Institut D'Etudes Europeannes

I'm studying in the city of Nantes with a program from IES. After my many modes of transportation on my first day, two very nice women from IES met me, and the other students from my program that looked as lost and confused as I did, at the train station in Nantes. I was really worried about that part of the trip because no where in my guide did it tell me how exactly I was getting from the train station to the IES center. I was very worried that I would have to walk from the train station to a place that I didn't know. But they picked us up at the station, and put us in taxis with other students who knew where to take us. It was really amusing to me that I shared a cab with a guy from Miami. The last thing my mother told me was to not share a cab with a guy and the first real thing I do is exactly what my mother advised me not to do. I think she's seen the movie Taken one too many times. But everything was fine because he is part of my program, and american. The taxi took us to the center which is in a big old building on the 3rd and 4th floors. (The 2nd and 3rd in French because the 1st floor in English is the ground floor in French, which confuses easily those who have had very little sleep).

On the large door which has a handle that I have yet to figure out, there is a sign that kinda makes me happy. Anything that has the word institute in it sounds so formal, and I'm glad that I'm here.

 The very first thing I saw when I opened the door was a large space. There are doors all around the entry way that lead into other rooms. At the far end of the entry way is a large mirror that has the plan for the day taped to it, so I can pretend I'm looking at the schedule when I'm actually being vain. There is also a table that has real flowers on it. I was excited to see real flowers in January. We just don't have those in Minnesota.

In the Center we have a library and computer room. We also have two kitchens which are nice so we don't have to always buy things for lunch. The kitchens are fully stocked with anything I could ever need. They have hot water things that are really efficient for making tea with. There is a large amount of tea here, and every household seems to have some. I've been to plenty of places in the U.S. that don't have tea. Perhaps it is because of our breaking with England by the symbolic tea throwing. But I really like tea and I'm glad that its popular here. We also have a few rooms to rest in and also a piano.The piano room is super nice. It has chairs and such so you can sit and watch people, or listen to them play. Someone was playing the guitar this morning, the Lumineers I think. They are coming to Paris while I'm here and on a break week. I think some of my classmates already have tickets for them. Personally I like Mumford and Sons better, but I find it interest that the French are so aware of us while the U.S. remains pleasantly unaware of anything other than ourselves, and the occasional Korean Pop song that sneaks into popular culture because of certain internet sites. I didn't take any pictures of the classrooms cause they look like classrooms.

Also I found it really interesting that the building is so old. On the old wooden floor there are these seals with all sorts of different types of wood in them. And when you look up the lights which were probably at one point candles have very intricate designs on the ceiling. I couldn't think of a better place to study. The point of taking classes in France was to study where history was made and these old buildings with their actual water closest facilitates that wish.