End of Week #1 (one day late)

Bonjour everyone!  So, yesterday marked the end of my first week here in France.  I said I would try to get a post out at the end of every week, so I'm one day late, but I'm still doing it!

This week has been crazy, to say the least.  Not necessarily crazy in a bad way, but definitely crazy, and I'll tell you why.

1.) I am from Detroit, also known as the Motor City.  With that being said, I am used to lots of cars everywhere, wide streets, and driving everywhere that I need to go.  In France, it is the exact opposite.  There are significantly less cars, the main streets aren't much wider than your average American side street (don't even get me started on the side streets here!), and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, walks wherever they need to go.  Just look at the streets:

No wonder there are so few people overweight here!  I have never walked so much in my life.  My feet hurt on a continual basis, but I love the atmosphere and being able to go out and explore the city on foot.

2.) It is incredibly hot here.  I've never been in a place where it's so faithfully, constantly hot.  Granted, the weather is beautiful and exactly how you would imagine the south of France to be, but wow, it's hot.  It has only rained once the entire week, and the sky was completely cloudless for 4 straight days.  I can't remember the last time I sweated this regularly, but I love the sunny weather, and the fact that it's always a great time to go outside.

3.) The French language ain't no joke.  The 100% immersion aspect of the program brought me to the rude awakening that I didn't know as much French as I thought I did.  I mean, I knew I wasn't going to be the best by a long shot, and I knew I was going to struggle when I arrived here, but did I know it would be this bad?  No, I did not.  Would I have ever guessed it would be this much of a challenge?  Never in a million years.  Even things as simple as ordering at a restaurant or talking with newfound friends become brain-probing challenges and tests of levelheadedness.  I quickly realized that my biggest challenge is not reading or writing or even speaking, but comprehending.  At first, it was even difficult to understand my peers, so you can imagine how hard it was to understand the teaching/administrative staff and the natives!  It's hasn't been anywhere near easy, and tears of frustration have been shed, but I'm learning.  I'm getting better and understanding more every day.  I just have to be patient.

Hopefully, this whole post didn't sound like one big complaint.  That wasn't my goal.  Sure, there are things I could complain about, but why should I?  I'm fulfilling life dreams, learning a beautiful language in a beautiful city, and I'm marching my way (slowly but surely) towards bilingualdom.  It's exciting stuff.  Here's just a few photos for your viewing pleasure:

 

That's all for now.  I hope everyone who reads this enjoys it, and hopefully, next week's blog will be even better.  Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

An Achy, Tired, Learning, and Growing Self-Proclaimed Nerd