Arrival in Nice, France

Wow.. So I have finally arrived! After one week of traveling here and there I am finally in Nice all settled down. New York was beautiful of course, and Paris even more so. I almost passed out at looking at the Eiffel Tower and I almost peed my pants seeing Le Louvre. Paris is absolutely amazing! It was a tad cold, but I was used to it because of Bend. The girls I met while traveling around were super great. I met girls who understood me, and who had traveled as much as me. It was a great feeling to be able to talk about my love of traveling with other girls who understood. I also feel like I now have people I can talk to when I am feeling sad, or missing home, because we're all in this together.

Traveling to another country all alone, and being surrounded by people you have never met, and who speak a different language is quite the adventure. But the people you meet on your way, the things you learn, the way you grow, and the bonds you create are all worth the difficulties you face.

After Paris, I said goodbye to the good friends I had met, and I hoped on a train (my first time on such a train, and let me tell you, they are SUPER fun! They go soooo fast!) to Nice. When I arrived, I was overly excited but a bit nervous as well. What was I going to say to my new family? Should I hug them or shake their hand? But as soon as I saw my two host sisters everything I had prepared to say or do vanished, and I just ran up and hugged them both. It was super exciting! And they were as I had expected, extremely friendly and smiley and welcoming. I could tell that we were all going to get along well right then.

The ride back home was fun. We listened to music and sang along, they asked me some questions but they also let me relax, for I slept half the car ride home haha. When we entered Nice, I woke up and saw some of the city as we drove by. My first impression was that it was absolutely beautiful. It looks older than most cities I have been to, but that adds a good feel to it. It has history, and that makes me eager to learn all about it. When I saw the ocean I just about fainted! It was SOOO nice!!! Whoever knows me well knows I have a great passion for the ocean and sea life, so actually LIVING by the ocean is an incredible gift. I am so thankful for this opportunity.

My new home is very very nice. Its kind of modern and a good size. The house looks very zen-y if that makes any sense. It has a good ambiance... and my room is super cool! I sleep on a loft bed. It's like a big room and then some stairs that go up to the bed. Its very nice! The window shades are electric..which got me excited:) I have a desk, a tv, a big closet, and a couch in my room. I share with my host sister, Lara, on the weekends and on Wednesday night. She sleeps on the couch (futon) when she does sleep over.

The family is incredibly sweet! There are five people (now six!) all together. Two beautiful younger sisters, Lara and Geraldine, and a cute little four year-old brother named Matteo. Sabrina is my host mother, and Eric is my host father. Oh and a cat, Tweety, who is super cute and fun. He reminds me of my orange cat back home, Thor:) I already feel very welcome here and I have just arrived. They are very loving, and they make me feel safe and at home. Geraldine (blond in pic) is the cutest girl you will ever meet! Lara (brunette in pic) is super sweet and funny, and Matteo is adorable! He is a jumpy little boy full of energy. He talks a bunch which is awesome so I can learn french! I understand him quite well since his vocabulary isn't as developed as the others in the family.

They are super nice, and fun to be around. They can be funny and loud just like my family, but they can also be very relaxed and comfortable. They are truly a perfect fit. Back home, my family is very loud and happy and we sing and dance, but we also have time to ourselves and we can be super calm some days, and I feel like this family is the same. Although I do not know them very well yet, I believe it is a good fit:)

I appreciate how patient they are with me because my French is not very good right now. The language barrior can be hard. I can't express myself as well, and I can't be as funny as I am back home. Back home, I talk all the time and I am very outgoing. Here I am as well, but it is harder since I can only say so much. My family only talks to me in French, which is awesome so I learn quickly but of course it takes time to explain some things to me. I am a bit nervous for school, since they teens will talk quickly and I probably won't understand anything the teacher says, but I think in time I'll catch on and understand it all. Then when I get home I'll be fluent in french!

Tomorrow is my first day of school. So everyone wish me luck! I did African dancing last night which was a blast! It was a good excersise, so I am going to be doing that every week (great so I have an activity to do over here). I met some of Geraldine's friends as well. They were all very nice! I hope they are as patient as my family is with my french:P My school is quite modern and big. It's pretty cool! I'll post more pictures soon.

My new way of life overall seems quite nice. I've only been here for a few days, so I'm not sure of much right now. But I think everything will go great:) This is going to be such an amazing experience!

Miss you all.
Hannah<3