Back from the Dead: Mid-October Update

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Hey everyone... yes, I know I promised you that I would be better at updating my blog, but I did indeed lie and now here we are. The last time we spoke, I gave an update on the start of school and the struggles/benefits of living in Nantes. Now that we have reached almost 5 weeks of classes, with midterms next week, we have a LOT to catch up on. I suggest that you turn on any song by the great French singer Charles Aznavour--my favorite is "Emmenez-Moi", meaning take me--to transport yourself to France while I recount my many many many experiences. Etttttttttttt c'est parti :)

 

Moi en train de marcher sur les rochers

During the time I was writing my last blog, I was about one and a half weeks through classes, and I had yet to start my teaching internship. Now, I am completely settled into my courses and my internship, where I am an English assistant at a lycee-prepa called Joliverie. For four hours each week, I work closely with two English professors who give me small groups of students to converse with about American politics and culture. I absolutely love hearing their opinions on our politics and their hilarious perception of Americans; I find it quite impressive that the youth and general population of France are interested and educated on our politics because in the US we seem to pay attention only to domestic issues rather than looking towards international affairs. Class-wise, I really cannot complain. Two weeks ago in my Gastronomie course, we learned about the history and cultural importance of cheeses in France, and got to do a taste test while simultaneously learning...and if you know anything about me, imma MUNCH for some cheese fr. 

Dégustation de fromages dans mon cours de gastronomie

 Alongside courses, I also participate in le club de conversation, which occurs on Tuesday every week. The club is open to the public and allows French students in Nantes to converse in English/French with American students at the IES center. After each meeting, I have the goal of snatching a French friend to come get dinner with me and other IES students, but I have to capture someone successfully. Hopefully in the next update I'll be able to tell you guys about mon/ma meilleur(e) ami(e) francais(e). 

 ASIDE from that boring, boring information, Nantes has been popping as usual. Last weekend, my friend Jess visited me for the weekend and we explored the city together, hand-in-hand :P Funnily enough, she was the one showing me around because she did a ton of research on Nantes before visiting. We saw the Chateau des ducs de Bretange, went to Nantes Oktoberfest (c'etait dingue), and spent the next day walking through all of the popular destinations in the city--notably Les Machines de l'ile and a galette/crepe resto. 

Oktoberfest avec mes girls 

The following weekend (10.12-10.13), I traveled to Saint-Malo (THE BEACH LETS GOOOOOOOO), Mont Saint-Michel, and some World War II Memorials in Normandy with other students in my program. Because all of these things are relatively popular tourist attractions in Northwestern France, I have NEVER heard so many British accents in my life. It was literally so jarring and probably the first time I've ever seen so many people from the UK in one place. This weekend, I'm looking forward to visiting Rennes and going to the Nantes vs. Nice football game. 

Le Mont Saint-Michel... magnifique 

As for my French speaking skills, I have been gauging my progress using a fool-proof system: seeing if the cashiers/servers in stores and restaurants switch from French to English with me. Obviously, I do not take offense if they switch languages because I don't think they're trying to insult my intelligence, but it sure feels good when I'm able to successfully hold a conversation or order food fully in French. Confidence plays a HUGE part in improving my skills. It seems obvious that talking more would help you learn a language more easily, but it really really is a process you have to work through. It feels incredibly embarrassing when you try to speak to someone and they don't understand what you're saying, but if you let go of the shame and keep persevering, everything will turn out fine. I have definitely stopped giving two shites about being perfect and that has opened soooo many doors for me. The largest obstacle right now is solidifying grammar rules and having a wider, more dynamic range of vocabulary words. I can express myself better, but still not as nuanced as I can do in English. Hopefully, by the end of November, I can record a day in my life fully in French so I can show off what I've been learning to you guys!

 

Pas de mots... juste incroyable

 To end today's blog, let me teach you one of my favorite French sayings that I learned from Instagram reels.

 - Ramène ta fraise --> literally meaning "bring back your strawberry" is a cutesy way of saying "get over here". 

- You can also say Ramène ta poire (pear). 

Les Machines de l'ile avec mes camardes de classe...
regardez mon instagram pour plus de photos comme celle-ci
 @kenenfrance 

French Music Mix -- Kennnnnnnnnn

 Thank you all for reading this update!!! I really appreciate it when you guys reach out to me after I post these. As always, if you have any questions that you want me to answer in the next blog, feel free to shoot me a message at any point :)

Petit note--------so sorry for the lack of accents in the French words I used in the body text, was feeling too lazy :P

FIRST FEW WEEKS IN FRANCE!

Bonjour à toutes et tous! I'm so sorry for the inconsistent uploading (as in only one post whoops), but I hope today's blog will make it up to you. 

Me in Ile-aux-Moines!

The last time we talked, I wrote to you while working tirelessly as the slayest bobarista in the Cedar Park area. We discussed my goals for this blog, my study-abroad experience, and myself. While I have clearly failed at the blog part, I can gladly say that I have NOT been slacking in the other areas. I actually had two updates that I was going to upload, but I decided that it would be better to give y'all a mega update instead. 

"My street, my neighborhood, my city" 

The first week in France did not feel real. In my original update, I talked about how strangely calm and collected I felt on my flight from Detroit to Paris because my brain could not process that France was my home for the next four months. I wrote, "Until the wheels of this plane touch down on the Charles De Gaule tarmac, and therefore French soil, I will not believe that this is happening", and on my momma was I wrong. After arriving at the Nantes regional airport, I took an Uber with Andrew Tate's benevolent French twin as the driver, who proceeded to give me a personalized tour of Nantes during our incredible 30-minute ride together. He dropped me off at my destination, the IES center, and sent me off with the advice "Never give up". As you can imagine, meeting the human personification of a Pinterest quote did not make France feel any more real. 

A photo of my beloved Austin airport before I left for my first flight 

Entering the IES center was and is still the most daunting experience of my study abroad. Immediately, I was greeted by the staff who showed me around the building and led me into a room with other students in my program conversing in French. Obviously, I expected to switch completely to French the moment I landed in Nantes, but I don't think I realized how quick the change would be. Everyone turned out to be super nice (of course), which calmed my nerves, but I still had another challenge to face... my host family!!

A profound French dog 

I had nothing to be worried about. Absolutely NOTHING. My host family is extremely kind and caring. They make sure that I understand the conversation, that no one speaks too fast, and that I'm taking advantage of my time in France by trying every cheese possible. I've had so much fun devouring traditional French cuisine, learning dinner etiquette, and comparing the French and American education systems with my host sisters. They are a huge part of why I haven't keeled over and died from a stress-induced heart attack. 

TARTELETTE AUX 3 FROMAGES from idk in the Centre-Ville

The first real week of orientation, September 8-14, was a challenge to get through. Before arriving in Nantes, we were required to take a written exam to assess our French language knowledge. Of course, that wasn't enough to fully evaluate our skills, so they dedicated that week to test our skills in person. On Monday through Thursday, we all spent around 6-7 hours a day listening, speaking, and writing in French. I would come home and immediately pass out for a two-hour nap after classes because of how exhausted my brain was. However, I will admit that it improved my French skills tremendously. On Thursday evening, we celebrated the end of orientation by singing our hearts out at a karaoke bar--my favorite day of the semester so far. 

Over the weekend, we visited Bretagne and explored some cute medieval towns! Check out my insta @kenenfrance to see the pictures for each city. 

This week, I started my actual classes!!! I'm taking 19th Century French Art History, History of French Cinema, Gastronomy, a language course, and I decided last minute that I will also participate in the teaching internship. My classes are going great, and it feels so good to be able to dedicate all of my time to learning French, a language that I adore. I will probably AHHHHHHHH also take a biology course at the University, but I still have yet to hear if any are available. 

A house I walk past on my way back from school... so gorgeeee

While difficult, these past two weeks in France were rewarding. I'm celebrating the little wins, like ordering completely in French at the Boulangerie and being able to talk about my day at the dinner table with my host family. To be honest, I felt really insecure about my skills at first because I could tell that my fear of making mistakes was holding me back. I've already had plenty of inevitable awkward moments, but life goes on and when it comes down to it, nobody is going to remember that I accidentally said "un" instead of "une". I can feel myself slowly letting go of that shame and starting to embrace imperfection, which is exactly the direction I wanted to take myself. 

This was an EXTREMELY condensed recap of the past two weeks... please forgive me for having zero motivation to write T_T. I promise to be better... for you all *finger heart*. Please let me know if you have any specific questions I can answer in the next blog! Thanks again to those who take the time to read these :)

À plus tard!

Ken ^3^

First Post: One Month Until France

 Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Hello world! ^_^ Welcome to my very first blog post to Ken en France, where I will document all of my thoughts, feelings, and experiences while I study abroad in Nantes, France. Once I figure out how to make this page cute and aesthetic, I’m hoping to make it a place where I can also share accompanying video journals, photos, and lookbooks. 

Studying abroad in France has been an absolute dream of mine since I began learning French and it’s almost unbelievable that it’s finally happening. I visited Paris and Brussels in May and got to show off my French skills to my family, but it made me realize that I still have a long way to go. One of my ultimate goals is to come out of this program confident in my conversational French—I’m going to embrace mistakes, learn from them, and grow all while consistently pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. I will show y’all the good, bad, and ugly of language learning… and trust, I will probably make a lot of embarrassing errors T-T. 

Aside from that, let me update y’all on my summer so far! 

May: Right after I finished school, I returned home for about 6 days before leaving for a two-week Europe trip with my sister, her boyfriend, and their friend. I went on my first international flight, fully funded by my summer work as a kennel tech, and destroyed every airplane meal. To anyone considering an international flight soon, do NOT take United ;(. Not only did my first flight get delayed because of a gate mismatch, but my connecting flight had a THIRTY MINUTE LAYOVER that turned into FIVE MINUTES by the time I landed, which meant I had to track star my way across the airport. It all worked out, but omg T-T you can imagine the relief I felt after releasing my clenched butt cheeks when I finally arrived in Paris. Here’s my favorite thing from each place I visited! 

- Paris: The Arc de Triomphe. Ughhhhhhhh y’all. Please someone watch the newest John Wick… for some reason, it made my Paris trip more enjoyable >_<. I felt like I was in a movie!

- Brussels: The flea market!!! Not only was it HUGE and just downright incredible, but I also got to practice my bartering skills in French >:). PLUS getting free soju for my bday mwahahaha

- Amsterdam: seeing my roomie, Anna, and her sister for a couple of hours before I departed for Vienna! They showed me around, took me shopping, and I got to meet Rocky… the cutest dog evaaaa

- Vienna: The shopping + museums <3 it was amazzeeee. I ADORE Viennese art, especially the succession period. ALSO, I highly recommend Vitavien for cheesecake... I think I had a slice every day.  

- Salzburg: sight-seeing! We walked everywhere… I think we did 20 miles at least. It was so fun and soooo worth it. Definitely one of my favorite cities from the trip. 

June: I started chemistry summer classes + my current boba barista job. 

July: I finished summer classes + met up with so many friends! I love being back home and spending time with my loved ones <3. A few days ago, I road-tripped to Houston to attend my French Visa appointment and saw my sister before her first day at her real adult job. I loved seeing her new apartment and my furry niece, Mina. 

I cannot wait to share my study abroad experience with y’all! Stay tuned for more updates, photos, and more ;) 

^3^ Ken <3