Oh Bonjour, Normandy.

The city of Rouen isn’t anything that I expected, it is like a cross roads of the old and new, playful and severe. The buildings are bright, cottage-like, as though plucked from an old-time movie set based in the Swiss Alps. The town is vibrant where a turn around a corner reveals quaint merry-go-rounds and playful Ferris wheels set against a backdrop of colorful buildings and historic cathedrals.  The cathedrals tower over Rouen with their beautiful, intricate carvings and their statutes of severe looking saints giving them an ominous vibe. It in this beautiful town, nestled in France’s Normandy, that I will be living for the next three months.

Walking along the streets of Rouen it’s easy to forget the century I am, if it wasn’t for the commercial stores of ‘Foot Locker’ or McDonalds’ nestled in the buildings it would feel as though I was roaming a charming European medieval town. One day in Rouen so far and the town proves friendly, a mix of old and new France set in the middle of Normandy and an hour away from thriving Paris. 

My apartment, or as I know call it my château, is on Rue Saint-Maur, a stroll away from the heart of Rouen. I have to admit I still can’t believe I’m living in France, albeit it is temporary, I still wake up in the morning and think. “I live here….in France!.” In an episode of Heroes, a TV show that I once watched, the story focused on people with hero-like abilities (I promise there is a point to this) and one of the ‘heroes’ could learn anything to perfection by seeing it once. Well, I have carried my French language book and can’t help but wish I had this ability because so far my monumental language success has been ordering a macaroon at a café.

I’ve come across some ‘lost in translation’ moments, such as eating sour cream thinking it was yogurt, and I find that the best French practice has been day-to-day life, such as opening the fridge and deciding what is ‘beurre’ or ‘moutarde’ and which to use on my ‘brioche.’ On the streets I don’t struggle nearly as much as I thought I would since most French people detect the twinge of an American accent to my pronunciation of 'Bonjour' and automatically switch to English.

It is now 8pm here in Rouen and the moon resembles the smile of Alice in Wonderland’s Chesire cat. I j’adore the ceiling-to-floor windows of this little ‘château’ and can’t think of a better way to wrap up this day then with Normandy’s signature camembert cheese on a piece of baguette (my favorite snack so far).