Lily Beauvilliers '09

Hello world! The France blog is finally online and ready for reading.

Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Settling into my new life took some time, and once I was settled, I got busy very quickly!

I'm hoping to update twice a week now, so I'll use this first post to give you a general idea of what it was like coming from the U.S. to France, and the second one (on Wednesday) to describe my daily routine and post pictures and videos illustrating what I've been up to.

Hello world! Long time, no write. I apologize, and with my apology I have good news: one week of updates! I've written five blog entries, so I'll be putting one up every week day for the next week. I hope you enjoy them!

Well, I said I'd talk about the differences between the U.S. and France, so here it is, the promised entry. I guess you could call me a big gourmand, so one of the biggest differences for me personally is the food. It's difficult to generalize what's different -- I wouldn't really say "French food is healthier" or "French food tastes better" or anything like that. What is available is just really different. Quiche, crepes and baguettes are staples of my diet, instead of my typical cafeteria burritos and chili. When you go out for a fancy meal, the steak is often served with French fries. When you go out to the bar, you're just as likely to get wine as beer.

Today, I'm going to talk about a topic everybody loves -- fun. Fun is easier to come by here in Tours than at Bucknell, although it costs more. We're in a city, so during the day, there are plenty of shops and restaurants, and at night lots of bars. ((Videos included!))

In keeping with the nature of the Wonderful Educational Experience I am getting by studying abroad, this entry's going to talk about some of the neat places I've seen through the Bucknell in France program. We've mostly stuck to the chateaux in the Loire River Valley region, but within those chateaux there are a wide variety of places to see, all linked to France's long history. They're often good spots to explore, play in, and take silly pictures as well.