My First Apartment Tour + Grocery Shop in France

Hello everyone! 

These past 2 weeks I've been working hard on settling into life in France, which was a bit of a bigger challenge than I expected. I think I underestimated what a big change this would all be, and for the first week my anxiety did get the better of me, which prevented me from vlogging a bit. 

However, I'm feeling much more positive and connected to my environment now, so that must mean I'm slowly getting used to life in Dijon.

To expand on the word 'anxiety', I mean that adjusting to using a new language, living in a new place, and navigating a new 'in person' relationship was a lot more tricky than I thought it would be. It required me to adjust my routines, be open to meeting new people, and become determined to use whatever French I could, even in the face of possible rudeness or rejection.

The vlog below was shot on my second or third day in France, when I had just begun to settle into my apartment. Even as I write this now a week and a half later, the place looks very different and more "lived in". I would love to do an updated apartment tour in the future to show you how I really live. 

I went shopping at the French supermarket Monoprix, which is located not far from my home. I've found that, compared to some other shops in my area, Monoprix is a bit expensive when it comes to produce. However, a big plus is that it operates a bit like Walmart in America, meaning it sells clothes, kitchenware, home goods and food. 

I can't testify to knowing much about American grocery prices, however I've done my best to be very price savvy and try to remember that the Euro is stronger than the dollar. That means that when I think I'm spending 1 Euro , it's actually 1.18 dollars. This difference adds up big time when making larger purchases, so I do my best to be conscious of that.

Guillaume and I are slowly establishing what our 'go to' places are, and that has been a fun process to discover. 

I will be starting my classes on the 20th, and I would love to give an inside look on my school, as I haven't seen much about my university on Youtube. Please let me know if there is anything special you'd like to see from my blog/vlog posts.

I hope you enjoy this weeks vlog and I will see you soon!