Reportage pour Ville de Tours. Tours-sur-Loire 2012. Photographie Cyril Chigot.

It has been exactly a week since I have been in Tours, and I have seen 3 hours of sunshine, ate 7 whole baguettes, and more cheese than in all my life added together. They say I have experienced France in the most authentic way so far. Yet while not feeling like a tourist, I’m not feeling completely in my element either. The fully immersed experience is also a scary and difficult one. From the moment I arrived at the train station, I was a fish out of water, reading the foreign signs, tripping over my tongue trying to speak French, and looking for my host family in the grand train station. Estranged in an unfamiliar city by yourself, even just for a few minutes, leaves a bitter taste and a hollow feeling in your stomach long after finding your place. The first few days in my host family was also tough. Like a kid, I observed and imitated each daily activity; assembling the different silverware for a five-course dinner, cutting the cheese and baguette, and strangely, wearing formal attire at dinner tables, even if only family members are dining together. Navigating Tours to get to class is easy enough. There is a long pedestrian street with a distinct tram track down the middle that cuts straight down the village, and whereas the Intitut de Tourrain is on the south of the street to the west, my home was north of the street and two Rues eastward. I could easily walk for 20 minutes to get to the Institut or take the tram. Finally, the courses at the Institut is intensive indeed, with classes from 9 am to 12:30 pm, writing and oral workshops in the afternoon from 1:30 pm to 3 pm, and then extracurriculars until 5pm. I’m taking gastronomy and art history, all taught in French and aims to strengthen one’s writing and presenting skills. There are students from all around the world in my class of nine students– Japan, India, Paraguay, Korea, China, The United States, and England. Only one other student apart from myself is from the United States. Even though we fly through grammar concepts and readings, we always pause when there is a question. Thus, when come a situation when the professor needs to explain or demonstrate a concept, s/he would use simple french and gestures instead of English. At noon, classmates often head to local restaurants or the Institut’s cafeteria in groups, and small chatter in french can be heard all over the place. The restaurants in Town center are simply amazing; situated in the historic part of town, these restaurants serve all kinds of cuisine with student-affordable prices. The Chocolatiers and Patisseries boast their historic heritage and proudly display their products in their polished windows under the ebony frames. The city center is also quite lively on weekends; known for its huge population of students, the heart of Tours hosts happy hours from early afternoon to well past midnight, where under the string lights and evening stars all kinds of languages can be heard.