Two Weeks In

Bonjour everyone!

Well, I am aware that there are at least a COUPLE of you who have voiced concerns over my long absence from MeLiFaTh! I apologize for my lack of blogger-commitment! The past couple months were very busy, with work and getting the final details taken care of for my exchange. But, long story short....I'm here! And I just know that everyone wants to hear about la France. So, I'll just cut to the chase and get down to business.

Well, the flight...it was like any transatlantic flight could be. Yes, it was exhausting. Those "I'm so excited" fumes only power the body and mind for so long, let me tell you -- especially once you get off the airplane only to discover it's a brand new day here! Luckily, I had a 6 hour layover in London, so I found a nice padded bench, and crashed for a few hours. Then it was off to Nice. A short little flight across the country, and I was standing on French soil for the first time in over two years. At this point, I was in robot mode (thanks to our good friend sleep deprivation), so I didn't really think much about it all. For me it was "bag-bus-hostel-bed".

I spent the next few days trying (in near desperation) to find an apartment. Being without accomodations was very stressful. I just felt like I was in too much of "vacation mode", and I didn't like it. But, lots of searching and trying to contact landlords eventually payed off, and I was able to secure my flat. I settled in, started going to my classes at school, and just meeting people.

We are now two weeks in. And I must say, things are starting to smooth out. Little by little I'm crossing things off of my mental "to live here" list. In France, red tape is very sequential, and things need to be done in a precise way, and in a precise order. At first, it can seem overwhelming, all of the requirements and documents to gather, but I have found that there is a certain strategy to getting it all done: follow the guidelines and rules carefully, but also listen to what your fellow international classmates are saying too. In France, a business or service's posted hours don't mean anything -- some places really seem to rely on the old "word of mouth" method!! Ironically, for a place who has enough paperwork to make a forest of trees quiver in fear, handing it in and processing times really doesn't seem as big of a deal as it is in Canada. I just "show up" to the classes I am taking, as in France the true enrollment (l'inscription pédagogique) doesn't happen until October, when you sign up for your exams.

After thinking about all of the things I've needed to get done here, I like to just stop and think about how fascinating it is. Sure, they do things differently than in North America. But the thing to remember is, it works for them! This is the way of life in this country, and outsiders just need to accept it, or get out. I am really enjoying the way daily life is here in France, and look forward to each new day and what it will teach me. Every minute of my life over here is spent observing, learning, and adapting: it is truly a very fulfilling experience. Being surrounded by the language every day is working wonders for my goal of bilingualism; just walking down the street is helpful, as it's exposing me to the sounds and "flow" of the language. And, although it takes more time to achieve than meeting other international students, I am starting to become more confident in my French speaking abilities, thus allowing me to meet and become friends with French people. Of course, this is the key to my ultimate reasons for being here in the first place; as good as any foreign student may be to speaking French, un vrai français will have the best knowledge of the current, up-to-date French spoken.

So, I will try to be more regular with my blog postings from now on. A fellow blogger and dear friend of mine (who's blog you can find here) suggested it would be a good outlet for me to share all of my new discoveries of the culture and food of France. I'm going to try to share all of this on here, even if it's just a few pictures or some cool music from France! With that, I leave you with a picture, one of my favourites that I have taken thus far:

This was taken two nights ago, as me and some friends were walking back from dinner along la Proménade des anglais. I love how the lights just gently curve off into the distance, with the headlights of the cars gently moving along. Anyways, that's all for now! Any comments or questions are, of course, always more than welcome!

À bientôt !