First Day

Today could have been better. We got up early and walked to school where we took an oral placement test. Our official results will be posted tomorrow. Then we had to attend some presentations in a room not made for the amount of people in it. After they gave us a little tour of Tours which we were very much not interested in. Then lunch with Dr. and Madame from a small sandwich shop. I keep trying new drinks here and the Tropical Oasis is interesting. All the drinks here are different from America. Not just brand but flavour and type offered. You don't find fruit juice the same way you do in America. The stuff you do find is not the sugar with some artificial flavouring, sad for me who normally subsists off of sugar, sugar, and more sugar. There is a lot of bread here but not the same amount of salt. I bought a phone for communications in France, and I did it without someone translating between me and the vendor. I also got a student id so here's hoping for some great discounts. Our host mother is warming up to us and our habits. She is very nice and her dog is just ridiculous, I'm just not sure what the dogs name is. I'll probably say more on the topic of meals later but it is so different from being at home or even some days at school where I make or grab something on my own and eat it in bed. There are courses and dishes and it is all homemade except the dessert which are called cakes here but I would know them as petit fours. All the food is good though. I've been trying new things and some I don't like but I am trying. I'm a bit of a picky eater with some allergies so I usually stay with the same things but I want to branch out here. Also I'm not allergic to white bread here so that is a major plus. I hope I get a lot of sleep tonight to be well rested for the first day of actual classes tomorrow.

Nous sommes arrivés

So today started out with Mass at Notre Dame. It was absolutely beautiful. I was completely overjoyed. It is so amazing to be part of the Universal Church, no matter where I go He is there! Afterwards my roommate and I bought croissants for breakfast on the way back. It was only a ten or so minute walk from the hotel. And not uphill all the way like at the Mount.

 

Me in front of the Cathedral after Mass

 

Here you can see the tympanum and the back of the Cathedral, the entrance. 

Our train left a little after noon for Tours, it was an experience riding the TGV. Our seats were all together, it's really great having only six of us. Keeps things neat. When we got to Tours my host mother was waiting for us with her dog and two girls from China who are also staying with her. The five of us are all horrible at names and there were several communication errors. I am pretty sure our host only speaks French but all of us students speak French enough for basic communication. The other students on top of Chinese (sorry I didn't ask which language specifically) speak a little English. (Franglias) The food our host cooks is amazing! I'm looking forward to meals. Her dog is very funny and very friendly. My roommate (Paige) and I are in a little apartment behind the house with our own bathroom. It's very small, but very cute. It gets dark so late here, it is after nine thirty at night and still sunny. We are looking forward to starting at the Institut tomorrow. A little nervous but overall excited. 

Also I loved my outfit today so indulge my vanity. 

Today (actually by now it's yesterday too)

Today was fun too, and exhausting but in a different way. It was wet and yucky out which does bring down energy but overall beautiful. Today we did a lot but felt American time. When it was nine at night here we felt it was at the most six.

 

We started out at the small restaurant on the bottom floor of our hotel. We thought the walls were fantastic!

 

This was our breakfast. I have never liked croissants but I tried the one with my breakfast and loved it. I also tried what we think was rose jelly but I did not like that.

 

Then we took the RER to Versailles.

 

Awkward Versailles selfie looking like the 90s threw up on me.

 

The gardens of Versailles.

 

Croque Monsieur at a cafe in the gardens.

 

Hall of mirrors.

 

View of gate from inside. 

Honestly we found Versailles a bit underwhelming. Maybe we expected too much but we were not feeling it. We were also tired but still wanted to do stuff. One group left as soon as we got back but my group hung out for a while before braving the rain. We tried to find the others but managed to find a nice restaurant on our own. I bought my first drink! (Gin Fizz, basically a gin tonic) We had fun navigating Paris on our own in the rain. Tomorrow we go to Mass (if we so please) and then we leave for Tours!

Yesterday

These past however many days it has been have been extraordinary. I don't even know where to begin. Each of these days have been so draining. We have done so much in such a short amount of time.

Luxembourg

From Pont Neuf

Pont des Arts (you really shouldn't put locks on it btw, it's hurting the bridge)

Louvre 

Obelisk at Place de la Concorde

Eiffel Tower

View from my hotel room (Pantheon is just to the right)

There was much more of course, including some amazing food. I'm hoping things will calm down once we get settled in Tours. I'm not sure I'm up for a month of non-stop adventure. 

What a day!

We are all completely dead on our feet. There was so much activity and so little sleep I'm not sure I can actually be considered conscious right now. I took so many pictures, I'm gonna go through them later. I got to see the Eiffel Tower, Pont Neuf, the Métro, and some great shops. I even got a new skirt! The food was amazing! I can't wait for tomorrow's fare. Hopefully I'll be able to post more in the coming days when I am not doing the head nod.

On the plane!

Finally one the plane! The delay was longer than expected. I can't wait to take off!

At the airport!

Finally at the airport, met up with my roommate.  Looking forward to the long flight and then being in France!! Of course there is a delay on my flight already: / Oh well, as long as it gets me to France.

Ready to go?

I'm done packing (way over the weight limit of course). It's finally here but am I ready? What if I forget something? What if there is a problem with my flight? My mother had a horrible host family experience what if I do too? All these issues are finally starting to hit home. I'm worried but luckily the excitement far outweighs the concerns. Just a few last things to take care of and then I'll be heading out!

Going Away Dinner

For my last night at home my parents made me one of my all-time favourite meals: rare steak with mashed potatoes and peas and garlic bread with sugar cookies for dessert. It's getting more and more real. I have to finish getting everything together tonight because tomorrow is going to be a w hirlwind of activity.

Two more days

As you can see I am an excellent procrastinator. Two days to go and not a single thing packed. Hopefully this will end in my favour. Well, off to slowly but surely get my stuff together.

One week to go

So a week from today my adventure begins. It really came up so fast. I'm so privileged to have this opportunity to study in France at the Institut de Touraine through Mount St. Mary's University. I have only been waiting for this moment my entire life. My friend Allie explained it as "they're finally sending you to where you belong". I could not be more thrilled.