La premiere semain (the first week)

Well, I've been here almost a week (since Tues afternoon) but it seems like so much has happened...it's hard to know where to start!

Before I left, the thing I was most worried about was making friends. As an introvert, this is not something that comes easily to me, and the thought of being in a strange country where I knew NO ONE terrified me. But as I finished packing on Monday and headed to the airport, my worries gave way to excitement - I was going to France! And as it turns out, I needn't have worried about friends... I've clicked with some of the other American students in my program - especially 2 who live near me - and am excited to get to know them better.

The group of BCA (Brethren Colleges Abroad) students are different than I expected, though - most notably in that they like to drink. I guess I had thought because it was a Brethren program that would not be as present, but students here definitely go out to bars and buy wine to drink in their rooms. I've made it clear that I don't drink, although that's a lonely position at times. But my dad's family is alcoholic and I'm scared to death that I'll have that gene. And even if not, I don't want to risk impairing my judgment, especially in a strange country with people I don't know well. All in all, there's really no good reason for me to drink, so I am committed to sticking to my l'eau (water) and jus (juice).

The most challenging part so far has been the language. My first night with my host family (Wed) I felt so out of my league - they were talking French very fast and I had no idea what they were saying most of the time. I would have this confused look on my face most of the time, and then often they would switch to English. I felt so stupid, and the second night I didn't want to go home for dinner. But I'm glad I did, because this time my host sister (who's 22) spoke slower and forced me to speak in French more instead of switching to English for me. So it's gotten progressively better - I still don't understand everything, but I do understand more and am able to express myself better. They keep telling me that by the end of the semester my French will be so good - I hope so! The difficult part is that spoken French is way different than written French - when a French person speaks at the normal speed all of their words run together so it's hard to recognize what words I know. So it's a challenge, but it is getting easier :)

As for my host family themselves, they are very nice - it's just a mother and her daughter. Things were pretty awkward in the beginning, and still are at times, but I like them. They live in a flat (apartment) that's really cute and comfortable. Both me and the daughter live in rooms that used to be maid's quarters 2 floors up. To tell you the truth, it's kinda creepy - it's the very top floor and is always dark. There are lots of doors but we are the only ones who live up there, and the silence freaks me out. But the room itself is nice, and I have a great view of the city from my window!

Speaking of which, Strasbourg is absolutely gorgeous! Our first night here (Tues) we did a walking tour of the city, and I went a little picture-happy with my new digital camera :) I'll post some of the best pics here and put the rest on Facebook. The buildings are old and beautiful, and there's so much history and culture here. There's also an amazing public transit system - one of the many things Europe does better than America :) One of my goals for this semester is to learn as much as I can about how the French system compares to the US, in terms of their provisions for the poor, healthcare (that one's a no-brainer!), education, criminal justice, etc, so look for further posts about that! Oh and by the way, I got into my first political discussion Friday night at dinner - Hillary Clinton is the most recognized American political name here, and so I was saying that I liked her. Then they asked me about Bush, and I said he was "mal" (bad) and tried to figure out how to explain in French why I don't like him. It was fun :)

I would be remiss if I did not mention the food - it's AMAZING! I get a home-cooked dinner every night, comprised of several courses: a soup or salad, a main dish, bread and cheese, dessert, and fruit. Although it sounds like a lot, the portions are not American-size, so I can eat 1 or 2 servings of everything without feeling too full by the end. Plus I walk everywhere here and climb 6 flights of stairs to get to my room, so I may even lose weight while I'm here!

I hit perhaps my lowest point so far this morning after I came home from church. I visited the Mennonite church around the corner, but no one talked to me or welcomed me, which made me miss my church communities at home. But I talked to some other students who visited different churches, and people were really welcoming there, so that made me feel better. Finding a good church community here is really important to me...I don't want it to be a semester of spiritual slump for me.

Tomorrow classes start, although I still don't know exactly what I'm taking. The university system is different here, so the first week we're just supposed to go to a bunch of classes and decide which ones to take. Most of them are 1-credit, so we have to find 3 related ones to transfer as a 3-credit class. So it'll be interesting to figure all of that out... The classes will be in French, so that will certainly be a stretch for me. They offer some really cool politics and sociology classes, so I'm excited about that :)

Well, I think that's about it...sorry this post is so long. I'll try to write more frequent shorter posts in the future :) Hope all is well with you back home!

~Paix~
Amanda