I’m in Nantes!!! I’m hanging out in my adorable little European dorm room. Lots of storage space, tiny bathroom, hard bed, crappy pillow, great desk space, and linoleum everywhere. That sounds about right. I’m so excited to be here. It’s going to be a good quarter.
My voyage over to Paris went just fine; all the connections went smoothly and I wasn’t too stressed at all. The best part of my journey actually occurred in London! As the plane was coming in for a landing, we passed right over the Thames and from my window I could see the London Eye, Big Ben, and the Parliament building! The last time I was in London was 2007, so it was exciting to see something that I was familiar with and enjoyed. I made it to the MEC (Maison des etudiants canadiens) late last night and managed to call my mom, my boyfriend, and get online and check my email. I had a hard time sleeping, but hopefully it was just because of jetlag. Got up at 7:30 and got ready, then we all met with Helene, our program coordinator, and we walked around Notre Dame and ate the perfect French breakfast of orange juice, hot chocolate, and a fresh croissant at a café called “Esmeralda” that was located behind the cathedral. It was absolutely wonderful to eat that breakfast in the center of Paris on my first full day. That was the kind of peaceful/satisfying moment I had been looking forward to ever since I started scheming this trip during my junior year of high school. I can’t wait for many more of those kinds of moments here in Nantes.
After breakfast and a bit more walking around, we went back to the MEC and grabbed our stuff and headed to the Montparnasse train station, got lunch, and headed out to Nantes! The train ride was pretty fun, it was a good chance to get to know some of the kiddos in the program. I think we have a good group; I’m looking forward to getting to know them better as things progress. Anyway, after many tram trips, we finally made it to the U of Nantes dorms and got all checked in. The seventeen of us are spread throughout four buildings, which is kind of too bad, but then that means we get to meet all sorts of other French and international students, which I’m excited about.
I got myself all unpacked and set up, and it feels great. I like my little space here, it’s pretty pleasant. I’ll have to buy an extra blanket for my bed- it’s going to get cold in this room once the weather turns, I can tell. I might also buy a vase or a plant or something to keep things feeling alive and vibrant. I definitely have plenty of room for one! I’m also going to see if I can go half-in with someone in the group on cooking utensils and supplies; I have a fridge in my room and there’s a kitchen down the hall, and I don’t imagine I’ll be wanting to buy food every day. I don’t have that kind of money to spend.
The day starts at 7:30 again for me tomorrow; we have to go through some formal registration at the U, and then we have a language assessment at 14:00. I don’t know if school starts on Monday or Wednesday of next week, but I imagine I’ll soon find out! Either way, at least I have a full weekend to get to know the area and the city (and the tram lines!).
My voyage over to Paris went just fine; all the connections went smoothly and I wasn’t too stressed at all. The best part of my journey actually occurred in London! As the plane was coming in for a landing, we passed right over the Thames and from my window I could see the London Eye, Big Ben, and the Parliament building! The last time I was in London was 2007, so it was exciting to see something that I was familiar with and enjoyed. I made it to the MEC (Maison des etudiants canadiens) late last night and managed to call my mom, my boyfriend, and get online and check my email. I had a hard time sleeping, but hopefully it was just because of jetlag. Got up at 7:30 and got ready, then we all met with Helene, our program coordinator, and we walked around Notre Dame and ate the perfect French breakfast of orange juice, hot chocolate, and a fresh croissant at a café called “Esmeralda” that was located behind the cathedral. It was absolutely wonderful to eat that breakfast in the center of Paris on my first full day. That was the kind of peaceful/satisfying moment I had been looking forward to ever since I started scheming this trip during my junior year of high school. I can’t wait for many more of those kinds of moments here in Nantes.
After breakfast and a bit more walking around, we went back to the MEC and grabbed our stuff and headed to the Montparnasse train station, got lunch, and headed out to Nantes! The train ride was pretty fun, it was a good chance to get to know some of the kiddos in the program. I think we have a good group; I’m looking forward to getting to know them better as things progress. Anyway, after many tram trips, we finally made it to the U of Nantes dorms and got all checked in. The seventeen of us are spread throughout four buildings, which is kind of too bad, but then that means we get to meet all sorts of other French and international students, which I’m excited about.
I got myself all unpacked and set up, and it feels great. I like my little space here, it’s pretty pleasant. I’ll have to buy an extra blanket for my bed- it’s going to get cold in this room once the weather turns, I can tell. I might also buy a vase or a plant or something to keep things feeling alive and vibrant. I definitely have plenty of room for one! I’m also going to see if I can go half-in with someone in the group on cooking utensils and supplies; I have a fridge in my room and there’s a kitchen down the hall, and I don’t imagine I’ll be wanting to buy food every day. I don’t have that kind of money to spend.
The day starts at 7:30 again for me tomorrow; we have to go through some formal registration at the U, and then we have a language assessment at 14:00. I don’t know if school starts on Monday or Wednesday of next week, but I imagine I’ll soon find out! Either way, at least I have a full weekend to get to know the area and the city (and the tram lines!).
Comments
Post a Comment