Bonjour from Metz!

     I have officially been on French soil for a week. What can I say, I love it! I am an European girl at heart! I thought I might have difficulties readjusting to the European lifestyle after spending the last 10 years in the United States, but that was not the case. Of course, there are many differences in the French culture from the Bulgarian culture I grew up with.

     I did start off on a bad foot with Paris thought. After an exhausting 12 hour trip and then waiting at the airport for 3 hours alone to meet up with my friends, the last thing I wanted to do was walk aimlessly around the busy streets of Paris looking for Gare de L’est. It did not help that my French vocabulary consisted of ‘Bonjour’ and ‘croissant’. I am very thankful that my traveling buddy Danielle had formally studied French culture and language before our trip. After lugging our luggage around hopelessly for what seemed like forever we finally got ourselves on a high speed train to Metz.

     My first mistake was that I underestimated the complexity of Paris. I thought that since I am able to get around without much preparation through the big cities in the United States I would be able to do the same easily in France. I was shocked by how much people flooded the streets, as I thought being used to the chaos of downtown Chicago and using the public transportation system was a big deal. So lesson number one of my learning experience: IT’S ALWAYS BETTER TO OVERPREPARE!

     Once we got to Metz and met our wonderful guide and instructor, I felt a little more love for France. The town of Metz is much more like the cities I have lived in Bulgaria, so it brought back wonderful memories and I honestly felt right at home. The first night we arrived we had dinner at our residence, freshened-up, and went out to a café to enjoy a glass of wine - legally! Even though we wore some of our most stylish outfits the locals were still starring at us whenever we walked past. To be honest, all I wanted to do was stare at them as well and observe their behavior and appearance.

     Over the weekend, other students from our program arrived. We quickly befriended each other on our adventures of exploring the city and French culture. We are all around the same age. Some people have no experience traveling or living outside of the United States but a few other students have also lived abroad. It is a good combination of knowledge and experience. The girls are trying more to blend in more by always looking their best, while the boys are proudly rocking cargo shorts and t-shirts. Nevertheless, whenever we are out as a group we always stand out as the "Rowdy Americans". As much as we shush each other, there are always multiple conversations going on which make us try to talk over each other.

     Taking classes here is not much different than our lectures in the United States. Of course, all of the professors who are working with us have experience with visiting American universities and I believe they are tailoring their teaching methods to what we are used to. Having worked with four different professors so far, I am enjoying the different backgrounds each professor comes from. I am definitely able to recognize the differences, and I think as a class we are able to tailor ourselves to fir that instructor’s style. Of course, some students are better at picking up the differences than others.

     The topics we have covered so far include history of the Lorraine region, geography of Europe, French Civilization, Self Image in Europe, History of France, and one French class for beginners. I think the most unique class was Self Image in Europe because the professor specialized in working with French politicians and business executives to determine which colors, glasses and hairstyles work best on them to help them portray different images they want the general public to see. The aspect of the course that was the most exciting for us was when Professor Ceccarelli told each of us our color pallet, body shape, and square shapes. She also gave everyone recommendations. I don’t think this would happen in the United States because students would not be as open about professors actually taking a look at their body even though it is in a completely formal and non-sexual way. Needless to say, I have gotten some really good advice on how to portray myself as the intelligent yet approachable young woman that I strive to be!

     In the last five days that we have had organized activities, we have already visited two museums and participated in two guided tours. It is amazing how much history one can learn just by walking the streets of a couple of neighboring towns. What is most amazing about Metz, is that even though it is very close to the German boarder and is in an area that was fought over by both the French and the German, barely anything was destroyed here during World War I, World War II, or any of the smaller wars between the two countries. Most of the buildings are older, full of charm, and tell a story.

     This weekend a group of 16 of us are headed an hour north to visit Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The train ride there and back is costing us less than 30 euros per person! Imagine, not only being close enough to go on a weekend trip to a different country but also having it be relatively affordable! A lot of the native students I have met, have traveled throughout the countries of Europe multiple times. It saddens me how isolated we are at America and how much we are missing out on experiencing other countries culture.

    So far, we are planning on visiting Luxembourg, Amsterdam, and Nice (Southern France) in the three weekends we have to ourselves. What countries of Europe would you like to visit?