This Is Where We Find Rhythm

Right now, I'm smiling like a kid who was given two scoops of ice cream when she was only supposed to get one. Except wait. I am that kid? Fact.

The gelato guy in St. Malo said he liked my smile, and boy did he get a kick out of the mega-watt grin on my face when I received the double scoop salted caramel / cookie gelato pictured. Charm, it seems, is a universal language. 

It's strange the difference a week makes. Last week Sunday, I was slightly stressed about nothing in particular and everything in general. But as pals K and E  reminded me, "Girlfriend, you're in France. It's gonna be ok." Aside from the holy-tits-i-broke-my-family's-oven moment earlier today, all is better than well.

I bonded with my host dad this week, discussing why he believes in using organic/local ingredients at home and in his restaurant. We spent around 30 minutes talking about the importance of wine as a cultural symbol of France. Food is his jam, and it's no surprise to me now that he was on the French version of Top Chef because he's a bo$$ like that. Dang Papa, we're going to be fast friends.

I finally found a class at the university that I really enjoy and later stumbled into a wonderful conversation with some exchange students. One, a computer science major, uttered the words "Mountain View," and I almost lost my marbles with excitement.

Rockclimbing class and Argentinian tango lessons found their way onto my schedule. Beyond that, I befriended my surrogate host sister. To end the week, I also ate a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) that definitely maybe changed my life.  Yeah, please check my sanity at the door. We have a whole situation going on here.

Rhythm found its way into the end of this week, and it's more than welcome  to the party.

I spent most of Saturday with the other IES students at Mont St. Michel -- an island town and abbey -- and while I'd been before with my family, the place was still breathtaking. The monastery itself is magical in all of its ancient glory, perched upon a huge hill of the island.

We explored St. Malo for the second half of the afternoon, as I treasured the aforementioned double scoop of gelato and chatted with pals like it was 1989. I almost asked whether Willy Wonka was the mayor of the town because the entire place was filled with candy, chocolate, crepe, pastry, and gelato shops. Now I understand why people put their children on leashes. Except not. Because that is and will forever be bonkers ridiculous.

Today was spent truly and simply in French fashion: hanging out with family, going to church/Mass (more on this to come!), and enjoying an amazing home-cooked meal. With wine.

Because here, wine is the only natural and necessary vehicle for rhythm.

Or so says my host dad.

~lexi

This is How You Franglais

I'm glad we're friends now. Because if you looked at my Google Chrome search history today, you would find an extensive catalogue of research on douches. Homegirl, say what?

In my defense, "douche" is the French word for shower. So if you're all about that franglais life (have you forgotten who you're talking to?), you may or may not have searched for things like "how to take a douche" or "why are douches so small in France." In case you were wondering, a douche is defined in French as une projection d'eau (a squirt of water). Great, even better.

Just be glad you didn't see the Google Images results.

The past couple days have been filled with the start of classes, between the study abroad institute (IES) and the University of Nantes itself. Add-drop period is a beast as is, but when classes are 100% in French, that spells some six hours of class and one very gnarly headache. I'm caught in between feeling like I'm not speaking enough French when around American friends and also feeling like my head wants to give its two weeks notice for trying to think in French all the time. So far, I've compromised by bribing myself with gelato.

Tomorrow, I commence my third day of classes, with courses in French Sociology, French grammar, International Trade & Globalization, and also an intensive lab in Phonetics & Conversation at the university.  Did I mention my first class starts around 8AM?

You know, I'm totally not above gelato bribery two days in a row. Time will tell.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a douche.

...I mean shower.

love & other hugs. ~lexi

An Introduction

The Internet is a strange beast. You're reading this now, and it's all sorts of crazy that we're now digital compadres. Or some shiz like that.

Let's make this friendship legit. Compadres means that I've got your back, and you've got mine; ya dig? Bring on the fun facts. 10 of 'em to be specific. Ed-juh-muh-cation, here we come!

10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Me

1. My brother and I are technically Irish twins, meaning that we were born less than one year apart. For two weeks of every years, I'm the same age as my brother. Read: bragging rights reach an ultimate high
2. You won't EVER find me without chapstick of some sort. It's major and a personal essential of epic proportions. You're a serious gem, if I let you borrow it.
3. New car smell is a dance I have no desire to tango. No, just no. Ain't nothing funky fresh about that.
4. Bare foot is the best foot. Sole mates, if you agree.
5. I'm solar powered, more or less. You'll see me at my happiest if it's sunny outside.
6. Ketchup is a total game changer. Always with eggs, or else. Don't look at me like that -- you gotta catch up with this bandwagon.
7. I'm a city girl at heart. I love the endless arrays and ways of doing.
8. Brunch is, without question, the best meal ever created. And I cannot understand for the life of me why it doesn't exist in France. Crepes, champagne, quiche? That's real life.
9. A long shower is my version of God's gift to man. It's also where I come up with my best ideas. Uhh, can I get an amen?
10. I used to be a figure skater but ended up quitting, once 5AM practices and the word "home-school" were mentioned.

~lexi

Nantes: The City You've Never Heard of But Will Fall in Love with Anyway

Since learning that I'd be studying abroad in Nantes in early March, I can't tell you how many times I've had this exact, same conversation:

"So cool that you're studying abroad this Fall! Where?" Me: "In France!" "That's awesome - I love Paris" Me: "I'm actually going to be in Nantes. It's another city about 2 hours west of Paris, in the Brittany region of France"  "Oh." 

This consistent reaction didn't really bother me, and I suppose it's only natural that people would assume Paris is the obvious place to be. So what about Nantes, then?

I could always tell you the facts--Nantes is the 6th largest city in France and home to the Université de Nantes, which is attended by over 30,000 students. Known for things like crèpes and galettes with beurre salé (salted caramel) and its graceful chateau, the city is the former seat of the Pays-de-la-Loire region and current hub of activity in Bretagne, northewestern France. It's renowned for its incredibly green transportation system and frequently touted as the most livable city in Europe.

But  in nearly every conversation with others, I failed to mention one very important fact: I had no idea what sort of experience I was getting myself into. With little more than barebones facts, I was jumping off the study abroad cliff and crossing my fingers that I wasn't going to hit rock bottom.

It's now my second week in Nantes, and I certainly don't think it was a mistake. The city is like a more cozy, intimate version of Paris--historic, charming, full of students, dotted with interesting restaurants, and incredibly easy to get around with the tram system. Big but not too big, and small but not too small. And unlike Paris, there is very little English spoken around the city, which has actually been immensely helpful in improving my French.

After arrival last week, the entire study abroad group (41 students + administrators) traveled to a little north to Vannes, l'île-Aux-Moins, Rochefort Terre, St. Goustan for a weekend of offsite orientation + bonding. I loved being able to discover the region and really meet the other IES program students. It was utterly exhausting to be going, going, going all weekend [and part of this week's fatigue] but an overall amazing experience.

We spent this past week in academic and program orientation, learning the ins and outs of life in Nantes. The orientation was longggggg, but there were a few really fascinating parts. Fun fact: When Americans see someone for a second/third/fourth time in one day, we typically say hi/hello again. The French, however, only say bonjour on the first greeting occasion. Those tiny cultural differences are surprisingly huge! Especially when the bus driver thinks your crazy for saying "Bonjour" for the 10th time in one day.

I start classes with an Add/Drop period on Monday and will get my first dose of classes ALL in French. I'm still conscious that my French speaking skills are "meh"; for me, it's still very much as if I'm driving a manual car, rather than an automatic. For me, it takes time to shift gears between verb tense, feminine/masculine words, and sentence structure.

But as a whole, I'm actually pleasantly surprised how much progress there seems to have been in one week's time. Immersion really does work wonders, I guess. This week, I start taking a French cours magistral, or lecture course, which could definitely be a doozy. I'm looking forward to meeting other French students, but it's also somewhat terrifying knowing that I'm going to stumble through basic conversation.

If there's anything I've learned from study abroad experience thus far though,  it's that sometimes, you need to walk to the edge of that dang cliff and

jump.

~LC

Sans Routine

This might be one of the first blog posts I've ever written that isn't chock full of the world's best puns. Forgive me? Soon to come.

Tomorrow marks the 1 week mark for semester abroad here in Nantes, and it's gone by in a sort of incoherent french-spangled blur. We've spent a majority of this past week in orientation activities, learning about the city, region, and study abroad program itself. The past week  has been a lovely crash course in abroad life, but I'm still lacking any sort of routine. I realize that's not necessarily a bad thing.

More than anything, this summer taught me that there is more to life than routines. But here, I differentiate routine from normalcy. I'm ready to have some sort of framework to life and to at least have the nuts and bolts of my days, weeks, and months here. With plenty of spontaneity thrown in.

I know these haphazard days are part of the experience. These are the days when it's easy to verge on overstimulated, trying to absorb so much at once that none of it really soaks in. Reading between the lines: sleep now, blog later.

We receive our class schedules on Friday, following orientation and cursory language courses the rest of this week. I have tons on tons on tons to share from this past weekend (spent traveling the Brittany region of France), but perhaps that can wait a hot second :)

The Objective

Penser, parler, vivre en français -- Ça c'est l'objectif primaire du semestre.

{En anglais}

"To think, to speak, to live in French -- That is the main objective of the semester."

Well said, Mr. Director. Around noon, I met my host Dad (la deuxième papa) at my host family's restaurant for a leisurely lunch of fresh baked moussaka, baguette, cheese, and fruit. The restaurant is everything I could dream of and more, shaded with hues of charcoal gray and gold. Orientation afterwards was long but interesting....and definitely all in French. Rule #1 of the study abroad center is NO ENGLISH, and it's strictly enforced. I was surprised by how well I could understand and not-so-surprised by how less-than-well I could speak.

But in short, a wonderful first day!

~lexi