I was eating a chocolatine, a type of unforgettably delicious chocolate croissant, as I tilted my head back to fully view the grandeur of the massive structure before me. It was a cathedral unlike any other, some of you may know it: the Cathedral of Notre Dame. I was half expecting Quasimodo to jump out from under the roof rafters, but unfortunately only pigeons appeared. I was astonished by how massive it was and yet so intricately detailed. France is home to many beautiful, incredibly old relics of architecture. Even the French language holds this air of beauty, civilized superiority, and decisiveness.
In my last semester of high school, I decided to go on an exchange to France. For 3 months I lived in France with a family and attended school. It was a phenomenal experience that immensely benefitted my language capabilities and pushed me to be more adventurous. France is a country with a lot of charm and class. As a Canadian, I was so excited to see all the clustered villages and it was jaw-dropping to see the very old buildings – older than pretty much everything in Canada! Poitiers was my home base, however thanks to my exchange family, I was fortunate to see many other French cities as well!
On my first night, I was pretty scared to be honest. I was in a foreign house, with people I didn’t really know, and everything was sooo different, from the the door handles, to the shutters, to the red-tiled roofs and narrow roads that had waaay too many roundabouts! I remember lying in bed, thinking: “What have I gotten myself into?”. But I got used to things quite quickly and before I knew it, I was a member of the family, joking around in fluent French and hanging out in downtown Poitiers with friends from school.
Poitiers
Poitiers is a town with a lot of history, well let’s be honest everywhere in France has a lot of history, but this town has a little more. I really enjoyed walking through the narrow alleyways that led down to the large paved courtyard in front of the city hall. The Notre Dame la Grande church was a notable piece of architecture in the heart of downtown, also a place where people would gather and markets would be held.
The school I attended wasn’t in downtown Poitiers, but rather in a small town, Jaunay-Marigny, situated beside the theme park: Futuroscope. That theme park is true to its named in the sense that it uniquely features entertainment based on 3D and 4D visual effects. The high school, Lycée Pilote Innovante International, also had the same futuresque theme, with its modern architecture and style of learning. I guess if you’re living in France, you’re buried under heaps of history so it can be hard to evolve and modernize, but this place proved that an effort was being made to challenge the status quo.
The French school system is vastly different to the way things are done in Canada. Instead of having two semesters with 4 classes each, they have 8 classes (maybe more?) throughout the whole school year that are held at different times with a sprinkle of breaks in between. The class times would not only change each day but every week was different too. I remember constantly being confused as to what class we were supposed to have and at what time. I put my trust into the group of friends I was with, hoping they would lead me to the right place. The best part was that on Wednesdays we only had class in the morning and the afternoons were off. So sometimes on those afternoons, almost the whole school would congregate on this big patch of grass in proximity to the school and people would bring shopping carts of beer from the nearby grocery store.
Lille
Lille is city in the north of France, situated only an hour and a half’s drive from Brussels, the capital of Belgium. It comes to no surprise that the architecture of the region is influenced by that of Belgium, with the narrow facades and the beautifully coloured buildings. A friend from my exchange family was going there to visit some friends and took me along. We took the train from Poitiers all the way to Lille, with a stopover in Paris, so by the time we arrived it was already 10pm… Just in time to enjoy the nightlife!
The moment I walked out of the train station, I was overcome by beauty and excitement. There was a large row of lit-up fountains just outside of the main doors. The main road was bordered by a conglomerate of beautiful buildings, and side-walks were embellished with cobble stone.
Her friend who lived in Lille met us outside of the station. We strapped my big bag onto the back of his bike and off we went. We walked along winding streets and through back alleys, eventually ducking under a low vined archway to find ourselves in a wonderland of bars and people. We spent quite some time there before going to the student district which was packed with even more people and a handful of police. It was 3am by the time we got to bed.
The next morning we ventured to the big Lille Market which was filled with lots of different vendors and people. After exploring all the unique trinkets, scarves and delicious pastries, we grabbed some rental bikes and rode them throughout the city. We visited Vieux Lille, the old city, which contained even more charming architecture. We went to the Musée de l’Hopsice Comptice, which was a really interesting museum. We also visited churches and rode our bikes through a big park close to the Citadel. The weather was sunny and cloudless, perfect for day of city exploration!
Paris
Paris, the most iconic city of France. I always thought Paris was overrated until I went there and realized how beautiful it is. The sheer expanse of the city is also astonishing. I was only in Paris for a couple of days with my exchange family, but we managed to visit all the typical tourist destinations: the Eiffel Tower, L’Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Sacred Heart Basilica, Champs-Elysées, Monmartre… by the end of it, I was pro with the subway routes, I was a little more cultured, and my feet were very sore.
The Sacred Heart Basilica is at the top of a hill and it’s so white it can be seen from quite the distance. It’s a beautiful building, and apart from all the tourists everywhere, it instills a sense of peace. The Eiffel Tower is iconic and can be seen from almost anywhere. We took the stairs all the way to the top which is quite the leg workout but worth the amazing view! At night, the Eiffel Tower lights up and becomes a glowing beacon amidst the city. It’s a very pretty site to see. The Notre Dame Cathedral is an architectural marvel. It’s a staple of Paris, having seen the rise and fall of the many royal leaders that had once ruled France and the revolutions that had taken place in this pivotal city. The Louvre Museum has a beautiful exterior with the old architecture of the buildings contrasting the glass pyramid in its courtyard. It contains the famous painting of Mona Lisa, which is much smaller than I expected but still impressive nonetheless.
While we were in Paris, I also had my first taste of traditional crêpes! Typically there are two types of crêpes: savoury and sweet. The savoury crêpe is made with buckwheat flour which makes it more hardy and more similar to a pancake, in French it’s called: “galette sarasin”. The sweet crêpe, or “crêpe sucrée”, is the kind that everybody knows, which is especially tasteful with the addition of whipping cream and strawberries… So yummy!
Perpignan
Perpignan is a city in the south of France, close to the Spanish border. The drive there from Poitiers is a long one but a great way to see a lot of the country. We drove along meandering roads through villages and forested mountains, and down a road with a panoramic view of the Pyrennes mountain range, with its tantalizing beautifully snow-tipped peaks in constant view.
We lived in a quaint house in the town of Sainte-Marie-la-Mer, just outside of Perpignan. Our house was only 400m from the beach! It was my first time ever setting eyes upon the Mediterranean Sea, of which I’ve heard so much about. When I went swimming, I got a big unwelcome mouthful of seawater… I was so used to the vastness of the big freshwater lakes in Canada, I forgot that other large bodies of water would inevitably be salty!
Perpignan is a beautiful city with many old trees lining the roads, well-kept parks, and warm-coloured buildings, you could tell that Spain was right around the corner. After having visited Perpignan, we took a day trip to Collioure. It’s an absolutely beautiful place with a bell tower jutting out from the blue-watered cove. Adding to the idealistic scene are the vineyards running down the slopes that surround the town.
Exchange
Before I knew it, my three months had come and gone. Where? I don’t know. It had flown by, I couldn’t believe it was time for me to return home, I didn’t want to leave! France had grown on me, as I’m sure it does on many people. I initially decided to do an exchange because I was fascinated by languages, cultures, and I just really wanted to travel. It was one of the best decisions I could have made! I was fortunate to be with a really fun and kind family who showed me what France is all about. It was fascinating to see how others live and I was surprised at how much the different regions of France varied from one another. I made many long-lasting friendships and gained many new perspectives.