Ma Nouvelle Maison (My New Home)

       I have officially arrived! It was a fairly easy journey...the flight was on time and we landed without a hitch. I just wish I got a little bit of sleep because I had no idea that I would have such a busy day ahead of me.
       Let me start off by saying that I, admittedly, brought way too much luggage. My room is huge, so that's not the problem, but I had to carry everything up 5 flights of steep stairs. It was NOT fun. However, I was greeted at the door by my host mother–Inès–who is as sweet as can be. I was particularly worried about how well I'd be able to communicate, but after she made a pot of fresh Jasmine tea in her beautiful kitchen to help calm me down after the big hike up the stairs, we talked for about 45 min in French! C'était superbe (it was great).
       The kitchen and dining room area is quite modern. They have all of the accessories that I would expect a kitchen in the US to have and is connected to what reminds me of a little outdoor patio. Some of it is enclosed by windows, which allow the sun to shine through and Boy o Boy did it shine through today! It was a perfect day without barely a cloud in the sky.
       Next, we set off for an hour long walk towards the university where I'll be taking classes. There's everything one could need within just a few blocks--a boulangerie, pâtisserie, supermarket, and plenty of pharmacies (which I'm hoping I won't need). It took about a half hour by foot each way. Then we went home where I had a light lunch of yogurt, müesli, and a mandarin orange while sitting in front of the TV with Inès's daughter, Milena. We watched a French game show.
       After scarfing down the food, we headed over to another town house where 3 boys were awaiting my arrival. Two of them are also on the ISA program and the third is one of the host family's sons. It was nice to have a break and just speak plain, simple English! We planned to go to the same destination, but, at first, we went a different route. We passed by an école maternelle (pre-school), where kids were playing out on the fields. Then we proceeded to take a bus, followed by a tram, and finally walked the rest of the way by foot to get to the school. What did I learn from all of this trekking? It takes just about the same time to get to the school by foot as it does with public transportation (25-30 min). Not quite what I was expecting, but the scenery made it all worth it. It is a quaint little town that is made up of hundreds of town houses, much like the one I'm living in now.
       The temperature is similar to that of NY &, fortunately, the only things that I have left to do today is unpack, enjoy a homemade meal with the family, and go to sleep. I hope to put up some pics within the next couple of days.


Arielle


Interesting Fact: The host parents of the other 2 ISA students taught me that you kiss whomever you are greeting only once on the cheek when meeting, unlike in France where the custom is to kiss two times.