Bienvenue

Nerves, Anxiety, Fear and Excitement, all rushing through me at once as I sit on this plane, waiting for it to arrive to a terminal. “Thank you for flying Delta”.  As I descend, I enter into a new place. A new adventure awaits. Anything worth doing is always difficult and boy was this going to be hard going into a new country for the first time and speaking a language I only used in class! Rushing out to find my bags I make a friend who is traveling to study abroad in Aix en Provence. After going through the customs,  we struggle to follow the signs to get our luggage, and soon she leaves me to catch her train. Here I am alone in a giant airport. After a long confusing walk, I eventually arrived to terminal 2C where I met the rest of the group and I finally felt some relief.

It felt surreal arriving in such a beautiful city as Paris. What a busy city full of life, people and lights. It was like living the dream I have always wanted but still thinking it was only a dream. We spent three days exploring its amazing architecture and seeing all the sights. The moment where it finally felt like I was in France was the day we walked to see the Louvre museum, and from the distance I saw the Eiffel tower sparkling in the night. Amazed by the spectacle, only then did I realize it was real and I was actually here. Those up moments also came with the down moments where I felt inadequate to speak or participate because of my limited knowledge of the language. Often having to rephrase my sentences so people would understand me. Nonetheless it is a good experience meeting new people, listening, speaking and breathing a new language and culture. We departed from Paris on a bus full of excited and tired students ready to begin life in Rennes.

We arrived on a foggy night, and being a Californian, boy was it freezing! I was shivering as I followed the others down the road to meet our host parents at the University Rennes II, hauling our massive luggage fully packed for the next 5 months to come. Since then, I've been having a wonderful time with my host family as we traveled to new  sites. I'm learning more about them, the culture and the city each day.

Being in Rennes has been a wonderful experience so far: I’m discovering new places to hang out and eat, while learning about Brittany’s history. Getting to know the city I will call my home for the next 5 months, making friends and living the experiences that I will keep in my memories for the  many years to come…

Vanesa Hernandez-Rodriguez, Soka University of America