Paris // Lyon // Nice // Le-Puy-en-Velay
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Clarification before I begin - I was hosted in Lyon this past weekend before classes began. My host was an ESEPAC student named Gaspard. He offered Ty, my fellow student and friend, and me housing in his family home. In my previous posts, he is the host I speak of as well as my guide in Lyon. I hope that makes more sense! Read on. MORNING: Woke up around 11AM, got ready for the day, Today was Mother's Day in France, so Gaspard and his family were doing their own thing. Ty and I decided to satisfy our craving for bubble tea (yes Ann, please shame me) and metro'd to a nearby shop. I had sesame noodles, Ty had some meat and rice. I had a crème brûlée bubble tea and it was magnifique! Sooooo creamy, and the worker actually torched the top right in front of us. Honestly speaking... it was probably the best bubble tea I have had in a while (sorry KFT). AFTERNOON: Today we met with the rest of our group! 4 more students arrived at a Lyon station. Ty and I metro'd over to greet them and escort them back to Gaspard's home. We then chilled out in his yard area and enjoyed homemade lingonberry ice cream. It was good to finally be in a group together. EVENING: Around 6PM, one of Gaspard's classmates, Gwen, came to drive some of us to ESEPAC. The plan going forwards was to take all 6 students to ESEPAC as a meeting point and drop us off with ESEPAC students that would host us. We were split 3-2-1. Our group of 6 is 3 girls and 3 boys, so the 3 girls went in one house. The drive was about 2 hours long from Lyon and featured really pretty views. Countryside France is such a different experience from city France and the States. NIGHT: The 3 gals were whisked away to a nearby house shared by 4 ESEPAC students - Paul, Maxime, Loic, and Iloona (apologies for potentially butchering spelling). The house is spacious, quaint, and very homey. The 4 of them are such a big family - I love the environment they create. The situation really reminds me of the show New Girl. I wouldn't match Jess, Schmidt, Nick, and Winston to each of them, but the situation seems similar. I'd say the dynamic is similar. Anyway, they are all a ton of fun and immediately lent us beers. They also knew English quite well in my opinion. I kind of felt useless (I don't mean to be dramatic) with my limited French. I just wish I knew as much French as they knew English. I learned that there is a French word very specific to the period in which you drink before you eat - apéro? Something like that. Paul was telling me that there is no other translation for this word. In general, I appreciate the drinking culture in France and I think it's cool that only the French have a word for pre-meal drinking. It seems like alcohol is introduced at a pretty young age and everyone (for the most part) participates. In the States, we have so many rules and regulations on alcohol. Therefore, it is extremely common for underage people to question authority and rebel. People tend to do the opposite of what they're told, yes? I am not trying to prove anything by contrasting France and the United States, but I think having such strong rules on alcohol in the States creates more rebellion, tension, and aggravation. Again, I am not suggesting we change the legal drinking age in the States. Merely making observations. However, I know we have a long history with alcohol, given prohibition and such. I don't want to make too many assumptions or jump to conclusions about alcohol in America. My point is that I appreciate the drinking culture here and its ability to bring people together, oui! They then offered us bread and cheese - so delicious. The view from their backyard was, again, beautiful. I had a great time conversing with them and my college pals. We talked a ton - siblings, French phrases and slang, curse words (heehee), hobbies, trips to America, what they wanted to know about America, common French boys and girls names, etc. Again, the 4 of them were so much fun and I loved the way they interacted with each other and us. Everything was very comfortable, relaxed, and fluid. I look forward to spending more time with them. Louie is the chef of the house. According to him, it is out of necessity. No one else in the house really cooks! He made risotto with mushrooms, onions, and chicken. It was quite delicious and they also offered us red wine. I drank red wine yesterday at the opera house. Today I can finally conclude that I do not like red wine. After our meal, we also had yogurt. That was good too.
I lay here in bed thinking about how unreal this whole situation is. I feel so lucky that I can experience France in this way and share it with you all. Tomorrow is our first day of class, so I am hoping to learn more about French packaging and meet more ESEPAC students! Très bien! Bonne nuit.
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New blog, who dis?Hello! My name is Minhee and I am a packaging student. I am documenting my travels at these places: ArchivesCategories
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