New Beginnings!

Okay, first things first- Bienvenue to my french life! Over the next 3 and a half months I will try to keep you updated on my travels, experiences, and thoughts. It's only been 3 week and I already have enough to fill a book! It's been awhile but i'll start from the beginning! The flights from Sacramento to Bordeaux (with layovers in Washington DC and Paris) were actually not bad at all and actually pretty fun.  Molly and I cried a little bit in the Sacramento airports as we walked away from our families and knew we wouldn't be seeing them again for almost 4 month, but then we were fine! I was glad that my emotions didn't get the best of me for the day of traveling-I didn't need any more stress! On the flight from Washington DC to Paris we sat next to the cutest little french boy i've ever seen! This was my first experience with a french child but they really are cuter here! Their parents dress them so cute and they speak french in such cute little ways! Everyone in the program agrees- french kids are cuter than Americans. This was the first of my many discoveries about the french. To name a few things i've learned- 1. the french do NOT wear flip flops ( and you will get stared at if you do). 2. water is hard to get- the restaurants don't give refills unless you ask (and when you do they are not pleased) and unless you can find a grocery store you might as well forget that you're thirsty. I don't know how they walk to much and are always outdoors, especially when it's hot, without constantly drinking water. All of us Californians were just dying without it. 3. The french are really nice if you at least try to speak in french to them.  A really nice guy in an electronic store gave Molly and I directions so she could buy a hairdryer (of course!) and he was SO nice! I definitely don't believe that all french people are angry/mean.  Although, the girls my age are pretty mean.  They yell things at you if they know you're foreign and are just nasty for no reason-it's pretty annoying. Hopefully I find some nice ones to be friends with, i'm sure they're out there somewhere!! 4. Every person eats a baguette a day, literally it's so awesome because the bread tastes amazing and there is a boulangerie (bakery)on every corner. On Thursday August 26th, the whole program (63 of us) went on a tour of historic Bordeaux, it was the first time in the 2 days that i had been here that I remembered why I came to France-for the beauty of it's culture.  When I arrived I was sent straight to the dorms in Pessac (a town just outside of Bordeaux) and I was miserable! The universities in France are not kept up by the government because school is free for citizens and there is graffiti and old buildings and dead grass everywhere-it's pretty upsetting.  It was especially hard for Molly and I because we come from such a beautiful school in Santa Barbara that seeing such an ugly place, that was also our new school, was a little bit shocking and made us question our decision to come here for about a day.  But after seeing the real Bordeaux, all my visions of wandering the streets of France with a baguette came flooding back...

Place De La Victoire

Quinconces Centre- 5 minutes from my house!

These are two of the major centers of Bordeaux city center, they are so beautiful!!

There is a city wide art project of art on bulls!

 

 

 

 

 

more bulls!

So basically, Bordeaux is beautiful and rich in history and I can't wait to get to know it better! The day I took this tour I got so excited to move into my apartment and get out of those yucky dorms! Now, I am writing this post from my apartment couch and I couldn't be happier! Things definitely took a turn for the best and I am incredibly happy! Missing Austin and my family hasn't been easy, but thank god for skype!! Going abroad really makes you realize how much you love some people. Til next time- À bientôt!