My First Month Abroad

The start of 2019 has been an absolute whirlwind. The beginning of January consisted of me frantically preparing to leave the country and pack for 6 months, as I had to finish up tying lose ends in Nebraska before getting on my one-way flight to France. To me, this was terrifying. I’m someone who has travelled a lot in the past, but to up and leave my comfortable life to move halfway across the world where I knew no one was a little insane, even for me. There were so many times within the two months before I left that I questioned my decision, but as soon as I got on that plane from my connection in Lisbon, Portugal to finally head to Nantes, France, and saw the sunrise over the ocean and flew over the beautiful French countryside, I knew that choosing to follow this dream was the right decision.

Upon arriving to France, one very good thing happened and one not-so-good thing happened. After a quick layover and a delayed flight, I arrived safely and on-time in Nantes, but my luggage did not. However, the good thing out of all of this is that my soon-to-be friend Stephanie was on the same flight as me (very possibly the only other American on this flight) and to our surprise we were both with the same study abroad program and living in the same residence hall. I’m someone who doesn’t believe in coincidences, and I know that our friendship was meant to be, especially because we would come to learn that the French university system (and the bureaucracy in general) is extremely difficult to figure out. She also helped me figure out navigating getting my luggage back in France- luckily it arrived two days later. It’s been extremely helpful (and less frustrating) to have someone to help jump through all the hoops that our study abroad program has entailed. It has been so extremely worth it, without a doubt, but navigating moving to another country and studying here with very little outside help definitely has not been easy. That is one thing I will say, moving to another country whether it be through studying, work, or just personal choice will force you to grow as a person.

The neighborhood Trentemoult in Nantes, France… one of my favorite parts of the city!

Despite the difficulty of dealing with French bureaucracy, I’m in love with my daily life here in Nantes. I wake up, am running a little bit late for my classes (per usual), so I throw on a quick, but fashionable outfit- the French ALWAYS dress well to class, grab my coffee and some fruit and head to class. Since I am only studying language here in France, my classes are pretty tame. I usually have one to two classes per day, and then have the rest of the day to go explore the city (Nantes is beautiful!), plan my other trips around Europe, work on my blog, or you know, do other important things such as do laundry, clean, or grocery shop. After class, I usually eat a bigger meal- baguettes are a staple in my diet here in France, and do one of these said productive things before going out to spend time in Nantes for the afternoon or head to my university gym. Overall, it’s a good daily set up. I love love love being able to explore my city every day, make and eat healthy vegan food, and do what I’m passionate about- speak French and focus on my healthy lifestyle, and share what I’m passionate about with others.

In the first month of my semester, I pretty much stayed in France and adjusted to the Nantaise lifestyle, however I did take one big trip, and that was to London. Stephanie and I booked a *cheap* plane ticket to spend the weekend seeing one of my favorite cities. I had visited London once before, two years ago when I backpacked Europe with my sister, and fell in love with the beautiful city and face paced lifestyle. I was so excited to go back, and London did not disappoint a second time. Stephanie and I explored all the big touristy sites of the city, and also found some hip local places as well- including this amazing pizza place I found last time I was in London (called Stable Pizza). We also found a cheap musical ticket to Wicked, and we had an amazing time there as well. Check out my blog post on how to do London CHEAPLY! It’s not too difficult to do, and truly is a must-see city!

Overall, there’s so much that I am grateful for from my first month in France, and I am so excited to get to live here for the time being, so much so that I am making plans to return to France. Updates to come!

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