Real Life

Oh gosh, there is honestly way too much to say, and I am exhausted, but I will give you my life in brief:

Today was by far the craziest day yet, even though I spent most of it on a bus. We left Paris for Rennes via Chartres. We stopped in Chartres to see a cathedral (Notre Dame de Chartres) and that was really incredible. We had the best tour guide ever (an elderly, adorable British man who had a fantastic sense of humor) who absolutely adored the cathedral and everything about it. Understandably so. It was magnificent. He told us that it is the largest, oldest, and most well-preserved cathedral in Europe. Crazy.

We ate some lunch and departed for Rennes. We received a long lecture from Daniel and Staci about culture shock and what to expect that evening when we would be meeting/leaving with our host families. Staci actually gave her part in English, which was very strange, but she wanted to make sure we understood every word she said about how to handle living with a host family. After their lecture, we were called, one by one, to the front of the bus where Staci would reveal to us who our families are and tell us a bit about them. It was so nerve-racking, you wouldn't even believe it. I was sitting in the back of the bus, and was, therefore, last. Oh gosh. One of our monitors found out that Scottie and I play music together, and also that I so happened to have a guitar on the bus, so he insisted that we played (I mean, puppy eyes to the extreme) so we sang songs to ease our nerves. When I finally found out about my family, this is what I learned: it is a couple with three daughters who are 21, 26, and 30. None of them live at home. However, they are foster parents for three girls who are 13, 16, and 18. When I went to meet them, however, I was picked up by the 21 year old, Marie, who told me that her parents are in Senegal on vacation (they have a house there). Also, the other girls are not here either. Soooo it is just me and Marie right now, and then tomorrow it will be me, Jennifer, and one of the girls, and on Monday everyone will be here. For now, it is weird. Tomorrow morning I have to navigate the bus/metro system to find my way to the universtiy to take a placement test, so I am going to bed now. Bon soir!