New Blog!

Aloha everyone!

Please check out my new blog www.kanaleiasadventures.com that has all of my old blog posts and more!

In case you're wondering, I decided to switch blogging platforms because I liked the easy-to-use design aspects on my new blogging platform, Wix. I also find it easier to post and organize my pictures, which is the majority of my blog.

Here's a preview!

Settling in | Life in Rennes & Cesson-Sévigné

I haven't posted much about my daily life in Rennes mainly because it hasn't been as action-packed and adventurous as my two months in Taiwan. The main reason for that is because everything here in France is so expensive, especially when compared to Taiwan. I have been using my downtime to plan my trips to Cairo, Milan, and Amsterdam and begin researching and applying for internships for my graduating semester.

Host Family Living

In the past three months I have lived with three different host families, one in Taiwan and two in France. Every family has been incredibly nice and helpful and I am really grateful for the experiences!

When I arrived in Rennes, I had to scramble to find accommodations after I decided that the dorm I originally planned on living in was far from suitable (for me). Luckily, I was referred to my current host family, the Alexandres, who live in a cute French house in Cesson-Sévigné. I have my own room (picture below), shared bathroom, and breakfast included in rent. Additionally, I have the option of eating lunch and/or dinner that my host family prepares for a meager 3 euros. 

When I made arrangements with my first host family, they already had someone staying with them for three weeks in September so they arranged for me to stay with their friends during that time. My second host family also live in Cesson-Sévigné in a beautiful home with a large backyard and even a swimming pool! I also had my own room, a shared bathroom, and all meals included which was a real treat. 

Living with both host families in Cesson-Sévigné has given me opportunities that I wouldn't have otherwise had if I lived in the dorms. I've learned how to cook some French dishes (galettes, crêpes, macaroons, ratatouille, and cannelés bordelais), tried a Kudulini yoga class, sunbathed and swam in a private swimming pool, and attended a supplementary English class for toddlers taught by my host mom. 

Kudalini Yoga with my first host mom, Christèle

My room in my first host family's house

Second host family

My room in my second host family's house

Crêperie La Saint Georges à Rennes

Baked Quiche Lorraine with my second host mom, Lolly

Sunbathing in the backyard of my second host family

Horse selfies at the barn (second host family's daughter rides horses)

Making macaroons

Cannelés Bordelais

Classes at ESC

The course schedule at ESC is very different from the traditional American school system. First of all, you can choose which courses you register for but you have no choice in the "group" you're placed in that determines the times and dates of your classes. 

Each course syllabus is divided into sessions and each session lasts 1.5 hours. Some classes may be scheduled so that you have four sessions at a time so you could have one class for 6 hours. It may seem long but every class has a coffee/smoke break in the middle. 

The nice thing about this system is that depending on how many courses you're in, you could only have to go to campus a couple of times a week. Another important thing to note is that your class schedule will most likely change every other week, if not every week. Below is an example of one of two weeks of my schedule. 

So far, my classes are all pretty easy. I have a group presentation in every class that accounts for anywhere from 20-40% of my grade, 60% is from the only and final exam (not a fan of that!), and the remainder coming from attendance and sometimes in-class work. Other than the presentations, I don't have any homework except for readings for one class. Compared to my school schedule in Hawaii, this is a piece of cake! 

Note: I'm not enrolled in any finance, accounting, or French language/culture courses but I've heard that those do have homework and are pretty difficult. 

Nightlife in Rennes

The only downside to living with a host family in Cesson-Sévigné, a neighboring town of Rennes, is being so far away from campus and most of the students. From my first host family's house it took me anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes to get to campus whereas it took about 45 to 60 minutes from my second host family's house. Additionally, the buses don't run as frequently at night and stop running around 12:30am most nights. This makes it difficult for me to enjoy the nightlife with my friends because I have to leave very early to make sure I catch the last bus.

Luckily, this past weekend a friend of mine invited me to stay at her flat one night so we could go to a "Color Date" party at a nightclub in Rennes called Le Pyms. We had a great time dancing with people from all over the world to a variety of music. We had so much fun that we only had to wait 30 minutes for the metro to start running again... at 5:30am. 

Although my social calendar isn't nearly as exciting as it is in Hawaii, having more time alone means making time for more healthy activities such as yoga and cooking at home and it also means saving more money for other, better activities like visiting other countries!

New friends from Colombia and Haiti

Inside Le Pyms

Red = In a relationship

A Glimpse of Rennes and Cesson-Sévigné 

 

Staying Connected While Abroad

Source: http://www.curhatin.ga/gallery/stay-connected.html

Now that I have been in France for nearly a month, I finally feel like I'm settled in. I don't know about you, but I am attached to my phone (aka the Internet) and without it I feel lost and anxious. While some people enjoy taking time away from electronics and exploring new places without being in contact with "the outside world," that life is not for me. Actually getting lost in a foreign city is not my idea of fun. On that note, here are a few tips on staying connected while abroad.

Tip 1: Get a new SIM card

There are other ways to use your phone internationally such as buying an international phone plan from your current service provider, but that tends to be significantly more expensive and you might not get the best service in the location(s) you'll be visiting. Getting a new SIM card is generally the most affordable and convenient option. You will need to unlock your phone before traveling. Google how to do this or call your service provider for help.

Free Mobile is, in my opinion, the best phone company to use for anyone moving to France for a study abroad or exchange.

• 19.99€ per month
• 10€ (one time fee) for nano SIM card (iPhones and most smartphones)
• 20G of data -- yes 20! That's pretty much unlimited
• 4G or 3G internet
• Unlimited calls/SMS/MMS in France
• Unlimited calls to the United States, Canada, China, DOM and 100 other fixed destinations
• This is what the website says (translated from French) but just to be safe, I prefer to make calls to the U.S. via Facebook Messenger
• Unlimited FreeWifi (the phone company's wifi)
• No commitment meaning you can cancel your service anytime

The Free Mobile shop I went to in Rennes (near the République bus stop) had a self-service kiosk that was super easy to use. All you need to have is your local address and a credit card and everything else is pretty self-explanatory (even if you don't know French!).

Note: Because the plan is so cheap, the service isn't always the greatest. It's kind of like comparing Sprint (in the U.S. where their service isn't very strong or reliable) to Verizon. Depending on your signal strength, you may experience slower speeds especially when streaming data, using social media, or using Google Maps. Despite this, I still am happy with the Free Mobile plan overall.

Tip 2: Facebook Messenger

This is my main form of communication with friends and family back home in the United States. I have the FB Messenger app installed on my phone and configured so I get message notifications just like SMS texting. I also use it to video chat whenever I have a decent wifi signal (you can use data but it tends to be slower and poorer quality). You can also use this feature from your computer as long as you're using Google Chrome or Firefox (Safari doesn't work). Finally, you can place calls just like you would normally. The phone icon is right next to the video chat icon in the app.

Video chat date with my boyfriend

Tip 3: Snapchat

In my circle of friends, everyone knows I am a big fan of Snapchat. If you don't know what it is, it's an app that allows you to take pictures and short videos to send to your friends or post to "My Story" for 24 hours. Each picture is only visible for up to 10 seconds then it disappears and the app notifies you if someone screenshots your picture. You can also video chat with friends similar to FB messenger.

So why did I include this app as a tip for staying connected? It's a great way to capture glimpses of your daily life abroad without blowing up your other social media feeds. I'm too lazy to take take tons of pictures using my normal camera then go through and delete the ones I don't want. With Snapchat, I take pictures, send them to people I want or post them to My Story, and save the ones I want to post on my other social media accounts.

Tip 4: Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Netflix bingers rejoice! If you happen to be traveling to a country where Netflix isn't available (oh no!), look into getting a VPN. If you're a university student, google your school name and "VPN" (i.e. University of Hawaii at Manoa VPN) to see if your school offers a free or discounted VPN. My school does, so I was able to follow the instructions and set up the VPN on my laptop. Now whenever I need to access a website that's only available or is configured to the United States, such as Netflix or Pandora, I connect to the VPN before I type in the URL. A VPN is also useful when you want to search for websites in English because since you're connecting to a server in the United States, it will automatically bring up results just like if you were actually physically in the United States.

Tip 5: WhatsApp

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps so I'm going to include it on here. I have had trouble using my WhatsApp mainly because I got a new SIM card and therefore my phone number changed. Anyone with my United States phone number will still show up in my contacts list but I haven't been able to contact them through the app. Apparently, they need to add my new (French) phone number to my contact in their phone.

2016 TUSA Ambassador Summer Scholarship Program Promotion Film

大家好！

Check out the promotional film for the 2016 TUSA Program that I helped produce!

Friends from Around the World

By far, the best part about studying abroad at ESC School of Business in Rennes, France this semester has been meeting people literally from around the world. My first friend in France is from Sweden and I have friends from Slovakia, China, Kazakstan, Colombia, and many more cool countries! It's amazing to meet people from so many different countries and cultures who all are able to communicate in one common language - English. What's even more amazing is the fact that most of the international students here can speak AT LEAST two languages fluently, many can speak conversationally in multiple languages. What an incredible world we live in!

Daniyar - Kazakhstan

兴南, 秋寒，怡琳，霁楚 - China 

Alfred - Sweden

Nina - Taiwan

Shanna - China

Brandon & John - United States

Martin - Slovakia

Maria & Raquel - Colombia

Hyunsu, Woohyun, Jihye, Junghee, & Minji - South Korea

Ashni - India

Carlo - Italy

Hannah, Melanka, & Vanessa - Germany

Zoë, Charlotte, An - Belgium

Ana - Brazil

Nana - Ghana

Franco - Argentina

Karo & Lisa - Germany

Mia, Claudia, & Paul - Finland & Germany

Martina - Poland

Amy - Egypt

Cathy, Lily, Vanessa - Taiwan

Andreas "Panama Jack" - Panama