I have now been abroad for 8 days and life is great! France is everything I expected of and much more. I apologize for just now updating my blog, but getting adjusted to my new home has been taking up all my time.
Our flights to Paris went very smooth, besides an hour delay in Toronto and needing to switch gate and aircrafts. For the seven hour flight I was lucky enough to have a window seat and also managed to not have a neighbor in the middle seat! We arrived in Paris around 10:30am and no one’s luggage was lost. We set off to Paris for the evening to find an early dinner and make our way to the Eiffel Tower.
Our second and final day in Paris, was spectacular. We covered a lot of ground in a very short amount of time. From about 11am to 10pm we were able to see: the Norte-Dame Cathedral, love-locked bridge, Arc de Triumph, Champs Elysees, and the Sacre-Coeur. Also, we stopped for lunch at a cute café and got ourselves our first glasses of true French wine and I ordered a croque monsieur. Bon Appetite!
We arrived in Toulouse around 3pm on Saturday via iDTGV (high speed train). From the lack of sleep and jet lag, I napped for a portion of the train ride. The country side reminded me much of home: flat and fields, though majority being wheat fields rather than corn and beans!
Sunday we wandered through the city of Toulouse. A wonderful town, did not take much time for me to fall in love with the area. In the evening the program set up a pizza party and drinks so we could mingle with all the other students in our group. Following the pizza party, we set out for our first night out on the town. The nightlife is awesome here in Toulouse.
Classes began Monday morning. Just in this week we have had lectures about European culture, the European union, the common ag policy, and 9 hours of French lessons! I cannot remember much from the three years of French I studied in high school, but I am slowly catching on and remembering the language.
With the group, we have taken a tour of Toulouse and also visited the city of Carcassone (city in an castle). There are 48 students taking part in this program from the US, China, Lebanon, and Mexico. Not only am I meeting ag students throughout the US but international students as well, which I think makes this such a unique program and experience.
So, as you can see I am alive and well, just too busy to keep up with my blog, my apologies! From here on out until I leave for my internship I will be sure to post more frequently. But for now, I am going to a night; tomorrow morning at 8am (2am EST) we set out to hike in the Pyrenees’ Mountains!
(all times I have posted are the local time here in Toulouse, 6 hours ahead of EST at home)
Our flights to Paris went very smooth, besides an hour delay in Toronto and needing to switch gate and aircrafts. For the seven hour flight I was lucky enough to have a window seat and also managed to not have a neighbor in the middle seat! We arrived in Paris around 10:30am and no one’s luggage was lost. We set off to Paris for the evening to find an early dinner and make our way to the Eiffel Tower.
Our second and final day in Paris, was spectacular. We covered a lot of ground in a very short amount of time. From about 11am to 10pm we were able to see: the Norte-Dame Cathedral, love-locked bridge, Arc de Triumph, Champs Elysees, and the Sacre-Coeur. Also, we stopped for lunch at a cute café and got ourselves our first glasses of true French wine and I ordered a croque monsieur. Bon Appetite!
We arrived in Toulouse around 3pm on Saturday via iDTGV (high speed train). From the lack of sleep and jet lag, I napped for a portion of the train ride. The country side reminded me much of home: flat and fields, though majority being wheat fields rather than corn and beans!
Sunday we wandered through the city of Toulouse. A wonderful town, did not take much time for me to fall in love with the area. In the evening the program set up a pizza party and drinks so we could mingle with all the other students in our group. Following the pizza party, we set out for our first night out on the town. The nightlife is awesome here in Toulouse.
Classes began Monday morning. Just in this week we have had lectures about European culture, the European union, the common ag policy, and 9 hours of French lessons! I cannot remember much from the three years of French I studied in high school, but I am slowly catching on and remembering the language.
With the group, we have taken a tour of Toulouse and also visited the city of Carcassone (city in an castle). There are 48 students taking part in this program from the US, China, Lebanon, and Mexico. Not only am I meeting ag students throughout the US but international students as well, which I think makes this such a unique program and experience.
So, as you can see I am alive and well, just too busy to keep up with my blog, my apologies! From here on out until I leave for my internship I will be sure to post more frequently. But for now, I am going to a night; tomorrow morning at 8am (2am EST) we set out to hike in the Pyrenees’ Mountains!
(all times I have posted are the local time here in Toulouse, 6 hours ahead of EST at home)