Au Revoir, Last days in Paris

Last Day of French Class

During the last days of school, I feel like everything that I was being taught just became easier and grammar started to make sense also with my vocabulary getting bigger.  There were a lot of times where I just felt as if I would never be able to understand French grammar and was very frustrated at myself for not understanding much of anything.  When you can’t follow what is being said, and the words sound more like a buzzing noise, trying to learn the grammar can be very difficult. But progress has been made, both in me and all the other students.  I am still amazed at my classmates’ progress in French during our stay.

Going back to America I think will be extremely odd for me. Little things like just getting in a car to go some place down the street will be strange. I have only been in an automobile

Me and My Host Mom

less than 10 times since I have been in Amboise for the past month.  I will miss the way of eating meals here.  I found myself eating cheese and baguettes for lunch then always having salad, main entrée, side dish, then delicious French cheese, and homemade desserts for dinner.  I will certainly take home a different style of eating that I have found is quite balanced with salad and a lot of vegetables.  My host mother has been the best host mother I could have ever asked for, she has been there when I needed her, and has been excellent support during this month.  The last dinner I had with her she had told me that I was the twenty-third student she had hosted and I will be the last.  Leaving Amboise, is going to be difficult I must admit it has become my home away from home and I will surely miss it. 

Rainy Day in Paris

We are visiting Paris for the last three day, and that just doesn’t seem to be enough time to see the city. And, of course, it has decided to rain.  We have so much planned to do while we are here I can’t wait; each day will be very busy.  They might need to put breathing on the agenda while running around from museum to monument.  I don’t think I will really want to go on the plane back home to America.  I miss my family and dog but I feel much attached to France. But yet, while packing all my clothes and things, which have seemed to multiply this past month, I wonder what has happened back home while I was gone.

When visiting an area, normally you stay for a couple of days and leave after visiting the few big tourist spots. It was not until I actually remained in one place for a few weeks that I felt the culture and way of life. Staying in one small town really for a month really opened a window to the French way of life and made me feel like a local, and AYUSA makes that experience possible.

Language Leap

Anna and I in front of the chateaux

My final week in Amboise, France I have to say, is a bitter sweet one. Amboise, at first seems to sound like a tucked away little village in France somewhere, it is not until you are actually inside of Amboise when you see that it is hustling and bustling, with plenty of things to do and places to see. When walking under the clock tower, if you get lucky, there might be a street performer or a musician just playing one of the sweetest songs that rings through the street. Life here is nothing compared to how it is back in America, I try not to talk about home much or even compare everything to my home since they are two different ways of life completely. If I had to choose between the two towns, I don’t know which one I would pick. Like everything in life, there are pros and cons. But coming here has made me become more independent and more self reliant.

It has been difficult for me only having one year of self-taught French. I must say I would recommend taking a crash

Random Fountain in the Street

 course in vocabulary and in grammar as well before you leave. As much as you think phrases and little words will get you by, and it certainly does help, when you have French spoken to you by a native speaker, it feels like it is going at a rate of 110 mph. It can be quite intimidating. Euroscentre is a resource I have found very useful. It has given me a lot of help, guides and tools for understanding the language much better than I ever would on my own just by “picking it up.” When I arrived, my listening comprehension and speaking levels of French were nearly non-existent. I would say now that my speaking still needs quite a lot of work, but my comprehension of what is being said, has improved by leaps and bounds. Still, there is so much to learn. I found that by not understanding or being able to speak much French, that living in a small town that speaks ONLY French was quite difficult, and could become stressful. Though after 3 weeks of feeling completely mute, I am starting to find my voice and doing my best with composing better sentences. The first week of being in Amboise, I found myself wanting to tell my host mother “I have a dog.” Instead I said “Je…suis chein!?” basically saying “I AM a dog.” At least it made my host mother and foreign exchange sister have a really good laugh at the dinner table.

Me in front of the Chateaux

I have come to realize how much languages are a major thing to learn and know, after not being able to express myself in any way or form and just pointing to objects or making some weird movement to tell what I am trying to say. It certainly sounds and looks funny, but if you really go somewhere that your mother tongue is not spoken and you find yourself not being able to talk, after a while you just want to stand up and finally be able to speak.

So, to sum everything up, going to a foreign country and not being able to speak the language, I learned a lot faster and much more in a short period of time. But caution to the traveler, your patience will run short and you might find yourself getting stressed out. Just from personal experience, I would most likely say that when going to a language school, grammar skills in the language is a big help, but if you are just vacationing sit and watch movies and T.V. without the subtitles in your language. It will all help for comprehension and vocabulary, but no matter how much you try to learn and understand it, there will always be one or two things that you will not be able to understand.

 

Excursion to Chambroad

A Change of Pace

AYUSA Students At Picnic

        Before going to France, I thought a French household wouldn’t differ too much from my being raised in a household where European culture was predominating. Well, I was wrong. French culture is quite different from American culture, and it’s evident everywhere. 

      The French take their time to enjoy just about everything compared to my hometown. Hollywood, Florida is always running fast no matter what time it is.  Being that it is quite metropolitan as it is so close to Miami, there is always something available. Every store on every corner is open; ready to serve you at whatever time you want and need.  The people talk fast, walk fast and are so preoccupied that they don’t realize that life is bustling by them. 

            Here in Amboise, life is at a much slower pace.  The French take time to enjoy their meal and spend time with friends and family at meal times. Most everybody knows everyone in this small town.  You go into a café and the waiters know nearly everyone by name. Amboise is very laid back and  slow moving town with many tourists trolling the streets. There is time to notice the small things, and as you nibble on croissant and walk down the street, it’s hard to over look its magnificent views and beautiful scenery of the chateaux and the inner city.           

             The pace, too, of this town has a much slower tempo, measured out by the ringing of the bells when the clock strikes the hour and accordion players playing in the street for onlookers.  The tempo stems much from a change in transportation. You find here in Amboise that people ride around more by motorbike rather than by car. In general, there are also a lot more pedestrians and bicyclers everywhere else in the city. Since here, the distances are shorter you can mostly walk to anywhere you desire to go and you just take more time to get there. But in Florida, you just hop in a car, no matter if it is far or not. In Europe whatever is most economical

Street Performer

seems to bethe most popular way to go, and that might be by a train, bike, or by foot.

         Being in France it is quite interesting as I notice very small differences I would have never thought of until I was actually away from my home.  I haven’t had so much of an overwhelming feeling of culture shock; it is just the small daily ins and outs from home that I have to say I do miss. Amboise is such a magnificent place to have come to study and live. I do believe leaving and going home will be even harder than I suspected.

Zoe and I

Street Performer

First Week in Amboise

          The first week in Amboise, France has certainly been an adventure.  I do not think really words could describe the majestic beauty of Amboise. To understand the beauty and way of life, you have to see for yourself.

          Arriving in one of the most comical scenarios.  When arriving in Paris’

 

Study Abroad students, First Night

s Charles De Gaulle Airport, we all walked out of the exit doors without getting our luggage. Trying to get back in was very interesting as most people didn’t speak much English. After regaining entrance, we stood at the carousel waiting and waiting as everyone’s bags to spin around.  All arrived except mine.  There I was without my one and only bag that had all my clothes, toiletries and most of everything I needed.  The airline informed me that my bag was still in Washington D.C. and all I had in my carry on were one pair of shorts and pajamas? 

Me in a Sleep T at the Market

Just for the few days without my luggage, I just wore shorts and sleeping T-shirts, and went to the Sunday market with my host mother and bought a sun dress. When I finally got my bag later this week, I don’t think I ever been so happy.

Anna and I in Amboise

            Attending school has been difficult, for me at least, since my French hasn’t been in grammar, but more conversational.  Due to that fact, the courses are quite intense and I have a lot of work to do.  But, it’s a great way to learn. Just being in Amboise, France for a week has taught me more French, than I would have ever imagined.  It certainly hasn’t been a walk in a park but just being the first week, I can already see the benefits from being here.  Saying good-bye to Amboise will be difficult, but I cannot wait to see how at the end how far I have improved.     

            This first week has been tiring too from all of the excursions we’ve done.   We’ve taken several walking tours around the city, and visited all the different châteaux. It’s been very fun, but can sometimes be overwhelming after a day at school.  We also took about a 10-mile bike ride through the country; it was so enjoyable. Although I like the other excursions, simply walking to school is one of my favorite things to do. There are such nice views along the way. I have to cross the bridge over the Lorie River and get to see the Chateaux de Amboise every morning.  We have only been in Amboise for a week, but I adjusted quickly, and it feels like we have been here longer.  I think going home will be much more difficult than I ever thought.

AYUSA Students on top of the Chateaux Amboise

How do you say I need more luggage in French?

                Only a few more weeks until the big day of departure, waving good- bye to my familiar home, sitting in a plane and arriving in a foreign country with a group of teens I have never met before.  I don’t know if I am excited or nervous. I think a little of both. When thinking about leaving and going abroad I want to jump in the air, I can’t wait for the day to come. But then I also wonder what it will be like. Part of any journey is getting ready making sure I have everything in order has been slightly hectic. 

              Going to a foreign country at the age of 17, I have a sense of being independent, though I know I will miss my parents.  I know they have taught me the skills that I need to succeed and survive, like how to make a basic meal and how to wash clothes, and I am confident that I can do it when I have to.  When I strip everything down and really think about it though, I know I will miss home, but also that I will be okay. 

               Having only studied French for one year, I fear going over to France and sitting at the dinner table with my host family and looking like a lost puppy nodding saying “Oui!”  to everything.  I already have a French-to-English, English-to-French dictionary on the top of my packing list, just underneath passport and tickets. I don’t expect myself to know all the right translations when I get there; I know I will have the lost puppy dog expression on my face many times. But I also know that by the time I return I will know much more French than I did before. 

              The next concern I have is what to pack.  I have the basics.  But as I pack, I keep forgetting I’m going to a town like any other town and not a third world country.  I don’t have to bring it all with me, since I can buy everything I need over there.  I know there are a few things that aren’t essential to bring, like more than one camera, my mp3 player, and laptop. But I have special reasons to bring all those things.  I have finally come to the conclusion that I just have to decide if it is a “must have” or not, and then, if I still don’t have room, I’ll have to compromise. 

               During this trip, understanding and learning French is my top priority.  I also want to see a French movie in the theaters.  It will be unusual for me to watch a movie in a different language without subtitles, but it will be familiar since it is something that I do at home. I’m also going to take a lot of pictures, as I think that’s what my friends and family will be most interested in when I return. I’m really looking forward to coming home and share my photos with my family, friends and neighbors.  I anticipate returning home to be bittersweet, but the experiences that I’ll have to look at when I am finished will be great.  This trip will not only teach me French, but it will also show me how to appreciate my culture and learn how to adapt and appreciate a different one.