Visitation - Europe Style

So my lil' sis asked where all I want to go over my fabulously wonderful three day weekends. The choices are endless... but I know that my company (CEA) pre-plans some weekend trips that are like, included in tuition price, so I'll definitely go on those. My cousin said Prague is a necessity, so I'll probably do that. I would really love to visit a Greek isle, but they're kinda far away, so we'll see what happens. And the ONU Marching Band will be in Italy over Thanksgiving break. They'll be doing Southern Italy, which I'm not really going to see on my three week tour so hopefully I'll get down there to stay with them (free lodging :)) and see Pompeii and such. Other than that, a quick trip back to Dinard, France is definitely on my top 10 places to see list. Anyone have any other reccomendations?

Classes in France

So here's a quick update about what's going on. I still haven't done a whole lot. I did e-mail someone who completed the program in Grenoble through CEA about a year ago. He's been a total blessing because he's been able to give me a lot of info that I'd been wondering about. Apparently I don't have any classes on Fridays, which means I'll have three day weekends for travelling, which I'm really excited about. I'll have to make a friend who likes to travel as much as I do quickly so we can take off and have crazy European adventures. And by crazy I mean seeing every sight there is, nothing like that really really annoying and offensive movie "Euro Trip". Also, my French language class is two and a half hours long in the mornings and then we get two hours for lunch (God bless the French and their love of food). Then electives (I'll probably take 3 or 4) are in the afternoon for an hour and a half. This may seem really uptight to want to know this kind of stuff beforehand, but it's important to me. What else, what else... I think that's it actually. More to come later. Leave some comments so I know someone reads this and it's worth my time to write.

First Entry

Well hello there world. Dana here, and welcome to my blog. I thought this would be a good way to share with friends, family, and random people who happen upon it, my experiences getting to and from and living in France this fall and winter. For those of you that don't know, I will be studying French language and culture this fall semester at the University of Grenoble in France. I'm a junior at Ohio Northern University majoring in International Studies and French with a minor in Geography Area studies. I've waited a LONG time to study abroad and now that it's finally here I'm beyond excited. So here's to me and my time in France.
OK, so you're probably wondering "Why Grenoble and where in the world is it?" Well it's in France for starters. lol Seriously though, the University in Grenoble is one of the oldest and most reputable in France (founded in 1339 by a pope). It is even fully accredited by the American Education Association, which means my federal aid monies can be used towards tuition if I was directly enrolled there. Hip hip hooray. There are a few parts of the university there. They have an art school, and architechture school, a few others, and my personal favorite the CUEF (Centre Universitaire d'Etudes Francaises). The cliff notes version is that it's the foremost place in France to study french langauge and culture. About 3000 people from all over the world go there to study. So it's like the ultimate study abroad experience, because while there are french students just a hop, skip and a jump away, there are also students from everywhere else to get to know.
Grenoble is located in southeastern France. It's in the middle of the Alps, close to the Italian border and the Meditteranean (they're both a short train ride away). It is actually the flattest city in France believe it or not. It's located in a huge valley with the Isere River running through it. The entire metropolitan area has a population of about 500,000. It's also the "silicon valley" of France with Hewlett Packard, the Atomic Energy Commission and a few other big technology companies located there. It also hosted the 1968 Olympics and is known worldwide for it's skiing slopes. All in all it's an awesome little city with lots to offer without the HUGEness of Paris. Here's a link to some pictures of the city, courtesy of my favorite photo site ever.
http://www.trekearth.com/search.php?phrase=grenoble&type=
I'm doing this through a comany. Cultural Experiences Abroad. They aren't associated with my university at all and it's been a little bit of a hassle to get paperwork for credit transfer, approval, and financial aid completed, but in the end it's a little cheaper and my advisor is more knowledgeable about the city and what I'll be experiencing that people here behind a desk at ONU might be. I've been pretty happy with them so far, I'll write more when I get there. If you're interested in studying abroad here's their website, mention my name when you ask for info. or sign up. http://www.gowithcea.com
So far I haven't done too much. I ordered my plane ticket a while ago. I leave September 1st at 6pm from the Detroit, MI airport. http://www.studentuniverse.com was the cheapest place to get tickets for my flight over there, but they're a bit limited. I thought saving a few hundred dollars on airfare was worth the extra hour drive there. Hope however drives me feels the same way. :-p I can't wait to actually be in the air on the way over. I think it will seem a lot more real then. Things are definitely starting to get closer and closer. I sent in the paperwork for my student visa today. Now I just have to pray that I get the visa back in time. Wish me luck.
All in all, I can't wait to go, but I'm also nervous. I'm doing a homestay so that I'm living with a french family while I'm there. I really hope that I speak french well enough to communicate and that they like me. I could have a really miserable time if they're horrible people or if they hate me or anything. I think I speak the language pretty well, but when I get in front of other people I tend to clam all up and get really quiet. That better not happen when I get there. I'll just have to not worry about being perfect and go for it. Well that's all for now I suppose. It's certainly enough. Laters!