First Full Day in Rennes

Today was our first full day in Rennes. It was absolutely amazing. My host mom drove me to the university around 9:30 this morning and I met up with the rest of the group at a Metro station on campus at 10:00. Dr. Rigaud conducted a brief orientation at the university and showed us around campus. I am pretty confident that despite his efforts, I will still manage to get lost. I am the worst with directions and have trouble following any type of map (more to follow). We visited several different places that surround the university- a supermarket, a print center, cell phone store, etc. After our campus tour, we ate lunch at the university. It was so delicious and SO CHEAP! I got a cheese sandwich and some fruit for 2 Euros. You should have seen the sandwich too- it was at least a foot and a half long and on very fresh French bread! As a group, we made our way to the center of the city via the subway. The public transportation in Rennes is wonderful- so much cleaner than public transportation in Chicago, Philadelphia, and NYC. Mom- you would very much appreciate its cleanliness. I even think you would take a risk and sit on the seats without putting some type of “shield” down!

Rennes is SO beautiful. Today I felt like Belle in Beauty and the Beast during our exploration of the city. (I am sure that the historic area of Rennes served as the inspiration for that movie, especially the part in the beginning when Belle is reading and everyone begins to sing!) All of the buildings have such character- truly, something out of a movie! Dr. Rigaud pointed out many different buildings, one more beautiful than the next. Serena asked Dr. Rigaud to take a picture of the group in front of a really old castle that used to serve as a wall to protect the city(we were standing on the moat).Needless to say, Dr. Rigaud is probably one of the worst photographers I have ever met. The moat cannot be seen in the picture. We will have to take another one some other time! I am going to try to take some pictures of the city tomorrow and upload them for everyone to see.

At about 2:00, Dr. Rigaud set us “free” to explore Rennes on our own. It was so nice outside. A little hot, but nothing to be upset about. I went with Sarah, Theresa, Serena, and Mariana to find a grocery store and an ice cream shop. Highlight of our expedition- watching Serena attempt to ask a store owner where we could get some ice cream. He finally just asked in English “What are you trying to say.” A little disappointing that we couldn’t figure out how the heck to ask a fairly simply question, but hey, it’s only our first day! We eventually gave up on the ice cream shop and decided to get popular icee-type drinks. They were so delicious.

Next couple hours of my day= pure insanity. The whole day had been sunny and beautiful, but out of nowhere there was a HUGE rainstorm. We’re talking a torrential downpour- including a ten minute shower of hail! It was crazy. We took shelter in a store and tried to wait for it to die down a bit. However, it just seemed to be getting worse. After waiting about an hour (during which we had a lovely conversation with a student from Africa) Serena convinced us that we should try to run to the nearest Metro station. “It’s only about three blocks away.” Well, three blocks turned out to be six. The rain did not cease. We all looked like we had just jumped into a lake. It was a disaster. But we made it to the Metro station and met up with some other Villanova students.

My host mom wanted me to go home with Joey- a Villanova student who is living with a woman (Esmeralda) who is close friends with Patricia. Joey is one of the boys who does not speak any French… It was an interesting trip to say the least! We attempted to take the Metro to a station near his house because he thought he knew where to go. However, shortly after sitting down, we were told that the Metro was closed for the day because it had flooded. Oh. Great. We spent a great deal of time examining a map and the various bus routes. We decided to take a bus called the “18.” It was SO crowded. We got off at a stop that he thought was near his house, but he was a little unsure of where we were. After walking in circles (literally) for a bit, we resorted to looking extra-American by whipping out our GIGANTIC map. Not only did we look like crazies with our huge map, but I was a mess- so soaked and dirty. We realized that we had walked in the wrong direction and were about to turn around when we saw Esmeralda staring at us, laughing and shaking her head. She told us (aka me b/c Joey does not understand anything she says) that she was so worried about us. We walked back with her and I talked to her about my visits to Costa Rica because she was born and raised there. She was so funny- kept trying to talk to Joey in French, but he had nothing to say back.

My host mom picked me up from Esmeralda’s house about an hour after our arrival. Patricia’s 27 year old son came over for a bit tonight. He cuts hair in the area and stops by frequently. I had a conversation with him, mostly about music. He is a huge fan of U2 and Coldplay. He actually saw U2 in Paris and Nice- our conversation got me SO excited for their concert in September! He was super nice- actually told me that I look a lot like a famous French swimmer?? I told him that I was surprised because I think I scream “American.” Patricia interjected that I do not look American because I do not have blond hair, wear lots of make-up, or show off my boobs. Hmmm…

All of the Villanova students were going to go out as a group tonight but I don’t know what everyone ended up doing. We all went our own ways after the rainstorm and no one really knows how to reach one another yet. Plus, my house is so out of the way! Kind of a bummer because the last Metro stop is about two miles away from my house. Usually, I could take a bus to my house, but the buses stop running at ten. Sarah lives close to me though, so if we decide to stay out late we can walk the two miles together. Her host mom also said that she would pick us up at any hour—which is so sweet of her. Every time I wish I were in a different host house for whatever reason (not that I don’t love my house mom, but a house closer to other students or a house with children), I try to remind myself that I am here for a reason. I only have 4 short weeks in Rennes and can’t waste any time wishing I had something that I don’t!
It’s so crazy. The sun does not set until 10:30 here. It really confuses me…I never realize how late it is! We finished dinner around 10 (dinner, by the way, was so delicious and fun!), but I thought it was only 8! Tomorrow we have placement tests at the University…we shall see how those go. I can’t believe I just got here yesterday. After only two days, I have found that I am starting to think in French. I can’t wait for my first French dream!

Bon soir!!!

P.S. Sorry so long and probably full of errors. I am so tired!