(no subject)
Hey everyone, it's little old Marnie, here to bring you greetings from the land of baguette and frog's legs...
I'm in Bordeaux, a city in Southwest France, a city known for its wine (which I haven't even tried yet). I've been here a week, but it feels like so much longer. The days here are shorter -- the sun rises around 8:30 or 9 and sets by 6 -- but my days have been so full that I can't believe it's only been a week. The past five days have been full of ILP classes, which are just classes on French grammar and phonetics and such to catch us up on the language. They're boring and long, but they help a bit. On Monday the real classes start. The University of Bordeaux is so much different than any university in the states. The buildings are pretty ugly and aren't taken care of that well, but French students don't pay nearly as much for their education, so it balances out. Signing up for classes is done in person, not online. You have to go to each class or each department office and try to get the classes you want. Needless to say, all of the UC students are at least a little stressed about classes. All of the courses are going to be conducted in French, so it helps to have French friends in your classes. out
Speaking French all the time is hard. When I first arrived, my French was so much worse than I thought it was. It's definitely improved over the past week, but I still have a long way to go before I can be comfortable speaking.
On a lighter note, Bordeaux is gorgeous. Almost all of the buildings (including my house) are built from old stone. The streets are so tiny and a lot of them are made from individually-layed stones...I guess I would call it cobblestone. There are lots of churches throughout the city which look great at night. There are also lots and lots of plazas for hanging out in, and the Rue Sainte Cathrine, which is the longest pedestrian street in Europe. I try to walk around as much as I can to discover new streets and cute little boulangeries and cafes. It's a great city and there are lots of other students, French and otherwise, to meet.
I didnt' know this before I left, but twice a year, all the stores in France have "Soldes", a government-mandated sale. The Winter soldes just started on Wednesday and there have been so many shoppers everywhere. Right now, things are 30 to 50 percent off, but in a couple weeks they go even lower, and even lower a couple weeks after that. I love the French government.
Aside from going to class and shopping, I haven't been doing much. I watch French TV sometimes at night. They have a lot of American movies and TV shows that have been dubbed in French, but there is also game shows and other French programs to watch. I like to remember that watching TV here shouldn't make me feel lazy because I'm improving my French.
There's so much to say...I live with Carolyn, another girl from UCSC who is also vegetarian. We live in a house with our landlady Chantal. She has two grown daughters who take us out to bars and come and hang out at the house once in a while. Chantal is really nice, but sometimes we have trouble understanding each other. If it's really important, I usually let Carolyn do the talking. Chantal has two cats and the house is just a block or two from the tramway, and our stop is situated right between school and downtown. This is technically an apartment (we cook our own meals and do our own laundry), but it's still pretty awesome. Pictures of the house and a couple of Bordeaux are up on webshots:
http://community.webshots.com/user/oohlalamarnie
more to be posted soon. Well, I think I'm going to take a nap (classes started at 8:30 this morning), but I'll write again soon. Questions? Comments? write me back and tell me how your life is. I miss everyone so much and can't wait to see you all again.
I'm in Bordeaux, a city in Southwest France, a city known for its wine (which I haven't even tried yet). I've been here a week, but it feels like so much longer. The days here are shorter -- the sun rises around 8:30 or 9 and sets by 6 -- but my days have been so full that I can't believe it's only been a week. The past five days have been full of ILP classes, which are just classes on French grammar and phonetics and such to catch us up on the language. They're boring and long, but they help a bit. On Monday the real classes start. The University of Bordeaux is so much different than any university in the states. The buildings are pretty ugly and aren't taken care of that well, but French students don't pay nearly as much for their education, so it balances out. Signing up for classes is done in person, not online. You have to go to each class or each department office and try to get the classes you want. Needless to say, all of the UC students are at least a little stressed about classes. All of the courses are going to be conducted in French, so it helps to have French friends in your classes. out
Speaking French all the time is hard. When I first arrived, my French was so much worse than I thought it was. It's definitely improved over the past week, but I still have a long way to go before I can be comfortable speaking.
On a lighter note, Bordeaux is gorgeous. Almost all of the buildings (including my house) are built from old stone. The streets are so tiny and a lot of them are made from individually-layed stones...I guess I would call it cobblestone. There are lots of churches throughout the city which look great at night. There are also lots and lots of plazas for hanging out in, and the Rue Sainte Cathrine, which is the longest pedestrian street in Europe. I try to walk around as much as I can to discover new streets and cute little boulangeries and cafes. It's a great city and there are lots of other students, French and otherwise, to meet.
I didnt' know this before I left, but twice a year, all the stores in France have "Soldes", a government-mandated sale. The Winter soldes just started on Wednesday and there have been so many shoppers everywhere. Right now, things are 30 to 50 percent off, but in a couple weeks they go even lower, and even lower a couple weeks after that. I love the French government.
Aside from going to class and shopping, I haven't been doing much. I watch French TV sometimes at night. They have a lot of American movies and TV shows that have been dubbed in French, but there is also game shows and other French programs to watch. I like to remember that watching TV here shouldn't make me feel lazy because I'm improving my French.
There's so much to say...I live with Carolyn, another girl from UCSC who is also vegetarian. We live in a house with our landlady Chantal. She has two grown daughters who take us out to bars and come and hang out at the house once in a while. Chantal is really nice, but sometimes we have trouble understanding each other. If it's really important, I usually let Carolyn do the talking. Chantal has two cats and the house is just a block or two from the tramway, and our stop is situated right between school and downtown. This is technically an apartment (we cook our own meals and do our own laundry), but it's still pretty awesome. Pictures of the house and a couple of Bordeaux are up on webshots:
http://community.webshots.com/user/oohlalamarnie
more to be posted soon. Well, I think I'm going to take a nap (classes started at 8:30 this morning), but I'll write again soon. Questions? Comments? write me back and tell me how your life is. I miss everyone so much and can't wait to see you all again.