Obstacles Overcome; Lessons Learned; Now What?: Angers, France (AS)

Fountain in one of the main squares in Angers

           

This is it, I'm well into the halfway mark of my semester abroad, and I hate to see it all come to an end so soon. Although I have about two months left over the pond, I still want time to slow down a bit more so I can really take it all in. A lot of things have happened since my arrival in February. I have switched languages, made new friends, learned new customs, and I have come across quite a few obstacles along the way. I know I have mentioned this a few times throughout my posts, but the largest obstacle I have had to overcome was that of switching host families. It was awkward to tell my former host parents that I was leaving their house because I was uncomfortable and that it felt like they wanted nothing to do with me. I did, however, have a realization moment yesterday when I was at the farmer’s market. I happened to see my old host parents, and I instantly darted into the other aisle of the market in attempt to avoid them. Everyone who knows me knows that I, of all people, am not afraid of confrontation, I usually tell people to face their problems head on so they can be solved early on. When I saw my old host parents I felt nothing but anger and regret because of how they treated me. It made me ten billion times more thankful that I was proactive and I talked to people in the school to help switch houses, for it completely changed feelings about my abroad life.

A view of the Château d'Angers from across the Maine

            My host mom has been a complete and total game changer. She loves to laugh and is an amazing cook. I couldn’t be more thankful to be in her home with her, sharing all of these memories with someone who cares about me. Yes, all of my friends hear about my adventures abroad, but she is the one that sees the play-by-play and gives me advice if I need it. She asked me the other day at dinner if I was happy here with her, and I instantly just started to thank her because she has changed so much for me. Some advice, don’t be afraid to talk to someone about an uncomfortable home-stay condition if you're abroad, for it may actually be an issue and it could be impeding your abroad experience.

            I believe that my most important asset in my tool-belt is my ability to adapt and figure out my way through any situation. I have always believed that snipping situations at the bud tends to be the best way to go about a problem. This does need to have some prior reflection to ensure a good outcome, though. I also feel that my confidence in speaking French has come in handy here, as to be expected. It’s a good thing, I believe, to just try your best and have the confidence to talk, if errors come about, they can serve as a lesson. These lessons build up over time and make it easier to learn new concepts with real life examples in conversation. It has been nice here to have the option to meet new people and use my small talk skills in French.

UCO at sunrise, one of my favorite views

            Looking back at my first post about the five senses, I think I have some changes, yet some of my hypotheses remain true today, such as how photos do not give any justice to the sites that I have seen. On another note, hearing a new language has been changing the way I hear the world. I am much more aware of my audible surroundings. It is easy to find myself eavesdropping into another’s conversation at dinner in hopes that I can understand their conversation. Also in the realm of audible experiences, I have fallen in love with my daily running route to the Loire River. Along the way are bountiful amounts of orchards and other odd trees that are filled with birds that are more than happy to sing me a song as i run along the beaten path. For taste, I have more so developed some favorites rather than changing anything. I still love the endless pain au chocolat, but my new love comes from my macaron girl at the Saturday market. Nothing makes me happier at the market than seeing her in her white truck selling the rainbow of macarons she has to offer. Unfortunately, on a smelly note,  one thing that will probably forever remain true, as I am in France, is the fact that I am pelted with clouds of cigarette smoke that pollutes my lungs as I walk around town.  

          I do believe that is possible to make the world your home, it all varies on how attached someone becomes to a certain city. I now have a home here in Angers, France, and the once unfamiliar has now become the familiar. I have grown to love Angers, and I look forward to my 

adventures that rest ahead of me in my time left here. I do have some fears of my home being moderately unfamiliar though. The only things that haunt me are the fact that I am missing my brother’s and my best friends’ graduations and also the fact that I did miss an entire semester of inside jokes and adventures with my loved ones, even though I had my own amazing adventures here, it still is haunting my subconscious. More adventures are to come in my life, especially now that I am so close to so many interesting and diverse countries. I can’t wait to share stories of all of my adventures, as I wait impatiently to hear about theirs. My life has forever changed after living 3865.27 miles away from my life at my first home, and it will forever remain the adventure of a lifetime.

"Home is where the heart is"