My first night in France was spent in the city of Tours, a
midpoint between Paris and my first church. It was a quaint, personal room with
all the accommodations (shower, TV, wifi), and the time that wasn't spent
sending e-mails and preparing for the week ahead was spent watching the African
Cup of Nations on CANAL+Sport...
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| Taking off in Pittsburgh... |
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| On our way up... |
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| An ocean of clouds |
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| Hotel room in Tours - I was well taken care of |
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| French continental breakfast! The two necessities for life in France: Bread and Nutella! |
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| A (very) little taste of home - eggs and sausage #bless |
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| On the wall of the dining room in the hotel...!! :) |
My mindset so far has been that the French hate Americans,
and they especially hate when Americans try to speak French (perhaps I just
adopted this mindset as a sort of coping mechanism). The experiences I've had
so far however have started to break down this point of view. There hasn't been
any sort of mind blowing encounter as of yet, but the people I have encountered
have been genuinely nice. It seems as if they are just more of a no-nonsense
culture than a culture of American-haters! They seem logical, caring, and
somewhat accepting (granted, I didn't stay long enough in Paris to meet
anyone!). As long as I do not act like a stereotypical American, people seem to
assume that I am not one. And although my French definitely needs some work, I
have had no problems getting around, asking for things or answering questions -
which I am measuring by the fact that I haven't gotten lost yet, and that no
one has told me to quit trying and speak English! Honestly, I think I'll be
alright here.
The journey continues...
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