Postings from resident directors and students currently abroad, important announcements and useful infomation for planning your study abroad experience.
Bonjour!
Well it's been a month, but it feels like I've been here forever! My apartment feels like home now, and my roommates feel like old friends. I am getting settled into my classes... although I can't say that I'm enjoying them. It is extremely difficult to sit there and listen to someone speak French (not a word of English is spoken at all) at you for two hours. I have only had class for a few weeks now, so I'm sure it will get better with time. I have been doing a lot of fun things during the past few weeks! First, I got to experience a real French transportation strike! I couldn't go to class for two days because it would have taken me 1 1/2 hours to get there, and 1 1/2 hours to get back- just not worth it. It was kind of strange not being able to really leave my neighborhood because the metro, buses, and even taxis weren't running.
I went to my first French party! My friend Amanda and I went with some French friends of ours to a crepe party. One thing that was very different from American culture is the kissing. When you are introduced to someone, you kiss them on both cheeks. This process makes meeting everyone a very lengthy ordeal. You have to do it all again when you leave too! The party was fun, except most of the people didn't speak English that well so communication was a bit difficult. The crepes were wonderful- nutella, banana, and whipped cream :)
My roommates and I went to the Catacombs one Sunday afternoon. They are actually only a five minute walk from my apartment! It was soooo cool! You walk down SO many stairs into a damp cave-like tunnel and then all of a sudden there are skulls and bones just right next to you. The tunnel lasts for maybe 30 minutes. You just walk along looking at the skulls and bones piled up right next to you. They are so close you can touch them, although none of us got the urge to do so.
I got to go to a cooking demonstration at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. The chef was French, so an English woman translated the demonstration. It was really interesting watching him- he put Rachael Ray to shame! We got to sample the food afterwards- we had artichoke bottoms with celery, cucumber, and apple slaw, leeks with little potatoes, and some kind of fish. The food was SO good, although my Dad's cooking is right up there too.
I had my first Abroadco excursion last weekend. We went to a little town called Reims (pronounced Rens). There is a huge cathedral in Reims that we got a guided tour through. There is so much history here in France. The cathedral that we went to is actually the place where all of the kinds of France have their coronation ceremony. It is also the place where Clovis was baptized with oil sent from God. After we saw the cathedral, we went to a Champagne house. We got a tour of the champagne caves which was very interesting. After the tour, we got to sample some very fancy champagne that we had just learned about. Everyone slept on the way home :)
Yesterday, a few of us decided to go on our own day trip. We took a 45 min. train ride to Chartres where we explored another cathedral and the town. This cathedral is very famous because the two towers on it are completely different from one another. We also got to climb the MANY flights of stairs to the top of the church for an amazing view of the town. After the cathedral, we explored a cemetery- I was hoping there would be a Lemieux but we didn't find any. We ate dinner and walked around Chartres. The town looks like those little wooden Christmas villages with cotton on roof for snow. It was so quaint!
A couple more random things that might be interesting: I bought my first slab of fromage (cheese) at an open air market- I felt so French. We celebrated halloween here in France where no one else in the city was dressed up. We actually found a pumpkin on halloween night and carved it :) I am absolutely addicted to almond croissants (there is a wonderful little patisserie three doors down from my apartment). I went to a French doctor- I have had a cold ever since I got here, so I decided to go. It was a bit difficult because he didn't speak much English, and we all know that I dont speak much French. I got two prescriptions filled at a pharmacie and it was only 4 euros!! Very, very different from the US.
posted on
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 9:03 AM