Salut!
So I have decided to make this post in English as it occurred to me that most of my friends do not speak french. This one is for you guys! 🙂
My time in France has been a very wonderful one. Initially, the plan was to spend eight weeks here ameliorating my French. While I was able to do that (significantly more than I had expected!), these past seven weeks have also been a lot more than just learning the language.
I have been exposed to French food, culture, history and even family life as I was placed with a host family. Though my host family consisted of just an elderly woman– Claudette, I am sure I was able to obtain the full experience. Claudette is a very active woman; she cooked and still cooks something different everyday, including desserts (no, I am not exaggerating). I have even been able to get a few recipes from her which I definitely plan on attempting once I get a kitchen to myself.
She reminds me of my mum a lot, with her activeness, mannerisms and even the things she says–the language difference insignificant–. I will miss her a lot and hope I get the chance to visit her some time in the future.
Also, I wasn’t able to do so much traveling but I was able to visit Loches, another town which is just about an hour away. You can find the post with details about this trip by scrolling a bit further down!
With my program I was able to visit castles, wine caves and museums in Paris, Villandry, Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceau, Vouvray. I feel like there are others I am leaving out but this is all I remember for now.
In addition to all this, I have met people from all over the world! People with which the only language we share is French. I thought I had multinational friends due to my going to school in the US but the number of different nationalities I have encountered here is amazing! I have met people from South Korea, Thailand, Russia, Spain, England, Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, Iraq, Belgium, Nicaragua, Brazil and Columbia. And these are friendships I plan to keep, hopefully!
I was also able to have wine tastings, a cooking class and a wine & cheese workshop where I learned how to ‘correctly’ taste wine and decipher its characteristics (scroll down for details). I must say I am feeling like an overachieving French minor! This is too much for just a minor, don’t you think?
In summary, my stay in France has been much more than I ever hoped for it to be. I feel this post doesn’t even begin to explain the amazing time I’ve had here. I have about one week and a few days left. Let’s see what else I can fit in this time!
À bientôt!