And so it begins...

It's funny. I feel like I've been here FOREVER, but it's my fourth day in France. Oh la vache! (Oh the cow! Very French thing to say. I used it once unconsciously and managed to impress Joselyne instead of the usual conversation dotted with mistakes and kind corrections. ^_^)

Wednesday passed by very quickly; I slept in late and slept well, which was very satisfying after a jet lag, etc. Then, I walked down town and grabbed a sandwich (Jambon beurre - basically ham and lots of butter on a baguette, which is HUGE. Apparently you can order a smaller sandwich - oops.) on the way to le Centre du Congrès, where Le Festival des Premiers Plans is taking place all week, along with three other cinemas in Angers. This, however, is the main building for the film festival - it is a festival that concentrates on showing directors first films (hence, premier plans ^_^), but this year it is also a homage to a famous french actress, Jeanne Moreau (whom I got to see and then watched one of her films!) I then proceeded to get lost, found a grocery store to get shampoo, and then stumbled upon the castle of angers while in the process of getting myself lost :) But I found my way home!!!! Aren't you all proud? That night, Joselyne and I then went to see another film (a short film and a long one - they show these all week, and the public fill in a card with their rating of each film they saw...they tally the votes at the end of the week)

Today, I had orientation, and it went very well! It was nice to meet other exchange students; it made me feel better about my language skills in the sense that I was not the only one stumbling over my words from time to time. I met a lot of really nice girls there (there was one guy there, from England, along with his girlfriend and a friend of theirs). So, there were students from the US, Brazil, England, Finland, Bulgaria, Germany, Austria, etc. Pretty sweet, eh? We ate lunch at a small university cafe and then had a meeting with a faculty member of the foreign language department (just for those students taking courses not in french - I'm taking one German course), which was followed by a meeting with a faculty member for German studies. The way we choose courses is so completetly unstructured it makes me a bit nervous! We basically test-taste courses until we find what we like. This is, however, a very good idea, especially for language studies, as you don't know how your level corresponds to the studies at the UCO. So, I have another meeting on Monday, while taste testing a course or two, and other than that, I've a very free weekend in front of me! Time to see some more films (I went to see another short film and long film today, and all have been very interesting and though provoking, even if I wasn't completely in love with any of them. It's been a very nice indulgent tour of some European cinema - these films aren't just by French directors!) So, things are going well at present, and I'm finding my groove after all! Now, to take courses and plan some weekend trips (all within reason, since the first thing is taking courses. lol Can't forget, even if I am taking a lighter load than usual.) Alors, à bientot mes chères!

Ok. Photos: View of the heart of Angers from the River (La Mène), a stone that I found on the walkway by the river - thought it was cute, a photo of l'Église Madeleine - very close to my house AND shares a name with my little sister, photo of my house, and my room - there is another desk you can't see from here, and lots of cabinets, but this was the best picture of the ones I took.) Hope this atleast gives you a taste! I can't upload more than that at a time. Maybe some facebook uploads? Or you'll have to see them in person and get lots of onorous commentary ^_^

Oh la la!

So, I am in France! The plane trip went very smoothly, albeit a bit surreal. The plane itself was rather empty (it is late January, after all), and there was a group of students on board I'm pretty sure were traveling together, which included one student a row ahead of me and in the center part of the plane (I was on the left section) who brought a large Curious George stuffed animal with her. I couldn't help but wonder about the practicality of that decision :)

It arrived at the Charles de Gaulle airport, and with the sweating and huffing and puffing aside (my suitcases are so heavy, even if I did pack light!), I was able to find the TGV, buy a ticket, and board the right train, even if I told my "host mother" - Joselyne - that I would be arriving at 2:50 instead of 12:50 on accident! (deux heures et douze heures are frustratingly similar, and yet not at all). Not to worry - she was an easy distance from the air port and picked me up in her old, tired car (She rides a bike everywhere, so she doesn't invest in a car - this is what she told me ^_^) I am in a lovely private room on the third floor of her house; I am so glad to have that privacy for when I need some time alone! Also, we have wireless at the house, so internet is not a problem at all! I shall, therefore, be a lot better about answering e-mails and skype calls are a lot more arrangeable :) There is a french student also boarding at the house, and she seems incredibly nice. We spent lots of time last night discussing the details of french and american education systems, etc. It's quite strange to be here in another country "representing" the U.S.

I'm already eating a bit of linguistic humble pie. Being at the top of my language classes in high school and being a comfortable equal in my college classes, I maybe looked at my French skills with a bit of self satisfaction, but I'm beginning to fully appreciate now how much work I have left to do, which is why I came to France, n'est-ce pas? I think I maybe expected to come to France already ahead of the game, wowing every one with my skill and ability, and have been very gently proven wrong. lol

I'm quite ready to be in classes and the groove of things, as today and tomorrow I am going to be alone most of the day (Joselyne works and Alexandre - the french student - has left for a day or so. I forgot to ask why.) That does mean, however, that I have a couple days to explore and get settled. I'm meeting Joselyne for lunch today downtown during her break, and maybe I'll walk down to the river and explore! The town is fairly small, and I can easily walk wherever I need to go, which is excellent. There is a film festival going on this week, and I think we are going to go see one of the films on Thursday, so that's something to look forward to. I miss you all bunches! It's a bit intimidating having to start over again, not knowing anyone, but I know it will get better, especially when I meet more students who are in the same boat!

I'm a leavin' on a jet plane...

Flight time!

Departing Nashville: 1:20pm, Sunday, January 20th
Ariving in Chicago (O'hare): 3:00pm
Departing Chicago: 5:30pm
Ariving in Paris (Charles de Gaulle): 8:40am, Monday, January 21st

Say a quick prayer for me! :)

To pack or not to pack?

One week until I leave, and I still can hardly believe it. I've got two suitcases and a lovely backpack (a hard core backpack, although not big enough to dwarf me completely) waiting to be filled and I hardly know where to begin. There are definitly going to be several attempts at packing, but that is to be expected, I know. Basically this is a test to see how things work on the blog and to get it started. Very thrilling stuff.