well, i'm here! i'm all settled into my little home in tours, france. and it's great. i live with a sweet little woman named madame turpault. her daughter, anne, is not 19, but rather in her 40s, but she lives in another home and comes to see us/her mother everyday. she speaks a little english and is so kind. they are both very understanding and generous. i just really love them.
our home is....amazing. it was built in 1875 so it's really old and creaky, but it is quite the gem. there are fireplaces, and we open windows for air. our window opens up to the park in tours. it's small, but it is so beautiful. right outside our window is a pond filled with lily pads. it is a very quiet town, so it's peaceful.
i start school tomorrow. eek. i'm excited. we arrived in tours yesterday at 4 and just settled in and such.
we ate dinner at 6:45 (everyday, no exceptions...gotta love a sh-edule). and then madame went to bed. the house is full of "locataires" or renters. my friend molly and i live here and share a room and there is a girl next door named jessica from utah. and she is so fun. glad i have a new friend. there is also a girl named monica from padua, italy. she speaks a little english and even less french. but she has an awesome haircut, and she is super friendly. and there are 2 french girls, but i haven't really met them yet. jessica, molly, and i (and i think a french girl) live on the third floor, it's quite the trek.
this morning (dimanche), we had brunch---which consisted of 4 types of bread. yummy carbs. jess, molly, and i tried our very best to eat it all, but we failed. madame asked us repeatedly why we wouldn't eat anything. i had 4 pieces of bread. ah.
molly and i went to mass with madame and anne. it was a good experience. it was oddly comforting. it was neat to see a church body outside my own. we were warmly welcomed, and, even though the entire thing was in french, it was so encouraging to know i was surrounded by a family of believers. the priest was very funny. he tried to "bissou" me (little side kisses) and i didn't know how. he said, "vous etes americaines. hahaha" (you are american). thanks buddy...
after church, madame and anne sent me and molly on a walk. we walked aimlessly for a while until we met up with jessica. tours is currently hosting a wine tasting exhibition. it was free entry, so we went in and walked around. they had lots of french food (like crepes, ah) so we ate....a lot. we also walked to the loire river. it was a longer walk than i anticipated, but it was worth it.
on our way back, i had to use a public little bathroom that was coin-operated. they are the self-cleaning kind that clean after a person leaves. i couldn't stop thinking about a story my high school history teacher (coach norman/stormin' norman) told me about how he got soaked one time when he used one. so i go to leave, and i pushed the wrong button (it was all in french) and there was a whirring sound. so i freak out and start pushing all the buttons. luckily, i pushed the right one. but it was a close call...
i also took a 3 hour nap today. but i'm still tired.
au revoir, mes amis.
school tomorrow. yippee...
No comments:
Post a Comment