Well, after a seven hour plane ride and what turned into a six hour bus ride, I am safely in Rennes. I got here Friday night around 8pm, we were expected to arrive at 5:30pm, and have been slowly adjusting over the past two days. We just finished with lunch, which true to French fashion took three hours, and tomorrow school will begin, even if it is just orientation. Officially classes begin Thursday.
The trip wasn't too bad except for the fact that my big suitcase got lost. Right before posting this I checked and they were finally able to locate it, so hopefully by tomorrow I will be reunited with the majority of my possessions. I wasn't the only one, about six or seven of us lost baggage, which apparently has never happened before to this degree, a minor miracle considering they travel with about sixty students every year.
Rennes is beautiful, with a mixture of old houses and new shopping complexes. I live in an old stone house about a ten minute walk from the school, which is how I will be commuting to my classes everyday. Remember how I said I was really happy about that? Let's see what I think when it's the middle of the winter because apparently I thought wrong. It does snow here. And sleet. A lot of sleet. However, the neighborhood is safe and pleasant to walk through. And once my suitcase gets here, I will have a warm winter coat.
My room is at the top of the house, under the eaves. I have a very typical tall and narrow French window that I can look right out of when I'm sitting at my desk, which I am right now. It's a simple room, but it has everything I need and I love it. And even though I am in the middle of the city, my host mother has a huge garden, complete with an old swing and enough grass that at some point I will be raking leaves. My host cat Loulou loves the yard too and even though he is 14 he stalks butterflies and blowing leaves like a small black panther, even if he does need a lot of naps.
The trip wasn't too bad except for the fact that my big suitcase got lost. Right before posting this I checked and they were finally able to locate it, so hopefully by tomorrow I will be reunited with the majority of my possessions. I wasn't the only one, about six or seven of us lost baggage, which apparently has never happened before to this degree, a minor miracle considering they travel with about sixty students every year.
Rennes is beautiful, with a mixture of old houses and new shopping complexes. I live in an old stone house about a ten minute walk from the school, which is how I will be commuting to my classes everyday. Remember how I said I was really happy about that? Let's see what I think when it's the middle of the winter because apparently I thought wrong. It does snow here. And sleet. A lot of sleet. However, the neighborhood is safe and pleasant to walk through. And once my suitcase gets here, I will have a warm winter coat.
My room is at the top of the house, under the eaves. I have a very typical tall and narrow French window that I can look right out of when I'm sitting at my desk, which I am right now. It's a simple room, but it has everything I need and I love it. And even though I am in the middle of the city, my host mother has a huge garden, complete with an old swing and enough grass that at some point I will be raking leaves. My host cat Loulou loves the yard too and even though he is 14 he stalks butterflies and blowing leaves like a small black panther, even if he does need a lot of naps.