....to anyone who will have to listen to me speak after I get home. This is really just a disclaimer blog, that you will probably all get really frustrated with me, and probably very quickly. And for that I'm sorry.
This is because I feel as though my head is permanently stuck in two different languages. Whoever said that spending a month in France was going to help me learn a lot of French...well they were right. How about that? I feel like I have learned SO much French since I've been here. This is a very good thing, obviously, since that's why I came. Before, I considered speaking to be one of the "easiest" facets of the language...but now I realized that that was because I didn't really realize how incorrectly I was saying things. Now, I get hung up on conjugating things into the plus-que parfait tense...which is such a good sign! Before, I wouldn't even have known when to use it, so I would have just used present or something like that. I have made a lot of progress...yesterday, my host mom actually pointed it out. They have been gone the past few weeks (in ISRAEL! I think it's amazing that everything that I've been studying in every single subject - except American History and maybe math - is now within arm's reach here...it's so cool!) and she said that in the time they were gone, I must have learned a lot. I was very proud of myself.
But it also causes the problem that I honestly don't know what language to think in anymore. This results in me blurting out sentences in half English and half French (whenever I'm not focusing on speaking in one or the other, that is)all the time. It's actually mostly hilarious/entertaining, and right now, this actually functions just fine...because if I'm not speaking with my host family (who know no English) or, say, my friend Hannah's parents (who know even less French haha) then I'm speaking with other American/French students who know both languages. Which means I can speak Franglish and it totally works with them, because they understand either way. With my fellow IES-ers, I don't even notice when someone says 'avec' instead of 'with' or 'j'ai fait' instead of 'I did.' For instance, I was emailing my advisor the other day regarding class scheduling, and I started my concluding sentence with 'Alors,....' and not 'so...' I only caught it when re-reading the email, otherwise he would have seen how crazy I have become as well. Also, you should see all of our facebook statuses (stati?), which are constantly being updated with Franglish. I'm quite enjoying it, actually! I can only imagine, though, what it will be like when I'm surrounded by all of you...who do know the difference. And for that, I would like to apologize, in advance!
In other news, here are some random stories from the past few weeks:
- Last Tuesday, I arrived at my class at the universite (or the Fac = faculte), which is on Constitutional Law. I have been doing alright in this class, solely by copying notes from the girl who types them on her laptop in front of me, and asking every day if we have any work/tests coming up just to make sure. Well apparently, the week before, something must have been miscommunicated, because I walked in and everyone was sitting studying notes (frantically, mind you) and picking up blue books. It was very much a test atmosphere and I kinda sorta panicked. I went up to the professor and told him that I had not understood and was not prepared whatsoever. He and I are pretty tight by now, so he told me to stop panicking, and that if it was a catastrophe, I could re-take it. Thank goodness! It was not a fun experience though!
- Also, my friend Hannah's parents are here this week. They're from a suburb of Chicago (Naperville) and this is their first time in France. I had brunch-ish food with them yesterday, and then I went over to Hannah's host family's house (they are gone on vacation right now) and her mom made us some delicious chicken noodle soup. If you believe in such a thing as soul food, this was it. It was so good, and it made me feel so at home...and it was so American! In a way, the meal pointed out lots of things that are different here (i.e. they don't eat bread DURING dinner, it's always after...and also, they use their paper towels EXTREMELY sparingly here, and I was shocked when Hannah's mom used them as napkins and to wipe the counter, etc.) but also, it just sort of combined the two worlds. It was very pleasant :-)
- It was midterms this week, which I had three of (grammar, Phonetics, and Construction of a European Union). They are all done now, which is lovely, but it was the first week of real school-work that I had to do. I haven't had regular homework, or papers due (they're all due at the end of the semester) yet...so I was sort of shocked into work mode. It was abrupt, and I didn't like it. Thankfully (or unthankfully, I don't know yet) I can put my confidence behind the fact that I just have to PASS these classes...they won't transfer into my GPA. Don't worry, I'm not going to go about purposefully failing them. It's a lot harder when it's in French though.
-MOST importantly...TOMORROW I LEAVE FOR MY EUROPEAN ROAD TRIP! I am leaving Nantes for Brussels, where I'm meeting my friend Nina (who went to SL for our senior year) and we're going to her school in Maastricht, which is on the border of Belgium and the Netherlands, and then to her home town near Cologne, in Germany. I'm SO excited. This also means the next blog will be about that! Can't wait!
28 October 2009
18 October 2009
Gettin' lost!
I have spent so much time completely lost lately. And it has been so fabulous! I realize this might be a bit cheezy, especially when I realized that Wooster's Study-Abroad orientation booklet was entitled exactly that: 'Get Lost!' haha. But I really feel like this was one of the things about which Wooster knows what they're talking about...studying abroad really truly is about being completely lost, and learning to love it. At least for me. For instance, in our booklet there was a chart (literally, a chart. it's kindof hilarious) about how our emotional status is going to go, and it looks pretty much like a crazy roller coaster. We're going to show up in this foreign country, be totally ecstatic for a while, then normalcy sets in and we realize how far away from home we are and we go through a slump. But then, little by little, we fall in love with where we are, and the new homes and friends and cultures and people we've found here - across an ocean and 6 time zones, but home nevertheless.
As much as I "hate" being a statistic, that's exactly what's happened to me. I have, not going to lie, been counting the days until December 21st, and getting more and more excited as the days pass. However, in these past few weeks, I have realized that I'm also getting more and more excited for the days in between now and December 21st. It's a bit overwhelming, but incomprehensibly amazing, to look forward at my life and realize that I'm literally ecstatic for every single day from now until literally March. I have so much coming up in these next months, and so much to look forward to! It's just crazy. I'm so lucky.
My first getting lost experience was last Monday, where it was an absolutely beautiful, sunny 60 degree day and I was done with class at noon. So I decided to walk home across town with Emily and then find my way back. If I found a street that I'd been on before, I took another one. It was great fun. Hannah called me and she asked where I was and I said I had no idea. Because I didn't! And I found a really cool church, and a school and ended up in this park that was gorgeous. I had so much fun, that I decided to not take main roads anymore and have since found some amazing things...which never would have happened had I just taken the same bus line back to my host family's house and stayed inside watching Grey's Anatomy online all day.
My second, and absolute favorite getting lost experience was when Peter, Hannah, Taylor and I decided to go buy train tickets for 20 Euro to the town of Rennes, which is the capitol of the department of Brittany (the equivalent of French states, or more like counties = departments). We got off from the train (which was literally the most hysterical 2 hours of the trip so far. SO much fun) without any maps or any idea of what there is to do in Rennes and just started walkin. We found an amazing castle-thing, and then the centre ville where we asked at the Office du Tourisme what we should do. She told us there was a market, which we went and explored (and good lord it was amazing. If any of you have ever been to a French market, you'll understand but if not - there are no words. The scents and sounds and colors and options and accordion music and people yelling at you to buy their stuff, and the other people
who are on a mission to find their yellow figs and ginger roots and Emmentale or any other of 300 types of cheeses who will literally knock you over if you get in their way, and the man selling olives who is calling you 'beautiful miss' and the taste-testing UGH the taste-testing...it's amazing). Then we went to eat crepes (BIEN SUR!) because crepes are a Brittany thing, and Rennes is the capital of Brittany so clearly - these were the best crepes you're gonna get. 
Mine was Apple and Sausage (very different than American sausage) and very delicious. I also had butter, sugar and caramel crepe for dinner UMMMMMM so good. Then we did the Virgin Megastore, and then the Brittany Parlement Building
which was beautiful. Afterwords, we found the Jardin du Plantes which most major French cities have, but Rennes' was gorgeous. We sat there and ate our delicious baguette and cheese selection (which was where the 'Journey to the center of the baguette' quote came from. That was Peter) in the most beautiful park on the most beautiful day. AH we just were sitting there discussing how amazing our lives are - all while completely lost.
Today, after I did my homework and whatnot, Hannah called and asked me if I wanted to go get coffee. That never actually happened, but I did learn what was at the end of tram line 2 (and, consequently, how trams turn around - not that exciting, but we felt cool for knowing). I also took a boat back home which is probably the coolest thing ever. Then we followed an obscure path through the woods and ended up in the middle of the University campus. We were loving it.
Since the last post (I apologize for the failing again!) I have also gone to a birthday party with my host sister, where I was very much the only English speaker, and made many, many friends. I have also started going to our conversation club - hosted by IES but they invited French students as well and we spend 45 minutes speaking French together and the 45 minutes speaking English together so we can all practice our foreign language. I have also met friends there, and love practicing in such an energetic and fun atmosphere.
I have done so many things I can't begin to list them all here...but all of them have added up to an amazing feeling of satisfaction: I may not have been able to completely follow a conversation, or not known where in the city I was, or what bus line I should be taking, or how I was getting home at any point along the way........but I feel like all of that is EXACTLY what I'm supposed to be doing right now. I'm not SUPPOSED to know what I'm doing or who I'm going to be doing it with or where I'm supposed to be or even where I am after I get there. Because it means that everything is new, and everything is different. I'm living my life in France! This fact has really just started to settle on my consciousness, but every time I sit back and look at where I am, and where I'm calling home at this moment is a brand new revelation. It's totally ridiculous, how awesome it is. I get to explore French capitals with my amazing friends, and I get to ride a boat across the Loire river, and I get to eat cheese and baguettes in glorious gardens, and I get to do my homework while drinking espresso and eating a chocolate croissant. That I get to study for 2 more months in France, doing even more amazing who-knows-what in who-knows-where just blows my mind, and I'm pretty sure....that that was the point.
As much as I "hate" being a statistic, that's exactly what's happened to me. I have, not going to lie, been counting the days until December 21st, and getting more and more excited as the days pass. However, in these past few weeks, I have realized that I'm also getting more and more excited for the days in between now and December 21st. It's a bit overwhelming, but incomprehensibly amazing, to look forward at my life and realize that I'm literally ecstatic for every single day from now until literally March. I have so much coming up in these next months, and so much to look forward to! It's just crazy. I'm so lucky.
My first getting lost experience was last Monday, where it was an absolutely beautiful, sunny 60 degree day and I was done with class at noon. So I decided to walk home across town with Emily and then find my way back. If I found a street that I'd been on before, I took another one. It was great fun. Hannah called me and she asked where I was and I said I had no idea. Because I didn't! And I found a really cool church, and a school and ended up in this park that was gorgeous. I had so much fun, that I decided to not take main roads anymore and have since found some amazing things...which never would have happened had I just taken the same bus line back to my host family's house and stayed inside watching Grey's Anatomy online all day.
My second, and absolute favorite getting lost experience was when Peter, Hannah, Taylor and I decided to go buy train tickets for 20 Euro to the town of Rennes, which is the capitol of the department of Brittany (the equivalent of French states, or more like counties = departments). We got off from the train (which was literally the most hysterical 2 hours of the trip so far. SO much fun) without any maps or any idea of what there is to do in Rennes and just started walkin. We found an amazing castle-thing, and then the centre ville where we asked at the Office du Tourisme what we should do. She told us there was a market, which we went and explored (and good lord it was amazing. If any of you have ever been to a French market, you'll understand but if not - there are no words. The scents and sounds and colors and options and accordion music and people yelling at you to buy their stuff, and the other people
who are on a mission to find their yellow figs and ginger roots and Emmentale or any other of 300 types of cheeses who will literally knock you over if you get in their way, and the man selling olives who is calling you 'beautiful miss' and the taste-testing UGH the taste-testing...it's amazing). Then we went to eat crepes (BIEN SUR!) because crepes are a Brittany thing, and Rennes is the capital of Brittany so clearly - these were the best crepes you're gonna get. 
Mine was Apple and Sausage (very different than American sausage) and very delicious. I also had butter, sugar and caramel crepe for dinner UMMMMMM so good. Then we did the Virgin Megastore, and then the Brittany Parlement Building
which was beautiful. Afterwords, we found the Jardin du Plantes which most major French cities have, but Rennes' was gorgeous. We sat there and ate our delicious baguette and cheese selection (which was where the 'Journey to the center of the baguette' quote came from. That was Peter) in the most beautiful park on the most beautiful day. AH we just were sitting there discussing how amazing our lives are - all while completely lost.
Today, after I did my homework and whatnot, Hannah called and asked me if I wanted to go get coffee. That never actually happened, but I did learn what was at the end of tram line 2 (and, consequently, how trams turn around - not that exciting, but we felt cool for knowing). I also took a boat back home which is probably the coolest thing ever. Then we followed an obscure path through the woods and ended up in the middle of the University campus. We were loving it.
Since the last post (I apologize for the failing again!) I have also gone to a birthday party with my host sister, where I was very much the only English speaker, and made many, many friends. I have also started going to our conversation club - hosted by IES but they invited French students as well and we spend 45 minutes speaking French together and the 45 minutes speaking English together so we can all practice our foreign language. I have also met friends there, and love practicing in such an energetic and fun atmosphere.
I have done so many things I can't begin to list them all here...but all of them have added up to an amazing feeling of satisfaction: I may not have been able to completely follow a conversation, or not known where in the city I was, or what bus line I should be taking, or how I was getting home at any point along the way........but I feel like all of that is EXACTLY what I'm supposed to be doing right now. I'm not SUPPOSED to know what I'm doing or who I'm going to be doing it with or where I'm supposed to be or even where I am after I get there. Because it means that everything is new, and everything is different. I'm living my life in France! This fact has really just started to settle on my consciousness, but every time I sit back and look at where I am, and where I'm calling home at this moment is a brand new revelation. It's totally ridiculous, how awesome it is. I get to explore French capitals with my amazing friends, and I get to ride a boat across the Loire river, and I get to eat cheese and baguettes in glorious gardens, and I get to do my homework while drinking espresso and eating a chocolate croissant. That I get to study for 2 more months in France, doing even more amazing who-knows-what in who-knows-where just blows my mind, and I'm pretty sure....that that was the point.
03 October 2009
Catching up on things!
I decided to stop failing miserably at this whole blog thing...so while I'm sitting here, watching Dawson's Creek in French, I figured now was a very good time to update you all!
It is absolutely flabbergasting that I've been here for a month already. When I think about it - I have fit in so many amazing experiences so far, and have made a lot of progress toward becoming the kind of 'oriented' that I want to be. I have done a lot exploring around my house, and the town, and the region even, and I have developed a fairly good sense of surrounding. Here is what I have learned/seen in a nutshell:
Our neighborhood is very adorable, and also very safe. I get the feeling that a lot of families have searched out this place and decided it was the best. After getting off the night bus (which I admit, is usually full of crazies at about 11-12 at night) I feel completely safe walking the two blocks to our house. I have also met some neighbors, and this only confirms my thoughts.
The neighborhood is also really well-situated. My house is literally a block from the river, and last Sunday I went exploring which was faaaaantastic! When i go to the fac (university campus) from my house, I always walk the 'promenade' or the boardwalk-type path by the river, but only in one direction. So I decided to take a bike ride in the other direction...and I ended up going about 2.5 miles up the riviere d'Erdre and discovering, among many things, the beautiful Parc Florale de la Beajoire de Nantes (literally - the flower park of beautiful joy in Nantes haha)
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so this is a Google Images production, but it was absolutely gorgeous. Plus, on the beautiful last Saturday of September, there were a million families and couples out and about and I sortof felt like I was in the 1800's on a promenade in Paris...it was so amazing. And it made it that much better that I just stumbled upon it!
Expanding out further, I got to see some of the suburbs/countryside surrounding Nantes yesterday when my host dad brought me with him to his horse riding lesson with his trainer. There were some really quaint little neighborhoods on the drive out, and then when we got off the highway, we were smack-dab in the middle of the country! It's so shocking how little 'urban sprawl' there is here, and my host dad seemed to be really proud of this fact. He told me that his favorite part about France is that you can drive for not much more than 20 minutes, and be in a completely different area, with different architecture, different culture and even different language sometimes; and then go for another half hour, and it will completely change again. It was great. Plus, watching the lesson was really fun too, and helping him groom the horse (it definitely made me miss Girl, the horse I had for a year-ish...)
We saw even more of the area last weekend as well, when IES took us to go see Mont St. Michel! It was so amazingly beautiful, and also quite a shock that we were actually seeing this amazing monument that people wait years and years to get to see. We left insanely early - 7 am - and arrived just as the morning mist was lifting from the island. We got to explore the church (it's actually a basilica, because there's a difference between church/cathedral/basilica...I'm pretty sure it has to do with what religion built it?) and the little town around it. It was quite fun, and really beautiful. After we finished our tour there, we boarded the busses again and went to St. Malo, a really cute coastal town. We lunched there, and then meandered down to the beach and spent most of our 6 hours there :-) it was wonderful.
I also think it's really interesting that a lot of towns in this region (meaning, farther north/closer to Normandy) were almost, or completely destroyed during WWII. I have heard this reasoning a lot, to explain why there is so much mis-matched architecture in Nantes, but also things like...my host mom said not to take a weekend to go to Brest, which is really close, because it's not very pretty after they had to re-build it completely during the Reconstruction period. It's really interesting, and definitely highlights how different our countries' histories are - we learn about WWII and all, but they LIVED it. I can't wait till we go to Normandy (next weekend!) and get to learn more about this.
So, in addition to all of this exploring, we also went to the Opera in Nantes on
Thursday night, which was absolutely wonderful - we got all dressed up and felt very sophisticated, and grown up (kinda. hah). It was really fun. I also bought tickets this week to go to Marseille in November, I'm going to Belgium to visit Nina and MY MOMMY'S COMING TO SEE ME FOR THANKSGIVING! I'm so happy I have all of these things to look forward to. Not only am I going to have all these amazing experiences, but it's also making it a lot easier to do things by the day. I vary between stressing about how MUCH time I have left here, and then 10 minutes later I realize how LITTLE time I have here. It's interesting, but in general I'm getting the sense that time is going to be passing sooooo quickly. I actually have papers to start writing, and homework to do, plus applications and hopefully some IS research (I know, I'm a nerd. Whatevs) to get done.
That's about it for now...I'm going to head downtown and cheer on our new friends from the Oxford Rowing team at the international Crew Regatta on the Loire. Check fbook for more photos soon!
It is absolutely flabbergasting that I've been here for a month already. When I think about it - I have fit in so many amazing experiences so far, and have made a lot of progress toward becoming the kind of 'oriented' that I want to be. I have done a lot exploring around my house, and the town, and the region even, and I have developed a fairly good sense of surrounding. Here is what I have learned/seen in a nutshell:
Our neighborhood is very adorable, and also very safe. I get the feeling that a lot of families have searched out this place and decided it was the best. After getting off the night bus (which I admit, is usually full of crazies at about 11-12 at night) I feel completely safe walking the two blocks to our house. I have also met some neighbors, and this only confirms my thoughts.
The neighborhood is also really well-situated. My house is literally a block from the river, and last Sunday I went exploring which was faaaaantastic! When i go to the fac (university campus) from my house, I always walk the 'promenade' or the boardwalk-type path by the river, but only in one direction. So I decided to take a bike ride in the other direction...and I ended up going about 2.5 miles up the riviere d'Erdre and discovering, among many things, the beautiful Parc Florale de la Beajoire de Nantes (literally - the flower park of beautiful joy in Nantes haha)
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so this is a Google Images production, but it was absolutely gorgeous. Plus, on the beautiful last Saturday of September, there were a million families and couples out and about and I sortof felt like I was in the 1800's on a promenade in Paris...it was so amazing. And it made it that much better that I just stumbled upon it!
Expanding out further, I got to see some of the suburbs/countryside surrounding Nantes yesterday when my host dad brought me with him to his horse riding lesson with his trainer. There were some really quaint little neighborhoods on the drive out, and then when we got off the highway, we were smack-dab in the middle of the country! It's so shocking how little 'urban sprawl' there is here, and my host dad seemed to be really proud of this fact. He told me that his favorite part about France is that you can drive for not much more than 20 minutes, and be in a completely different area, with different architecture, different culture and even different language sometimes; and then go for another half hour, and it will completely change again. It was great. Plus, watching the lesson was really fun too, and helping him groom the horse (it definitely made me miss Girl, the horse I had for a year-ish...)
We saw even more of the area last weekend as well, when IES took us to go see Mont St. Michel! It was so amazingly beautiful, and also quite a shock that we were actually seeing this amazing monument that people wait years and years to get to see. We left insanely early - 7 am - and arrived just as the morning mist was lifting from the island. We got to explore the church (it's actually a basilica, because there's a difference between church/cathedral/basilica...I'm pretty sure it has to do with what religion built it?) and the little town around it. It was quite fun, and really beautiful. After we finished our tour there, we boarded the busses again and went to St. Malo, a really cute coastal town. We lunched there, and then meandered down to the beach and spent most of our 6 hours there :-) it was wonderful.
I also think it's really interesting that a lot of towns in this region (meaning, farther north/closer to Normandy) were almost, or completely destroyed during WWII. I have heard this reasoning a lot, to explain why there is so much mis-matched architecture in Nantes, but also things like...my host mom said not to take a weekend to go to Brest, which is really close, because it's not very pretty after they had to re-build it completely during the Reconstruction period. It's really interesting, and definitely highlights how different our countries' histories are - we learn about WWII and all, but they LIVED it. I can't wait till we go to Normandy (next weekend!) and get to learn more about this.
So, in addition to all of this exploring, we also went to the Opera in Nantes on
Thursday night, which was absolutely wonderful - we got all dressed up and felt very sophisticated, and grown up (kinda. hah). It was really fun. I also bought tickets this week to go to Marseille in November, I'm going to Belgium to visit Nina and MY MOMMY'S COMING TO SEE ME FOR THANKSGIVING! I'm so happy I have all of these things to look forward to. Not only am I going to have all these amazing experiences, but it's also making it a lot easier to do things by the day. I vary between stressing about how MUCH time I have left here, and then 10 minutes later I realize how LITTLE time I have here. It's interesting, but in general I'm getting the sense that time is going to be passing sooooo quickly. I actually have papers to start writing, and homework to do, plus applications and hopefully some IS research (I know, I'm a nerd. Whatevs) to get done.
That's about it for now...I'm going to head downtown and cheer on our new friends from the Oxford Rowing team at the international Crew Regatta on the Loire. Check fbook for more photos soon!
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