Today we met our host families. It zas probably one of the most nervewracking things I have done in a LONG time. Its a big deal, since I'm going to be living here for a year.....
So, here's the deal: I'm living with a family of 5 (a mom, dad, 2 daughters ages 12 et 5 (and a half she prouldly told me) and a son age 10) and their cat Choupette. I'm actuqally in the city, pretty close to centre ville, which is great! a lot of students had to stay in houses in the suburbs with long commutes. The youngest girl is very very very cute (hard to understand too) but she told me I look like her friend and she likes to hold my hand. The boy likes cycling a lot and showed me all his posters of the "great cyclists."
Tommorrow I take the place,ent test to see where I end up in classes....I,m pretty nervous. I might actually study before bed. Weird. After that, the kids in my family are part of a circus camp and are putting on a "spectacle" which I am invited to. The youngest is a tightrope walker!
My room is very cute and in the basement so I can have my own space. I,ll take some pics soon. My hosts seem really accomadating, and are even going to get WiFi soon so I can use my laptop (hopefully soon...). I,m using a french keyboard which is pretty frustrating. Things are not where they should be. AND they have a kids block on facebook. Boooooooooooo.
Now tomorrow is the beginning of the real experience. I'm terrified. AH!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Bienvenue à Paris!
So, I'm in Paris right now for the orientation and its been a very very interesting couple days.
I had a Guiness at 9AM in the airport in Dublin. That was pretty wonderful after a flight with no sleep. The plane had TVs on each seat which was great, but also lead to movie watching and no napping. We (the other girls in the program from Madison) made it to Paris pretty much without a problem.
Paris is where the fun began.
Fun Tip #1: Do not take the métro with 50+ pounds of luggage. You will get stuck in the turn styles and be ridiculed by les parisiens.
Fun Tip #2: Do take the marked métro doorway for people with luggage and strollers. If you do not, see Fun Tip #1.
Lets just say, getting to our hostel was an adventure. AND the hostel had 5 lovely sets of spiraling stairs we had to lug our suitcases up. Whooooo.
Notable event from the first exhausting day...I saw a completely naked hairy Frenchman sitting on a stoop messing with his bojangles.
Since then, things have been a little more relaxed. We've met with our program and the leaders. The head director got his PhD at Madison! And the assistant director is this really nice lady from West Bend who attended UW-Milwaukee when she was younger. Wisco represent! haha. They had us sign contracts saying we would speak French pretty much all the time (which a lot of people in the program haven't really been following...I had a girl ask me if our classes were going to be in English...uh. no.) The people in the program from Madison are really nice and have been great. We're all kind of just freaking out and nervous and excited. Its good to have some people I know I can go to here.
We still don't know our host families...but we will Thursday! I'm very excited to just get to Rennes and settle down. Unpack my suitcase. Meet the people I'm going to be living with for 9 months. Mostly here in Paris I'm just tired and slightly overwhelmed. And scared. And excited. Basically a mess of emotions.
Some Paris highlights:
-Eating the BEST TIRAMISU at a random café with Leah and Larissa (two Madison girls). It was good food too and good conversation (in French, we were practicing :)
-Seeing people's reactions who've never seen the Eiffel Tower sparkle. SO fun.
-Actually finding a water fountain near Notre Dame. It was awesome. Seriously. How are Parisians not dying of dehydration?!
Anyways, I'm probably wearing out my welcome in this McDonalds (the only place with free WiFi that we've discovered). I'll get pictures up at some point and hopefully will have some more exciting news from Rennes soon!!!!!!!
I had a Guiness at 9AM in the airport in Dublin. That was pretty wonderful after a flight with no sleep. The plane had TVs on each seat which was great, but also lead to movie watching and no napping. We (the other girls in the program from Madison) made it to Paris pretty much without a problem.
Paris is where the fun began.
Fun Tip #1: Do not take the métro with 50+ pounds of luggage. You will get stuck in the turn styles and be ridiculed by les parisiens.
Fun Tip #2: Do take the marked métro doorway for people with luggage and strollers. If you do not, see Fun Tip #1.
Lets just say, getting to our hostel was an adventure. AND the hostel had 5 lovely sets of spiraling stairs we had to lug our suitcases up. Whooooo.
Notable event from the first exhausting day...I saw a completely naked hairy Frenchman sitting on a stoop messing with his bojangles.
Since then, things have been a little more relaxed. We've met with our program and the leaders. The head director got his PhD at Madison! And the assistant director is this really nice lady from West Bend who attended UW-Milwaukee when she was younger. Wisco represent! haha. They had us sign contracts saying we would speak French pretty much all the time (which a lot of people in the program haven't really been following...I had a girl ask me if our classes were going to be in English...uh. no.) The people in the program from Madison are really nice and have been great. We're all kind of just freaking out and nervous and excited. Its good to have some people I know I can go to here.
We still don't know our host families...but we will Thursday! I'm very excited to just get to Rennes and settle down. Unpack my suitcase. Meet the people I'm going to be living with for 9 months. Mostly here in Paris I'm just tired and slightly overwhelmed. And scared. And excited. Basically a mess of emotions.
Some Paris highlights:
-Eating the BEST TIRAMISU at a random café with Leah and Larissa (two Madison girls). It was good food too and good conversation (in French, we were practicing :)
-Seeing people's reactions who've never seen the Eiffel Tower sparkle. SO fun.
-Actually finding a water fountain near Notre Dame. It was awesome. Seriously. How are Parisians not dying of dehydration?!
Anyways, I'm probably wearing out my welcome in this McDonalds (the only place with free WiFi that we've discovered). I'll get pictures up at some point and hopefully will have some more exciting news from Rennes soon!!!!!!!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
15 Days...
So, after a failed attempt at hosting my own website with iWeb (a program on my mac) and some free site based in New Zealand resulted in hackers and google blocking my blog, I've resorted to a blogspot. Not as awesome as my other blog, but it will do.
Hopefully I'll be able to put some pics up and keep you all updated with what I'm up to abroad (awesome adventures, for sure!). I have about two weeks left before I leave, and I can't quite believe it. It definitely hasn't sunk in yet at all. I'm still working my summer job (I'm actually at work right now, working an overnight shift...), trying to pack up my apartment for the move out, painting my mom's house, enjoying summer. The idea of flying overseas in a jet and landing in Paris, attempting to speak nothing but French, living with complete strangers who are to become my French "family"...........not quite making connections in my brain that its real. For now, I'll keep on playing mini golf, going for walks to Picnic Point, sitting at the terrace watching sunsets, and putzing around the internet at work. I'm trying to enjoy my last two weeks.
I'm unbelievably excited to go abroad. I've wanted to study in France for as long as I can remember. I know it's going to be a big shock, and they've gone over the whole "wave of culture shock/emotions" with us at orientation. I'm definitely at the top of a wave right now....the only thing I'm not looking forward to is packing. A suitcase to fit a whole year. Wow.
Oh and just so everyone knows, Rennes is a city in the Northwest of France, in an area called Brittany. Its actually the regional capitol of Brittany, and has a population of around 200,000 (60,000 students!!!!). Its the smallest city in the world to have its own métro. Pretty cool, huh? I'll be attending the Université de Haute Bretagne II, but I don't know my classes yet. I'll have to take a placement test first before I register. Check this site out for some cool panoramas of Rennes. Its in French, but you can just click on the picture. There's an English version of the site too, but its doesn't have the cool pics. Anyways, I'll write to you all again soon!
Hopefully I'll be able to put some pics up and keep you all updated with what I'm up to abroad (awesome adventures, for sure!). I have about two weeks left before I leave, and I can't quite believe it. It definitely hasn't sunk in yet at all. I'm still working my summer job (I'm actually at work right now, working an overnight shift...), trying to pack up my apartment for the move out, painting my mom's house, enjoying summer. The idea of flying overseas in a jet and landing in Paris, attempting to speak nothing but French, living with complete strangers who are to become my French "family"...........not quite making connections in my brain that its real. For now, I'll keep on playing mini golf, going for walks to Picnic Point, sitting at the terrace watching sunsets, and putzing around the internet at work. I'm trying to enjoy my last two weeks.
I'm unbelievably excited to go abroad. I've wanted to study in France for as long as I can remember. I know it's going to be a big shock, and they've gone over the whole "wave of culture shock/emotions" with us at orientation. I'm definitely at the top of a wave right now....the only thing I'm not looking forward to is packing. A suitcase to fit a whole year. Wow.
Oh and just so everyone knows, Rennes is a city in the Northwest of France, in an area called Brittany. Its actually the regional capitol of Brittany, and has a population of around 200,000 (60,000 students!!!!). Its the smallest city in the world to have its own métro. Pretty cool, huh? I'll be attending the Université de Haute Bretagne II, but I don't know my classes yet. I'll have to take a placement test first before I register. Check this site out for some cool panoramas of Rennes. Its in French, but you can just click on the picture. There's an English version of the site too, but its doesn't have the cool pics. Anyways, I'll write to you all again soon!
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