of the most delicious meals I've had here thus far. A friend and I split a Brestoise crepe (ham and baked apples) and a Paysanne crepe (some sort of French cheese/ham combination). They were both delcious. We then enjoyed a chocolate crepe with ice cream. Sigh. Sometimes I love French food! There were so many of us at the creperie that we ended up getting done very late. Thus, I had my first experience taking the night bus. It was quite the experience to say the least. Fortunately, one of the girls from my program was with me. We had to wait for quite awhile to catch the bus we needed. While we were waiting, a very nice guy approached us and asked us if we were waiting for the night bus and he explained that we were waiting in the wrong place. He pointed us in the right direction, which was very nice of him (our guardian angel). Anyway, we then had a not-as-nice man approach us and ask us if we would like to join him and his friends for some “fun.” I immediately said “Non, merci” and he asked us if we were American (we must look and sound very American). The girl with me lied and told him we actually spoke Spanish and we didn’t know English (she actually speaks Spanish, so this was not a problem)! So he put a little puppy dog look on his face, took his cigarette in his hand, and blew us a kiss. How very kind of him. I never want to take the night bus again! I know I will have to, but I certainly hope I never have to take it by myself. There are some semi-sketchy people around late at night (as there would be in any big city).
Two more little cultural differences for you before I go:
First, the notebooks here are not lined like ours… they are graph paper. ALL of them! They don’t have your typical Five-Stars here (I’m not too fond of this difference… it messes with my handwriting).
Also, the keyboards here are different. For some reason I had no notion of different countries having different layouts of keyboards. I realize now that this makes a lot of sense. However, the “m” and the “a” and most of the symbols are out of place here and it’s quite difficult to type on the computers at the center. I look like a 7 year old just learning to type!
Love to all,
Madelyn
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Living the French Way
So I've been noticing all these differences between the U.S. and France (obviously there would be some). And there are some I would like to share with you!
1. In the city, dogs are allowed to "go potty" wherever they want; therefore, it is not uncommon to see little piles of you-know-what in the streets. Not the most hygenic idea.
2. Cars can be parked facing each other; from what I've noticed, you can only park on one side of the street, but the cars can be facing any which way on that side of the street.
3. The French eat A LOT of cheese; my host family informed me that there are enough different kind of cheeses for every day of the year!
4. Nobody here smiles; apparently smiling at people as you walk is a very American thing to do. So I find great satisfaction in smiling at people on the bus and seeing if they'll smile back. Some hestitate and then they do and for some reason that makes my day. :)
5. The French are very conscious of their heat, water, and electric bills. I'm learning to take quick showers, turn off lights whenever I leave a room, and I'm pretty sure my body temperature has somehow adapted to living in cold all the time.
6. People here wear the same clothes for days in a row. Some don't, but many do. I think it's normal to wear jeans or a sweater a given number of days before you wash it. But to wear the same thing 4 or 5 days in a row... I feel like I would get sick of that outfit very quickly!
7. Everybody drives a stick shift here; apparently, France is scared of automatic cars. I explained to my host sister that I can't drive a stick shift to save my life (as many of you know) and she laughed and said she thought it would be hard to drive an automatic!
8. The weather here is very different (and this is really only a difference between Nantes and Michigan). It's typically around 45 or 50 degrees and either sunny or rainy. It never snows here (the people here think that one inch of snow is the end of the world). Sometimes it's colder but I feel blessed to be here especially considering the fact that it's below zero at home right now!
9. The French have a very different work ethic here; the parents are very quick to yell or be strict when it comes to homework, school, etc... but from what I've heard, Americans work much harder at school than the French do. I'm sure I will see this play out once classes start.
10. The French do not like to obey and this is why I am deathly afraid of crossing the street. People cross whenever they feel like it and wherever. And cars drive fast in the city here! I realize I should be used to jay-walking since I live in Ann Arbor. But it's a very scary experience to walk around here.
I'm sure I will come across more differences as I go, but there's ten for you to ponder. :)
Other news...
I've chosen classes and they will commence Monday. I am taking the following:
Traduction (this is a translation class for students taking French or English; so it will be with other French students who are studying English and we will practice translating passages from English to French and vice versa).
French 19th and 20th century Art
Religion, Society, and the State in Modern France
French Romanticism
Advanced French Language (my actual French class).
The first class is at the university and the other 4 are through my program at the IES center. However, all the classes will be in French and I'm feeling a bit nervous about starting Monday!
Last night, I ate dinner with three of the four kids and then we watched the first half of The Chronicles of Narnia in French. It was nice to hang out with them and get to know them a bit better. The oldest, Marie-Emmanuelle, took me with her to pick up the second oldest, Tiphaine, from her friend's house. It was just fun to talk about things we had in common - movies we like, books we've read, leaving home, driving, boys, etc... And even though the conversation was very broken because of my horrendous French, it felt good to be a teenage girl with somebody here. :) When Tiphaine and her friend got in the car, they started discussing life and laughing and even though I wasn't really participating, it just felt nice to be amongst people my age and realize that these girls are just like my friends in the States (now if only I could understand them)!
I'm headed out right now to do a bit of shopping. The government controls the sales here (isn't that bizarre?) and there are only certain months that stores can put their items on sale. January is one of them. :) I hope everything is well with all of you - you're greatly missed!
1. In the city, dogs are allowed to "go potty" wherever they want; therefore, it is not uncommon to see little piles of you-know-what in the streets. Not the most hygenic idea.
2. Cars can be parked facing each other; from what I've noticed, you can only park on one side of the street, but the cars can be facing any which way on that side of the street.
3. The French eat A LOT of cheese; my host family informed me that there are enough different kind of cheeses for every day of the year!
4. Nobody here smiles; apparently smiling at people as you walk is a very American thing to do. So I find great satisfaction in smiling at people on the bus and seeing if they'll smile back. Some hestitate and then they do and for some reason that makes my day. :)
5. The French are very conscious of their heat, water, and electric bills. I'm learning to take quick showers, turn off lights whenever I leave a room, and I'm pretty sure my body temperature has somehow adapted to living in cold all the time.
6. People here wear the same clothes for days in a row. Some don't, but many do. I think it's normal to wear jeans or a sweater a given number of days before you wash it. But to wear the same thing 4 or 5 days in a row... I feel like I would get sick of that outfit very quickly!
7. Everybody drives a stick shift here; apparently, France is scared of automatic cars. I explained to my host sister that I can't drive a stick shift to save my life (as many of you know) and she laughed and said she thought it would be hard to drive an automatic!
8. The weather here is very different (and this is really only a difference between Nantes and Michigan). It's typically around 45 or 50 degrees and either sunny or rainy. It never snows here (the people here think that one inch of snow is the end of the world). Sometimes it's colder but I feel blessed to be here especially considering the fact that it's below zero at home right now!
9. The French have a very different work ethic here; the parents are very quick to yell or be strict when it comes to homework, school, etc... but from what I've heard, Americans work much harder at school than the French do. I'm sure I will see this play out once classes start.
10. The French do not like to obey and this is why I am deathly afraid of crossing the street. People cross whenever they feel like it and wherever. And cars drive fast in the city here! I realize I should be used to jay-walking since I live in Ann Arbor. But it's a very scary experience to walk around here.
I'm sure I will come across more differences as I go, but there's ten for you to ponder. :)
Other news...
I've chosen classes and they will commence Monday. I am taking the following:
Traduction (this is a translation class for students taking French or English; so it will be with other French students who are studying English and we will practice translating passages from English to French and vice versa).
French 19th and 20th century Art
Religion, Society, and the State in Modern France
French Romanticism
Advanced French Language (my actual French class).
The first class is at the university and the other 4 are through my program at the IES center. However, all the classes will be in French and I'm feeling a bit nervous about starting Monday!
Last night, I ate dinner with three of the four kids and then we watched the first half of The Chronicles of Narnia in French. It was nice to hang out with them and get to know them a bit better. The oldest, Marie-Emmanuelle, took me with her to pick up the second oldest, Tiphaine, from her friend's house. It was just fun to talk about things we had in common - movies we like, books we've read, leaving home, driving, boys, etc... And even though the conversation was very broken because of my horrendous French, it felt good to be a teenage girl with somebody here. :) When Tiphaine and her friend got in the car, they started discussing life and laughing and even though I wasn't really participating, it just felt nice to be amongst people my age and realize that these girls are just like my friends in the States (now if only I could understand them)!
I'm headed out right now to do a bit of shopping. The government controls the sales here (isn't that bizarre?) and there are only certain months that stores can put their items on sale. January is one of them. :) I hope everything is well with all of you - you're greatly missed!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Castles, eel, and lost luggage
I have been in France for over a week now. I might say that the time has flown, but it really hasn't. In all reality, it has been a very long week. A good one, but a long one.
We left Thursday afternoon (after a quick trip to the mall for some essentials I was missing due to my still missing luggage) for Tours. Tours is about 2.5 hours east of Nantes and south of Paris. It was a great little town and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. We visited four castles during our weekend there - Loches, Chenonceau, Blois, and Chambord. Chenonceau was by far my favorite castle. It extended out over the river and the interior was absolutely gorgeous. The castle itself reminded me a bit of Beauty and the Beast. I was overall just so impressed with the majesty and history that pervaded the castles. Although it was freezing to the point of numb toes, I found the whole experience very enjoyable. I will post pictures soon and you will hopefully be able to see what I mean!
After touring chateaus (and I suppose while touring chateaus), we ate. And ate. And ate some more. I have never eaten so much food in my entire life. The French cherish their meal time and prepare food like you'd never believe. First of all, the meals are multi-course. There is of course bread, and then some sort of appetizer/salad, followed by a main dish (usually an enormous slab of meat), followed by cheese and more bread, ending with a dessert. The appropriate and proper manner for eating in France is to clean your plate. In fact, many use their bread to actually wipe their plates clean. However, with this much food, many of us found that impossible. I'm not sure I managed to clean one plate (excecpt, perhaps, the dessert). We also ate various unidentifiable things. By the end of our trip, we had learned not to ask. Knowing what the plate was did not help us to eat it; in fact, knowing what it was created a mental block for eating! Let's just say that within three days, I found eel, veal, duck, venison, and who knows what else in my stomach. Of course, I also found baguettes, chocolate croissants, and desserts from heaven there as well. This week has been good, though, to follow a more regular eating pattern. The morning begins with hot chocolate cereal (I'm not kidding... it's literally hot chocolate poured over granola). I will then usually buy a sandwich made with a warm baguette from a nearby boulangerie for lunch. And then dinner is with my host family and we eat much less than we did this past weekend. Thank heavens!
My luggage remained missing until yesterday and I am very grateful to have it all safe and sound with me. Thanks for your prayers! I feel so much better having showered with my own shampoo, having worn new clothes, and having put on make-up. SO much better. :)
This week has been an Orientation crash course at the IES Center. We've been taking petit classes of grammar and conversation (trying to warm up for next week when classes begin). I've also had the chance to get "living here" taken care of. I'm starting to learn my way around downtown Nantes (where the IES Center is located). We discovered a Monoprix (comparable to a Super Target) and have been buying needed items there. I bought a student bus pass which allows me to travel anywhere in Nantes as often as I wish for the month of January. The bus system here is enormous and very well-run. It's an easy and efficient way to travel back and forth to school. We visited the local university today (L'Universite de Nantes) and I would like to invite all the Hope students here to see why we pay $30,000 a year to go to Hope. To attend this university, you pay nothing at all. However, the buildings are worn down, there's a stench that permeates the campus, and it's just not very pretty! 30,000 students attend this particular university from all over the area. It will be interesting to take one or two classes there.
Overall, things are going well. I've been feeling a bit more homesick this week (I think I'm possibly starting to hit the lonely stage of studying abroad that everyone talks about). But I'm sure that getting things even more settled, starting classes, and falling into a routine will help that a lot. My host family continues to be very sweet. I feel like I'm starting to bond with the two older girls a bit more and their family reminds me a lot of mine (I think that's why I feel homesick sometimes). :) My French comprehension is increasing enormously. Being surrounded all day every day by the language helps immensely. I can understand the professors at IES without a problem, so I'm encouraged by that. I'm worried about whether my speaking skills will improve or not but I have to keep reminding myself that it's the first week; it's going to take some time to speak fluent French!
I know I had a million more things to say so I will try to make a list and update more tomorrow or Friday. For now, though, it is time for bed.
Love to all!
We left Thursday afternoon (after a quick trip to the mall for some essentials I was missing due to my still missing luggage) for Tours. Tours is about 2.5 hours east of Nantes and south of Paris. It was a great little town and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. We visited four castles during our weekend there - Loches, Chenonceau, Blois, and Chambord. Chenonceau was by far my favorite castle. It extended out over the river and the interior was absolutely gorgeous. The castle itself reminded me a bit of Beauty and the Beast. I was overall just so impressed with the majesty and history that pervaded the castles. Although it was freezing to the point of numb toes, I found the whole experience very enjoyable. I will post pictures soon and you will hopefully be able to see what I mean!
After touring chateaus (and I suppose while touring chateaus), we ate. And ate. And ate some more. I have never eaten so much food in my entire life. The French cherish their meal time and prepare food like you'd never believe. First of all, the meals are multi-course. There is of course bread, and then some sort of appetizer/salad, followed by a main dish (usually an enormous slab of meat), followed by cheese and more bread, ending with a dessert. The appropriate and proper manner for eating in France is to clean your plate. In fact, many use their bread to actually wipe their plates clean. However, with this much food, many of us found that impossible. I'm not sure I managed to clean one plate (excecpt, perhaps, the dessert). We also ate various unidentifiable things. By the end of our trip, we had learned not to ask. Knowing what the plate was did not help us to eat it; in fact, knowing what it was created a mental block for eating! Let's just say that within three days, I found eel, veal, duck, venison, and who knows what else in my stomach. Of course, I also found baguettes, chocolate croissants, and desserts from heaven there as well. This week has been good, though, to follow a more regular eating pattern. The morning begins with hot chocolate cereal (I'm not kidding... it's literally hot chocolate poured over granola). I will then usually buy a sandwich made with a warm baguette from a nearby boulangerie for lunch. And then dinner is with my host family and we eat much less than we did this past weekend. Thank heavens!
My luggage remained missing until yesterday and I am very grateful to have it all safe and sound with me. Thanks for your prayers! I feel so much better having showered with my own shampoo, having worn new clothes, and having put on make-up. SO much better. :)
This week has been an Orientation crash course at the IES Center. We've been taking petit classes of grammar and conversation (trying to warm up for next week when classes begin). I've also had the chance to get "living here" taken care of. I'm starting to learn my way around downtown Nantes (where the IES Center is located). We discovered a Monoprix (comparable to a Super Target) and have been buying needed items there. I bought a student bus pass which allows me to travel anywhere in Nantes as often as I wish for the month of January. The bus system here is enormous and very well-run. It's an easy and efficient way to travel back and forth to school. We visited the local university today (L'Universite de Nantes) and I would like to invite all the Hope students here to see why we pay $30,000 a year to go to Hope. To attend this university, you pay nothing at all. However, the buildings are worn down, there's a stench that permeates the campus, and it's just not very pretty! 30,000 students attend this particular university from all over the area. It will be interesting to take one or two classes there.
Overall, things are going well. I've been feeling a bit more homesick this week (I think I'm possibly starting to hit the lonely stage of studying abroad that everyone talks about). But I'm sure that getting things even more settled, starting classes, and falling into a routine will help that a lot. My host family continues to be very sweet. I feel like I'm starting to bond with the two older girls a bit more and their family reminds me a lot of mine (I think that's why I feel homesick sometimes). :) My French comprehension is increasing enormously. Being surrounded all day every day by the language helps immensely. I can understand the professors at IES without a problem, so I'm encouraged by that. I'm worried about whether my speaking skills will improve or not but I have to keep reminding myself that it's the first week; it's going to take some time to speak fluent French!
I know I had a million more things to say so I will try to make a list and update more tomorrow or Friday. For now, though, it is time for bed.
Love to all!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Longest Day of My Life
Traveling to France was... an experience. One that I could quite honestly live without. I departed Detroit (after a very tearful goodbye with my mother) at 4:00 p.m. Thanks to the lovely snow that began descending, we sat on the plane for the next 50 minutes waiting for the wings to be de-iced. After we got going, the ride was fine. I had a window seat and the guy next to me spoke approximately 5 words to me the entire trip (except at the very end), which gave me plenty of time to watch movies, take naps, relax, etc... We arrived in Amsterdam much later than expected and by the time we got off the plane, my connecting flight to Paris had left. I then proceeded to stand in the Transfer line for over an hour until one of five blonde-haired, blue-eyed airport workers assisted me (very Dutch... Holland times a hundred!). The Amsterdam airport was an experience and I've never been so ready to leave one place. I finally got a new flight which was then delayed because of the snow in Paris. After sleeping on the plane for an hour, I arrived in Paris 4 hours later than I was originally supposed to. It was then that the worst news of the day came to be: my luggage hadn't made it. So I stood in line for another 45 minutes to obtain a claim. I then made a beeline for the train station. It was 12:50 p.m. and my train was supposed to leave at 1:15 p.m. The line was out the door and I knew there was absolutely no way I would make it. So I cut about 50 people in line and snuck around to the far end where I proceeded to beg the woman to give me a ticket. I'm sure I looked a mess and she gave in (such a god-send). I grabbed the ticket and ran to the train station which was frigidly cold. A three hour train ride took me to Nantes, a taxi to the IES center, and a car to my host family's home. And that was my very long, no-good, bad day.
On a more positive note, France is beautiful. It's sunny and the skies are blue (very different from Michigan). Some of the trees even have leaves. My host family came to pick me up at the IES center last night and I was so flustered I started to say "merci" rather than "bonjour." So much for a good first impression. I managed to hold my own, though, and caught on to the "kiss on each cheek" greeting that they do here. They drove me around Nantes and showed me the downtown and some of the historical highlights. Everything was so pretty - the buildings are gorgeous and everything is lit up and well-kept. When we arrived home, they gave me a tour of the house; I love my room. It's very spacious and painted white/lime-green. The bedspread is red and there are black shelves that tie it all together... very chic, in my opinion. I was able to unpack what I had (a backpack) and then we had dinner. Dinner was an ordeal to say the least. We had soup (not my favorite) and potatoes with melted cheese and ham. Then we had a pastry cake. Tradition goes that a little figurine is baked into the cake... the youngest child then goes under the table and says each person's name. Each slice of pie is distributed in that order and whoever has the petit figurine gets to be "le roi" or king. He/she wears a play crown. :)
My family is incredibly sweet. There are four kids (19, 17, 15, 12). The oldest three are girls (Marie-Emmanuelle, Tiphaine, Adelaide) and the youngest one is a boy (Thibault). The mom (Mme. Robert) is very welcoming and motherly. The oldest girls are very patient with my atrocious French. I think they can understand what I'm trying to say more than the parents can. Overall, though, they are very sweet. They've been incredibly helpful with the luggage ordeal and have lent me pajamas, boots, etc... Listening to French all the time is quite tiring... my brain feels very overwhelmed. I was praying this morning and halfway through, my mind switched to French! It's strange not being able to speak a mix but being forced to speak the one I don't know very well. Many of our conversations thus far consist of me answering with one word. But I'm sure the language barrier will get better with time.
This afternoon, our program is taking all the IES students to Tours, France. For the next few days, we'll tour famous castles in the area and have Orientation. I'll be back Sunday evening and will write more then.
I hope all is well with every one of you!
I'm already looking forward to seeing you when I return. :)
Madelyn
On a more positive note, France is beautiful. It's sunny and the skies are blue (very different from Michigan). Some of the trees even have leaves. My host family came to pick me up at the IES center last night and I was so flustered I started to say "merci" rather than "bonjour." So much for a good first impression. I managed to hold my own, though, and caught on to the "kiss on each cheek" greeting that they do here. They drove me around Nantes and showed me the downtown and some of the historical highlights. Everything was so pretty - the buildings are gorgeous and everything is lit up and well-kept. When we arrived home, they gave me a tour of the house; I love my room. It's very spacious and painted white/lime-green. The bedspread is red and there are black shelves that tie it all together... very chic, in my opinion. I was able to unpack what I had (a backpack) and then we had dinner. Dinner was an ordeal to say the least. We had soup (not my favorite) and potatoes with melted cheese and ham. Then we had a pastry cake. Tradition goes that a little figurine is baked into the cake... the youngest child then goes under the table and says each person's name. Each slice of pie is distributed in that order and whoever has the petit figurine gets to be "le roi" or king. He/she wears a play crown. :)
My family is incredibly sweet. There are four kids (19, 17, 15, 12). The oldest three are girls (Marie-Emmanuelle, Tiphaine, Adelaide) and the youngest one is a boy (Thibault). The mom (Mme. Robert) is very welcoming and motherly. The oldest girls are very patient with my atrocious French. I think they can understand what I'm trying to say more than the parents can. Overall, though, they are very sweet. They've been incredibly helpful with the luggage ordeal and have lent me pajamas, boots, etc... Listening to French all the time is quite tiring... my brain feels very overwhelmed. I was praying this morning and halfway through, my mind switched to French! It's strange not being able to speak a mix but being forced to speak the one I don't know very well. Many of our conversations thus far consist of me answering with one word. But I'm sure the language barrier will get better with time.
This afternoon, our program is taking all the IES students to Tours, France. For the next few days, we'll tour famous castles in the area and have Orientation. I'll be back Sunday evening and will write more then.
I hope all is well with every one of you!
I'm already looking forward to seeing you when I return. :)
Madelyn
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