COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Language and tutoring English
WRITTEN BY: Jessica Argall
Three weeks down - time really does fly past you, doesn't it? Amanda, Kasey and I are at the end of our second week with our host families, but it feels like only yesterday that we were in Paris.
Hauling suitcases through the Paris metro after a 24 hour flight, only to find that it was another 6 hours until our room would be ready, receptionists being unable to find our reservations - these were the experiences that gave each of us, in one way or another, a rocky start to our week in Paris. In those first few hours of our GAP year experience, I know that we all thought at more than one point "Why did I agree to this - I must have been crazy to think that three months in France would be a good experience".
Despite all this, I think it's safe to say that Paris lived up to the hype.
I arrived in Paris a day earlier than Kasey and Amanda. I spent my first day in this beautiful city walking through the its streets, visiting fresh food markets, marveling at the ridiculously high prices of tea and hot chocolate, passing by hundreds of stunning, tanned French women drinking wine and smoking cigarettes on café terraces in the late morning. Eventually I reached the Eiffel Tower, where I lay down in the sun on this sunny 27 degree day, not realising I'd already walked about 6 kilometers. I could not believe I was really there, in Paris, in front of the Eiffel Tower. Even after doing the same walk for a second time the next day with Kasey, I still couldn't believe it! All throughout the week, we kept wondering in disbelief at how we could be in this place that we'd heard and dreamt so much about.
Every day in Paris the three of us would wake up, have squished croissants and cornflakes for breakfast, then make our way downstairs to our French lessons at "Paris Langues". After classes, we would go out for lunch and decide where to go and what to explore that afternoon - making these decisions always took way too long... There is always too much to choose from!
Our adventures included watching a show at the Moulin Rouge (via the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up at night) , a trip to the Chateau of Versailles, Notre Dame, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, shopping on the Champs-Elysées at midnight (yes, there were shops still open!), and a picnic at the Champ de Mars. Most nights we would come home in the early hours of the morning, rug up together in a double bed, and watch Gilmore Girls or Sex and the City on one of our ipads, eating Pringles and way too much ice cream until we fell asleep.
The magic of our week in Paris ended on Saturday 8 September, at approximately 12:30pm, when on a train to Vannes the three of us realised what was about to happen - in about 50 minutes time, we were going to have to get off the train. The thought of meeting our host families and going off to live a life in regional France for the next however many weeks was petrifying. As the train pulled up to the station, we were shaking uncontrollably, almost paralysed with fear. We stumbled off the train, looking around for our families who gradually found us and greeted us with kisses and smiles. Our host parents all conversed at lightning speed while we stood there, exchanging nervous glances. I was able to understand most of what they were saying, but Amanda and Kasey, only knowing a few words of French each, walked away with startled looks on their faces as we were separated, leaving the train station with our families.
After having lunch at my new countryside home with my new French family, I felt very comfortable with them and although I was still so nervous, I knew everything would be OK. Immediately after eating they told me how they wanted to structure their English lessons - at home, we speak English when we can, but always during meal times, and I try to have a one on one lesson with one of my two host brothers each night. Amanda and Kasey have been doing a similar thing with their families - one on one lessons with the children most days, and a lot of English conversation during the day, as their host parents often need to translate their French conversations for them.
Our two weeks with our host families have basically consisted of settling into our families, planning what we will do during the week and a little bit of exploration of Vannes. So far we've walked around the town and visited one of the islands in the Gulf of Morbihan, Ile d'Arz. Kasey has been lucky enough to go to a French wedding (very long and very beautiful) in another village!
This week we started French classes at a small school in Vannes that teaches foreigners French, which occupies about three mornings a week as well as an afternoon. To fill in our spare time, I've found a soccer team that I can train with during the week and I'll be an assistant English teacher on Wednesday mornings at a high school, Amanda is planning on doing some gymnastics and self defense classes, and Kasey is still looking for some non-sport related activities! Amanda is also planning some weekend trips for the three of us to take (Mont St Michel and the Loire Valley for example... we're very excited!).
After two weeks with our families I think we're finally starting to get used to the very different style of living. Being very much a city girl, I was worried about how I'd cope being in the middle of an agricultural area, with a house surrounded by corn fields and cows, having to ride a bike 1.5 kilometers to get to the closest bus stop where the bus only comes once an hour. All three of us have struggled with the change in diet - much less fresh fruit and veges, no snacking, only ever being allowed to eat at the dinner table. We've all had days where we've felt guilty because all we want to do is eat junk food, watch TV, and sleep, because going out into the real world and always having to think and speak in another language is so exhausting. But we're getting there, and it's worth it.
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