#this brought to you by a very neat sculpture i saw sunday

[curiosity-killed]

Heaven's Gate

[ALT ID: A digital illustration of Vash from Trigun. He's seen mostly from behind and appears to be falling forward, his torso twisted away from the viewer and head flung back. His left arm is extended forward, while his right stretches back behind him, morphing into feathers. A vine with starry blue flowers twists out of his chest upwards, piercing the gap in his prosthetic arm, and a bullet shoots out of his back. The background is a very pale blue-green with white lines that start as Knives' eyes looming over Vash and evolve from his Plant markings into feathered wings and finally his knives as they progress down the canvas.]

[airariaira]

Deuxième - 26/01/20

I have been in Troyes for almost 2 weeks now - wow! The travel day over was hectic, Alex and I were on planes for 27 hours. We were very tired, and I felt like I really needed a shower and a nap.  Us before it all:

Us right in the thick of it:

I was so tired by the end of it that I missed my train stop 😰 I made it in the end though, and was really struck by how beautiful the countryside and old buildings around Troyes are! The city is also in the shape of a bottle cork, which is pretty neat. It’s also been around since the middle ages.

^ This is the oldest house in Troyes - from the 15th century!

I had my first day of school last Thursday, my first class being Philosophy. Still beign jetlagged and very tired, the French went right over my head. I met some of my classmates though! Most of them are good at speaking Engish, which is great when I dont understand something in French... We ate at the canteen at lunchtime. The canteen food here isn’t nearly as bad as people have seemed to describe it as, in my opinion! We also visited a nearby thrift store, which was pretty cool. The bell at school took a little adjusting to - it’s a tuneful song sort of thing, and was a little jarring for me at first!

The school system here is organised into subjecct streams - I’m in the Literature stream, so the subjects I take are Philosophy, History-Geography, French Literature, Arts-Plastiques, English, and both Literature and History-Geography taught in Englush also. Being in classes taught in French was very difficult at first, but each class seems to feel easier. My comprehension of French feels like it’s improving already! Sometimes I feel a little behind though, seeing as I’ve arrived in the middle of the school year, hence in the middle of most topics. I’m getting there though. Art classes here are very relaxed - no art portfolio board to stress about finishing like in New Zealand. Before art on Thursday I gave soe of my new classmates the souvenirs I brought over from New Zealand - the pins and patches were very popular.

I found my own way home, and I have each school day since - at the start it felt like I got a little lost or confused in a different way each time, but now I’ve finally got the hang of the route home. I also bought some postcards to send back home, to friends, family, work, etc. Sometimes I take pictures of the buildings and things around me - I must look like such a tourist! One of the things I walk past each time is the Seine river, which also runs through Paris. Along the riverside there’s some cool sculptures...

Speaking French is frustrating at times - when I know what I want to say, but just don’t have the knowledge of how to say it in French. I’m trying my best and it feels more natural each day. When people ask if I speak French, I still say “oui, un petit peu”, though. Troyes is famous for it’s outlet sales in January, which means a lot of stylish or branded clothes and shoes are at a really good price right now. I suppose that’s part of the reason so many people here look so stylish every day! At times I feel that I left a lot of my stylish clothes back in New Zealand, instead opting for my warmest options possible. It’s pretty cold most days here, usually the high being 5 degrees and the low around -2. However over the time I’ve been here I’ve been blessed with beautiful weather most of the time, which makes the pretty city look all the more gorgeous. Last Saturday I saw the local market, and also tried some chocolate from a chocolatier that won the award for best chocolatier in the world a few years ago - miam! I’ve also really been enjoying baguettes from the local bakeries, and good French cheese. The food here is great. I also went to see the museum and the inside of the Cathedral on Saturday afternoon with my host mother Marie. It was gorgeous:

There’s also lots of tributes to Joan of Arc there, too:

The museum was huuge, and had everything from archaelogical history, to Greek and Roman artefacts, to beautiful paintings from the 18th century to now, and even a section with stuffed animals. There was even a few stuffed New Zealand birds. The tui was very ugly for some reason - how sad that that ugly tui is the way so many people will see New Zealand’s native birds for the first time. On Sunday I woke up to the Cathedral bells - what an amazing thing to wake up to! I tried harder to speak French with a friend of my host family - I know I’ll get there eventually. That afternoon I went to see a movie at the cinema with my host family, in French. We watched ‘1917′ and it took me some concentration to understand, but I’m glad I went. One of my host family’s traditions is having crêpes after dinner on Sunday evenings - it feels similar to the tradition we had when I ws a kid to have pancakes every Sunday morning for breakfast. On Monday I met a classmate in my English class who lived in Christchurch for a year! It was really cool talking to her. Monday was also my first 10 hour day at school, so was very tiring. It’s weird getting to school while it’s still dark in the morning and leaving school after the sun has gone down in the evening. I started getting a little bit of a head cold on Monday, which sucked but is to be expected suddenly coming into the middle of winter straight from the hot New Zealand summer. On Tuesday we had P.E. class in the gym in the morning. It was pretty fun! I also found myself able to join in with some more banter and jokes with my classmates, which is really cool. Wednesdays are a half day, and seeing as I don’t take Spanish or German I only have 2 hours of classes on Wednesday mornings - wow! I had my first English Literature class, which was right up my alley. The teacher also had a lot of questions for me 😂 I went into town alone for the first time that afternoon because I needed some stationery, found my way around alright and actually quite enjoyed myself! I bought a French baguette for the first time 

(“I’m a real French girl!”) Since Thursday I’ve really been putting in effort to speak French and ask for people to speak French to me too. At school in my English class my teacher asked me to read out an extract from the text we’re studying to deomstrate how English has tonal shifts. I hope no one takes my accent and tone to be the absolute end goal of how they should speak English, because everyone talks differently! On Thursday during Arts-Plastiques we also went to see a showcase of art from the artist Deborah Bowmann. It was really fun to go to, but I did find the guide a little bit difficult to follow in French. Still a great experience nonetheless. I couldn’t believe that I had already been going to school here for a week - time is going so fast! On Friday (yesterday) I had a good day at school, and found myself opening up a little bit more to my classmates. I hope I can get to know them well with the time I have here.I only had one class yesterday because my Arts-Plastiques teacher was striking today. Some people here, particularly teachers I think, are striking because of the times the workday finishes. In the afternoon I went with all of the last year students (those in Terminal) to the Forum, which is a big expo in a big hall showcasing study and job options for after they’ve finished school. Some friends and I talked to a lady who was representing the (expensive) school that you go to to train for working in shops like Chanel in Paris. It’s very expensive, and you have to be very articulate in French, English, and even Chinese - as well as immaculately presented - because you are, essentially, the face of France. One of the other ladies at the stand was even told off because she had a piercing in her upper ear 😳 I walked past some of the strikers with Marie that afternoon - they were big yesterday. They caused traffic jams and there were protesters on many of the streets and everything. Yesterday evening we went out to dinner to a cool local restaurant called Rosa Parks. (It was très bon!) This afternoon we are going to go for a walk nearby the house my host family has by a lake that’s close to Troyes. I am really enjoying my time here! Until next time.