Posts
While on the train ride to the airport on the day I left France, I sat down and compiled a bunch of lists to summarize the semester. These are those lists:
Things I Will Miss
- Baguettes, pasteries, ... basically anything freshly baked!
- the ice cream... yummy!
- 1 Baguette, Tuna Salad or Cheese, Bottle of Wine = good cheap lunch!
- Buying a bottle of wine for the same price and sometimes cheaper than a bottle of water!
- The gorgeous architecture and buildings tied in with their age and history... and how they are right down the street!
- Waking up (or at least trying to wake up in time!) to walk the couple blocks to the Wazemmes Sunday Market which is one of the largest markets in Europe!
- La Catho because it literally felt like you were going to class in a castle! Hogwarts anyone? haha!
- The French... need I say any more? (culture, clothes, language, food... etc!)
- The gagillion kinds of beer and alcohol, and it all being so much better than anything made in the states!
- Being able to get a plane ticket out of the country for the cost of a tank of gas back home!
- How almost everyone I met or ran into in Lille and around the area were friendly no matter what... you don't have that back home in the states
- Being able to actually practice and use the French I spent all high school learning
- The pop is made with real sugar instead of corn syrup... so it tastes amazing!
- All of the new friends I made in France and other places whom I probably will never see again
- Random trips to Carrefour or just walking around Lille looking at the tiny shops because no matter if you need something or not, it's always an adventure!
- How things are as they should be for a society - stores close by dinner hour, 24hrs is something unheard off, Sundays are meant for relaxing and nothing is open on Sundays... people are just laid back and friendly!
- The metro! It was a lifesaver when I went grocery shopping! And was just fun to ride in itself now and then!
- The trains - aka France's main method of transportation. You can get a train to almost anywhere either directly or by a few stops and maybe a train switch or two. Best of all it's cheap! I mean, a train ticket to Paris from Lille cost maybe about the same as a tank of gas!
- The Euro! I have gotten so used to using the euro that it will be horrible having to go back to the dollar. Plus, all taxes and everythign are included in the price listed in euros whereas in the US, they are added in afterwards.
- Being able to go out on any night of the week... even as late as 1 am and there are a ton of places not only still open but they are packed and having a blast!
- the night life in general!
- And something that's on both lists.... work. I will miss not having to always be at work!
... of course there are some many other things that I could list on here... but this is already been a lot! time to move to the next list!
Things I Won't Miss or Will be Glad to be Done With
- the falling US economy and how the exchange rate really screwed me over
- rarely having steady internet for more than an hour if I'm lucky... you breathe, and you loose it!
- Money being wasted because of stupid reasons or errors... mainly dealing with the change between the two currencies
- Expecting most calls home made on my computer via Skype to be dropped at least once if not a couple times because the internet cuts out.
- The dog doodoo on the sidewalk
- All my classes being lecture classes in French, and no participation classes
- Appearing dumb if I butcher my French
- Having to spread money as thin as possible to make it last... and even pulling it out of nowhere!
- Being bored half the time in my room because my visa did not let me work a single job, as well as a lack of income
- Issues with my residence whether it be the internet, mail, the cleaning lady's always coming different days during the cleaning week and waking you up.... bathrooms down the hall... showers down the hall but separate from bathrooms... and so much more! Don't forget the feeling of being in a mental hospital while in your own room too!
- Dealing with a pay-as-you go phone... having minutes available to use but not wasting money or minutes because you end up not using them
- International exchange bank fees which had to be paid to access almost all of my money! Thus ended up wasting a good bit too!
- Somethings being more expensive in France than in the states (and that is just looking at the numerical value and ignoring the fact the difference in currencies)
- Having to always pay attention to what I buy because I either will be throwing it away or somehow have to manage to get it back home to the states!
Regrets Regarding Study Abroad
- Not being able to stay as long as I had originally planned... and even longer!
- Did not have as much of a social life as I had hoped because I didn't start to hang out with a lot of friends till about halfway through the semester... as well as I had to really watch the money I spent
- Not being more prepared and ready in case things happened... mostly in regards to finances
- Dropping French when I went off to college and not focusing harder while in high school. I had forgotten so many things that I wouldn't have if I had stuck with it from the start.
- Not being able to see more of France ( I really only saw Lille and Paris and a few small outskirt cities around Lille)
- Not coming back fluent in French!
Positive Effects of Studying Abroad
- Set up and faithfully kept a working budget for the entire trip and always knew where my money was going
- Became more knowledgeable about world politics and events, including having a completely different take on the US itself in more ways than one
- Gained a completely new perspective on life and culture
- Though not fluent, I learned a whole lot of French!
- Learning to be thrifty and deny the self-indulgent buys
- I lived in France for 5 months! How cool is that!
- I saw places that I never imagined I'd ever see in real life... Scotland, Ireland, London, Paris, France, Belgium and more!
- Learning to be less rigid and becoming more care-free about things including being able to cope when something comes up unexpectedly
- Becoming more independent (as if going and living in another country halfway around the world isn't independent!)
And that really sums most of the semester up. Granted I could go on forever with most of these lists but what's the point? But I got a lot out of the semester and despite where things stand with me right now and stuff... I wouldn't trade a single second of the entire time over there except having to come back home! Even if it didn't end out the right way, I made it work or adapted and moved on. Everything is a learning experience. Some are tougher in someways than others but overall I learned so much about the world, society, school, cultures, and myself. I'm sure if someone took a look at who I was before I left and who I am right now afterwards, I'm a different person. I feel different and that is good. It's a positive difference.
Well, as with most things, I could keep going on but I think that would just be beating a dead horse! So with this last blog, I officially am saying "Au revoir" to an amazing semester in France. There will be no more blogs to this blog as things have finally be compiled, uploaded and typed out. I will back this up on my computer and will do more to make sure it is not lost as there is so much within this blog that I could never think of replicating. So...
Au revoir!
