Friday, September 16, 2011

Whatever Floats Your Boat

Today, I became the happiest person in Nantes. Let me tell you why!
I grew up on the beautiful shores of Lake Huron, and because of this, I find that it is difficult to live somewhere that has no body of water. One of the reasons that I love Trent U and Peterborough so much is because of the Otonabee River that flows through both the campus and the city. My summer residence, Ryerson Camp, is on the shores of Lake Erie. I find that when I am living somewhere for too long without water, I feel very enclosed. The water makes me feel like I'm going somewhere, like there is something more than just where I am. I also love how powerful water can be.
So Nantes! This lovely city has a river, the Loire, and also a "fleuve", which is like a smaller river, called l'Erdre. This makes me one very happy girl, as I get to see it every day!
Today, my friends and I ventured out on the town in search of canoes or kayaks, so that we could explore the Erdre. I was pretty excited, as I love being on the water. If find it very relaxing to just enjoy nature!
We followed the boats to a little island, which we found out was actually artificial and rented a few double kayaks. The sun was shining, the swans were out, the water was calm, and I was in a boat. Life really wasn't going to get much better!
Hanging out in the kayaks
Paddling l'Erdre
Yoga poses on the island, in a random Japanese garden!
After the river experience, we did NOT go to the soccer game, as we found out that it was actually an away game. Oops!
Instead, the girls and I went to see "Crazy Stupid Love" at the movie theatre. It was dubbed over, so we got to watch it in French, which was pretty fun. I understood most of it, but there were some parts that got lost in translation. One thing that we found funny was that all of us Canadians laughed at parts that no one else laughed at... must be a cultural thing!
I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow, as I will be meeting my "famille d'acceuille" for the first time. They are like a host family who, if we get along well, might invite me over for dinner or to do random activities with them. I can't wait to meet them!

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