Jan
10
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Day 2
I am home, and everything is beginning to feel a lot more like it! I arrived last night, and Guy, the man who I have been in touch with since acceptance, picked me up at the airport. Limoges countryside is beautiful. Although it was dark, I could see most of it. It looks like a quaint little city, simple and pretty. About 15 minutes later we pulled up to my dorm and it was definitely just like the pictures…on the outside. After getting my keys, dropping off my luggage, and going over my paperwork, Guy took me by where the FLE (French langage étranger) classes will be held, the library, some of the eateries, and then let me off! I walked back to my dorms and noticed a huuuuge puddle of water on my floor, like from the air/heat almost to the head of my bed, which in my room is pretty big. I went to the front desk and it was no help. First, it was all in French and second, it was about 100 miles an hour. Yes, I just said that it was fast, and we all know how I talk. Basically all I understood was that a “note” was made and it will be taken care of tomorrow. Tomorrow it was, bright and early at 8:30. It got fixed and I went back to sleep…until 12:30! Not my plan at all, but oh well! I’ll blame it on jetlag. After I got up I went to talk to the International Relations woman to find out where my test is, and to make sure she knew I was here. It made me very upset when I did this because I felt totally incompetent. It is really hard and I guess I didn’t expect that. She brought in another woman who spoke some English so that helped, but after I left I wanted to cry. I realized that the amount of French I know is seemingly none. It’s normal, I know, but I feel like I know nothing! I can say “bonjour, je voudrais, merci, bon soir, de l’eau « and I guess that gets me what I need! It is just really different not understanding hardly anything, and I didn’t get that part of France when I first visited. I will get better, but these first couple weeks will be very hard. So after I got back from the office, I decided to go explore a tiny bit of Limoges, and go to the Carrefour market. It is basically a French Wal-Mart but smaller. Since I had nothing to do all day, I took my time and went down all the aisles and looked at everything. I do not have a refrigerator in my room and there isn’t one, as well as a microwave, anywhere. Due to that, I need to eat non-refrigerated things until the café is open and I can eat there. I bought some bananas, fruit cocktail, pain au chocolat (basically a croissant with chocolate in the middle….soooooo good!) cereal for breakfast, and kinder bueno bars (the BEST candy bars ever made. I will eat one every single day I am sure, and bring back tons of boxes) and then I needed some girly essentials: hair dryer, flat iron, hangers. I also needed to get a blanket for my bed. The room gets really cold at night and in the mornings, and what I brought doesn’t quite suffice. I bought this thing that looked like a small comforter, so I assumed it was a blanket. Remember this part for future reference. When I got back from visiting Carrefour (my new fav place!) I began to unpack all my stuff. I won’t lie; the room looks a lot better and feels SO much better with everything up and not boring. I do still need pictures or something on my walls. As I was unpacking, a knock came at my door. I opened it and saw a short little guy with glasses and a scruffy beard who introduced himself as Sami, the guy in charge of all the international students and he wanted to see if I needed any help. Boy, did I ever! He spoke English and I wanted to hug him because I could actually talk and get the answers I needed! I asked him about some housing papers that I didn’t quite understand and then we chit-chatted about when I got here and small talk. I mentioned needing to get a French phone and he offered to take me into town to get one. So, against my mother’s wishes I am sure, I said yes and we got into his car and went downtown Limoges, about a ten-ish minute drive. We walked through Central Limoges and he pointed out stores and things I would probably need to know: fnac (bookstore, music, movies) Quick (the Dutch version of McDonald’s which is “sh*t” according to Sami) salons, theatre, and other things. There are a TON of clothing and accessory stores that are just waiting for me to bombard. I have planned now to go explore there Thursday or Friday. I got my phone for 25 euro, and I pay like credits or something when I run out. I have no idea honestly. It has an alarm though and that is good! We visited a small bakery and then headed back to the dorms. I thanked Sami and hoped he meant it when he said “let me know if you need anything else” because he is my new best friend. I finished unpacking and unloading from my trip to Carrefour when I one) ran out of hangers and two) bought an entire sheet set instead of a blanket. Joy. I decided when I was done I would take it back (or try to) and get dinner and some other things I decided I needed from Carrefour. Just across the street from Carrefour is a pharmacy, tobacco shop, post office, bank, bakery, and some other small shops. It’s about a 5-7 minute walk from the dorms so not bad at all. I went into the bakery to get dinner in case they closed first, and wanted anything BUT a sandwich, my meal for the past two days. I decided on a pizza! I got a square piece and put it in my bag. I went to Carrefour and was able to return my sheets (yay, I can say “I bought this today and it is not right for me”) and I bought a blanket (or so I think…it is still on the floor right now!) I walked back, unloaded and finished making my room homey, and decided it was time to eat. I pulled out my pizza and noticed a lemon, which I took off and then I saw raw bacon, but it turned out to be fish! I am still not sure if it was salmon and tuna, or just salmon on all my pizza but we all know how I do not do fish, except for shrimp. I tried to eat it and tell myself “mmm chicken” but it didn’t work. I ended up pulling off half of it and just eating the lower bread part, but I also had some fruit cocktail and I got the fishy taste out of my mouth with a pain au chocolat! It is very cold here. During the day it isn’t too bad (still very cold though) and at night it gets worse. I have noticed everyone smokes. That doesn’t quite bother me, but it is just weird to me. The market sells wine and liquor. I guess that is just an Oklahoma thing where we don’t sell that stuff at the supermarket because Kristen told me you can buy it in Louisiana. Also, American music is VERY big here, more so than French music. Sami told me that the lyrics could be complete crap, but if the beat is good, the people will love it! I have heard Lady Antebellum, Madonna, Taio Cruz, Britney Spears, Rhianna, Pink, just about all the popular music in the US. Walking here, even by yourself, is very safe. I have asked many people, Guy included, who all say it, and really it is the only way to get around. I will get a bus pass that can take me to the center city though. My dorm is situated in the corner room off of the courtyard. There is one entrance and then it separates into two buildings. I am in building B! My room is on the corner, first one as I walk in. All the rooms are around the bathroom, showers, and mini-kitchen. Maybe it is because of this, but the outside smells like urine or cooking pasta. I cannot decide which it is so maybe it is both! The kitchen has a sink and two warmers for cooking, but I think like ramen type meals. The bathrooms are on the right (from my room) and the showers to the left. There are two in each. The bathrooms are fine and I have visited many times, but the shower will be my experience for tonight. The laundry is off to the side and is 2 euro 50, and it only takes 1, 2, and 50 euro pieces. I found that out today after I went to wash the towels that mopped up the water, poured in the detergent, and then realized I didn’t have a 50 euro piece. So, back into a bag it went and now my room smells like detergent. Better than urine/cooking pasta I guess! Here are some pictures of my room, completed, of course, so it looks a lot more like home!
The Sink, and the other side of my closet, which I keep shampoo, laundry detergent, make-up, and other things in. My bed and one side of my closet. My closet, which is perfect for the amount of clothes I brought. It is about two feet wide, and I have my socks above it on a shelf.
My bed and one side of my closet.
My closet, which is perfect for the amount of clothes I brought. It is about two feet wide, and I have my socks above it on a shelf.
Jan
8
And so it begins! Here I am, sitting in the Orly airport, hungry and needing to use the restroom. It’s 11:00 am here and I cannot check my bags until 2:25 because that is two hours prior to my flight to Limoges. I need to use the restroom and I am staring at these sandwiches that look so good (probably because I am really hungry) but I am afraid to walk the five steps there for fear of having all my luggage stolen. Yeah, right… No person in their right mind would take all 120 pounds (roughly, although it is probably more) away. I already plan on shipping half my stuff home before I leave. There are silver carts everywhere so those are a major, major help!
About my flight…I left Tulsa where my mom began to cry (which I expected) and I tried not to be sad, but then my cold-hearted sister even cried so that got me a bit going. Jason, of course being the man that he is, didn’t shed a tear. I went on through security and was on my way. My flight to Houston was in a teeny tiny plane. If you were over 5’10″, you would have been in trouble. The poor guy in front of me was crouching the entire time. I was in a seat by myself (they had one seat to the left and two to the right of the aisle) so I passed right out. That flight was quick! Then, just as my luck would have it, my terminal for my flight to Paris was at the other end of the Houston airport. Someone said the farthest gate was E1, and I was E2. Whoo hoo! I hopped on the “Terminalink” which took me to gate E, then I had to proceed forever and five days to find my gate. I enjoyed my last bit of American life with some football that was on TV and Wal-Mart trail mix! Yummy! We boarded our plane for Houston and I had seat 39A, so I was a window and there was one person next to me. It took forever for him to get on so for awhile there I thought I was going to be sitting alone. Never fear, a 15 year-old boy from Seattle who is a professional dancer in Paris at some school that has been around forever sat on down. At first I thought it was going to the most awkward flight because I didn’t know how to start conversation because I wasn’t sure if he spoke English or French, and I was by no means ready to initiate a conversation in French! Luckily he was American and we talked about what each of us was doing there and the like. It turns out he has been dancing since he was eight, starting going to schools in D.C. at 11, and then is in his first year at this school in Paris. His brother is a professional dancer in Germany and he hopes to become one, too, eventually. He told me all about the good and bad of French life; food portions, expensive and cheap cheeses, places to go, French verb conjugation books, and even how much a pair of Levi Jeans costs….90-120 euro! Can you believe that? We can get Levi’s for like $30, and they are $100+ over here! I am so taking a picture of that price tag when I see it! Sadly, I never got his name, so I will just call him “dancer boy”. I watched the first half of the movie “Easy A” prior to dinner and then I enjoyed my “fabulous” meal of chicken, rice and green beans, Caesar salad, and hard-as-a-rock bread that I didn’t eat, but randomly good Milano cookies! There was about five and a half hours left of my flight so I decided it would be perfect to go to sleep. Naturally, I couldn’t. I slept for about forty minutes, and then woke right up. I had this terrible headache but of course, I packed my Excedrin in my checked baggage. Note to self: Pack melatonin and Excedrin in your backpack so you can go without a headache and SLEEP! I decided to finish the second half of “Easy A” and then attempt to fall asleep to Continental Airlines “Kids Hits” which played a Jonas Brothers song every other song. It was right up my alley J I fell in and out of sleep for the next couple hours, but I for sure woke right up with an hour and five minutes left of the flight. I really needed to use the restroom but my dancer boy next to me was fast asleep, and I didn’t quite know how to be polite and wake him, so I waited, hoping he would wake up, and of course he never did…until the plane landed. Joy. I got off and then headed to find my way out of Charles de Gaulle airport, calling my mommy, getting my luggage, and praying to find the bus to Orly. I did it all! Yay! I only missed one piece of my luggage once before I realized the luggage moving thing went on for another block before coming back around. Oh well, no rush for me. I then headed to the bus, gate 18, bus number 3 for 19 euros that took me to Orly….after making six other stops picking up other people for the same place. After thirty minutes of doing that, I was in fear of getting in a car-bus wreck because the peeps here drive crazy! It was nuts. The lanes are small and people just cut in and out and then randomly break. For a minute there I thought my mom was driving in front of me…Just kidding. After about forty minutes I realized I needed to use the restroom but sadly there was none. My small bladder does not do well on this trip. Note to self: Get the medicine for over-active bladder for the next trip. 😉 I waited patiently for the bus to arrive at Orly-Sud, while checking out the buildings of North Paris and telling myself I needed to visit Disneyland Paris. Sounds like fun, huh? I made it off and then couldn’t find a silver buggy so I only dropped my luggage and looked like a total American for a total of ten minutes. No big deal, who do I know here anyway?
So that leads me to where I am now: sitting at Columbus Café, in front of gate C, eyeing the signs for the restrooms and watching my clock slowly tick on to 2:25. This is so different and I honestly cannot believe I am really doing this. I don’t think I know what I am in for. Seriously. It’s not that I am scared; it’s just that I am so out of my element right now, and feel that I am so inadequate with my French. It’s like my entire mind went blank and the only thing I can say is “merci”. I guess that’s good enough. I know it is going to take time to adjust and I know I will love it, but I think it just hit me that I am here alone. When I was waiting for my baggage, there was no one to talk to, and it hit me that it was my first time doing this and I told myself I was crazy! I know I will be fine, but the stress of trying to get it all right quickly and making sure I make my flights made me doubt myself. I can do this, I will do this, and I will love it. Once I am well rested, in Limoges, and not with all my freaking luggage, I will be perfect. Like my Aunt Sherre told me, the world is at my fingertips, and I am ready to grab it with both my hands.
The card from my Aunt Sherre that gives me motivation each day to live this experience to the fullest.
After being settled in, and finally getting internet, I uploaded one big blog site. I like to call it a “Collection of the past four days!”
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