Today marks my first blog entry of my trip. Most of the other students I have met created a blog, and they all said that it is a great way to communicate and update everyone on their latest adventures. Thus, I have decided to create a blog as well in order to keep in touch with all of you, whom I love and miss dearly. Know that I have brought a little piece of you with me to Bordeaux, and I am so thankful for your love, friendship, and support through everything.
Okay, now let the blogging begin. My trip began on Tuesday, January 4, and I was such a mix of emotions. I was so thrilled to be beginning the trip that I have dreamed about for most of my life, but I was also very apprehensive as the trip drew closer. I was nervous about coming to this completely new place and doing it all by myself; no wonderful Annie or George to hold my hand or help me through and no school mates to comfort me and ease my worries. Also, I began to get very sad at the thought of missing out on five months of school at UT. Just when I am finally starting to feel comfortable and find my niche, I am leaving. After the tearful goodbyes, my excitement started to sink in, and I was ready to arrive in Bordeaux.
After the almost twenty-four hours of flying, I arrived in Bordeaux on Wednesday, January 5, with already a brief education in French. All of the flight attendants on the flight to France were French, and I was beginning to dip my toes in the vastness of the french language. When I got off the plane, I was greeted my several members of the Melting Potes Team, the student organization at BEM that helps with the exchange process-true life savers, Jody, my roommate here at BEM and my friend from home, and the rain. We loaded all of our things in the van and headed into Talence, the city outside of Bordeaux where BEM is located and where we are living. We created a french bank account, signed our lease, and moved our luggage into our residence at DomoFrance. The apartment is, to say the least, not the nicest thing in the whole world, and I must admit that I was not the happiest person in the world upon seeing it, but I am liking it more and more everyday. The only problem, quite a big problem, is that we have mold! It is making me so crazy, and I am worried about it because I do not want to get sick. We have been spraying things to lessen the smell, and we are going to attempt to kill it with bleach tomorrow. Aside from that, it is very cozy here, and we have met some truly wonderful people that I foresee being great friends.
Okay, back to the play by play. I'm just going to try to hit the highlights but brevity is not a strength of mine. On the evening of the 5th, Jody and I went with some other foreign exchange students to an english pub in the center of Bordeaux and then explored the city a bit. Once we got off the tram and stepped foot in Bordeaux, I knew that this is where I was meant to be, and I could see myself falling in love with this goregous city. It was an early night, and then Jody and I just returned to our apartment. On Thursday, the 6th, we had our school orientation at BEM. We learned a lot of helpful information and got health insurance(yay Mom!). At the orientation I met a lot of the other students and more people who live in DomoFrance with me.That evening we had a five course tapas dinner with all the exchange students. The food here is a mix of incredibly delicious and bizarre, just because I am not used to it. We had a salmon dip(not too fond of this), a bollywood salad, chicken with mushrooms and rice in a rich sauce, potatos in a cheese sauce with a piece of melted Camembert on top(low carb and no fat Juj), and finally, and of course my favorite, two brownies in a vanilla sauce. The wine was flowing all night, and it was a great introduction. Friday we decided to venture to Ikea, a true venture! I went with Jody, Jemma from Australia, Mary from Minnesota. Arne from Germany, Annie from Sweden, and Louis from Argentina. It was a trek to Ikea, which is on the very end of the tram stop. We took two trams and walked about 30 minutes out of way, on the edge of a busy street, and through some trees, and then we arrived at Ikea. It was liking finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow; we were thrilled. We all needed so much stuff, like pillows and comforters, so we loaded up after about a two hour tour of Ikea. The problem... we had to carry it all back on the tram! Everyone was laughing and us and staring at us as we attempted to squeeze on the train at rush hour- silly Americans. In total, it was about a five hour trip. That evening the students at BEM arranged a party for us at a bar in Bordeaux. The theme: White and Fluoresect, or Fluoro in French. It was so good to be out with everyone and just let loose together. We discovered a new beer, Desperado, learned that it is common for boys and girls to share the bathroom, lost a man's jacket and traded it, accidentally, for a woman's coat and sweater, and somehow found our way home on the tram. The next day I slept until 12, yes 12(Juj you should be so proud). Then we woke up and the six of us, Me, Jody, Jemma, Mary, Annie, and Arne set out to get french phones. The mission was a success, and that night we went out to our first solo meal at an Italian restaurant in Bordeaux. The night was meant to be low key, but sometimes the best nights happen when you least expect them. Me, Arne, and Mary made our way to a salsa club, went to the bathroom on the side of the road and were spotted my a passerby, got asked if we were prostitutes while standing on the side of the road waiting to go to the bathroon, and then took a taxi home(the tram stops running at 1a.m.). The city comes alive at 3a.m.; it is so crazy. We just thought we would come back and hang out for a while, but we ran in to some french students from Paris who invited us to join their apartment party... so we did of course. We had a great time, thought we were pros at French(alcohol seems to do that), climbed to the roof of BEM, and got to bed around 5:45a.m. It was a truly good night full of so many memorable stories. That brings me to today, Sunday. We, Jody, Annie, Mary, Jemma, and me, went to Bordeaux around 12:30, walked around and explored the markets, and had a lovely cup of cappucino at a cafe. All of that, bring me to now, where I am just typing away in my apartment.
Sorry for the long first entry, but I just wanted to get it all in; I will write more often so I can include more details. Au revoir for now!