Study Abroad: la vie

Here I am, sitting on a bed in my French house with the windows open to the street, enjoying the cool weather that has given us in the south of France a break from the heat. 

The town that I am in is very different from the bustle of Paris. It is much more relaxed (or, "tranquil," as the locals say), and is directly next to the Pyrenees Mountains. Not to mention, there is also a castle, casually towering over the other buildings in the small, picturesque city. It is very enchanting: to walk through the streets taking everything in, stopping at cafes and sipping a cappuccino while eating a croissant. 

It's been a little difficult settling in to actually living here, just because it's not what I am used to: for instance, I am used to driving my own car whenever and wherever I wanted to go. Here, one must take the bus if it's too far to walk. And speaking of busses, there is supposed to be a strike one of these days, so we'll see how that goes. I only live about a twenty-minute walk from campus, which is pretty great so I don't have to wait on the but to get to the University, but still, a part of longs for that instant availability of transportation. 

Although I have not seen much of Europe yet, I already feel like my eyes have been opened to so many things. In my Intercultural Communications class, we are learning about different types of cultures, and how their behaviors mean different things to them than they might to us, and how even people in the US might have different behaviors than what we might expect. Through the lens of another culture, I am able to see that things we do in the United States can be different from other cultures. And while "americans" are joked for being loud and flamboyant, we actually have some very good qualities about our culture, and at the same time there are other aspects of our culture that I think could do with some tweaking. 

I don't want to get ahead of myself with all of those things just yet. So, here I am. Settling into my homestay and becoming accustomed to pulse of this city. Every day my mind aches at the thought of having another conversation in French, but I can already tell that I've learned so much, even if it's just how to not laugh nervously every time someone tries to talk to me. 

However, no matter how difficult it gets, every day I have a reminder of how good God is. There were times when I wasn't even sure if this trip would even be possible, yet God made a way and I don't believe He's going to stop there.