Today while waiting for the bus, I heard a Frenchman playing an accordion across the street. Then, a French lady sat by me and began to feed the birds some of the bread from her sandwich. Soon, a whole flock of birds surrounded our feet, and it was just parfait. All I could think was “This is so French, and I love it.” It reminded me of the scene in Mary Poppins when she sings “Tuppence a Bag.”
“Feed the birds,” that’s what she cries,
While overhead, her birds fill the skies.
All around the cathedral the saints and apostles
Look down as she sells her wares.
Although you can’t see it, you know they are smiling
Each time someone shows that he cares.
The Nantais have just been so kind and receptive. When I order something and pronounce it wrong, someone (yes, strangers!) always helps. My host mom offered to make me tea randomly the other afternoon just because it was a little colder outside. And, when it snowed last week, she even walked Kameron and me to the tram so we wouldn’t get lost… again.
And while I’m on the subject of my host family, they are amazing cooks. I love the food here and that we sit around the table each night and talk about whatever. I’ve eaten three king cakes since I’ve been here (not solo – haha), and I think the four main food groups are: 1. Bread (le pain) 2. Chocolate (le chocolat) 3. Cheese (le fromage) 4. Yogurt (yaourt). And the kids like to put their chocolate in their bread. They literally take a roll or piece of baguette and shove a Hershey’s bar in the center. It’s fantastic. Everyone should try it.
Classes haven’t been extremely fun or really terrible either, but I did not enjoy the class I tried out at the local university (PAS DU TOUT), so I’m just going to stick with IES courses. At the university, I was in a smaller sociology class instead of a giant lecture course, but the professor spoke very quickly about 100 different subtopics, and I just couldn’t follow. I’ll have a definite schedule next week – and no class until 6:30 pm on Thursdays!