A croissant a day keeps the doctor away and more thoughts about week one

It’s been a week since I arrived in France and I can confidently say this week has been amazing. I may or may not have had a croissant every day since I arrived (sorry mom) and I’ve loved every second spent walking through the tiny, rose colored streets of Toulouse, whether it’s with my host family or my friends.

While there have been things that I have found different, life in France isn’t crazy different than life in the US.  A lot of the differences I’ve noticed are small.  People here are nicer, they eat more bread, and the old ladies on the metro look at you funny if you wear shorts when it’s 65 degrees out (but I do it anyway).  The biggest difference is the attention they give to the food they eat.  My host family goes to multiple different stores and fresh markets looking for the fresh bread and the juicy apricots and then spends so much time in the kitchen cooking, eating, and talking.  The emphasis put on dinner is one of my favorite parts about being here.  

Besides the ritual that is the preparation of dinner, for the most part life is the same, but in French.  That, of course, is the real hard part. My host family doesn’t speak any English, which is good for learning, but it is hard when you’ve been speaking French all day and your brain is tired of translating back and forth and only understanding part of what’s being said to you.  I’m getting used to it though which is good.  I’m already getting better at listening to French, but sometimes I have conversations where I really am just lost and I keep having to say “je ne comprend pas” until my host mom gives up and starts talking about something simpler.  But that’s not what I try to dwell on.  Instead I think of the amazing conversations I’ve had with my host sister and her husband about everything from the FIFA World Cup, to the history of France.  They speak nice and slowly, but not like I’m dumb, and it’s actually really fun to talk to them! 

This week was about little triumphs like the conversations with my host family, and taking the metro by myself and not getting lost at all.  I can’t wait for the experiences the next three weeks bring me, especially all those chocolatines I’m about to eat.