Adventures with a gigantic water bottle in hand

Last night was my first night out in a big city. Not just any big city, but a city in a different country where everyone is speaking a different language. I went out with two friends around six last night to go grab some dinner. To inform you all some more of French habits, it is absolutely unheard of for the French to eat dinner at six o’clock. My two friends and I are of course privy to French dining times by now, but we didn’t want to go out super late because we still are getting to know the city. After meeting up at Nantes’ largest cathedral, the three of us set out to find a creperie. We had a recommendation from one of our host mother’s, but this recommendation did not include the actual name of the restaurant. We searched and searched, and finally found ourselves a nice little creperie in the Quartier Bouffay. This area of Nantes has multiple great restaurants and lots of bars, and if you are going out, then you are probably going to Quartier Bouffay. The creperie we found was absolutely adorable, although there were only two other people eating there when we arrived. We decided to sit outside because the weather was gorgeous, but sitting outside turned out to be not so great a choice. Although we were speaking French, it must have been obvious to the waiters and the locals that were walking by, that we were Americans. No matter how good my accent might me and no matter how much vocabulary I may have, the French still immediately know I am American. It might be the clothes, or it might just be the genetics, because I am pretty much the picture-perfect “All-American” looking woman. Our first official French dining experience was absolutely amazing. The creperie had a great ten euro deal, and all three of us decided to stick with that due to our small budgets. After leaving the restaurant, we set off to find ourselves a bar to grab a drink. We were walking around trying to find this Irish Pub we had seen before and had heard was popular. In the midst of our wandering, we encountered a very interesting, and obviously very drunk, French couple who wanted to invite us up to their apartment for a drink. In these situations, I just look down and walk away. Unfortunately, one of my comrades did not do the same, and he was caught in the midst of attempting to talk to the drunk folk about their bar recommendation. Their recommendation for a bar was “La Maison,” which they explained served troughs of alcohol that you could just go over and drink from. NO THANK YOU! Once we ditched the drunken locals, we found ourselves trying to decide between bars. After finding a nice Irish Pub, my two friends decided to kindly inform me that I should put the gigantic water bottle I had with me away. This recount of a story would not be complete if I do not mention the gigantic water bottle I had been carrying the entire time. As a bit of a disclaimer, I need to mention that the French do not drink a lot of fluid. Everything is in small amounts. For me, I need my water! The day before, I had bought this huge water bottle with my friend Ryan because we were so thirsty after our historical tour of Nantes. Well, my humongous water bottle purchase from the day before came with me the next day. What is the funny part of carrying a huge water bottle with you throughout a popular neighborhood in a foreign city? Apparently, carrying a huge water bottle is the equivalent to having a big sticker taped to your forehead that says “Look at me. I am an American.” After laughing hysterically and being incredibly embarrassed, I put the huge water bottle in my bag, and my two friends and I went on to have a great night filled with a few drinks. After my second week in Nantes, I am finding I am still obviously an American. I speak the language well, but not well enough. More than anything, I want to start blending in with the culture of this city, and I think it is going to take a few weeks and months to do so. I learned my lesson with the water bottle, but I don’t know if I can change my All-American look! I will continue on with my attempt to blend in!