There is so much to say from only being here such a short time! I have learned so many things. It’s crazy how when you speak another language enough you start to think completely in it. I’m even translating this post into French in my head without trying to. My host family is so nice! They are very accommodating to my eating habits because I am very very picky. If they know I won’t like something they are having my host mom makes sure that she makes me something I will which is so nice of her because she really doesn’t have to do that! She also took my around the center of Lyon yesterday and showed me all of the squares and old buildings. They were beautiful! It’s going to take a little while to get used to all of the cigarette smoke every where because EVERYONE smokes in France but they are not allowed to smoke insides buildings which is very nice to hear 🙂 I got to see all of the stores and I’m very excited to start shopping! They had a lot of American stores including H&M, Claire’s (which I was very surprised to see) and The Body Shop. I was happy to see that things that are expensive in the US that come from France are much cheaper here! For example, Longchamp Bags that are usually about $150 in the US are only 60 euro here. I also noticed that almost every store we went into had a security guard. I just thought that was interesting. There was a protest or “une manifestation” in the middle of the street. I was surprised to see how large it was, you could hear it all the way down the street. (Don’t worry I didn’t join it!) It was a great day walking around the city and it actually was not as large as I thought it was going to be.
I also got to eat and make my first crepe yesterday! I definitely need some more practice but it was really fun to try and make one myself. There’s a technique to it! I had mine with chocolate of course 🙂 It was soooo good. After dinner my host brother, Cyprien, took me to meet his friends because they are all my age (he’s 19.) They call him the “young one” because they’re all 20. They were very nice and a lot of fun. I couldn’t help but laugh that they all tried to speak English to me because they are probably just as eager to improve their English as I am to improve my French. I think they were also trying to make me feel more comfortable. I’ve also learned that French guys do not like when girls where they hair in buns. I’m not sure why but I was told that when I put my hair up! I thought that was very funny the difference between the US because I’m pretty sure guys in the US wouldn’t even notice the difference between a bun and a ponytail. Overall, I had a great first full day and can’t wait to see more of Lyon today. The section I am going to is called “Le Vieux Lyon” or “Old Lyon.” I’ll keep everyone posted!
This is the view from our apartment! It’s looking at Le Vieux Lyon and overlooking La Saone.
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