First Days

I've only been at The Abbey for a few days, but it feels like I've been here for so much longer (in a good way, of course!). The sleepy little town of Pontlevoy still doesn't feel like a "real city" -- in fact, every time I've been outside of the Abbey gates I feel like I'm on a movie set and somebody's going to push down the cardboard pieces. Over the past few days, there have been a lot of orientation sessions, finding our way around the town (even with my painfully bad sense of direction, I think I might have it figured out), and getting set up with classes.

It's taken me a lot less time to adapt to French culture than I thought it would. This morning, it was the most surreal experience to wake up, get ready for class, and grab a pan au chocolate at the Boulangerie just across the street before my day started. That being said, my first full day of classes actually went really well -- especially after having not been in school for nearly two months!

The classes I'm taking at the Abbey are not my normal science-heavy curriculum: I'm in two history classes, literature, french, and art history. Normally this schedule would make me cringe (as my liberal arts friends well know), but after meeting the professors, I'm actually excited (!?) about these classes, since I'll literally be living in the middle of everything we're learning about, and I think that accessibility will make it much more tangible as a subject.

In the middle of the day, we headed over to Le Commerce for lunch, where we had a great meal courtesy of Julien, the wonderful owner of this far-too-conveniently located bar/restaurant.

Pork with some kind of curry sauce, rice, and of course bread!

Finally, after I got out of my last class, I explored the village a bit with Michelle, my roommate on this trip, which was great to orient myself a bit. We got to see the inside of a 1000 year old chapel just next to the Abbey, then we wandered a bit farther down to the edge of Pontlevoy and saw several expansive fields and some really cute vineyards that we'll get to see the inside of soon too!

The inside of the chapel, which was freezing but also really goreous!

Outside the chapel - surprisingly warmer than the interior.

The cemetery in Pontlevoy that we stumbled upon during out scavenger hunt on Sunday -- it's surprisingly meticulously maintained and almost vibrant with all of the memorial flowers and photos people have brought for their deceased family members.

I'm pretty sure these are going to be grapes soon :)

Just a small river that runs through the town and into a "pool" at the Abbey.

Tomorrow I meet my host family, who I'm very excited to meet and learn more about French culture and food!

A bientôt!