hello everyone!
Where I run 😌
This past week has been holidays, which is so so great, and I've had a super good balance of relaxing at home and doing things like shopping and going on day trips and outings too. All in all, last week was a super good week, but holidays are moving so quickly.
Last Monday and Tuesday were pretty standard days, mostly we just relaxed, I went to the mall and had a wee browse, and then chilled a bit more. I'm beginning to know the area a lot better now which is super good for me because I'm quite confident now and less afraid than I was before. I remember the first week I was here I walked to the supermarket which is like a 10 min walk away and was so paranoid that I would be kidnapped or something. Plus, I was really worried that I looked like a foreigner or that something would give away that I'm not from here 😂. Now, it's tons better. I've gone on a couple of bike rides with the family and gone on a few runs already and it feels super good to be active again and to get to know the area really well.
Found this top and thought it was so relevant because my French at times is so questionable and tragic.. 😕
On Wednesday, I went for a run in the morning and then my host family and I went to the small town of Chartres not too far from where we live. It's about an hour by car, and it is the sweetest little town. It's almost like Akaroa to Christchurch. We had lunch at Maccas (delish), went to the famous cathedral in Chartres (which, by the way, is unlike any other cathedral I've seen in my life). My host mum's sister, Marie, explained a bit of the history of the Cathedral to me, because my host mum and her sister lived in Chartres until their mid-teenage years and grew up there. It would be such a dainty wee place to grow up in, I think. It was really cool walking through the streets, and we chose probably one of the best days to go because the weather was perfect - a wee bit of a breeze but the temperature was in the high 20s and there were no clouds. Absolutely STUNNING. Then we went for a walk through the streets filled with lots of shops and boutiques and bakeries and literally everything. We got ice cream and had pizza at a wee corner Italian pizza place. Going to Chartres was actually quite cool, because back in the back there when my parents were solo and didn't have kids yet, they biked a bit through Europe and actually went to Chartres via bike. So I bought them a postcard and am planning on sending it, although I need to find out where a post shop is first 😬
Below are a few pictures from Chartres. Even though I'm not a religious person, the cathedral was still amazing, just thinking all the hard work they put into it and how incredible it is as an architectural creation.
Thursday we chilled for the morning and in the afternoon went to the pool with my host sister, Vicky, and her friend Ambre. It was 28 degrees on Thursday, so super hot. Was a pretty chill day because I had walked + ran a total of over 10km on Wednesday so my legs were pretty dead and needed the rest. It sounds like the week was boring because I talk about chilling lots, but in all honesty it was pretty full on and I was super busy most days. It was my host mum's birthday as well and I found a gift to buy her the previous day in Chartres.
Then on Friday, I went for another run in the morning. Omg I literally had the scariest experience coming back from my run, because I encountered like a stray dog (but it had like a leash and harness on it, so obviously someone was taking it for a walk sort of thing?), and when it saw me it growled really loudly and ran towards me and I was like seYA I DO NOT want to die today and it fully came BOUNDING OVER so I sprinted away so quick omg. We then went to the BIG mall like 25 minutes away by car. Its so huge. It's called Carré-Senart and has literally hundreds of shops including all the typical European brands that you'd think of. I bought a mascara from Kiko and that was it, because I'm really picky about clothes (I don't usually buy stuff out of impulse, I usually only buy stuff if I wanted it before I went shopping and not just because it looked cool in store, if that makes sense?) and a lot of stuff here is pretty expensive with the bad exchange rate at the moment 😤 we also had lunch at a burger place called 231 East St and its sort of like Burgerfuel in New Zealand. On the way back from the mall we stopped at a wee boulangerie (bakery) and bought a few pastries for breakfast the next day and also a cake because it had been the host mum's birthday! The cake was so delish, literally better than any cake I've had in New Zealand I think...if clothes and shops here are expensive, the cheap pastries 100% make up for it. Like, depending on the place you can buy a croissant from 0.40 Euro cents. yikes!!!! The most expensive they get here is about 1 Euro, which is for a SUPER fancy croissant from a really reputable bakery, which is still so cheap. I remember in New Zealand, in some French lessons if we were really lucky our teacher would buy us pastries from the bakery just across the road and they would be like upwards of $4 just for 1. I wish I could fill my suitcase with pastries and bring them home for everyone after my exchange.
On Saturday I went shopping in the afternoon at the mall by myself which was super nice because it meant I could take my time and go to any shop that I felt like. I spent most of my time in Zara and bought a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Then my host parents had a couple of friends and their son over for dinner and we had a barbecue and sat outside. I swear all of the food I have eaten here has been so delicious and good, except I genuinely need to be careful that I'm not gaining too much weight 😟 we played hide and seek and hung out till pretty late and on Sunday I chilled mostly from being exhausted from the late night, and then went for a bike ride again with my host parents and finished the night by watching the Titanic in French (was difficult but I got the gist of it, you know??).
I haven't mentioned it yet, but the environment is so French (duh, obviously). What I mean is that wherever you go, the buildings all look SO French. Like, all of them. It's pretty hard to explain it in words. Like, if you were blindfolded and someone flew you to a random place but you were deaf so you couldn't hear the language they were speaking, you would deadset know you're in France. Just by the way it looks. I feel like that example was pretty cooked and bizarre, but you get what I mean. And I'm beginning to get confused which side of the road is actually the right side to drive on (haha pun not intended). In New Zealand we all drive on the left side but here they drive on the right side and it's starting to feel so normal for me. Thinking about driving on the left side almost is beginning to feel wrong 😳 Like nek minnit I get back to New Zealand and start driving on the wrong side or something. I'm genuinely concerned for my safety when I return 😆 Also, everything here is SO green! Obviously it's spring, but I am so surprised at how green it is. It's maybe even greener than New Zealand. Especially around the area where I live.
Regarding homesickness and missing home, I have had a couple of days where I just want to fly home and cry all day. It comes and goes. Keeping busy during the holidays means its easy to avoid feeling homesick. A lot of the time I feel like it is onset by boredom and/or not doing much. But the other day I was a bit upset and crying and my host sister came into my room and was so sweet about it, and I hate crying in front of other people so when I hang around my host family its easy to avoid. Nevertheless, sometimes there are small things that remind me of home that set it off and then I tear up a bit and try to think about something else and breathe. Tomorrow, it will be 4 weeks since I left home and honestly I'm really proud of myself that I've been this brave and have come this far. I've been making quite good progress with my French and am understanding more and more every day.
I'm signing off here this time..
Bisous,
Michelle
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