Salut!

Figured I’d write again since I don’t have any homework to do tonight. Hope all of you have been doing well! I’ve been doing great since I last wrote, but am still catching up on sleep from this past weekend in Barcelona. Shout out to Marie Heller, who just put up a great description of everything we did there! I don’t want to reiterate everything she said, so I figure I’ll just put up some of my pictures.

This weekend was so much fun, and I loved exploring the city even though I don’t understand ANY Spanish or Catalan. Barcelona (Barcelone in French) had a really unique and funky feel to it, and really came alive at night. Some of the best parts: sharing a hostel room with nine of my best buddies in the program; a memorable taxi ride where the driver asked “fiesta?” and cranked up the music for us, windows down, speeding through the city;  and seeing all of the gorgeous multicolor mosaics in the Park Güell.  My favorite part was going to the nightclubs on the beach and getting to dance until 5am in the morning, then making our way over to the water. There was something really magical about being there, ankle-deep in the Mediterranean Sea and laughing and taking silly photos; lights beyond us all along the shore in the darkness and the knowledge that “Wow guys, we’re in Barcelona! We’re really here.”

Because it really does seem unreal sometimes, still, to be here. Moments sometimes where I keep expecting strangers passing by to speak English, and other moments where I find myself eavesdropping on them, realizing that I know a lot of strange random words. For so long, France has been a place on a map, and it’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that I’m actually physically here. I’ve had nights where I’m so filled with happiness that I can’t sleep.

There are so many places I want to see, and so many things I want to do while I’m here. I’m proud to say I’ve done a bunch of them already: riding on the beach, going to a flower and fruit market, trying different French specialties. I’m getting used to eating things that are really unusual for me, like rabbit, strange seafood, grapes with seeds since that’s how they are here, raclette, ratatouille, fresh figs, the bull meat we had for dinner tonight. Not to mention the absolutely amazing variety of pastries here.

Up till now, I’ve really just been taking in everything and marveling at all of the beautiful, different, interesting things here. I went through a phase where I felt like I needed to take pictures of literally everything, because it was all so unusual and pretty. To me it seemed like the French are oblivious to how gorgeous their country is! Winding cobbled streets with names like Rue du Cygne (literally “road of the swan”), untamed flowers tumbling over tan earthen walls in my neighborhood, vivid sunsets staining the sea, ancient châteaux perched above vineyards starting to turn rusty with autumn. It is all just so indescribably, uncapture-ably beautiful and I feel like I’m in the midst of a dream. I guess I really am though, because I’ve wanted to be here for so long and it feels so deeply right to have followed my heart here.

Sorry for getting all gushy and sentimental! But I wanted to change the focus of my blog, so I wasn’t just naming facts and repeating everything I’ve done. It’s a journey in multiple meanings.

I can’t believe it’s October already, and I’ve been here going on a month and a half. Lately, it’s felt like something has just clicked. I feel comfortable with the city and daily motions, classes, commuting, communicating. At peace and just plain so happy.

Anyways, in the latest news, today some friends and I went to the Parc Zoologique. I was so happy because it’s completely free! It’s only a short bus ride from our campus, and there are so many animals there (took way too many pictures). Something about them being technically French made them even cuter. My favorites were the sea otter (la loutre), the adorable lemurs (les lémuriens), and the zebras and lions (les zèbres et les lions).

Afterwards, we went shopping in the Polygone, a big mall complex off of La Place de la Comédie. I have to say that I love the clothing stores here, but I’ve really had to restrain myself because the prices can be pretty high. French women tend to buy fewer clothes, but really high quality clothes that will last- and they have no shame in wearing them several times a week. My host mom often wears the exact same outfit for two or three days in a row.

Also, a few more random things I’ve learned:

-Strikes (les grèves) are really common here, and currently students are striking at my university. In a nutshell, there’s not enough government funding and not enough space for all of the incoming students, so there’s been talk of selecting next year’s freshmen by random drawings and closing another campus in a nearby city. Everyone’s really worked up about it, and there have already been demonstrations blocking the tram line. Classes are canceled in anticipation of a huge strike tomorrow, but unfortunately that won’t apply to my class through the study abroad program…

-Makeup is incredibly expensive, even nail polish. If you’re coming to France, I’d recommend bringing a supply with you. The mascara I buy for $8 in the US is around 15 € here- about $20!

-Proper wine tasting technique, if you ever wanted to know: hold the wine up to the light and look at its color and physical aspects (this is called la robe of a wine). Next, swirl the wine around the glass and smell it. Take note of how strong the smell is, and how far away from the glass your nose is when you first detect the smell- this will tell you how strong the wine is. Finally, take a sip of wine and swish it around your mouth. Without swallowing, draw it back across the top of your mouth. This makes a really awkward slurping noise but trust me, I learned it from a pro- my host parents had une dégustation (wine/cheese tasting) a few weekends ago and one of their friends I met owns a vineyard. That night involved a LOT of different cheeses, wine after wine, and me conversing with ten drunken French people who really liked to make inappropriate jokes haha.

 

I’m sure I’ll think of more things for next time, because I’m constantly learning new things every day.

Ciao! (yes, they say that here!)

~Julia

Location: Montpellier, France