Tuesday night, Sept 29
My host dad took my friend Jade and I to see a small comedy show here in Nantes! Think Second City, but with 2 actors, and a very small stage/audience. It was really cool to see French acting up close and personal (not that it's any different than English acting, but it's french which automatically makes it different in my mind). The actors did a great job with the show - everyone in the audience seemed to enjoy it. While I didn't understand a lot of what they were saying (Jade was helping me out with the translations), I got the general gist and just laughed along with everyone else. Unfortunately, the play was interactive with the audience, which meant I sat there terrified for the entire show, praying that they wouldn't call on me to answer a question or be witty. Thankfully, God was kind enough to answer my prayers and I remained unscathed.
Wednesday night, Sept 30
A soccer match was on tv! Woohoo! Marseilles vs Real Madrid. Marseilles got killed, but it was fun to sit around the tv with my host family and comment on the match.
Thursday night, Oct 1
IES bought all the students tickets to see the Opera at a local theater in town! I had never been to an opera before, so needless to say I was pretty stoked. My seat was in one of those booths you always see on the sides of the audience, which made me feel super grown up, but unfortunately that meant that I couldn't see the subtitles in French along the top of the stage. Again, I didn't understand a lot of it (I have a hard enough time listening when people speak, let along sing in high voices and slur words together) which was a bit frustrating, but I had a very enjoyable time overall. The costumes alone made the show simply splendid!
Friday, Oct 2 (the anniversary of my arrival in France!)
My friend Hannah and I left France Friday afternoon to head out to Munich for Oktoberfest! We caught the afternoon train out to Paris, and caught the sleeper train from Paris to Munch. When we arrived in Paris, Hannah and I noticed last minute that we needed to switch train stations in order to catch the overnight train... talk about an adventure! We not only made it to the other station in time, but we successfully navigated the Paris metro by ourselves! The sleeper train was a bit more uneventful, save for the random awakenings I received during the night from drunken singing outside our sleeper door. However, Hannah and I got to know the 2 girls from Malaysia who were sleeping with us in the same compartment, which was fun! We arrived bright and early Saturday morning, with just enough sleep to groggily make our way over to the center of town.
Saturday, Oct 3
Amazingly, Aunts Sharon and Chrissy, Nana, and Maria were all in town the same weekend Hannah and I were! Chrissy and I had made plans to stay with her Saturday night at their hotel instead of traveling an hour north to Regenersburg for a hostel there. Let's just say I've never been happier about switching plans. Her hotel = one of the most beautiful hotels I think I've ever seen. I feel as though I will have very unrealistic expectations about traveling from now on haha! Hannah and I grabbed breakfast and explored the street the hotel was on while the rest of the family slept in. We had a rendez-vous right after, and Hannah and I were on our way to Oktoberfest! Talk about a PARTY! Those Germans sure know how to drink! It was a bit overwhelming to see so many people having a good time in one place! To make a longer story short (for the sake of my sleep tonight haha) Hannah and I found ourselves on a patio outside a beer tent hanging out with a bunch of random German men and one girl who spoke English. I don't think I've had a more random afternoon haha - we drank, we laughed, we snuck into more beer tents (Dad I know you're proud), we ate brats and pretzels, we drank some more, and finally ended the afternoon on a high note as the evening began and we left the party to meet up with the family for dinner. Saturday night I found myself staring up at the Glockenspiel in downtown Munich, enjoying the drunken singing and hilarious German costumes around me. (Speaking of the costumes, those German men sure do have a LOT of confidence!)
Pictures!
The "hostel"... psh yea right!
Hannah and I with our HUGE beer mugs and giant pretzel!
The lovely costumes of Oktoberfest 2009
One of the beer tents we snuck into... these places were packed!
Our new German friends
The Glockenspiel at night!
Sunday, Oct 4
12 hours, 4 train stations, and one deck of cards later, Hannah and I arrived back in Nantes just in time for dinner with our host families :) What a weekend!
Sunday was a great chance for me to reflect on everything I have seen and done so far here in France, and how I feel about being here.Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who doesn't quite know how I feel about a place until I leave, which is why I am so grateful that I was able to take a step back from France for a weekend. Being in a country (germany) where I knew NOTHING of the language or culture made me really appreciate being in France and at least knowing how to ask for directions. Realizing all the things I missed about France, even just being away for 3 days, was really eye-opening. I know now that I am falling in love with this country, the language, the food, the culture... and I can't wait to explore more of it. Am I homesick? Not really. Do I miss being at Miami? Sure, sometimes (like being with Chi O for Greek Week!). But I do know that I will miss being here once I leave a lot more than I am missing home right now. Just food for thought.
Monday, Oct 5
So... I decided to drop my class at the University of Nantes. Am I bummed? Yes. Will I feel better about my classes? Yes. Is it worth it? I think so, if only for my self-esteem haha. Plus, this means I get to sleep in now on Wednesdays! Wahoo! Yesterday was also my 3rd time playing soccer through the athletic building. I'm still pretty rusty, and I'm definitely out of shape, but I was able to impress the coach with my penalty kick skills, so that made me feel better :)
TODAY! Oct 6
Tonight I went to a meeting that IES puts on every week, called Conversation Club. Pretty witty name I know, but basically it's a chance for American and French students to get together once a week and practice their language skills! IES put fliers up all over the University of Nantes, so it's a pretty random mix of French kids, but I am so glad I went! I chatted with 3 other French girls tonight and at the end we agreed to swap numbers and maybe meet up soon for a get-together! If nothing else, I'll get to see them next week, which will be fun. I'm super excited at the chance to practice speaking some more, given that I don't do much speaking during the day until I get home for dinner.
Well, what a recap! I hope these next few weeks are just as exciting! It'll be pretty hard to top this past weekend though! I hope you all are doing well :) Hugs and kisses from France!
Love you all!
Molly
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