hello family and friends!
i have arrived, safe and sound. luckily, i didn't run into any trouble along our way. mom and dad dropped me off at the airport on wednesday sept 21where i met up with ben and val. we said our tearful goodbyes, knowing we would be missing all of the people we love back home, but with the anticipation of a huge adventure ahead. our first stop: iceland! the flight took around 5 hours and afterwards, just a short 1 hour and a half layover and then off to our new stomping grounds; FRANCE! the flight was surprisingly only 3 and a half hours, so in fact, the flight was broken up just right and it didn't drag on as it normally does.
when we got to the charles de gaulle airport in paris, we went right to baggage claim and then down to the train station where ben and i bought our reduction passes for train tickets (une carte 12-25; a pass people between the ages of 12-25 can use to get reduced prices on train tickets; because we are young and cute! oh and poor.) :) and also our train to Rennes to see alex and our friend raphael. val stayed in paris to meet up with her future roommate, which ended up being sort of a hassle for her in the end. her roommate, ashley was coming from germany and her ticket was all messed up so val ended up having to wait in the airport until 8pm (we arrived at 1:30) until ashley got into paris, and then they stayed with our friend, romain, who we met in Tours when we studied abroad, who now lives in Paris. it all worked out in the end. it's much easier this time having contacts who are so willing to help out! i also had what my friend steven who is studying in Tours likes to call a PFE, a positive french experience! a man at the airport came running down the escalator towards the train station and looked at me and said, "Où est le train?!" (Where is the train?) I am assuming he thought i was French, which is why that makes this such a PFE! i looked at him and without hesitation said, "C'est juste là!" (It is just right over there! *pointing towards the train*) he said "Merci!" and ran away. i was pretty dang excited!
so after a little bit of waiting, ben and i boarded our train (thank you to the nice frenchman who helped me lug my HUGE suitcase up the stairs of the train!) and made our way to Rennes. i absolutely love the train, it is so relaxing and convenient. it really just lulls me right to sleep! so 3 hours later, we hopped off the train, not so gracefully because seriously this luggage was a nuisance, and at the top of the escalator, i see alex, clad in his ralph lauren polo! what a sight for sore eyes! :) him and raphael had driven together to pick me and ben up, so we put all our stuff in alex's car and headed over to his apartment. after we got everything situated, we went out to eat kebabs at a restaurant. kebabs aren't the typical american kebabs, its more or less a gyro. so delicious! after that, we explored the city. i was in Rennes in february visiting alex, but it was ben's first time. it really is a very nice town. so many young people live here. in fact, alex told me that the population of Rennes is 200,000 and about 80,000 of those people are students! so it is really a hopping place to be.. always something to do. ben and i were pretty tired upon arrival, so we just had two drinks at two different bars, and then alex and i headed back to his apartment and raphael and ben went to raphael's house (he lives outside the city in a small town called saint-sulplice).
friday i slept in until around 11 and then while alex did some studying (he has two BIG exams on monday) i went for a short run around a beautiful park right behind his apartment. its called parc du thabor (google it!) they have a little house with a bunch of birds, beautiful flower gardens and great walking/running paths. one minor bump in the road, i went to plug in my new hair straightener that cost me an arm and a leg and it MELTED! i thought i was using a convertor to change the voltage of the electricity, but i was only using an adapter, which just adapts the plug ins. so that stinks! otherwise, friday i spent most of my day with ben exploring more of Rennes because both alex and raphael have a lot of school work. but it is good for me and ben to explore because it is definitely what we are going to have to do when we get to our city, La Roche Sur Yon. today, alex woke up early to study while i slept in and then we did a little shopping so he could take a break. we have plans tonight to meet up with his friend jean-pierre and jean-pierre's girlfriend, so that should be fun.
i miss you all very much! i hope this blog makes it feel like i am not so far away! my eyes are your eyes :)
i love you and hope to hear from you all soon.
love, france-y pants
