Bienvenue à Angers!

I have been in France for 4 days already, and I could not be happier! I decided to start a blog to share the things that I have done and learned so far, because there is so much that I want to remember.

Warning: the menu buttons on my blog will probably appear in French to you, since I started it here in France! I can technically change it to English if that bothers anyone, but I think it actually makes it pretty neat and authentic. Of course, I will write my posts in English.

I arrived in Angers Monday afternoon, and my host dad picked me up at the train station. My immediate impression of the town was its beauty! All the houses are so old, and it almost seemed like I was stepping back in time.

First impressions:

• I love my host family. They have 4 kids, but the two boys are older and away at college. My host sisters are in high school and they are really fun. They live in a beautiful house very close to my university and also to centre ville, where all the shops and restaurants are. While the Notre Dame program only requires the host families to serve us dinner once a week, my family is very welcoming and since my host mom is used to cooking for a big family she said that I am welcome to eat with them any night of the week - it's usually just my host mom and the two girls for dinner.
• French food is everything I dreamed it would be and more. Whether it's bread, cheese, or coffee, the French seem to know how to make it extremely delicious.
  
• The negative stereotypes that Americans tend to have about the French are not true at all. For example, they are actually so friendly and helpful, even when they learn that we are American.
  
• My ability to communicate in French has already improved, but some things are more difficult than I imagined. For example, I wish that I would have reviewed some basic vocab words about everyday life before I traveled over here.
• I am living in a city with a castle! It's from the 12th century, so it's more of a fortress than a castle, but it it still amazing. We went inside it yesterday and from the top of the towers there are amazing views of the entire city.
  

A few funny anecdotes from the first few days:

• Last night at dinner, my host sisters turned on some music, and it was all American. They played Mika, Lady Gaga, The Jackson Five, and the Black Eyed Peas to name a few. The girls can sing along to the songs, but they don't know what most of the lyrics mean, so they asked me what "meet me halfway" (The Blackeyed peas song) means. I tried to explain it when I realized that it's an idiom and there is no French equivalent that I know of.
  
• Everything here is so ancient. My house (pictured above) is more than 100 years old, as are the vast majority of houses in the middle of Angers. And I learned that when they dug up a parking garage downtown, they found bones from the 2nd century. These are the kinds of things that just don't exist in the United States.
• I need to improve my French pronunciation. The word "muffin" exists in French, and it means the same thing. Yesterday, my host sister made a dessert that made in muffin pans. As they were explaining to me what it was, I tried to ask if it was like a muffin, and to make it sound French I guessed that it would be pronounced "moo-fan." That was wrong, and my host sisters proceeded to giggle for a whole minute. Opps! But I know that I'll learn more by making mistakes rather than staying quiet and not speaking at all.

On Monday I will find out what level of French I tested into, and classes will start. Until then, my first weekend will include a visit to the Saturday morning market, pizza (yes, they have pizza in France!) at my professor's house with our Notre Dame group, and Sunday mass at one of the beautiful old churches in Angers (there are many to choose from).