Ode to Bordeaux

Salut!

I am sad to say that my time in Bordeaux has come to an end. Tomorrow I say "à tout à l'heure" to the city that has been my home for the past four months. It is hard to rival a hometown like San Francisco, but Bordeaux has certainly put up a good fight and I am going to miss it.

Bordeaux was not a friendly city when I arrived in January. The rain was incessant, the cold biting, the sun didn't rise until after 8am, and there were no ripe avocados in sight. It was pretty clear this place was not California. But as I began to assimilate and as the weather started to warm up, I began to better appreciate Bordeaux. For instance, in California you can't buy warm baguettes on the street from cute French boys for one Euro. And another thing, the three-Euro Bordeaux wines blow two-buck Chuck out of the water. But even better than the availability of baguettes and wine is the frenchy-ness that Bordeaux exudes. For the first couple weeks its was off-putting. I would come home upset because it felt like everyone I passed in the streets was staring at me, noting my clothing, and marking me as American. It's true, the French are a judging bunch. Gradually I began not to notice, I was having too much fun jetting off to exotic places and making friends with students in my program. I traveled to places I'd never been before like Barcelona and Scotland, but then was happy to settle back into my Bordelais routine.

Most of the learning I did during my four months in Bordeaux took place outside of the classroom. In all honesty, the French education system is not great. But did I really come to Bordeaux for my studies? No. I came to Bordeaux for independence, to learn about different cultures, to improve my French, and to meet new people. All of those things I did, and then some. Living in a foreign country with a foreign language, even one that you know how to speak well enough, presents many challenges. Everything is different. My host family had customs I wasn't used to, ate food I wasn't used to, and had some opinions I didn't share. My commute to school was 50 minutes each way, not the five minute bike ride to UCSB campus that I am used to. At some point you just have to roll with it and assimilate.

In the past four months, I've learned how to do a lot on my own. But that is not to say that my family has not been a major contributor to my experience in Bordeaux. Without them, I would not have had the opportunity to experience all that I have experienced. My sojourn here in Bordeaux amounts to the longest time thus far I've spent away from my family. So you could say I've gained some independence since January. But there is nothing like calling your mom at 1 am because you've had an allergic reaction to something while visiting Lyon alone asking for help to make you thankful for your family.

However, just because I am leaving Bordeaux does not mean my travels (or my blog) are ending. I am leaving tomorrow for an adventurous three and a half weeks with Zoe who has just finished her program in Florence. It's going to be a whirlwind! Here are some of the cities we will hit:

• London
• Paris
• Amsterdam
• Berlin
• Prague
• Rome
• Florence
• Venice
• Cinque Terra

I will try to keep my blog updated as best as I can, but I don't know how much the traveler's life lends itself to blog posts. We will see! However, I will be checking in and if anyone has any suggestions of things to see or do in any of these cities, leave me a comment!

So, Bordeaux, à tout à l'heure, je vais revenir un jour, je te promets!