Nothing much else interesting to tell except that no one believes me, until I open my mouth, that I am American. I guess I am a complete European poser, but everyone I have met either thinks I am French or British. This is a fun game. Also, whenever Miranda and I go out into Nantes, we get a ridiculous amount of stares, mainly from creepy men, I think because we carry backpacks like foreigners and Miranda has very blonde hair and I wear sunglasses. We have already had a fair few, misfortunate accosts from gentlemen, so I have resolved to stop smiling altogether.
Life is good here. I feel spoiled beyond all measure; I wish I could bring all of my dear ones with me. I know that I will grow immensely after and during all of this. I am so thankful for my parents who helped me get everything together for this trip. I don’t deserve this, but the Lord has blessed each of my steps. For now, I can’t wait for class to commence.
After getting settled in, filling out millions of French papers and running around town doing errands in a city I didn’t know at all, we decided to do something fun. After being pretty exhausted from my two weeks in the UK and then immediately being thrown into all things French, I crashed in my room for two days. Saturday, Miranda and I explored Nantes. We went downtown to all of the stores and sights there. Then we ran into a big group of British girls whom we had met earlier. They are SO much fun! They invited us to go out that night and so we met up with them at the tram that night. It was raining of course, but we still ventured out. We went to an adorable Italian restaurant in the centre-ville. After feasting, we made friends with the owner who was this sweet Italian man who gave us bottles of free wine and champagne. Everyone goes to bars here. It’s a lot different than at home. It’s very safe for the most part. I know it sounds sketchy, but it has been just another place to speak French for us. It was getting late, the Frenchmen were getting out of hand, so Miranda and I left. We don’t do the whole “going out” thing so we head home early if we even go out. On our ride back, we met more French boys who wanted to speak English and we simply refused! Do to our resilience, we caught the attention of a French student who only spoke French to us. So George is one of our new, favorite friends.
We went out the next day to see Les Machines d’Iles. This is a touristy thing to do, but it is awesome. There is this museum with all of these machines and also a giant elephant that you can ride around the town. Nantes is just beautiful with the Loire River and the sun shining on the boats passing by the café. We had a lovely day. We did have a guy come up to our table and try and sell himself to us for one euro; that was a bit of a shocker. Some people are very, very strange here. But you just have to move past it. On a good note, a man asked Miranda and I on the tram if we wanted to tutor his daughter in English while we are here. So this was good because we might get some extra cash and some more French practice.
Everyone asks me about the food. Yes, the food for the most part is delicious. Wine, cheese and bread galore! The wine and cheese is super inexpensive. It’s so different from home. One can get brie and camembert for just about 2 euros. A local, good bottle of wine is just as cheap as water. There are about four university restaurants here. We eat an entire meal, salad, entrée and dessert for 2.80. The food is very good. I am a bit of a snob when it comes to food so believe me, it’s an incredible deal. There is a lot of fish served here because of the location of Nantes so I am happy that I like fish. I am trying a different pastry every time I go to a patisserie/boulangerie. I love the coffee. I am learning to wean myself off of all the sugar and milk and I take a tiny but of sugar with my coffee. I drink hot tea with milk at night. The chocolateries here are incredible as well. We have tried all sorts of chocolates we didn’t know existed here. Yum, yum!
Many people stare here. There is not a lot of reserve in this area. It makes me feel self-conscious, but I am learning to get over it. In the US, when you catch someone looking at you, he or she tends to divert the eyes immediately. Oh no, not here. No shame. The pace of life here is very different. People take breaks during the day. They shop in the middle of the day. Everyone takes time to sit and enjoy. You are hard-pressed to find anywhere that will give you a coffee to go. I like this, though it takes some getting used to. There is a lot of freedom in the French way of doing things. They kind of cut you loose as a student and let you ask questions and figure things out. There are about a million different ways of getting one thing accomplished. Students are pampered in the US in that we get things done for us either by the system or our parents. The French let you take the reigns administratively. This is daunting, but liberating. There are quite a few grey areas.
Most everyone here has been extremely helpful and accommodating. People say the French are snobs, but I find this entirely false from my small experience. Everyone here is generous with their time and help. They don’t seem to mind my butchering their language. This has been a pleasant surprise. I feel my French digressing at this point already because I have spent a lot of time meeting other students who either speak English as a first language or speak English as a second language. I am ready to start classes so that I will be forced to listen, speak and write in French.
Snoop Dog is coming to Nantes. I just thought I would say this because it sounded hilarious to me.
I am taking ballet and salsa four times a week here. They have an awesome sports program here. I am so excited to get to do all of this dancing. I think it will be a good release and a great way to burn the extra calories I obtain from frequenting the patisserie! My skin has been breaking out pretty badly, which is a bummer. I don’t know that my nutrition is very good here. I need to work on that. In addition to my mandatory course work, I am taking Cinema and Art Discussion. I can’t wait!
Our new friend Paul is taking us out for dinner and French this week-end. Then, on Saturday, it’s French movie night with the British girls!
I know this is a lot of boring information. Right now, it's all my brain can think to write. Feelings and emotions will hopefully flood back soon.
Life is good here. I feel spoiled beyond all measure; I wish I could bring all of my dear ones with me. I know that I will grow immensely after and during all of this. I am so thankful for my parents who helped me get everything together for this trip. I don’t deserve this, but the Lord has blessed each of my steps. For now, I can’t wait for class to commence.
After getting settled in, filling out millions of French papers and running around town doing errands in a city I didn’t know at all, we decided to do something fun. After being pretty exhausted from my two weeks in the UK and then immediately being thrown into all things French, I crashed in my room for two days. Saturday, Miranda and I explored Nantes. We went downtown to all of the stores and sights there. Then we ran into a big group of British girls whom we had met earlier. They are SO much fun! They invited us to go out that night and so we met up with them at the tram that night. It was raining of course, but we still ventured out. We went to an adorable Italian restaurant in the centre-ville. After feasting, we made friends with the owner who was this sweet Italian man who gave us bottles of free wine and champagne. Everyone goes to bars here. It’s a lot different than at home. It’s very safe for the most part. I know it sounds sketchy, but it has been just another place to speak French for us. It was getting late, the Frenchmen were getting out of hand, so Miranda and I left. We don’t do the whole “going out” thing so we head home early if we even go out. On our ride back, we met more French boys who wanted to speak English and we simply refused! Do to our resilience, we caught the attention of a French student who only spoke French to us. So George is one of our new, favorite friends.
We went out the next day to see Les Machines d’Iles. This is a touristy thing to do, but it is awesome. There is this museum with all of these machines and also a giant elephant that you can ride around the town. Nantes is just beautiful with the Loire River and the sun shining on the boats passing by the café. We had a lovely day. We did have a guy come up to our table and try and sell himself to us for one euro; that was a bit of a shocker. Some people are very, very strange here. But you just have to move past it. On a good note, a man asked Miranda and I on the tram if we wanted to tutor his daughter in English while we are here. So this was good because we might get some extra cash and some more French practice.
Everyone asks me about the food. Yes, the food for the most part is delicious. Wine, cheese and bread galore! The wine and cheese is super inexpensive. It’s so different from home. One can get brie and camembert for just about 2 euros. A local, good bottle of wine is just as cheap as water. There are about four university restaurants here. We eat an entire meal, salad, entrée and dessert for 2.80. The food is very good. I am a bit of a snob when it comes to food so believe me, it’s an incredible deal. There is a lot of fish served here because of the location of Nantes so I am happy that I like fish. I am trying a different pastry every time I go to a patisserie/boulangerie. I love the coffee. I am learning to wean myself off of all the sugar and milk and I take a tiny but of sugar with my coffee. I drink hot tea with milk at night. The chocolateries here are incredible as well. We have tried all sorts of chocolates we didn’t know existed here. Yum, yum!
Many people stare here. There is not a lot of reserve in this area. It makes me feel self-conscious, but I am learning to get over it. In the US, when you catch someone looking at you, he or she tends to divert the eyes immediately. Oh no, not here. No shame. The pace of life here is very different. People take breaks during the day. They shop in the middle of the day. Everyone takes time to sit and enjoy. You are hard-pressed to find anywhere that will give you a coffee to go. I like this, though it takes some getting used to. There is a lot of freedom in the French way of doing things. They kind of cut you loose as a student and let you ask questions and figure things out. There are about a million different ways of getting one thing accomplished. Students are pampered in the US in that we get things done for us either by the system or our parents. The French let you take the reigns administratively. This is daunting, but liberating. There are quite a few grey areas.
Most everyone here has been extremely helpful and accommodating. People say the French are snobs, but I find this entirely false from my small experience. Everyone here is generous with their time and help. They don’t seem to mind my butchering their language. This has been a pleasant surprise. I feel my French digressing at this point already because I have spent a lot of time meeting other students who either speak English as a first language or speak English as a second language. I am ready to start classes so that I will be forced to listen, speak and write in French.
Snoop Dog is coming to Nantes. I just thought I would say this because it sounded hilarious to me.
I am taking ballet and salsa four times a week here. They have an awesome sports program here. I am so excited to get to do all of this dancing. I think it will be a good release and a great way to burn the extra calories I obtain from frequenting the patisserie! My skin has been breaking out pretty badly, which is a bummer. I don’t know that my nutrition is very good here. I need to work on that. In addition to my mandatory course work, I am taking Cinema and Art Discussion. I can’t wait!
Our new friend Paul is taking us out for dinner and French this week-end. Then, on Saturday, it’s French movie night with the British girls!
I know this is a lot of boring information. Right now, it's all my brain can think to write. Feelings and emotions will hopefully flood back soon.
1 comment:
None of this info was boring! Sorry it took me so long to finally read this. School and cross country are time-consuming. I really wish I could be there with you. If you really need to say something, just write me a letter and I'll try my best to 'help' you. I miss you so much Natalie!!! I hope you're having a great time and know He is with you!! *tear*
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