My adventure in Angers

ICE SKATING DAY Today we went ice skating with all the students from our school and the French students from the exchange, and it was honestly one of the most fun days of the whole month. For some people it was their first time on the ice, but the girls, including me, already knew how to skate quite well, so we helped the rest of the group. There were some falls, of course, but we were all laughing so much that it just made everything even more memorable. The atmosphere at the ice rink was amazing. There was music playing in the background, and at one point they even put a Spanish song, which surprised us a lot and made everyone cheer. We skated in groups, holding hands, trying not to fall, and helping each other stay balanced. Even if some of us weren’t very good at skating, we all enjoyed it a lot. It was such a simple plan, but it felt really special because we were all together, sharing a new experience in a place far from home. Definitely a day I will never forget! Specially bec...

 THINGS MY EXCHANGE HAS TAUGHT ME This exchange has been much more than just a trip to another country — it has been a real life experience that changed the way I see things. Living far from home, adapting to a new language, a different rhythm, and another way of doing things taught me how important it is to be flexible and open-minded. I learned to let go of fear, to be more independent, and to trust myself in situations that were completely new to me. Sharing daily life with another family made me realize how kindness and small gestures can make someone feel at home, even in a different country. I also understood that stepping out of my comfort zone is not always easy, but it is where you grow the most. Little by little, I became more confident, more curious, and more willing to try new things. More than anything, this exchange helped me discover that I am capable of much more than I thought. It showed me that the world is bigger than what I already know, and that learning from o...

A NORMAL DAY IN SCHOOL To start the day, I woke up around 6:00 or 6:30, because we left the house at 7:00. Sara’s mother drove us to her workplace by car, and from there, Sara and I took the tram from line B to one of the stops. Then we changed to line A, which was always more crowded. We arrived at the high school around 7:50 or 8:00, and we had classes until around 11:30 or 12:00. Sometimes the classes were a bit difficult for me, not only because they were high school level (since Sara is from 2008), but also because of the language, as they spoke a little bit to fast for me. However, after a few days, I started to understand more and everything became easier. After that, we usually had lunch together in the school cafeteria, and around 13:00 or 14:00 we returned to class depending on our schedule of the day. One of the things I liked the most about school was how interactive the lessons were. Sometimes we also joined English or Spanish classes with our Spanish classmates, and I tho...

SPEAKING FRENCH I think the thing that made me most nervous about my exchange was the language. Even though I had studied French for two years and knew the basics, the speed and fluency with which people spoke made me feel like they were speaking a completely different language. At first, I spoke mostly in English during conversations, which also helped me improve it a lot. But after about two weeks, I noticed a big change — my pronunciation got better, and I wasn’t afraid anymore to talk to strangers or to try saying some sentences in French. Also, my classmates and teachers were always willing to help us with pronunciation and to teach us new words. One of the places where I didn’t expect to improve my French so much was when I went with Sara to her training sessions, because her friends were really excited to teach me French expressions and help me pronounce them correctly. Honestly, it helped me a lot, and I’m really proud of how much progress I made.

  A NIGHT AT THE HOCKEY GAME One of the most characteristic things about Angers is its hockey team, the Ducs D ’ Angers. During my stay here, I was lucky to go and see one of their games, on Friday, September 26th, when they played against Chamonix at the IceParc in Angers. When we arrived at the stadium, it was so full that there was a long line to get in, which really impressed me. Before the match started, you could feel how excited everyone was. People were wearing T-shirts, caps, and hoodies from the team — and even I wore a scarf that Sara lent me! We bought something to eat while enjoying the great atmosphere before the game began. When the bell rang and the match started, it was an amazing feeling to watch a hockey game at such a high level, especially since the Ducs d’Angers were first in the French league. During the break, the team’s mascot came up to me and gave me one of the pucks they had played with! It’s a moment I’ll never forget and definitely the perfect souvenir...

  MY HOST FAMILY  During my exchange in Angers, I stayed with a really good host family who made me feel at home from the very first day. They were very kind and welcoming to me during my whole stay, and they helped me with everything they could. I am really grateful to them for that. During my first week in France, I was lucky to go to the birthday party of one of Sara’s cousins, where I got to meet most of the family. Everyone was very nice and friendly, and I felt included from the beginning. After dinner, I played football with Sara and her little cousins, and we had such a great time together. Also, Sara’s parents did everything they could to take me to many activities. When we went to the Village Troglodyte, they explained everything to me and even translated it into English so I could understand. I had such a great time with them, and I really appreciated how much effort they made to make me feel comfortable and part of their family. Thanks to them, I felt like I truly ...

TASTING FRENCH FOOD AND THEIR GASTRONOMY Sara and I cooking dinner! One of the best parts of my exchange was trying French food. Every day I had the chance to discover new flavors and typical dishes that are very different from what I usually eat in Spain. At lunch, we often had pasta as a first course, or sometimes quinoa and rice, which was very typical. We usually always had some type of meat as the second course, and it was always really good. We usually had a yogurt or a sweet dessert on the school. I noticed that in France people eat less fruit than we do in Spain, and they also use a lot of butter when cooking. However, this was not a problem, because the food was still very tasty. In the French diet, cheese is never missing. They served it even as a side dish in the school canteen! One of the things that surprised me the most was that they did not eat much fish unless it was breaded, like they served it at school. When they did eat fish, it was usually salmon.  This was n...

PLACES I VISITED   the music festival! During my exchange, I had the opportunity to visit some beautiful places. The first one we went to was a music festival called “Les Accroches-Coeurs” , in the city center, which also had amazing visuals, as can be seen in the photo. The atmosphere was perfect, and the streets were great to walk around.  I really loved the music and the lively environment. People were dancing, singing, and enjoying themselves, which made it feel very joyful and energetic. It was a wonderful experience to see the city full of life and celebration. Terra Botanica! We also visited Terra Botanica , a large botanical park focused on plants, flowers, and nature. The park has different themed gardens, greenhouses, and walking paths, which allowed us to explore lots of plants from all over the world. I loved being surrounded by nature, and my favorite part was the butterfly garden, where we could see so many colorful butterflies flying around freely. There were a...

MY FAVOURITE DAY OF MY EXCHANGE One of my favorite places during my exchange was definitely Puy du Fou , an amazing historical theme park not far from Angers. It was unlike any park I had ever visited before, because instead of roller coasters or rides, it had incredible shows that made history come alive. We had to get up at 7 a.m., but it was totally worth it. We drove for about an hour, and when we arrived at the park, it was raining quite a lot, but that didn’t stop us from having a fantastic time and enjoying ourselves. When we entered the park, we went to the first show of the day, which was a kind of play about the Vikings and it was amazing. I was really impressed by the amount of preparation, budget, and the huge stage built for just one show, and I loved being able to experience something like that. The first show we saw! Second show! The next show was in a recreation of the Roman Coliseum, which was also enormous and beautiful, as can be seen in the photos. This show told a...

CULTURAL DIFERENCES AND STEREOTYPES  One of the things that surprised me the most compared to Spain was the schedule. In my case, I had to wake up at 6 a.m. even though classes started at 8 on most days, because we had to leave home at 7 to take the tram to the high school. Also, as I already mentioned in the entry “Discovering School Life,” classes here last between one and two hours, and sometimes until 6 p.m. Since we had lunch at the school, we usually ate around 11:30 or 12:30, which was very new and unusual for us, as at that time we were used to having just a snack. Another thing that surprised me was the dinner time, which was usually around 7:30 or 8:30 on weekdays — much earlier than what we were used to. Anyway, as the days went by, everything became easier. In addition, I also had the opportunity to see if some of the stereotypes about Spanish people were true or not. The first one I noticed that was definitely true was the volume of our voices when we speak. It is ver...

  DISCOVERING SCHOOL LIFE At the beginning, the first day was quite hard, since here the classes are longer and some days can last until 6 p.m., which is very different from the schedule I was used to. However, besides the fact that they have lunch in the school cafeteria, they also have some breaks between classes to rest, do homework, study, etc .. Also, the classes here are quite different compared to those in Spain, both in the way they are taught and in the material they use. They don’t usually use the book so much, but instead they are given a lot of photocopies about the topic. What I liked the most about some classes was going to the laboratory (both in physics and in biology), since it made them lighter and more practical, and that is something I really love.  The high school where we were, Jean Moulin, was huge! At first it was a bit difficult to find our way around, but it became easier as the days went by. During the second week of classes, we were able to drop som...