I’ve already been in France for a week, it’s incredible how
much I have done and how little time I have had to write my first blog entry
actually in France. I can sense that
this is going to be a long one…
So Chapter One begins! My arrival in a strange and foreign land.
Within five minutes of getting off the plane and picking up
my luggage I was handed a REAL French croissant by my friend to welcome me to
this new place so I don’t think things could have started off any better. In return of course she received a 5 pack of
Curly Wurlys.
For the first few days I was staying at her family home out
in the countryside where the only neighbours were maize fields and the only
sounds at night were of bugs and insects going about their daily business. Although my friend speaks English, it’s
obviously important to me that I speak French as much as possible since the
reason I am here in the first place is to improve my French. At first it was a bit strange because all of
a sudden I was speaking French all of the time instead of English. It wasn’t as difficult as I had thought it
might be, but I can’t say that it was that easy either. What’s most important initially, I think, is
not that your French is perfect but that you feel understood so at least it
gives you some confidence in knowing that people understand what you’re trying
to say. I got the opportunity to watch
some French TV too (since there isn’t so much to do out in the country) which
meant Futurama dubbed in French but I’m not sure that counts as a good source
for new vocabulary – cabine à suicide certainly made it as my mot du jour
though.
We moved into the apartment in Bordeaux on the Saturday so
that was my first time I really met Bordeaux.
We went for lunch and I was surprised to find that we went to a vegan
café/restaurant not far from our place!
I am neither vegan nor vegetarian but I do not eat beef or pork which
poses some problems in country renowned for their saucissons and du jambon. My flatmate for example will add some kind of
meat to pretty much anything and before she lived with us I think she thought a
meat free dinner wasn’t a dinner at all.
What was most striking about my first impressions of walking
around Bordeaux was that all the buildings are around 4 storeys tall and there
are almost no hills, as though the city is completely flat. It made it very difficult to understand where
exactly you were situated at all times when there is a church in every quartier
and the streets are all made from the same golden stone. When we walked out to the Quai by the river
though that was when I felt most relaxed – you could see into the distance and
you could take in Bordeaux much easier. The Quai is gorgeous. I believe it has been recently renovated and
so it’s got sports facilities like basketball courts and skate parks all along
the river and beautiful rows of flowers with plenty of places to sit in the
sun. It is also very worthwhile visiting
La Bourse which you will find along the Quai and also the Mirroir de l’eau
which is situated in front of La Bourse too.
All next to the tram line of course which is amazing…
Five days later and I feel like I know where I am going that
much better than before. Today was the
day we went to the university for the very first time but luckily the tram
system is so easy to use and just so efficient.
Not to mention if you had trams as good looking as that in the UK they
would be covered in graffiti within minutes.
I’ve walked around the city many many times and squares and rues and cours
are starting to make sense. My French
already feels much more natural and I feel like I can express myself how I
wish. Language can contribute a lot to
your identity as a human being so speaking a foreign language can feel
restrictive when it doesn’t feel natural and you can’t always say exactly what
you want to say. It’s getting better
though.
