One month already!

 The gorgeous, endless view from Mont St Michel. The water was the same color as the sky and looked stunning!

I love Rennes! It is so much more laid back and much less intimidating than Paris. Can't wait to go back to Paris though, feeling more comfortable with the language and daily life!

The second weekend in Rennes, I found the tiny Eglise Evangelique du Thabor, a church a short walk from my house. It was so cool to listen to French people pray, using the same words as I hear in America, and to sing songs. The next week I went to another church, Eglise Evangelique Protestante, one full of CHILDREN! I adore children and there were so many!! I had the thought today (sunday) that this is what Jesus would love, hearing the Word preached with gurgles, squeals and baby noises in the background. So wonderful :) Plus, most of the songs are American songs just translated into the French words, with the same tune! I have met the loveliest people, and it has been great getting to know other students in my program who attend church as well. I got connected with GBU (group biblique universitaire) here, which is the equivalent of InterVarsity, and the church's young peoples group and it is amazingly great :)

I love meeting students from different countries, and it's so strange to know that you can't just switch to English if you don't know the word, because French is actually all you have in common for communication. There are English, French, Colombian, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Brazilian, Malaysian, and Chinese students in my CIREFE and Rennes 2 courses, along with other nationalities that I can't recall.One of my classes last week was just telling about our experiences abroad, and the Korean girl talked about teaching English to Koreans in China! How cool?! Another worked with a medical team in Africa for a while!

Many many wonderful things have happened so I've decided not to worry about exhaustively chronicling everything. I'm too behind anyways. Soooo... have some pictures!

First of all, this is what a clear blue sky looks like in Rennes. It is not a common occurrence, but spectacular when it happens! I take pictures to remember the beauty when its raining and windy from every direction (aka everyday. No joke. Umbrella #3 has just broken)

This a café (espresso) to-go! Tiniest cup ever, with a tiny spoon and lots of sugar. Plus a little chocolate thing :)

I went to a discothèque! So much fun dancing late into the night with my friends, and singing along to the American music ( of which there was a lot! Per usual) Such a blast, albeit late, but totally worth it :)

Our cafeteria- lots of yummy food, and french fries are ALWAYS an option. As well as mousse, fancy custard, tiny tarts, and baguettes.

Speaking of which, typical meal, right here! Bread, fruit salad, some dessert that is much fancier than Hope's ( no brownies or cookies!), cheese tart, salad, and fries. Obviously there are other options but this is a good stand-by. I could seriously never eat this much food at home, but things change when you don't snack!

The other night I went to a Fest Noz- where I learned Breton dancing! SO much fun, dancing in circles with linked pinky fingers and a wonderful whirlwind of confusion. The music was live, and the first part was a band with accordion, oboe, banjo, things like that. Then, the rest of the dancing was to the beat of a live rapper! Definitely not what I was expecting from Bretagne :)

 

This is from Mont St Michel, the first of many pics. I actually took pictures with my camera, until it died, then this picture with my phone. Yay technology! I love the arches and the light streaming in. I just want to live there!

Well my computer is being difficult, so I'll try later. Saturday the 9th we went to Saint Malo and Mont St Michel and I have all sorts of adventures to share!

Thanks for your notes on FB, emails, and prayers :)

Love, Katie

Bienvenue!

Bonjour à tous!

So I finally started a blog! You know, only a month into my adventure :)

If you are reading this and didn't know already, I'm currently studying abroad in Rennes, France! Earning credit in French (bien sûr), literature, history, (to make up Cultural Heritage, for you Hope students), art history, and Arabic. And yes, the Arabic is for real!

The program I chose to study abroad with is CIEE, which feeds into CIREFE, le Centre International Rennais d'Études de Français pour Étrangers! (aka a program in Rennes that teaches French to foreigners, like me) Most of my courses will be through CIREFE, but I am taking Translation (francais-anglais and english-french) and beginning Arabic at the Université de Rennes 2, with REAL French students! Those classes have already begun and are a blast, while the CIREFE classes begin on Monday.

The program began on 7 january 2013, in Paris, France. We spend a few days in a nice hostel/auberge de jeunesse, getting to know each other and exploring the city, while also being matched up with our host families and practicing the language. Whew! Lugging my ONE 47lb piece of luggage, along with my backpack, up 3 flights of spiral staircase made me extremely grateful to have packed light! I'll write more about it later, but suffice it to say that the complete lack of sunshine did not in any way hinder my enjoyment of the beautiful city :) Plus, it made waking up to a clear blue sky that first morning in Rennes THAT MUCH better!

I am so blessed to have 3 other wonderful Hope students in the same program in Rennes, and the other students are from far-flung US universities, and are awesome as well :)

D'accord! I'll do my best to update, and I always appreciate any prayers sent my way :)

 Airport with Max and Mama- note the darkness. It was a preview of what was to come in Paris!

 You can buy tea! With cool cups! Alas it was très cher (expensive, like everything in Paris) mais bon :)

 The view from our room at the hostel- beautiful!

 

  My first café (espresso). The beginning of a love affair. Seriously though, café is THE BEST.

 Falafel. So good! We had two evenings free in Paris to venture out and find restaurants- this was the first night.

 Moulin Rouge!

 My first crèpe! Plus the café came with a madeleine gratuit! (free).

 Jardin de Luxembourg. We had tried to go to the Catacombs, but they were sadly closed. Although I'd like to go next time I'm in Paris (Mama... it's happening! I SHALL see the Catacombs)

Although, in my opinion it was definitely just a lawn with paths and some statues and fountains- no flowers! However, it was green unlike Michigan-winter-grass so that was nice! It continues to amaze me that all the plants in Rennes and Paris are so lush due to the rain and lack of frigid temperatures.  It's like when you go to Florida for Spring Break, and you land and there are PALM TREES! And living plants, and it's WARM!

 Montmartre! Lots and lots of stairs. Also, bracelet-making men who stop tourists and make them buy the product. Sneaky...

 Le Tour Eiffel. Sadly this is as close as I got, on a bateau mouche (boat ride tour on the Seine River). The fog and lights were beautiful :)

 

Of course I was knitting on the bateau mouche- a fabulous, warm way to spend the tour as opposed to the freezing rain and wind on top of the boat (aka several other students. I didn't feel the need to be particularly brave that evening)

 My bus in Rennes. It takes me everywhere!

SO yummy! It is carbonated, sweet, and has 4 kinds of citrus! A quite ridiculous amount of sugar, to be honest. I chose to ignore that fact.

 Chartres Cathédrale. The ville de Chartres between Rennes and Paris, so we stopped by for a tour on the way to Rennes.

A plus tard!
Katie May