Home, Bittersweet Home

Well, I'm back to the U.S. of A. for a while. Now to get on with my school and life and get a job.

At least, that's what I thought. But the whole job thing wasn't working out too well. It took me about a month to solidify a situation. Things were getting a bit desperate for a while there. And when I finally did get the job, I got it because I could speak French. I never would have been good enough to get a job speaking French if it weren't for this trip.

I'm going to miss the atmosphere, ambiance, the life, and the quality of the food (perhaps most of all; I got sick eating my first cheeseburger back in the states.).

I can honestly say that this trip has changed my life. It opened my eyes to French culture, let me see some of the greatest art in the world, got me in a healthy eating lifestyle (I'm down 20 pounds from before I left), and has given me a great outlook on life.

I'm genuinely happy with where I am in my life, and this trip to Europe is a huge factor in my happiness. It's good to be back and playing music and seeing friends and family, but I would go back in an instant if the opportunity presented itself.

Je t'aime, France.

International Friendships

Now that I have returned, so many people have asked me what my favorite part of the trip was. It's almost impossible to choose one aspect of the program that influenced me the most, but if I had to pick, it would probably be all of the friendships that I created. Actilangue was an international school so I had the opportunity to meet so many awesome people. From Germany, to Russia, to Japan, and some places as foreign as Texas, Actilangue had it all. We also got to go to an LDS church in Nice where we met a lot of really great people. I made some Niçois friends who we hung out with a few times. The last week when Lindsey and I were in Paris, we met a Parisian who is investigating the LDS church and he took us on a tour around Paris, which was awesome. I have so many connections with people from all over the world, it's amazing. I'm already planning a trip to visit my Roman friend next summer. Not to mention all of the incredible students and instructors from UVU that I've become so close with and have loved spending my summer with them. This experience was better than I could have ever imagined. I gained so much experiences that just couldn't have been learned in the classroom.

The City of Love

Lindsey and I went to back to Paris for a week after the program. Little did I know, my boyfriend David had bought a plane ticket to come see me and propose. How romantic is that? It was incredible showing him around the most amazing city in the world and sharing with him all that I had learned in the last two months. It was the perfect way to end the best trip of my life!

Au revoir

Shyanne and I spent the last week in Paris. So much happened, Shyanne got  engaged (I knew since the first week he was coming to propose), we made friends with a real French man, I went to Prague and we discovered that Disneyland Paris is amazing. I can't believe all that has happened in a week. I loved this experience so much. Au revoir France !

Before.... And after

I would like to share a couple experiences. One from my first week in Nice and one from my last.

My 4th day in Nice I was riding the bus back to my apartment when I made eye contact with a very genial old French woman, she smiled and my heart dropped to my boots. I tried to pretend I didn't see her, but then a seat opened up right next to her and I sat down. I was going to have to talk to her, every time I would look at her out of the corner of my eye I knew she wanted to talk with me. So, I repeated the question I was going to ask over and over again in my mind.... Ou allez-vous? Ou allez-vous.... And finales said it, brow sweating and hands shaking. She responded the Port, and continued having what was probably a jolly conversation in French... I was LOST. I just smiled and nodded and "oui'd" when it sounded appropriate, then before I knew what she was doing she asked my a question and handed me some gum! That day, though I didn't say more that six words, I was proud. I had spoken French with a stranger.

My last day in Nice... I'm on the bus from the school to my apartment. When this lady with a scratch off lottery card comes and sits down next to me, and before I know it we are talking, she explained what numbers she needed to win, and I expressed my condolences when she didn't. She asked where I was from and why I was in Nice, and I explained and asked where she was from. Madagascar. As I was getting off th bus it hit me that I had conducted the entire conversation in French!

Incroyable!

Now, if you still with me I want to talk about what studying abroad, learning a new language, and enduring some discomfort did to me. When I first arrived in Nice I couldn't speak French to my host, or the airport attendants and ordering lunch was a nightmare. Why? Let me give you a hint: it wasn't because I didn't know how. It was because I didn't believe I could.

I strongly believe that I have left France as a more confident, happier person. I've learned to imbrace the uniqueness that is my flat curveless body. I've learned I can speak French fairly well, and mostly importantly that I can do anything I put my mind to. I'm returning home with confidence in myself as an adult, something that I've always pretended to have.

Hard times and new awkward experiences will always come, but I can look back on this and remind myself that I did THIS. I kicked it in the face! And I can do it again!

# Flash back Friday

Today was the last day of  class which brought me back to the first week here. Our week in Paris and the Loire valley was priceless and a fantastic introduction to France. We visited a plethora of fantastic places but my favorite one probably was Notre Dame. Each experience here has impacted my life forever and I will never be the same person. I am so grateful for all the people I have met and the friendships I have acquired. Each ending has a beginning and my mine was fantastic. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

I could get used to a view like this

Yesterday we went to EZ! It was unreal. The chateau at the top of the hill was amazing. The little twist and turns. All the arches. It was spectacular. The exotic garden up top was wonderful. I can't believe I'm almost about to say good bye to this place. I want to stay here forever.

The best part....

So the best part of this experience for me hasn't been the fact that the food here is better, the fashions here are more current, the beaches are near by, or that my French has improved leaps and bounds. It isn't even that my fiancé came to visit, or that I'm in love with French culture.... It is that I have gotten the chance to meet so many different kinds of people from all over the place. Here is a quick list:

I've had housemates from Japan, Switzerland, Sweden and Mississippi.
I've had classmates from Russia, Germany, Ohio, Florida, Canada, Denmark, Australia, England, and Italy.
I've become friends with a Prince of Saudi Arabia, a Turkish fellow, a gentleman from  Nouvelle Calédonie  and not to mention some amazing Young French people.

Not to mention the people who live in Nice are from everywhere in the world!

The lesson I've learned  to love each of these people is well worth all I have sacrificed to be here, even if I never got to improve my French ;)

I feel very humbled because I had many preconceived notions and I would tend to lump everyone from a certain country into the same category but being here has taught me that I still have so much to learn about people. I thought I knew what people from the south are like... But I don't! I never will because every person is different. And I love it.

Thanks for reading!

Why Can't We Be Friends?

"That's what I thought, too," he said at last, "when I was your age. If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time... it's because he wants to stay inside." (Lee, 23.117) 

It’s easy to make a joke about the French being rude. It’s harder to walk around in their shoes for a while. I got to walk around their country for a good while, and even though I didn’t pick up any French shoes, I feel like I’ve walked in them, at least to a minimal degree. France’s history has been one of war. Bloodshed and war. Occupation and war. Famine and war (Ever wonder where escargot came from?). The whole world at war. In France. Twice. If the whole world made a battleground out of my country (twice), I’d be hesitant to welcome strangers as well. 

I learned that the French are very much willing to help someone who’s lost on the street. They are amazingly kind in that respect. However, when a blundering, obese American stumbles around speaking English more loudly than anyone would prefer, taking pictures of some building that’s only 500 years old, and butchering the pronunciation of Le Tour Eiffel, there’s not much incentive to extend a warm welcome. Hence the cold shoulder. Most Parisians would switch to English (which they speak quite well, actually) at the first sign of my linguistic troubles because they’ve found it to be much more convenient. I can hardly blame them. It was quite practical. 

All in all, I find that the French aren’t rude, they’re just cautious. No one particularly likes the overtly loud, obnoxious, oblivious cousin at the family reunion. And that’s what Americans become when in Europe. Placed next to the rich, sophisticated, cultured, fashionable relative that is France, it’s no wonder France avoids eye contact for as long as possible. Perhaps it’s time to see that they’re not rude, we’re just annoying.

Roma!

Okay, I know this blog is supposed to be about our cultural experience in France, but Rome was so awesome and I feel inclined to share! This weekend Gloria, Myra, Becca, Jackie and I went to Rome and it was fantastic. I loved seeing so many historical sites and beautiful art. I spent most of the time on my own running from one place to the next having nothing but a map, a couple euros, a smile on my face, and a total of 7 Italian words and phrases. And that was all I needed. I adore Rome. Italians are so friendly and animated. I got to meet up with my friend Giovanna who was one of my roommates here in Nice and went to Actilangue as well. She invited me to Prague with her next summer! One of my favorite parts of my study abroad journey is all of the friendships that have been created. I definitely will be returning to Europe (hopefully Italy) in the near future!

Our New Japanese Friends

Today on our way to church, Lindsey and I met these two little old Japanese ladies who were just trying to get to the Matisse Museum, but they had no idea how to get there, so we decided that we would help them! They knew like 3 words in English, and even less French. We were so excited that we were able to help them find their way to the museum, mostly because we actually knew exactly how to get there. They were probably even more excited than we were! It was nice to  be able to explain where something is in a city that's basically become home to you. I've had so much fun getting to know Nice, and I'm so glad that I've been able to live in such a wonderful place for the past 2 months!!

Courses for days continued

Plate seven: pear sorbet made with liquid nitrogen

Plate eight: looks like a sunny side egg and toast but its coconut ice cream for the white part and the yellow was mango. The bread was similar angel food cake. 

Plate nine: candies 

As customary the meal took four hours to eat. It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had even though I didn't like some of the food.  

Courses For Days

On Friday our roommate from Saudi Arabia treated us to a fancy nine course meal. Ziad graciously paid 99 euros for each of us which eight people attended the dinner. This meal was a full embrace of the French culture.
Plate one: was an oyster inspired dish with eggplant, a small butter sandwich and a vegetable flavored mousse.

Plate two: was an anchovie paste topped that were frozen in dry ice and when you ate it smoke came out of your nose or mouth.

 Plate three: included a tomato covered in three cheeses from the mozzarella family and topped with pesto.

Plate four: sushi looking froi gras

Plate five: scallops with truffles. They are super expensive mushrooms 

Plate six: beef brisket

California Girl Day but 1000 times better because we're in France

Today consisted of school, beach, shopping and eating. Shyanne, Alex and I went to the beach for a long time. The water was perfect and the weather was exceptional. After we had a very amazing walk down Jean Médecin. As I am getting used to Nice, I seriously don't want to leave. I could  live here forever. My French is improving leaps and bounds. I can't believe we only have one week left of school!

The empire of the dead

The Catacombs..

The catacombs was a place I had never previously been but was always very intrigued to check out. After waiting in line in the hot sun for an hour and forty minutes roughly, those of us who were courageous enough to make it through the line then took the next step of courage to walk down through the empire of the dead!

   It was nice, damp and cool down there compared to the long wait we had endured, and we got to see celebrities such as Eddie the head. It was definitely a different experience and an old and interesting solution to clearing up more space in the city. I don't think that I'd be the first guy to sign up for the job of moving all the bones down there.

Chenonceau

   So here is my terrible bicycle photography, but the Sunday we got to bike out to the Chateau Chenonceau was LEGIT!! It was really nice whether and we got to bike from Amboise all the way there. The bike ride out was beautiful, with some fun hills too which I really enjoyed.

   The castle grounds there are really beautiful and the castle itself is built hanging over a river. It is definitely up near the top of the list for the prettiest castles. Biking, in my opinion, definitely allowed us to take in and experience more of the french country which plays part in the chateau's magic.

Fun day.

Cannes

On saturday we went to Cannes! It was a lot of fun, and it was a little different this time around because the film festival isn't happening right now. So I felt like the city had a completely different vibe than it did the first time around. They also had a flower festival, where they had flowers set up depicting different films, and so that was a lot of fun to see!

We also had fun taking pictures by the fun cars that they had outside of The Carlon Hotel! 

Going back to Cannes was such a fun experience  it was fun to get to go back there again. I really enjoyed it, and I loved being able to visit such a fun and exciting place twice. :)

This place is Nice

The home sickness began to set in when I arrived in Paris but it was quickly cured by my home in Nice. My host mom really made me feel at home. She is one amazing cook. The first week of school was one big adjustment. By the end of the week I started to get the hang of things. Nice is pone of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. I am just grateful for some amazing roommates that have helped me adjust. Can't wait for more fun experiences to come.

Théoule-Sur-Mer

On Saturday, a couple friends and I decided to do something a little different. Adrian (a Swiss guy from my class at Actilangue) and I met a Niçoise girl who recommended that we take a hike in the mountains. We found a town called Théoule-Sur-Mer, and we were off, along with Chihiro (another friend from Actilangue).     We had a little trouble finding the hike at first, but something that is really cool about the French Riviera is that almost all of the cities have a tourism office where you can learn about all the fun things there are to do in that city or surrounding cities. I love it. The hike was about two hours, a little tough at times, but overall it was absolutely perfect. It was so different from the city, the beach, old town, different from anything I've seen so far in my journey here. However, my favorite part of this adventure is that between Adrian, Chihiro and me, our common language is French so we spent the entire day having great conversations in French and  it was fantastic!

France Study Abroad 2013!

Going on this trip has been definitley been one of the best decisions I ever made. I was truly blessed with the group that I was with because I was able to share the most amazing experiences in FRANCE with some of the nicest and funnest people I've ever met. Let's not forget our awesome teacher Tammy who hands down wins the best teacher award for how incredible of a lady she is for putting up with all of us kids for a whole month on top of having her own to worry about, plus she is just the cutest and has the best style that no one but her could pull off. I love you all and miss you all already I hope the second group has as much fun as I did and cherishes every minute because this trip for me is something that I will remember and look back on forever. 

Last day in France...but not quite

I had a great time during my final day in France. I had dinner at a small, authentic french bistro. While the food was amazing (the best ducks confit I have ever had), the coolest part was the clientele.  All the other customers were Parisians who knew the waitresses by name and had been eating there for years.  I sat next to a couple of older ladies who wanted to practice speaking English with me, so I practiced speaking French with them. We spent the whole meal discussing the cultural differences between France and America. After dinner, they took me out and showed me their favorite bakery.  It was a very cool cross-cultural experience.

I then went and sat on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower and watched the sunset. While there, I met several French girls who thought it was the coolest thing ever that I was from America. I ended up spending the rest of the night
with them. It was a great chance to practice my French speaking. 

I have had a lot of great experiences during my stay in France.  Even though I am leaving soon, I fully plan to return. This is just the beginning of what I hope to be many trips to this great country. 

Here Comes the Sun

When I got to Europe, my body was not appreciative of the hour change. This was compounded by European Daylight Saving Time happening two days after I arrived. But I trudged along, and got myself used to it. But then, three weeks later we went to Paris. All of a sudden, the days were a LOT longer. And I don’t mean that metaphorically. It was light outside until about 10:30pm, which seemed pretty late, ever for Daylight Saving Time hours. So I checked some figures. Orem Utah from whence I departed sits right at about 40.3 degrees latitude. Nice, France sits at 43.7. So that’s not so much of a difference. The negligible lack of latitudinal change combined with European Daylight Savings Time meant that there wasn’t much of a difference to notice in Nice.

But Paris is a different story. Its latitude is 48.87. And as everyone knows, during the summer, the northern hemisphere gets more sun more of the time because of the tilted nature of the earth’s rotation relative to the sun. So with summer fast approaching (going by the solstice, and not by when school gets out, that is) the lengthening days will indeed cause much lighter skies much later in the evening. Like this photo here, captured right around 10pm. 

Perhaps this is one reason that Paris seems so magical. It’s just in the right spot to make an evening last forever. But the days don’t get too long that you go crazy with insomnia. Like the proverbial baby bear, it’s just right. The amazing food, history, art, culture and overall artistic vibe help, too.

La ville de l'amour!

I've always heard about Paris and love mostly from movies and news. Anyways, as soon as you start exploring Paris you realize why it is face the city of love. The uncountable places to go on dates and spend the day with your special one are amazing. You just walk around and love is in the air and you can easily pick up that vibe and if you don't you really have some serious issues!!!!. Those who are lucky enough to come to Paris with their gfs/bfs should really appreciate and enjoy the moment. Eiffel Tower, Boat ride around the tower, nice restaurants, the gardens, let me say it one more time the gardens!!!! you name it, they have it. No hiking, camping, or such thing!!! It is just great for couples! hence I'm single #foreveralone :)

Clubbing.. ;)

Well last night was a blast! I'm not a club virgin.. ha but i def. enjoyed the excitement!

So I loved France! The people, the culture, the history, art, language, landscape... etc. I felt so at home here that it took seeing the Eiffel Tower to really have it hit me that I am in FRANCE! I also feel that a group of people that i have never seen or known before this trip can be such good friends in a month's time. And also to have Gloria, Myra, Jackie, Rebecca, and Lindsey join in was great! Tammy thank you for the awesome visit to France and being a great Teacher and friend. Guys.. thanks for all of the wonderful memories: the laughs and giggles, the support, the love and friendship that you've given me.. i am very grateful to have meet such wonderful people.

Now that this is coming to an end I shall remember this and maybe one day i will be able to come back to my second home :)

Is it really over?

As  the study abroad is coming to an end reality checks in! The experience of exploring France and Rome cannot be explain. After this trip, all I'm going to think about is repeating this experience, exploring new places, and meeting new people. For me, life is not about the United States or the Dominican Republic anymore, there's more out there England, Spain, Germany, you name it. I have done a lot of things throughout my life and no experience comes close to this. I'm not much of an art lover but visiting museums, castles, old churches, and palaces helps you appreciate the beauty of France and what's outside of the United States!

Last Week In Paris!

We've been back in Paris this past week going to museums and different places each day, our schedule has been super busy but I guess that's what happens when you try and fit everything you want to see in a week. So far though it has been awesome I loved the Musee D'Orsay and also the Louvre. My favorite thing to see at the Musee d'orsay was this darker exhibit that they had where they had some really awesome and creepy paintings, one well known is the nightmare by Henry Fuseli. Throughout the exhibit they also had the old black and white films of dracula, frankestein and more playing. The past couple nights though we've gone out and Paris at night is amazing. One night we went and saw the light show, which didn't last super long but was still beautiful to watch. There we got hot chocolate and crepes cure it was chilly and the subway broke down for a second on our way home while we were on it which was just slightly terrifying, but we made it home okay. Last night though was the craziest, we all went out to a club for Gilbert's birthday and it was insane how packed the place got and the music was pretty awesome. It probably wasn't the best thing for me being sick and all but I'm glad I went out with everyone. (Sorry there isn't any pics my phone was being stupid and wouldn't sync.)

Versailles!

I expected Versailles to be the highlight of this trip, and it did not disappoint. From the elegant royal apartments to the sprawling gardens, it was all amazing. I went through the château itself twice and had an amazing lunch at a gourmet restaurant located in one of the old palace tea rooms. It felt like I had gone back in time!

Afterwords I visited the gardens. I Spent hours on the grounds and still only saw about half of all there was to see. My favorite part was Marie Antoinette's hamlet and the Petit Trianon. Both were even more extravagant than I had expected.  It was fascinating to see first hand how she lived.

I stayed in the gardens past closing time and eventually got kicked out by the guards. I had no idea where I was when they made me exit, so I wandered around the city and got great practice asking for directions in French. The people were very helpful and even complimented me on my French speaking!