Hey Everyone.

There are heaps of new photos on here so you can get a visual idea of what Nantes is like.

Arrival & First Impressions
On My arrival (arriving was difficult cause i missed a flight) i met my Host Dad who picked me up at the airport. I went home, had something to eat and went to bet at 10 pm. I woke up at 6PM the next day. Woops.
My first impressions of the city were not very good for the first few days as I spent most of my time in the suburbs of Nantes which aren't really that beautiful. It wasn't until i started school that i really got to see the "Centre Ville" (Town Centre) which is really nice and quite French looking. Its really easy to get around with the buses and trams. Everything is quite expensive. It seems so cheap at first but then i have to remember to double the price to get it back into $NZ.

My Family
My Family are really nice but are quite busy. I often come home from school and have to entertain myself for a while. They said that usually they would take me out in the weekends if i have nothing to do but unfortunately, last weekend they were very sick so i didnt do much. My family are a bit camera shy but i will have some photos of them soon. I also have a host brother called Edouard who went on an Exchange to Australia last year. So he helps me with my french.

Going to school
Going to school is really easy. I just take the public bus which comes about every 6 minutes and drops me off right outside my school. School is quite different to in NZ. I have to take heaps of subjects: Biology, Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics, History, Geography, English, French, Maths and i used to take Spanish but not anymore.

The days change quite a bit. I got from 8 until 5:30 on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Wednesday and Saturday are only half days at school. And Friday is from 8 until 3:30. I have some classes which are called "modules", i only have modules every second week and i have 1 or 2 modules a day. Also, if a teacher is away i dont have class, which is quite often. Usually i just walk to the town centre and have a look around. Its really laid back.

We do almost no work in class. Everyone gets a lot of homework but i dont have to do it because i dont understand anything. School is really cool. All my friends look out for me and help me out when im lost or dont know what to do.

I am in the class that does advanced english, so everyone is really good at speaking english. It was good for the first week because it meant that i could make friends easily, but now that i have established a group of friends the english is just getting in the way of me learning french.

Getting around & Out and About
Getting around is really easy. I just take the bus everywhere. Its quite cheap and the busses are very frequent. The bus Timetables are very specific. For example, Bus 22 (Which I catch) Arrives at my stop at 7:34 on a weekday morning. Being out and about is really nice in Nantes, despite the freezing cold. Its really nice to just leave the house for a couple of hours and just go for a walk in the town, maybe buy an 'Orangina' and a Pain au Chocolat. I often go out with my friends after school. Its really nice.

Anyway. I hope this update is sufficiant. If you have any questions dont hesitate to e-mail me. Rest assured that I am having a great time so far and i know it will only continue to get better as i have my 'Spain Trip' coming up in a week and a half.