I hope all is well in the land of free! The 4th of July was this past week, which marked the first time that I was out of the country for America's best summer celebration. While I missed celebrating our Independence Day, I am currently in the most beautiful place I have ever been, so I can't complain.
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| La Rochelle from the Ferris Wheel |
As of today, I have been in La Rochelle for one week. This past Saturday I began my journey in this gorgeous sea port city in Western France. So, for all of you wondering what my life is like here, I will fill you in. I live with my host mom, Sergine, and her two cats (One of which, named Venus, I am not very fond of. He bites me often.). Sergine also has a boyfriend, Dominique, who comes over on the weekends. He teaches me how to mix drinks and gives me good traveling tips. Sergine is an awesome cook! Everyday, we have breakfast and dinner together, but on the weekends we have every meal together. Lunch and dinner consist of four courses: apéritifs (drinks and snacks), the main course (usually a meat or pasta of some sort), bread and cheese, and then desert. After every meal I am completely stuffed. Everything I have tried I have liked quite a bit, even mussels! Not only are the meals extremely tasty, but they are also a great opportunity for me to improve my speaking skills and learn more about the French culture. We literally sit down together for 2 or 3 hours every single meal and talk. My host mom doesn't speak any English, so we communicate with what I know. This may seem crazy to most people, but I actually am really happy that she doesn't speak English. It forces me to speak French as much as possible throughout the day, and I learn a lot more this way!
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| Having apéritifs with my host mom, Sergine! |
We live in an adorable little house that is a ten minute walk from my school. I attend Soup du Co, which is a private French business university in La Rochelle. There, I have class from 8:30am-12:30pm Monday through Friday. I am in an advanced French conversation course with eight other students. It is extremely challenging, but I can sense myself improving quite a bit! After class, we go to the cafeteria for lunch and have an extremely cheap meal for 4 euros (yay for student discounts!). From then on we have the rest of the day to enjoy La Rochelle. We have bus passes so we literally can go wherever we want (I seriously love public transportation). So far, our routine has either been shopping, going to the beach, or studying at a cafe in Vieux Port (the downtown area of La Rochelle). Yes we study; this study abroad trip isn't all fun and games! I currently have two papers to write, one test every week, one large exam, one presentation, and weekly journals to write, oh la la! (the French form of my goodness!) But, the French way of life is so relaxed. I have not felt stressed at all here, even with all of the work I have to do. I choose to enjoy myself rather than worry about the future. If I were in the states, I would be stressing out to the max. But, I have decided to live like the French culture and minimize my worrying as much as possible! It's awesome!!!
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| Vieux Port |
In addition to school during the week, we also go on weekend excursions. Just today we took a one hour boat ride to Ile d'AIX, an island off the coast of France. We toured a compound there from WWI and hung out on the beach for hours. The water is beautiful here and the sun is strong (which is why I have been applying SPF 50 about 6 times per day). We will have an excursion for every weekend we are in La Rochelle.
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| Monument on our way to Ile d'AIX. |
Overall, I can honestly say that this has been the best experience of my life so far. I cannot imagine a better place to call my home for the next three weeks and I know I will miss it immensely when I have to leave. The culture, sights, atmosphere, and people in La Rochelle are like no other. I wish you could all experience this amazing city alongside me!
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| The port at night! |
À bientôt!
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