Let’s talk about my first week in France
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The first week of arriving in a new country can be incredibly stressful and anxiety-inducing. I know for sure mine has forced me outside of my comfort zone but in the best possible way. I have already learned so much and made so many new friends. So, let’s talk about it.
After close to 15 hours of travel from Detroit to Paris to finally arriving in my host city of Nantes, I was just a little bit tired and felt like I needed a nice long shower. When arriving at the IES location in the inner city of Nantes I had to wait there for a couple of hours until my host family got done with work and was able to come pick me up. That night at their house, after the best shower of my life, we sat down for dinner where we ate pizza with mushrooms. And, if you know me you know that I have never really enjoyed mushrooms. However, I ate it and it was quite possibly the best pizza I have ever had.
So, even on the first night, I had to really accept I was in a new country with a new language (if you’re doing a language immersion program like I am) and do something I probably wouldn’t have done back in the US.
Ever since then, I have had similar experiences, where I had to really overcome personal hurdles and immerse myself in French culture. The days following my arrival were jam-packed with orientation meetings, classes, and lectures. As I write this I am still days away from officially starting my classes and not having a set schedule has definitely messed me (and literally every other person in my program) up.
Coming from American hustle culture the best advice I can give during this time is to just do your best. For us here in Nantes, there has been a lot of downtime which has obviously been strange since in the US I am usually rushing from one thing to the next. But in places like France, where people don’t care so much about the timing of things and are more concerned about the simple pleasures, it is a great time to take things how they are, explore the town, get used to your new life, and give yourself lots of grace.
It takes a lot of courage to pack up your life into one/two suitcases for 4 months and be away from the life you are used to. There will be a lot thrown at you (potentially even an egg but that’s a story for another post) but just remind yourself that things do get better and you are surrounded by people feeling the same way that you are.
Although my first week here has definitely presented challenges and some surprising culture shocks I wouldn’t change it for the world. I am so excited to see what the rest of the semester has in store and how else I can learn to grow as a person.
P.S. The French have a word, “profiter”, which in essence means to take advantage of or make the most of opportunities or even just day to day life. I think it’s the perfect word to describe how I’m trying to be this semester.
Donc, profiter bien!
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