Observations on la vie Française

Bonsoir mes amis!

Unfortunately I’ve been so busy as of late that my web presence has been a bit lacking- for that I apologize!

On Sunday, I made an exciting dent in my bucket list!! A bunch of us international students took a day trip to the nearby Château Chenonceau, which was absolutely gorgeous! Thanks to the brilliant “Stuff You Missed in History Class” podcasts, I’ve learned so much about Catherine de’ Medici, so it was amazing to see somewhere she actually resided! (For those of you in need of a brief brush-up in the history department, the château was given by Catherine’s husband, King Henry II, to his mistress el supremo Diane de Poitiers…Catherine was less than thrilled but snatched it back after Henry’s demise… a good historical cat fight ;) ). The castle was built across the Cher River (which also passes through Tours) and served as a dividing line and hospital ward during the Second World War. I am living in the perfect place to study history!!

I started some of my classes this week, which has honestly been extremely challenging. Living in France has made me cast away all pre-conceived notions of how administration ought to operate. For international students, there’s no registration, per se. The first week is more of a chance to sample courses. At this point I’m attempting to sort out classes, as getting my hands on course listings and times is challenging. Syllabuses and office hours are entirely non-existent. Other things to know about university in France: email is not a preferred method of communication. I can’t even count how many times I’ve marched back and forth between home and the Fac to get a hold of somebody! I’ve certainly taken the resources we have in Canada for granted. Also, I’m thankful that in Canada we don’t have four-hour lectures commencing at 8AM. Non merci. But, being France, our classes appear to have ample smoke breaks (never fear, dear readers, caffeine will always be my drug of choice ;) ). On that note, I have discovered the miraculous invention that is the coffee vending machine. For the mere price of .50€, I can instantaneously acquire a scalding hot shot of espresso. Hip, hip, hooray J

Something else I really ought to mention in my observations is that I love how the tax is included in the prices here. It makes things so much simpler and prices often come to even numbers. Furthermore, tips are already included in the cost of menu items, which saves a lot of hassle. What does amuse me, however, is that there is no such thing as a separate check. You get one bill and everybody chips in what they owe. One night we did ask for a split bill, and we got our entire check divided equally five ways! Eating out in France is an perfecly delicious exploration of gastronomy, as there is such an abundance of fresh and different foods to taste and everything is surprisingly affordable! Nobody can make cheese, quiche, or éclairs quite like the French! 

Gros bisous! :)

Z <3