bonjour from nantes

Bonjour, tout le monde.

Comin' to ya live from Nantes, France! And what a joy it is to be back. I spent winter vacation back in Milwaukee and recently returned back to my French life. The journey back was a pain, though...let me just recap that for you all. First, never fly stand-by internationally. Never. I initially tried to fly from Milwaukee-Atlanta, Atlanta-Paris on Thursday, January 15th. The 5:45am flight was canceled due to the cold weather freezing everything over (thanks, Milwaukee), so everyone was pushed onto the next flight...etc. etc....All flights full. Grand. So I tried again on the 16th, luckily got on the 7am to Atlanta, spent a grueling 6 hours in the Atlanta airport (which is, I believe, hell on earth. I passed time by organizing my iTunes library, talking with Elliot, people-watching...how can people eat fried chicken and biscuits at 10am? I mean the stuff's delicious, but come on), fortunately got on the next flight out to Paris.  An easy 7-hour plane ride to Paris, arrived there at 5am Paris time, and had to spend 6 hours waiting for the first train to Nantes. A 3 hour train ride to Nantes, 10 minute tram ride to my apartment, walked up cobblestone streets lugging my suitcases behind me. Arrived "home" finally!!...Only to discover, after being greeted/kissed/fed by my host mama & brother that the toothpaste, conditioner, lotion & perfume I had packed had exploded all over. Karma's a bitch, apparently. Probably payback for all the mean thoughts I've ever had, therefore, I deserved all that. But I'll tell you this much -- I couldn't be happier to be back. Wait, scratch that...maybe if my friends from last semester were still here, I'd be utterly content. But I missed Nantes big time. Plus, the fact that there aren't 3 feet of snow and -40º wind chill is a major bonus...

Though the cold sure can be beautiful...

Over winter break, I drove down to Chicago with Lisa to pick up Molly at the airport and spend the night together. Lisa and I went to the wrong airport (I mean, who knew Southwest only flew into Midway and not O'Hare anyway? Ahh, only us, right, Pisa?)

 We made dinner all together (what a garlicky delicious disaster), caught up, helped Molly organize her apartment, laughed our asses off, listened to some good jams, drank some good ol' Miller Lite, ate cookie dough right from the package (God Bless Toll House), and then hopped on the red line with some Loyola friends to meet up with other Loyola friends. It was so damn fun. Fun that I don't even find in Nantes all the time. 

I missed Chicago:

But I missed Loyola kids even more:

Yeah, it was a grand ol' time! However, I haven't gotten to the point of my blog (eww what a weird word). I was discussing my weekend with my mom back at home on Sunday night (after a delicious lunch with Luke, Amanda & baby Bennett, and of course, stopping at A&W for root beer floats with Lisa), and telling her how it felt like absolutely no time had passed since the last time I hung out with Molly and Lisa...how it felt like absolutely nothing had changed and we were freshmen again, messing around and enjoying each other's company. It felt like Lisa had never transferred to Madison and I had never left for France. We were comfortable as ever and were adoring every single minute together. Mama G, being the wise woman that she is, simply said, "Well, if that's not a sign of a great, beautiful friendship, then I don't know what is." It was perfect. 

I'm feeling very similarly upon my re-arrival in Nantes. Walking down the street this morning with no one but my iPod (and yes, Beirut's song "Nantes" did indeed come on shuffle, how fitting), it felt like no time had passed, like winter break hadn't happened, like I hadn't gone back to Milwaukee, where familiarity used to surround me. Now, Nantes feels familiar, and I missed it. The fact that I felt like I had never left this place makes me think that...well...Nantes and me? It's only the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Cheers to that. I missed my Fram (French fam), the rich French culture that they are very proud of, my host Mama's homemade bread every morning, the forever-drizzly-but-unbelievably-breathtaking Nantes weather, the ancient architecture, the individual boutiques, poised & well-dressed French women walking their dogs, and the view from my balcony, among other things. 

Although I am certain this semester will be different from the last, I am anxious to see what it will bring, and I will try my best to embrace it with arms outstretched. Goals for the semester? 1. To limit how much I speak English. I mean, I'm here to become fluent in French, after all. 2. Start every day with a 30 minute walk to wake me up and remind me of how beautiful this city is and how lucky I am to be here. None of my classes start before 11am and I don't have classes on Mondays or Fridays sooo I think I should be good. 3. GET INVOLVED! I think it'd be cool/hysterical to partake in choir or something. 4. Make some more French friends, though I don't think that will be too difficult as I am taking more classes at the Université de Nantes this semester. 5. Continue to have one hell of a good time. I think I'm well on my way.

So, going with the theme of "joyful journeys," what did I find joy in today? The sunshine that is such a rarity in Nantes, speaking with friends (Molly, Madeline, Mariel...ooo dang all M names!), and divine music. Song that I absolutely cannot get out of my head today? The Penalty by Beirut.... beautiful!

Until next time, 

Feel ridiculously fine,

MG