Sometimes
when I sit down to start writing one of these I feel so overwhelmed because
there is so much to report on. Today is no exception.
First off: My phone is out
to get me. I set my alarm again last night and this time made sure that it was
properly set and the time was correct. I set one alarm for 8:00 am and another
for 8:15 am. The phone said that the alarms were going to go off in 11 hours
which made since considering I set my alarms at 9:00 pm. I ended up waking up
at 8:56. Neither alarm went off. So again, I was an hour behind. I decided
right then and there that I was going to use the countdown on my phone as my
alarm instead of the actual alarm. Anywho, I was downstairs in the
administration office in my dorm by 9:15 asking about the location of the institute that I was going to be studying at. By 9:20 I was on the road walking. Where I was going wasn't really on the map,
but I had driven by it before so I thought I could just recall it from memory.
The lady in the office who gave me directions told me to take the bus but because the bus for
some reason seemed super intimidating, I decided to walk instead. I ended up arriving where I wanted to be at exactly 10:04. Upon entrance to the building I met a nice Parisian who asked me where
the bus stop was but since I walked I had no idea. We chatted. It was nice.
So! I enter this elusive
building an practically no one is there. I wander for a good 10 minutes trying
to find signs of life/signs of the department that I am looking for. I end up
stopping in the office for international students and talk to this lady who
only speaks French about my circumstance and she redirects me to the office of
my institute. There I met two wonderful women who help me get my barrings straight and who speak French slowly. Come to find out, the orientation I was
stressing over wasn't until next week because not enough students signed up for the orientation this week. No worries, I now know where to go next Monday morning. On my way out of the office one of the nice ladies even tells me that she is going out with two other exchange students to
tour the city and asks me if I want to join! Of course I do! She told me the
time and place and I said I was going to be there. When the meeting ended I was given a
super cool agenda with a reindeer wearing a sweater (that is their official
student agenda by the way) and directions for the bus. I
literally dreaded the thought of taking the bus. But I decided it was time to become more French and use
the frickin bus. As I waited at the bus stop I read every single sign or paper that was hanging on the structure so that I wouldn't mess up with a bunch of French
people starring down at me. After I felt somewhat knowledgeable, I got out my needed
euros and waited. A girls sits next to me and asks me a question but I don’t
know the answer. She responds “C’est pas grave.” Which basically means no
worries. You know when people say something and it just sticks in your head?
This phrase was that for me. I felt like all day I would hear this phrase and
when I did I was extremely happy because I understood it! I learned it early in
the day and throughout the day I would listen for it. I heard it multiple times and each time it was exciting! It was a small victory for the
day.
The bus that I was suppose to
take pulled up and the ticket I wanted to buy was 1,30 euros. I gave him the driver 1,50 but he asks for 1,30. Lesson 1 for the day:
have the exact amount of money for your bus ticket. Lesson 2: When you get your 1 Voyage ticket it you will want to turn the orange
side down so that the blank backside is facing you. Once your ticket is turned upside down, make sure the end with the hole punched into it goes in the machine first. This is how you put your
ticket into the machine by the door.
I got off
at the station where I was suppose to switch buses then had the thought “it
says 1 Voyage on my ticket. Was my first bus ride the voyage and now this
won’t work?? I’ll have extra change ready just in case.” Turns out I was a euro
short to have enough money to buy another bus ticket. Then I had this crazy notion to actually read what was written on
my ticket (wild, right?) upon reading my ticket I discovered that the bus ticket is good
for your first bus ride as well as one connection as long as your connection is used within one hour of your purchase of the ticket. YES! Life was good. I got
onto the bus and road it to my final stop where I got off, entered
my dormitory, and took and 45 minute nap until I had to wake up to get ready to met
the nice lady from the university.
I woke up
and since I didn't have exact change for a bus ticket, I walked to where I was going to meet the nice lady. I was early so I sat on
a bench. She told me that we were going to meet at the bus stop in the Place d'Aine but there were
two different bus stops where I was. And just down the street was a huge bus hub. Once
the clock hit 2, I walked to the bus hub down the street just in case; she wasn't there. So I
walked back to my original bus stop and there she was! I was only 5 minutes
late but I HATE being late so that was bad. At the bus stop I met Jamie and Angel who are from
South America and speak French well. From there we toured around town and I
found a place that sold towels. I vowed that I was going to come back to later in the
day a buy some towels. We also went to the public library and it was Beautiful. The library is like a
museum meets the Gaylord. I say that because there is a mini forest inside of
the library. It also had local artwork on display as well as a beautiful
tapestry, a tile floor from an ancient roman building and so much more. Side
note: The ancient roman floor was also on display so no one was actually walking on it.
Later in
the day I bought a French SIM card for my phone (which ended up not working with my phone, but I'll figure that out later) and towels and a pot for my
room. But funny story about the towels I had to go the three different stores
before I found a towel which was under
17 euros. And I ended up going to a 4th store where I found towels
for 6,99 so that was pretty great. I also bought a French cooking knife that is green and says “legumes” which
means vegetables and it has smiling, dancing radishes on it. I didn't have a knife and
it was 3 euros so I bought it! After that our little group split up. The rest of the day was spent wandering around
until I took the bus at 5:50 and was back to my room by 6. Now I am typing away
and about to go study some French outside while it’s still light.
**Okay. So I
went on a walk around my living area and discovered something wonderful. A
track. And a soccer field. And tennis courts. And a full-out gymnastics
gymnasium. All within 3 minutes of my dorm. It was the best thing ever. I
walked around the track and watched a family and their friends play ultimate
Frisbee. I walked and walked
until everyone left. After that I went back to my dorm and started typing away
and around 9 I hear a knock on my door. It’s Maybe! He had made a delicious
Senegalese dinner and invited me to eat with him.
We ate, practiced our French and English and watched the French news. I have
been out of the news loop for a couple days so that was refreshing. We talked
about the government in Senegal and current events of there. Then he asked
about the US government so we discussed that as well. After that I went back to
my dorm and began reading Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. I
was already a chapter in but hadn't touched it for a week or more. But tonight,
I couldn't put it down! It is so good! I want to go the library and rent a
French copy of the novel and read them side by side.
Well folks,
that was my day!
Things to
do tomorrow:
Get a
library card
Buy trash bags
Go to a museum
Return my other, more expensive towel
Possibly buy a
bell pepper, an onion and some mushrooms to for dinner tomorrow?
Au revoir!
Candice
No comments:
Post a Comment