1 Month Gone Already!

As of a few minutes ago I have officially spent one full month in France, and that is truly hard to believe. Before leaving ISU, I was warned over and over about how it could take up to a month to feel fully  "at home" abroad. Looking back, I would say this is about accurate. My first week was painful, even though it was exciting. The second was more frustrating than anything. By the third week, most complications had been resolved and things started to feel more normal. And now, after my fourth week, I can say that I have a definite routine with my life here. All the things that felt overwhelming and new a few weeks ago now feel minor and I am now well-versed with the way of life in Southern France.

By this point, the only thing I can think of that will continue to be an issue during my stay here is the walking. No, no, not the fact that I have to walk, but rather the fact that there is NO order to walking and people are just plain AGGRESSIVE. I've mentioned it before, but it still bugs me. This is one thing I would rather not get used to because if I do, I will return to the States as an unreasonably aggressive pedestrian, and that is definitely not acceptable. I am truly thankful, though, that I seem to have adjusted rather easily even with minor frustrations and difficulties. I know it hasn't been as easy for everyone, and many of my friends have had a number of severe issues that have hindered the process.  I hope by the end of it all, though, that everyone can say that despite everything  that may have happened, we are all still glad we went abroad! I know I keep saying it, but I really just adore this city. I can tell it will be hard to go back, but don't worry Mom, I'll come back and graduate before I escape to southern France for the rest of my life :-)


I recently booked my first trip outside of France with my friend Jade! We have two weeks off in February, and another two weeks off in April (right over my birthday, too!). For the first week of my break in February, Jade and I will be going to Barcelona for 4 days where we will stay in our first hostel ever. We were lucky enough to find a two bed room in the hostel, so we're easing our way through our first hostel stay, but I think there will still be a lot of lessons learned during our stay. After Barcelona, we have planned to go to Alicante to stay with a friend of Jade's who offered to let us stay with her and her roommates! Neither one of us speak any Spanish, so it will definitely be an interesting experience. I am truly excited to be a gawking tourist though and see a number of wonderful places. We will return just in time for Jade to start class; sadly she doesn't have two weeks off, but I hope to find some time to go somewhere else during the second week (even if just for a day or two!).

For my two weeks in April, I am really hoping to make it out to Italy and see some more of Southern France on the way, like Marseilles or Nice! I have three sisters living in Florence for the semester, and I think it would be wonderful to be able to reunite there. Still on my "To See" list is Ireland, Switzerland, Sweden, more of Germany, and many more cities in France. Obviously, these aren't the only places I want to visit, but I absolutely plan to come abroad again many more times in my life. With any luck, and some creative financial planning, I hope to be able to see each of the cities and countries that top my list!

Now, I have to get back to the less glamorous part of studying abroad-- the studying. Some of my first tests are next week, which makes sense I guess, because some of my classes only have 7 more times of meeting left. That is way too crazy for me to wrap my mind around right now, so instead I'll finish off my night with some exciting (and important) grammar! My next posting will absolutely have some sort of trip to talk about, I promise :-)

Things I have learned in France:

• Muffins come with a gooey center filling. 
• My mini-fridge emits enough heat to warm my entire room-- figured this out after turning my heater off because my room maintained a temperature appropriate for a sauna.
• You better be prepared to spend a lot more money than you expect-- I think that goes for all of Europe, really.
• The French know how to party. I definitely cannot keep up! People begin their nights at apartments or bars, and don't leave the "pre-game" to go to nightclubs until nearly 1am. It's not unusual to stay out until 5am here, and I have doubts that I will ever be able to do this. I think I prefer the American way-- start early, finish early!
• Not having class until 1pm is pretty great. The cherry on top is only having one class a day and no class on Fridays :)
• Different bakeries/stores create different quality baguettes and other goodies-- go figure. But, it took me nearly a month to figure out the place that I had been getting my baguettes from initially had incredibly poor quality baguettes compared to the bakery just two doors down. I have officially switched bakeries, sorry "Le Fashion"-- it was good when I was a newbie ;)
• People go to the grocery store at least once a week, if not more. Everyone wants the freshest of ingredients and no one is bothered by standing in 20 minute lines at the grocery store on a regular basis.
• "Pay as you go" phones are NOT cost effective... already spent way too much reloading my phone. Looking into a deal for unlocking my American Blackberry instead.
• It drizzled, barely, for the first time on Friday. Then it sleeted today and is now in the 30s at night for the rest of the week. But, I am counting my blessings-- from what I've heard the Midwest has had some brutal weather! Either way, I had no rain or snow for nearly a month! Bizarre, yet amazing.