My first days in France have been many things. I am so happy to be in such a beautiful spot in France, but it has been hard keeping up with the speaking! Although overall I am usually understood, I usually find that I am the one misunderstanding others. On the other hand, I am a lot less lost than I thought I would be. Mainly the adults are understanding, but I find that the kids talk very fast.

What has stuck out to me the most is that students in France all have the same hand writing, and we spend the mornings practicing writing the letters correctly. When I tried to explain this to people, I found many did not understand how that would be possible. I was met with a lot of "I do not understand" questions and some strange looks. The school also functions differently and has a very traditional system. On the other hand, I find that students respect the teachers more. I also find learning French names to be quite difficult, and I need to see the names written to understand how they're said. Since they are very different from names in the US, and even from stereotypical "French" names, I often do not understand them.

Initially it has been difficult, but I know things will improve soon!