Bienvenue et Voyage au vallée de la Loire

So... I am finally here! I will warn you in advance that the keyboards here are much different so I apologize in advance for typos! My trip here went off without a hitch -- i could not have asked for better travel. Seeing everyone off the day of my departure was of course hard, however-I am just staying positive!! By the time I finally arrived in Nantes after literally planes, trains, and automobiles I was exhausted! I had been awake for 24 hours straight. Once we got to the IES Center (my school) I met some of the other students and ,my host family. They are extremely nice and welcoming! The names of the mom and dad are: Anne and Patrick .. and they have a son who is 16 named Jean Baptiste. they also have 2 daughters who are both married and no longer live with them. My room is nice and quaint, and i have everything i need - even my own bathroom! No internet.. which is kind of a bummer but I am sure I will live! We had a lovely dinner together which consisted of wine, pasta, salmon, cookies, and of course a large selection of cheeses. They told me "Serve-toi comme chez-toi" meaning serve yourself as if it were your home. I crashed that night knowing that I had some long days ahead of me! Our group headed to Tours, France (which you can find on the map below) for an off site orientation. The theme of the 3 day trip was visiting some of the amazing castles in the loire valley region. We visited four in total: Chenonceaux, Cheverny, Chambord (my favorite) and Amboise. Each castle is different in its own way and the history behind each of them is just fascinating. I have a friend from JCU studying here in Tours, and both of us knew that we would be in the general area we never arranged to officially meet up. However, last night after dinner at the hotel some people from my group and I wandered into the town center where all of the main attractions of the city are located. Within minutes of getting there I hear somone yell "Colin!!" It was Megan!! (my friend from school). We basically lost it screaming in the town center! It was so nice to see such a familiar face and we had a great time together. Tomorrow we take our french placement tests and then head back to Nantes for another week of orientation, registration, etc - So i will keep you updated on how all of that goes! I miss you all very much but know that I am very safe and happy here.

A BIENTOT!! Talk to you soon.

here are some photos of my room and orientation ...

enjoy!! my deskmy bed chateau chambordchateau chambordchateau cheverny chateau chenonceaux