Institut de Touraine: Studying French in Tours

I'm really glad I spent the first month of my study abroad in France in a homestay in Tours. Breakfast and dinner are included, so I could head off to school feeling like I had a new family.

The night before my first day of school, dinner was a cheese-and-egg galette.

In France, you can buy ready-made galettes at the supermarket. (Crepes too, of course.)

So all you have to do is prepare the toppings and dinner is done.

Put the galette in a frying pan, crack an egg onto it, and sprinkle on shredded cheese.

Put a lid on, and once the cheese starts to melt, fold it lightly and it's done. So easy!

I finished quickly, got ready for the next day, and went to bed.

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The next morning, I headed to the language school, recalling the route Brigitte had shown me and checking Google Maps.

This is the street in front of the house.

It's 7:30 in the morning and still dark!

It's a street where a market sets up during the day. After about 20 minutes of walking, it started to get light.

This is the language school I'll be attending for the next month, Institut de Touraine.

(Photo borrowed from the official website.)

It's a historic language school founded in 1912.

The students starting that day were gathered together, and orientation began.

Everything was explained in English.

Besides classes, there are all kinds of activities, like cooking classes and wine seminars.

"The course will be over in a flash, so be active and make the most of it!" the teacher said.

So true. Time really does fly.

After orientation, we walked around Tours.

The teacher led the way and explained things.

The building on the right is the Tour Charlemagne (Charlemagne Tower).

It was originally part of the Basilica of Saint Martin in Tours.

The basilica was destroyed during the French Revolution, and it has since been rebuilt in a different location.

This is Place Plumereau in the old town.

The traditional half-timbered houses are still standing. They apparently date from around the 14th to 15th centuries.

The square is surrounded by lots of restaurants and bars.

Back at school, we got a tour of the classrooms.

This is the oh-so-French classroom that was part of why I wanted to attend Institut de Touraine.

The chandeliers are gorgeous! I can't wait for class...

Once the tour was over, after a little while the class assignments were posted!

Oh, there's a Japanese university student.

I looked for my name and found... A2.1 (pronounced "A-deux-point-un").

So I'm not a complete beginner. That made me a little happy.

Following the assignments, I headed to my classroom, RABELAIS 14.
(Rabelais was a French satirical writer.)

Huh, it's just a normal classroom (lol).

The room with the chandeliers is the exception, and most classrooms look like this.

The students are a mix: some started that day, and some have been there for several months.

The teacher had everyone introduce themselves.

People came from the US, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and more, with all kinds of ages and nationalities.

It was still daytime, so I headed to the Rue Nationale to get a SIM card.

I got a SIM at Free without any trouble! 100GB for €29.99 a month!

Now I can get online when I'm out. I hadn't brought a dictionary, so I planned to use Google Translate.

It's cheap and the guy helped me kindly, so I recommend Free.

I headed home past the Tours city hall. It's pretty every time I see it.

To be continued.