Monday, March 2, 2009
This past week was my winter break and it was really really amazing! I knew I wanted to go to Switzerland as soon as Mom and Hadley told me I wasn’t allowed to come home. L So Lauren and I planned about a week in Switzerland and I’m soooo glad that’s where we went.
We left Friday morning very very early to get to the train station. It’s about a 30 minute walk from where we live. Well Lauren is ALWAYS late for everything – so I told her to meet me outside extra early. Well, she was about a half hour late and we almost missed our train. I was stressing out soooo bad and I was so mad at her! I like to be early for everything so that drives me crazy!! But we made it just fine. We spent Friday night in Geneva, Switzerland. It’s right on a huge lake and it’s very pretty. You can see the Alps in the distance too. Everytime we could see a mountain peak we were flipping out…little did we know we’d be skiing down one in just a few days.
Geneva is the home of the headquarters of the United Nations and we thought that was pretty important to see. So after we checked into our hostel, which was close to the train station and was very very nice, we hopped on a tram and headed towards the UN. When we got there we were blown away by the number of people that were there. It was some sort of protest against something in Sri Lanka I think?? All of the people there were of the same nationality – they looked kind of Middle Eastern but not really? Lauren and I just figured Sri Lanka haha. It was very intense though. People were holding signs and screaming and making all kinds of chaos. We felt VERY uncomfortable…being the only white people there. So we took a few pictures and hopped right back on the bus to go down to the lake. We walked around old town a little while then the lake, then searched for somewhere to eat dinner. We ended up stopping at a small pizza place and the pizza was SOOOO good!! At home, I stick to my cheese pizza from the Pub. But while I’m here I try all different kinds. So I ordered 4 Saisons….it had artichokes, ham, mushrooms, cheese, and peppers (I think). It was amaaazing!! Anyhow, while we were eating dinner a group of Americans walked in…and one was wearing a Steelers shirt. I was so pumped! I was wearing a Clarion Football hoodie – and one of the girls turned around and asked if I was from Clarion Pennsylvania! I said “Yeah!!” They all were students from Kent State, but her boyfriend grew up in Franklin! There were two people from Pittsburgh too! It was really neat. She knew exactly where Clarion was. Oh yeah! I earlier that day, when we hadn’t even gone through French customs at the train station yet, these three guys started talking to me and Lauren because they heard us speaking English. They were all from Philly and a couple of them went to Pitt and knew Clarion too! I thought that was pretty cool. So anyways….we talked to the Americans at the pizza place a little bit then headed back to the hostel to call Hadley and our parents. I was really excited to go out and see what the nightlife was like in Geneva, but little Ms. Lauren who hadn’t slept for two nights passed out at 9 p.m. I was NOT happy. I couldn’t do anything to wake her up!! So I went to bed early too.
The next day, we went back up to the UN headquarters. It wasn’t anything too special. It would have been neat to take a tour, but we didn’t have time. So we went back down to the lake, took some pictures, played on a tire swing, then decided to head to the next town. We had to make it the Interlaken that night and there were two towns we wanted to stop in on the way.
One really neat thing that I am so happy we did was buy a “Swiss Pass.” It was about $170 but for four days we could take any train, bus, boat, or tram without buying a ticket. All we had to do was show our pass and we were set. It made it so nice not to have to worry about anything. We were always just hopping on a different train and going!
So then we stopped back at our hostel and grabbed our big bags and went to the train station. Our next stop was Lausanne. After that we wanted to go to Montreux to see a castle. At the train station in Lausanne, we bought a locker and dropped off all of our bags so we didn’t have to lug them around to another train station….and since we had that pass we decided to head to Montreux so as not to lose sunlight for the Chateaux. When we got to Montreux we were absolutely mesmerized. At that point in my life, that was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. It’s right on a huge lake (the same lake as Geneva) and the Alps surround it everywhere. I can’t even put into words how gorgeous it was…not to mention we had the BEST weather ever. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. We walked to the Chateaux de Chillon and it was really beautiful too. It’s right on the water and has the prettiest back drop of mountains. I was in love!! I would definitely go back! We got to go into the castle and see just about everything inside it. Our Swiss Pass also got us into hundreds of museums and things of that sort for free. So we didn’t have to pay the 12 Swiss Francs to get in which was nice.
By this time we were starting to lose daylight so we decided to head back to Lausanne. By the time we got there it was kinda late, so we just grabbed our bags and got onto a train to Interlaken. I was bummed that we missed out on seeing Lausanne, but I wouldn’t give up seeing Montreux for anything.
We got to our hostel in Interlaken pretty late on Saturday night. It has a bar/restaurant in the first floor called Brasserie 17. The bartenders there are also like the receptionists – they were all soooo nice and they all spoke English which was nice since Interlaken is in the German speaking part of the country, and I don’t know any German at all. The bar had really good food…but the drink were expensive, and not strong at all. Which was fine with me (not the expensive part but the non-alcohol part). Our first night down at the bar we met this nice older gentleman who was from Interlaken. He was very interested in hearing about our trip and all that. He was sooooo helpful!! He told us where the good food, skiing, and night life was and he was really friendly too. I never ended up getting his name tho.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Bibliotheque
I have a paper to write in my 20th century lit class...due a week from Thursday. It needs to be about 5 pages long...written in French (which is hard enough). BUT I'm writing it on a book that I've never read. It's a very very hard read...even for the 3rd year French students in my class. So needless to say, I'm freaking out about it a little bit. So Lauren and I went to the university's library yesterday to look for books. We got there, and they had those little bar things that you have to walk through. Well we had NO idea how to get through it...so we watched a couple people and you obviously had to have a card to get the bars to unlock. We tried out student I.D. but that didn't work. So we went to the desk and asked for a card. After standing there for about 10 minutes, we got it worked out with the people that worked there to give us cards. We did the sign up and all that, but they wouldn't let us in. They said we had to come back the next morning and then we could get our cards and enter. I was mad and frustrated but whatever.
So this morning, Lauren and I got up early to go get our cards and check out some books. The lady gave us our new library cards and we went in. After we passed through the bars...we were lost. I had no idea where to go or how to look up books. So we each sat down at a computer on the first floor - but neither of us had any idea how to get on the computers. We sat there confused for about 5 minutes...turns out they were both broken. So we walked around the small first floor just checking out the books and trying to get a feel for the system they use. Then we walked upstairs to try to find a computer to look up books on. We found an open one on the second floor but couldn't figure out how to login. So we asked a girl next to us and she looked at my library card and said that we needed to enter the bar code on the back. She flipped over my card...no bar code. So back down stairs we went to ask what our bar code was. Why our cards were different from all the Frenchies' cards - I don't know. But the lady at the desk gave us both codes and we sat down at a computer again and logged in successfully. We started looking up the books we needed and found like two in the whole library that fit our book we are writing about. So we both get out a piece of paper to write down the numbers on the books to track them down...BUT there were no numbers. It did though, tell us how big the book was in centimeters. What the heck am I supposed to do with that?! We clicked every button on that stupid page and finally found a few numbers that might be helpful. We wrote them down and headed back up to the second floor. We looked around at the shelves...but couldn't find any numbers on those books like the ones we found online. So up to the third floor we go. BUT THERE IS NO THIRD FLOOR. First and second floor. That's it. No more books. How do you have an entire university and only have like a dozen shelves of books?!?! I swear there were probably just as many computers there as books. Therefore, I feel "library" isn't the correct name for the building. It should be called "computer lab" or something. I'm am astounded at this stupid system they have. It's the most difficult country I've ever been in. Confusing, not helpful, and so so frustrating. I have no idea how I'm going to write this paper.
I did find a couple books at a "library" across town...but you can't check books out which makes no sense. You can go there and look at them but that's it.
So basically it looks like I'm gonna have to pay a French student to write my paper for me. Haha, I'm just kidding. I would never do that. But as of now, with a little over a week left, and atleast 5 pages to write, about a book I know nothing about...it's looking like th only option.
P.S. JSTOR and other online scholarly journals are not helpful either. Ugh.
So this morning, Lauren and I got up early to go get our cards and check out some books. The lady gave us our new library cards and we went in. After we passed through the bars...we were lost. I had no idea where to go or how to look up books. So we each sat down at a computer on the first floor - but neither of us had any idea how to get on the computers. We sat there confused for about 5 minutes...turns out they were both broken. So we walked around the small first floor just checking out the books and trying to get a feel for the system they use. Then we walked upstairs to try to find a computer to look up books on. We found an open one on the second floor but couldn't figure out how to login. So we asked a girl next to us and she looked at my library card and said that we needed to enter the bar code on the back. She flipped over my card...no bar code. So back down stairs we went to ask what our bar code was. Why our cards were different from all the Frenchies' cards - I don't know. But the lady at the desk gave us both codes and we sat down at a computer again and logged in successfully. We started looking up the books we needed and found like two in the whole library that fit our book we are writing about. So we both get out a piece of paper to write down the numbers on the books to track them down...BUT there were no numbers. It did though, tell us how big the book was in centimeters. What the heck am I supposed to do with that?! We clicked every button on that stupid page and finally found a few numbers that might be helpful. We wrote them down and headed back up to the second floor. We looked around at the shelves...but couldn't find any numbers on those books like the ones we found online. So up to the third floor we go. BUT THERE IS NO THIRD FLOOR. First and second floor. That's it. No more books. How do you have an entire university and only have like a dozen shelves of books?!?! I swear there were probably just as many computers there as books. Therefore, I feel "library" isn't the correct name for the building. It should be called "computer lab" or something. I'm am astounded at this stupid system they have. It's the most difficult country I've ever been in. Confusing, not helpful, and so so frustrating. I have no idea how I'm going to write this paper.
I did find a couple books at a "library" across town...but you can't check books out which makes no sense. You can go there and look at them but that's it.
So basically it looks like I'm gonna have to pay a French student to write my paper for me. Haha, I'm just kidding. I would never do that. But as of now, with a little over a week left, and atleast 5 pages to write, about a book I know nothing about...it's looking like th only option.
P.S. JSTOR and other online scholarly journals are not helpful either. Ugh.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Frenchy Gyms
One of my friends bought a membership to the gym here at our school - no it's not free for students. So 5 of us went to the gym last Wednesday. I was really thinking about buying a membership, but I wanted to see what it was like first.
We stopped down Tuesday after class just so I could see what was in there. I wasn't impressed at all. There's one treadmill, 4 elypticals, 4 steppers, a few bikes, and a rower as far as cardio goes. Then there's a nice aerobics room, and downstairs is the weight room. The have free weights and benches and the other basics. It's pretty small. They have a guy there...Guillaume...who is supposed to be like a trainer I suppose? He was really very nice...but also very in your face. I know what I'm doing and I don't need some Frenchy who has no idea what fitness is to be chirping at me in French. If you can't tell, I'm a little annoyed with this whole gym thing :o)
So we went back on Wednesday because they have weekly classes and that night it was an abs/butt class. I was VERY excited. Well this time, there were actually people there working out. No Joke....the girls wear blouses. Like things I would wear to go out to the bar. And pants. No shorts. And they were SO unathletic!!! They were all dying in the class we had and I honestly barely broke a sweat. I'm not in shape at all either...I honestly haven't done anything since volleyball ended in November. I really don't think the teacher had any idea what he was doing either. I miss Diane's classes - where when you're done, you seriously can't walk. After my class with the Frenchy, I felt like I hadn't even started working out yet. It was very very frustrating.
On top of all that, I miss going to a gym and seeing guys. Like real guys. That can lift some actual weight - that I don't feel like I could beat up. And I miss seeings girls...that wear real work out clothes, and can hold their own in the weight room with the guys. I can't handle going there and seeing dudes in their cargo shorts or shorty short swim trunks to lift in. I just can't do it.
I guess I'll have to resort to running outside.
Ew.
We stopped down Tuesday after class just so I could see what was in there. I wasn't impressed at all. There's one treadmill, 4 elypticals, 4 steppers, a few bikes, and a rower as far as cardio goes. Then there's a nice aerobics room, and downstairs is the weight room. The have free weights and benches and the other basics. It's pretty small. They have a guy there...Guillaume...who is supposed to be like a trainer I suppose? He was really very nice...but also very in your face. I know what I'm doing and I don't need some Frenchy who has no idea what fitness is to be chirping at me in French. If you can't tell, I'm a little annoyed with this whole gym thing :o)
So we went back on Wednesday because they have weekly classes and that night it was an abs/butt class. I was VERY excited. Well this time, there were actually people there working out. No Joke....the girls wear blouses. Like things I would wear to go out to the bar. And pants. No shorts. And they were SO unathletic!!! They were all dying in the class we had and I honestly barely broke a sweat. I'm not in shape at all either...I honestly haven't done anything since volleyball ended in November. I really don't think the teacher had any idea what he was doing either. I miss Diane's classes - where when you're done, you seriously can't walk. After my class with the Frenchy, I felt like I hadn't even started working out yet. It was very very frustrating.
On top of all that, I miss going to a gym and seeing guys. Like real guys. That can lift some actual weight - that I don't feel like I could beat up. And I miss seeings girls...that wear real work out clothes, and can hold their own in the weight room with the guys. I can't handle going there and seeing dudes in their cargo shorts or shorty short swim trunks to lift in. I just can't do it.
I guess I'll have to resort to running outside.
Ew.
Monday, January 26, 2009
London
I went to London last weekend and it was a BLAST! We left Lille on a bus at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. We were supposed to leave at 6:30 but the French are always always late. So we stood outside waiting for the buses almost an hour. We were lucky it wasn't too cold. The night before (on Friday) Lauren and I went out with a woman I met while getting my Visa in D.C. She met us at one of our favorite bars, then we walked to meet her husband in old Lille. It's a bit of a walk and I was wearing heels...so my feet are covered in blisters which I had to deal with all weekend in London and am still recovering. Anyhow, we had to take the underwater chunnel to England. It was pretty neat. I thought it was just a tunnel that we drove through but that's no the case. The bus pulled into this large compartment...almost like pulling into a big train car. Then we parked. So you don't actually drive...you just sit there and the big thing you are in is what moves through the tunnel.
On the bus, on the way to our hostel, I got a glimpse of the London Eye and Big Ben - but that was it. It was exhilarating to peak through the tall buildings and see something like Big Ben that I've only seen pictures of. To see it in person is so very neat. When we got to our hostel, we couldn't sign in yet. They gave us ("us" being two bus loads of students that went on the trip) a room to put our luggage in...the students in charge locked it up and told us to come back around 7 to get our rooms and stuff. So we set off...not really knowing where we were, no map, no pounds. Lauren and I were with a group of students and one girl had a boyfriend who was working in London. We went with that group because we thought they would know what they were doing - but being in such a large group (of about 10 people) just wasted our time. We finally made it to an underground station (that's what they call the metro) and bought tickets. We got all day pass ticket for about 5 pounds which is more or less $10. We got on the crowded tube and headed toward Big Ben. As we walked down the streets I couldn't keep my eyes off of all the new sights. The cars were more similar to American cars than they are here in Lille. They have the cutest taxi cabs that look so British and fit perfectly with the big red phone booths that are everywhere. The big red double decker buses were neat to see in person too. They are EVERYWHERE. I wanted to take one, but bus tours are expensive and long...and we didn't really know how the bus system worked. I started taking a lot of pictures on the way to Big Ben - then I realized my battery was low on my camera. UGH! Who goes to London with a low battery and no charger?! I was so mad at myself. So I would take one picture and turn my camera off.
There were tons and tons of people at Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and at the Pariament building and all that. I'm sure a lot of it had to do with how nice it was out. It wasn't that cold and the sky was blue. We got really really lucky. It wasn't until we were walking around for probably an hour that I noticed the cars and how they are on the other side of the road, and how the drivers are on the other side of the car too! It gets really confusing when you are crossing the street. I couldn't figure out which way to look until I realized that on every crosswalk, painted on the road just beyond the curb, they had an arrow and a "Look Right" or a "Look Left." It was so helpful! I didn't get used to it the entire trip though - and then when I got back to Lille I was looking the wrong way!! I was so confused that I almost got hit by the buses a few times haha. Anyways, we hung out all day around the London Eye and Big Ben. Lauren, Kayla, and I ended up losing the rest of the group because Lauren is quite the photographer and she stops every 2 seconds for a photo op. I always wait for her, and Kayla waits for me - so we ended up alone which was fine. So there were a bunch of people putting on little shows along the walkway by the river. There were magic tricks, mimes, people doing balancing acts, etc. There was some music that caught our ears so we went over the check it out. It was a group of break dancers - 5 or 6 guys that were about to put on another show. Well we got right up front and yelled and clapped along to the whole charade. The very last guy to guy was about to do headspins until the spokesman stopped him. He asked the crowd how many headspins we thought he could do. Someone yelled out 5, and Lauren yelled out 20. He came over to our part of the crowd and asked who yelled 20 - I raised my hand and said "I did!!" He pulled me out of the crowd into the middle and was teasing me in front of everyone. They said I had to wrestle the guy for some reason (I forget). I dropped my purse and took my wrestling stance that Hadley taught me and told them I was going to win because my boyfriend is a really good wrestler! He looked scared :o) So they changed it to arm wrestling. We made a quick bet in front of everyone and began to arm wrestle on the groud. With a little help from another one of the group members I won!! BUT, they tricked me! They said, "If you win, you have to do the headspins. If he wins, he'll do the spins." Haha, I wasn't sure what to do at that point because I definetely can't stand on my head and spin. SO...they put a helmet on me, made me do a head stand, and then two of the guys grabbed my legs and started spinning me around until the crowd counted out five. It was pretty funny! But to end the story, the dancer guy did end up doing 20 headspins. It was very impressive.
After that, the sun was starting to go down, so the three of us went into a cafe on the waterfront and got some warm drinks while we watched the sun go down behind Big Ben. It was really amazing. When we were done, we still had lots of time before we needed to be back at the hostel to get our keys. So we found the closest underground stop and headed to Buckingham Palace. It was dark when we got there, but it was really neat to see and still beautiful. Afterwards, we went to the hostel and dropped off our stuff. We were going to wait for the rest of our roommates to get there since we lost them earlier...so the three of us layed on our beds and ended up napping for an hour because we were so exhausted from everything. Once we finally got up, we decided to eat somewhere close because I could barely walk. My blisters/feet were killllllling me. So we went to this small italian restaurant that was close by and it was soooooo good! I got pasta with some amazing sauce, avocados, and salmon. MMMMM! The only thing was that it was 11 pounds. Everything was so expensive! My night ended shortly after that when we stopped at a bar and I stayed for about a half hour then went home. I had to sleep.
My first experience in a hostel was pretty good! It was HUGE! We had a room with 10 beds in it...but they were comfy and the blankets and pillows were really nice. I slept way better there than I do in my room here at school. Our room (all of my roomies were on the same trip as me) shared a bathroom and a mixed gender shower room with another room of about 10 beds...who weren't on our trip and I didn't know. It's so weird walking into a bathroom and a guy is standing there washing his hands. That happens all the time to me here in Europe and I don't think I'll ever get used to it. Anyways, we ate breakfast the next day at the hostel because it was free. There was toast with butter and jam, and cereal and oats. I had no idea how big the hostel was until then. There were SO many people trying to get breakfast. We sat with a guy from Scotland who was really nice and helped us plan our day.
So we got ready and went to the underground and bought another all day pass. It was raining...and it continued to rain pretty much all day. We went to St. Pauls Cathedral and it was beautiful! BUT, it was Sunday so we couldn't take pictures or anything like that. Atleast I got to see it though! After that, we went across to the other side of the river and went to the Tate Museum of Modern Art. It was ok. I've been to a couple modern art museums in NYC and they blew the Tate away. It was nice to get out of the cold and rain though. Next, we walked along the river to the London Bridge and took lots of goofy pictures. We ate lunch at this cute little pub thing near the river. Lauren and I just had to get fish and chips. :o) Then we went to the Tower of London. We didn't go in because we didn't want to pay any money...but we saw the outside and took lots of pictures there too. When we got done with that, we had about 1.5 hours until we had to be back at the hostel to leave so we went to get some desert and hot chocolate. We sat around there for a while because we thought we had all kinds of time. Well it turned out that the underground station right beside the restaurant wasn't running that day - oh yeah! I forgot to mention that about every line we needed to be working last weekend was closed down. And all of the stops right next to the sights we wanted to see were closed too. It was so frustrating!! Anyhow, we had to find the next closest tube stop and fast. We got a little lost but finally found it and made it back in time to get on the bus and go home. We waited to get on the chunnel for seriously like over 2 hours so it took forever to get home. We got back to Lille at about 1 in the morning and I'm still exhausted from all of it!
I can't wait until Hadley comes to visit me and I can take him there! :o)
On the bus, on the way to our hostel, I got a glimpse of the London Eye and Big Ben - but that was it. It was exhilarating to peak through the tall buildings and see something like Big Ben that I've only seen pictures of. To see it in person is so very neat. When we got to our hostel, we couldn't sign in yet. They gave us ("us" being two bus loads of students that went on the trip) a room to put our luggage in...the students in charge locked it up and told us to come back around 7 to get our rooms and stuff. So we set off...not really knowing where we were, no map, no pounds. Lauren and I were with a group of students and one girl had a boyfriend who was working in London. We went with that group because we thought they would know what they were doing - but being in such a large group (of about 10 people) just wasted our time. We finally made it to an underground station (that's what they call the metro) and bought tickets. We got all day pass ticket for about 5 pounds which is more or less $10. We got on the crowded tube and headed toward Big Ben. As we walked down the streets I couldn't keep my eyes off of all the new sights. The cars were more similar to American cars than they are here in Lille. They have the cutest taxi cabs that look so British and fit perfectly with the big red phone booths that are everywhere. The big red double decker buses were neat to see in person too. They are EVERYWHERE. I wanted to take one, but bus tours are expensive and long...and we didn't really know how the bus system worked. I started taking a lot of pictures on the way to Big Ben - then I realized my battery was low on my camera. UGH! Who goes to London with a low battery and no charger?! I was so mad at myself. So I would take one picture and turn my camera off.
There were tons and tons of people at Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and at the Pariament building and all that. I'm sure a lot of it had to do with how nice it was out. It wasn't that cold and the sky was blue. We got really really lucky. It wasn't until we were walking around for probably an hour that I noticed the cars and how they are on the other side of the road, and how the drivers are on the other side of the car too! It gets really confusing when you are crossing the street. I couldn't figure out which way to look until I realized that on every crosswalk, painted on the road just beyond the curb, they had an arrow and a "Look Right" or a "Look Left." It was so helpful! I didn't get used to it the entire trip though - and then when I got back to Lille I was looking the wrong way!! I was so confused that I almost got hit by the buses a few times haha. Anyways, we hung out all day around the London Eye and Big Ben. Lauren, Kayla, and I ended up losing the rest of the group because Lauren is quite the photographer and she stops every 2 seconds for a photo op. I always wait for her, and Kayla waits for me - so we ended up alone which was fine. So there were a bunch of people putting on little shows along the walkway by the river. There were magic tricks, mimes, people doing balancing acts, etc. There was some music that caught our ears so we went over the check it out. It was a group of break dancers - 5 or 6 guys that were about to put on another show. Well we got right up front and yelled and clapped along to the whole charade. The very last guy to guy was about to do headspins until the spokesman stopped him. He asked the crowd how many headspins we thought he could do. Someone yelled out 5, and Lauren yelled out 20. He came over to our part of the crowd and asked who yelled 20 - I raised my hand and said "I did!!" He pulled me out of the crowd into the middle and was teasing me in front of everyone. They said I had to wrestle the guy for some reason (I forget). I dropped my purse and took my wrestling stance that Hadley taught me and told them I was going to win because my boyfriend is a really good wrestler! He looked scared :o) So they changed it to arm wrestling. We made a quick bet in front of everyone and began to arm wrestle on the groud. With a little help from another one of the group members I won!! BUT, they tricked me! They said, "If you win, you have to do the headspins. If he wins, he'll do the spins." Haha, I wasn't sure what to do at that point because I definetely can't stand on my head and spin. SO...they put a helmet on me, made me do a head stand, and then two of the guys grabbed my legs and started spinning me around until the crowd counted out five. It was pretty funny! But to end the story, the dancer guy did end up doing 20 headspins. It was very impressive.
After that, the sun was starting to go down, so the three of us went into a cafe on the waterfront and got some warm drinks while we watched the sun go down behind Big Ben. It was really amazing. When we were done, we still had lots of time before we needed to be back at the hostel to get our keys. So we found the closest underground stop and headed to Buckingham Palace. It was dark when we got there, but it was really neat to see and still beautiful. Afterwards, we went to the hostel and dropped off our stuff. We were going to wait for the rest of our roommates to get there since we lost them earlier...so the three of us layed on our beds and ended up napping for an hour because we were so exhausted from everything. Once we finally got up, we decided to eat somewhere close because I could barely walk. My blisters/feet were killllllling me. So we went to this small italian restaurant that was close by and it was soooooo good! I got pasta with some amazing sauce, avocados, and salmon. MMMMM! The only thing was that it was 11 pounds. Everything was so expensive! My night ended shortly after that when we stopped at a bar and I stayed for about a half hour then went home. I had to sleep.
My first experience in a hostel was pretty good! It was HUGE! We had a room with 10 beds in it...but they were comfy and the blankets and pillows were really nice. I slept way better there than I do in my room here at school. Our room (all of my roomies were on the same trip as me) shared a bathroom and a mixed gender shower room with another room of about 10 beds...who weren't on our trip and I didn't know. It's so weird walking into a bathroom and a guy is standing there washing his hands. That happens all the time to me here in Europe and I don't think I'll ever get used to it. Anyways, we ate breakfast the next day at the hostel because it was free. There was toast with butter and jam, and cereal and oats. I had no idea how big the hostel was until then. There were SO many people trying to get breakfast. We sat with a guy from Scotland who was really nice and helped us plan our day.
So we got ready and went to the underground and bought another all day pass. It was raining...and it continued to rain pretty much all day. We went to St. Pauls Cathedral and it was beautiful! BUT, it was Sunday so we couldn't take pictures or anything like that. Atleast I got to see it though! After that, we went across to the other side of the river and went to the Tate Museum of Modern Art. It was ok. I've been to a couple modern art museums in NYC and they blew the Tate away. It was nice to get out of the cold and rain though. Next, we walked along the river to the London Bridge and took lots of goofy pictures. We ate lunch at this cute little pub thing near the river. Lauren and I just had to get fish and chips. :o) Then we went to the Tower of London. We didn't go in because we didn't want to pay any money...but we saw the outside and took lots of pictures there too. When we got done with that, we had about 1.5 hours until we had to be back at the hostel to leave so we went to get some desert and hot chocolate. We sat around there for a while because we thought we had all kinds of time. Well it turned out that the underground station right beside the restaurant wasn't running that day - oh yeah! I forgot to mention that about every line we needed to be working last weekend was closed down. And all of the stops right next to the sights we wanted to see were closed too. It was so frustrating!! Anyhow, we had to find the next closest tube stop and fast. We got a little lost but finally found it and made it back in time to get on the bus and go home. We waited to get on the chunnel for seriously like over 2 hours so it took forever to get home. We got back to Lille at about 1 in the morning and I'm still exhausted from all of it!
I can't wait until Hadley comes to visit me and I can take him there! :o)
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Classes: Week 2
So I'm in the middle of my second week of classes - and it's WAY less stressful than last week. I changed my schedule alot so I wouldn't be overwhelmed. I have narratology, intercultural communications, Spanish, French history, translation (French to English), French linguistics, translation again (English to French), 19th Century Lit, Geography, and French. We had to take a placement test last week in French - all the international students had to take it. Lauren just called, and apparently she and I got placed in the highest level. I really can't believe it! I thought for sure I would be in the beginner class...which would have been way easier obviously. Oh well, I'll learn more this way.
Yesterday was the Inauguration - and mine was a little strange. I watched it in a Kebaberie - a Turkish Kebaberie haha. Kebabs here aren't we we think of as kebabs. They are these big sandwiches that are decently cheap - but the meat in the is shaved off of these HUGE chunks of meat that are kinda on a rotisserie. You can get chicken or lamb. The chicken one is gross. I haven't tried the lamb yet. Anyways, that was the only place we could find that was open at 4:30 in the afternoon that had a tv.
All of the French people are very very excited about Obama becoming president. As soon as they realize that you are American they ask if you like Obama - or they'll say, "Yes We Can!!" I had one guy give me a lecture about how Obama isn't just going to be a change for the U.S. - he's going to bring change to everyone and the world is going to be very different because of him. Personally, I'm not an Obama fan...but I learned quickly to pretend like I was. Being American isn't the first thing people want to hear - but if you're American and you don't like Obama...well they hate you.
Other than that, I don't have much of an update. Things are the same here...the weekend was pretty low key. I did watch the Steeler game tho!!! YEAH!!!! My friend Eugene is from Baltimore so I had a great time talking smack :o) I think I'm going to go to London this weekend. Kayla's school is taking a group so it will be very cheap - so Lauren and I are going to go sign up later today. I think that will be fun! So next week, I'm sure I will have more to write about!
Hope everyone is well back home!!
Yesterday was the Inauguration - and mine was a little strange. I watched it in a Kebaberie - a Turkish Kebaberie haha. Kebabs here aren't we we think of as kebabs. They are these big sandwiches that are decently cheap - but the meat in the is shaved off of these HUGE chunks of meat that are kinda on a rotisserie. You can get chicken or lamb. The chicken one is gross. I haven't tried the lamb yet. Anyways, that was the only place we could find that was open at 4:30 in the afternoon that had a tv.
All of the French people are very very excited about Obama becoming president. As soon as they realize that you are American they ask if you like Obama - or they'll say, "Yes We Can!!" I had one guy give me a lecture about how Obama isn't just going to be a change for the U.S. - he's going to bring change to everyone and the world is going to be very different because of him. Personally, I'm not an Obama fan...but I learned quickly to pretend like I was. Being American isn't the first thing people want to hear - but if you're American and you don't like Obama...well they hate you.
Other than that, I don't have much of an update. Things are the same here...the weekend was pretty low key. I did watch the Steeler game tho!!! YEAH!!!! My friend Eugene is from Baltimore so I had a great time talking smack :o) I think I'm going to go to London this weekend. Kayla's school is taking a group so it will be very cheap - so Lauren and I are going to go sign up later today. I think that will be fun! So next week, I'm sure I will have more to write about!
Hope everyone is well back home!!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Sidebar :o)
I just want you all to know that I miss the United States. Like alot. I don't fit in here at all. No one decided to tell me before I came over here that NO ONE wears normal winter coats. EVERYONE, even all the boys, where pea-coats. Not colored ones either....ONLY black. Everybody looks exactly the same. And everyone wears scarves too...all the time. Then there's me walking around this place with a bright red Columbia ski jacket. It's not hard to figure out that I'm American. Then on top of that everyone dresses up all the time. WHAT?! If you know me, you know that jeans is the most dressed up I'll get for class. I walk into class in my red ski jacket, my bookbag (which everyone carries purses), my Pumas, and a hoodie. It's not hard to figure out that I'm not a Frenchy. Haha. Sweatpants are totally like not even an option - which makes me very sad. I'm sure I'll break down at some point and wear them but who cares?! Everyone already knows I'm not a Frenchy so whatev! Also, alot of the Frenchies are greasy. I really think it's true that they don't shower as often as we do. I mean, they don't stink or anything...but some of the girls in my classes could wash their hair a little more often. Oh yeah! And everyone has these little pen/pencil holders that they set out in front of them in class...and they all use like 3 different color pens in their notes. They are always clicking caps on and off and changing colors and all that junk. Just pick one and stick with it!!
And one more thing...all the notebook paper here is a grid. I hate it. I just want horizontal lines and that's it. I couldn't find a single notebook that wasn't a grid. GRRR.
And one more thing...all the notebook paper here is a grid. I hate it. I just want horizontal lines and that's it. I couldn't find a single notebook that wasn't a grid. GRRR.
First Week of Classes
Monday, January12 - Wednesday, January 14
This first week of classes has been ROUGH. It's very very stressful. The first class I had on Monday was "History of the French Language." Before the class started, I was standing in the hallway and there was a group of French students hanging out. Well to make a long story short they were pointing and laughing at me and whispering. I shouldn't have let it bother me but it totally did. I was so self-conscious while I waited and of course that same group was in my class (and in about 3 other classes I have too). Anyways, the class was a continuation class from last semester - which means that all of the kids in the class had that class before and this class was basically the same thing...but they were building on things from before. So the teacher came in and jumped right into a subject that they had been talking about at the end of last semester and I had no idea what she was talking about...not to mention it was all in French which didn't help at all. Then I went to Narratology and Stylistics. I felt a little better when I walked in and saw a bunch of my friends in the class. The teacher was very nice; he addressed the international students and said that if he was moving too fast we should just ask him to slow down his speech and he would be happy to. I didn't understand everything he said, but it was a little better than the previous class. On Tuesday, I had a comparitive lit class and the teacher basically told me and the other American that we pretty much weren't going to make it. I didn't understand a WORD she said in the whole class. Ok, that's an exageration. But I didn't understand much. I didn't completely waste that hour and a half though - I spent my time making a count down to when Hadley comes and visits me here in May (120 more days!!).
Today, I had a French to English translation course at 8 a.m. The teacher is the British lady that runs the international office - the same one who gave me attitude the first day. Just as a side note, she's much better now. I've been in her office a lot changing my courses around and stuff and I kinda got used to her personality...she's not so bad. Anyhow, that class wasn't too bad. Of course it was in English, BUT atleast I wasn't completley lost and I actually felt capable of doing the activities. Most of the students were French...there were only 3 Americans and one British girl. The next class I had was French Linguistics. I was pretty worried that this was gonna be rough, but it turned out ok. It was all in French, but I could understand the teacher because she spoke slowly so that all the students can write down pretty much everything she says. Plus I really really like linguistics and stuff like that. I did awesome in my linguistics classes (one in English, one in Spanish) at Clarion. Like I was head of the class in them and I enjoy it too! So I decided that class won't be so bad. After that, I tried out another translation course...but this time it was Spanish to French. I didn't know how I would do to be honest. I was in WAY over my head though. The one good thing was that the group of girls I sat with were so nice to me. They took me in and tried to help me as much as possible - they even tried talking me into staying for the second hour with them but I was trying to get out of there as quick as possible haha. My last class today was better...all of my West Point friends and Lauren were in it. It was translation from English to French. It's something I will have to get used to because I haven't done much word for word translating but I think I will be fine.
Tomorrow is a big day - 7.5 hours of class. UGH. I just hope all goes well...or just better than some of my other classes were this week. I'll keep you guys posted!
And oh yeah, I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who has been commenting on my stuff and e-mailing. When I'm having a bad day and missing home it's so so nice to hear from all of you. So just so you know, I really appreciate it and I'm trying to get back to you as soon as I can. :o)
This first week of classes has been ROUGH. It's very very stressful. The first class I had on Monday was "History of the French Language." Before the class started, I was standing in the hallway and there was a group of French students hanging out. Well to make a long story short they were pointing and laughing at me and whispering. I shouldn't have let it bother me but it totally did. I was so self-conscious while I waited and of course that same group was in my class (and in about 3 other classes I have too). Anyways, the class was a continuation class from last semester - which means that all of the kids in the class had that class before and this class was basically the same thing...but they were building on things from before. So the teacher came in and jumped right into a subject that they had been talking about at the end of last semester and I had no idea what she was talking about...not to mention it was all in French which didn't help at all. Then I went to Narratology and Stylistics. I felt a little better when I walked in and saw a bunch of my friends in the class. The teacher was very nice; he addressed the international students and said that if he was moving too fast we should just ask him to slow down his speech and he would be happy to. I didn't understand everything he said, but it was a little better than the previous class. On Tuesday, I had a comparitive lit class and the teacher basically told me and the other American that we pretty much weren't going to make it. I didn't understand a WORD she said in the whole class. Ok, that's an exageration. But I didn't understand much. I didn't completely waste that hour and a half though - I spent my time making a count down to when Hadley comes and visits me here in May (120 more days!!).
Today, I had a French to English translation course at 8 a.m. The teacher is the British lady that runs the international office - the same one who gave me attitude the first day. Just as a side note, she's much better now. I've been in her office a lot changing my courses around and stuff and I kinda got used to her personality...she's not so bad. Anyhow, that class wasn't too bad. Of course it was in English, BUT atleast I wasn't completley lost and I actually felt capable of doing the activities. Most of the students were French...there were only 3 Americans and one British girl. The next class I had was French Linguistics. I was pretty worried that this was gonna be rough, but it turned out ok. It was all in French, but I could understand the teacher because she spoke slowly so that all the students can write down pretty much everything she says. Plus I really really like linguistics and stuff like that. I did awesome in my linguistics classes (one in English, one in Spanish) at Clarion. Like I was head of the class in them and I enjoy it too! So I decided that class won't be so bad. After that, I tried out another translation course...but this time it was Spanish to French. I didn't know how I would do to be honest. I was in WAY over my head though. The one good thing was that the group of girls I sat with were so nice to me. They took me in and tried to help me as much as possible - they even tried talking me into staying for the second hour with them but I was trying to get out of there as quick as possible haha. My last class today was better...all of my West Point friends and Lauren were in it. It was translation from English to French. It's something I will have to get used to because I haven't done much word for word translating but I think I will be fine.
Tomorrow is a big day - 7.5 hours of class. UGH. I just hope all goes well...or just better than some of my other classes were this week. I'll keep you guys posted!
And oh yeah, I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who has been commenting on my stuff and e-mailing. When I'm having a bad day and missing home it's so so nice to hear from all of you. So just so you know, I really appreciate it and I'm trying to get back to you as soon as I can. :o)
Monday, January 12, 2009
The rest of week 1
January 7-11
On Wednesday I slept in then I had to go to register for my classes at about 2. I ended up meeting some girls on the way there - and we knew it was to be in room 270. So we headed to the second floor (which is really the third because the first floor is like zero). Well we couldn't find it anywhere. The numbers on the rooms went from 264 then skipped up to 284. Well a group of us ended up there lost together. Little did I know this foreshadowing for what the rest of the semester is going to be like. Anyways, we had to ask for directions and we found it after about 15 minutes of searching the building. When we went in, the lady who runs the stuff just handed us a piece of paper that had some boxes/time slots on it and said "The classes are on the walls." And that's all of the instruction we were given. There were groups of papers hung on the walls with class schedules on them. Everyone was freeking out because no one had any idea what to do or how to read the papers. I'm a pretty bright person and it took me atleast 30 minutes to figure out what was even going on.
So this is the deal - classes are given once a week and they can be from 1-3 hours long. I have mostly classes in French, one in English (just because I needed one more class), and one in Spanish (which I can't wait for). BUT, the teachers can change the classroom we are in every class. Everyday before class you have to go to these boards they have posted in the hallway and check to see if your class was moved. If it was, you have to find it. If you miss it, too bad. It's SO stressful. Also, they do not give out a syllabus like in the U.S. I still don't know how to know what books I need for the class.
So getting my registering done felt good, even though I ended up changing a few classes later. On Thursday, we had orientation. It was simply a series of presentations about services on campus and stuff. It was boring and long, BUT I met some more people there. That night, I went to the supermarket with some friends and we went to one of the girl's apartments and made pasta for all of us. It was fun! My best friend I've met here is Lauren - she goes to NC State. Through her, I met another girl from that school named Kayla. The three of us spend a lot of time together. The other group I'm with often is a group of 4 from West Point, Grant, Corinne, Casey, and Eugene. They are very nice as well.
I slept in on Friday morning, and then Lauren and I walked up town to buy cell phones. You can buy a phone for about 19 Euros and then it's a pay-as-you-go kinda deal. You have to buy these little cards that have minutes on them...and the minutes go FAST. Anyhow, at the store (called Orange) we had a guy that spoke English so it was pretty well. He really liked us and kept flirting with us...well, more flirting with Lauren. She's super cute and tiny! But during the whole process, just about everyone who worked in the store wanted to talk to us because we were American. Some tried their English with us while others laughed at our French in a teasing way. When we were checking out, the whole group was around us talking about us in French and laughing. Lauren and I had no idea what they were saying, but I really don't think they were being mean. Haha, they did tell me though that I look like Sarah Palin. NOT TRUE! Haha. After that, we went to a small cafe across the street and got a hot chocolate and a sandwich. We stayed there a while people watching trying to get our bearings to go back out into the cold. Later that night, we went to a bar called Pirates. They played country music the whole night and I loved it! Most of us sang along to ever song and the bar tender who was choosing the music loved it.
On Saturday, Lauren, Kayla, and I went to a mall on the other side of town called Euralille. I'm not sure why, but all of the shops here are having these ridiculous sales. Needless to say the mall was PACKED. You could literally barely walk around in the stores - and being that I'm not much of a shopper I was ready to leave as soon as we got there. The only thing I bought was a sweater but Lauren and Kayla bought a lot more. After our all day mall excursion, we went out to eat at a small Italian restaurant (well actually all of the restaurants are relatively small...I have yet to see something the size of a Applebee's or Eat n' Park). Then, we went to a bar called the Latina Cafe. I was ready to drag my friends there but they actually came willingly! It was definetely a place I will go back to. I felt like I was back in Ecuador and it was so much fun. They played Latin music all night and there were even a few good Latin dancers. I tried to teach my friends how to dance to that kind of music and they did pretty well for their first time! I met a guy from Peru and we danced for a while. It was a really good time! PLUS I got to practice my Spanish, French, and English...sometimes all in the same sentence haha. But he understood what I was saying.
On Sunday, Lauren and I went to this outdoor market where they sell EVERYTHING. And they have really really good fresh foods like meat, bread, veggies, and fruits. Lauren and I bought some awesome Clementines and a couple baguettes that we ate that night with dinner. It was a little overwhelming for the first time...but next time I'll be more prepared to buy more things. The rest of Sunday I just hung out in my room and relaxed since I had been running around so much the entire week.
Plus I had to be rested up for classes the next day.
On Wednesday I slept in then I had to go to register for my classes at about 2. I ended up meeting some girls on the way there - and we knew it was to be in room 270. So we headed to the second floor (which is really the third because the first floor is like zero). Well we couldn't find it anywhere. The numbers on the rooms went from 264 then skipped up to 284. Well a group of us ended up there lost together. Little did I know this foreshadowing for what the rest of the semester is going to be like. Anyways, we had to ask for directions and we found it after about 15 minutes of searching the building. When we went in, the lady who runs the stuff just handed us a piece of paper that had some boxes/time slots on it and said "The classes are on the walls." And that's all of the instruction we were given. There were groups of papers hung on the walls with class schedules on them. Everyone was freeking out because no one had any idea what to do or how to read the papers. I'm a pretty bright person and it took me atleast 30 minutes to figure out what was even going on.
So this is the deal - classes are given once a week and they can be from 1-3 hours long. I have mostly classes in French, one in English (just because I needed one more class), and one in Spanish (which I can't wait for). BUT, the teachers can change the classroom we are in every class. Everyday before class you have to go to these boards they have posted in the hallway and check to see if your class was moved. If it was, you have to find it. If you miss it, too bad. It's SO stressful. Also, they do not give out a syllabus like in the U.S. I still don't know how to know what books I need for the class.
So getting my registering done felt good, even though I ended up changing a few classes later. On Thursday, we had orientation. It was simply a series of presentations about services on campus and stuff. It was boring and long, BUT I met some more people there. That night, I went to the supermarket with some friends and we went to one of the girl's apartments and made pasta for all of us. It was fun! My best friend I've met here is Lauren - she goes to NC State. Through her, I met another girl from that school named Kayla. The three of us spend a lot of time together. The other group I'm with often is a group of 4 from West Point, Grant, Corinne, Casey, and Eugene. They are very nice as well.
I slept in on Friday morning, and then Lauren and I walked up town to buy cell phones. You can buy a phone for about 19 Euros and then it's a pay-as-you-go kinda deal. You have to buy these little cards that have minutes on them...and the minutes go FAST. Anyhow, at the store (called Orange) we had a guy that spoke English so it was pretty well. He really liked us and kept flirting with us...well, more flirting with Lauren. She's super cute and tiny! But during the whole process, just about everyone who worked in the store wanted to talk to us because we were American. Some tried their English with us while others laughed at our French in a teasing way. When we were checking out, the whole group was around us talking about us in French and laughing. Lauren and I had no idea what they were saying, but I really don't think they were being mean. Haha, they did tell me though that I look like Sarah Palin. NOT TRUE! Haha. After that, we went to a small cafe across the street and got a hot chocolate and a sandwich. We stayed there a while people watching trying to get our bearings to go back out into the cold. Later that night, we went to a bar called Pirates. They played country music the whole night and I loved it! Most of us sang along to ever song and the bar tender who was choosing the music loved it.
On Saturday, Lauren, Kayla, and I went to a mall on the other side of town called Euralille. I'm not sure why, but all of the shops here are having these ridiculous sales. Needless to say the mall was PACKED. You could literally barely walk around in the stores - and being that I'm not much of a shopper I was ready to leave as soon as we got there. The only thing I bought was a sweater but Lauren and Kayla bought a lot more. After our all day mall excursion, we went out to eat at a small Italian restaurant (well actually all of the restaurants are relatively small...I have yet to see something the size of a Applebee's or Eat n' Park). Then, we went to a bar called the Latina Cafe. I was ready to drag my friends there but they actually came willingly! It was definetely a place I will go back to. I felt like I was back in Ecuador and it was so much fun. They played Latin music all night and there were even a few good Latin dancers. I tried to teach my friends how to dance to that kind of music and they did pretty well for their first time! I met a guy from Peru and we danced for a while. It was a really good time! PLUS I got to practice my Spanish, French, and English...sometimes all in the same sentence haha. But he understood what I was saying.
On Sunday, Lauren and I went to this outdoor market where they sell EVERYTHING. And they have really really good fresh foods like meat, bread, veggies, and fruits. Lauren and I bought some awesome Clementines and a couple baguettes that we ate that night with dinner. It was a little overwhelming for the first time...but next time I'll be more prepared to buy more things. The rest of Sunday I just hung out in my room and relaxed since I had been running around so much the entire week.
Plus I had to be rested up for classes the next day.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Day 1
January 6, 2009
I guess I'll start off when I got to Paris. The plan was to take the plane to Paris, then from there take the train to Lille, then from there a taxi to my school. Looking ahead to the trip, I thought this would start the worst part of the trip. I'm a terrible over-packer to I had two HUGE bags (50 lbs each), a square roller carry-on (about 30lbs), and my book-bag. I thought for sure I would have to lug those around the airport and train all by myself - which had some reality to it.
I got the the Paris airport and wasn't that nervous. I usually don't freek out about stuff because I know one way or another they'll get worked out at some point. I soared through customs and began searching for a bathroom. I knew I should go before I picked up my other two big bags. I started to panic a little bit when I couldn't find them. Finally I did - then I went to baggage claim and quickly grabbed one of those big cart things to put my bags on. It was crowded but I managed to get my bags and I went for the exit to the rest of the airport. The very first thing I saw was the money exchange so I went there and waited in line for a little bit. I think I got about $300 in Euros to get me through. After that I felt really lost. Up until then, signs pointed the way easily - but I couldn't find a sign for the train station which I knew was connected with the airport. I really really wanted to just get out my phone and call home to Mom, Dad, or Hadley...BUT my phone does nothing over here. It won't even show the time. I put that behind me and started walking until I saw signs for the TGV (the train). I had to walk for a good 15-20 minutes until I hit a point where I had to drop off the luggage cart. The first escalator was quite the challenge. I had to use a few that day and I got the hang of it quick...I kinda had to.
My next scary part was when I finally reached the train station. See, when I was ordering my train tickets I didn't realize that France's TGV couldn't do things online like the rest of the world does. The only use paper tickets. I ordered my ticket on Friday for a Monday departure. Needless to say my ticket didn't come in the mail before I left and that was $100 down the drain. Back to the train station...I had no idea where to go for the tickets but I simply asked someone who worked there and she pointed me in the right direction. I didn't have a problem buying the ticket (which was way cheaper than the one I bought online at home). When my train came about an hour later...I was LOST. I kept reading my ticket, with the seat number, the floor number, the car number...but no numbers on the train. So I asked a man where I was supposed to go and thank goodness he spoke a little English. I was on the way wrong end of the train but he let me just get on there since there weren't many people on board. I hoisted my two huge bags onto the train (no help thank you) and went to sit down.
EVERYTHING was new. The smells, the people, the clothes, and even the way doors opened and closed. It was really exhausting - I fell right asleep on the train (the country side wasn't much to look at...looked the same as home pretty much - just fields and houses). When I woke up I had no idea how many stops we passed or where we were, or where Lille was. I asked a lady in the same car and she was getting off the same stop as me so I just followed her.
In the train station at Lille, there were alot of people. I knew I was looking for a taxi but it took me a little while to find which door to take. My taxi driver was super nice. We talked the whole time and he told me about things we were passing and so on. He talked alot about American cars and how big they are. He said he wishes to travel to the state next year to buy a car haha. He got me to my destination and it was pleasant. --- Overall, getting there wasn't so bad at all. I was relieved because I thought that would be the worst of it. I was so wrong.
The building I had to go to was the same building where students buy their meal tickets. Being that it was lunch time there was a big crowd of students in the front of my building waiting in line. As I looked at the building, I quickly noticed the set of stairs outside to go up to the door - then the flight of stairs inside the door, then the sign that said the office I needed to go to was on the 3rd floor. Then I looked at my bags - the ones that weighed more than I do - and this started the bad day. I struggled and struggled and struggled to get up those stairs, through the doors, and up the next three flight of stairs. I was hot, and SO tired, and embarrassed! Everyone just watched. Not a single person asked if they could help - or even held a door open for me. I could have cried when I finally got to the top of the stairs, only to sign a paper and head back down.
I ended up living in this same building...but the entrance door is outside, near the windor where we buy our meal tickets. Two women met me at the door and helped me with my bag (I decided to leave one bag in the office and I'd go get the other one after I found my room). These two ladies were so nice. I think they are kind of maids? And I think one might be like the guardian of the residents? I haven't quite figured that out yet. But they showed to the bathrooms...just a room with about 4 toilette stalls and two urinals - yep! Both guys and girls use the same room. Then they showed me to shower room - same thing - 4 showers, for guys and girls. There is a laundry room on my floor and a room where we can get breakfast every morning too.
My room is very small and very green. I have a sink and a mirror, a small closet, a small fridge, tiny dresser, night stand, bed, and a makeshift desk. There is a window, then a door/window thing that I think you can go outside on a balcony...but it has likes rocks and stuff on it. So I don't know if I will use it or not. Anyhow, my room is COLD. The windows basically let a breeze in and the heater isn't very strong. I tried to cover them up with the big black curtains that were on them but it doesn't do much.
To sum up the rest of the day (because I wasn't planning on writing a book but it just kinda happened) I went to the international office and the lady was rude. Then I decided to walk around a little bit because I wanted to find a converter for my laptop - because I couldn't get the one I brought from the U.S. to work....AND there's only one outlet in my room. Ugh. So, I walked into town after crying in my room for a while because all I wanted to do was talk to Hadley and my parents but I couldn't. They didn't even know if I had made it safely yet or not. But I got lost. And it was about 27 degrees out, and windy. I couldn't find anything I needed and I ended up being out there for like 3 hours walking around. Let me remind you that I hadn't slept for about two days at that point and travelling like that is exhausting anyhow. So that night when I finally got back, I hated France. ALOT. I cried too. ALOT. Ecuador was so so easy to fall in love with...so I wasn't used to this. I was cold all night because I didn't have a warm blanket - and I had to use the neck pillow from the plane. I covered up with a small thin blanket, a beach towel, a pillow case, and my winter coat. And that ended my first day in France.
I guess I'll start off when I got to Paris. The plan was to take the plane to Paris, then from there take the train to Lille, then from there a taxi to my school. Looking ahead to the trip, I thought this would start the worst part of the trip. I'm a terrible over-packer to I had two HUGE bags (50 lbs each), a square roller carry-on (about 30lbs), and my book-bag. I thought for sure I would have to lug those around the airport and train all by myself - which had some reality to it.
I got the the Paris airport and wasn't that nervous. I usually don't freek out about stuff because I know one way or another they'll get worked out at some point. I soared through customs and began searching for a bathroom. I knew I should go before I picked up my other two big bags. I started to panic a little bit when I couldn't find them. Finally I did - then I went to baggage claim and quickly grabbed one of those big cart things to put my bags on. It was crowded but I managed to get my bags and I went for the exit to the rest of the airport. The very first thing I saw was the money exchange so I went there and waited in line for a little bit. I think I got about $300 in Euros to get me through. After that I felt really lost. Up until then, signs pointed the way easily - but I couldn't find a sign for the train station which I knew was connected with the airport. I really really wanted to just get out my phone and call home to Mom, Dad, or Hadley...BUT my phone does nothing over here. It won't even show the time. I put that behind me and started walking until I saw signs for the TGV (the train). I had to walk for a good 15-20 minutes until I hit a point where I had to drop off the luggage cart. The first escalator was quite the challenge. I had to use a few that day and I got the hang of it quick...I kinda had to.
My next scary part was when I finally reached the train station. See, when I was ordering my train tickets I didn't realize that France's TGV couldn't do things online like the rest of the world does. The only use paper tickets. I ordered my ticket on Friday for a Monday departure. Needless to say my ticket didn't come in the mail before I left and that was $100 down the drain. Back to the train station...I had no idea where to go for the tickets but I simply asked someone who worked there and she pointed me in the right direction. I didn't have a problem buying the ticket (which was way cheaper than the one I bought online at home). When my train came about an hour later...I was LOST. I kept reading my ticket, with the seat number, the floor number, the car number...but no numbers on the train. So I asked a man where I was supposed to go and thank goodness he spoke a little English. I was on the way wrong end of the train but he let me just get on there since there weren't many people on board. I hoisted my two huge bags onto the train (no help thank you) and went to sit down.
EVERYTHING was new. The smells, the people, the clothes, and even the way doors opened and closed. It was really exhausting - I fell right asleep on the train (the country side wasn't much to look at...looked the same as home pretty much - just fields and houses). When I woke up I had no idea how many stops we passed or where we were, or where Lille was. I asked a lady in the same car and she was getting off the same stop as me so I just followed her.
In the train station at Lille, there were alot of people. I knew I was looking for a taxi but it took me a little while to find which door to take. My taxi driver was super nice. We talked the whole time and he told me about things we were passing and so on. He talked alot about American cars and how big they are. He said he wishes to travel to the state next year to buy a car haha. He got me to my destination and it was pleasant. --- Overall, getting there wasn't so bad at all. I was relieved because I thought that would be the worst of it. I was so wrong.
The building I had to go to was the same building where students buy their meal tickets. Being that it was lunch time there was a big crowd of students in the front of my building waiting in line. As I looked at the building, I quickly noticed the set of stairs outside to go up to the door - then the flight of stairs inside the door, then the sign that said the office I needed to go to was on the 3rd floor. Then I looked at my bags - the ones that weighed more than I do - and this started the bad day. I struggled and struggled and struggled to get up those stairs, through the doors, and up the next three flight of stairs. I was hot, and SO tired, and embarrassed! Everyone just watched. Not a single person asked if they could help - or even held a door open for me. I could have cried when I finally got to the top of the stairs, only to sign a paper and head back down.
I ended up living in this same building...but the entrance door is outside, near the windor where we buy our meal tickets. Two women met me at the door and helped me with my bag (I decided to leave one bag in the office and I'd go get the other one after I found my room). These two ladies were so nice. I think they are kind of maids? And I think one might be like the guardian of the residents? I haven't quite figured that out yet. But they showed to the bathrooms...just a room with about 4 toilette stalls and two urinals - yep! Both guys and girls use the same room. Then they showed me to shower room - same thing - 4 showers, for guys and girls. There is a laundry room on my floor and a room where we can get breakfast every morning too.
My room is very small and very green. I have a sink and a mirror, a small closet, a small fridge, tiny dresser, night stand, bed, and a makeshift desk. There is a window, then a door/window thing that I think you can go outside on a balcony...but it has likes rocks and stuff on it. So I don't know if I will use it or not. Anyhow, my room is COLD. The windows basically let a breeze in and the heater isn't very strong. I tried to cover them up with the big black curtains that were on them but it doesn't do much.
To sum up the rest of the day (because I wasn't planning on writing a book but it just kinda happened) I went to the international office and the lady was rude. Then I decided to walk around a little bit because I wanted to find a converter for my laptop - because I couldn't get the one I brought from the U.S. to work....AND there's only one outlet in my room. Ugh. So, I walked into town after crying in my room for a while because all I wanted to do was talk to Hadley and my parents but I couldn't. They didn't even know if I had made it safely yet or not. But I got lost. And it was about 27 degrees out, and windy. I couldn't find anything I needed and I ended up being out there for like 3 hours walking around. Let me remind you that I hadn't slept for about two days at that point and travelling like that is exhausting anyhow. So that night when I finally got back, I hated France. ALOT. I cried too. ALOT. Ecuador was so so easy to fall in love with...so I wasn't used to this. I was cold all night because I didn't have a warm blanket - and I had to use the neck pillow from the plane. I covered up with a small thin blanket, a beach towel, a pillow case, and my winter coat. And that ended my first day in France.
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