First Impressions

Hey everyone, it's me again.  The past few days have been a whirlwind and there are so many things to tell that I hope I can remember them all!  I think my best bet is to lay this all out in list form since that's what I do best, so here goes:

The Amazing
(The things that are better in France than in the U.S.)

1. The food -- This one is a no brainer.  Ever since I got here, I've been in food heaven with crepes, pastries, fresh fruit and bread, and incredible desserts.  Portion sizes here are much more manageable, and everything is generally fresher.  They eat a small dessert after every meal, but it's more like a little taste of fruit tart, mousse, or even applesauce instead of a huge slice of cake.  Also, I still can't get over seeing people carrying around baguettes on the street - yes, it's not just in the movies.

2. The holidays -- Monday, February 2nd, was a small French holiday called La Chandeleur, also known as crêpe day.  Celebrated exactly 40 days after Christmas, the day is intended to create prosperity for the coming year; back in the day, farmers had a surplus of flour during this season and used the extra to make crêpes.  Although Americans typically think crêpes as being only Nutella-filled, there are actually two types: savory (for dinner) and sweet (for dessert).  My host mom made spinach, egg, and cheese filled savory crêpes for dinner and banana, chocolate sauce and whipped cream sweet ones for dessert. Cooler than most American holidays for sure.

3. The retirement homes -- I've decided to join an ND program here that has a partnership with a local retirement home that houses early to mid stage Alzheimer residents.  The volunteering includes meeting with one individual 6-7 times over the course of the semester to have conversations about their life experiences in a career, travel, or hobby.  This helps the elderly person's memory, and also improves our conversation skills because they only speak French.  We got to visit the retirement home on Tuesday as a preview to the program and the difference between the homes in the U.S. and here was noticeable.  There was a ton of natural light, live flowers and plants all over, and the patients just seemed happier! There was a 98 year old woman who kept laughing and goofing around, and it was such a great time to hang out with them.

4. The wine -- Also not surprising.  The Loire Valley region where Angers is located is known for wine production, so I'm a bit spoiled here! Before I left, my grandma asked me how wine could grow in this area because it's pretty cloudy/rainy and not nearly as warm as California.  Well Grandma, I asked the question and apparently there is a different variety of grape here that actually prefers this climate.  Seems to be working out for them because the wine is really, really good.  Next weekend I'm visiting Bordeaux so I'll have to do some more taste tests and write back with results!

5.  Public transportation -- Inexpensive, clean, timely, modern, quiet.  Can't get much better than this.

6.  Pet behavior -- Nearly everyone here walks their dogs with no leashes and the dogs don't run away. Crazy! I also saw a very French looking poodle. 

7. The healthcare -- One low note in my trip happened on Tuesday when I suddenly developed pretty severe knee pain a few hours after a run and couldn't walk for two days.  I was freaked out because I thought I tore something, but I went to the doctor (which is literally right across the street from my house here) and it turns out I just have tendonitis from running in the cold weather.  Not too fun, but I'm wearing a brace so I can manage to get around without the excruciating pain from Tuesday.  The doctor's trip was only 23€ and I'm going to get reimbursed entirely for the visit and for the brace and pain medication she prescribed.  Not complaining about that!



The Not-So-Amazing
(The things that are better in the U.S. than in France)

1. The showers -- The water is COLD! Also the ceiling in my shower is slanted due to the loft-style rooms on the floor where I live so I have about two square feet of space where I can stand without hitting my head.  R.I.P. long showers.

2.  Smoking habits -- Unlike in the U.S., people and especially teenagers tend to smoke a lot more here.  Not judging personal choices, but I'm also not a huge fan of walking through clouds of smoke in the streets.



The Jury's Still Out On...

1.  French peoples' opinions of Americans -- In general, everyone I've encountered has been very nice to me and fascinated by my American-ness.  I chatted with a man who I ran into at the university and he was shocked that I hadn't met Michael Jordan because I'm from Chicago (lol).  However, bouncers at nightclubs aren't as big of fans and it's not uncommon to get rejected from a club just because of an American accent.

2.  Kitchen appliances -- I still haven't quite figured out how to work the toaster in the house... Sometimes the bread comes out un-toasted and sometimes it's burnt.  BUT, they do have interesting pot handles that are detachable because every pot and pan come handleless.  Fancy!

3.  Driving habits -- Apparently it is common practice here to pull up on the sidewalk and park there if you feel like it.  Convenient, I guess? 

4.  The amount of walking -- When they say Angers is a walking city, they mean it.  It's not surprising for me to walk more than 10 miles every day just to get around, which is great exercise but not very easy with a messed up knee.  It's nice to not rely on a car, but walking 25 minutes to go to the phone store when it's windy and cold-ish doesn't sound very appealing!  As it gets warmer I'm sure this will improve.


All in all, the things I love here far outweigh the not-so-good! I couldn't ask for a better group of ND people to be here with and we're all getting along really well.  We still haven't started classes which I definitely don't mind.  Missing my pommies (always!) and friends at ND but also having an amazing time here.

In wine and chocolate,
Janine