I'm home!! Not real home, but I'm in the states and I will officially be home next week! The reverse-culture shock was super real at O'Hare, like fat children and brightly colored hair, but being able to speak English and to order exactly what I want (a cheeseburger with ketchup and pickle only, please) is very surreal. Also, the jetlag is incredible. I was ready to pass out last night at 7 o'clock. Granted, I hadn't slept much the night before, but even so. I woke up at 6 am this morning, also thanks to jetlag but hopefully by tomorrow everything will be better!
So far, I do miss France's familiarity. I, of course, adjusted quickly to being back here but not saying "merci" any time I go anywhere is super weird and being able to order food in English is just incredible to me. At the airport yesterday, we stopped at Rick Bayless' airport restaurant/food place and I wanted to order a "tres queso mollete" but it came out more like "très quesot molleter" and I said it with a french accent and it was really difficult. If I try to speak any other language, I say it with a French accent right now.
I also miss how people are quiet on public transportation. There's this respectful silence at all times and whenever anyone starts talking on the phone, it's almost seen as rude. Americans however have no issues with being loud on public transportation, which is something we share in common with the Italians.
Finally, I miss the people I spent the five weeks of the program with, French and American students alike. I feel like I made some really good friends through the program in Le Mans and I am so grateful that I got to be apart of it.
If nothing else, the program taught me how vast history is. Before the trip, I thought the Vietnam War in the '60s was ancient history. But after learning about France's history and how it starts in the 1100's (I think?), there's so much more to history than what I was taught in my American history class. No offense to Ron Swanson, but history did not in fact start in 1776. I feel like I actually have a more global perspective of the world and I was pleasantly surprised to learn more than just French or American history.
I definitely miss France right now, but it's so great to be back with friends and family in the states. I know it won't be too long before I return!
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Sunday, July 12, 2015
I can never be French because I never finish all the food on my plate
Brunch!!! We ate at La Recyclerie which was overwhelming and confusing and delicious. So I asked the woman at the counter what we were supposed to do, nodded and pretended I understood as she explained it to me, and then she explained it to us in English. So we got this giant metal lunch tray (I felt like I was back in middle school going through the lunch line <3) and then went through multiple lines with cold and hot food. What I didn't realize is that I could pick and choose what I wanted so I took one of everything and ate about half of my tray. There was coffee and juice and water to drink, plus potatoes, chicken, lox, roast beef, salad (definitely didn't eat that), quinoa (I think?), yogurt (delicious with jam and granola), bread, butter, jam, fruit crumble, something with a fully cooked egg and tomato sauce, gazpacho, and a mango puree. There was probably more but that's all I can remember right now and wow it was great.
With all the energy we gained from the ginormous brunch, we headed to the largest flea market in Paris, and possibly the world. They had records and world maps from the 1800s and super expensive antique furniture, chandeliers, light fixtures and a million other things we didn't even get to see. It was incredible. After looking and not even being able to afford much, we walked to the Montmartre cemetery where we visited Alexandre Dumas, fils and Edgar Degas' graves/tombs. They were huge and the cemetary was packed and showy, but it was very cool to see all of it. I found a couple graves that I would be ok having for myself. One had headshots of the deceased, the other was a mini building encrusted in gold. Some combination of the two might be best for me. Just ideas.
For a quick drink and snack, I drank what is probably my final bottle of cidre in France and the cafe from Amélie. Everyone in my family has seen this movie expect me so I didn't find it that special, but the cidre was excellent of course. We then continued walking through our neighborhood with a walking tour from one of Mom's books, which took us past the apartment where my bf Vincent Van Gogh lived for the final two years of his life with his brother. Theo, his brother, committed suicide two months after his brother did, according to what the book said. What a relationship they must've had.
To finish off the evening, we did some shopping and ate baguette, croissants, and champagne for dinner, and finished with macaroons for dessert. Pretty much my ideal meal. Currently I am procrastinating on packing because it's the woooooooorst (say that like Jean Ralphio from Parks). But the plane is leaving tomorrow morning so after one last boulangerie run, I'm out of here which is infinitely sad! I'll probably blog tomorrow just to talk about the flight and how awesome/terrible it was but if not, this could be my last blog post! I'm not ready to reflect on blogging tonight, so future, jetlagged Maddie can deal with that tomorrow.
With all the energy we gained from the ginormous brunch, we headed to the largest flea market in Paris, and possibly the world. They had records and world maps from the 1800s and super expensive antique furniture, chandeliers, light fixtures and a million other things we didn't even get to see. It was incredible. After looking and not even being able to afford much, we walked to the Montmartre cemetery where we visited Alexandre Dumas, fils and Edgar Degas' graves/tombs. They were huge and the cemetary was packed and showy, but it was very cool to see all of it. I found a couple graves that I would be ok having for myself. One had headshots of the deceased, the other was a mini building encrusted in gold. Some combination of the two might be best for me. Just ideas.
For a quick drink and snack, I drank what is probably my final bottle of cidre in France and the cafe from Amélie. Everyone in my family has seen this movie expect me so I didn't find it that special, but the cidre was excellent of course. We then continued walking through our neighborhood with a walking tour from one of Mom's books, which took us past the apartment where my bf Vincent Van Gogh lived for the final two years of his life with his brother. Theo, his brother, committed suicide two months after his brother did, according to what the book said. What a relationship they must've had.
To finish off the evening, we did some shopping and ate baguette, croissants, and champagne for dinner, and finished with macaroons for dessert. Pretty much my ideal meal. Currently I am procrastinating on packing because it's the woooooooorst (say that like Jean Ralphio from Parks). But the plane is leaving tomorrow morning so after one last boulangerie run, I'm out of here which is infinitely sad! I'll probably blog tomorrow just to talk about the flight and how awesome/terrible it was but if not, this could be my last blog post! I'm not ready to reflect on blogging tonight, so future, jetlagged Maddie can deal with that tomorrow.
Euchre au Jardin du Luxembourg
Today began with a visit to the Palais Garnier which is the National Opera House in Paris. I'm not positive if shows are still performed there, but I believe that some are! The building is breathtaking and the hall of mirrors on the top floor rivals that of Versailles. We then went to a place whose name I can't remember to get some of their world famous macaroons but we were not allowed to take pictures of them. The macaroons however were phenomenal. There were some traditional flavors, like dark chocolate and salted caramel, but there were also untraditional flavors like milk chocolate-passion fruit, or mango-grapefruit-orange. One of my favorites was a raspberry-something else with a yogurt filling. We then had lunch Au Petit Suisse, on the recommendation of my cousin Toby, which was excellent. Ellie finally got her croque-monsieur!
The cafe was directly across from the Jardin du Luxembourg, which is absolutely gorgeous. We found some shade and some chairs so we were able to play a game of euchre! Ellie and Aunt Jen won, but it was a close game. Without really knowing what we were getting into , we walked over to the Parthenon and saw the graves of Voltaire, Rouseau, Emile Zola, and both of the Curies! (Mom was disappointed that Maries's tomb wasn't glowing with radiation). Voltaire and Rouseau's tombs were directly across from each other which is ironic because they were sworn enemies while they were alive.
The Latin Quarter was as busy as ever with tour groups and huge charter buses that should not be able to navigate the streets of Paris. The bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, was equally packed but if there were less people there, I would've loved to sit and browse the store for hours. The walls were entirely covered with books, floor to ceiling. There were new books from current authors, there were classic books and there were ancient books. I would love to spend the day tucked into one of the corners of the little store browsing through all that they had.
After some shopping, we metroed to the Arc de Triomphe where we were able to get to the arch, but not under because there was a ceremony that I didn't really understand going on. Directly in the middle is an everlasting flame for their tomb of the unknown soldier so I'm not sure what ceremony was happening there, but it was very busy. We walked down the Champs-Elysées for a while, did some more shopping, and watched as they began setting up for the parade for Basille Day on Tuesday. Finally, we metroed back to Montmartre where we picked up some food to eat with the rest of the leftovers we have in the house and just had an early night in. It doesn't feel like we do that much during a day, but then we get back to the apartment and I can't figure out why I'm exhausted. But after blogging like this about each day, we pack a lot in and are taking advantage of every hour we have.
Today is our last day in Paris before we fly out tomorrow morning :(
The cafe was directly across from the Jardin du Luxembourg, which is absolutely gorgeous. We found some shade and some chairs so we were able to play a game of euchre! Ellie and Aunt Jen won, but it was a close game. Without really knowing what we were getting into , we walked over to the Parthenon and saw the graves of Voltaire, Rouseau, Emile Zola, and both of the Curies! (Mom was disappointed that Maries's tomb wasn't glowing with radiation). Voltaire and Rouseau's tombs were directly across from each other which is ironic because they were sworn enemies while they were alive.
The Latin Quarter was as busy as ever with tour groups and huge charter buses that should not be able to navigate the streets of Paris. The bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, was equally packed but if there were less people there, I would've loved to sit and browse the store for hours. The walls were entirely covered with books, floor to ceiling. There were new books from current authors, there were classic books and there were ancient books. I would love to spend the day tucked into one of the corners of the little store browsing through all that they had.
After some shopping, we metroed to the Arc de Triomphe where we were able to get to the arch, but not under because there was a ceremony that I didn't really understand going on. Directly in the middle is an everlasting flame for their tomb of the unknown soldier so I'm not sure what ceremony was happening there, but it was very busy. We walked down the Champs-Elysées for a while, did some more shopping, and watched as they began setting up for the parade for Basille Day on Tuesday. Finally, we metroed back to Montmartre where we picked up some food to eat with the rest of the leftovers we have in the house and just had an early night in. It doesn't feel like we do that much during a day, but then we get back to the apartment and I can't figure out why I'm exhausted. But after blogging like this about each day, we pack a lot in and are taking advantage of every hour we have.
Today is our last day in Paris before we fly out tomorrow morning :(
Friday, July 10, 2015
l'Avenue de Champagne
Listen to this song while reading this blog post:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcJ3L6EOUWQ
Today was wonderful. We rented a car and Aunt Jen drove us out of Paris, which was slightly terrifying but she is a very talented driver so we made it to the city of Reims. After stopping at the Office of Tourism and getting an expensive lunch recommendation, we ate lunch at Paul (Ellie's new favorite). We then drove to the winery of Gardet where we got a private tour of the entire Champagne-making process from start to finish and then got to try some of the champagne! It was excellent.We then drove along the scenic Route Touristique du Champagne which led us through many little villages and past some of the bigger wineries. Eventually this route led us to the Avenue du Champagne which has all of the major Champagne houses on one street. The houses were massive and absolutely gorgeous!! We were too late to partake in any tastings there, so we got ice cream, walked down the Champagne Street, ate dinner and then headed out! Typing this blog right now, it doesn't seem like anything we did was that exciting or fun, but all four of us are beat right now and today was one of my favorite days of this past month! While I don't find the countryside as breathtaking as others do, if you have the chance and are willing to face the crazy, aggressive, mistake-prone drivers of France, I highly recommend making the trip out there!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcJ3L6EOUWQ
Today was wonderful. We rented a car and Aunt Jen drove us out of Paris, which was slightly terrifying but she is a very talented driver so we made it to the city of Reims. After stopping at the Office of Tourism and getting an expensive lunch recommendation, we ate lunch at Paul (Ellie's new favorite). We then drove to the winery of Gardet where we got a private tour of the entire Champagne-making process from start to finish and then got to try some of the champagne! It was excellent.We then drove along the scenic Route Touristique du Champagne which led us through many little villages and past some of the bigger wineries. Eventually this route led us to the Avenue du Champagne which has all of the major Champagne houses on one street. The houses were massive and absolutely gorgeous!! We were too late to partake in any tastings there, so we got ice cream, walked down the Champagne Street, ate dinner and then headed out! Typing this blog right now, it doesn't seem like anything we did was that exciting or fun, but all four of us are beat right now and today was one of my favorite days of this past month! While I don't find the countryside as breathtaking as others do, if you have the chance and are willing to face the crazy, aggressive, mistake-prone drivers of France, I highly recommend making the trip out there!
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Paris is AWESOME when you're not with the tourists
Today began with a market at Aligre, where I was prepared to buy Kangaroo saucisson (in honor of Zippy) but Mom wouldn't let me. So instead we got camembert and goat cheese. Also there, we got my beloved Prosciutto di Parma (jambon de Parme, en Français) which is my absolute favorite thing in the whole wide world I think. I felt like the market was about the same size as the Le Mans market, food-wise, but there were a lot more scarves and jewelry and other vendors. People there were super patient as I attempted to speak French to order food! We then went to Holy Belly, recommended by Tony Bourdain himself, which was like a little slice of Chicago tucked away in a side street of Paris. I got skate (the fish) and some cidre and I was content.
We stopped at one of the best boulangeries in the city, Des Idees, where a beautiful apricot tart was purchased and later smushed into my bag. However, it was still salvageable and totally delicious. While walking down the Saint Martin Canal, we got to watch a boat really, really slowly pass through the locks of the canal and then we went to a second, atelier chocolat. Except this time, this one had a tea room. Jacques Genin is where I'm going to work when I refuse to leave France at the end of the week. The had chocolate, caramels, chocolate covered caramels, and these Pâtes des fruits which were like eating little cubes of different flavored fruit jelly covered in sugar. It sounds kind of weird, and some of them were, but they were also super delicious. Rhubarb was the personal favorite.
Before returning home, we stopped at another boulangerie, a fromagerie, and multiple cooking stores. The cooking stores were like "Sur la Table" but for real chefs and we just looked there. The boulangerie and fromagerie were to pick up more food for the smorgasbord that was our dinner. Back at the apartment, we ate ate saucisson (3 kinds), cheese (3 kinds also), baguette, prosciutto, butter (amazing), and then random pastries that we'd picked up throughout the day for dessert. It was a wonderful meal and also great to have a chill evening because we will be up early for our adventure with French driving (they're crazy) and Champagne! A demain !
We stopped at one of the best boulangeries in the city, Des Idees, where a beautiful apricot tart was purchased and later smushed into my bag. However, it was still salvageable and totally delicious. While walking down the Saint Martin Canal, we got to watch a boat really, really slowly pass through the locks of the canal and then we went to a second, atelier chocolat. Except this time, this one had a tea room. Jacques Genin is where I'm going to work when I refuse to leave France at the end of the week. The had chocolate, caramels, chocolate covered caramels, and these Pâtes des fruits which were like eating little cubes of different flavored fruit jelly covered in sugar. It sounds kind of weird, and some of them were, but they were also super delicious. Rhubarb was the personal favorite.
Before returning home, we stopped at another boulangerie, a fromagerie, and multiple cooking stores. The cooking stores were like "Sur la Table" but for real chefs and we just looked there. The boulangerie and fromagerie were to pick up more food for the smorgasbord that was our dinner. Back at the apartment, we ate ate saucisson (3 kinds), cheese (3 kinds also), baguette, prosciutto, butter (amazing), and then random pastries that we'd picked up throughout the day for dessert. It was a wonderful meal and also great to have a chill evening because we will be up early for our adventure with French driving (they're crazy) and Champagne! A demain !
Everyone has at least 3 blisters on their feet
Our first full day in Paris together!!!! Our day started by taking the metro to the Louvre, where we just visited the outside of the giant pyramid. Then after a quick walk through the Tuileries Garden, we went into the Musée d'Orsay where we saw Degas's, Monet's, Manet's, and Van Gogh (even though "Starry Night Over the Rhone" wasn't there???). After a quick coffee and a walk back to the opposite side of the Louvre, we went to "l'As du Fallafel" and ate the best falafel ever. It was in this super cool Jewish neighborhood, which we got to walk around a little bit after and then, hopefully, we'll continue to walk around today There was a line out the door for the place we went to where as for the poor falafel place across the street, it was absolute desolate. No one was there which seemed very sad, but also everyone seemed used to it. At 2 pm, the restaurant was packed and we were whisked from waiting to moving to a different place to wait and then again to a table that was pointed out to us. The service was super fast, the menu was in at least five languages, and the falafel was fantastic! Highly recommend it if anyone's in the mood for falafel in Paris.
After exploring the neighborhood a little more, we walked back toward Notre Dame and passed the outside of the Centre Pompidou (I had no idea that all these museums were so close!). We waited in the super long line for about 15 minutes before he got into the cathedral and got a look inside. Ellie picked to visit the Musée de l'Orangerie, even though we knew nothing about it, so after walking back through the Tuilleries and passing a guy who loved playing with/feeding pigeons, we made it to the museum. Little did we know that "Nymphaes" means "Waterlilies" and that the main exhibit in the tiny museum was Monet's waterlilies! The museum was tiny, but the two, cavernous rooms on the main floor were covered on all four sides by his ginormous canvases of waterlilies. It was a spectacular surprise so Ellie is now picking everywhere else we go.
As we started to walk to dinner, we passed Place de la Concorde where the center of it is closed off because they've set up grand stands for the Tour de France which will end in Paris in about a month. We also got to pass the heavily guarded US Consolate, located right next to Place de la Concorde. Then we found the most expensive street in Paris with all the designers you love to look at but from whom you couldn't even afford a t-shirt. We stopped at an upscale chocolate atelier and window shopped everywhere else, until we got to Spring, back on the other side of the Louvre (with a point of reference of the Louvre, we walked passed it four times). The restaurant, Spring, was phenomenal. The chef is from Chicago and what he makes, is what is served. So we had mushrooms as an apertif, lobster and tomato salad and a white fish with potatoes in a broth as our two starters, quail for dinner, and then a trio of peach cobbler, rosemary sorbet, and lemon curd for dinner and as a final bite, a chocolate-filled raspberry in a little brownie coating. It was absolutely fabulous and one of the nicest restaurants I have ever been too.
But before the night was over, we took a cab over to Trocadéro to take pictures with the Eiffel Tower and we got to watch it sparkle at 10 pm! While walking under the Eiffel Tower, we realized how short the lines were so I had the brilliant idea that we should go up! After waiting in the first line for 30 minutes, we bought our tickets and went up to the second floor to wait there to go to the very top. And the top is cool when the city's dark and everything's lit up, but there's glare on the glass and if you go up further, there's no glass so there's no glare but it was so cold!! Ellie and I ran up, did a lap, and then ran straight back down to wait in another line to get to the second floor and then in another line to get back to the ground. All-in-all, it took about two hours and the majority of that time was spent in line. But it was still cool to see Paris all lit up and we were on the Eiffel Tower when it was sparkling! However it feels less like magic and more like lightning when you're actually on the tower instead of looking at it from a distance.
We got home and were absolutely exhausted so planning for today/blogging had to wait for this morning. But just from yesterday, I've realized how much better Paris is when you're not hitting every tourist shop and you have money to buy delicious food. And while we did hit a lot our touristy things, we also saw a lot of new things and super cool neighborhoods!
After exploring the neighborhood a little more, we walked back toward Notre Dame and passed the outside of the Centre Pompidou (I had no idea that all these museums were so close!). We waited in the super long line for about 15 minutes before he got into the cathedral and got a look inside. Ellie picked to visit the Musée de l'Orangerie, even though we knew nothing about it, so after walking back through the Tuilleries and passing a guy who loved playing with/feeding pigeons, we made it to the museum. Little did we know that "Nymphaes" means "Waterlilies" and that the main exhibit in the tiny museum was Monet's waterlilies! The museum was tiny, but the two, cavernous rooms on the main floor were covered on all four sides by his ginormous canvases of waterlilies. It was a spectacular surprise so Ellie is now picking everywhere else we go.
As we started to walk to dinner, we passed Place de la Concorde where the center of it is closed off because they've set up grand stands for the Tour de France which will end in Paris in about a month. We also got to pass the heavily guarded US Consolate, located right next to Place de la Concorde. Then we found the most expensive street in Paris with all the designers you love to look at but from whom you couldn't even afford a t-shirt. We stopped at an upscale chocolate atelier and window shopped everywhere else, until we got to Spring, back on the other side of the Louvre (with a point of reference of the Louvre, we walked passed it four times). The restaurant, Spring, was phenomenal. The chef is from Chicago and what he makes, is what is served. So we had mushrooms as an apertif, lobster and tomato salad and a white fish with potatoes in a broth as our two starters, quail for dinner, and then a trio of peach cobbler, rosemary sorbet, and lemon curd for dinner and as a final bite, a chocolate-filled raspberry in a little brownie coating. It was absolutely fabulous and one of the nicest restaurants I have ever been too.
But before the night was over, we took a cab over to Trocadéro to take pictures with the Eiffel Tower and we got to watch it sparkle at 10 pm! While walking under the Eiffel Tower, we realized how short the lines were so I had the brilliant idea that we should go up! After waiting in the first line for 30 minutes, we bought our tickets and went up to the second floor to wait there to go to the very top. And the top is cool when the city's dark and everything's lit up, but there's glare on the glass and if you go up further, there's no glass so there's no glare but it was so cold!! Ellie and I ran up, did a lap, and then ran straight back down to wait in another line to get to the second floor and then in another line to get back to the ground. All-in-all, it took about two hours and the majority of that time was spent in line. But it was still cool to see Paris all lit up and we were on the Eiffel Tower when it was sparkling! However it feels less like magic and more like lightning when you're actually on the tower instead of looking at it from a distance.
We got home and were absolutely exhausted so planning for today/blogging had to wait for this morning. But just from yesterday, I've realized how much better Paris is when you're not hitting every tourist shop and you have money to buy delicious food. And while we did hit a lot our touristy things, we also saw a lot of new things and super cool neighborhoods!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Graduation and Reuniation (not a word?) !!
Yesterday was the official last day of l'Université d'été, which was sad. It started with final presentations of the internships in the morning, then a quick trip to the 24 Hour Race museum, just because we'd never been. And then there was the graduation reception! It was no caps-and-gowns affair, but all of our names were called to accept our diplomas. The French don't do graduation ceremonies - when they're ready to graduate, they go to a secretary's office, ask for their diploma, and she prints it out so they can both sign it. That's it. So the fact that Akron has approximately 5 different graduation ceremonies, for each college, is a very weird concept to the French.
To celebrate our last evening together before everyone left, we went to dinner where I ate my first vegetable of the entire trip - a salad with avocado, egg, and mozzarella (and tomatoes which were eaten by Esther because I could only go so far) !! A picture will be uploaded soon so that I can prove that I did indeed eat it! The 20 of us then watched La Nuit des Chimières which is very similar to when the animations are projected on to Cinderella's Castle in Disney, but instead of a castle, it's a cathedral and Roman wall (cathedral from the 12th-ish century, Roman wall from 200BC-ish). France and it's history is crazy. Every time I saw the cathedral, I was temporarily in shock because this monstrous cathedral was in the town, and none of the locals even batted an eye.
This morning, I was up at 7 to clean my room, room inspection was at 10, then there was shopping, lunch, and eventual, tearful goodbyes with the French students. Overall, I believe that I gained a lot from this five week program. First of all, my French improved! I'm not fluent, but I'm on my way! Additionally, I have become more tolerant, patient, and open-minded as a whole. This was the first class I've taken that wasn't America-centric. I also have a new empathy for what foreigners go through when entering a new country - learning a new language and culture by just being thrown into it is hard! I loved this entire program and I have made friendships that will last well beyond this trip. I can't wait to study abroad again! And for the French students to come visit Akron next time.
This afternoon I took a train from Le Mans to Paris-Montparnesse and then a taxi past EVERY TOURIST SITE IN PARIS to eventually get to the apartment where I was reunited with Mom, Ellie, and Aunt Jen!!! They're all tired, since they got into Paris this morning and jet lag is hard, but they were able to walk around the neighborhood a little this afternoon and then we all went to dinner at this wonderful restaurant that Aunt Jen knew of from a blog. It's an early night for us all, since they're jetlagged and I woke up so early this morning. Tomorrow, however, will be a day of much walking and seeing all of the sites! Can't wait to explore the city with them!!
To celebrate our last evening together before everyone left, we went to dinner where I ate my first vegetable of the entire trip - a salad with avocado, egg, and mozzarella (and tomatoes which were eaten by Esther because I could only go so far) !! A picture will be uploaded soon so that I can prove that I did indeed eat it! The 20 of us then watched La Nuit des Chimières which is very similar to when the animations are projected on to Cinderella's Castle in Disney, but instead of a castle, it's a cathedral and Roman wall (cathedral from the 12th-ish century, Roman wall from 200BC-ish). France and it's history is crazy. Every time I saw the cathedral, I was temporarily in shock because this monstrous cathedral was in the town, and none of the locals even batted an eye.
The salad (before and after, to show that it was all eaten)
The sundae I got post-salad (Foret-Noire) because all of the salad was eaten
La Nuit des Chimières at the Cathedral of Le Mans
This morning, I was up at 7 to clean my room, room inspection was at 10, then there was shopping, lunch, and eventual, tearful goodbyes with the French students. Overall, I believe that I gained a lot from this five week program. First of all, my French improved! I'm not fluent, but I'm on my way! Additionally, I have become more tolerant, patient, and open-minded as a whole. This was the first class I've taken that wasn't America-centric. I also have a new empathy for what foreigners go through when entering a new country - learning a new language and culture by just being thrown into it is hard! I loved this entire program and I have made friendships that will last well beyond this trip. I can't wait to study abroad again! And for the French students to come visit Akron next time.
This afternoon I took a train from Le Mans to Paris-Montparnesse and then a taxi past EVERY TOURIST SITE IN PARIS to eventually get to the apartment where I was reunited with Mom, Ellie, and Aunt Jen!!! They're all tired, since they got into Paris this morning and jet lag is hard, but they were able to walk around the neighborhood a little this afternoon and then we all went to dinner at this wonderful restaurant that Aunt Jen knew of from a blog. It's an early night for us all, since they're jetlagged and I woke up so early this morning. Tomorrow, however, will be a day of much walking and seeing all of the sites! Can't wait to explore the city with them!!
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