So far this study abroad program has been really disorganized...most importantly I haven't received my financial aid and I've already been here for three weeks. Then there's the university that promised wifi in the dorms but then took back the promise...we start semester classes in a week and we still haven't been told which classes are being offered...the list goes on.But earlier this night I moved in with my host family. The father seemed very intimidating yet easy going at the same time...I couldn't tell really but I was just really nervous. Then we arrived and I met the mother...the kids were smiling as if their parents told them that it was going to be a good experience so at that point I felt more at ease.
The children ended up being really smart... Augustin is 13 years old and he's already studying both English and Spanish...and he follows American politics more than I do! Then there's Charles, who's 8 and a half (though he's really 8 and 11 months). Charles is just a really sweet kid, he smiles all the time and he still sucks on his thumb.Out of everyone in the family I felt most connected to Augustin. He wants to be trilingual and he will talk about just anything...we went from soccer (football) to traveling (he loves the beaches in Croatia) to cultural differences between France and the US to politics (he can't stand McCain...in French they pronounce it MacCain).
Dinner was pretty damn yummy...we had gratiné potatos, chicken, salad and a delicious apple tart with Vanilla ice cream on it.Later that night I went out and it was in the bus ride back to my new home when I realized that I was no longer a tourist. I walked in the bus and asked the bus driver if he went by Rue Judaïque without having to formulate the question in my head beforehand and then when I got off the bus this guy asked if I knew which way a certain street was and it was in the same direction that I was headed and it turned out that he was a student at the University of Bordeaux. He was kind of ashamed that I knew where the street was when I told him that I've only been here for three weeks...he then mentioned that I was a "bordelais" just like him.
5 comments:
pretty awesome experience on the bus. how is the father now? still intimidating or warming up?
i knew you'd fit right in. no need for nerves!
The father is actually really cool...the whole family is...it's kind of scaring me how much I like them
how wonderful!! Having kids around will help a lot it helped me always smiling and teaching you so much about growing up there more insight into why people think the way they do. I am very happy that you are fitting in so easily. I hope don't fall in love too much and not come back :(
OR I could just move over there haha
Alex you room looks cozy. I'm sure you feel more at home in Bordeaux than you ever would in SD or even LA (well life with Ray-Ray is the exception to this, of course). You'll love it there more than you know and you won't even know it until you come back.
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