First Week in Nantes!

January 17-January 21, 2011

Why hello there...

I have had an incredibly busy first week here in the beautiful city of Nantes. The weather has been beautiful but a little chilly (0-7 degrees Celsius , 32- 55 degrees Fahrenheit).

Monday, January 17.

I woke up at around 8 am and got ready for my first day of orientation in Nantes. My host mom, Marie-Aude, had breakfast ready for me and told me she was going to teach me how to take the bus to and from IES. Lucky for me there is a bus stop right outside my house and I take the number 21 or 23 line right into downtown Nantes and get off at St. Nicholas. From there it is about a 10-15 minute walk to IES. From 9:30 till 12:30 we had administrative orientation with Mme. Rouchet. She gave orientation guides which she called "The Bible" and we spent 3 hours going through it because she did not really trust us to read it all ourselves. We then had 1.5 hours for lunch and a few friends and I walked to the Place de Commerce, one of the big city centers and got a sandwich at a little stand. We then walked back to IES and had a one hour long etiquette class with Mme. Rouchet about the polite way to interact with our families and the French population at large. After that, we got put into 3 separate groups that we were going to take prep classes with all week. Our final activity of the day was a walking tour of Nantes. My tour guide was a girl named Kaitlyn who lives outside Nantes and did the program last year. The Artarit family, my host family, hosted her last year. After our tour which ended at about 5:30, I went and got a French cell phone. I managed to find my way back to the St. Nicholas bus stop and get on the bus home. I got home around 7:45 and then ate dinner at 9:30. I had soup and some sort of spanish keish with potatoes, and sausage. It was delicious per usual.

Tuesday, January 18th

I accidentally set my alarm clock for 8:15 instead of 7:15 am. It takes me about 20-30 minutes to get to IES from my house and our first activity was at 9. I quickly ate breakfast and made it to IES by 9:10, since it was the first time most of the other students had taken the bus or tram, I was not too late. After a security briefing and our academic orientation, we had an hour to get lunch before our French language classes started. Since I use the bus everyday, My friend Doug and I went and purchased bus passes as well as an under 26 identification card gives students discounts on certain things, including bus passes.

After class, I went shopping for school supplies and shampoo with some friends at the monoprix which is kind of the French equivalent of walmart or target. I got on the correct bus and headed home, unfortunately, it was going in the wrong direction so I had to get off and walk to the stop that got me of the bus that would take me home. Because of my little detour I didn't get home till 8 but thankfully we didn't eat till 9:45. We had the same delicious soup, salad, and Fish, which I actually enjoyed. (I know crazy!)

Wednesday, January 19th

Wednesday was a long day at IES. We went on a tour of the University of Nantes from 9:30 till 11:30. Our tour guide, Elise is also the social coordinator for IES. She showed us the different buildings for different studies, we ate in the dining hall which was not too bad. Mallory, Julia, Sarah, and I met these two guys who were getting there PHDs in engineering. We got a cup of coffee with them and they seemed nice but then got pretty insistent on hanging out. So it's kind of awkward. We then took the tram back to Place de Commerce then walked to IES for 3 hours of classes. After we finished 3 hours of grammar, conversation, and French language, the French-United States Association organized a Galette des rois for us. A galette des rois is a French holiday where they buy special cakes called galettes that have a little statue thing in them (called the fève). Everyone is given a slice of the cake and whoever gets the fève is the king or queen and gets to choose their respective king or queen. They also served us cider and sparkling wine. I got the fève in our galette, so I was queen for the rest of our little party. I then took the bus home and was exhausted but still very hungry for some reason. We had soup, salad, and this delicious lasagna. Frozen dinners are a lot better in France than in the US.

Thursday, January 20th. 

Classes started bright and early at 9 am. Even though it was colder than it had been, it was sunny for the first time since I've been here. After classes, we went to the University Restaurant or RU and the students call for lunch. It was not too bad and only cost 3 euros. After lunch we had a meeting about what we expected and what we should expect from our study abroad experience. We were done for the day at about 3:30 so my friend Julia and I decided to go shopping. I helped her buy her phone and then we walked around. Clothes are very expensive in France, even during Soldes, the 3-4 period of time from the middle of January till the beginning of February where all the stores have big sales. Julia and I did not end up buying anything and instead found a little tavern in the Place Royale and had a beer.

Then I went home and got ready to go out. at around 7:45 I met up with a bunch of friends in the Place de Commerce where we found a little place to have dinner. Most of the boys had eaten but Julia, Mallory, and I had not. We all got cheeseburgers because we missed them. Mallory's was pretty well done, mine was a little pink, and poor Julia's was still mooing. She was so hungry that she ate it anyways, she was fine though. After dinner we walked around a little and this old man told us to go to this little bar, well not so much told and dragged us in. He left about 5 minutes after dragging us into the bar but it seemed like a nice place so we stayed. I met 2 girls and 1 boy from Sweden, a girl from Germany, and a young French couple. I chatted with them all night in a mix of French and English. Since the last night bus runs at 12:30, I barely missed the 12 am bus and had to wait for the 12:30 am bus. I got home around one and passed out.

Friday, January 21st

Today was our last day of prep classes before signing up for our real ones. We all have meeting at different times and mine is in an hour or so. We ate at the school restaurant again and one of the PHD guys Tony was there which was pretty awkward because he cannot take the hint that none of us really want to hang out with him again. After lunch I came home and chatted with my house family for a little and decided to update my blog. I have to leave soon though so I can catch my bus back to IES. I will post again soon about my first weekend in Nantes! À tout a l'heure!

Here are some pictures from around my neighborhood, enjoy!

KSG