I don't think it's a huge secret that I've been homesick the last few weeks. So homesick that I've actually learned to say it in French: Je souffre du mal du pays. The weekends are normally the hardest since for the past three weeks I've spent them mostly indoors doing homework and in constant contact with people back home. So this week I swore to myself that I would break that habit before I ended up spending all my time in my room.
Thursday a girl name Sharon invited me to tag along with her and a friend to an open-air market on Saturday morning. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity for me to get out of my room, I nearly jumped at the offer. We made plans to meet up Saturday morning at 10h00 and walk together to the market.
The first thing I noticed after making my way past la Place de Commerce was the sea of white tents and the crowds of people headed there: Marché Gloriette.
Sharon and her friend Thea walked with me through row after row of vendors selling products ranging from fresh fruits and seafood to leather purses and designer jeans. The smiling faces of the vendors, the harsh faces of the customers looking for the best deals, and the smells and sounds of it all - it was almost too much to take in...it was perfect.
The stalls were all full-to-overflowing and boasted the best looking products that I've seen since my arrival. The market itself also boasts a fair amount of competition and it's for this reason that we came so early. Customers are all on the look out for the lowest prices, but once the vendor sells out, they will be forced to move on to a higher priced vendor for the same merchandise. Our timing was perfect and Sharon was able to side-step the 2,50 euro red peppers in favor of 1,50 euro ones and I was able to find wonderfully ripe apples for 1,00 euro/kg instead of having to pay 1,80 euro or 2,30 euro. Each purchase was a joy and a triumph. Before I knew it I was asking questions I hadn't even known I knew the vocabulary for.
This is what I expected from France, this is what I was missing. And there I was in the middle of it all.
I only made three purchases: six beignets, four apples, and what was perhaps the best chicken eggroll of my entire life. I left le Marché Gloriette with plans to return next weekend, telling myself perhaps if I sample something new every week, then by the end of my stay in Nantes I will have truly tasted all that Nantes has to offer.
After returning from Gloriette I decided I wasn't ready to go back into my little dorm world so I ventured out again. This time to E. Leclerc to buy something to cover my pot so I can finally cook rice. While I was there I thought I might as well spend some time exploring the store and seeing what I could replenish for the week.
An hour and a half later I exited the store riding the euphoria from clever purchases and having found the Asian food sections - there's going to be a large bowl of drunken noodles in my future - but there was also a strange feeling in me as well.
I named the feeling on the train: I had just gone somewhere completely on my own. Normally I like going shopping or out to coffee with friends rather than alone. I tell myself that it's just easier when in fact it's probably just a comfort mechanism. But today I managed to do something all by myself without a trace of fear. So maybe I am changing a little more, expanding past my boundaries and beyond. Into a better person, perhaps?
Thursday a girl name Sharon invited me to tag along with her and a friend to an open-air market on Saturday morning. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity for me to get out of my room, I nearly jumped at the offer. We made plans to meet up Saturday morning at 10h00 and walk together to the market.
The first thing I noticed after making my way past la Place de Commerce was the sea of white tents and the crowds of people headed there: Marché Gloriette.
Sharon and her friend Thea walked with me through row after row of vendors selling products ranging from fresh fruits and seafood to leather purses and designer jeans. The smiling faces of the vendors, the harsh faces of the customers looking for the best deals, and the smells and sounds of it all - it was almost too much to take in...it was perfect.
The stalls were all full-to-overflowing and boasted the best looking products that I've seen since my arrival. The market itself also boasts a fair amount of competition and it's for this reason that we came so early. Customers are all on the look out for the lowest prices, but once the vendor sells out, they will be forced to move on to a higher priced vendor for the same merchandise. Our timing was perfect and Sharon was able to side-step the 2,50 euro red peppers in favor of 1,50 euro ones and I was able to find wonderfully ripe apples for 1,00 euro/kg instead of having to pay 1,80 euro or 2,30 euro. Each purchase was a joy and a triumph. Before I knew it I was asking questions I hadn't even known I knew the vocabulary for.
This is what I expected from France, this is what I was missing. And there I was in the middle of it all.
I only made three purchases: six beignets, four apples, and what was perhaps the best chicken eggroll of my entire life. I left le Marché Gloriette with plans to return next weekend, telling myself perhaps if I sample something new every week, then by the end of my stay in Nantes I will have truly tasted all that Nantes has to offer.
After returning from Gloriette I decided I wasn't ready to go back into my little dorm world so I ventured out again. This time to E. Leclerc to buy something to cover my pot so I can finally cook rice. While I was there I thought I might as well spend some time exploring the store and seeing what I could replenish for the week.
An hour and a half later I exited the store riding the euphoria from clever purchases and having found the Asian food sections - there's going to be a large bowl of drunken noodles in my future - but there was also a strange feeling in me as well.
I named the feeling on the train: I had just gone somewhere completely on my own. Normally I like going shopping or out to coffee with friends rather than alone. I tell myself that it's just easier when in fact it's probably just a comfort mechanism. But today I managed to do something all by myself without a trace of fear. So maybe I am changing a little more, expanding past my boundaries and beyond. Into a better person, perhaps?
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