This afternoon I was trying to psych myself up to go eat at a restaurant. I did manage to leave the house, walk around, and look at several menus, but couldn't find the courage to actually enter anywhere. Why am I so terrified? Maybe if I had a friend with me it wouldn't be so intimidating. As of now I'm stuck eating Trader Joe's trail mix and starving until I can finally eat dinner at 8pm. They eat very late here, another apparently normal part of French life.
My home situation is only fair. My hostess is nice enough, but somehow not as warm and welcoming as the Latin hospitality I'm accustomed to. For example, in Ecuador I am always served more food than I could possibly eat! My host families always took me everywhere with them and made me feel part of their lives. Here it's more like I'm renting a room and eat dinner with a stranger. It's hard for me not to compare everything to Ecuador, but its something I find myself doing constantly.
It is freezing in my apartment. I talked with some other students who say their houses are all headed very well. Today it's about 40 degrees outside, and I feel warm for the first time. My hostess just entered my room and said, It's so hot in here!! Maybe she has a thyroid problem.
Today in class we were talking about the differences between France and our home countries. Eventually the subject of government, health care, and social security came up. How embarrassing. The German girls said they saw a Republican protest against the health care bill on TV and couldn't understand why anyone would want to deny such a basic right to their fellow countrymen. The Russian woman said she thinks health care should be a basic right for everyone. I didn't have an answer.
Anyways...
The walking tour of Lyon was quite nice. A woman from my school spent about an hour showing us important parts of the city. I couldn't take any pictures because it was already dark, but enjoyed it nonetheless. Tomorrow I may go see a French movie at school, and will then dine with a nice Australian couple who are my fellow students. I can't wait to actually eat at a restaurant!!
It was finally clear enough to take some pictures of the city.
There's a lovely walkway along the river, le Rhone
This is the square by my apartment
Thank you so much for sharing! I am really enjoying reading your updates. I am so impressed with you! I remember my first few days in Holland. The people here aren't warm, either. I was also terrified to buy things at the market or go out to eat by myself. It's so nice to hear that someone else had that reaction when speaking a new language in a new country. I read the blog of Benny the Irish polyglot sometimes for inspiration. http://www.fluentin3months.com/
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that you are cold where you are staying! Can you get an extra blanket from your host or buy one?
Looking forward to your next update!
I love the new blog design!
ReplyDeleteand I definitely laughed at the thyroid thing :)keep updating-I love reading your adventures!
Calla, thanks for your comment! Somehow I completely missed the fact that you now live in Holland. I echo your thoughts, it's comforting to know that other people have had the same struggles and experiences. Can you now comfortably converse in Dutch?? I'm going to go read your blog now!
ReplyDeleteps. I do have a little heater in my room so I can sleep okay, it's just the house in general that she keeps pretty chilly!
Bon apres midi! I had the same experience with both my Senegalese and Guatemalan host families. Don't take it personally, it's just disappointing unfortunately. And don't worry we're cold here too!! And suck it up lady! Get into that restaurant! Your hunger will eventually win out. You can do it and who cares if you sound silly (easier said than done, I know). I'm sitting here at school waiting for my patient where I have to do a denture by myself for the first time and I'm having similar feelings of lack of confidence. Si se puede :)
ReplyDeleteChristie, thanks for the encouragement. I need it! How did your denture go? Doing things for the first time is scary, but usually not as bad as we imagine :) Hope you're doing well.
ReplyDelete