It’s been a month since:
I flew to Europe for la première fois.
I moved to a nouvelle ville.
I met my famille d’accueil.
I last saw les Etats-Unis.
J’ai mangé Chick-fil-A.
I saw my family face à face.
J’ai pris a normal shower.
And during this month:
I’ve visited Tours, four chateaux, Mont St. Michel, and St. Malo.
I’ve celebrated the 21st anniversaire de mon meuilleure amie.
France declared une guerre with Mali.
I’ve tasted a lot of fromage and new vins.
I saw a real manifestation in real life.
J’ai trouvé Waldo, who is apparently called Charlie in France…
I’ve seen le soleil less than 10 times.
I saw the grave of Leonard de Vinci.
I’ve seen Castle and The Simpsons en français.
I’ve learned essentially that whenever people tell you that you go through a roller coaster of emotions while abroad, it’s totally true. Sometimes it’s not even week-by-week or day-by-day but hour by hour. It’s hard to balance living with a family while still doing college-level work. It’s different having to report to someone where you’re going every time you leave the house. It’s weird not always having your friends within 300 feet of you at all times, like at Wofford. But, throughout this month, I have seen some amazing architectural works, learned a lot about the real world, talked more about politics than I have ever before, and made friends from across the United States. It’s very true that there are people here that I just can’t get along with, but I would not trade this adventure just because of that.
I think the hardest thing, well, one of the hardest things, for me was realizing how much French I actually did not know before coming here. So, for several weeks, I felt like I was actually getting worse with my language skills. It’s very hard for me to tell if I’ve actually gotten any better. But my host mom (mère d’accueil) says that she noticed that I’m getting better, so hopefully it’s true! I think, for some odd reason, this weekend solidified my relationship with my host family. Something about bonding over late-night pizza and having the kids ask me to eat cake with them at snack time really makes me feel like a part of the family. ☺ (Which kinda makes me miss mine!)