Bonjour tout le monde!

Hello all, I am so happy to be in France. Thank all of you that helped make this possible! My journey here has been adventuresome to say the least. I am already learning a lot about myself. On this trip I have rode a train for the first time and alone! I share my host family with another student, Ashley from Cincinnati. We get along well and are having fun already. We are planning to go to the beach for our first trip this weekend. I am proud of my sense of direction. We have been navigating the tram and bus lines already. Before you know it we’ll be pros!

The first difference I noticed between our culture and the French is that the French refrigerators have no freezer. This means there is no ice in our drinks here; this will take time to get used to. The biggest shock so far is that during the summer the sun doesn’t go down until 11 p.m. The birds don’t stop chirping throughout the night either. But don’t get me wrong, I have had no trouble sleeping. The shops all close for lunch for a few hours in the afternoon.

The first day of class a tour guide showed us the city and shared some of Nante’s rich history with us. The city is so beautiful. I have studied French for years, but am having difficulty understand the rapid speech here. Hopefully over time I will get better. Classes started today; it was difficult to get up so early and pay attention. My classes were always in the afternoon, but I’m sure it will get easier each day. We have plans to explore the city more, Au revior!

Kanisha