I'm still alive, just busy...

Its been hard to find time to just sit down and write a post, but its Sunday and my family is off at Futuroscope, so I've got lots of free time. Last weekend we went to their grandparents house in the south of Brittany, on the beach, which was great, and then it was time to start getting used to life in a new city.

I really don't know where to even start...I've been in Rennes a little over a week now and it seems like its been months. We've been going to classes at Langues et Communication during the week. The teachers are very....eccentric. Laurent is this 40-something Frenchman who likes to wear denim jackets and purple pants. He teaches the first grammar class of my day, and as he's a very in your face, intense kind of guy (what other type of person would wear purple pants...), it's a little too much to handle at 9am every day. He's very into hypotheticals, so he makes us "imaginez" situations and pretty much everyone stares blankly. I imagine him as a guy who lived in Montreal in the 80's and never left. I've noticed a lot of France is stuck in the 80's, actually...

We also have a civilization class in the afternoons, which is pretty hit or miss. Friday, the class spent the hour talking about the year 1968, I spent the hour napping. But, when we learned about Brittany, it actually was pretty interesting. I've got a week left of classes there, and then its off to the big show: l'Université de Haute Bretagne. I placed into Avancé so I've got a pretty good selection of classes I can take, and I'm looking forward to actually taking classes that matter (not that Laurent and his purple pants aren't great...).

Rennes is a really fun town. Its doesn't feel like a big city, much in the way Madison doesn't either. The métro is efficient and clean, and the buses are too. Renne's centre ville is adorable, with all sorts of wooden buildings that have been around since the 1500's. Some look ready to fall over, but they are really cool all the same. There are so many cafés and cute shops and an H&M (!), and the Marché des Lices that happens every Saturday is awesome. It's the 3rd largest in France (I think), and you can find everything! Its super busy and most Rennais do their shopping here. My host mom bought a GIANT fish and an entire chicken before...you can also buy flowers, vegetables, fruit, etc etc etc. Its really cool.

Life with a family has been interesting...I think that most of the families think the students are dumb, or a lot worse in French then they really are, because all I hear about is how peoples host families never think they understand. My family will repeat things three times even when I understood it the first time. Its really awkward still to be living here in a strangers house, plus the fact that I'm responding in French, so I am kind of tongue tied. I understand what my family says to me, but beyond saying "d'accord" or "oui," I don't ever know what to respond with. So, my family thinks I'm lost half the time when I'm not. Its really, really, REALLY frustrating and makes me kind of uncomfortable. I'm sure it will get better with time though. Hopefully. Hanging out with the moniteurs (French students who are there to pretty much hang out with us and help out) is awesome, and they're a lot easier to talk to. I don't feel so ridiculous.

I've been playing soccer with a few of the moniteurs and people from CIEE, which has been really fun. I definitely missed playing. Yoann, one of the moniteurs, has actually become a good friend of ours (the people from Madison), and he's shown us around and taken us out. He's really funny, and loves learning English phrases, like 'badass' and all the silly things Cody's taught him. Nightlife in Rennes is pretty crazy. There's a road here called "Rue Saint Michel" thats been nicknamed "Rue de la soif." That means road of thirst, and it definitely has earned the nickname. Its a tiny street packed with bars that gets so crowded on the weekend that you can barely walk down it. Its like if you took all the bars on State Street and condensed them down to a block. It was definitely ridiculous to see. Thursday is actually the biggest night to go out here, because most students go home Friday and Saturday to see their families.

Madtown on Rue de la Soif

Yesterday a few of us went to Rue de la soif to watch the France vs. Romania World Cup Qualifier game. We met some Frenchies and they asked us where we were from and upon hearing Wisconsin they all got big smiles. "That 70's Show!" Yup. Thats the only thing people know about Wisco. People here also LOVE How I Met Your Mother. Yoann loves it, the people we met last night did too. Everyone wants to be Barney. One of the guys last night was wearing a Homer Simpson shirt too. Classy. Leah, Larissa, and I had a little sleepover at Leah's house as all our families were out of town, and it was a really fun night.

One cultural difference I've noticed so far is definitely meal time. The French eat late (not before 7:30pm) and its a requirement pretty much. You have to be home for dinner. It usually involves multiple courses, like a salad, some main dish, some cheese and bread, and then dessert. Peoples schedules definitely revolve around eating. I think it reflects the structured nature of the French mindset in general. In class, Laurent was always stressing the structure of your thoughts/arguments. I feel like Americans are much more about free flowing ideas and effort, while the French like order and no errors. Daniel, the program director, likened it to a kids coloring book. In France, if a kid is asked to copy a picture of a man in a blue shirt and red pants, the kid better copy it and be inside the lines. In the US, if a kid decides purple polka dots on the shirt and green pants work better, and puts a sun and some clouds in the background, then that's perfect. Put it on the fridge. With Lucille, my little sister who's 5 and a half, if she wears something funky, like rainbow socks and flowered sandals, Sophie, my host mom, makes her change. It just makes me think of when my mom used to let me wear capes and zorro hats to the store and my brother got to go around in tiger face paint. I'm not saying one is necessarily right, but I'm kind of glad I got the upbringing I did.

I've gotta start looking at classes, it's going to be a little tough to make sure I'm taking classes to cover both majors, but I think a lot of classes offered here will work. Trying to get in the school mindset is so hard, as this trip still feels a little like vacation...

A bientôt!