My First Week Abroad

Okay...so due to popular demand and unknown reasons as to why anyone would be remotely interested in reading this...here is my study abroad blog you can follow anytime you are procrastinating doing anything you are actually supposed to be doing.

So in about an hour it's been almost a week since I left...or maybe its a few hours considering the time difference, but who cares. Anyways, getting out of the g-val (as much as I love it on occasion) has been the best thing I have ever done. Every problem I had was left at home with all of my stuffy thoughts and I feel like I can finally focus on more important things... like French boys. No but actually, it really is liberating and I've been trying really hard to become more accustomed to the French culture and it's actually a lot different than everyone told me. First off, I do want everyone to know this. I know that everyone says that the French and American societies just don't get along and that either side is stupid and doesn't understand the other's side, but honestly, living here has just taught me how untrue all of that is. I mean I always wanted to believe it, and I'm sure you heard me time and again defending the French just because I love their language and whole persona, but I really have just been shown nothing but absolute kindness since I got here. Whether it be the French teachers who immediately offered me an open door for questions or a means of practicing my French, or the French motorcyclist who asked me and my friends for directions and rattled of random American cities in broken English when we told him we were from the US, I see only people trying to relate to people. In fact, today I was in a telephone store attempting to have a conversation about a minutes plan and as I walked out the door to leave, the man helping me actually left from inside and thanked me for trying to speak French... I guess I didn't speak it as well as I thought... but he was so appreciative that I didn't just go into his store and demand him to speak English, which apparently he says happens all the time. It's this kind of stuff that separates us from one another and I am so thrilled that I can make even a tiny difference in someone's way of thinking and I'm also glad to see I haven't been defending a culture I barely know for nothing.

Anyways, back to life abroad. My day starts out a lot like elementary school. Breakfast starts at 8 so naturally my roommate (Paige) and I wake up at 8. By 810 we are ready, which is actually really impressive if I do say so myself, and we have breakfast until 845. Breakfast for the French consists of yogurt, cereal, toast, bowls of cafe au lait, tea, or hot chocolate and croissants which taste amazing when you dip it into the hot chocolate. After our petit déjuner, we have class at 9, a "coffee break" at 1030 for 15 minutes, then back to class until lunch at 1200. We only take our main French class for the first month, so after lunch, which consists of a salad, soup, main course then fruit, we get free time for the rest of the day. Mostly, we've spent our time walking around Cannes which is still pretty chilly, but the sun lightens the Côte d'Azur more and more everyday. Cannes is so beautiful and different than anything I'm use to. Before this, I loved walking through Olde City in Philly just because I felt like I could see myself in the 18th century, which seemed almost ancient and romantic. But the 18th century here is relatively new. At the top of the mountains that overlook the bright city, there is a watch tower that we'll be climbing Thursday that dates back to 15th century. I could be off on some points because I was told this story in French, but the story of Cannes' settlement is really interesting (I can just see my friends thinking how dorky I am right now. Shannon if you were able to even read this far, congrats considering you haven't read anything since The Notebook senior year, but shut it.) Anyways, the people that originally settled Cannes thought that it was a bad place because as beautiful as it was, it had a lot of snakes which represented evil and its beauty was thought to be a temptation. The traveling people were going to leave, but a huge storm started causing some kind of tsunami wave that allowed the people to only have time enough to climb the palmiers (palm trees) and hang onto the branches to survive. It passed almost as soon as it began, and the people were saved from the palm tree branches and the snakes were washed away by the waves. The people thought it was blessing from God, and they settled in Cannes that day. Today, the palm is the symbol for the Cannes Film Festival, which is the second most filmed event behind the Olympics.

So that's your history lesson. Back to my life, again, I am really excited because the day I got here I saw an advertisement from a four-year-old girl (her mom obviously wrote it for her) asking for an American girl to meet with her, play with her, and speak in English so she could learn. They're offering to pay something (thank God because I'm flippin broke already) so I'm going to be calling her tomorrow. I'll let the whole two people reading this blog know how it goes. Also, tomorrow I start with my new French friend thing that I signed up for. It's where someone my age in town signs up to practice their English and gets paired with someone like me so that I can practice my French. One day we speak English, the next time we meet we speak French. We meet tomorrow at 430, so I'm definitely nervous about it, but I cannot wait to have full blown conversations in French. I mean every time I speak it, my face turns red and my heart bounds because its so nerve wracking, but the moment I finish my thought, it's like a huge weight has been lifted and its the best, most accomplishing feeling. My new friends Erin and Sara (yes I made friends) and I were talking about it and even the simplest things like asking if they have a shirt in another color or asking for more water is amazing. No exaggerations. And maybe I'm pathetic, but I love it.

These 10 years of studying and putting everything I have into learning a different language, a different way of life, is finally all coming together and I cannot wait until I can come back to the states with a completely new outlook on life. I can already feel myself changing and I recommend to everyone and anyone: get out of your crummy home town. Just pick up and leave it all. Because looking back on everything I have been spending all my time thinking about, stressing about, crying about means nothing. This is everything.

More to come as things happen. Thanks so much for reading. I miss and love everyone and I think of you all often. Bonsoir!