A review of my first week in Tours, France
“How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?” Charles de Gaulle
After a long flight from Chicago to Paris and a few more hours on the train from the airport, I found myself in the picturesque center of Tours (pronounced without the “s”). Severely exhausted yet eager to begin this adventure in France, I stepped off the train with heavy eyelids and heavy bags and made my way down the platform to meet my “host mom”, Chantal. She’s a tall, brunette woman with full curls and a warm smile who has invited me to live with her, her dog Luna, and her cat Mimi while I attend courses at the Institut de Touraine. The afternoon that followed gave an overview of the culture I would be immersed in over the next six weeks.
In a car just big enough for the both of us and my bags, we passed by the elaborate architecture of the town hall (l’hôtel de ville) and a pedestrian pathway protected from the sun by a canopy of trees. I’d noticed the summer heat as soon as I’d stepped off the plane, but now, being directly in the sun without the luxurious surplus of AC I knew in the states, the temperature really made itself known. It was hot (il faisait chaud). This was the first part of life in France I had to acclimate myself to. The French are used to the heatwave that passes through every summer and indoor cooling systems aren’t commonplace. An oscillating fan and an open window give some relief when indoors, but patience is the only way to get through the days of 90+ degrees Farenheit.
Nonetheless, the heat doesn’t seem to be an obstacle for the people of Tours. Pedestrians fill the streets and plazas to observe one of the most important events in France: the world cup (la coupe du monde). Sure, there’s also the Tour de France that’s getting started, but le foot takes precedence at this moment. When I arrived in Tours, Les Bleus had just won a match and the locals were decked out in their finest French flag capes accompanied by blue, white and red face paint. They then packed into cars and sounded their horns to announce the victory. This is celebratory sound-off is also common after marriages, according to Chantal… minus the sports paraphernalia.
To get to the point, the busy town of Tours has plenty of opportunities to engage in the French culture. I just have to step out of the apartment building and, voilà, there’s an open-air market where I can discuss with vendors and learn about the local produce (I’m mostly interested in the cheese, to be honest), I can attend mass at one of the many ancient churches nearby and hear
it all in French, or I can stroll over to one of the local parks and read a plaque detailing the several century history of the immense coniferous trees which are dispersed throughout the area. I don’t have to venture that far for a good lesson in French either. I’ve found that I’ve made the most progress in speaking and understanding French right at the dinner table.
Chantal and I usually spend about an hour and a half to two hours eating dinner, which is typical in a French home. Needless to say, we end up talking quite a bit. She’s hosted students for about 20 years, so she recounts some of her favorite stories of time passed with them and shares the lessons they learned while adjusting to the culture. These discussions have helped me to get immersed in the language outside of class and engage in relevant topics in France like politics, money and religion. I was a bit nervous to get into these faux pas subjects, but I was encouraged when I found myself able to express my opinions in another language. Apart from these denser topics, we’ll talk about how the day went, the recipe for the dinner we’re about the enjoy (my host mom is an excellent cook, by the way), or something
that Luna did that made Chantal laugh. My abilities in French are sufficient to get me through dinner without too much confusion, but I still have a lot to work on. I struggle with the gender of the words, my grammar needs some refreshing, and I can’t always compose a thought in French as quickly as the conversation moves. I’m planning on keeping a French journal, listening more frequently to radio stations like RFI or FranceInter, and conversing more with native French-speakers to help both my production and comprehension of French.
An exciting day turned into an exciting week and I’m off to what I believe is a good start. I’ll be keeping myself busy with the classwork and preparing for the DELF B2 proficiency exam while I attempt to keep up with the other language supplements, but I’ll still make time to appreciate what the French culture has to offer. I’m looking forward to being here for the 14th of July, the national holiday of France, and I hear the fireworks display in Tours is especially impressive.
Until the next time (À la prochaine)!