The Tourist

           This past week I took an intensive French course.  It was nice to be back in the classroom after my ten week break from school and do a quick review of some French grammar.  On the last day of class, we did a debate in French.  It was kind of challenging, but nice to be able to practice speaking. 

I have felt like such a tourist this past weekend.  Friday, we were finished with French class so the welcome team organized a walking tour of Toulouse for all of the new exchange students.  I really enjoyed it! We went to several different locations in the city center – La Capitole, La Rue du Taur, La Basilique Saint Sernin, and Les Jacobins.  I had seen all of those places before but didn’t really know much about their history or purpose. 

La Capitole

(the main administration building and theater)

  

Rue du Taur

(the street of the bull)

 Les Jacobins

(Dominican monastery with an interesting history) 

La Basilique Saint Sernin

(a Romanesque church famous for its pilgrimage history)

Saturday morning, I got up very early and took a train to Carcassonne with some friends.  It’s a very charming city about an hour train ride away from Toulouse famous for its enormous fortified medieval city and castle.  We had an amazing day! When we arrived, we started to walk toward the castle.  We stopped in the city square to explore an open air market and bought fresh pastries for breakfast.  A little while later we arrived at the castle.  It was fantastic! We explored the town all morning, stopped at a little café for coffee and hot chocolate, and then toured the castle and ramparts.

In the afternoon, we went back to town to an Irish pub to watch the Ireland vs. Italy rugby match and have lunch.  I had never watched rugby before.  Some of the Irish exchange students were with us so they had to teach most of us how it worked.  By the end of the match we were all getting excited and cheering for Ireland.  It was a lot of fun!

I love that I am getting opportunities to sight-see and travel.  I am making plans to go to Paris next week! I can’t wait!

The First Week

                It’s official.  I have lived in France for exactly one week today.  I absolutely love Toulouse!  So much has happened since my last blog so let me fill you in on what I’ve been up to! 

                Last Friday, all of the new foreign exchange students had our orientation.  It was great!  I learned a lot about living here and how classes will actually work.  I also got to meet a lot of the other Erasmus (that’s what international students here are referred to as), go on a tour of the school, and meet members of the wonderful welcome team! Everyone was so nice and helpful! That evening, the Erasmus and the Welcome Team went out for tapas.  It was great getting to meet and visit with everyone!

                I’ve gotten a lot done in the past week.  On Saturday, I got my “Carte Pastel” which is my metro card for Toulouse.  It cost 10 euros for unlimited metro access for a month.  I absolutely love having the metro and being able to walk everywhere! It is so much nicer than having to get in your car every time you want to go somewhere, and it’s so much cheaper too!  I also got something that will give me discounted student train tickets.  That will be very nice when I travel for weekend trips or longer trips around Europe.  It’s so easy to travel here! This weekend, I am going to Carcassonne, a small nearby town known for a huge medieval castle!

                This week I also bought a French telephone, opened my French Bank Account, and mailed some letters back home – and I did everything in French! I know my French still needs A LOT of work, but it’s exciting to know that I can communicate and am confident enough now to do so.  I was so scared to speak at all when I first arrived! 

                I love living here! I have met so many amazing new friends from all over the world! I love learning about where they’re from and sharing with them about where I’m from.  I was with several friends a few days ago at a large grocery store where I learned that some of them had never had peanut butter and jelly before.  I insisted that they must try my favorite childhood food and scoured the store for the seemingly simple ingredients.  Peanut butter was almost impossible to find, but we finally found it on the international foods aisle.  Go figure!  After trying PB&J, I am happy to say my new friends are hooked!

                My favorite thing to do so far is just explore the city.  It is an absolutely beautiful place, and I feel so lucky to be able to spend the next four months here! 

Bienvenue

After months of planning and 24 hours in airports and planes, I am finally here in Toulouse.  These past few days have been kind of a whirlwind.  Friday I finished my student internship.  I went up to Fayetteville one last time over the weekend, and Monday I started packing.  While packing wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, it was a little challenging to have to try and pack for clothes for winter, ski trips, spring, summer, school, traveling, etc. as well as things that I need for my apartment like bedding.  Somehow I managed to get it all organized and packed just in time to catch my flight. 

                Yesterday I left Arkansas and flew through Dallas and London to get to Toulouse this afternoon around four.  It was a long trip, but it went by pretty fast as I was able to sleep on the international leg of the flight.  Luckily everything went smoothly, and I experienced absolutely no problems.  When I arrived, a couple members of the Welcome Team from the school met me and several other students and brought us to our apartments.  Everyone has been very friendly and nice so far, and I can tell this is going to be an amazing semester!

                The apartment is very nice.   There is a living space with a couch and two desks, a small kitchen area, and a dining table.  The bedroom and bathroom are upstairs in a loft and are surprisingly spacious.  We are on the top floor so it is a little bit of a walk, but we have big windows and the view is nice.   It’s weird to think that this is where I’ll be living for the next four months. 

                So far, this experience has been kind of unreal.  I have been planning this for so long.  It’s hard to believe that I’m actually here and will be here for the next four months.    

It's Not Goodbye

I only have about a week left in America, and that means lots saying a lot of goodbyes.  This past weekend, I went up to Fayetteville to visit the majority of my friends one last time before I leave for Toulouse.  It was a lovely weekend.  My wonderful friends planned a surprise going away party on Friday night, and I got to see a lot of great people that I hadn’t seen in a while.

Even though I will only be gone for about four months, it’s still hard to say goodbye to everyone.  I absolutely hate goodbyes.  The French word for “goodbye” is “au revoir;” however, if you translate it directly, it means something more along the lines of “until we see each other again.”  So instead of goodbye, au revoir and I’ll see you soon! 

I will have regular access to the internet (i.e. Facebook, Skype, and email) so I would love to keep in touch!  Also, I absolutely love snail mail – both sending and receiving – so send me you address and I’ll be sure to write!