Sightseeing

The most amazing thing here is to see how old the buildings are and then to imagine being alive hundreds of years ago. Even Sandrine’s house is well over a hundred years old and there are parts still made from a mixture of soil, hay, and water. There is this amazing place/castle called Mont St. Michel which is like a town on a small island that is surrounded by water daily with the high tide. It has huge walls around the outside, the spiked metal doors hanging over the archways, stone everything, just medieval. It is amazing. And we visited old towns that have these walls or ramparts surrounding them and you can almost see the archers and guards waiting to defend the city from attack. We went to Basel, Switzerland the other day and there were all these buildings that are now homes and shops and have placards that say they were built in 1496 or something. It is really cool. And the cathedrals are immense and so elaborate. Just something you can’t get in the States.

Showers

First of all, the weather here is really different. In Rennes, it was often cloudy and there was some rain. But the strangest thing was that the sun was up so late! It was up from 7am to 11pm!! It felt like afternoon at 8pm. Then in Alsalce, it has been colder and rainier. Definitely good for long-sleeves. Oh well. I’ll be sweating so much in Hong Kong, I’m sure I’ll more than make up for it.

The showers here are really different. I respect the attempts to save water, but they take some getting used to. The shower heads are hand-held and you shower in a bath tub, often without in sort of a shower curtain. That means you have to be careful not to squirt everything in the bathroom/water closet. So, to not get everything wet, you kneel down in the tub and then wet yourself. Actually, I’ve taken to sitting because it is hard on the knees to kneel in the tub. Then you turn off the water and put the shower head down and soap/shampoo-up. It gets a little cold during this portion of the shower. Then you turn the shower back on and rinse. I think the whole kneeling thing makes it take a little longer, because you can’t wet your whole body as easily as the overhead showers. I don’t know, it isn’t too bad. Just different.

Hard Times

Generally everything has been so great, but there are a few things that have been challenging. One thing is definitely the language. It is really frustrating to try to be myself in a language I only speak at a very basic level. And being translated doesn’t have the same effect either. Plus I often feel out of the loop. I don’t know what is going on that well and I’m sure it is hard on Emily to try to translate things and feel me in. Beyond just not knowing what is being said is the feeling of being left out. Especially once Sandrine and Stefan (her sister and brother-in-law) arrived and there was this family laughing and joking and being nostalgic in a language I didn’t know well, I couldn’t help but feel like the odd one out. And it is so tiring! It takes a lot out of me to try to follow a conversation in French and sometimes I have a hard time getting out of bed just because I don’t want to deal with all the French and all the difference and stuff.

Plus there is all this talk here about Emily and me getting married and having babies. Not that I don’t want that or that we haven’t talked about it before, but it felt so different to have it assumed publicly like that. I mean, it felt like a lot of pressure all at once. And then there is just the general not knowing of not being in control and being in a different culture and being pushed out of your comfort zone. Emily loves to embrace challenges, try new things, get pushed beyond her comfort. I’m more like a baby-step kind of person. I grew up in a cocoon and only just started pushing myself a little at a time since college. It can be overwhelming at times.

And I might still be jet –lagged!

Why are we here?

Emily studied French in school and spent her senior year in high school studying in Rennes, France. Rennes is in the northwest region of France called Brittany and is somewhere near the English Channel. She quickly came to love her host family (Joelle- mom, Jacques- dad, Sandrine- sister) and they basically adopted her. She has visited them a few times since then, but hasn’t been there since four years ago. Sandrine recently married Stephan and had a baby named Agatha. So we spent the first part of the trip in Rennes with Joelle and Jacques and then met up with Sandrine’s family at Auray, near the Atlantic Coast, to attend a wedding of a family friend. From there we traveled back across the country (by train) to the northeastern region of Alsalce to go to Sandrine’s house in Reiningue. She lives less than an hour away from Germany and Switzerland. From there we’ll go to Paris by ourselves for a few days before flying out. Romantic? It has been nice to share it with her for sure. It has been a bit of a challenge for me and I have been trying not to get in the way of Emily’s enjoyment and her time with her family. I am also trying to win the approval of her family too. Her mom has already accepted me as her new son-in-law and so I think that’s a good sign. It is our first big trip together and we have been coping pretty well. I can’t wait till we get to Paris!

Arrival in France

France is a wonderful place to visit. Getting here, however, is not so easy. The plane rides were rough. I had the hardest time trying to sleep without being to put my seat back and having to deal with all the announcements and people passing by. After the 2 hour drive to San Francisco starting at 3:30am on Saturday, the hour of waiting in the airport, the 5 hour trip to Philadelphia, the 2 hour layover, and the 7 hour trip to Paris, came the 2 hour wait for the train and the 3 hour train ride. Add to that a time change of 9 hours from California and the trip takes about a day and a half. Well, I got a little sick and grumpy towards the end, but managed to muster up enough energy to converse with Emily’s host parents and their friend. My French is better than their English, if that gives you a clue to how good their English is. My French has been better than predicted, but it is certainly frustrating to not be able to communicate everything you want to say. Still, for only one class, I’m pretty impressive. =) Thanks to Stasia’s mom.

And how is France? Well, the first thing I noticed is that they drive on the same side of the road as we do. And the driver’s seat is in the same place too. I was really surprised at that. Also, given the fact that the US economy is so poor and the dollar isn’t worth much, I quickly realized how expensive this trip will be. The vending machine had bottles of water for 2€ which is nearly $4. A small sandwich and drink ran 6.5€, more than $10! Oh boy. But I just went to the local supermarket, and you can get a huge thing of cheese for a couple of dollars. So all is not bad.

Actually, the food has been fantastique so far. My first meal was a large lunch at her parents’ house. It was so typical French. We started with an aperitif (means having some sort of alcohol) and a plate of melon and ham (but French ham). Then we had a plate of rotisserie chicken. Then some salad. Then came…the French fries! And finally some bread with cheese and ice cream for dessert. So delicious! And then croissants for breakfast. J’aime beaucoup la cuisine française.

Besides this, her family has been so kind and I’m having a great time. Can’t wait to see more!