My First Time...Spending a Day in Limoges

Why hello there, fancy seeing you here. Guess what. I have no idea what is going on.

I came to this city as opposed to others because I wanted a more secluded area with less tourism traffic. And let me tell you, I got it! The only people that I have spoken to that have a firm grasp on the English language are those in the hotel industry. Which is great! Okay, so I get weird looks like 98% of the time and I am pretty sure I haven't fooled a single person that I am actually not a native French speaker, but it's all good. Today I went to move into my university housing, but guess what. It is Sunday, and want to know what is open on Sunday? Churches...and hotels...and the occasional restaurant after 11 am. So that means the university was closed! So back to the hotel I went. The taxi driver was really nice and I only paid for 50% of my actual fare. Also, he helped me pronounce certain words and I would ask him something in French then he would either say "Oui" or "Non" and then he would say what I was actually trying to say but in a way more beautiful manner. He barely spoke English and I barely spoke French, but we made it work. It was actually pretty exciting because for the first 5 minutes of the trip we spoke solely French, then he asked me something that I didn't understand and  my cover was blown! He taught me a lot in those 15 minutes. Great guy.

Anyways, so he dropped me off at my original hotel and I think the lady felt really bad for me, because she upgraded my room for free. While I was waiting for my hotel to be cleaned I met an exchange student from Germany, Nikki, who is going to the same university as me. By this time I had gone 24 hours without eating more than almonds the night before and I was starving! Nikki gave me a banana and directions to a supermarket and I am forever in her debt. I put my belongings in my room and I was off! I found the supermarket, which really is just a small store with fruit and a few other items like canned beans, toilet paper, and of course, wine. I was doing good. I had gotten my fruit, made small talk, all was well. Then. It happened. In the middle of a conversation with the store clerk I forgot the word toothpaste and all hell broke loose. Not really, but he began talking super fast and motioning with his hands and I had no idea what he was saying so I just nodded and looked where his hands were going. I was basically a deer in headlights for a couple of seconds. Finally, I caught on to a few words and I found my much needed toothpaste.

Side Note: For traveling, whenever I am checking a bag, I always bring essentials on my person. I pack an extra pair of clothing in my carry on, I print out all of my reservations before hand, I bring plenty of healthy snacks because airline food sometimes creeps me out and I bring basic hygienic necessities but somehow, toothpaste missed the plane. And if you really know me, you know that I brush my teeth on average 5 times a day because I'm a freak. So how this happened, I have no idea. But it's all good, because I bought some French toothpaste which pretty much makes me a local.

At the supermarket I also bought this water because it looked interesting, come to find out, it is fizzy water and I hate it. But it's okay, because it's French fizzy water, so at least I get style points.

The rest of the day I spent walking around the town, looking at cathedrals with bananas under my arm. When I returned to my room I watch the French news and put on French subtitles to help me along. Later in the evening I went to a restaurant and got by fine with French. There I was a creep and easdropped on peoples conversations to see how much of it I could understand. I also tried to watch those eating around me to see what their tables mannerisms were like. Luckily, I never got caught. Of course, that doesn't mean that I am not a complete creep, but it is all in the name of learning, I swear. Then I returned to my hotel room to start up my blog *whoop whoop* which actually took hours. But now, you are all caught up to date my journey. I'll update you more tomorrow when I move into my dorm! I don't know if it's an international student floor or if I am with French students, but we shall see.

Au revoir,

Candice