10 septembre 2009 (Day 10)
I’m starting to like Nantes more. I heard someone talking about how they really liked that life was slower here and that you didn’t have to worry about things, that it wasn’t busy busy go go like London. I’ve been thinking about that a lot, and it is true. People here are so mellow when it concerns those things. I’ve also come to realize that I try very hard to organize and schedule my life and have it set because life is never how I expect. Since it isn’t what I expect, I try to make things that I can be sure of, and have things set in stone. This has really hit me with Nantes, because this is nothing like what I expected, not to say that it is bad or anything. I’ve come to realize that I’m not going to learn French in my classes. It is the out of class time that makes you fluent. I will have to work on trying to be extroverted and making French friends. I am hoping that I will have a good buddy from the buddy program and that I will meet people while I take sports here. The program is called SUAPS and I paid 20E to pick three sports. I chose fencing, “gym douce” (I’ll tell you what it is once I figure out what it is), and ultimate Frisbee. I am also going to have the stellar opportunity to become a surf bum. They have outings to the ocean to teach you how. I am thrilled that I will finally get to learn how to surf.
It seems that classes won’t be too hard. In some ways they actually feel easier than my university classes, or it may just be that everyone is closer to my level of French. Regardless, it has only been two days and only time will prove my statement to be utterly false as I am swept away in a sea of homework in two weeks.
I went running today past the local supermarket to this ghetto purely asphalt track and timed my mile there. I got a personal record! Running isn’t a very big thing here. People stare at you and some people just have a look of flabberghastment (it is a word I just made up) on their faces when you shoot by. The cross country team would love running here though, there are lots of obstacles and the roads are windy with lots of little escalations.
The laundry machines are tiny here! Yet contrary to their small looks, you can fit in a lot of laundry. We have to pay two Euros each time, but they give us detergent to use. You also have to make an appointment to use the machines.
Myth busters:
Myth 1: All French baguettes are amazing.
This is a myth, not all baguettes (nor French cheese) are created equal. While here, I have discovered that some baguettes are amazing and some well, suck. This rhetoric should be applied to French cheese as well. I really liked a flavor called double crème, but then I tried President’s camembert which I did not find palatable.
Myth 2: The French women have hairy armpits and legs
I am sorry to say, but the only hairy legs and pits I’ve seen are men’s and my own before I shave
Myth 3: The French people smell.
This is yet another myth. Although some people here do prefer the stench of their body odor, there are many who smell quite amazing if I do say so myself. It seems to be the immigrants from Middle Eastern countries who have the tendency to carry the odor of body stench.
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