So the first week of classes wasn't too bad, but it's going to take a while to get used to the French class schedule. We usually have class for 6 hours a day with only an hour or two for lunch break. Going from 9-1 straight is VERY exhausting, especially when some of the teachers' accents are hard to understand. This past Thursday we went out with all the French people in our classes and it was very fun. We went to this really fun club (one of the biggest in France) and didn't get home until 430. We had class the next morning at 9 so it was a very rough morning for all.
We left Friday after class for Paris, unfortunately our train was delayed for 2 hours so that was a bummer. We eventually got in around midnight and we were all starving. Luckily in Paris you can find food whenever. We woke up relatively early Saturday and wandered around our hostel (north Paris). Unfortunatkey we ended up getting quite lost....we almost were off the map. Lucky somebody who spoke English pointed us in the right direction. Saturday afternoon we did some more wandering and saw the louvre and the notre-dame. It was my 3rd time in Paris and seeing everything, but I still enjoyed them a lot. After all that walking, we were exhausted, so we had a very nice Italian dinner complete with good wine. Afterwards, we walked to the Eiffel tower and saw the light show which was very cool. Afterwards we were practically dead so we went home. Sunday we saw the arc de triumphe and the champs-elysees and walked around.we got back to Nantes late last night and I was happy to be home.
Today we met another new professor who is from Texas and a UT alum. Needless to say, she's very charismatic and says y'all so I love her. This weekend we'll be in Nice, so I'm hoping for some good weather!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Nantes!!
After the longest trip ever, I was so excited to finally get to Nantes and it was well worth it. I'd list a bunch of useless facts about the city but the most important things are that it's in the western loire valley of France, relatively near the coast, and beautiful. I'm living with a host family relatively close to the main downtown area and a 10 minute tram ride to audencia (the business school where we take classes). I have a mom, dad, 12-year old girl 21 and 23 year old boys and a 25-year old girl. But the 12-year old is the only sibling here all the time. I also have another OSU girl staying here too. Typical French house with insanely high ceilings, small bedrooms, and weird bathrooms. But its very cute!
Since being here I've had spinnach, tons of cheese, duck, and some other stuff I don't want to know, but all of the food is delicious. My host mom is a great cook. We had a bank holiday on Monday, so I took that time to wander around Nantes a bit. Little did i know, our school had already arranged a tour for Tuesday. The official tour was way more thorough and informative than mine and I learned a lot about the city. Tuesday night, all of the Americans in the program (including OSU, UC, BG, and some other random schools) and some of the French people from audencia all went out together. Drinks here are VERY expensive, but very good. The bar was mostly our group, but it was a good way of getting to know everybody.
Today was an early morning (730) after last night, so I definitely learned I need to head in a bit earlier on week nights. We had class for three hours, then a 2 hour lunch break, then three more hours of class. It was NOT fun at all. Everybody was very tired and it was extremey hard to stay awake. Hopefully that gets better with time. We're going to Paris this weekend and I can't wait to go back to one of my favorite cities!
Since being here I've had spinnach, tons of cheese, duck, and some other stuff I don't want to know, but all of the food is delicious. My host mom is a great cook. We had a bank holiday on Monday, so I took that time to wander around Nantes a bit. Little did i know, our school had already arranged a tour for Tuesday. The official tour was way more thorough and informative than mine and I learned a lot about the city. Tuesday night, all of the Americans in the program (including OSU, UC, BG, and some other random schools) and some of the French people from audencia all went out together. Drinks here are VERY expensive, but very good. The bar was mostly our group, but it was a good way of getting to know everybody.
Today was an early morning (730) after last night, so I definitely learned I need to head in a bit earlier on week nights. We had class for three hours, then a 2 hour lunch break, then three more hours of class. It was NOT fun at all. Everybody was very tired and it was extremey hard to stay awake. Hopefully that gets better with time. We're going to Paris this weekend and I can't wait to go back to one of my favorite cities!
Getting to France aka the adventure of a lifetime
So since I already had a blog from my Greek leadership class this past spring, I thought I could keep it going while I survive europe for the next month and a half.
Back to the beginning: Saturday morning I woke up with no phone, no wallet, and quite the headache. The previous night I was convinced to join in the festivities of my friends 21st birthday-not the best decision ever. Long story short, my purse got locked in somebody's room who then proceeded to fall asleep quite soundly. So i went home with nothing that night telling myself I'd wake up early the next day to get it back. I wasn't feeling the best when my alarm went off the next morning at 8. We thought it'd be a good idea to have a slumber party on the informal room floor and my back hurt like hell. I also realized I hadn't packed at all and needed to leave by 11:30 for my flight. Woof. Finally I was getting everything together (including my bag) and then my suitcase handle decided not to work. We tried for a solid 10 minutes and I was near my breaking point. Eventually I unpacked, fixed the handle and then shoved everything back in and left. I finally got through security in Columbus and thought I was good to go. Then I got a text from continental saying my flight from Newark to Paris was 5 hours late. I was in the middle of chilis having a panic attack about missing my train to Nantes. Not okay. Eventually my parents were able to rebook my train ticket and the rest of my trip went relatively smoothly (besides my 6 hour layover in Newark). I finally got to Nantes and it was well worth it!
Back to the beginning: Saturday morning I woke up with no phone, no wallet, and quite the headache. The previous night I was convinced to join in the festivities of my friends 21st birthday-not the best decision ever. Long story short, my purse got locked in somebody's room who then proceeded to fall asleep quite soundly. So i went home with nothing that night telling myself I'd wake up early the next day to get it back. I wasn't feeling the best when my alarm went off the next morning at 8. We thought it'd be a good idea to have a slumber party on the informal room floor and my back hurt like hell. I also realized I hadn't packed at all and needed to leave by 11:30 for my flight. Woof. Finally I was getting everything together (including my bag) and then my suitcase handle decided not to work. We tried for a solid 10 minutes and I was near my breaking point. Eventually I unpacked, fixed the handle and then shoved everything back in and left. I finally got through security in Columbus and thought I was good to go. Then I got a text from continental saying my flight from Newark to Paris was 5 hours late. I was in the middle of chilis having a panic attack about missing my train to Nantes. Not okay. Eventually my parents were able to rebook my train ticket and the rest of my trip went relatively smoothly (besides my 6 hour layover in Newark). I finally got to Nantes and it was well worth it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)