Culture Shock

2 Months.

I’ve been in France for almost 2 months and that’s absolutely crazy. It’s hard to say it flew by, because each day and week sort of felt like a month itself, but looking back at the past 57 days… 57 days! I can’t believe it has been that long. My journey so far has been amazing. Since arriving in Tours, France 57 days ago, I have eaten amazing food, spoke more French than I ever thought was possible, met amazing people, and thanked God for the many many blessings in my life. I’ve been experiencing this in disbelief and awe, which is awesome. However, I’ve felt my fair share of homesickness and negative feelings, which now, (thanks to Emily!) I realized is culture shock.

Reading about culture shock in Holy Cross’ document describing it was a relief and a frustration. I thought culture shock meant that you came to a place and were uncomfortable because everything was different. However, after reading that this is actually a process that is less of a “shock” and more of a gradual thing (read here: (stage 2 right now) http://www.holycross.edu/engaged-learning/study-abroad/accepted-students/what-expect-four-stages-your-experience-abroad), I was confused but also a bit happy that these feelings are actually totally normal. I love that I have this opportunity to live here in France and meet this amazing host family and improve my French. But I also feel homesick, irritable, and  isolated. And it’s normal. And it will pass. Merci mon Dieu.

In other news, this week was the first week of all my classes together. Classes are different from Holy Cross, they are held once a week for a few hours (2 seems to be the norm) and there is no weekly work, only one or two tests, maybe an oral presentation. I have such a hard time paying attention for 2 hours and have become worried that my complete confusion during class will ultimately lead to me failing my classes, but hopefully my French will come through!

Aside from classes, I have done some exploring of Strasbourg, gone to a faith group of young Catholics, spent a lot of time with my host family (scouting, mass, other activities that I’m not aware of until we arrive somewhere and are there for hours). I have a lot of alone time (as was warned of by Jackie, I get it now!) and that often leads me to feel isolated, as it is totally different from my life last year at Holy Cross. It’ll be interesting to see how I grow in this aspect!

For many who know me, you know that my faith plays a big role in my life. I am happy to report I finally gathered enough courage to start fresh with God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (it was in English, too, I thought I would have to muddle through in French!) and it was amazing. I hope to be present to Him in my journey and continue to thank Him for the amazing blessings I have been given. As the priest reminded me, the Church exists to aid me in my relationship with Jesus, who died for all of us personally, and I intend to use the Church here for exactly that!

As a final note (and excuse to post pictures), Erin and I went to Munich this weekend! It was amazing to get away for a little bit, spend time with a great friend, and encounter so many different things (namely, German language and food).

Love and Peace,

Jessica

PS Had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks in Germany. Yes, everyone that’s been saying it forever, it was so good.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 28th, 2015 at 11:00 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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