I'm going to try this opening format to kind of organize my highs and lows of each week. If you're a skimmer, this is for you! And of course, I'll have my usual extrapolatory writing afterward.
Best: Finally meeting the teachers I have been emailing all summer and being greeted with open arms, FINDING A PLACE TO LIVE
Funniest: Students were prompted to ask me anything they wanted to know about me or the U.S. and some of my favs were, -“In high school, do you really have cheerleaders?” (except they called it something like pom dancer and made pom pom motions to describe) -“How big are the buckets at KFC?” (several students in different classes asked about KFC! Such an odd restaurant to ask about first) -“At parties, do you really have those red plastic cups?” When I said yes, the excited follow-up was, “Do you play beer pong?!?!”
Worst: Confusion about my phone plan, major struggles with public transportation, no wifi (yet) in my new home, and missing my family, friends, boyfriend, and pets more than I thought was possible
Truly French: Receiving “la bise” from the English staff, tarte flambée, buying a ham sandwich at a local boulangerie that blew my mind, long and relaxed lunches (plus looks of utter horror when I explain that lunch in America is thirty mins max)
What I miss from home: Having a car (the nearest train station is a 20 min drive but 1h15min bus ride…), unlimited phone data, and knowing how to say what I want without racking my brains and turning red
I never imagined that I could be in an adorable home in France, able to see the mountains outside my window, surrounded by vineyards and picturesque buildings, and still be incredibly homesick. I miss my loved ones SO MUCH and it’s not like I ever doubted that I would miss them, but I didn’t know it was going to be this sharp as soon as I arrived. When I’m at school, I am so happy to be here and feel so blessed to be placed in schools where the teachers have gone so far out of their way to help me feel welcome and supported. When I look around me and see the breathtaking scenery, I have to pinch myself to remember that this is what I have dreamed about for so long and I am actually living it and that it’s real.
Let me reiterate one more time that I am SO thankful that my teachers have been so incredibly welcoming. I could recount all of the kindness I’ve been shown just in the last few days, but this blog post would seriously be a novel. I’ve so enjoyed getting to know them. Today, we drank coffee on four different occasions. It truly is a constant here, I couldn’t be happier.
Another shout-out goes to my “landlords”. I’m living in a flatshare (there are three bedrooms, a kitchen, and bathroom-the three tenants each have their own private room and we share the kitchen and bathroom) with two high school boys who are lovely and very sweet. An elderly couple who owns the house lives on the ground floor and they are THE BEST. I wasn’t sure how this living situation was going to be, but it was so cheap and close to my schools that I couldn’t pass it up. I moved in on Thursday, and Mrs. A showed me how everything works, let me pick out my own sheets and blankets from her extensive collection, gave me some fresh pears from her garden, chatted my ear off about her cats and husband, and always made sure I understood her French. I feel so welcome here, and it’s the best feeling to counteract any of the negative uncertainties I had earlier this week.
(click on the photos to view them larger and read the captions)
