So wow... I am here... In Angers... In France! Sorry I haven't written in a while but I have been crazy busy. A ton has happened just in the last couple of days. I think I will break it down into sections so it is a tad easier to follow...
Traveling
 |
First view of France!
|
The Detroit airport was extremely easy to navigate, which I was very thankful for and I got through security just fine (even though I forgot to take my laptop out of my bag so they had to run it through again; oops!). The flight was quite nice actually. I sat next to Katie, the other girl from CMU attending CIDEF this semester, and we were served a lovely French dinner around 11 PM. Then in the morning we were served a muffin and some juice. Note: Buy a bottle of water before boarding the plane! I was so thirsty, I must have asked
pour de l'eau at least five times. When we got to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris we went through customs (easier than getting into Canada by the way; they didn't even ask us any questions!) and then hopped the train to Angers. It was about an hour and a half ride and I was very nervous about meeting my host mom there. But when we stepped off the train and followed the crowd to the lobby, a huge group of elderly women descended upon us asking us if we were CIDEF students. I asked for Mme Breteau and a sweet little old lady stepped right up and led me to her car. She is lovely and very silly. She has been doing this for a very long time so she knows to speak slowly and clearly and to gesture a lot to us foreigners.
Arriving
 |
My Room!
|
 |
Weird Art in the House...
|
Mme and I pulled up to this large house as she tells me that it was built in 1761! It is the kookiest house I have ever seen, but that just makes it all the more endearing. Two other girls and I live in the upstairs which is very much like a mini apartment; we even have our own kitchenette. The stairs are on the outside of the house and we each have a key to get in so coming and going is easy. My roommates are Caitie from North Carolina and Yuko from Japan. We each have our own room which is very nice, and there are two bathrooms. Then there are two Chinese boys (don't ask me to spell their names) who stay in a type of tiny cottage a few feet in front of the main house. When I got there Mme fed me a lot, then just a couple hours later was dinner! And she made me eat a ton more, scooping several spoonfuls of rice onto my plate even after I tried to say that I was done. And then she expected me to finish it. "Eat!" she says, "In France we finish all our food!" So I stuffed it down. It's better than starving I suppose! After dinner it was off to bed for everyone.
Day One
 |
Fountain Downtown
|
 |
Orientation
|
This was definitely the hardest day so far. I was not very smart and decided to wear heeled boots... terrible idea. Mme drove us all to school in the morning but we were expected to take the bus back home. So we went and took our placement test which was pretty difficult; we get our results on Monday, so I will cue you in on that then. After the test we walked to
le resto-U, or the university cafeteria. It is very cheap for fairly good food. My feet were already hurting at this point however, and after lunch we went on this huge tour of the city. My feet hurt so bad, I could hardly keep up. But I tried to stay positive and focus on the sights and important places as much as possible. Despite the pain, I was still having a fairly good time and I was already meeting new people and making friends. Then when we finally returned to the university, I went to the bus stop that I thought would take me home. At this point I had been separated from all of my housemates, so I was really just guessing. I met a French woman named Camille there and she was very sweet. It ended up being the wrong bus, but she was very helpful and went out of her way to show me an alternate route that would take me home. I took this bus, but I did not realize that the bus driver would not stop if you didn't press the little red button by each seat when your stop comes up. So I missed the stop I was supposed to get off on and ended up telling the driver to stop in the middle of nowhere. So long story short, I got very lost with no phone and in a residential area so there was no place to stop and ask directions... and mind you, I was still in my heels! Luckily I found a map and figured out about where my house should be (I hoped) and started walking. By shear luck I found my house again and I will fully admit that when I got to my room I flopped on my bed and started bawling my eyes out. I managed not to cry until that moment, but I was so overwhelmed I knew it would have to come at some point. My feet still hurt by the way.
Day Two
 |
Tonight's Dessert!
|
Today was much better than yesterday. My feet still hurt a lot from yesterday, but I made sure to wear flat boots. We rode the bus this morning (were a little late...) and I met a ton of new people from around the states and from Mexico. It was lovely meeting people from so many different places. There are a lot of Koreans and Chinese but also a lot of Americans. I am so excited to get settled in to where I have a set schedule and all my banking and busing is all squared away. Then it will be all about traveling and exploring! This evening, my roommate Caitie and another girl Sarah and I went around downtown for a bit. We also bought phones for here which is very exciting! We stopped for a drink at a local bar and then stumbled upon this nice African-French restaurant for dinner. We got home pretty late but it was a blast.
 |
Me!
|
Tomorrow we are going to the bus "store" to get bus passes that will last us a few months so we don't have to keep buying a ticket every time because that can get expensive. I should probably check in with Mme as well because I haven't seen her in about 48 hours... She probably thinks I am dead! Well I think that is all I have for now. I will be sure to post more pictures next time of the city and friends and all that jazz. Until then,
au revoir!
The Detroit airport was extremely easy to navigate, which I was very thankful for and I got through security just fine (even though I forgot to take my laptop out of my bag so they had to run it through again; oops!). The flight was quite nice actually. I sat next to Katie, the other girl from CMU attending CIDEF this semester, and we were served a lovely French dinner around 11 PM. Then in the morning we were served a muffin and some juice. Note: Buy a bottle of water before boarding the plane! I was so thirsty, I must have asked pour de l'eau at least five times. When we got to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris we went through customs (easier than getting into Canada by the way; they didn't even ask us any questions!) and then hopped the train to Angers. It was about an hour and a half ride and I was very nervous about meeting my host mom there. But when we stepped off the train and followed the crowd to the lobby, a huge group of elderly women descended upon us asking us if we were CIDEF students. I asked for Mme Breteau and a sweet little old lady stepped right up and led me to her car. She is lovely and very silly. She has been doing this for a very long time so she knows to speak slowly and clearly and to gesture a lot to us foreigners.
Mme and I pulled up to this large house as she tells me that it was built in 1761! It is the kookiest house I have ever seen, but that just makes it all the more endearing. Two other girls and I live in the upstairs which is very much like a mini apartment; we even have our own kitchenette. The stairs are on the outside of the house and we each have a key to get in so coming and going is easy. My roommates are Caitie from North Carolina and Yuko from Japan. We each have our own room which is very nice, and there are two bathrooms. Then there are two Chinese boys (don't ask me to spell their names) who stay in a type of tiny cottage a few feet in front of the main house. When I got there Mme fed me a lot, then just a couple hours later was dinner! And she made me eat a ton more, scooping several spoonfuls of rice onto my plate even after I tried to say that I was done. And then she expected me to finish it. "Eat!" she says, "In France we finish all our food!" So I stuffed it down. It's better than starving I suppose! After dinner it was off to bed for everyone.
This was definitely the hardest day so far. I was not very smart and decided to wear heeled boots... terrible idea. Mme drove us all to school in the morning but we were expected to take the bus back home. So we went and took our placement test which was pretty difficult; we get our results on Monday, so I will cue you in on that then. After the test we walked to le resto-U, or the university cafeteria. It is very cheap for fairly good food. My feet were already hurting at this point however, and after lunch we went on this huge tour of the city. My feet hurt so bad, I could hardly keep up. But I tried to stay positive and focus on the sights and important places as much as possible. Despite the pain, I was still having a fairly good time and I was already meeting new people and making friends. Then when we finally returned to the university, I went to the bus stop that I thought would take me home. At this point I had been separated from all of my housemates, so I was really just guessing. I met a French woman named Camille there and she was very sweet. It ended up being the wrong bus, but she was very helpful and went out of her way to show me an alternate route that would take me home. I took this bus, but I did not realize that the bus driver would not stop if you didn't press the little red button by each seat when your stop comes up. So I missed the stop I was supposed to get off on and ended up telling the driver to stop in the middle of nowhere. So long story short, I got very lost with no phone and in a residential area so there was no place to stop and ask directions... and mind you, I was still in my heels! Luckily I found a map and figured out about where my house should be (I hoped) and started walking. By shear luck I found my house again and I will fully admit that when I got to my room I flopped on my bed and started bawling my eyes out. I managed not to cry until that moment, but I was so overwhelmed I knew it would have to come at some point. My feet still hurt by the way.
Getting lost in a new city alone is rough- let alone with feet that hurt! Glad you got banking and phones settled! It should help make some things a little easier for you. It might also be good to get the phone number of the local taxi service into your phone just in case you run into a situation where the public transport doesn't seem to be running the route you need for whatever reason. (Happened to me in three different countries.)
ReplyDeleteThanks Anne! That's great advice, I will be sure to do that.
DeleteGlad your ok, things will get easier as you become more familiar> I would hug you if I where there. Love Carol
ReplyDeleteHopefully the initial shock of being in a new environment is over and things will be better each day. A map is a good tool to have in a new place. We have snow storm today schools are closed, wind is blowing and 6+ inches of fresh wet slippery snow to shovel. I'm glad you are safe and I hugged my phone when your blog was crying... Love Dad
ReplyDeleteIt's ok, I cried for like 15 solid minutes once I got to France after my plane ride haha. But I'm so excited for you! Enjoy the bars, it really sucks when you come back to the U.S. and you can't go anymore.
ReplyDelete