Girl in the city

Hi everyone! It has been a long time since I got the chance to continue writing my blog but I thought this was a great time to write one :)

So, I am on an exchange program from Rotary and I am living in Cahors a small city in the South of France, and it's been almost 3 months now living in a new city but more specifically a new country, and its been such an amazing experience. Meeting new people, adjusting with them, living with a new family and learning more about them, understanding the culture, the cuisine, and most importantly also the language. 

Through the span of these 3 months, I changed between two families and I got the chance to experience how it is living with a French family and what it is like having siblings too. On my first day in the city, I was scared as well as excited about how my next 10 months would pass living alone.

One of the things I love about this exchange program is even if you are leaving your country, your parents, and, your friends, you also can experience staying with another family. Another thing I understood is how people can have different perspectives of your country. In my new school, I got the opportunity to present about myself, my state, my country, and also about Indian culture for the English class and I could explain to them how living in India is and also clear some of the common misconceptions. In the rotary events, I could present the Indian dance form Bharatnatyam, and explain the significance of it. 

Another problem I faced was feeling homesick and it was difficult to cope with but I’m grateful to the new friends, and also my host families who have been supportive of me.

Before I came to France I had learned French so that it could help me understand the conversations better but when I was at the airport I figured out that the French I learned wasn’t enough and I would have to learn more. In the start having conversations with people was difficult and I often felt out of place but as time went by I could start understanding what other people were saying and I’m glad that I am better at communicating. 

The city I’m living in right now is smaller than my city in India and there is less population too, we use buses for transportation, the shops are closed on Sundays, the school hours are much longer than I used to have, the people don’t know English very well, the food is different but with all of this, the place is also really fascinating. I grew fond of the French architecture, the sculptures you can find, the scenery you can have, and how you can have a quiet lifestyle. During this time I also experienced the fall season and so far it is my favorite season. 

Also experiencing French high school is quite an experience, we don’t have uniforms, and you can leave school whenever you want but you can’t skip school that way, the classes are always in French, the school starts at 8 or 9 and you can have breaks sometimes for 1-2 hours, but the classes are long. Some days, I have classes that start at 8 and finish at 6 and it was really surprising when you are someone who used to have classes only till 1-2 pm. Mostly in French school, I noticed that you don’t have textbooks like we used to have and we take notes of what is taught in class. People can wear almost anything they like till it’s not something religious. Also, one different thing was how during classes we moved from one class to another based on the teacher which was different from India because the teacher used to mostly come to the classroom. Another thing I liked about the school is they provide us with a laptop and you can keep it with you, and we are also given this ‘Carte Jeune’ that is unique for every student and you can use it for entering and leaving school, eating and also they have a small amount of money that can be used to buying books. The school I am in has a really big campus and it has places where you can sit outside and do your work and it is honestly really great. In my school currently, I took English literature and arts as my specialty subjects and it is so interesting to learn how those subjects are taught. 

About the people in France, I can say that they are kind and sweet and can help you whenever you need help. Sometimes even though they don’t speak English they are willing to let you try speaking the language or communicate with them using a translator. During this time, I truly also felt like thanking whoever created Google Translate cause honestly that thing has helped me ask anything and everything. 

For the food, in the start, it was really difficult to adopt such a different way of eating especially when you are a person brought up in an Indian household where you are taught to eat with your hands. In France, I had to start using a knife and fork for eating everything, which was not that much of a problem. Also learning where to say Pain au chocolat or Chocolatine, having to eat bread with every meal and at the end of the meal eating it with cheese, having coffee after lunches, their love for apple pie or some dessert. 

When you are in a foreign land you often feel out of place or alone, and it is more of a problem if you are not that good in a language and you cannot communicate with people due to the language barrier, also not being with your family for almost a year and sometimes not being able to communicate with them due to the time difference if also a major problem. It is a difficult thing to be an exchange student because you are giving this program a year of your life, exploring things and going to an unknown place but it is also one of the things that has changed me a lot personally. I started to learn how to money wisely as we are given a certain amount of money every month and we have to learn to survive with that amount in the start it was a difficult task but I learned to save money. I also learned how to travel and go to different cities alone and I learned to speak in front of people, gain the confidence to believe in myself, and try anything new because the chances I get now are something I won’t be getting again and I have to make the best of my time in this place.