Guess who decided to skip class the second day? Moi! But not without reason. But let's start on the first day shall we? Ok. My first class here was la grammaire. First subject: punctuation. First lesson: punctuation in poems. I like poetry, some of it, I do. I hate it in class. I was also late, but it didn't matter because le professeur had pushed back class by half an hour. She also informed us that our classes with her the first two weeks would be changed. Not really a big deal je suppose. So grammaire wasn't that bad. Then I had a lunch break, where I was reminded why I tell people I don't seafood. Then writing. There is actually a facebook group called "I survived class with Mme Puech". That's my first writing teacher. It wasn't too bad I guess. Then français écrit and cinema, with the same prof. She shows clips of movies without sound, and then we write about it. She said DSF students don't necessarily have to take that class, so I'm thinking I won't. After that was supposed to be the optional cinema class, but it was let out early because they couldn't get the projector to work. Tuesday I had more writing, with a different prof. I'm not sure I'll like it or not because I had to leave halfway through for un rendez-vous at the bank. This took much longer than they expected, and I didn't get back to the fac until 11h20. My next class was 10h30 - 12h... Well, less than hour left? I decided not to go and instead sat outside writing out this post. It's nice when the sun comes out, and not too bad when it doesn't. I have no idea if people just sit outside here like they do at my university, but I have gotten a few strange looks.
Anyways, I now have a French bank account. I only had to sign about 20 things. I don't actually have the bank card yet, I get to wait some more for that. I also have to figure out how to transfer the money from my account at home to this one. Unfortunately one euro is about $1.45, so although I think I have a lot of money right now, it won't be that much after the transfer.
The rest of mes cours... I think I will like all of my teachers. One is a bit crazy and likes to go off on etymological tangents for ten minutes, but I think I can stand it. My history and geography teacher I think will be hilarious, if I can stay awake in his class. Since I'm in the highest level we're pretty much choosing what we want to learn about in his class. Side note: it is so funny to hear French people try to pronounce Connecticut. I think it's because we don't pronounce the c in the middle, and they do. Overall my classes are pretty much like my classes in the states, except it's all in French and about French. Homework doesn't seem to be too bad either, and so far I only have to buy two books, one for 4,50€ and the other for 15€. I just have to not go out at night during the week. Fridays are more fun anyways.
Completely unrelated: I finally opened up my bag of ogre-sized peanut butter m&ms that I brought, and they are just as good in France. I wish I had brought more instead of leaving the rest at home.
This week I got to take the tram by myself a few times. It makes me feel more French. I also found at that 7h45 is rush hour on the tram. There were so many people that for about five stops I couldn't even hold onto a bar. I was so afraid of falling into the guy behind me. Luckily my public transportation balancing skills are quite good from having to stand on the shuttle at my university (people who have done this know how challenging it can be, especially with the crazy drivers). I managed to lose my tram ticket Friday morning, it still had six trips left on it. Merde. So Friday afternoon I used my back-up. It's a 10-trip ticket that says I have three trips left, but no longer works. I just dodged the controllers too. At the station they were on the other side checking people as they got off, then they got on a tram going the other direction. Then the tram got really full so I wasn't worried they'd get on. Controllers are who work for the tram and bus system. They randomly get on trams to check people's tickets, or they wait at a station and check you before you can get off. When you first get on the tram you have to put your ticket through a little machine that stamps it with the date and time.
When I have to go to school alone I put on my ipod, speed walk to the station (good exercise), and then try not to stare at people on the tram. It's not bad though. I'm glad my classes don't run really late though. On Mondays I have cinema until 20h (8pm), but Kay and Dee are taking it too, so we're not going back online in the dark.
Et ça c'est tout pour maintenant.
01 October 2007
27 September 2007
Sauf cars
This is an actual road sign. Their stop signs also say 'stop', and they are in love with round-abouts. I've become quite fond of the phrases "cedez le passage" and "vouz n'avez pas la prioritie". The French are funny about english. They use "sauf cars", but had to change email to 'Mèl' so it was more French. They also say cool, or c'est super cool! On my shampoo bottle, you can read 'nouveau look!'.
Orléans
I would like to explain some things about France and alcohol. People drink a lot of wine, I'm sure most people knew that. The legal age to buy alcohol is 18, and I haven't been carded. You can also drink in public. For example: Dee was drinking with her host-sister and some friends on the lawn behind in the Eiffel Tower. You just can't be 'drunk' in public.
But back to me. Wednesday was a little slow at first. In the afternoon Dee and I went up to the centre commercial. Somehow it seems three shirts from H&M jumped into a bag which snaked its way onto my arm. Oops! At least two of them I do need because they're long-sleeve. The third is just a really nice purple tank top. Later on the three of us went on a little tour of Orléans, and of course there are photos. For facebook people, look there, and sorry about the great number of pics of the Cathèdrale St. Croix, I just love cathedrals. That evening we met up at Chez Michigan, which is actually just Michigan's room. He has internet and a TV though; so we like to call it that. I had two glasses of of champagne, the entire bottle was only 2,50€. Oh that's the other thing about alcohol in France...it's cheap. Some things like whiskey, gin, vodka and rum are about the same. but you can get a bottle of wine or champagne for 2€. of course the really good stuff is pricier.
Now Thursday ( 6 septembre for you date freaks) was a funny day. We had gone to campus to talk to someone at the SRI, and it turned out that we had a meeting! This was actually quite an important meeting too, where we filled out forms and got a lot of info. It was from 9h to about 17h (5pm), with a lunch break. I have to admit, lunch that day was a little scary, and a lot like high school. We needed up sitting across from this French kid who was so cute. For awhile he wouldn't look up, though we could tell he was listening and wanted to talk. Eventually he did.
Thursday is also when I found out that I don't need to buy French health insurance (192€), and that I couldn't finish registering because my birth certificate doesn't have my parents names on it. Oh fun! And my dad was on vacation with no way to contact him...stress city.
Thursday night we tried to meet some people in our building, but it didn't really work. We lit some candles and brought drinks and music down in to the courtyard. It was fun. We almost went to the club, but decided against it. We found out the next day that Thursday nights at this club there are like go go dancers and stripteases, so I'm kinda glad we didn't.
Friday we had to go back to campus for some more information and to get our class placements and schedules. There are four levels here French: prepq-DEF, DEF, DAF, and DSF. These stand for diplome elementaire/approfondi/supérior français. So DSF is the highest, and has only 10 students. I got into DSF...yay me! I'm not sure how exactly because I thought my French was about the same level as Dee's and Kay's, and they are both in DAF. But I'm somewhat proud of myself. My schedule isn't bad either. I have an hour less of grammaire, and an hour less of pratique oral, but I have to take two 2hour optional classes, they have to take only one.
Blah blah, that was the boring part of the day. Around 8h we decided to hit up the Havana Café because it has wifi grauit. But...it didn't work. We also brought a guy from our residence with us. While Dee and I were waiting for Kay, he asked us if we knew a bar with a tv so he could watch the rugby match. As it happened, the Havana Café has TVs. They don't have food though. So we left him and went across the street for food. That place also had a tv so we saw the first 25 minutes of the match, which was actually the Rugby World Cup between France and Argentina (France lost). For dinner I had a cordon bleu grinder. Have I mentioned that I love France?
After dinner we returned chez nous. That night we were going to the discothèque, KA. They dressed me up and id m hair because, let's face it, I'm a dork. Then we drank and attempted to play a drinking game. The game: one person finds a word in the French dictionary, says it, spells it, gives its part of speech and uses it in a sentence. The other two have to guess the definition, and if they don't guess correctly; they drink. This was not as easy as we thought. We left a little after midnight because KA is open 11-5, and people don't really show up until 12h30 - 1h30. It turned out to be kinda crazy and a lot of fun.
Saturday we didn't leave the residence. I personally spent most of the day being slow and cautious to avoid the worst part of a hangover: puking. I was successful, go me. My hives came back with a vengeance, I had fourteen different ones by the time I went to bed...or rather passed out after taking two benadryls. Saturday night we did watch a movie: The Motorcycle Diaries. One of our neighbors watched it with us. For the comprehension of all, we set this movie (originally in Spanish) to French and put on English subtitles. Despite this is was a good movie.
Sunday I was a little out of it, after sleeping 10 hours thanks to the benadryl. I almost spent the day inside again, but in the afternoon we realized we needed food so we went out. This didn't work, pas de tout. It was Sunday. On Sunday in France, stores close, all stores. I believe only cafés and restaurants can open, if they choose. The trams also only run every 20 minutes instead of every seven. However, le Place de Martroi, and a lot of rue de la republique were closed off this day for Fete de Rentrée...street festival! Kinda. There were tents wit ha ton of different organisations (Kay was in heaven when she spotted the flag of GAGL). They also had demonstrations of things like karate and gymnastics that kids can do here. And a crepe stand. Deeeelicious. The crepe was, no joke, about 18"-21" across, the put nutella on it, and fold it until it's about the size of a pizza slice. Crepe heaven.
Afterwards we got lazy (and we had no food) so we ordered Dominos...for delivery. They had me order because I'm in DSF. I think I did quite well actually, but they still screwed up our orders. It was good, but the cheese is different. How can I describe it...oh! It's real cheese. We also watched Erin Brockevich (sp?), dubbed in French on tv at Chez Michigans. by the way, there were three or four commercial breaks; about four minutes long each, during the entire thing. I was also online; which means facebook (and pics), and emails...I've missed the internet so much.
But back to me. Wednesday was a little slow at first. In the afternoon Dee and I went up to the centre commercial. Somehow it seems three shirts from H&M jumped into a bag which snaked its way onto my arm. Oops! At least two of them I do need because they're long-sleeve. The third is just a really nice purple tank top. Later on the three of us went on a little tour of Orléans, and of course there are photos. For facebook people, look there, and sorry about the great number of pics of the Cathèdrale St. Croix, I just love cathedrals. That evening we met up at Chez Michigan, which is actually just Michigan's room. He has internet and a TV though; so we like to call it that. I had two glasses of of champagne, the entire bottle was only 2,50€. Oh that's the other thing about alcohol in France...it's cheap. Some things like whiskey, gin, vodka and rum are about the same. but you can get a bottle of wine or champagne for 2€. of course the really good stuff is pricier.
Now Thursday ( 6 septembre for you date freaks) was a funny day. We had gone to campus to talk to someone at the SRI, and it turned out that we had a meeting! This was actually quite an important meeting too, where we filled out forms and got a lot of info. It was from 9h to about 17h (5pm), with a lunch break. I have to admit, lunch that day was a little scary, and a lot like high school. We needed up sitting across from this French kid who was so cute. For awhile he wouldn't look up, though we could tell he was listening and wanted to talk. Eventually he did.
Thursday is also when I found out that I don't need to buy French health insurance (192€), and that I couldn't finish registering because my birth certificate doesn't have my parents names on it. Oh fun! And my dad was on vacation with no way to contact him...stress city.
Thursday night we tried to meet some people in our building, but it didn't really work. We lit some candles and brought drinks and music down in to the courtyard. It was fun. We almost went to the club, but decided against it. We found out the next day that Thursday nights at this club there are like go go dancers and stripteases, so I'm kinda glad we didn't.
Friday we had to go back to campus for some more information and to get our class placements and schedules. There are four levels here French: prepq-DEF, DEF, DAF, and DSF. These stand for diplome elementaire/approfondi/supérior français. So DSF is the highest, and has only 10 students. I got into DSF...yay me! I'm not sure how exactly because I thought my French was about the same level as Dee's and Kay's, and they are both in DAF. But I'm somewhat proud of myself. My schedule isn't bad either. I have an hour less of grammaire, and an hour less of pratique oral, but I have to take two 2hour optional classes, they have to take only one.
Blah blah, that was the boring part of the day. Around 8h we decided to hit up the Havana Café because it has wifi grauit. But...it didn't work. We also brought a guy from our residence with us. While Dee and I were waiting for Kay, he asked us if we knew a bar with a tv so he could watch the rugby match. As it happened, the Havana Café has TVs. They don't have food though. So we left him and went across the street for food. That place also had a tv so we saw the first 25 minutes of the match, which was actually the Rugby World Cup between France and Argentina (France lost). For dinner I had a cordon bleu grinder. Have I mentioned that I love France?
After dinner we returned chez nous. That night we were going to the discothèque, KA. They dressed me up and id m hair because, let's face it, I'm a dork. Then we drank and attempted to play a drinking game. The game: one person finds a word in the French dictionary, says it, spells it, gives its part of speech and uses it in a sentence. The other two have to guess the definition, and if they don't guess correctly; they drink. This was not as easy as we thought. We left a little after midnight because KA is open 11-5, and people don't really show up until 12h30 - 1h30. It turned out to be kinda crazy and a lot of fun.
Saturday we didn't leave the residence. I personally spent most of the day being slow and cautious to avoid the worst part of a hangover: puking. I was successful, go me. My hives came back with a vengeance, I had fourteen different ones by the time I went to bed...or rather passed out after taking two benadryls. Saturday night we did watch a movie: The Motorcycle Diaries. One of our neighbors watched it with us. For the comprehension of all, we set this movie (originally in Spanish) to French and put on English subtitles. Despite this is was a good movie.
Sunday I was a little out of it, after sleeping 10 hours thanks to the benadryl. I almost spent the day inside again, but in the afternoon we realized we needed food so we went out. This didn't work, pas de tout. It was Sunday. On Sunday in France, stores close, all stores. I believe only cafés and restaurants can open, if they choose. The trams also only run every 20 minutes instead of every seven. However, le Place de Martroi, and a lot of rue de la republique were closed off this day for Fete de Rentrée...street festival! Kinda. There were tents wit ha ton of different organisations (Kay was in heaven when she spotted the flag of GAGL). They also had demonstrations of things like karate and gymnastics that kids can do here. And a crepe stand. Deeeelicious. The crepe was, no joke, about 18"-21" across, the put nutella on it, and fold it until it's about the size of a pizza slice. Crepe heaven.
Afterwards we got lazy (and we had no food) so we ordered Dominos...for delivery. They had me order because I'm in DSF. I think I did quite well actually, but they still screwed up our orders. It was good, but the cheese is different. How can I describe it...oh! It's real cheese. We also watched Erin Brockevich (sp?), dubbed in French on tv at Chez Michigans. by the way, there were three or four commercial breaks; about four minutes long each, during the entire thing. I was also online; which means facebook (and pics), and emails...I've missed the internet so much.
First real day (and night) in Orléans
For anyone who cares, I did not need a pencil. I only needed my passport and a pen. I don't like carrying my passport around, but it's the only acceptable ID I have here.
At 7h30 du matin, I met Kay and Dee in the courtyard. It was fairly cold, and if I have classes early in the morning than I'm buying a winter coat within a week. We were supposed to be there at 8h50. We got to campus around 8h10. So we stopped in a little café to pass the time. The guy that worked there was hilarious, I won't even try to explain because it's something you'd just have to experience for yourself.
Around 8h40 we went in search of the amphi-Péguy, in the fac de lettres, where our French test was. A little explanation. At American universities, there is the university which includes everything and everyone. Then there are colleges. For example I'm in the college of human sciences and services because I'm an education major. However your college does not necessarily have it's own building, or if you're in two colleges (I'm also in arts and sciences for French), then you may have classes all over campus. Here, there is the university which is everything. Un collège is actually like a middle school. In the university there are facultés, or les facs. here I'm in the fac de lettres; langes et sciences, but everyone just says le fac de lettres. Tina is in Polytech. So all of my classes this semester will be in the fac de lettres, all of Tina's will be in the Polytech. Personally I think it's smarter this way. End of explanation.
First we took a written exam, three questions for a total of 75 points. I think I lay have gotten 6 wrong, But I wouldn't be surprised if I got them all right. It was like a test from French 3 or 4 in high school. Then we had to wait a while for the oral exam. by now a kid from Michigan joined us, so we were quatre. We walked into the commercial part of campus (kind of like the Emporium but not) and found a place 'Restaurant Bunny', as in Bugs Bunny. We sat under a big pictures of the cartoons (Bugs, Daffy, Elmer Fudd, etc);
The nice things about cafés and restaurants in France is they're not rushing you the door. you have to ask for the check, so you can sit and chill for awhile if you want. Then we went back to the fac and waited for the oral exams to start. We met two kids from Germany lugging their bags around because they had just arrived. I was first, it was less than ten minutes, very conversational, and therefore easy as shit. Then Kay, then Deni, then Michigan. While waiting for each other we met two girls from Turkey who are doing volunteer work for a while. It's kinda cool that we can meet people from practically every where here, and it's almost certain that we can communicate. most other countries learn two other languages, and often one is English. So if they're not comfortable with French, we have English.
Well after this test the four of us were done, and we also had nothing academic the next day. After a little repose we went to the centre commercial. I finally changed my cash over, at the shitty rate of 1.445. I mailed out my first stuff: a letter and a postcard. Don't worry people, if I said I would send a postcard, I will, it's only my first week in Orléans. If you want one, I need addresses and you can leave them on here or on facebook or email me. They do cost 0,85€ so I'm not gonna go crazy. Also, I'm not in Paris, I don't know if I can get Eiffel Tower ones here.
Enough about you, let's go back to me. After la poste, it was back to Carrefour for more food and such. We bought way too much. You cannot take the carriages out of the centre commercial. So we had to buy extra bags, cram our stuff into them, then walk to the tram. We most likely looked absolutely ridiculous on the tram with all of our stuff. Then we had the walk from the tram to our building. Holy shit. I never knew that walk was so long. Again, I'm fairly certain we looked ridiculous: hefting these bags, and huffing and puffing and giving ourselves pep-talks. "Ok, just lake it to the next cross-walk, then rest;" We broke open a bottle of juice and a baguette on the way. Big baguette by the way, that costs like $2 at S&S, 0,39€! Definitely a new staple. Needless to say my neck and shoulders killed the next day.
After ranging our affaires (like the franglais?) I had dinner with Kate. Ravioli cooked with garlic and red pepper...so delicious. i cracked open my bottle of Old Nick. It was only 4,85€ fora good-sized bottle. Pineapple and papaya white rum. Nasty. Not incredibly horrible with orange juice chased by baguette.
Around 10 we went down to Dee's room, where Michigan had to stay for the night because he lost his keys on the tram. Too bad because he gets free wireless from someone else in his room. He and Dee had two bottles of wine, Kay had one, and I had Old Nick. Fun night. All I'll say is that I think we know each other a lot better, and I didn't get back to my room until 3h30am. Oh and a great quote from Kay, "I like to shit in Nordstrom's 'cause they have nice bathrooms." Haha, I love it. I think we may have scared Michigan a little...
I got to bed around 3h30, woke up around 7h. My first thought, "oh god I'm glad I stopped drinking when I did." Water and a croissant got me through the morning, every time I woke up again. I didn't actually get up until 11h. It was a slow morning.
A funny note about French. Bachelor party translates from French to English, literally, as 'interment of single life'.
Savez-vous pourquoi j'aime cette langue?
At 7h30 du matin, I met Kay and Dee in the courtyard. It was fairly cold, and if I have classes early in the morning than I'm buying a winter coat within a week. We were supposed to be there at 8h50. We got to campus around 8h10. So we stopped in a little café to pass the time. The guy that worked there was hilarious, I won't even try to explain because it's something you'd just have to experience for yourself.
Around 8h40 we went in search of the amphi-Péguy, in the fac de lettres, where our French test was. A little explanation. At American universities, there is the university which includes everything and everyone. Then there are colleges. For example I'm in the college of human sciences and services because I'm an education major. However your college does not necessarily have it's own building, or if you're in two colleges (I'm also in arts and sciences for French), then you may have classes all over campus. Here, there is the university which is everything. Un collège is actually like a middle school. In the university there are facultés, or les facs. here I'm in the fac de lettres; langes et sciences, but everyone just says le fac de lettres. Tina is in Polytech. So all of my classes this semester will be in the fac de lettres, all of Tina's will be in the Polytech. Personally I think it's smarter this way. End of explanation.
First we took a written exam, three questions for a total of 75 points. I think I lay have gotten 6 wrong, But I wouldn't be surprised if I got them all right. It was like a test from French 3 or 4 in high school. Then we had to wait a while for the oral exam. by now a kid from Michigan joined us, so we were quatre. We walked into the commercial part of campus (kind of like the Emporium but not) and found a place 'Restaurant Bunny', as in Bugs Bunny. We sat under a big pictures of the cartoons (Bugs, Daffy, Elmer Fudd, etc);
The nice things about cafés and restaurants in France is they're not rushing you the door. you have to ask for the check, so you can sit and chill for awhile if you want. Then we went back to the fac and waited for the oral exams to start. We met two kids from Germany lugging their bags around because they had just arrived. I was first, it was less than ten minutes, very conversational, and therefore easy as shit. Then Kay, then Deni, then Michigan. While waiting for each other we met two girls from Turkey who are doing volunteer work for a while. It's kinda cool that we can meet people from practically every where here, and it's almost certain that we can communicate. most other countries learn two other languages, and often one is English. So if they're not comfortable with French, we have English.
Well after this test the four of us were done, and we also had nothing academic the next day. After a little repose we went to the centre commercial. I finally changed my cash over, at the shitty rate of 1.445. I mailed out my first stuff: a letter and a postcard. Don't worry people, if I said I would send a postcard, I will, it's only my first week in Orléans. If you want one, I need addresses and you can leave them on here or on facebook or email me. They do cost 0,85€ so I'm not gonna go crazy. Also, I'm not in Paris, I don't know if I can get Eiffel Tower ones here.
Enough about you, let's go back to me. After la poste, it was back to Carrefour for more food and such. We bought way too much. You cannot take the carriages out of the centre commercial. So we had to buy extra bags, cram our stuff into them, then walk to the tram. We most likely looked absolutely ridiculous on the tram with all of our stuff. Then we had the walk from the tram to our building. Holy shit. I never knew that walk was so long. Again, I'm fairly certain we looked ridiculous: hefting these bags, and huffing and puffing and giving ourselves pep-talks. "Ok, just lake it to the next cross-walk, then rest;" We broke open a bottle of juice and a baguette on the way. Big baguette by the way, that costs like $2 at S&S, 0,39€! Definitely a new staple. Needless to say my neck and shoulders killed the next day.
After ranging our affaires (like the franglais?) I had dinner with Kate. Ravioli cooked with garlic and red pepper...so delicious. i cracked open my bottle of Old Nick. It was only 4,85€ fora good-sized bottle. Pineapple and papaya white rum. Nasty. Not incredibly horrible with orange juice chased by baguette.
Around 10 we went down to Dee's room, where Michigan had to stay for the night because he lost his keys on the tram. Too bad because he gets free wireless from someone else in his room. He and Dee had two bottles of wine, Kay had one, and I had Old Nick. Fun night. All I'll say is that I think we know each other a lot better, and I didn't get back to my room until 3h30am. Oh and a great quote from Kay, "I like to shit in Nordstrom's 'cause they have nice bathrooms." Haha, I love it. I think we may have scared Michigan a little...
I got to bed around 3h30, woke up around 7h. My first thought, "oh god I'm glad I stopped drinking when I did." Water and a croissant got me through the morning, every time I woke up again. I didn't actually get up until 11h. It was a slow morning.
A funny note about French. Bachelor party translates from French to English, literally, as 'interment of single life'.
Savez-vous pourquoi j'aime cette langue?
26 September 2007
J'ai démanagé encore
3 septembre 2007
So today I finally moved into my apartment. First I had a meeting at the SRI ( services de relations internationales). The woman there was very nice and informed me that I had to be on campus at 8h50 the next day for my French test. Then I paid 5€ for my dishes and such. They only gave me a fork, knife, spoon, serving spoon, plate, bowl, spatula, pot, frying pan, and 2 glasses. Everyone got different things (Kay and Dee both got strainers, and Dee also got a cutting board). They also gave me a packet of info, with maps and brochures for stuff like the tram and restaurants. Then they sent us (Tina and I) off to the residence. We had to be there by a certain time, but when we arrived there were 3 other people waiting already. After maybe 20 minutes the girl who was before me at the first rendez-vous went to do the état de lieu. Finally I went in the Secretariat's office. They said I was missing some stuff; and I had to fill out a paper and sign some stuff. They didn't like it that I already had my flight back home and that it's for the 26th, but too bad for them 'cause it's cheaper to buy round trip. So then we did the Etat de Lieu. This means that we went to my apartment with a maintenance guy, and he had a paper to fill out. He took note of everything (and I mean everything) that was wrong, from missing button to flush the toilet to the tiny dings in the floor. They do another one the day before we leave to see if it's in the same condition and to determine whether or not I get my deposit back. This is why they didn't like it that I'm leaving the 26th...the day before is Christmas. Whatever, they can do it on the 23rd or the morning I leave.
I also found out that I have to get insurance for the apartment...no one told me this...and I have to sign up for financial help for the rent even though I've already paid for all of it, and the chance of getting it is slim to none. I also had to rent sheets and blankets because they come together. I brought my own sheets but oh well, I'll send them home when my visitors come I guess. I didn't have to pay for them because I overpaid for the room. Now I have to find out how much I overpaid, and when they're gonna give it back. I wouldn't mind some extra euros in my account.
After lugging my stuff down the street and up the stairs, Tina and I went to the centre commercial. I finally got some euros, bought tram tickets and food for about three days. Although the Super U in Gevrey_Chambertin was great, the Carrefour in Orléans is not. If you think S&S on a Sunday with three call-outs is bad, try this place, every day. The front end was so packed it would probably take five minutes to squeeze through with a cart from one end to the other.
After this little outing I was finally able to settle in. There's no dresser, so three shelves of my bookcase now hold clothes, another holds daily stuff like jewelry and vitamins, the bottom is sheets and my bag. After I rangé mes affaires I went in search of the other two girls from my home university. One wasn't in her room, and as I was going upstairs to find the other, she came in with her host family and groceries. We tried speaking French for a few minutes, but then she finally said, 'fuck it, I've had enough'. She put her stuff away, then we came up to my room for dinner and exchanged stories about our first few days.
I think I will get in shape here. My room is on the 3ème étage (floor). Unlike in America, the floors here start on the 2nd. The ground floor is the rez-de-chaussée, then the first floor. So in America you would say that I live on the fourth floor. So at least once a day I have to go up and down four flights of stairs (no elevators). Since my residence is in the centre-ville, and campus is across the Loire river, I have to take the tram. However, there are no stops at my residence. It's three or four blocks away, about 10 minutes walking. I definitely need to invest in an umbrella and a winter coat.
I think I will also learn how to cook better. My kitchen consists of a big shelf, two shelves in a little cupboard under the sink, a small sink with space on the side to dry dishes, and two small burners. And a mini-fridge. At least the burners are electric. No stove, no microwave...only cold and stove top. I also have to pay for my electricity, so I light get some candles for the evening to save on light use.
There is also a table with two chairs, and a little bedside table type thing with a drawer and two shelves. The drawer now holds socks and underwear, and the shelf is my mass of papers and school supplies. It's about 400€ a month, and the furniture is very dorm-ish. Would I pay that much for a place this size in my town? No way. But if I could find a place this size I would pay $250-$300 depending on whether or not hot water and electricity were included. I have one good-sized window, with a ledge big enough to sit on and write on. It only looks out on the courtyard, which means doors and some other peoples windows, but hey, it's a window. It's also very easy to watch everyone else without them noticing me.
Tomorrow beings my scholarly adventure. I hope I don't need a pencil because all I have is a pen. We'll see I guess.
à beintot!
So today I finally moved into my apartment. First I had a meeting at the SRI ( services de relations internationales). The woman there was very nice and informed me that I had to be on campus at 8h50 the next day for my French test. Then I paid 5€ for my dishes and such. They only gave me a fork, knife, spoon, serving spoon, plate, bowl, spatula, pot, frying pan, and 2 glasses. Everyone got different things (Kay and Dee both got strainers, and Dee also got a cutting board). They also gave me a packet of info, with maps and brochures for stuff like the tram and restaurants. Then they sent us (Tina and I) off to the residence. We had to be there by a certain time, but when we arrived there were 3 other people waiting already. After maybe 20 minutes the girl who was before me at the first rendez-vous went to do the état de lieu. Finally I went in the Secretariat's office. They said I was missing some stuff; and I had to fill out a paper and sign some stuff. They didn't like it that I already had my flight back home and that it's for the 26th, but too bad for them 'cause it's cheaper to buy round trip. So then we did the Etat de Lieu. This means that we went to my apartment with a maintenance guy, and he had a paper to fill out. He took note of everything (and I mean everything) that was wrong, from missing button to flush the toilet to the tiny dings in the floor. They do another one the day before we leave to see if it's in the same condition and to determine whether or not I get my deposit back. This is why they didn't like it that I'm leaving the 26th...the day before is Christmas. Whatever, they can do it on the 23rd or the morning I leave.
I also found out that I have to get insurance for the apartment...no one told me this...and I have to sign up for financial help for the rent even though I've already paid for all of it, and the chance of getting it is slim to none. I also had to rent sheets and blankets because they come together. I brought my own sheets but oh well, I'll send them home when my visitors come I guess. I didn't have to pay for them because I overpaid for the room. Now I have to find out how much I overpaid, and when they're gonna give it back. I wouldn't mind some extra euros in my account.
After lugging my stuff down the street and up the stairs, Tina and I went to the centre commercial. I finally got some euros, bought tram tickets and food for about three days. Although the Super U in Gevrey_Chambertin was great, the Carrefour in Orléans is not. If you think S&S on a Sunday with three call-outs is bad, try this place, every day. The front end was so packed it would probably take five minutes to squeeze through with a cart from one end to the other.
After this little outing I was finally able to settle in. There's no dresser, so three shelves of my bookcase now hold clothes, another holds daily stuff like jewelry and vitamins, the bottom is sheets and my bag. After I rangé mes affaires I went in search of the other two girls from my home university. One wasn't in her room, and as I was going upstairs to find the other, she came in with her host family and groceries. We tried speaking French for a few minutes, but then she finally said, 'fuck it, I've had enough'. She put her stuff away, then we came up to my room for dinner and exchanged stories about our first few days.
I think I will get in shape here. My room is on the 3ème étage (floor). Unlike in America, the floors here start on the 2nd. The ground floor is the rez-de-chaussée, then the first floor. So in America you would say that I live on the fourth floor. So at least once a day I have to go up and down four flights of stairs (no elevators). Since my residence is in the centre-ville, and campus is across the Loire river, I have to take the tram. However, there are no stops at my residence. It's three or four blocks away, about 10 minutes walking. I definitely need to invest in an umbrella and a winter coat.
I think I will also learn how to cook better. My kitchen consists of a big shelf, two shelves in a little cupboard under the sink, a small sink with space on the side to dry dishes, and two small burners. And a mini-fridge. At least the burners are electric. No stove, no microwave...only cold and stove top. I also have to pay for my electricity, so I light get some candles for the evening to save on light use.
There is also a table with two chairs, and a little bedside table type thing with a drawer and two shelves. The drawer now holds socks and underwear, and the shelf is my mass of papers and school supplies. It's about 400€ a month, and the furniture is very dorm-ish. Would I pay that much for a place this size in my town? No way. But if I could find a place this size I would pay $250-$300 depending on whether or not hot water and electricity were included. I have one good-sized window, with a ledge big enough to sit on and write on. It only looks out on the courtyard, which means doors and some other peoples windows, but hey, it's a window. It's also very easy to watch everyone else without them noticing me.
Tomorrow beings my scholarly adventure. I hope I don't need a pencil because all I have is a pen. We'll see I guess.
à beintot!
12 September 2007
Les Premiers Jours
Aside from the food there is quite a bit to tell about my time with my famille d'accueil. I arrived the 30th, and slept until about 11:30am on the 31st. Oops. That day la mère took me to Beaune, another town about 20 minutes away from Gevrey-Chambertin. By the way, these towns and Dijon are in Bourgogne, or Burgundy, and are quite famous for their wine. I saw a ton of vineyards. Anyways, in Beaune there is the Hospice de Beaune, or Hopital de Dieu. Basically from the 14th century to about 1985, religious women lived there, and it housed sick people that they cared for and fed. They owned/own vineyards and the wine they produce is famous and they use the proceeds to run the place. It is now a museum, but they still make wine, and if I heard correctly, it pays the salaries of the people who work there. It is a very old place with some beautiful artwork inside. I took about 25 photos, but they are on a different memory card and I'm not sure how I can get them on a computer.
Afterwards la mère had to go go grocery shopping, so we stopped at a Super U. To everyone at Stop & Shop, sorry but if they opened a Super U next door, I'd be there. They have us beat. It's kind of like Walmart, in that they sell clothes and electronics and stuff, but it's not all shitty, and the food section is as big as Stop & Shop. At the front of the store they have little stores like an optician, flower store, laundry place, and a tabac (like a convenience store). Obviously the cheese shop is huge, and in produce they have scales in the produce section where you weigh your stuff and put a price tag on it. Everything else is pretty much the same...except the names. I find the French versions hilarious. he kicker is the front end. No plastic bags; you can buy a reusable one, bring your own, or put it all back in the cart. And the cashiers get to sit on nice little swivel chairs with cushions. Ce n'est pas juste.
That night Tina, Pierre and I went to Dijon and walked around a bit. I took some nice photos which are on facebook, je pense, maybe not though. Throughout the centre ville, there are little metal triangles with cartoon-like chouettes (owls) on them in the street. These lead to a big metal square with a larger chouette on it that's numbered. The highest I saw was 15, but I only saw three of them. I think each one is next to a chouette on a building, like on the corner in the stone. I guess in Dijon you are supposed to pet or rub the chouette and make a wish. I took pics of the owls too.
The next day, the 1st, I went back to Dijon with la mere et le père. We walked around some more, I took more photos. I know these ones are on facebook. It was a nice day in town. At dinner that night le père informed me that since tomorrow was Sunday we were going to church. So just when I had pretty much gotten over being nervous, I got to start again. I'm atheist, I don't go to church. They pray before meals and that's fine, but church? Let's go over why I began to internally freak out: 1) I'm atheist, 2) I have no good memories of church: service was boring and the kids in Sunday school excluded me, and I went to a Catholic mass once that scared the shit out of me, 3) lots of people I don't know (let's remember my slight social issues), 4) it's in French, 5) lots of people doing ritual type things; my only rituals are sleeping, eating, and telling myself I look good before I leave the house, and 6) they sing. I don't sing in public, and I don't know the songs even if I wanted to. At least they're not Catholic like 80% of France (no offense to any Catholics), but I might've cried that night if they were. As it was I woke up with a hive on my left cheek bone, right next to my eye. Lovely. But of course I went. It actually wasn't that bad. We stood for a while, they sang and I didn't. It wasn't in an actual church, more of a community center room, so that helped the nervousness. It was pretty laid back: some women dressed up, many people wore jeans and a nice shirt (which is casual dress here), kids played in the back and people whispered occasionally throughout. I had hoped after the singing it would be over. Nope. Some church news, prayers, then a pastor came up and gave a sermon. I thought it was long. I tried to pay attention at first, to see if I could understand, but I was sleepy. So instead I forced myself to think about things in order to stay awake. I thought after that it would be over. Not quite. Then it was like social time. More nervousness. Thankfully Tina warned me that people might 'faire de bisous' to me. They did, quite a bit. I did actually talk to a few people. La mere found two guys who also English, so for a little while I spoke French and English with a Frenchman who spoke English pretty well, and a Brazilian who didn't. He said asked like 'ask ed', it was amusing. At first they thought I was Polish. Haha. Finally we left. When we got back we had lunch, then Tina and I left for Orleans. We stopped in Dijon so she could say goodbye to Pierre. We parked illegally, so she said if the police came to yell for her. I could've gone with her, but she said once that they plan on getting engaged, so I figured I'd let them alone for a goodbye. Besides, I have a music quiz and solitaire on my ipod. So after about 15 minutes the police drive by and pull up behind me. I considered yelling but she was inside. I decided I would pretend that I didn't know French. However they didn't come over to me, and after 4 or 5 minutes Tina and Pierre came out. I guess they nabbed someone else on the street. But for a few minutes I was pretty scared.
Then onto Orleans. It was over 3 hours on the road.
Mais pour ca, un autre post!
Afterwards la mère had to go go grocery shopping, so we stopped at a Super U. To everyone at Stop & Shop, sorry but if they opened a Super U next door, I'd be there. They have us beat. It's kind of like Walmart, in that they sell clothes and electronics and stuff, but it's not all shitty, and the food section is as big as Stop & Shop. At the front of the store they have little stores like an optician, flower store, laundry place, and a tabac (like a convenience store). Obviously the cheese shop is huge, and in produce they have scales in the produce section where you weigh your stuff and put a price tag on it. Everything else is pretty much the same...except the names. I find the French versions hilarious. he kicker is the front end. No plastic bags; you can buy a reusable one, bring your own, or put it all back in the cart. And the cashiers get to sit on nice little swivel chairs with cushions. Ce n'est pas juste.
That night Tina, Pierre and I went to Dijon and walked around a bit. I took some nice photos which are on facebook, je pense, maybe not though. Throughout the centre ville, there are little metal triangles with cartoon-like chouettes (owls) on them in the street. These lead to a big metal square with a larger chouette on it that's numbered. The highest I saw was 15, but I only saw three of them. I think each one is next to a chouette on a building, like on the corner in the stone. I guess in Dijon you are supposed to pet or rub the chouette and make a wish. I took pics of the owls too.
The next day, the 1st, I went back to Dijon with la mere et le père. We walked around some more, I took more photos. I know these ones are on facebook. It was a nice day in town. At dinner that night le père informed me that since tomorrow was Sunday we were going to church. So just when I had pretty much gotten over being nervous, I got to start again. I'm atheist, I don't go to church. They pray before meals and that's fine, but church? Let's go over why I began to internally freak out: 1) I'm atheist, 2) I have no good memories of church: service was boring and the kids in Sunday school excluded me, and I went to a Catholic mass once that scared the shit out of me, 3) lots of people I don't know (let's remember my slight social issues), 4) it's in French, 5) lots of people doing ritual type things; my only rituals are sleeping, eating, and telling myself I look good before I leave the house, and 6) they sing. I don't sing in public, and I don't know the songs even if I wanted to. At least they're not Catholic like 80% of France (no offense to any Catholics), but I might've cried that night if they were. As it was I woke up with a hive on my left cheek bone, right next to my eye. Lovely. But of course I went. It actually wasn't that bad. We stood for a while, they sang and I didn't. It wasn't in an actual church, more of a community center room, so that helped the nervousness. It was pretty laid back: some women dressed up, many people wore jeans and a nice shirt (which is casual dress here), kids played in the back and people whispered occasionally throughout. I had hoped after the singing it would be over. Nope. Some church news, prayers, then a pastor came up and gave a sermon. I thought it was long. I tried to pay attention at first, to see if I could understand, but I was sleepy. So instead I forced myself to think about things in order to stay awake. I thought after that it would be over. Not quite. Then it was like social time. More nervousness. Thankfully Tina warned me that people might 'faire de bisous' to me. They did, quite a bit. I did actually talk to a few people. La mere found two guys who also English, so for a little while I spoke French and English with a Frenchman who spoke English pretty well, and a Brazilian who didn't. He said asked like 'ask ed', it was amusing. At first they thought I was Polish. Haha. Finally we left. When we got back we had lunch, then Tina and I left for Orleans. We stopped in Dijon so she could say goodbye to Pierre. We parked illegally, so she said if the police came to yell for her. I could've gone with her, but she said once that they plan on getting engaged, so I figured I'd let them alone for a goodbye. Besides, I have a music quiz and solitaire on my ipod. So after about 15 minutes the police drive by and pull up behind me. I considered yelling but she was inside. I decided I would pretend that I didn't know French. However they didn't come over to me, and after 4 or 5 minutes Tina and Pierre came out. I guess they nabbed someone else on the street. But for a few minutes I was pretty scared.
Then onto Orleans. It was over 3 hours on the road.
Mais pour ca, un autre post!
09 September 2007
Les Repas
A little while after Tina and I got to her house, le père came home and we ate dinner. Oh boy, the fun begins. First off, I'd like to say that I've tried more new foods in the past three days than i have in probably six months. First was salad. Their salad is lettuce and tomatoes, with a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt. I like lettuce, not tomatoes, and I found out that it takes effort not to grimace at the taste of the vinaigrette. I did it. They eat a little different than I'm used to. For one, salad goes on the main plate, all of it, and only salad at first. I put it on one side of my plate because I thought I'd be putting more food on there. Nope! So I ate the salad, actually everything I put on my plate, but managed to not take seconds. So for dinner we had rice; they eat a lot of rice in Madagascar, with some orange and yellow strips of something with some kind of spice. Haha, sorry for the great description. I know it was Malagasy and you mix it with the rice. Adam in MG, if you read this, and idea what this is? We also had canard. I was a little hesitant at first, but it smelled really good. And it was delicious, chicken may have a rival in my stomach. Every time I finished, la mere offered more. I'm not used to eating a lot at once, but I managed a little more. They also clean their plates. This means eating everything (except the bones of the canard) and also using the food to wipe up the sauce on the plate. They also cut the meat from the bone, they don't eat with their hands much. So to all of you (mainly dad) who said, 'just pick it up and eat it', I was practicing French etiquette. After dinner is dessert. They have something every night. The first night I had raspberry yogurt, even though I was already full. This prompted me to explain that I'm lactose intolerant. I had also had to explain that I can't eat bananas and raw apples. I hope they don't think all Americans are like me. After dessert they eat fruit. Le mere explained once that in Madagascar they eat fruit after dinner, So that was my first meal in France, not bad. Oh and for those who haven't eaten grapes with seeds, stick to seedless.
At breakfast I made my first mistake. They offered me hot chocolate, I said yes. In America if someone puts milk and chocolate powder in front of you, most would assume that you put the milk in a glass, then the chocolate, then mix and heat. oops! I started to pour the milk in my glass (which are very small by the way), and they informed me I was supposed to use the bowl to my right. I've found that internal humor is very good for this sort of situation. So they put the milk and powder in the bowl, then in the microwave. They took it out, I stirred. Now I was asking myself: do I drink it from the bowl, or do I pour it in the glass? Eventually Tina noticed I wasn't drinking it, and they asked if I preferred a mug. The rest of breakfast was toast, they had butter, quetsche (quite good jam type thing), and rillets de canard. I still don't know what it is, but at that point I didn't feel like trying canard on my toast.
Lunch was more salad, more rice, more canard. I tried flan with caramel for dessert. Dinner was crepes (so good!) There was chocolate, brown sugar, honey, and a different jam thing which I think was apricot and was pretty good. I had two jam crepes and two chocolate crepes. Breakfast was more hot chocolate, toast and croissants (which I love). Lunch we had rice and thinly sliced, herb flavored meat, served cold, and salad bien sur. Plus dessert (more flan) and fruit. Dinner we had sardines. Yes, I ate them. Well, first salad, then the sardines with lettuce and pasta. It actually tastes like tuna. Definitely doesn't look like it, but it tastes like it. Dessert was creme de dessert, I had chocolate. It's essentially pudding, but a little thinner. They also don't lick the top, they scoop it off with a spoon. Breakfast was the same. Then for lunch we had salad, but this time it was lettuce and believe beets. I definitely prefer beets to the vinaigrette and tomatoes, but they kind of taste like dirt. Then a melange of pasta, rice, herb baked potatoes, and little pieces of canard (cold) and the thinly sliced meat. Followed by creme de dessert. Dinner was at Tina's studio apartment in Orleans, just the two us. It was a little frozen pizza (we ate with our hands since her parents weren't there).
That so far has been my food experiences. I managed to clean my plate every meal, and only refused the rillets de canard, and seconds or fruit when I was way too full. The first night they asked me if Americans don't eat that much. I had to explain that most eat more than more than I do, too much in fact, and that I do in fact eat quite a bit less than most people.
At breakfast I made my first mistake. They offered me hot chocolate, I said yes. In America if someone puts milk and chocolate powder in front of you, most would assume that you put the milk in a glass, then the chocolate, then mix and heat. oops! I started to pour the milk in my glass (which are very small by the way), and they informed me I was supposed to use the bowl to my right. I've found that internal humor is very good for this sort of situation. So they put the milk and powder in the bowl, then in the microwave. They took it out, I stirred. Now I was asking myself: do I drink it from the bowl, or do I pour it in the glass? Eventually Tina noticed I wasn't drinking it, and they asked if I preferred a mug. The rest of breakfast was toast, they had butter, quetsche (quite good jam type thing), and rillets de canard. I still don't know what it is, but at that point I didn't feel like trying canard on my toast.
Lunch was more salad, more rice, more canard. I tried flan with caramel for dessert. Dinner was crepes (so good!) There was chocolate, brown sugar, honey, and a different jam thing which I think was apricot and was pretty good. I had two jam crepes and two chocolate crepes. Breakfast was more hot chocolate, toast and croissants (which I love). Lunch we had rice and thinly sliced, herb flavored meat, served cold, and salad bien sur. Plus dessert (more flan) and fruit. Dinner we had sardines. Yes, I ate them. Well, first salad, then the sardines with lettuce and pasta. It actually tastes like tuna. Definitely doesn't look like it, but it tastes like it. Dessert was creme de dessert, I had chocolate. It's essentially pudding, but a little thinner. They also don't lick the top, they scoop it off with a spoon. Breakfast was the same. Then for lunch we had salad, but this time it was lettuce and believe beets. I definitely prefer beets to the vinaigrette and tomatoes, but they kind of taste like dirt. Then a melange of pasta, rice, herb baked potatoes, and little pieces of canard (cold) and the thinly sliced meat. Followed by creme de dessert. Dinner was at Tina's studio apartment in Orleans, just the two us. It was a little frozen pizza (we ate with our hands since her parents weren't there).
That so far has been my food experiences. I managed to clean my plate every meal, and only refused the rillets de canard, and seconds or fruit when I was way too full. The first night they asked me if Americans don't eat that much. I had to explain that most eat more than more than I do, too much in fact, and that I do in fact eat quite a bit less than most people.
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